Witches, and Cats, and Pumpkins - Oh My!

Witchy Wall Hanging

Halloween 2011 is tomorrow, but we've been celebrating around here for a few days already.  Wes brought home this s-c-a-r-y quilted wall hanging from a thrift shop this week.  I just love it!  It's hanging on the outside of my bathroom door.  Note the wooden stars on each end of the hanging rod - so cute!

Levi and Trent

I took the younger kids to a Halloween party at the local library.  They got to do crafts, be in a costume contest, and of course eat some treats.  Levi is the race car driver, and Trent is the knight in shining armor.  I just love that costume.  All three of my boys have worn it.

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4

Here's a sneak peek at the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4 cover.  I'm so excited to have a block coming out in this issue!  I also tested some of the other blocks, and they are just as fabulous and fun as ever.  Be sure to stop by my blog on November 7th.  I will be participating in Quiltmaker's blog tour that day.  I will be unveiling my block, and I will also be having a special giveaway.  I hope you can join me for the fun & invite all your quilty friends, too!

Today I am working on a new quilted trivet, the Pinwheel X quilted trivet.  It is paper pieced in two sections.  Above, you can see one of the sections, before trimming.

Here is the a back view of the section.

After trimming, into a nice, neat triangle, corners trimmed, and everything.

This is what it will look like when I put the two sections together.  The whole trivet will consist of six blocks, and there will be a nice secondary pattern when they are put together.  The blocks are 4" finished size.  

Ice Pellets Block

Here is a close-up of one of the blocks for the Ice Pellets quilt.  Yes, I am still quilting it.  I decided that it needs more quilting, so on we go!  Quilt....quilt...quilt..quilt.

Quilter's Scrap Bag

More shopping spoils for this week - and I didn't even have to leave the house!  Wes also brought home two super bags of quilter's quality 100 percent cotton scraps for me!  I'm so lucky that he is supportive of what I do.  Above is a photo of one of the bags.  It's been so much fun going through these.  Each piece is like a little treasure!

Until next time, please visit the shop at curlicuecreations.com, and have a super day!

Jennifer

State Fair Time!

View from the top of the Ferris Wheel

I'm fearless!  Like a shark!  Levi and I braved the big Ferris Wheel at the North Carolina State Fair on Saturday.  It's always a little scary how the ferris wheel cars sway, really, it is!  But we got a great view from the top.  It was a fantastic-ly fun day with my three boys. I took pictures of some of the prize winning quilts, too.  They're at the end of my blog post.

Don't forget to visit my blog  on November 7th, & tell all your quilty friends, too!  I'm going to be on the blog tour for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4.  I'm so excited!  I'll have a little giveaway for a free copy of the upcoming issue.  I've seen a few of the blocks, and they are as diversely awesome as ever!  You will definitely want a copy of this for your collection. Great quilting fun!

Outer Banks Bunny Quilt

Here's a look at the latest pattern in the Curlicue Creations Shop, Outer Banks Bunny.  So cute!  Four large, needleturn applique blocks with an Ocean theme, and a zippy, striped border.  Visit the shop for more info, and close-up shots of each block.  curlicuecreations.com

Ice Pellets Quilt Top

And, yes, I'm still working on straight-line quilting the Ice Pellets Quilt top.  Will I finish it this week?  Will I finish it EVER?    Will I ever get better at machine quilting?  The quilts at the fair had such gorgeous examples of machine quilting.  I will get better, I will get better, I will get better, with practice, practice, practice.  Why can't I afford one of those beautiful Handi Quilter machines, like they got to test drive in the latest issue of Quiltmaker?  Sigh....

Here's some photos of the quilts I saw at the NC State Fair:

This one was my favorite.

Gorgeous brights against a black background.  Levi got into this photo.

Cute and bright cottages by Roberta Morgan.

Stunning!  By Mary Williams.  Wish I could have gotten the whole quilt in the photo.

Cute duckies!

Also, the results of our survey is in.  For "what traditional quilt block do you like to make?", it was a tie between Star and 9-Patch.  Maybe a Star & 9-Patch quilt would be ideal for everyone.  

Until next time, please visit the Curlicue Creations shop at curlicuecreations.com, and have a super day!

Jennifer

Mark Your Calendar...

There it is!  I'm so excited to have this button on my blog!  I have a block in the upcoming Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4 issue.  I'm also going to be participating in the blog tour, on November 7th.  Be sure to mark your calendar and visit my blog that day, as  I will be giving away an issue of the magazine!  Visit this link to see more info about Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4.  www.quiltmaker.com/100blocks
It's going to be excellent!

Frosty Quilted Trivet

Here's my latest quilted trivet, Frosty.  He measures a handy 10-1/2" x 10-1/2" (great for those 9" x 9" brownie pans!)  He's on sale at the Curlicue Creations shop, curlicuecreations.com.  I took a nice photo session of him, too.  He was a great model, very well behaved.

Here he is, up against a frosty, cool window.

Close up.

Working it with a chocolate marble cake.

Back view.

And...warming up to the wood stove.

Ice Pellets Quilt Top

I also worked on machine quilting my Ice Pellets quilt top.  I'm straight line quilting it with YLI Jewel variegated thread.  I just love variegated threads.  They are so much fun to sew with.  Unfortunately, after quilting four rows, I realized the walking foot wasn't attached properly, the stitching on the back was uuuuuugly, and I had to stop and rip it all out.  So frustrating!  But after that it went smoothly.  It's about a quarter of the way done.

Shag and Shine Classic Car Show 

Saturday we went to the annual Shag and Shine Classic Car show in downtown Henderson.  I forgot my camera, but here's a picture of  Trent and me from last year.  This show gets better every year!  Traffic is closed downtown, and the classic cars line both sides of the main road, also overflowing into several parking lots.  It's always a rainbow of colors, chrome, and fabulous curvy designs.  Each car is truly a work of art - great inspiration.  Close to the end of the street, they have all the drag racers from the local Drag Racing Hall of Fame, and at the very end this year, they had a stage set up with an Elvis impersonator.  What fun.  They also have quite a  collection of the locally made Corbitt trucks.  So many design details present there that could be worked into a quilt...Hmmmm...

Until next time, please visit the Curlicue Creations shop at curlicuecreations.com, like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/curlicuecreations  and have a super day!

Jennifer

Dear Jane, I've Been Skipping Around...

Here's the balance of the Dear Jane blocks I have completed, ten more blocks.  After Row D, I started skipping around.  Here's what I've accomplished thus far:

E-1, Aunt Exie's Phlox

E-2, Merry May

E-9, Quilt Jail

F-6, Deanie's Daisies

I-2, Kaye's Courtyard

J-11, Twin Sister

K-2, Grandpa's Chickens

M-5, Mother's Point

M-8, Enchanted Square

M-12, Hopscotch

Hmmmm.....I know I also recently completed M-1, Dogwood Days, but it seems to have gone missing.  It must be somewhere on my desk.  I'll have to get looking for it.  Maybe next time.

Have a super day!

Jennifer

Americana Bandanna Quilted Trivet #3, and Dear Jane Row D

Americana Bandanna Quilted Trivet #3

This week I finished Americana Bandanna Quilted Trivet #3 while watching Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason. (I just loved that movie!)  I really like the dark navy blue bandanna fabric I chose to use for this one.  It's the best!  I should have it up for sale in the Curlicue Creations shop sometime this week.  Please visit at curlicuecreations.com.

And, as promised, here's Dear Jane Row D:

D-1 Alison's Guiding Light

D-2 Mouse in a Mirror

D-3 Jason's Jacks

D-4 Crystal Star

D-5 Cathedral Window

D-6 Challenge

D-7 Meeting Place

D-8 Dee Dee's Delight

D-9 Uncle Richard

D-10 Battlefield

D-11 Snow Crystal

D-12 Crossed Swords

D-13 Field of Dreams

Ugh!  D-12 is SO crooked!  "Finished is better than perfect."  I also worked on blocks J-11, Twin Sister, and F-6, Deanies Daisies.  After the D row, I started skipping around, so next week I'll have to show the rest of the blocks that I have completed up to now.  

Until then, thanks so much for reading & being a part of my little community!

Have a super day!

Jennifer