I Like Thursday #162

And here we are in the middle of November. Thanksgiving will be here before we know and we all know what follows really quickly next this year. Here's a picture of my "toilet-scape". I love decorating my bathroom. My Fall Guy is hanging out in there too! Lol!

We turned cold abruptly here in southern IL and the wind is gusty this morning. On Gracie's walk I saw that the neighbor's tree lost a big section. Maybe they're out of town because surely they would have seen the mess across their driveway.

The tree across the street did OK and was so pretty yesterday with the sunshine behind it. It is one of a few that still has its leaves attached.

I baked Cherry Pie Bars yesterday. The recipe is from one of my sleep-in-your-own-bed retreat buddies. Mom & I plan on enjoying a piece with our coffee this morning.

Recently I took a Zoom class through The Applique Society. It was with an Australian quilter named Katrina Hadjamichael. It was wonderful and I learned a couple of new "tricks" for my applique toolbox! Our project is called Daphne and I've prepared the middle for stitching down now. I went with a Christmas vibe. Katrina's sample is more spring-like but anything would work. I may do a Winter one next! We have part 2 of our class on December 1 to discusss how we will finish this up and for Katrina to answer any questions that we may have after this part 1.

I finished reading "The Measure". I really enjoyed it and think it would definitely make a great book club read. Lots to discuss.

In the meantime I read "Run on Red" by Noelle Ihli. This book was recommended to me by Mom's P/T receptionist. She knows I like thrillers. However, this was not the kind of thriller I enjoy! Lol! It was more of a "Scream" or "Friday the 13th" type of thriller. But I persevered and finished it up. If you're a Freddy Kreuger fan, then you might like to check this one out.

GoodReads synopsis HERE

So what am I reading right now? "Sister" by Rosamund Lupton. Somewhere I got the name of this book but I can't remember where. Anyway, it's pretty good so far and I think this will be more my idea of a thriller.

GoodReads synopsis HERE

Once again I am joining in with my I Like Thursday sisters on LeeAnna's blog. Please feel free to join us for some fun sharing. Have a great week!

My Fall Guy is Finished

My Fall Guy is a pattern I picked up while bouncing along on the All Illinois Shop Hop. I saw it finished at The Village Stitchery in Oblong IL. What a wonderful store. If you ever find yourself east of Effingham, it is well worth the trip to take a country jaunt to Oblong. This shop has everything -- modern fabrics, reproduction prints, Kim Diehl fabrics. Are you a fan of Laundry Basket fabrics? She has some. You say you'd like some flannel or wool? Make the trip!!

Anyway, I saw this scarecrow sample made and knew I wanted to make it. He could hang all Fall, not just during Halloween October. When I saw the pattern, I thought WOW! I'd never in a million years pick it up because the cover is not attractive at all, in my opinion.

The embroidery was completed during Mom's twice weekly October physical therapy visits and Friday hair appointments. I wish I had followed my gut and changed some of the called-for threads for darker ones since I worked it up on this plaid. Oh well! I still love him!

My Fall Guy
(Inside Picture)

Backing & Label
(I embroidered the label)

I love the border fabric. It's a Mary Koval fabric which I recently ordered from Quilted Twins. The binding I found laying around -- I think I got it from a retreat silent auction. It's a scratchy homespun(?) but the color was exactly what I wanted. The backing is a remnant I bought at a dear guild member's yard sale after she passed. So many memories in this one!

He finished up at 31" x 8-1/2" --  he's a tall fella! I took him outside to see if I could get a better picture. What a handsome guy!

Now that this one's finished, I'm working on finishing up Homestead, the SAL with Lori at Humble Quilts.

I'll take a moment now to thank all the veteran's from every branch of service. Your dedication to the freedoms of our country is something every American can and should be proud of. Thank you for your service.

Today I'll also be paying a visit to my dentist. I believe this is the final visit for my dental implant. I lost the tooth last December and I have surely missed it. Lol!

FNwF and Another Look at a Finish

Last night was Friday Night with Friends and we come from all over the world. I love these get-togethers because, while we all do the same, styles are different in different locales.

What did I work on last night? Cross-stitching! My progress has been slow because it so tiny and my eyes are usually too tired to make any progress. However last night I wanted to watch some television with the family and I didn't have anything else put together to work on.

Here's where I started.

After a few hours of TV shows, I made it this far (be sure to look at the right-hand side of the project).

Sheesh! Doesn't look like much does it? Lol!

Just in case you missed my post from yesterday, I want to share with you my Strips & Nachos quilt. I finished it and washed it up on Thursday.

If you'd like to read more about this beauty, you can go HERE.

I'm sharing on Cheryl's FNwF blog HERE and with Angela's SoScrappy blog HERE. Have a great weekend!

Strips & Nachos Finish

I have a finish! That's right, I finished the Strips & Nachos quilt. Here it is ...

I finished sewing the binding on October 30 and threw it in the wash October 31 so I'm calling it an October finish. That was my goal and I made it by the skin of my teeth!

The pattern, Strips & Salsa (yes, I've called Strips & Nachos all this time -- DOH!) is by Gudrun Erla of GEDesigns. I knew right away that I wanted to make this quilt first: because I love her patterns -- they look difficult but she manages to make it easy; and second: my LQS had given her Quilt Club members surprise bags of coordinating 8 FQs and this pattern called for 7 FQs plus fabric for background & binding. Perfect! I was set with fabric. I needed almost 3 yards for background. Remember when I couldn't find the fabric for Red Threads quilt so I bought an extra 3 yards of something that might work? And then I found the missing fabric? I used the original fabric in Red Threads and used up the extra yardage in this quilt. Score!

Here are some close up pictures of my Strips & Nachos quilt.

Pieced Back

View of Front & Back Together

Some of the Quilting

Low Light to See Quilting Better?

The quilt finished at 72" x 56" before washing. It now measures 69" x 54". It's snuggly, colorful, and I love it. I think it worked up into a nice lap quilt.

A couple last beauty shots of Strips & Nachos.

Have a great Friday!