OMG for October Done

Woo hoo, made it under the wire again, and two more UFOs bite the dust! One is Yankee Puzzle #1, and I'm donating it to a local veterans' shelter.

The other one is Stella Blue. I think my friend Koleen did an excellent job choosing the colors and fabrics.

See in the upper left corner of the photo, how five of the flying geese blocks are flying the wrong way? I panicked momentarily, thinking I got them backwards; but I double checked the pattern, and it's correct.Not that it matters, I suppose.

I used a pantograph that was more dense than I usually use, but it is the sort of thing I think Koleen would have chosen had she quilted it herself. In the end I very much liked it.

There are some excellent finishes this month. See what others have accomplished here.

I'm aiming to finish two more quilts in November. The blocks for the Missouri Two Step are all put together, just need to add some borders. And I have a BQ2 quilt top finished and ready to quilt. 

I made this sewing gadget holder a week or so ago. The pattern was given to me by a friend, and unfortunately it wasn't attributed. I hunted for it on the internet but no luck. Anyway, it is nothing more than a quilted cover with pockets that slips over a freestanding acrylic 10" x 8" picture frame. Quick to sew and oh so handy. 

Not having made one before and not having a photo in front of me, I didn't realize that so little of the base fabric would show on the front. This is the back of the sleeve, and I really wanted to see more of this fabric on the front. Had I known, I would have used my focus fabric instead of the red for the bottom pocket. I have more of the selvage fabric, so maybe I'll gift this one and make another to keep. 

I also made a bunch of soap this month. Candy corn... 

Beehive soap, scented with honey...

And animal soaps for my granddaughter.

I like to admire my soaps, so I line them up across the windowsill in my kitchen, lol. DGD stayed with us a couple weekends ago, and she piled all the soap bars into her big teapot and played with them all weekend. Sometimes the simplest things are the most fun.

One Monthly Goal for October

I have two goals for the OMG Challenge this month--to finish the last of the Yankee Puzzle quilts, which has been sitting on the frame for weeks now....

.... and to finish the Stella Blue quilt. Stella Blue is a pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co, I believe, and the center part of the top was made by my quilting pal Koleen, who passed away a couple of summers ago. She also had the flying geese units for the border made, but I had to square them up and sew them into the borders. My 1/4" seam allowance is not the same as Koleen's was, so I had a devil of a time getting them to fit correctly.

It's a very pretty quilt, and I love the colors, so looking forward to finishing it.

To see goals others have set for themselves for the month of October, click HERE. 

I have some other projects in the works this month. The Missouri Two Steps blocks are finished and ready to be sewn into a top.

And because I am not one to shy away from creating more UFOs, lol, I started sewing this miniature flag quilt, a pattern by The Hope Chest. It requires the use of the Split Recs ruler from Studio 180. I don't think half rectangle blocks are particularly easy to do, so I am thrilled how easy these blocks are going together.

When I first starting seeing the demos for Studio 180 at quilt shows, I didn't pay much attention. Who needs more rulers, not to mention the expense? But I finally took a Hunter's Star class with a local instructor certified to teach the Studio 180 methods, and I was hooked. These rulers are based on the same concept that so many of us use for half square triangles--make it oversized and square it up. They work as advertised, and boy, do they save a lot of headaches. Quite a few of these rulers are for specific types of units that are a trial to make, so I now own most of their rulers. Money well spent. I am not affiliated with these people, just a happy convert.

Last but not least, two things came together for me this week. My quilt chapter is doing a Bucket List Challenge this year. How many times have we said, gee, I always wanted to make this quilt, hence the challenge.

I was originally going to do a Wheel of Mystery (also called Winding Ways), but I found a couple of the larger Twister rulers on a recent bus trip and bought them because I always wanted to make a Twister quilt. Coincidentally a gal in our chapter did a demo on Wednesday for the Twister block. So! I have a new grand-niece in the family, and I want to make this small baby quilt for her. It will measure about 40" square, depending on how wide a border I add.

It is cold here today, in the 40s. I hated to turn on my heat, but it got too chilly in the house. I'm hoping it will be warmer in the afternoons on Saturday and Sunday so I can get out and wash windows and screens to put away for the winter. I'd really rather be quilting, lol, but this needs to get done.