Finding 15 Minutes A Day...

As the evenings start getting darker sooner and the outdoor chores requiring less time, I bet I'm not alone as I find comfort in turning my summer sandles for winter slippers and sipping tea after a long day of work.  

And after almost a week of not even being in my sewing room and suddenly finding myself in creative withdrawals, I thought I'd join Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge from now to the end of the year...to get myself into a Winter sewing routine. I've got a lot of "ToDo" projects done and delivered...so tackle this challenge with a sense of quilty freedom to just sit down and play with my sewing. Curious how you find time for your quilty habit? Comment or even better, stop by Kate's linky and share.

With smiles!

Val:)

Tuesday Archives #32: Hand Quilting & Heirloom Quilts

Welcome to the linky party that let's you rejuvenate your old quilting/sewing posts! 

(Check over in my right margin for the list of  our October themes)

This week is all about skimming through those archives and finding quilts that showcase your HAND QUILTING/STITCHING & HEIRLOOM QUILTS. I found a wonderful archives to highlight today and hope both Teje and Tonya grab a highlight button for your blog:

<div align="center">
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HAND QUILTING/STITCHING:

Our Finnish friend Teje, who lives in Greece and blogs at Nero's Post and Patch always inspires me with her beautiful HAND QUILTING. (Just know Teje, I had the hardest time selecting which quilt to highlight.)  Here's a peek at Teje's Baby Steps Quilt.
 It really showcases her hand quilting well: 

Annnndddd I always love visiting Tanya Quilts in CO. Blog to see how she uses HAND STITCHING to add the most adorable features to her quilts like she did on this playful baby quilt:  

HEIRLOOM QUILTS: 

I'm a first generation quilter. My Aunt was a quilter, and she supported my desire to learn to quilt some twenty years ago as she bought me my first rotary cutter, mat and manual. But we never got to sew together. I will forever treasure this quilt she made for our youngest daughter's birth:

Fabulous Fall Weekend!

We had a lot of family fun this weekend as we welcomed Fall here in the states. We enjoyed caramel apples and even got to make our own apple cider!

(Thanks to my daughter for making and sharing these great picture collages.) 

We also celebrated our little guys first birthday! Quilter alert!! Notice the sock monkey flimsy  in the top left corner of the below collage!?!? Yep! I'm making good progress on my October ALYofF goal. I got the quilt top done just in time for our grandson's birthday celebration this weekend. But!  like any busy quilter, snatched it back and brought it home with me with plans to quilt it next weekend and then bind before my return visit for Halloween! (My son-in-law is a die-hard Seattle Sea-Hawks fan, so you can just imagine how much HE liked the quilt!) He also picked out a flannel lime green for the backing and requested I quilt it with my Sock Monkey pantograph!
 I just LOVE family quilting requests don't you!?

Well....these are some of the people I quilt for and love to keep wrapped in quilty hugs! It's back to "business" tomorrow and it's always good to be home. But oh do I love being a Grandma and I think a few of you out there can relate! I'm looking forward to finishing his Sock Monkey Quilt as I await my return visit for Halloween in a couple of weeks.
With Smiles,
Val:)

Happy Fall!

I love that it's October as this is my absolute favorite time of year!

We especially enjoy our daily walks right now.
I've been busy with parent/teacher conferences this week and have grandma plans all weekend. I can't wait to sip some fresh apple cider and go pumpkin picking with our little guy today. We'll also be celebrating his first birthday!! I have a few fun sewing posts coming up next week that will include the reveal of our grandson's first birthday quilt, a Charity Baby Quilt Show/Auction and of course, Tuesday Archives. 
(Our themes next week are Hand Quilting and Heirloom Quilts.) 
Until then though, we wanted to wish everyone a great weekend!
With smiles,

Val and Jackson

Fabric Happy Mail!

It's hard to resist when fellow blogging buddies have WONDERFUL sales!! I couldn't resist this batch of fabric from Jane's Fabrics and Quilts Sale and ordered enough of that ABC panel to use as the backing for a future Classroom Quilt:

Stop by Jane's "Going Out Of Business Sale" and pick up some happy mail for yourself:

(Just click the picture to start shopping.)

Thanks Jane!

V:)