Starry Night Quilt Block

I adored making this week's block. I had the afternoon off from work last Friday, so when I got home I put on comfy pants, made some tea, and sat down to work on this. I was going to be slick and cut the fabric the way I thought it should be done (because you know how well that works out for me), but it was way too small once stitched. So I did as told and it couldn't have worked out better. I had a few....moments...when I was trying to figure out what faced which way and lined up where on the paper. The most satisfying part of paper-piecing is when you tear off the paper at the end--you sew with a wee stitch that makes the paper easier to tear without yanking out the stitches; it's just like ripping a perforated piece of paper off a notepad.

Anyway, I've got nothing more to say, so here is the 'Starry Night' quilt block:

I've been using a lot of my cherries-checks-dots combo, so I switched it up and went with none of them this time. And can we take a moment and admire these points?

Yeaahhhhh....that's some matchy-matchy sweetness right there.

I've got an interesting paradox happening with these blocks. With the earlier blocks that were supposed to be easier it took me forever to sew them and I made a lot of mistakes. With these more difficult blocks I'm having a much easier time and making hardly any errors. It's either the amount of attention I'm giving it or my level of arrogance, but I'll take more difficult blocks if the results are better.

It's been a pretty quiet week on the craft front here. I finished up a quilt for Christmas but I'm not going to share until after Thanksgiving. It's so sweet I could eat it up, though...pun intended. You'll just have to wait and see.

I have a My Memories software giveaway going on right now, so check that out here. There's a new Christmas printable on my 'Printables' page. And the next time I see you I'm hoping to have a no-sew purse frame tutorial all wrapped up for you. Ta!

My Memories Giveaway and a Printable!

I know I've had a My Memories giveaway before, but I couldn't turn down the offer for another as I thought it might help some of you out for Christmas, whether it's software for the scrapbooker in your life, or to help you make up some fun holiday graphics.

My Memories is a super user-friendly digital scrapbooking software suite that enables you to make albums, cards, scrapbook pages, and even videos of  your precious memories. With the holidays coming up there will be tons of moments that you'll want to preserve (unless you've got a crazy family that makes you want to hide in a closet--in which case...this probably isn't the giveaway for you, bwahahahaha). When I'm having a lazy evening I love to play around in their software and try and create new headers for my blog, or just mess around with different layouts to see what it can do. I've shown these before but here are a few samples of what you can do.

Invitations...

 Christmas gift tags...

...and of course--scrapbook pages!

This time around I made you a nifty little Christmas printable--happy holiday lists. Print on card stock, and you've got some cheery little reminders of your holiday need-tos!

Click here to print (all 3 will print on one sheet). Cut on the dashed lines, trim as needed, and you're good to go!

(Note: I'm a bad cropper--the graphics aren't right on the edge like that)

Ok, enough of the blah-blah-blah. Want to win this for yourself? It's super fun to play with! Pinky swear! All you have to do to is leave a comment on this post. Easy-peasy. This one is open to everyone, everywhere. I'll leave this open until Friday, November 25th, 11:59 EST. I'll pick a winner and announce the next dayish.

But fear not: if you're a generally unlucky person (like me) or can't wait until then to get your paws on this one, I've got a discount code for you. At checkout simply enter the code STMMMS45056 for $10 off the software, and $10 to spend in the My Memories store. The software is about $40--so you'll be getting $50 worth of stuff for $30. Sweet!!!

Good luck!

Autumnal Interlude

Is there any time of year more beautiful than fall? It's as though the year knows it's growing old, and decides to have one last hurrah before settling into it's long winter's sleep. Mother Nature was a tad late this year with taking her paint brush to the trees, but that only means that we get to enjoy the riotous colors longer than usual.

At this time of year my sunshine hours are largely restricted to the weekends. I get a few snippets in the morning and that's about it for the day. But it's enough to brighten my day (no pun intended):

This was a few week's ago after our October snowstorm. The sun wasn't too high in the sky - it was still pre-daylight saving time.

This is the same time of day after we set the clocks back. I didn't touch up this photo at all--the sky is really that blue and the tree is really that marvelous orangey-red.

When I was driving into work on Friday morning, I couldn't help but be taken by how beautiful the journey was--every color leaf imaginable, all along my route. I wished I had a passenger who could have taken photographs for me as I drove--the colors, the light, it all came together so perfectly. When I drove in this morning there had been a drastic change after a windy weekend--many of the trees had lost a lot of their leaves and it was decidedly browner than just a few days ago.

I know I'm an odd one for this but I do so love when it gets dark early. Evenings seem to last forever and I feel as though I have unlimited time. My productivity kicks into high gear when it seems to wind down for others. Twilight has always been my favorite time of day, especially in the later months of the year--the light is soft and purple, the trees are in silhouette, and things just seem cozy. When I walked out of work this evening I was presented with this beautiful sky:

It completely made my day. What little things have been putting a smile on YOUR face lately?

Too soon?

You know how it's annoying when you're out shopping on July 12th and they've already got holiday stuff out? I hate to admit it, but with sewing you've got to be just like retail and stay ahead of the calendar. I'm trying to be a little more "in" the season that it actually is, instead of going too far ahead. But as I don't have much time for sewing after Thanksgiving I've got to do Christmas now. This week I plowed through four stuffed Christmas trees (like last year's).

Based on previous experience, I was mentally set for this to take me forEVer. I was picturing several late nights, and that feeling that I was never going to reach the end. But I slapped the ric-rac on all 4 trees and had them all assembled in ONE. NIGHT. It took me just as long to stuff them another night (thanks for the help, Mumsy!), and to hand-sew the openings shut  on another, but they're all done. It's my last large order for the year, and it felt good to be finished.

So here is my own little forest:

Well...I guess they're someone ELSE's little forest as they're being given as gifts by my buyer. And the fourth one is the same as one of the others so that's why there's only three in the photos. I love the fabric combos:

Here's your much more traditional bright red and green.

 This one is a little more toned down--the red has holly leaves on it but I failed to capture that.

 When I laid out the fabrics I wasn't crazy about this one, but once assembled I really liked it.

The one thing I had a MUCH easier time of this year was the ric rac. Last year I laid it down along the edge and sewed through the center of it. When I sewed the seams only the little humps were showing. This year I laid it down about a quarter inch from the edge and basted it, just catching the bottom of it. When I sewed it all together the just-right amount was showing. Yay for new skills!

 You can see a little more of the holly in this pic.

I took a half day from work on Friday, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have next week's quilt block already finished, as well as a small order that completes my to-do-for-others list for the year. There's a Christmas quilt under the needle that will be finished this week, and I'm hoping to have a tutorial for my wee little change purse up for you by next weekend. Isn't it great to finish things up?

Now I'm off to get ready for Monday, and do a little knitting while I watch 'Elf.' I know...it's too soon, but I LOVE that movie :)

Linking here this week:

Skip to My Lou *** Sumo's Sweet Stuff *** Pinkapotamus *** Ask Anna *** Sew Can Do *** Craftomaniac *** Homemaker on a Dime *** C.R.A.F.T. *** Running With  Glitter *** Sarahndipities *** Sugar Bee Crafts *** All Thingz Related *** Creative Itch Boutique *** Funky Polkadot Giraffe *** Chef in Training *** Tip Junkie *** My Girlish Whims *** Sew Much Ado *** Blue Cricket Design *** Free Pretty Things for You *** Tea Rose Home *** Someday Crafts *** Somewhat Simple *** Fireflies and Jellybeans *** Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom *** Today's Creative Blog *** Between U and Me *** Creation Corner *** The Shabby Nest *** While He Was Napping *** Tatertots and Jello *** Be Different Act Normal *** To Sew With Love *** Sugar Pink Boutique

Veterans' Day

Many thanks.

Minnesota Quilt Block

Has anyone else had a week that made you want to punch it in the face and then kick it while it was down? I don't have any specific occurrences that made it a bad week; as a matter of fact it was quite a good week, objectively speaking. But there was a feeling or something about it that has made me eager for it to be part of the past. It seemed to have a lot of WTF moments, that's for sure. Maybe it's the time change, perhaps the impending full moon, who knows. But...just...ugh....or whatever.

OK, moving on. The other night I decided to "throw" together my Minnesota quilt block for the QAL. This was perhaps the mostest perfectest block I have made from start to finish. I think I am very in love with foundation paper piecing. How can you go wrong when you're sewing on a printed straight line and have extra fabric to cover your...y'know....  The block patterns thus far have been pretty straightforward. I've seen some really complicated looking blocks out there--we haven't hit those yet, but I'm actually eager to give one a go. My past few blocks haven't been terrible, and I credit the foundation piecing for that.

So here it is:

The plain red is a lot more vibrant than I thought it would be - that's the only thing I think I'd change if I were to have a do-over (which I'm not). Or maybe more cherries...I never can get enough of sweet little cherry prints.

Here are the parts that were paper-pieced (the hourglass blocks were traditionally stitched):

There is no way they would look that nice without the paper piecing. It's a little weird to get used to the method--it seems so counter-intuitive, but once you get going you don't even think twice.

So that's that. I've been stuffing Christmas trees and doing some super-fun hand sewing (insert sarcasm here) this week, but they're all done and I'm glad for it. Now I'm off to bed. Usually I wouldn't write/say/acknowledge something like this since it's so cliche, but I feel it so fervently this week I must: T.G.I.F. :)

Shabby Apple Winner!

Well, my friends, jealousy has set in. I picked the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway today. I tried to think of all sorts of ways I could hoodwink the "system" and try and take this beauty for myself, but I am honest to a fault (and not devious enough to formulate such a plan), so this gorgeous little bit of yum will be finding its way to one of you.

There weren't a butt-ton of entries for this one, so I decided to kick it old school and write everyone's name on a wee slip of paper. I gave them a nice big shakey-shake and plucked one out. So, without further ado, the winner is:

who said she is going to keep this for herself. That comment disappointed me. I was hoping it would read "If I win I will give this necklace to Bethany. I can't imagine anything else I'd rather do. I certainly would NOT keep it for myself."

Congratulations! I'm off to email you now. And for those of you who may have wanted one for yourselves (or for those lunatics who said they would give it away--I KNOW--who ARE these people?), the 10% off discount code is good through the end of this month. Simply enter the code sweetbee10off at checkout and you'll receive 10% off your order. We're getting close to Christmas, and they have some beautiful things that would make wonderful gifts. So head on over to Shabby Apple and have a look-see.