QUILTED HALLOWEEN PLACEMATS

After practicing stippling on my Halloween mug rugs (seen in the pic above), I decided it was time to work on the matching placemats. I finished four (of eight) so that we'd have some before Halloween arrives in a few days. I did all the stippling in the center (with varigated thread) and 'loop de loops' (with black thread) on the black border....love how they came out!!!  My free motion quilting is getting better the more I practice (but I'm sure not ready for a large quilt just yet).  I decided to do a self-binding using the backing fabric and a decorative stitch to sew it down.  My next project is to sew the binding onto a large quilt I made for my daughter (that my dear friend, Betty, stippled for me). Of course that has to be fit in between golfing, hiking, target shooting and a little cardmaking....sooooo much to do....soooooo little time LOL!!

I GOT A 'STAR'!!!

My good friend, and quilting buddy Betty, made me this absolutely beautiful quilted Christmas table topper and mug rugs set for my birthday!!! I love star blocks (but haven't tried making them yet) so I was thrilled when I opened my present and found this set. She personalized it on the back with this cute label using her new Janome sewing machine (the same one I also purchased...and love so much!!!).  I already made placemats in matching fabric (we shop together and have very similar taste) so I can't wait to start decorating with these.

MY HALLOWEEN MUG RUGS & PIN CUSHION

I've been promising my quilting friend, and myself as well, that I would try stippling (free motion quilting). Since I didn't want to ruin a large project, I decided to use leftover fabrics from that fun Lil' Twister quilt I just posted about to make four Halloween mug rugs. The bindings were also made from leftover strips that I sewed together so each one of the mug rugs has a couple of different designs.  Now that adorable little pin cushion is made from tiny triangles of fabric from the same quilt that first found their way into my garbage can. I didn't think they were good for anything but changed my mind (pulled them out of the garbage can...which is in my sewing room so there wasn't anything yukky in there with them LOL!!). It is stuffed with leftover batting strips cut into small pieces. I enjoyed my first attempt at stippling (no laughing allowed please) and I'm happy with the result. I do intend to keep practicing (I have eight Halloween placemats to be done) so I'm sure I'll improve as I continue. Now I'm off to make a cup of tea and put one of those new mug rugs to good use!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 'BOO~THDAY' CARD

I have a very good friend whose birthday is on Halloween (in fact, both of her children were also born on Halloween....spooky LOL!!!). So, I decided to make her a birthday card with a Halloween theme. I used my Sizzix Big Kick and Halloween pumpkin dies; dp from Cosmo Cricket Matilda mini deck; PTI Fresh Snow ink and Memento Tuxedo black dye ink around the edges; teeny tiny pom pom trim from the fabric store. The sentiment on the front, as well as the cute little ghost on the back, is from the Sizzix Spooky Fun stamp set. I also wanted to show one of the many personalized stamps I use on the back of my cards. I ordered most of them, and received others as gifts, from Paper Angel stamps (this one I've had for many years).  My friend's name and my message on the inside are blocked out for privacy.

LIL' TWISTER HALLOWEEN TABLE TOPPER

When shopping at one of my local quilt shops, I purchased a kit that was to be used with a new tool called the 'Lil' Twister'....so, of course, I had to purchase that as well.  I wanted to 'test' this tool before using this cute kit so I decided to use Halloween fat quarters (previously mentioned in my last post) and some leftover fabric in my stash to see how this gadget worked.  It was soooooooo easy, and fun, to use!!!  First, you sew your 5" squares together (you can use a charm pack or cut your own like I did from the fat quarters); add a 3" border and then you have to cut it all apart using the Lil' Twister tool and rotary cutter.....yes, you read that right....you sew your squares and border together only to cut it all apart and sew it back together...but you get the cutest look when you are done!!!  I added two more borders to get the size I wanted (my good friend, Betty, did the stippling on this one, too).  Rather than add a binding, I decided to self-bind with the backing fabric and sewed it in place with a decorative stitch on my new Janome sewing machine. I just love how this came out and I'm already planning other projects using this tool. I also purchased the larger one that can be used with layer cakes (10" squares) and found two smaller twister tools in a quilt shop on our recent trip to Colorado that use 2 1/2" and 3 1/2" squares....oh the possibilities!!!!

HALLOWEEN PLACEMATS

When looking through my fabric stash, I came across a Halloween fat quarter with cats (it came with five other assorted Halloween prints in a pack for $6.00 at a quilt show I attended...yes, one dollar each..woo hoo!). I thought my daughter and son-in-law would like some Halloween placemats for their new home (they have two cats...aka my 'grand-kitties' lol) and this is what I came up with.  The other fabrics I used are solid black Kona for the inside border and binding; Ghastlies for the outer border and Riley Blake for the back. The thread is variegated in Halloween colors and looks amazing in real life!! My good friend/quilter, Betty, offered to do the stippling on these. (I'll be practicing free motion quilting on the placemats I am presently working on...this is my next step in learning to quilt...can't always do stitch-in-the-ditch..so practice I shall).

REVERSIBLE PURSE

Just got back from another RV adventure with my hubby (lots of driving, sightseeing, golfing and fun!!). Want to share this purse I made; it was a 'practice' project for me since I never made one before. I found a pattern in one of my quilt magazines and used some fabric I purchased, very inexpensively, to be used as backing for future quilt projects.  This purse is reversible but I chose to add a snap as I prefer the outside fabric. I'll use it to carry samples of fabrics I want to match when shopping instead of the ziploc bag I've been using lol!!!  Now that I know how easy it is to create one of these I'll be making one for my daughter using some fun fabrics I ordered while she was visiting.

I have a number of other projects that I'll be posting soon, so I hope you'll come back and visit when I do.

A SIMPLE ANNIVERSARY CARD

I'm trying really hard to create simple and easy-to-make cards since we are so busy and this one was just that.  The inspiration was the leftover punched piece of Basic Grey Curio paper along with two other designs from the same pad. I stamped the sentiment from SU onto white cardstock to fit the punched opening. The other white paper is a scrap from the birthday card I just made after running the PTI Just The Ticket die through my Cuttlebug. I really liked the shape so I inked the edges and added some bling. Other products used: kraft cs, scallop edge punch and SU dimensionals.

A SIMPLE MASCULINE BIRTHDAY CARD

I just received my latest PTI purchase and I couldn't wait to use the Just The Ticket die and stamp set. Other products used: Cosmo Cricket Wanted mini deck dp; kraft cs; Memento dye ink and DMC floss. This was a quick and easy masculine birthday card.