New Project 2017: Fall Festival

Hi! Here it is, our Humble Quilts project for this year! The
name of the design is Fall Festival. I'm not sure if I'll call it that [FF] or Harvest, or Pumpkin Patch?

I'm quite excited. I've resisted all the other tempting sewalongs online but as soon as I saw these pumpkins, way last summer, I knew I'd be making this quilt, which is featured on Lori's blog, here, and on her FB group. This quilt is designed by Jan Patek [again], and while there are some, many, repeats from our other quilts I think in this instance everything works wonderfully and the Pumpkins are a bit of a change. Though I kind of miss having a Harvest Moon?

The color combination is unusual too, brighter than some of Patek's designs and instead of brown and orange for Fall she has done an interesting palette of tomato red, brown bag brown, lime green, and soft aqua blue. This isn't a color combination I'd chose on my own but I love it. Unlike Summertime and P2, I decided to do my version in this colorway.

I had read on FB a post from Bonnie Hunter [famous and respected quilter/ teacher/ designer] her suggestion to use paint chips to organize one's color scheme. I felt a little bad at the hardware store , taking the chips, even though I was also getting chips for some redo in my house. But --well, the guy said, Sure, they're free! so here I go. I chose these without looking at the pattern. Darn close!

And of course went to Joann's [all I have for fabric shopping here] without the chips or my colorboard I made.

Again, really close!

Here is my not-fancy colorboard, plus I  used the extra bits to make a key ring of color swatches for my purse, or pocket since I don't use a purse, lol. Fabric colors are off in the photo.

 I was fed up while making P2 with never having enough of any fabric, always piecing and making do, and decided I'd get some yardage instead of only using stash. Mostly for backgrounds. And sashing.

This olive brown is a vintage-ish piece  [below, at bottom] I've had for years, I think I brought it home from work. It says "Peter Pan" which is/ was Henry  Glass, I think. It's three yards but someone cut big chunks out of the center, so half is gone. I cut ahead to be sure I had enough for the inside sashings and the Geese sashing blocks. Yes!

And I reordered from Fat Quarter Shop yardage in the soft duck egg blues for outer sashing and moons and baskets and so on. [my favorite color!]

Of course by the time I played with all these ideas, Month One was almost gone! Last week Mo and I worked hard to get the Pumpkin and Crow sections done.

Mostly needle turned /freezer papered applique with some wool.

I'm not sure what this is, a flower?, but in my world its an acorn!

The wool will be hand stitched and or machine stitched as I did on  the crescent Moon spacers, also part of Month One. My wools are from Quilting Acres/ etsy. Both QA and FQS have wonderful customer service, so very friendly and helpful. I try to buy from resources who try so hard and do so well.

Got the moons done today [Sunday] just in time to take their picture in the daylight.

I can't wait to see everyone else's blocks! And I'm looking forward to Month Two~ Whichever will Lori choose?

PS While hunting for beautiful duck egg blue fabrics I've been keeping an eye open for subs for this seaweed blue fabric from my stash. I only had a fat eighth, have had it maybe 15 years? I like the new versions, but am still looking, if anyone has a hint. [Mel and I have looked everywhere online!].

Have a good week!~ Big rains coming here--''at least it isn't snow."

love

lizzy

gone to the beach

The paperwhites bloomed by Saturday, not quite for GH Day, but close. Exactly two weeks.

Be sure to visit Lori's Blog Humble Quilts to see other versions of this new project.

etsy:

Pumpkin Picking

Happy Columbus Day weekend! This is the start of Fall here at the beach. And this is, to me, a fun time of year. I'm so glad we still have Columbus Day, that our country has not become so historically and politically correct that we cannot enjoy the celebration of the ''discovery'' of our country.
And of course October is pumpkin time. Every year my friend L and I go to the garden center to enjoy their gorgeous autumn flowers and fun Halloween decorations---

pumpkins, apples and gourds galore.

We no longer have little kids to bring to the pumpkin patch, for that oh so exciting ritual, Choosing the Jack o'lantern. But we come anyway. Maybe we're a little sad, a little nostalgic but mostly we just have fun.

I look at the enormous-est, gigantic-est thirty pound pumpkins and wonder which my son would have chosen. He always wanted the biggest pumpkin on the lot.

This year the fall flowers are exceptional.

 I love the ornamental corn plant.

 Spooky very dark purple kale, much darker in person.

Fun ghosts and goblins...

Thee's always a display of baby animals...what a slim piggy!

Pumpkins...all sizes...all kinds.

I love the warty ones, especially if they're blue.

Even the fairy gardens are all decked out for Trick or Treat!

 Note the witch's legs in her stripey stockings!

I like when they use full sized plants in the fairy displays. These are deep black/ purple??? begonias?

Beautiful local apples. Many varieties to try.

These called Opalescent, just glowed, almost neon pink.

I got a white pumpkin this year!

Afterwards, we went by Trader Joe's to get cheeses to go with our apples. I splurged on French Brie and a Camembert. Oh, look! Pumpkin cornbread! How delish with chili.

TJ's had the green squash, Kombocha. I haven't tried it yet, its description of ''earthy'' has put me off.

Instead I got butternut squash and parsnips to roast with garlic and corn and pumpkin seeds.
And I couldn't resist the tiny pumpkins on these branches. The label says pumpkin tree. Adorable. I hope Mo doesn't eat the little fruits!

Back home over the bridges. The marshes are turning amber now. [It wasn't a gorgeous day, too bad].

At the garden store at one point, I looked up into the rafters and saw the big flock of birds flying overhead. Just a mixed blackbird flock, starlings and blackbirds--but so perfectly Autumn! Eerie.

This weekend I'll put away my blue quilts and pillows and china. In with the brown, the sepia, out with the blue, for now.
Have a fun weekend. Did you buy your jacko'lantern yet? Large or small or--=humongous? Do you make a scarecrow or two, hang a wreath of gourds and bittersweet?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Changing the subject....
Seen on our daily walks, a different small plastic lawn goose. She resides about 3 blocks from the Goose family. She always is dressed nicely. This week she is decked out for Halloween. At first I thought she was dressed up as, well, a goose. Hahahaha. But the next day her little pumpkin basket appeared and I realised she is wearing a ghost costume for Trick or Treat. So cute. Kind of?