It's October!

And I am so happy! Why? you ask. First, it's my birthday month (next Wednesday if you really want to know). Second. I love fall colors. Third, my Red Sox will start playing in the playoffs tonight. Finally , I joined the "Fall Into Fall Quilter's Blog Giveaway".

I had a hard time deciding what to give away for the drawing. Should I buy something? Should I make something? Should I include chocolate? What else could I do?

After a lot of thought and nibbling a few of these:

This is what I decided to do: Leave a comment for this entry. In your comments tell me what your favorite season is, your favorite colors and your least favorite part of making a quilt. You do not need a blog, but I must have a way to e-mail you if you win.

On October 15th I will put all the names in a bowl (not mixed with the pumpkins) and pick one. Based on the answers I will design a set of quilty items for you to use while you are working on your least favorite part of making a quilt. I want to help you enjoy the entire quilt process. After all, don't we quilt to have fun???

Since it is the first of the month here are the photos from my deck. The leaves on some of the trees are changing colors. There are still several trees that are green. I'm sure I'll be enjoying a close up view of the changing colors for several more days.

Look really, really hard . . . can you see the vibrant red leaves in the middle of the photo? These leaves have been peaking through the green for a few days. I hope all the trees look like that soon!
I'm still working on my Stitcher's Angel projects. I hope to have some photos soon!

Go Red Sox!
Sweet P

Galoshes Quilt and Book Review

I had a blissful Sunday afternoon. Like we did last weekend we had two TVs set up in the living room to watch baseball, football and golf. I did handwork on my Stitcher's Angel projects and worked on the binding of a quilt for DIL.

When I grew tired of sitting still I went into my studio and finished my first Galoshes quilt. Simple 9-patches with sashing and cornerstones. I still have enough 9-patches to make three more quilts. I'm trying to think of different settings for the blocks. I don't want to cut the blocks any smaller because I don't want to lose the galoshes. Any suggestions on settings or other colors to use?
I received this book in one of my swap packages on Friday. I absolutely love it! It's not often I find a book that makes me jump and down with excitement. If you don't have this book run and and buy it!!
Why? you ask. Here are my top 5 reasons for buying this book:

1. I love the concept. It’s how I’ve started to create my own quilts. Take a stack of fabrics and then make a quilt with them rather than find a pattern and then go find the fabric.
2. I love it because they give instructions on tying quilts or doing big stitch quilting! It’s the first quilting book I’ve seen that shows those methods. I feel like the Queen of Quilting (Alex, that is) has given me permission to tie quilts or to use big stitch quilting. Now I can stop feeling guilty about tying quilts.
3. The basic instructions in the beginning of the book have directions and photos for right- and left-handers. Being a lefty I often have problems with books that are teaching techniques because they are written for right-handers only.
   
4. The quilts are adorable. I may have to make one of each of them!
5. The cover price makes this book a great value. When you consider a majority of quilt patterns start at $8 for one pattern generally for one quilt size, this book at $9.95 full price is awesome. Three basic quilt patterns with photos showing each quilt in three color palettes and for three sizes.
   

If I were to write a quilt book, this would be the one I would write!

I see there is a second volume of this book coming out in November. You can bet I will be first in line to buy one.

Well, it's time to clean the kitchen and head off to bed. We got lucky this weekend with the weather. What I thought was a Nor'Easter, wasn't. Hurricane Kyle only gave us light rain today. The weather should be nice for a few days.

I hope you had great weekend.

Sweet P

How Do You Open Presents?

When I was growing up I sat on the floor to open presents. Today I did the same thing. The weather here today is windy and rainy, a Nor'Easter is what it's called. I tramped out to the mailbox and found these two packages waiting for me. Oh, what fun! New goodies on a rainy day. The top package came all the way Sweden and I assumed it was my tote bag from Linda's Tote Bag Swap. The bottom package came from New York and I knew it was a Fall Swap package I did with a few friends.

I opened the package from Sweden first. Inside was this lovely wrapped package. Hmmmmm . . . I can't wait to see what's inside.

Voila! Here is the gorgeous back of the bag.

And just look at the spectacular front.
The flowers are a combination of embroidery and buttons.

But wait, there's more. Inside the bag there are pockets and a strap for hooking my keys on. And then there were these lovely additions: a tissue holder, a coin purse, two cute note pads and a cone of hard candy. And who sent me this lovely package? Marica in Sweden did this gorgeous work. Marica, I love the bag. I was going to make myself a fall colored bag and I'm so glad I waited. This bag is already being used. Thank you again!

And what is in the other package? A white chocolate Lindt bar (my absolutely favorite kind of chocolate), a plaque that will find a special place in my sewing room, a fall colored FQ, The New Year's Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini (I've never read any of her books), a magnetic pin grabber, two quilt books - More Quilts for the Baby and Super Simple Quilts, two green batik fabrics and matching thread, and a Benartex kit for a small teddy bear. My friend wanted to make sure I'll be ready for the new grandbaby in late April.

And this is what the floor looked like when I was all done.
Boy did I have a lot of fun!

Quilters are such wonderful friends. Thank you Marica and Maura for a wonderful Friday afternoon.

So tell us, how do you open your presents?
Sweet P

Memories

Tracy blogged about her old boyfriend chest yesterday. I thought it was funny because as I cleaning my studio yesterday I came across my high school year books. Here are some photos from my senior year. Before you ask I graduated high school in 1979.

This is how I looked as a senior. I'm the full photo on the left. I hate my high forehead in this photo. Since then I've always worn bangs. I was busy in high school: band, choir, American Field Service (foreign exchange student group), Spanish club and Declamation (speech competition).

Here I am in the middle photo - top left. The girl standing next to me was one of my best friends in high school. When I got married for the first time in 1982 she was one of my bridesmaids. Now she's a teacher in the school district we attended. One of my nieces had her as a teacher in elementary school.

And speaking of old boyfriends there are two of them in this photo. The one on the left in the light sweater was my boyfriend in 7th grade. After we broke up he dated another one of my best friends. Last I heard he was an architect and still lives in the area. The boy in dark sweater is old boyfriend's best friend. The 3 of us hung out a lot in high school. The boy tucked in the bottom of the photo is my ex-husband. He was a year behind me in high school.
That's all the memories I have tonight. Maybe more on another day.

What memories do you have of old boyfriends?

Sweet P

Studio Cleaning and Autumn Leaves

My studio was in desperate need of cleaning. When DH took the TV out of the room on Sunday stuff got moved around. I had projects laying around and in general I didn't feel creative being in there. Here is the right side of the room.
Here is the left side of the room. The table and bookcase look empty without the TV and cable box. The table is full of stuff. The floor is cluttered.
Aaaahhhhhh . . . this is much better. Only my current project is on the work table. I hung my "P" on the wall. Even the closet doors are closed.
The TV and cable box are back in their place. The big box has been added to the recycle pile. The floor is clean. I hung a clock that was a gift from my sons.
I even hung my bulletin board. The top half was meant to display photos, but I decided to show off some fabric instead.
Just for fun, I took a photo of one of the branches outside my patio door. The leaves are getting so pretty. I can't wait to see the whole tree in color.

Now that my studio is clean I can focus on my Stitcher's Angel projects.

Go Red Sox! On to the play-offs!
Sweet P

Changes and Stitcher's Angel Hints

I've decided to change the name of my blog from Coffee Time Quilt Studio to Coffee Time Stitches. I'm making more than quilts these days. But I'm never far from stitching with fabric and thread. I still love my coffee so that will stay.

I finished two Stitcher's Angel stitcheries today. Here's a sneak peak at them.

I'm almost finished with a third stitchery. This week I will sew the projects together.

Have a great week!
Sweet P

Thursday and Friday Finishes

I finally have photos of the stitcheries I've been working on this week. This morning I added the borders and shipped them off to Treasured Threads. The finished projects will be on display in the Treasured Threads booth at the American Quilter's Society Expo in Des Moines, IA on October 8 - 11. If you happen to be in Des Moines then, please check out the booth. All of the samples are from Bronwyn Hayes book, Little Chicken Feather.

The first sample is Party Bear.

This one is Little Chicken Feather.

The last one is Skipping.

This is not one of the samples. It is a completed baby quilt for the new grandbaby I finished last night. DIL and I made almost matching quilt tops using the Wicked Easy quilt pattern. I finished mine this week. We will probably finish DIL's this Sunday.

Following Libby's lead I made some cookies today. I made Cape Cod Oatmeal Cookies. They are DH's favorite. They are yummy.

I planned, cut the all the fabric and traced the stitcheries for my Stitcher's Angel projects this afternoon. Tonight I'm going to start stitching them. This weekend will be a weekend of watching Ryder Cup golf, Red Sox baseball and Patriots football. Lots of time for stitching!

Sweet P

Busy, Busy and Thank Yous

If you look super duper close at my middle finger you can see a callus developing on it. I've been stitching samples for Treasured Threads the last few days. The stitcheries are done and are waiting for the borders. I'll have photos of them tomorrow. I didn't even notice the callus until I finished stitching last night. It doesn't hurt, but does feel rough.
Today I went to visit my LQS. I hadn't been there in a few weeks. Earlier this week they sent out an email with a 30% off coupon so I decided to go see what they had. I found some Winnie-The-Pooh fabric on clearance and bought the remaining five yards. DIL is a Pooh fan so I'm sure this will become something for the new baby.

As I was browsing I found this wonderful fabric. And what makes it so wonderful?

It coordinates with the galoshes fabric I bought in July!!! See the 9-patch on it?
I bought enough to make backing for the quilt.

I also found the Jelly Baby by Whistlepig Creek Productions pattern at the store. I've been thinking about buying this pattern for a long time (long before I knew a baby is on the way).

I've been remiss and have forgotten to post my Thank You to two bloggers who have sent me goodies lately. The goodies below are from Deb at Creative Soul. She had a contest asking us to show her some of our journal pages. I was one of the winners. The package included a new journal, mini photo frames, inspiration stickers and some gorgeous notecards. Thank you, Deb! I will enjoy using all these items in my journaling. Ooooh, I just a great idea, I'm going to use this new journal to write to the new grandbaby.
My other thank you goes to Toni at the Red Boot Company. She recently showed some fungly blocks and decided she didn't want them. She offered to send them to the first person who responded and that was me! I love them! I have a couple of ideas for them, but for now they have to wait their turn in the To Do list.

Have a good evening!
Sweet P

Hint For My Stitcher's Angel

Leanne Beasley asked us to show our Stitching Chair. I thought I would share a photo of my stitching sofa spot and I realized the photo provides some good hints for my Stitching Angel. I have a nice sewing basket that holds odds and ends, a bookcase for my laptop to sit on and for me to fill the shelves with junk. The pillow on the floor needs to go on the love seat. Right now my current stitchery project is sitting on the arm of the sofa. On the other side of my sofa spot is a fold down table where I generally keep my drink, the TV remote and the threads and scissors for my current project.

I would love an arm caddy and a thread catcher to toss the thread ends in - are you reading this my Stitching Angel???
More and more leaves are turning red on the tree outside our patio. I hope you can see the red leaves in the photo.
Tomorrow I should have some photos of the stitcheries I've been working on. I'll be finishing them tonight. Next up is the binding on a baby quilt.

I hope you're having a great week!
Sweet P

Bead Books, Blocks and Doily

Thanks for all the well wishes on the new grandbaby. I haven't spoken with my son since I got home. Hopefully I'll see them tomorrow for football and I can get all the pertinent details.

Previously I was looking for a pattern for the beaded mats my grandma used to make. As luck would have it, I went on E-Bay and started typing various search phrases. Finally I found a listing on these two books. These are the exact books my grandma had! I couldn't believe it. Of course I had to have them and was the only bidder.
Here are the photos in the book of the beaded mats grandma made. I have made the two on the left. These were lost in our move from Florida to New York. The mats are made with 8 mm beads. I wonder how they would look made with smaller beads.
Here is a photo of the blocks in my mom's Shoo Fly quilt. The pattern is from More Nickel Quilts by Pat Speth. The white paw print fabric and the black polka fabric are the constants in the quilt. The other half of the HSTs are made from assorted nickels my mom chose from my nickel stash. While visiting her I was able to finish 40 blocks and the HSTs for the remaining blocks are done.
There is an 82 year old woman who is a client in the care facility where my dad lives who makes these gorgeous crocheted doilies. My mom bought me one as an early birthday gift. The quilt is about 18 inches in diameter. Isn't it gorgeous?
Here is a close up of the doily. She says she crochets to keep her mind active. I hope when I'm her age I can do work as lovely as she does.
I had planned to spend today sewing to get caught up on my challenges and swaps. However, my body seemed to have other plans. It told me to rest today. That's what I did. Rested and napped and rested some more. I hope I feel better tomorrow as I have two deadlines on Monday.

Happy Sunday!
Sweet P

Quick Check In From Minnesota

Just a quick post from Minnesota. I am enjoying my visit with my parents. I had dinner with all my brothers the other night and it was a good time.

On Tuesday DS #2 called me. He asked me if I was ready to be a grandma again! Of course, I am. I do not know my first grandson very well (long story). But this grandchild is going to live 5 miles away from me and will be spoiled by this grandma.

So what's a new grandma going to do? Shop, of course! Mom and I went to Target. I found these adorable onsies. A nice little wardrobe to get started.

We went to the quilt shop and I found these clearance half-yard fabric cuts.
I can see two or three little quilts coming from these fabrics.

I have been working on mom's Shoo Fly quilt. Here is what the table looked like last night. This morning I have a pile of ironing to do so I can start assembling the blocks. I won't get the quilt done before I leave tomorrow, but I have made significant progress.

I am way behind on reading and commenting on blogs. I won't be able to catch up until I get home this weekend. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Sweet P

A New Accessory

Last week Valori Wells offered free necklaces from Miss Carmen. I was one of the lucky ones to get a necklace. It's a pendant made from Valori's fabric! Isn't it adorable? It is so light weight I don't even know I have it on.

I finished all the goodies for my Tote Bag Swap and it will go in the mail tomorrow. Then I can start on my Stitching Angel goodies.

Good news: I went searching on E-Bay for patterns for beaded mats like the ones I showed below. Lo and behold - I actually found the exact book my grandma used for the mats. Along with the book is another she had of bead projects. How lucky is that?

Have a happy weekend!
Sweet P

Happy Quilt Anniversary to Me!

That's right four years ago today I started quilting again! I was drawn back into quilting when I saw a charm quilt at DH's aunt's house made of the aprons his grandma used to wear while working at a hairbrush factory. Little did I know when I saw the quilt where I would be four years later.

My foray back into quilting started with the plan to make a baby quilt for a friend. I didn't know where to start. I did an internet search for on-line quilt classes and found Quilt University. I signed up for their Start From Scratch Class. I never finished the quilt from the class. I had made some poor color and fabric choices and it didn't look good. If you've never taken an on-line quilt course I recommend Quilt University. They have a great variety of classes. The teachers are wonderful and the students are fantastic.

Then I discovered Yahoo Groups and mystery quilts. My first mystery quilt was made for my DH. A Red Sox and Patriots quilt. This was also the first completed quilt top I made.
In April 2006 I discovered the world of blogging. I'm still amazed at the multitude of quilters I have met through blogging. I read blogs more than I read the daily news and I never get tired of reading them.

Through blogging I have learned to enjoy my quilting. I have learned about stitcheries. I am learning about adding beads to my quilts. I have learned I can't wait to travel to meet more bloggers. Most of all I have continued to find new friends.

I think the dumbest question I asked in my early quilting career was, "What is a stash?" I never realized people bought fabric just to have it. When my grandma taught to sew we only bought fabric we needed and used it all up.

What was the dumbest question you've asked in your quilting career?

So how am I celebrating my anniversary? After I work for a few hours I will work on some stitcheries and maybe stitch a few postage stamp 4-patches. Tonight football season starts here in the U.S. It is my favorite sport.

Happy stitching!
Sweet P

Bead Mat Pattern?

Good morning! Fall is definitely on its way to New England. I have a few more red leaves on the trees. The nights are cooler. The Canadian geese have been flying around our area for over a week now.

I have joined the Bead Journal Project this year. I have my design in mind and need to find the time to get working on it.

I'm searching for some old bead patterns. The two mats below were made by my grandma in the early '80s. I used to have the book with the patterns. However the box the pattern book was in was accidentally thrown away during a move many years ago.

I know how to make the mats, but I'm really looking for the book because there were other patterns I would like to see and possibly make. I remember there was a pattern for a Tiffany lamp cover in the book. Does anyone, by any chance, have this book or give me some tips on finding one?

These mats are not my Bead Journal Project. I'm thinking of making a few for Christmas gifts. If you can help me out I would be so grateful.

Sweet P

The Lady in Red and Her Man

Before I show you the Lady in Red I'll share my first of the month photos. Here is the view on the right side of my deck. The trees are starting to thin a little and there are a few more red leaves.

Here is the view to the right.
You can see the mill building between the trees.

Last week I teased you with my red purchases. This past weekend I finally got to wear the new clothes.

We had to get to the wedding early as DH was an usher. The wedding was outdoors. The afternoon was hot. The air was filled with teeny, tiny obnoxious bugs. I did what any self-respecting Lady in Red would do - I stayed in the car with the AC on! What did I do? I decided to play with my camera and took self portraits. Here's the best one while inside the car.

Here is an outdoor photo. I was looking at the sun filtering through the clouds.
It's my favorite photo of me.

Without further ado, here I am in full view —
complete with red purse and shoes.

This is my man in all his glory. Isn't he gorgeous? And he's all mine!

I did a little work on my postage stamps while on the plane Friday night. Other than that, I haven't done anything quilty since then. I do need to get working though. I have quite a few deadlines in the next few weeks.

Happy stitching and thanks for stopping by!
Sweet P