Midweek stuff

Two evenings in a row with college basketball has taken it's toll on my ambition levels this week.  Luckily I had picked up 4 smaller projects from 2 different long arm quilters over the weekend, so there are some easy things to get done.   And hey - binding can be done in the car while it's still daylight.  

The Candy Lane quilt is all trimmed and ready to bind. The quilting on it is really beautiful - with snowflakes and swirls.  The picture is the back and it made me think of those frost designs that sometimes form on windows. 

I'm working on the binding for the Lone Star quilt for my son-in-law.  It's wall hanging size, so shouldn't take long to do.  A finish will be shared later in the week. 
 

Bah Humbug is one step closer to being finished.  It's sandwiched and quilted - sort of.  I ended up just stitching tight up against the applique with black thread.  And I zig zagged around all 4 edges because that grey linen was fraying every time I touched it.  Next step is to make the envelope back and bind it.  Maybe I can get that done in the next day or so. 

I keep thinking ahead to what new projects I want to start this winter.  I just can't help myself.  The Bonnie Hunter mystery will begin later this month.  I don't always make the whole quilt, but do usually play with the blocks at least.  But I really like her colors this year, so maybe it will happen.   January will bring a brand new Saturday Sampler locally, and I have my fabrics all gathered for it.  There will be a new Sewcialites sew along (online) starting after the holidays too.  I am definitely thinking about playing along, but maybe just with the tiny blocks (3") this time.  A couple of new block patterns for Rainbow Scrap Challenge are hanging on my bulletin board.  At guild on Saturday I picked up a pattern book from the giveaway table.  And the mail brought 2 new things last week - a book with patterns to use with panels, and a pattern for a possible future scrappy quilt.  My head is spinning and the new project (Shiny Object Syndrome) list is much longer than my life expectancy!  

From the bay window in the kitchen we have a great view of our tree filled backyard, and this time of year the big maple tree right off the deck is really spectacular.  I told Dave yesterday morning that it brings me joy to look out and see that tree.  One other thing that makes me smile is the little grey kitty sleeping on that chair to the right. This is one of the kittens from last spring.  He won't let us get close, but he does sleep on the deck a lot lately.  We haven't seen his litter mate for several days now and I think he's feeling lonely.  

Another lovely tree is the birch outside my office window.  Notice my hubby hanging up the bird feeder he had just refilled.  Right before he went out to fill the feeder there was a blue jay out there.  We hadn't seen a single blue jay all summer, but now in the last week we keep seeing them.  Two were even on the deck a couple days ago, boldly stealing kibble from the cat food dish.  My morning routine involves bird watching from my desk with a cup of coffee in hand, and blog reading on my laptop.