Happy Days

Hello! How is October treating you? I can hardly believe that October is already here. But I am looking forward to crisp fall nights, lighting the fire place and the beautiful fall foliage. I do appreciate the rhythm of the seasons.

A few weeks back I entered a contest on Trish's lovely blog Notes of Sincerity.  Trish and her friend Donna, of Donna's Lavender Nest , worked together to give away a super fantastic stack of fat quarters. Two weeks ago I received an email message from Trish that I was the winner! I was over-the-moon excited to receive such a delicious fat quarter set in the mail. Donna did such a lovely job of wrapping too!

 I took the fabric outside for a photo shoot on the grass. Because, you know, who doesn't photograph their fabric on the grass?? ;)

Thank you Donna and Trish!! So far I've spent quite some time just admiring the fabric goodness but I have some ideas in mind. :)

In other news, I simply love Halloween, LOVE. This Halloween decoration I picked up at JoAnn's is quickly becoming my favorite decoration ever. Ever.

I also decided I simply must make a Halloween quilt. To be used all year of course! So far, I have a stack of half square triangles sitting on my cutting mat at home. More on that soon!

Tex and Harry doing what they do best. Sleeping on my quilts.

 Lola looking up at the top of the tree where the squirrels like to tease her. She literally will stand there for 30 minutes looking up at them!

Has anyone made 16 patch blocks before?  I might be late to the party, but these are quite addicting and oh-so-cute. I worked on sewing 8 of them together earlier in the week. This will become a table topper.

 If you're interested, I used this tutorial at HenHouse. Fun stuff!

Alicia at Posie Gets Cosy put her wonderful Christmas ornament kits up for sale today. Never too soon to start planning your crafty goodness for the holidays!

Wow. How many topics did I just cover? I feel like I was all over the place. On that note, bye bye for now and enjoy the weekend!

Weekending

I enjoy the weekend so much. This past weekend we had a lot of rain on Saturday which made it a good day for doing errands and napping. ;) On Sunday it was a little chilly but a beautiful sunny day. I went outside to snap some pictures of the blooming rose bush. I noticed that a wee little lady bug lives inside the biggest of the roses. Nature at it's best.  The cats and dog enjoyed being outside as well. I took the opportunity to take some pictures since they were captive. ;)  The quilt I made in early 2013 and yesterday was so nice I decided to air it out on the line.

 I'm already counting down the days until Saturday is here again!

How was your weekend?

New Beginnings

I've been terribly neglectful of the blog lately. The whole moving-and-starting-a-new-job thing has kept me away from the blogosphere. I'm hoping to get back into a routine soon. Here's a little of what I've been up too when not at work....

I saw this sweet Robin's egg, well half of one anyway, on the ground outside the apartment. I wonder where the other half went and I hope it's former occupant is safe and sound!

Lola, too, is getting adjusted to the new "digs". She love the backyard garden area, as do I.  I know nothing about roses but there were two neglected rose bushes out there. I bought some pruning shears, cut them back, and removed all the dead wood, and generously watered and fed. Don't you know? There are 18 buds on one of them now. 18! One has started to open. I'm so happy. Photos to come in an upcoming post.

Halloween dresdens! I love Halloween.

And some regular dresdens for good measure. Not sure what they'll be yet but you know, as a fabric hoarder   keeper, I had to use my sweetest prints to make something. ;)

Stepping out of my sewing comfort zone, I'm working on something primative-ish.

I'd say my blanket stitch needs a little work but overall I'm happy with the results.

Tell me! What's new in your world?

Settling In

I'm slowly getting settled in to my new apartment in Buffalo. This move feels good. Out of all the places I've lived in my adult life, this is the place I've been trying to get back to. Things are familiar...places, people, food...I'm trying to savor it. I feel grateful that I've been given this opportunity to return to the area.

On Saturday I took a drive out to see Niagara Falls. The area includes not just the falls but a beautiful park as well.  The flowers were amazing as were the bumble bees buzzing about.

                            

Despite the gray skies, the falls were pretty amazing too!

I also appreciated the opportunity to take my fancy camera and play a little!

                            

Before I went to the park I stopped a local quilt shop. I couldn't resist these sweet 30's prints!

  

Sometimes I like to just look at them a while before cutting into them ;).

On Sunday I hit up the local flea market. Oh, how I like a good flea! I found these adorable vintage planters. I nearly squealed when I saw the turkey. I am ready for fall! 

I also love the sweet parakeets. I used to have a couple parakeets as pets...years ago now. The one would even talk. This was long before I got my cats. Now it just wouldn't seem right to bring birds into the house. So I'll admire the planter instead!

Also at the flea, I found this lovely vintage biscuit tin. It's in really great shape considering its age. I've listed it in the shop!

                          

  

Lastly, I found this pretty, wooden bowl with darling painted fruit with a bow. It feels worn and well loved. It will sit on display in the new apartment. Or maybe to hold sewing projects.

                          

What have you been up to? Do tell! 

Shuffle off to.....

Source

Buffalo! I got a great new job in Buffalo. The bad news: I have to move again. Ugh. The temperatures have been in the 90's here with humidity. With no air conditioning, packing has been torture. But I am very excited for this new opportunity and to be near family and friends once again!

One of the last projects I finished before packing the sewing machine and fabric away is this quilt. I love it! Bright, cheery, and the perfect size for a nice throw in my new apartment. It measures just under 50" by 50".

I used a combination of my favorite prints. I always find it interesting that I am drawn to the same colors, and prints so fabrics I collect over time always seem to coordinate well. Does this happen to you too?

No real pattern. I just kind of made it up as I went along! I like how the random patches of white break up the color.

Now if only I could get the boys to help me pack!

 Hope you are enjoying your summer and keeping cool! Thanks for stopping by!

Kitties and Quilts

Hello and good Monday morning! How was everyone's weekend? They go by much to slow, no?

I have been busy, busy at Swing Kitten headquarters working on some things, and finishing some things.

A sneak peek at some WIP's for the shop!

I just love mixing and matching fabrics. Taking small pieces and sewing them together to create something larger.

I just finished up this baby/crib quilt and I am loving how bright and cheery it is! I used a charm back from Happy Go Lucky, Bonnie and Camille's latest line and mixed it with some prints from Denyse Schmidt's new line, Blossom Reel. It's one of my favorite quilts to date! A sunny afternoon lent itself nicely to capture some photos!

Backed in Gypsy Girl by Lily Ashbury for Moda. Now listed in the shop!

Had to put a cat picture in this post. Had to. Tex has a fond place in my heart.

 I am SO excited about this mini quilt I put together. The cat embroidery is something I finished about a year ago and then it sat. Waiting for the right project, and some inspiration. I framed it in some sweet prints from Pam Kitty Morning and Pam Kitty Love. The red hand stitching is my first attempt. I quite like how it  turned out! But I've got to keep practicing. Those darn stitches are difficult to make straight!

Backed in this sweet print that I bought years ago now. I want to say it's American Jane?

What are you working on lately?