Learning Curves

I am committed to getting this quilt done before Thanksgiving.  I originally had planned on the end of this month, but with everyone home for fall break and catching a bug I just don't see it happening by Sunday.  This has been an interesting one for me.  I met some new designers and quilters during a quilt blog hop and this pattern belongs to one of them: Heather Mulder Peterson.
http://www.quilterswarehouse.com/p-1009-harvest-time-by-ankas-treasures.aspx

Harvest Time quilt in progress

 This was a stretch for me out of my ordinary color schemes.  I think it is the first time I have ever been bold with purples and oranges.  These are the fabrics I ended up choosing after a couple of days of deliberations, the colors show up so much better here.  From the photos it is hard to see that the background fabric is covered with tan flowers and vines so does not appear as white as it does here.  That actually was one of the harder choices-the background.  I had a more tan overall piece but the pumpkin seemed kind of lost on it so I ended up going with the lighter background.

I am really focusing on using up some of my fabric stash and am pleased that the only thing I had to purchase for this one was the backing- Go Me!
My new pressing table is giving me a space that I love as I can lay everything out as I get ready to sew.

The piecing has gone very well.  One of the designers on the blog had a special offer on her Clearly Perfect Angles.  I had something similar that I had to tape down to my machine every time I wanted to use it and this one was made out of that plastic that clings, which totally intrigued me and I decided to give it a try.  I love it.
It not only works for piecing half square triangles but gives me a nice long line for accurate seams too.

(I think my Dh did a very good job of cutting the plexiglass to fit around my machine so that I could drop it down in the table we made and have a nice big smooth surface for sewing quilts.

Yesterday it was on to machine applique.  This was only my third attempt and with some tips from Pat Sloan's techniques book I think I made some real improvement.   I am having to learn how to do curves on this one, the pumpkin that goes in the middle has a nice big curve but the oak leaves, lots of action there and it was a bit of a challenge for this newbie to applique.

Buttonhole stitch on my first oak leaf

Overall I am pretty pleased with how evenly the stitches are coming out, even on all those little curves.  I have one more oak leaf block to do and then it is on to the pumpkin in the middle and a couple of borders.  Looks like I will succeed in getting the top completely done by the end of the week.

Our dear mail lady came by yesterday- she truly is one of my best friends- bringing the new BOM I signed up for.  Another new designer for me, Terri Degenkolb, and another new technique to learn: needle turn applique.

Fear Not

This is a photo I snapped while camping at one of my favorite places along the Rogue River in Oregon.  It is a foggy day here in Texas this morning too. I actually love foggy mornings, except when they last throughout the day and then into the next and the next.  The problem with fog is it hides things that we need to see.
It has not been long enough since I wrote about a mother's loss and once again my heart has been burdened for another mom who has lost her child.  At the same time there is rejoicing with a mom whose prodigal has returned.  What a roller coaster.  As I wept on Sunday night, God saw me.  He heard me.  As I rejoiced on Tuesday night, God saw me.  He heard me.  He is always there for me, even when all I can manage is a cry of weakness.  Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. -Luke 12:32, NKJ.  That is a lot easier to accept when the news is good.  Another verse hit me this morning, Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life...Matthew 7:14a.  Difficult is the way.  Isn't it supposed to be easy once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior?  I am back to the song that was on my heart a couple of weeks ago- Held-and this line in particular: Who told us we'd be rescued?  What is changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?  We're asking why this happens to us who have died to live, it's unfair.
I know that some of my nightmares have been my own doing.  Others have been the result of evil in the world around  me.  The only thing that has not changed for me is that God still sees me.  He still hears me.  At my best, He has been there.  At my worst, He has remained faithful.
My world is full of questions that I don't have good answers to.  This is one thing I do know- I don't have to live in fear.  By nature I am a very fearful person.  I jotted one more verse down in my notebook today:  But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord" and not do the things which I say? Honestly when I wrote that one down I was thinking it was for someone else.   But, how many times has He told me not to fear?  How many times did I read today in the Gospels that I should not worry about anything?  My life is a witness to God's faithfulness and yet I still struggle in this area.  O Father God, help me to trust You and not fear-lift the fog that hides what I need to see today.

On a Mission to Find UFO's

Pat Sloan's blog today challenged us to a mission involving UFO's.  Not the kind that fly around in the sky, but those unfinished objects in our quilting rooms.  This morning I gathered and sorted my UFO's into piles--at Pat's suggestion as she guides us in this process.

Here are three of my piles.  The first pile just needs to have bindings finished.  One is soooo close, just ten inches left to stitch.  The middle pile is ready to be quilted or in the process of being quilted..  The final pile is waiting on borders.

Now these are the projects in various stages of piecing, not including the one on my design wall currently and the wildflower applique I have going- oh and did I mention I started a small fall quilt yesterday inspired by some quilting gals in a quilt bloghop last week.  A couple of these are for a class I am taking, and another two are block of the months.  But the others...I think I need to work on finishing one before getting pulled in by another, so I am very thankful for Pat's encouragement in this area.

A huge blessing that came yesterday is the result of the benefits of being a college professor's wife- free stuff when the college is upgrading.  My dear hubby came home with a drafting table.  If I had the space I would have taken two, one for drafting patterns and the other for the purpose I had in mind.

The drafting table

After a few hours work the hardware is removed from the top, two layers of batting and a layer of muslin are applied and voila...

a pressing table is born.  Finally I can iron a yard of fabric without all the repositioning.   The height adjusts and it folds up when I need it out of the way.  I love it!

Now back to those UFO's that are waiting in my studio.