A Quilt Group Halloween

Friday was our monthly Quilt Group Meeting-costumes optional. Last year, I went as a "Quilting Bee", wearing my bee costume and carrying a little quilt. Corny, I know. This year's idea was even cornier. I went as an IRON CHEF...

Get it...IRON CHEF? Oh well, my apron was cute- made by Nan, our Fearful Leader. And my chef's hat included a really cool vintage orange button for the center of my fabric flower. Okay, maybe no costume next year.

Here is a cute pillow by Barbara.


Helen brought these adorable reversable drawstring bags. Here is the tutorial she used: http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/09/tutorial-reversible-patchwork-bag.html

These are the cute pillows Denise paper pieced...

(We started our meeting with a surprise Grandma-to-be shower for her-grandbaby #1 is on the way!)



I'd been talking to Helen about my wonky quilt with the shot cotton frames. She told me about one of hers from a while back, and I asked her to bring it.

It was a remake/redo of a quilt she wasn't happy with- so she cut it into blocks, added some shot cotton, and this is the result...I loved it!!

And though I'd never seen hers, we were definitely on the same wavelength!

This leaf quilt is a new one by Helen. Her husband said he just loves this one. Now we all want one- Helen's leaves are great, including polka dots and other fun surprises.

Janet's planning on adding another large border to this red/black/white stunner and wanted our advice. I voted for a skinny black and white striped border and then a red with big white polka dots, or maybe just solid black. (I know she'll figure out something!)

Here's another Halloween one from Helen...

It includes blocks made in an exchange in another quilt group from a few years ago...

This one is by Michelle- a Rail Fence variation with some other blocks and fussy cut Halloween prints mixed in. So cute!

I brought my Halloween Zig Zag ..

Barbara made this adorable baby quilt that includes some red chenille from a gargage sale find. She took the purse/bag apart and used the outside and the lining fabrics in this, along some fabrics from her stash. Love it. And the stripy binding really is a great finish.

Here are two tables done by Nan- this one was a yard sale table that she spent hours turning into a work of art...

And this one, set for our lunch on the tablecloth she made from a JoAnn's fabric that we all thought was perfect with the candy corn fabric border she added. (Lunch was YUMMMY!)

Terry brought her Halloween circle quilt, this one with the circles sewn 1/4 inch from the edge to intentionally fray, like a bull's eye quilt...

Thanks Nan for hosting and thanks to our little group for the good conversation, sharing and supportive creativity, and for laughing with me (at me?) as the Iron Chef.

Have a wonderful Halloween!

Hot Apple Cider Quilt

I bought a jelly roll last year after Halloween -half price.

I made this adaptation of 'Strawberry Lemonade", a pattern in the book, "Strip Lovers Quilts", by Susanne McNeill. (The book was also half price!) The quilt in the book is in summer brights. Mine is in Halloween brights, most from the jelly roll with a few substitutions and additions. The colors are a bit like Cheetos and movie popcorn, but I'm getting to like them better.

You sew strips together and cut into blocks to make half square triangles.

Like my 'Round Halloween quilt in my previous post, I guess this is another tablecloth, since it's also not quilted. (Do you see a pattern here??)

Make it a wonderful day!

'Round Halloween

This one has 64 blocks from a variety of fabrics, again with raw edge appliqued circles. I made this quilt top LAST year before Halloween. Nope. Still not quilted.

So maybe it's a Halloween tablecloth this year?

The Last Ones...

Have a wonderful day!

Nothing New Under the Sun

I was looking through a quilt book the other day, and look at the beauties I found there!

A great looking circle quilt... (A)




Wonderful framed squares... (B)

Still more circles, pieced this time... (C)

And I love these stacks of squares and stripes with all the the movement they create. (D)

And these dramatic coins- wonderful! (E)

LOVE these organic strips- I think maybe this was my favorite... (F)

And just look at how the colors pop against the dark fabrics! (G)

Now here's the fun. Can you guess when these were made?

I'll give you a hint. There's nothing new under the sun.

But isn't it wonderful to take it all in? To enjoy the creative energy that's always been here?

To be part of this quilting tradition?

This is my 50th post, and it's been so inspiring to see what all of you are so willing to share. Thank you for the generous spirit you add to this community of creativity. Maybe a century from now, one of your quilts will be in a book (will there still be books??) and inspire someone to share their love with someone through the art of a quilt.

Here are the dates.

From the book, The Ultimate Quilting Book, by Maggi McCormick Gordon, published by Collins &Brown, 2001 (available on Amazon)

A. Circles: Amish, 1930-40

B. Squares: Amish, 1890

C. Wool Color Wheel: Mennonite, about 1875

D. Stack of Squares: Midwestern Amish, about 1940

E. Roman Stripes/Chinese Coins: Ohio Amish, 1980's

F. Strip Quilt: African American, early 1930's

G. Double Wedding Ring: Amish, 1925

Make it a Wonderful Day!!

Wonkies On the Farm

I started this a few weeks ago as part of a quilt along with the gang from Old Red Barn Co.

Round 1, led by Dana, was Rail Fence http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/. Round 2 was half square triangles to make Zig Zag, with Park City Girl, http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/ (Amy recently hosted the Blogger's Quilt Fest...thanks Amy!)


Round 3 is Wonkie Log Cabin, led by John at Quilt Dad. PS- he's hosting a giveaway- go check it out! http://www.quiltdad.com/

If you haven't done a quilt along before, it's been so much fun! Each week, we have a tutorial and an assignment. (Don't worry, if you're too busy, you just get to it when you can.) But it's great to see what everyone is working on as they post pics on flickr. (Join us for our next one-circles! Heidi will lead this round: http://www.flickr.com/groups/oldredbarncoquiltalong2009/)

This quilt is made from a collection of free floral scraps-true leftovers on their way to the landfill. Our quilt group had a show and stash sale to benefit American Hero Quilts, and these are some of the beauties that didn't sell.

Okay, some of them are not that beautiful. But I thought that all together, they might work into something funky/pretty. And I just hate to see things going to waste. Not one of these florals were from my stash, so it was fun thinking about what someone may have made with these, or how long some of them had been stashed! I'm sure some were from the 70s and 80s.

My original plan was to sash them in white, but somewhere along the way, that idea just wasn't working for me. In spite of the mayhem of all the wonkiness and all the prints, they just didn't have enough color.

(Gingersnap, the barn cat, agreed.)

So I ordered some Kaffe Fassett shot cottons, and framed each wonky log cabin in a different color.

I wasn't sure how it was working out. I was hoping I hadn't wasted all that fabric- especially the shot cottons that weren't free...

But today I took the quilt outside, hung it on the barn, and stood back to see it all together from a distance for the first time. I think I like it. The binding will be more scrappy florals, along with a pieced "free florals" back.

Use it Up

Wear it Out

Make Do

Or Do Without

(Or Make a Quilt Out of It...)

Midnight Brownie Cookies

I needed to make some cookies. Fast.




I looked on line for a cookie recipe made from a brownie mix. I found one with oats and cinnamon. Oats, cinnamon... healthy, right? And I decided to frost them with a cinnamon spiced dark chocolate glaze. Dark chocolate's a health food too, isn't it??

Okay, these won't qualify as fitness fare, but they were easy, tasted great, and the very dark chocolate's color gives them just the right Halloween vibe!

A few ingredients, a few minutes....Bake. Frost. Share with friends!



Midnight Brownie Cookies (adapted from an internet recipe I can't find again! I'll keep looking to give proper credit...)

1 pkg. Brownie Mix
1 C. Semi Sweet or Dark Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 C. Oats
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 C. Chopped Nuts
1/2 C. Water
1 Large Egg
Midnight Glaze (adapted from Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa label's "Especially Dark Frosting" )
1/4 C. Butter
1/3 C. Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
1 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
1/4 C. Milk
3/4 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
To make Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, mix all cookie ingredients together with spoon. Drop by teaspoon* onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. (*a little tip- I sprayed the teaspoons with cooking spray when I prepared the cookie sheets-made for easy spooning!) Don't overbake. Cool for two minutes on the cookie sheets before moving to cooling rack. Frost with Midnight Glaze.
To make Midnight Glaze:
In saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Add powdered sugar, alternating with milk. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon. Adjust thickness by adding more milk as needed to make pourable. While still warm, use wire wisk to drizzle cookies (still on rack) with glaze, one direction. Repeat in the opposite direction for a second coat.
Serve on a cute thrifted (Value Village) plate with a pitcher of cold milk.