Mercerie is done, done, and done!

Coming up later this week is the next Schnibbles parade and I was able to get my quilt photographed today.

It's been rainy here and breezy too, but with a little help from my friends I was able to get these pictures taken this afternoon. 

My Mercerie quilt is scrappy, different than the version on the cover of the pattern.

  

I used two charm packs from different fabric lines, PB & J and Juggling Summer.

These fabrics seemed to need a background other than white, so I went with a grey Daiwabo fabric for the background.

As I've mentioned before, I'm trying to get away from using white or cream as a background fabric all the time.

I tend to use them a lot even though I love quilts that I see with other color fabrics as the background.

Navy blue was another color I was considering, but I thought there were too many different dark fabrics in my charm packs for that.

I'm definitely going to try navy blue another time!

This new pattern of Carrie's was a breeze and fun to make too!

I used the Fit To Be Square Ruler that Carrie suggested.  I love that ruler!!

If you haven't tried it, or the Fit To Be Geese Ruler, I definitely recommend them.

I've used both many times and the blocks turn out so perfect and neat!

You can find them at Open Gate Quilts.

Here's one last picture where Copper decided he wasn't going to be left out.

He heard that Buster and Betty like to have their pictures taken with quilts over at Carol's blog, so he thought he'd try to get in one this time.

Don't forget to grab some candy corn or a cup of coffee and head over to the Schnibbles parade later this week.

Is it going to be October already??? I can't believe it!!

Sherri and Sinta will be showing lots of beautiful Mercerie quilts and announcing the newest project too.

I'm hoping it will be another newly released pattern!  Maybe one of these that Carrie mentioned HERE.

I sure hope so!

Friday Night Sew In results.....the extended version

I'm a little late posting my progress for last Friday night's Sew In, but better late than never!

We found ourselves going to a high school football game to hear the band play, so I didn't get lots done.

Just two blocks completed on my Mercerie Schnibble quilt!

I'm mixing it up and making it scrappy this time.

Fourteen blocks left to go.

Better get back to it! 

Lots of candy and a little fabric

I've signed up for the Friday Night Sew-In tomorrow over at Sugar Lane Designs.

I really need to get going on my Schnibbles project for this month!

  

  

Mercerie is calling my name!

I've got nothing done so far, except my fabrics are picked out and I've gotten some helpful tips from my friend JoAnne.

  

  Since the Friday Night Sew In is temporarily based out of Australia, I guess I can do my sewing Friday morning and consider myself a part of the group!

For me, that works even better than Friday night!

While I haven't been doing much quilting, commenting, or replying to emails...........Sorry about that!  We've had a busy week!.........I have been trying some of the new fall treats that are out in the stores.  It all started with the Candy Corn Oreos and now we are moving in a different direction!

Have you seen the S'more Candy Corn?

I would have taken a picture of the bag, but I don't want you to see how many we've already eaten!

Maybe I'll get a new bag for another post.  You know, for photography purposes!

The S'more Candy Corns are the white, yellow and graham cracker colored ones in the spider bowl above.  Now that I look at it, there aren't many in the bowl either!

Well anyway, we think they're pretty good.  They have a nice s'more flavor to them.  Lots of marshmallow and graham cracker.

A nice taste for fall!

Then we tried something else.............

Pumpkin Spice M&M's?

Really?

We just had to give these a try!

They sound really weird, but we liked them.  They are really just chocolate with a hint of spice at the end.   

Not a whole lot different than plain chocolate, but actually pretty good!

My family gave them the thumbs up, but not with lots of enthusiasm.

They're interesting and the bag isn't too big, so if you decide to give them a try you don't have a lot to lose.

Well, I've got some catching up to do tonight and I might even sneak a few more s'more candy corns if I can find any, so I need to get going!

Happy fall!

Exactly what I've been looking for

I found a napkin holder at Target a week ago and it was exactly what I've been looking for!

You see my sewing space is scattered around the house a bit.  When I say a bit, I mean I have some kind of sewing area in almost every main room!

And I like it that way!

I do have an extra room where I could put most of my sewing stuff, but that would mean I'd be out of the flow of traffic and out of the loop for lots of the action around here.

With two active boys, I want to be in on all the fun too, so my sewing goes on in the middle of everything.

The sewing machine I use most often is in the dining room, I do my rotary cutting at the kitchen counter, I iron near the front door, and I do my hand sewing in the family room.

I was inspired by my friend JoAnne to look around for some kitchen items to use for organizing my many work areas.

When she mentioned she found this caddy at Target, I took a look the next time I was there.

It was a great caddy, but unfortunately for me, it was too big for my sewing space.

I kept on looking.

Two months later I ran across this napkin holder in a clearance section of......you guessed it......Target!

For me it was a great find!

I'm going to use it to keep my small patterns, rulers, notes and charm packs organized and out of the way in the kitchen when I'm doing my cutting.

It'll be perfect to hold those small items, so they don't spread out all over the counter while I work.


Since it's not very tall it will fit well and look nice under the top cabinets in my kitchen.  And for under $4, I just couldn't pass it up!

So tell me, what is your favorite quilting item used for organization or for sewing, that was originally intended for some other purpose?

Painters Tape for marking rulers is definitely another front runner for me!

Wrapping some things up

The fall decorating has begun even though the temperatures haven't dropped much.

Maybe if I get out some of the fall quilts it will at least look like fall!

Since I've been busy doing that, there isn't much new quilting going this week, but I am wrapping up a few projects.

I've had some quilts that have been waiting around for labels and I decided to get going on those before I start anything new.

I never really feel like a quilt is complete until it has a label on it!

I'm having a harder and harder time finding panels of labels, so this time I had to improvise a bit and make some of my own using leftover fabric.

I'm hoping to get these sewn on this week and straighten up my sewing area too.

Before a new season begins seems like a good time to pause and get things in order.

I can start fresh on a few new projects at the beginning of next week.

Starting the new Schnibbles pattern, getting a quilt top ready to quilt, and working on the Sweetwater Label Crew Halloween Basket are all on my to do list.

But until then, I'm going to take some time to finish up a few things!

What are you up to this week? 

They're back!

It's time for Candy Corn Oreos!

I'm embarrassed to say we've almost finished off a bag already. 

........before the first full week of September

But they're so good!

This summer I discovered Sherbet Oreos, another seasonal flavor, and I have to say I miss them already.

I was looking for Watermelon and Orange Creme Oreos too, but I couldn't find any. 

Birthday Cake Oreos are the favorite here.

It sounds like  I  we may have Oreo issues.

Last week, when I saw the Candy Corn Oreo display at Target, my heart skipped a beat and I started piling them in my cart.

I think it was Carol, my friend at Brown Quilts, who spotted them last year and got me started on the hunt. 

Which was unsuccessful by the way.  It seems that once they're gone they're gone.

I was able to find Candy Corn M&M's, but those didn't go over so well at my house.

We didn't think they were bad, just not a hit. 

So it may seem odd to buy Candy Corn Oreos at all, especially in the beginning of September, but if you want to try them, take my word for it, it's now or never!