Notting Hill Quilt Blocks Done and CQ Quarterly Published

Hi friends. I have several fun things to share with you today, so sit down and get comfy!

First, the Autumn issue of Crazy Quilt Quarterly is out!

This issue is jam-packed with great autumn stitching and embellishment ideas and eye candy. As well, the theme of the issue is Family History/Genealogy in Quilts (crazy quilts,  art quilts, traditional quilts). As this is a particular area of interest and research for me, I have two articles in this issue. But the great part is that my dear longtime friend Gerry Krueger from Washington State is the featured cover artist. I couldn’t be more thrilled, and she couldn’t be more deserving.

You may purchase this magazine in print or digital (or both!) format at Magcloud.

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Yesterday I finished the last four of my 12” sampler blocks for my Notting Hill Quilt. This quilt has been a WIP for over two years. Too many times it got shoved to a back burner when other things came up, but I am determined to finish it this quarter.  Here are the last four blocks:

I love them all except the Kings Cross (upper right), which really needs more contrast. But it does NOT have a date with a seam ripper, so it is what it is.  Below is the tentative final layout. After studying this picture, I can see I want to switch two blocks (#7 with #11). I also say “tentative” because even though I will number them before taking them down to sew, I often mess that part of it up!  It will have sashing between and around the blocks.

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Bruce finished up the front porch pillar bases today, so if it cools down to a reasonable temperature this week (less than Hellfire degrees), I intend to get them painted. Last week our contractor (cousin’s hubby, I think I may have told you already) painted the kitchen ceiling for me and hung my new farmhouse-style light fixture. Fans of HGTV’s Fixer-Upper or Chip and JoAnna Gaines will recognize it. He also added the door (minus handle) which you see in the picture below. That door leads down to the basement, and the old door, fugly and original to the house, opened away from you, over the stairs. So odd and dangerous. This one is hung so that it opens toward you. I still have some sanding, filling, painting to do there, then Bruce will add the doorknob.

I always wanted a yellow kitchen, and I have loved having one for the last ten years since we did the major kitchen renovation in 2006. But it’s time for a change, and we will be painting it some shade of white. We got paint samples today from Sherwin Williams, and I will paint swatch areas on several of the walls this week. You can see that I left my china cabinet (actually a Victorian vitrine) taped and covered.

When the kitchen is done, I will show you all the pix (the first “before” when we moved in, the remodel in 2006 and our 2016 update).

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Finally, my other cousin (sister to the cousin who is married to the contractor) Kim and her daughter Sarah have opened an Etsy shop. YAY!  Since I am closing mine down by year-end, they got all my old vintage sewing pattern inventory (and the boxes and shelving units they were stored in) and vintage fabrics and are getting things set up. Their shop is called Butterflies and Donuts and I would love it if you could drop by and favorite their shop and an item or two to get them rolling into your Etsy picture feeds. They will be adding vintage clothing and other fun stuff as time goes on, but right now they are up to their eyeballs (muahahahaha!) in patterns!!