Last week I started working on a new quilt pattern from The Fat Quarter Shop called Nutcracker. It uses one of their Jolly Bars (10″x 5″ stacker) and about two yards of background. I combined most of the scraps from the Christmas Figs quilt and this Jolly bar to get enough pieces to make a top that is slightly larger (a row and a column) than the pattern. I omitted the plain sashing, to give it a little more cohesion. I found a piece of 108″wide coordinating backing, which with some careful measuring and math, made the borders and backing, possibly enough for the binding too. Leaving off the sashing, and adding the borders made the top measure in at 48″ X 62″. A quick panto and I could have this ready for sale in a week or two.

Another project that I have recently gotten is a table runner. It is relatively simple, the top is a gathering of isosceles triangle trees appliquéd onto a solid background. The tricky part is that the trees are to be sewn over the quilting. So I have to quilt it first and then put the trees on, Oh! I just got an idea! I can appliqué the trees with the long arm machine, while the runner is still on the frame. I feel smart today.

The quilting on the Reflected Harmony quilt was finished last night. So happy it is off the frame. It has been the sole quilting project since 9/28, way too long. I like how it turned out though, many roses and ribbons were added to the texture of this quilt. I should have kept track of the hours, because there were days I didn’t work on it. I used an older collection of rose themed designs from Wasatch quilting. I made them fit the borders and blocks by resizing them and combining them to fit the medallion pattern. I used a thicker bobbin thread for this quilt with Sew Fine on the top. The back side stitching shows a bit more than the front as a result. I really like this backing, a Strawberry Thief print I got from connecting threads.

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Cross stitching finishes/starts for November are this Gathering Berries small (yay!) from Misty Pursel and Gathering Blessings. Still working on the Newcastle Bouquet, with some progress on the border.

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Off to start my day.

Be Kind.