Finish It Up Friday October

Three days of retreat projects, good food, friends and fall in the air was a wonderful respite.  Thirteen friends gathered at a small center ( The Ranch at Ucross) in NE Wyoming, where we sewed and talked, shared and giggled. I found this pattern online on  Craftsy from City House Studio  I love to read and so this tote appealed to me. I also found the Literary fabric at a regional quilt store. And heaven knows I have tons of scraps for the letters and the book spines.  I decided to make two. One of me and one to donate to our library for their annual silent auction. They offer homemade items for auction every November, and use the proceeds to purchase more books of quilting, knitting, crochet and needlework. It's great fun to participate. 

 Read side - The fabric looks like library cards. Do you remember those.

2nd side.

 Inside with pocket divided into 3 sections for library cards or keys. The fabric looks like old fashioned library stamps/

 Literary by Heather Givans

This is the base of the tote. I couldn't find a "wood look" fabric like the pattern showed, but I liked the Hashtag fabric in blue. 

I'll link this to Elm Street Quilts Bag It 2017

I also finished assembling 5 more Scrappy Susannah blocks to donate to Kat and Cat Quilt's Covered in Love project.  I am so excited about using my extra fabric for such a cause. If you are interested in participating, check out this site. 

And I webbed the squares for a special baby quilt for an expected great nephew due in January. It's the Arithmetic pattern by Jeni Baker.  I purchased the pattern from Connecting Threads. The colors were picked by the parents. It's way outside of my comfort zone, using solids only.

I have a fabric picked for the backing, but I may switch to minkee or cuddle. I'm unsure. 

It was a fun time and I hope to be able  to share some of the project of the other participants soon. 
Oh, and sometimes, cute little presents show up at your sewing station. This year was awesome. Pincushions, towels, stylus pen, peanuts, first aid kit, a small Best Press, a tiny scissors, and a cute candle in an old fashioned spool. If you are curious, we call ourselves "Loose Threads" 

I am linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.   

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A Quilt Show Win and getting ready to retreat!

Two weekends ago, the first weekend of October,  was our local NE Wyoming Quilt Show. I have served on the committee in the past, but not the last several years. The show has grown under the tutelage of  a committee made up of some newer quilters and some younger quilters.  This year there were 352 quilts on display. This show is not juried.  There are ballots available for everyone who attends and ribbons are awarded for People's Choices in several categories. There are lots of pictures on the Show's Facebook page: Northeast Wyoming Quilt Show

One of the way the committee raises funds to put this show on, is to make and raffle off a quilt.  This year they had 2 quilts, a table topper and  4 place mats and a single table topper. Here is a picture of the large quilt. A double nine patch, they said.

Look at all that scrappy goodness!  

I bought 12 raffle tickets the last day of the show. And surprisingly I won the above quilt!  I was so excited.  I'll share a picture of it on our bed as soon as I  get one taken. 

I have plans to attend a quilt retreat  on the 24th through the 26th.. I am cutting fabric for a baby quilt, for an expected great nephew due in January.  I am paper piecing letters for a library tote X2, one for me and one to donate to the silent auction at the CC Library. There are some squares cut for 4 more donation blocks to be sent to Covered in Love. 

Hopefully I will have some finishes for next Friday!

Until then, 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

 Judy

I am linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilt  

ps: I am publishing this post, will link up as soon as Finish It Up Friday is posted.