Scraps and Ladders is done!

I got it quilted on the weekend and some simple meandering stitches were just the thing to finish it off.

It’s a nice size for a baby blanket – 43″ square, and made entirely from scraps left over from other projects.

The backing was a cute chunk of leopard flannel from the clearance bin, and I think I have enough left for a smaller quilt.

Such a fun assortment of colour and shapes, coming together to create something so practical. I just love it!

It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada. Dave and I are off to feast with Mom and Dad. But before I go, I’d like to count a few of my blessings.

I’m blessed with fabulous feline companions and fruitful gardens

And luckily, the two pair beautifully together!

I’m blessed with clever fingers that can sew, quilt and knit.

And I’m thankful for the job that gives me lots of time to do all three!

I’m blessed with fabulous friends, family, and life companion.

And of course, I’m thankful for all my wonderful friends in blogland! Wishing you a wonderful, blessing filled day!

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m on vacation this week. In fact, I take vacation at this time every year and the reason is two-fold. One… Monday is our Thanksgiving, so I only have to use four vacation days instead of five. And Two… the weather is usually sunny and warm (but not too warm) perfect weather for putting the gardens to bed for the year.

So…  I’ll probably do that sometime mid-week… in the mean time, I’m taking a moment or two to stop and enjoy the Toad Lilies every time I open my front door.

The are small, delicate flowers – no bigger than a quarter, but they have so much character.

I originally planted about five plants, and over the last few years, they’ve really started to spread. They are such a sweet little treat at the end of the gardening season.

I’m on vacation this week, and I’m hoping to sneak up to Mom’s a couple of days and bang out some quilts on the long arm. I have both Garden Trellis and Scraps and Ladders to quilt, but I had some time this week and I just couldn’t resist adding one more top to the t-quilt pile.

A few months back I was nosing around pinterest and I came across this quilt block:

As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I had this fat quarter pack for a couple years now:

I got it from Walmart, and isn’t it just the cutest?

It didn’t take me long to turn out the first block. Three more quickly followed. Add some sashing and cornerstones and bam!

I give you one adorable 46″ square quilt top!

By some amazing coincidence, I have a chunk of the seashell fabric that should be enough for the back. Before I picked up this FQ pack, I’d found the shell fabric in the clearance bin at Lens, and used it for the back of Deep Sea Stars.  I’ve still got a couple yards left… what are the chances?

Never leave a fresh pair of socks unattended in this house…

It’s a good thing the recipient won’t notice a little extra cat hair…

Progress is slow on the poncho. I’m trying to do at least four rows a night (one full pattern repeat), but the rows are long, so it doesn’t add up to much. But stitch by stitch, it gets done.

Or at least it would, if I didn’t make stupid mistakes like this…

Forget one simple K2Tog and it just throws everything right off. Of course, I didn’t notice until I was well passed it. I was almost tempted to leave it, but it was just too glaringly obvious… so riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip it!

Luckily, the stitches were easy to pick up and now I’m back on track. I’m still in the slow lane, but at least the lane is on the track and not in the ditch!

One more block is complete for Dave’s Christmas quilt. One to go and by the time it’s done, the backing and sashing fabric should show up on my doorstep. I’m hoping to have the whole thing quilted and bound by mid-November.

As an  aside, Dave accompanied me to Lens the other week while I was picking up some plain white fabric. We walked by the section that has the Stonehenge collection of fabrics and it immediately caught his eye. While I haven’t been hiding this project from him, he doesn’t pay much attention to what I’m sewing unless I point it out to him. But at least I know he’ll like it now! (Not that there was much doubt).