It will come as no surprise to any of you, that over the last year or so, I’ve amassed quite a collection of quilts.

That’s the problem with quilting… it’s incredibly addicting, but you can only make so many quilts for yourself and the people around you. Dave and I are definitely above the normal quota of quilts, and I’ve made at least one quilt for almost everyone special in my life.

But I can’t stop making them. And they were starting to pile up…

So I’m happy to announce the official opening of….

Bearbottom Quilts!

Naturally, it’s named after our favourite fluffbutt and diligent snoopervisor, Lord Burton Bearbottom.

The stock will mainly be small quilts (baby, children, and lap quilts), but if you are in need of one, I hope you’ll stop by for a browse and maybe a purchase.

I really need to move some out so I can make more and more and more!

I have always loved the Disappearing Nine Patch quilt block. It’s one of those blocks that looks somewhat complicated, but is super easy.

But just knitting, to get the best results, you need the right yarn – or in this case, fabric. I’;ve made a couple disappearing nine patch quilts, and none of them turned out quite the way I was picturing them. They were always too busy. I realized, that the ones I always admired, limited the fabrics to just three.

So on the weekend, I got cutting.

I’ve had that sea turtle fabric for ages, and have just been waiting for a chance to use it. With everything cut, I sewed together my nine-patches.

Then I chopped them up.

And then turn a couple pieces around.

And sewed them back together!

Just like magic. With that done, there was nothing else to do but sew them together.

Now the pattern can really shine!

Another great thing is that you can make a small quilt with this block in just an afternoon. It’s just that easy!

Now it’s tucked away, ready to be quilted whenever I get the chance to head up to Mom’s.

For backing, I have these adorable sharks, and more of those cute little crabs for the binding.

I am happy to say that I got the birthday socks done in time. They were finished up Friday night before bed. Saturday morning, I did a quick photo shoot…

(Relic helped) and then the socks were wrapped up. By Saturday evening, they were on the Birthday girl’s feet. (She wore them all night.)

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And then Sunday, I got the pattern typed up, and put on Ravelry, so now you can knit a pair if you so desire (you can take more than seven days if you like though!)

The pattern is for sale for just $1 until October 3, 2020. Don’t miss out!

The other day, neighbour Krista knocked on my door. In her hand was the most ENORMOUS dried sunflower head. A friend of hers had grown them and had wondered if I would like one to serve up a Squirrelington’s.

Naturally, I said yes.

It took a while for the patrons to come around…

And they were definitely not sure what to make of that giant thing. Eventually, they got used to the idea of it being there, but they still preferred the peanuts…

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But while the squirrels weren’t interested, someone was.

Every time I checked, there were more and more seeds gone.

It took a bit, but I was finally able to capture a picture. It’s not a great one, but it’s clear who the sunny snacker is.

Within a day or so, the whole head was empty of seeds. But don’t worry, I did save some to grow next year!

It’s that time of year, the fall colours are starting to show…

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Forget the trees, it’s all here in my backyard.

I really need to have a talk with him about doing this in public…

Before I got started on the last minute birthday sock, I had finished the first of Paisley’s sock.

It’s a bit of a franken-sock. After I got the leg done, I decided I wanted a contrasting heel, and I like the way it looked when you continued the stripes. When I switched back to the black, I knew I wanted to do the stripes on the toe. But if I did just the toe, you’d only get a stripe or two. I wanted MORE stripes! So…. as you can see, I started those stripes a lot sooner. And I love how it looks.

The second one is going to be the same, though I’m not worried about matching the stripes. I’m just going to pick up where I left off. After I finish the other birthday socks, of course (I’m close!)

Work has really picked up lately, so there hasn’t been much time to sew on the week days. So I took Saturday to finish up the rest of the flower blocks and assemble the top.

Those flowers go so quick, and there was only eight of them left. It didn’t take much time to sew them all together. And now this cute little top is ready for quilting.

I’m waiting on an order of plain black for the binding though. You wouldn’t think it, but plain black cotton is increasingly difficult to get these days. Lens has been sold out for weeks (and they had already put a limit on how many yards you can buy at a time), and a lot of other Canadian suppliers had low/no stock. Mom and I ended up going halvies on a full bolt of it from Dinky Doo. It’s not like we won’t use it eventually!

Dave hit me with last minute plans to attend a birthday part this coming weekend. While we don’t have to bring a gift, I don’t like to come empty-handed. Money is tight right now, so that means making something…

But time is limited too. Can I knit a pair of socks in seven days? It was time to find out.

I whipped together a chart of easy lace that I figure I can whip through (I find 10-row repeats really knit fast), and dug out some Alley Cat that Rowan dyed up ages ago (that kid has a great eye for colour!)

Under the watchful eye of Snoopervisor Burton, I worked late into the night on Sunday.

Apparently, I worked too late into the night, though.

Still it was worth it, as you can see…

I’m into the gusset on the first one

Work is crazy busy, so I can only knit in the evenings. But I think I can do it. Of course, it does mean ignoring the barnyard sweater for a week… (such a hardship).

Wish me luck!

I’m a few weeks into the Blockhead 3 quilt-a-long with my new fabrics.

This time around, I have a lot fewer fabrics/colours/prints, and it changes the feel of it a bit. And of course, those kitty-theme prints are certainly adorable.

Though Burton’s still cuter!