September is here, the kids are back to school, and the signs of fall are everywhere…

 

On the strawberry leaves…

And the Columbine.

 

You can see it in the petals of these beautiful sunflowers that finally bloomed!

The fall raspberry crop is coming in. It’s looking to be better than summer crop – I didn’t get many in July.

 

The honey bees seem to have all left for the season, but the Bumblers are still out there, working away to get the last bit of nectar from anything they can before the real cold sets in.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has been dropping rabies vaccine baits from a plane and I caught this pic of the low-flyer against a glowing golden autumn sky.

I’m not a huge fan of Winter, but I do love the slow, colourful progression of Fall!

Have you ever started doing a project one way, and then halfway through, realized there’s a MUCH better way to do it?

It happened to me recently. I was working away on the blocks for A Fish Called Rhonda, trying to get the triangle pieces to line up (and getting frustrated, they are fussy.)

I was adding the outer triangles so that the fish would swim “straight” not on a diagonal. But suddenly it dawned on me… when I laid them all out in rows, four of those triangles would come together…

And four triangles coming together make a square. So why the heck am I sewing on these stupid triangles???? I can just cut squares and lay the quilt out on an on point layout (like my scrappy nine patches, or my bear paws, or my stars… or any of the other on point layouts I’ve done.)

I did some quick calculations to make sure I had enough of the teal fabric for the squares (I did) and I got out my seam ripper and took all those triangles off the fish I’d already completed! Then I got to sewing some more fish.

With out those triangles to fuss with, the remaining fish did not take long!

This isn’t the final layout, I just wanted to get a sense of the size. Isn’t that a great looking school? I still have to cut the teal blocks (I’ll do it at Mom’s where I have more room), but I think this one is looking just fishtastic!

 

“Are you going to sit there and sew all day, or are you going to play with me?”

This is a common sight when I’m sewing. If you look closely, you’ll see a little pink sparkle ball by his belly. He will lay under my sewing stool with it, waiting for me to get up and throw it down the stairs for him. This can go on for hours…

Here’s the last FO for the week!

Yep, I finally sucked it up, got the Happy Camper top together and quilted that bad boy!

If I’m honest, this is not my favourite quilt. There’s nothing wrong with the pattern – it was well written and easy to follow. I think it’s just too busy with these fabrics. Were I to do it again, I’d mix in some plainer fabrics. There’s just too much going on in this.

I did change things up a bit on the quilting – opting for what Mom calls “squiggle meander” instead of loops. Loops just seemed a little too feminine for this one.

For the back, I used a nice chunk of green checked flannel. Some nice blue binding from the stash finished it off!

Despite my fabric choices, one thing is certain, it will certainly make the campfire that much cozier!

In plenty of time for the cooler weather, I completed Ursa!

This will be no surprise to any of you. It’s a chunky, cropped sweater, it was never going to take very long!

It was a super fun knit and a nicely written pattern. I did make a few mods…  I changed the half  brioche stitch to ribbing (my brioche was just looking messy), I changed how the increases were done, I opted for 3/4 length sleeves as I usually do, and I echoed the ribbing pattern from front and back on the sleeves.

The result is a cozy, warm sweater that’s just perfect for throwing on over top of my maxi dresses. I have four of this style (different fabrics) and all four will work with this colour. I’m tempted to knit a longer version to wear with my leggings… though if I do, I’ll rejig the pattern to work with a lighter yarn – even cropped this one has quite a bit of weight to it.

As I mentioned before, the yarn is Knitpicks Biggo – colour is Brass Heather. I don’t do a lot of chunky knits, but if I do, I’d buy this yarn again in a heartbeat. It’s a 50/50 Superwash Merino/Acrylic blend that’s wonderfully soft to knit with and wear. It blocks well, stands up to frogging, and has just a touch of halo, amping up the cozieness of whatever you knit. I’ve got a few skeins left, and I’m thinking it would be awesome for a hat/mitt set.

And as always, thanks to Mom for always photographing my best side…

It’s a week of finished objects so buckle up…

Furry Forest Friends? What FO is this, you must be asking….

Well, the other day, I found myself with a free afternoon, so of course, I wanted to sew. I really should have put the Happy Camper top together, but as I’ve said before, piecing tops isn’t really my favourite part of quilting. I wanted something small to work on. I had an empty project box, so why not start something new?

I’d been eyeing up my Chocolate Covered Pinwheels quilt the other day… it was one of my first quilts, and it really shows. I knew I could make much better pinwheels now. So I pulled out a fat quarter pack I’ve been itching to play with…

But as soon as I ironed out those woodland creature prints, I knew I couldn’t chop them up into itty bitty pinwheel pieces.

Just look at those cute characters! So instead, I kept those blocks large, chopped up the accent fabrics, chopped up some pink solid, and turned them into four patches. And before I knew it…

I had a top for a baby blanket done!

I didn’t intended to quilt it so soon, but I took it up to Mom’s when I went to quilt Honey Patch. I wanted her opinion on how to quilt it. In the end, we both agreed, diagonal lines would look cute, so while I was quilting Honey Patch on the long arm, Mom put a walking foot on one of her smaller machines and got to work.

The result is a sweet little baby quilt that’s stunning in it’s simplicity.

It was such a fun, fast little project.

Made even better by the fact that I was able to use up the last of my Holly Hobby flannel on the back!

Hello September! You sure came up awfully fast.

It’s ok, you’re definitely one of my favourite months. And this year, you’ve brought a few surprises…

Like this little Black-Eyed Susan. She suddenly popped up in the sidewalk garden. She’s unlike any of the other Susans I have elsewhere, so I have no idea where she came from.

Then there’s this snap dragon! I had snap dragons in the sidewalk garden last year, but as I’ve mentioned before, they don’t usually come back. I had one reseed itself in the Little Bee Garden out back, but it’s been there for months. This one just popped up a couple weeks ago. It looks like there may be more popping up too. Curiouser and Curiouser.

The Peach Foxglove have started blooming again. The Foxglove were a little lackluster this year (compared to previous years) so it’s nice to see this one having a second round!

And can you believe I’ve still got a few Daylilies blooming? This one is Frans Hals, and it looks like it will be the last for the year. Still… it’s so nice to see them go on so long!

And it looks like the Monarchs are beginning their long flight south. There’s been a steady stream of them coming through the back yard. They’ve been filling up on nectar and then go on their way. They are such beautiful visitors…

And thankfully very hard for the resident yard watchmen to catch!

Those leader and ender blocks stack up much quicker than you’d expect. My scrappy nine-patches were starting to spill over their basket so I decided it was time to lay them all out and see where I’m at.

This quilt is inspired by Jenny’s Nine Patch on Point, and all those blocks will have a plain white block between them. As you can see, I’ve got enough for a lap-size quilt. But I’ve also got a lot of 2.5 inch squares left, so I can definitely keep going. And If I change my mind… well then I have enough blocks to make TWO lap-size quilts!

Here’s where all my other quilty projects are at:

• Happy Camper – This top is still awaiting assembly. I just need a good long afternoon free. And the will to suck it up and do it.
• A Fish Called Rhonda – Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!
• Celtic Dreams – Two blocks done, four to go!
• Leader and Ender quilt – As you see above!

Last week I hopped a train and headed north…

Though Toronto is only and hour away, I don’t go often now that I work from home. But I made a special trip to meet up with a very special friend…

The wonderful Aneesha! Our plan was dinner and shopping, but Aneesha knows I love to play the tourist, so she took us on a slightly more scenic route as we made our way to the Eaton Centre.

Our walk took us through the grounds of Osgoode Hall and it’s beautiful gardens.

Just check out the size of those Hibiscus blooms.

We passed over Nathan Philips square, which looked like it was getting ready for a weekend event.

And eventually made it to the Eaton Centre with its iconic geese.

After much shopping, eating and catching up, we made our way back to Union Station to catch our respective trains and subways.

And you know I took full advantage of all that train time…

… two hours of knitting later, the first Mojito sock is past the heel and moseying right along!

We’re heading into the last long weekend of summer… don’t forget to take some time to smell the flowers…