Mystery Started

It is full steam ahead in my sewing room with the new Quiltville mystery that started last week. I am making my quilt from scraps and have enjoyed digging through the neutral and dark blue bins, pulling out pieces that could be used in this project. It's like looking into a memory/souvenir box and saying "oh I remember that project/fabric/designer", "this was leftover from Grandma's quilt", and "that can't be used because there is only a small piece left and I love it"!  Totally ridiculous!

I did find scraps that were big enough to cut sets of 4 HST's using the Essential Triangle Ruler. This is my favourite ruler to use as the blocks come out to the perfect size almost every time without the squaring up step. I was easily able to get all the triangles needed without looking through the larger scrap bin. And guess what? This year I'm making the suggested number of blocks but making them half the size! That should be a fun challenge for my brain and something I haven't attempted before. I'm excited!

Here are 9 sets of HST's pressed and ready for trimming of the dog ears. This is the perfect project for me to work on now. I love these scraps and it's mindless sewing! Part 2 is coming on Friday and I will be ready!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday over at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

Thanks for dropping by the weekly hand stitching party where we're all about needles, threads, fabric, inspiration and self care! There is no advertising here, no Black Friday sales, nothing to give us grief or stress! It's just pure relaxation, taking deep breaths, and taking one slow stitch at a time. 

And because we are all about slowness, it's not very often that we can announce a finish, but I have had a few little finishes this week. 

I posted my finished Mill Hill kit on Thursday, and my mini squirrel sampler finish on Friday. And today, another finish - "Owls and Acorns" (a free chart from Blue Ribbon Designs). I just love these owls, and although the dark brown thread coverage isn't great on the photo, it looks better in real life. The oak leaves, acorns, letters and the pumpkins were all so fun to stitch!

I was on a roll of finishing little projects there are a couple more smalls around here that I can easily finish with a batting, backing and little binding. 

But I think the desire to finish things is passing now that the annual Quiltville mystery is starting! Today I hope to be digging through scraps and choosing pieces to sew into step #1 HST blocks.

What are you hand stitching at the end of November? Are you finishing things? Starting new things? Share your projects with us below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Squirrel Finish!

There are several finishes in my sewing room this week and I'm so pleased! My goal was to make significant progress on finishing some of the fall/halloween things so I could move on to Christmas projects and the annual Quiltville mystery (which starts today!)

Yesterday I posted my Gobble Gobble finish, and today I am sharing my Mini Squirrel Sampler finish. 

This free cross stitch pattern is by Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Stitching and was irresistible to me. It makes me smile because my MIL had an ongoing feud with the squirrels in her yard. She had many old timey ideas about how to discourage them from digging in her garden, and the ongoing power struggle was very entertaining to us! 

The scrap of wood fabric that I found in the stash  is a perfect binding for the squirrel.

Finished size = 5.25" x 4.75" 

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends who celebrate today! 

Beading

I am excited to share my finished hand stitched and beaded Gobble Gobble Mill Hill project! It was completed just in time to give to a friend as a hostess gift at her Thanksgiving dinner. It is very small but mighty and finishes at 3.25" x 2.5"! It took hours of hand work to complete and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Here is the finished piece before I added the grey backing fabric and magnet to be able to put it on the fridge. 

Do you see the Canadian maple leaf charm in the top right corner? So cute! It came in the kit! If my friend would rather have a hanging loop to use it as an ornament, I can add one of those. 

I think I am addicted to the Mill Hill Kit experience! 

Design Wall

This is what is on my design wall this week. This is the Spooky Box project for 2023 (click here to watch my unboxing video and see the goodies that were in the box, plus last year's 2022 project!)

I had a lot of fun sewing the ghost blocks. It took way longer than it should have because I did some fussy cutting of the strips and wanted the graphics to be facing the right way up.

Next I will be sewing the 'B' block to make the 'BOO' complete. This must get finished before the end of November because I will want to be done with Halloween and be well on my way to sewing only Christmas things.

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the weekly hand stitching party where you can visit with members of the Slow Sunday Stitching crew around the world, right from the comfort of your own home! 

I have 2 accomplishments to share this week!

First, I have almost finished all the cross stitching on my Mill Hill kit called 'Gobble Gobble'. I really enjoyed stitching on the perforated paper that came in the kit. Today I'll be working on stitching the beads which will be really fun!

Second, I finished stitching Melisa's Mini Pumpkin Sampler. What a fun pattern - thank you Melisa! I used my own fall floss colours and learned that I really like stitching letters. I don't enjoy "block" stitching, like where all the orange stitches are  in the big pumpkin because it's kind of boring. But I guess it's good for those stitching times when you don't need to really concentrate on the stitching.

I have 2 guild quilts that I am binding and would like to return them in a finished state next weekend, so I also must get going on that.

But I'm starting to get the itch to stop stitching fall/everything, and start stitching Christmas. Are you a seasonal stitcher - influenced by calendar? Or do you work on your scheduled projects no matter the time of year?

Please link up your instagram or blog post below and share your slow stitching projects with us.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

New Quiltville Mystery Coming

It's a very exciting time of year for mystery quilters! Bonnie Hunter has released her fabric requirements for her annual mystery quilt adventure. This year's project is called Indigo Way and features dark blue, light blue, red, and white fabrics. 

Since in last year's mystery (Chilhowie) I had used scraps and worked with value (not colour), I was certain I would treat myself to new fabric this year. But I fell in love with a fabric line that won't be out until March of next 2024 (Shoreline by Camille Roskelley) so I decided that this future purchase might be for next year's mystery, and scraps will do for this year.

The scraps that jumped out are a bit unusual but I think this is what I'm using; navy, teal, pink and white. Is it too weird? The pink and teal values are a bit similar, so I might use more of the darker teals. I would love to clear these old pieces out and get them into a quilt. 

Are you sewing along with this year's mystery?