Return to Sender Progress

So the sun was shining on my sewing machine the other day telling me to get back in here and finish this darn "Return to Sender" quilt. Seems like I've been working on this forever.

So I spied all the piles of squares that I have been working on diligently in recent weeks and started to put them together.

I made this mostly from my stash which makes me happy. You'd think I'd have no stash left after all the cutting I did, but this didn't even make a dent in it. I added borders after this picture was taken. It's off at my quilter's now and since it's made in Christmas colors it'll be great at Christmas time.

Now I can take down this pattern from above my machine and put something new there. By the way, these magnetic strips I got at Staples and mounted on the wall above my machine are really handy for holding pattern directions. Right there in my face so I never have to make a mistake and never use a seam ripper. Right-that'll happen!

Nature's Treasures

The little boy above, my grandson, found a treasure last week when I was babysitting him on a gorgeous fall day. Using his favorite toy in the world, a stick, he was stiring up some leaves that had fallen, when out of the pile of leaves he was playing with appeared a little bit of blue.
He found this bird's nest. The bird who wove this nest must love textiles as much as I do. They had to weave a little color in to the gray to liven it up. The blue plastic strand is woven all through the nest. I think it is a work of art. And I especially love it because of the toddler who found it. I think I'll be keeping this one forever.

Autumn In and Out

Just a few fall pictures on a beautiful autumn day in NH.

One of my fall quilts.
I love amateur oil paintings and love the fall colors in these.
A table runner made last year.
A vintage quilt top purchased many years ago at a yard sale.

Still not peak color where I live but it's getting there.
My buffet display with the picture of my grandson from last year that my daughter in law took. I call it "Pumpkin Boy" and you can read about it here.

Then there's Miss Penny who has decided that this is her quilt. She seeks it out every day. I like how she matches it but I was planning on putting it away after Thanksgiving. Do you think she'll let me?
I hope your autumn is a beautiful as ours always is in NH.

Moving Along

I've been absent here but have no fear, all is well. I was busy, busy busy. One of the things that's been moving along here is the bathroom renovation. There are a few last things to finish but here are a few results. Lets start with the before and current after.

There's a new vanity, counter and sink along with new flooring, beadboard and paint. The busy wallpaper had to go. I found remnants of 4 different wallpapers as I scraped off the old one. We were able to reuse the toilet and tub and left the tile surrounding the tub for now. That may change some day down the road but right now we are burned out. Just awaiting trim pieces on the top of the beadboard for now.
The shower curtain and towels are Martha Stewart's from Macy's although I bought them at Home Goods cheap.
Above is the old small mosaic tile floor. I see on all these design shows people installing these mosaics and I am begging you all, don't do it! These are near impossible to get rid of as my poor husband found out. But we conquered them and installed a bigger porcelain tile instead.
I've added a few of my vintage things am really enjoying the much more peaceful bathroom.So I promise some quilty things soon. My Return to Sender quilt is moving nowhere fast so I need to get back to that. Have a good weekend and see you next week.