Some Autumn Quits and Autumn Scenery

I recently copied some pictures off one of our old computers onto a CD, so I thought I would share a few of the autumn-inspired quilts.

This one is called Autumn Wedding.  I participated in a Sharon Craig challenge with 13 members of the Cyberbee.  We all got the pattern for the eight-inch star block and about a half yard of a bittersweet print fabric. 

I used my star blocks in the outer border.  These blocks were incredibly difficult to piece! And they all looked different depending on the placement and colors of the fabrics each quilter chose to use.

                                      

The large center medallion and the smaller stars in the border are from a commercial pattern called Star Spin.  I love the colors and the glow in the this quilt.  I gave it to my son Bryson and his wife, who had an October wedding.

The marriage sadly did not last, but Bryson still has the quilt.

The next quilt was made by Nancy Kinane of Capital Quilters Guild.  I quilted it for her.  Usually Nancy does her own quilting by hand, but she wanted this one finished in time for a grand-daughter's graduation.  It remains one of my favorite quilting jobs of all time.

Another customer quilt was made by my friend Carolyn Ormond.  I believe the pattern was called Chutney.  She hung the finished quilt over her sofa, and I always enjoyed seeing it when The Whacky Ladies met at her house.

The last quilt for today is made from the Turning Twenty quilt pattern.  It is practically on fire with bright autumn colors.  I think I saw this one at the Hartsville, SC Swamp Fox Quilt Guild show several years ago.

I got some good news medically this week:  my Deep Vein Thrombosis in my left leg has completely resolved, and I can now discontinue the hated anti-coagulant medicine.  I decided to celebrate by taking Kasey for a walk at Mill Bridge Nature Park this morning.  I walked from the Rolesville end to the Trail head at the other end of my street.  It rained last night, and it was partly cloudy and partly sunny.  The trees are starting to change color here.

We did not run into any deer, just a squirrel and a few turtles sunning themselves.

Don't pick the pretty red leaves...Poison Ivy!

Don't pick these either...Poison Sumac!

I even walked Kasey down to the creek where she enjoys long sips of waters near the cascades.

My sprained ankle is still bothering me after three months, but I am going to continue my walks.  I have missed them!

After seeing all the colors starting to turn in our Wake Forest landscape, I can't wait to get to the North Carolina mountains this weekend.  It should be "the peak" weekend for leaf viewing in Ashe County.

Move over Eleanor Burns, I made a quilt in a day!

"Autumn in new york

Why does it seem so inviting?"

Okay, so I am not in New York anymore. But it is autumn here in the South, despite temps in the eighties, and yesterday I made a little baby quilt that incorporates seasonal colors and themes. It will go to the Quilts for Kids service project of the Capital Quilters Guild of Raleigh, NC. The quilts are given to the neo-natal units at local hospitals to cover the isolettes. The parents love them because they can easily spot "their baby," and the nurses love them because the shield the infants from bright lights, and cheer up the nurseries. If there are enough quilts on hand, the families get to take their quilt home when their baby is discharged.

I won the leaf quilt blocks a couple years ago at the Cyberbee, a group of quilters in this area. I used two of the leaf blocks for my garden flag, six of them here, and have a few left. Since the leaf blocks were all ready, I was able to piece, quilt, and bind this quilt in one day! I used free-motion quilting with leaves, flowers, and swirls. It was fun to get this done and to know it will be treasured by a family going through a stressful time.

I am going to the guild meeting tonight with my friend Jean, who is floating on Cloud Nine after winning Best of Show and First Place at the North Carolina State Fair for her Twelve Days of Christmas applique quilt. Way to go! Jean's applique is to die for, and her hand quilting is so pretty. I loved the bright fabrics she selected, which have a lot of gold metallic details.

Another member of the same Cyberbee group also won a blue ribbon and the Golden Needle award for her quilt made during our Sharyn Craig challenge. Thirteen of us each made the same block, using one given fabric and any other fabric of our choice. So, one block that I made is in this prize-winning quilt! With thirteen blocks, there were some most unusual settings. Holly enlarged the block we made as a central medallion, and added some lovely bittersweet applique, as that was the theme fabric.

Here is the quilt I made from the same Sharyn Craig challenge. I gave it to my son Bryson and his wife for a belated wedding present, since they were married on October 18 in a beautiful autumn garden wedding. Happy Anniversary! I can't believe it has been four years! More detail shots of this quilt are available in my Webshots album 2006 Longarm Quilting.

Having left you such delightful eye candy, I am off to the North Carolina mountains tomorrow morning. Hopefully the autumn foliage will provide lots more inspiration for my quilting!