The Weekend

How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty fantastic! 

 On Saturday I got to watch my Spartans beat Michigan!  Yeah, that NEVER gets old, ever! 

 I received some awesome mail too. 

 A very good friend of mine is helping me complete Hocuspocusville (HPV not the virus), by Crabapple Hill.  She has exquisite hand work!  Wanna see?  I need to press it but isn't it fabulous?!  Thank you so much dear friend!

I was sent out to do some shopping.  They should know better then to send me out to shop!  

"Pick up a few things for me will you?" he said as he left to finish the peacock pen.  

Sure but don't blame me if other stuff follows me home!

How could I resist this amazing peacock door mat for Long Feather Lane?  Obviously I couldn't!

Bed Bath and Beyond, Marshalls, and Michaels, then on to the Salvation Army thrift shop.  

Lookie at what I scored!  

Shelby wanted one of these for the hot cider for her party on Friday, so of course I had to stop and see if I could find one.  

Luckily for me they happened to have one!  As you can see it is in the cart!

I did manage to work on this little quilt that I still can only show you sneak peeks of, 

but it is ready for gifting!  Hallie approved too!

I worked some on cleaning, laundry and such too.  

I did get my crayon challenge quilt cut out and some of it sewn too.  

More about that later.  

I just got a call and we are closing on my dad's house on Wednesday. 

 It feels good and also a little odd.  This is the house I grew up in. 

 My parents built it and we moved in when I was 5years old. 

 It is kind of bittersweet to be selling it but also a HUGE relief!  

It was the last part of "all things dad" that I needed to do to close the chapter on that part of my life.  No more being anyone's daughter. 

 It is a milestone I am sad to see come. 

 I miss my dad.

Today also marks the 2 year anniversary of Jack's passing.

  I think you have one pet in your lifetime that you have a very special bond with 

and for me that was Jack.  

I still miss him every single day. 

 It hurts less, but there is still an empty spot in my heart.  

RIP dad and Jack.  Maybe you are keeping each other company?  I hope so!

~XOP~

My Guys

I don't have a lot on the quilty front to post about right now. 

 I am almost finished with my Secret Stalker Swap mini quilt, but I can't share it yet.  

I basted another chenille blanket, but forgot to take pictures, maybe tomorrow. 

 I started on my Crayon Challenge quilt but don't have much to show with that either. 

 Lame I know!  I did join another swap on IG.  

Bitches Get Stitches.  

I think it will be fun. Potty mouth fun!  

Loads of fun women in this one.  It should be interesting!

Hubby got a chance to go fly with a friend and they took our son along.  

They flew from Jackson down to Indy and had lunch.  

I think it was good for him to be out flying again. 

 I know how much he really misses it.  Here is a pic of the two of them from that day.

We will be helping our eldest get ready for her Halloween party next week most of this weekend.  Also the BIG game is on tomorrow.  

GO GREEN!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~XOP~

WIP Wednesday and Other Stuff

I am one of the charity chair people for the A2MQG.  

We are participating in the MCG charity project and making a couple of quilts. 

 I am on the "Let's make blocks" team.  

Debbie Grifka generously provided a copy of one of her Think Positive quilt patterns and 

we are all making blocks from the prescribed colors that were chosen by the national guild.  

I got the aqua and lime green ones.  

Here is my progress.

We can't add the sides/top/bottom until we get them all laid out so we can see where they need to be but I LOVE them!!

Another project that I am in the middle of is this one.  I just used pearle cotton to do a blanket stitch around the applique.  I even hand appliqued the scallopped edges down!  I NEVER do that!  One more week and it will be a gift!  So only a sneak peek for now.

The last thing I bought were some needle minders as gifts (maybe)   = )

I think you know who the one is for, but not sure if I am keeping the other or gifting it.  

Time will tell.  

If you want your own or want to see what other goodies are available check out 

Gina's Unique Boutique on ETSY

Fatty McFatty says it is getting cold here in Michigan so you should totally curl up and quilt! 

 (or nap as the case must be)

I will be linking up to Lee's WIP Wednesday.

~XOP~

A Little Side Trip

I had to go to Grand Rapids this past weekend to see my sister and get some things done for her trip.  Prior to seeing her though I got to hang out with my friend, Windy. 

 I really wish she lived closer.  

We always have such a great time hanging out! 

 She is trying to get me to go to Stash Bash in the spring but we will see.  I

 know it would be fun, just not sure how things will work out with hubby out of work.  

We did stop at a few shops and I did manage to pick up a few things.

We went to Stitched Studio and got there just before they closed. 

 I got to meet the owner, Michelle.  

She was super friendly and I think she would be a lot of fun to hang out with too. 

 I picked up some Flatter. 

 Love that stuff.  

The Zombie fabric for some polaroids down the road, some more Sun Print text and 

that super groovy orange!  (think orange tiger cat)

We also went to Field's fabrics and I got some Full Moon Forest, and some of the ducks from Lizzy House.  The blue Peter Rabbit is for a cross stitch project I want to turn into a quilt and the green is for more polaroids.

We stopped in Mason on our way to GR and the fall leaves were gorgeous!

Don't these leaves just inspire you to make a fall quilt??  

I was under those big orange maples and it felt like I was in an enchanted forest.  

Very quiet and with an explosion of beautiful fall colors. 

I love the fall with all it's glorious display of color.  

Kind of reminds me of a resplendent peacock with fall feathers on display!

~XOP~

We Have A Winner and Kitty Mini Quilt Swap Loot

I would like to take a minute to thank everyone that entered the giveaway and who liked Rustic Rooster on Face Book!  Our winner is number 17, Diana who wrote:

"I love the colors of fall, and that it was my dad's favorite season...reminds me of him :) "

I have emailed Diana and hope to hear from her soon to get her goodies out to her!

In other news, my Kitty Mini Quilt from my swap partner has arrived.  

My partner was Tammy from Texas.  

She knew I had four cats and put all of them in the mini quilt.

She also sent a lot of little goodies.  Some jingle balls for the cats (but the dog likes them more), an adorable tea towel, a tissue holder, some coffee, a mini charm pack and a small pattern.

Here you can see it hanging in my quilting room next to the other mini I have.  

I actually think I have a few others and may need to dig them out now!

I like to participate in swaps and hope there is a round 2 to this one. 

 Making cat themed quilts is right up my alley!

~XOP~

Rustic Rooster is Having a Sale and I'm Doing a Giveaway

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED


One of my sponsors, Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop, is having a fall sale.  

The sale begins October 13 and ends October 19. 

Enter FALL14 at check out you will receive 20% off your entire order!

They carry a lot of great fabrics and have reasonable pricing.  Check out their great selection.

Trina has generously donated 2 charm packs from the Fig Tree line Somerset

And 2 mini charm packs of the same line for the giveaway.  

If you want to be entered into the giveaway you will need to go and"like" the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop's Facebook page.  Leave me a comment telling me you did this.

AND 

Tell my what you love about this time of year. 

Please make sure I have a way to contact you (ie your email address) or

 I will have to choose another person and that would be sad for you. 

 If you are unsure, just put your email address in the comment.
US only for the giveaway but the discount is open to everyone!

Pretty easy!

I will draw for the giveaway on the 20th after the sale has ended.

Tell your friends about the sale and the giveaway!!

~XOP~

Oh Fall How I Love Thee

On the weekend while I was at my daughter's watching them all work on the peacock pen, 

I decided to take a walk and take some color inspiration photos. 

 I wanted to try to capture some great fall colors and shots. 

 First up are some I shot of our dog, Abbey.  She is a beautiful golden fall color all the time!

Then there were the amazing leaves everywhere.  Red maple is one of my favorites.

Sassafras is also beautiful.  This one looks like the state I live in.  Anyone want to guess?

So pretty with the red/orange against the vibrant greens.

You can't leave out the beautiful berries with their red and pink goodness.

These are just weird pods. Not sure what they actually belong to but they were kind of cool.

I love the look of the delicate white wisps of fluff that carry the Milkweed seeds to new homes.  These pods were literally exploding with their seeds.

This one concerns me a little bit.  Can you tell what it is?  

Ever heard "leaves of three let it be?"

YEP, It's Poison Ivy and it has grown into a TREE!!!

This thing is HUGE.

Lastly I leave you with a Praying Mantis.  

It looks like a pregnant female so daughter is keeping it to get the egg case and have them hatch in her area in the spring.

What a great fall color palette to inspire some fall colored quilting!

Are you making any fall colored or themed quilts?  

I don't happen to have any going currently.

I hope to have a Halloween one going for next year. 

I hate to start a new project but there are so many great fall/Halloween ones out there I may not be able to resist making one too.

I hope you enjoyed the color inspiration.

~XOP~

Of Peacock Pens and Quilts

My weekend was pretty awesome. 

 I got to work on the quilt I am pattern testing for Just A Bit Frayed. 

 It is called Fair Isle.  I love the finished quilt. 

 Setting it all on point, not so much.  

I worked all afternoon and into the evening on Saturday. 

 I ended up using my hall way wall for my design wall. 

 I put up the portable design wall flannel using tape and it went pretty well.  

Here it is in progress.
Linking up to WIP Wednesday

(I can share as it is going to be a free pattern for RJR to promote their solids.)

As I fell asleep on Sat night this was the view from my bedroom door.  Pretty sweet huh?

My plan was to finish the piecing on Sunday but instead I ended up at Shelby's to help finish the peacock pen.  I really didn't do much work but we spent the ENTIRE day there!!! 

 By the time we got hoe I was wayyyyyy too tired to work and didn't really feel all that great either.

I ended up with a fever so spent Monday at home (sewing).

I did get the entire top finished (with a few minor snags).

I dropped it off for quilting and hope to have it back soon to do the binding.

I'm sure Kathy will do an amazing job, as usual with the quilting.

Want to see the peacock pen in progress?

Shelby called her friends to come over and help us. 

 My husband has a degree in engineering and has planned out the entire pen and house. 

 BUT, some of the nerdy helpers thought they new best.  

Ever see this episode of The Big Bang Theory?  

It was something like that.  Made me giggle

Here are a few shots of the pen in progress

Yep, it was kinda like that.  

As they were rolling the second roll across the top they were a foot short in the width. 

 As my daughter was telling me this it dawned on her 

that they were using the 5 foot wide roll not the 6 foot one.  

They already had a few staples in it. 

 Eric, good sport that he is took them all out and they started that section over again.  

I think just the window and door and a little paint are left and it is ready for occupancy!!  

I will keep you posted.

How was your weekend??

~XOP~