Spent the other day  going to local quilt shops that I don't get to go to very often. I say I am going to go more and get out more oftern and something always comes up. I have my own "honey-do" list from my DH. I really can't say no as he works nights and needs things done that require reagular business hours to complete. So much for that. My favorite stop was Thimblecreek. I had a wonderful time there. Roxie and Joe have a great selection of beautiful fabrics and I came home with new fabric to make my vintage quilt from.

Happly Halloween!

Pink Parfait

Fall is well underway here. The trees are turning beautiful colors and there is that crispness in the air. Last weekend was the local guild quilt show and it was a huge success. There were so many beautiful quilts this year. Those ladies have been very very busy. The diversity of quilts in the show was amazing. We were there and had a good time and met lots of friends and some new friends. I was afraid the weather would keep people away, as the weatherman said it was going to rain hard. Well it did rain and hard at times but it seems to have put everyone in the quilting mood. We enjoyed seeing everyone and walking the aisles and enjoying the talent and workmanship of the Delta Quilters. The show keeps getting better and better every year. Congratulations Delta Quilters Guild!

Sassy

I introduced some new patterns at the show and they were an overwhelming success. I have finished uploading the pictures and info to my website, so if you can’t find these new patterns in the local shops yet, you can find them on my website. They are just being shipped to distributors this week. I know you will love the new quilts. There is a baby quilt that I would love to have for me and a very girly quilt and a bright bold floral quilt for those that love large scale prints.



Baby Steps

My last post was a sad one for me; I lost my angel kitty of 18 years. I am keeping busy and have been thinking about getting a new baby. Thank you to those that send me comforting comments. I so appreciate all the kind thoughts you sent me. It has been decades since my house was without a “fur baby”. I haven’t decided what kind of “fur baby” to get yet. I think that will depend on what kind if baby most needs some love and a home. Animal Shelters are full of little bundles of love. When I get a new one I will let all of you know.



Meanwhile, I am getting ready for Tricks and Treats. As you all know this is my favorite time of year. And I am back at the sketch pad working on some new designs. Hope you all have a perfectly spooky Halloween! It is now time to finish those Christmas gifts and quilts. Christmas will be here before we know it. It is only 2 months away! I am uploading a free wine bag pattern that will make a perfect wrapping for a hostess gift if you are in charge of bringing the wine or the sparkling cider. Simple and economical to make, you will have it completed in an hour! I will be back soon with pictures of new ideas.

Robin



My Familiar

Webster says a “Familiar is: one that is familiar; especially: an intimate associate: companion

: a spirit often embodied in an animal and held to attend and serve or guard a person

My “familiar” left this plane yesterday. The loss right now is indescribable. Those of you that have a cat know what I mean. After 18 ½ years, I woke up this morning without my “BOO”. My pet name for Harri, my cat. She was born in my closet. Her mother feral adopted me. She was alone and that little girl was homeless and pregnant. She came looking for food and found a safe place to live where she received love and protection also. A few weeks later, Harri was born. She was only the size of a small fuss ball. The kids named her. Her markings were exactly like her mother, with one exception. She had a black stripe down her nose. Her mother had a gold stripe. Mom and daughter was tortoise colored. Deep browns and golds. When she and her sister snuggled to their mother to eat...you couldn’t tell where mommy ended and babies began. Mommy left us some 8 years ago now.

It is a natural cycle of life, but that is little consolation right now. All I know is that there is a hole in my heart. I miss her kisses, her rubbing her face on mine, and her “screaming” at me. She was a talker. If she didn’t get what she wanted, when she wanted it she got louder and louder and louder until you had to perform whatever deed she wanted.

The return for the bowls of food, the endless openings of the door so she could go out and lay in the sun, and cat box changes and scooping was pure love. Unassuming and unconditional. Time will allow this void to be adjusted to level that is tolerable. The short time our pets are with us is precious. Hug your babies today and when they are making you nuts, remember a day will come when you will wish that annoyance back.

It's the Big Day

Morning quilty peeps... I got up very early to make sure there were no 11th hour entries. HAHA.. giveaway ended at 12:01am today. And I am happy to report...WENDY won!

So Wendy..send me an email... robin@seamsdelightfuldesigns.com with your address and if you would like 6 FQs OR The Boo Kitty Handbag fabric kit and BK Handbag pattern. Once I get your mailing address I will ship your prize out right away. I have been doing some temp work this week for a friend of mine who needed some time away from work. It was fun and definitely something different for me. Made me appreciate the time I have to work in the studio. I am getting ready to hammer out the details for a quilting retreat in the mountains for next spring. Great cabin, near a lake, and quilt shop, fresh air and quilting, quilting quilting. Watch the website for details. I can't wait. I am really looking forward to this. Well I know this is short but it's my last day as a "temp" so I need to take care of that so I can get back to designing and making Xmas gifts. I will be back soon.. THANK YOU girls for entering in my giveaway! I will try and have another one soon.

Hugs to all, CONGRATS WENDY!

Robin

2 more days until I draw a winner from the random number generator for the giveaway. 2 more days to get your entry in. You can win either the 6 FQs or the fabric kit and pattern for the Boo Kitty Handbag. Your choice. It is also 2 more days until the start of the Halloween season. (At least it is the start for us Halloween aficionados. You know who you are...you crazy people who decorate to the max, have more Halloween stuff than Christmas, dress up to hand out candy to the kids ( which is the highlight of my holiday) and give Halloween gifts to my friends. I usually have a Halloween party every year for my quilty girls. It is a small affair 6 or so. We don't dress in costume but we wear hats! I make "witches brew" and bottle it in appropriate bottles complete with spooky labels, we have frightful treats and eats, have ghoulish presents and generally have a wonderful time just having fun.
I did get my latest Halloween quilt done finally and it is itching to make it on my bed. Temperatures are still in the triple digits so actually using the quilt won't be necessary, but having it on my bed will make me smile. My husband is very tolerant of this quirky obsession of mine. He's very tolerant of the webs that cover things, crows that inhabit our house and the animated dolls and musical decorations that find their way out of the storage bin. He now enjoys Halloween like he never use to. Some years back he thought the whole thing was silly and for children. Now I have to fight him to hand out candy on Halloween.
Now for you Mom's that make your little darlings costumes, have you tried a ruffler foot? What a fun foot. If you love the look of ruffles on your little ones clothes- you can create that in a SNAP! Spruce up an off the rack outfit with a little bit of ruffle. How about putting a ruffle on the edge of your quilt instead of binding it? The simplest and most inexpensive way to liven up a room is to replace the throw pillows. Add a ruffle to a lamp shade in your bedroom for that romantic look. Make gifts for the holidays by embellishing tea towels with ruffles. Add a couple of napkins and you have a great hostess gift. You can also make pleats with the ruffler. It takes no time to learn how to use it and seriously you can make ruffles for the hem of a pair of jeans in less than 2 minutes! I am working on a tutorial on using the ruffler. So stay tuned. If you don't have one, check out your local machine dealer and get one for your machine. Well I am off to start the day and get as much done as I can. Remember 48 hours left for the giveaway!

Hugs to all
Robin

Piles of Leaves

It’s the last day of summer.  I have always thought that the air smells different and the sky changes color. The whole world gets a bit more golden. There is a faint smell of musty leaves that are starting dying. I have many great memories of fall as a child. It is my favorite time of year. The leaves on the trees turn so many shades of gold and red. Raking leaves was one of my favorite shores. Of course after they were raked into a pile we had to jump in the pile, laughing and giggling only to hear my Mother yelling for us to stop “horsing around” and get those leaves raked. It was an annual tradition that repeated itself without fail. Sometimes you could catch Mom smiling as she yelled at us, trying to act annoyed. We all knew she was acting but we played our part. After leaves

were raked into those piles..and believe me with an acre of land there were plenty of piles, Mom and Grandma would come down and burn them. The smell of burning leaves still takes me back to those golden days of my childhood autumn. Of course it is also the greatest holiday…. Halloween! Black cats, bats, full moons, witches on brooms and candy corn! There is still time to get in on the Halloween purse kit giveaway (or 6 fat quarters, whichever one you choose). Write a comment and be sure to tell your friends. That is all you have to do.

I just spent a week in the mountains, and fall is showing her beauty. There are crisp and chilly mornings followed by warm days. We fished and caught some, kept a few and threw most back to grow for another year. Chipmunks were very busy, collecting food for the winter. Some even ventured into my lap for a peanut. One fat little chipmunk had a peanut in each cheek and was still trying to get that third one shoved in his mouth also. They know winter is not far behind. Time to get your sewing room organized for some great sewing this season. Happy Fall everyone, let the quilting begin.

Robin

P.S.  Giveaway ends Thursday Sept 30th. A sneek peek at a new quilt coming very soon.

Halloween is coming!

Where in the world did August go? Just a few minutes ago it was August 5th! Onward! I love September! It's the unofficial start of Fall. While the temperatures are still in the 90's here it sure doesn't feel like fall. But everywhere I see Halloween stuff. Now I have to admit it is my favorite holiday. Always has been. I think Halloween should last for 2 months at least. If my DH would not put up a fuss, I would start decorating for Halloween now. Crazy you say? Nope, and come on admit it there are a lot of you out there that feel the same way. What is there not to like about Halloween? So... since I am doing a give away...and I told you that if you comment on my blog you would be entered to win fat quarters from my stash, I thought why not make it Halloween fabric? Then I got the idea...why not make the fat quarters so that you could actually have a project to make it out of? How about a Halloween purse? I have fabric left over from my Boo Kitty Handbag. The named changed to BK Handbag after Halloween was over that year but the pattern is the same, just the fabrics were different. So how many of your Halloween fanatics would love a kit of fabric and the pattern? So.. the giveaway will end the end of September. That's enough time for you shy sewers to comment isn't it? Some already have...and you are STILL in the running. I am posting pictures of the Boo Kitty Handbag.. so you can see what you can make. The handles and trims aren't included but I am sure you can find them in your area. Tell me how you decorate, how you celebrate and what makes Halloween so special. Now is the time to work on those Fall and Halloween projects. My house looks like a shrine to that spirited holiday. All things Halloween are revered and carefully displayed for their individual spookiness, cuteness, and eeriness, (not so sure those are even real words but hey they are now). And all of  you Quilters, if you have never made a Sun Bonnet Sue Witch, what Are you waiting for? I made this cutie several years ago from a pattern in a magazine. I have quite a collection of witches and she fit right in. So come on, leave me a comment!

Back to work on new patterns. Happy sewing and may your bobbins always be full.

Robin