The Latest Issue!

I subscribe to McCall's Quilting and the latest issue (January/February 2017) came today.

First of all, the quilt on the cover grabbed my interest ( you all know how I love piecing and stars!).

But when I was going through the pages and came to page 18, I almost fell out of my chair.

A FREE e-book called "Tales of Ireland" totally has me fascinated.  

Now I am not Irish by a long shot, but the techniques for the blocks have got me hooked.  

Crumb pieced hearts, Celtic knots, clover Applique, clamshells, hexagons, and several pieced blocks will give a quilter, who loves sampler quilts, plenty to do.  

So I make a green quilt while I refresh my skills.  There must be green in my ancestral lands and maybe a bit of Irish in me somewhere!

I urge you to go to McCallsquilting.com and check out this free e-book. Whether you are a seasoned quilter or one who is new to the craft, I know you will enjoy the challenge of this sampler quilt's various techniques.

And no, I did not get a stipend for this plug! I truly was enamored of the various techniques, although I may have to do something different with the final layout of the quilt.

Louise, on the island planning her next (sampler) quilt

Ah, November, and of All Things Binding and Fall

The title covers a lot of things, doesn't it?

Ah, November, it is finally here. Almost the end of the year, the start of the Holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas and lots of birthdays in my family.

The temperatures dip. And while the skies may be sunny and blue, there is a nip in the air.

My favorite tree has turned on its glorious color.

It is often the last to leaf out in the spring and now one of the last to lose its leaves.  It is beautiful this year. I guess it must be the lack of rain.

Binding continues on "Fireworks". I shòuld be finished this afternoon, if I pay attention and don't get sidetracked.

The angle of the sun makes it dip below the house next door for a brief while now, but with an increasing length of time going forward. I guess this would be like living on the eastern slope of a mountain. While it is still light, you don't experience the direct rays of the sun until the angle changes as we get closer to spring.

The sun does pop back out fairly quickly from behind the neighbor's roofline in November. But it is still a reminder, however, that we are heading towards the days with shorter amounts of daylight.

Not meaning to be depressing on this sunny afternoon!  Just observing nature's ways as I listen for the dryer to signal it has finished its cycle.

Louise, on the island, binding, while waiting for the dryer to finish!