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I ran into this gal at The Gathering of Friends antique sale at Bachman's today. Made me think of the Brownie Scout song:
I have something in my pocket
That belongs across my face.
I keep it very close to me,
In a most convenient place.
I bet you'll never guess it
If you guess a long long while,
So I'll take it out and put it on.
It's a great big Brownie smile!
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get ahead of Janet Chrzanowski, who correctly guessed "Fish Boil" at 6:21 yesterday morning! At 7:55 a.m. Karen was the first to correctly guess Door County.
I got a kick out of the creativity of the guesses - soapmaking, dyeing wool, maple syrup, doing laundry, booya, love potion number 9, apple butter, kettle corn, burning witches, sterilizing canning jars, and even a pot from the Melting Pot restaurant. I live just a few miles from the historical Kelley Farm, and a few thought it might be a pot from the farm.
By 9:54, Karen Scheitlin had time to think about way more than just fish. She said: Since your location is MN I would say the first person is probably right with Fish Boil. If it was WA I would say it's for Crab, clams or mussels. If it was ME (or New England) I would say Lobster. It it was one of the many Southern states LA, SC, GA, AL, or FL I would say Blue Crabs or Crawfish. If you just made a mess after eating all of the above - I'd say you better wash your clothes in it. (lol)
So, Janet, Karen, and Karen, contact me, and you'll each receive a copy of Four Square Farmhouse in a few weeks.
Our Falloween theme today is quilts, and I'd like to show you some of my fall favorites. The "Autumn" wall quilt above is made with charm squares, using letters from the book Fat Quarter Fonts.
Happy Holidays is one of my all time favorite table toppers because we have a round table, and I always put it out with a bowl of candy corn. It's fun to set the table with orange and black Fiesta. Last fall, my sister asked me if I was trying to burn anyone who tried to take some of my candy corn - she knows it's my favorite!
Fire Escape is the quilt we cover up with in the living room because it has a flannel back! It's easy to make, and the lap size uses just five 1 yd. cuts of fabric.
This version of Happy Hour looks great hanging on my turquoise wall.
Of course I like white pumpkins with the turquoise wall. I learned the hard way to put a sheet of plastic wrap down underneath pumpkins . . . one year I ended up with a yukky spot on a wooden table because I left a pumpkin there too long. Another year, I had a pumpkin on a black chair on my porch. Cute, until the bottom got soft and it froze to the chair in a puddle of ice. The next year I tried a fake pumpkin on the chair, but it blew away! This is Minnesota - what did I expect?
Pat Sloan is our final "Designer of the Day" and she has a great project for you today. After visiting Pat, hop over to the other Fall-o-ween designer blogs to see some more great quilts!
Where's the witch? Can anyone guess what this pot is used for?
Hint #1: It is used almost daily in the spring, summer, and fall.
Hint #2: It's a well known tourist activity.
Hint #3: It's been in use for over 20 years.
The first person to guess correctly will get a copy of our new fall pattern, Four Square Farmhouse, which will be available in late October.
Today Linda Lum De Bono has cooked up a great project for you. After visiting Linda, be sure to check out the other designers in our Fall-O-Ween blog hop.
Gudrun, Sandy, Roseann, Kari, Heather, Terri, Carrie, Linda, Pat.One of our fall traditions is to visit the Parade of Homes. It's really just an excuse to drive around to enjoy the fall colors and have lunch somewhere different. Today at one of the homes, there were two kids fighting over who would get the biggest bedroom. Our kids used to do that! Never mind that we weren't going to ever live there. Here's the view from the deck of our favorite house - the fall colors were not quite at their peak yet, but the view was really pretty.
Today Carrie has a project for you - so wander on over and check it out. And then stop by the other designers and see what kind of fall traditions they enjoy. Gudrun,Sandy, Roseann, Kari,
Heather, Terri, Carrie, Linda, Pat.
Every fall I relax and recharge my batteries at a quilt retreat in Spicer, Minnesota with the "Spice Girls". We're getting older so we need really big glasses to see what we're doing. We get lots of exercise because we laugh so much - that builds strong abs, right?
It's fun to see projects go from stacks of squares . . .
to finished quilt tops. This one came to quilt camp several times - look how small the squares are!
Every quilt at camp has a story. Carol's husband bought this fabric for her to make a shirt for her stepson. He likes to fly vintage planes - so why wouldn't he want a shirt with planes and flowers on it? After the fabric aged in the closet for a while, Carol used it for a BQ quilt.
There's always a new toy or notion - this year Nancy had this cord holder for her iron.
Last year I learned how to vacuum with a shoe.
My favorite part is show and tell. Here's a vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden.
And this quilt is made using two Maple Island patterns - BQ and Yikes. Carol put it together using exchange blocks. It's always fun to see what everyone has accomplished since the last time we came to camp - I almost always run out of batteries before Show and Tell is finished. Maybe next year I'll remember to charge them before camp! Here are a few more quilts - I love to see the ones that I wouldn't have the patience to make myself!
Now it's time for you to see what the other Fall-o-ween designers are up to. Stop over at Terri's froa great project; and then hop over to the other Fall-o-ween designer blogs to hear about their fall gatherings.
Day 1: COLOR - Gudrun
Day 2: SCENTS - Sandy
Day 3: TASTE - Roseann
Day 4: TEXTURE - Kari
Day 5: CLOTHES - Me
Day 6: DECORATIONS - Heather
Day 7: GATHERINGS - Terri
Day 8: TRADITIONS - Carrie
Day 9: HAUNTS - Linda
Day 10: QUILTS - PatThanks for all of your wonderful comments yesterday - it's fun to hear how you plan to use your Sweet Zips. Sounds like this is a first zipper project for many of you. Just be brave and dive in! Because you can unzip and sew with everything flat, the Sweet Zip is a perfect "first zipper" project! If you don't have a zipper foot, just use your zig-zag or all purpose foot with the needle in the far left position.
And now to answer a few cooking questions: The apple pie has never run over the edges of the pan, but my pizza pan does have a "lip" at the edge - it's not a flat pan. The "calico beans" for the bean soup are mixed beans that come in a 16 oz. package. I checked at Cub today and the package they have is called "16 bean assortment". I don't use the seasoning that comes with it.
This fall, Roseann and I went to the Bachman's Idea House. We took our time wandering through and taking pictures, and then we went through again and noticed completely different things. Our heads were spinning with all of the great ideas! These hose wreaths were my favorite outdoor decoration.
Inside the house, I loved how they used tar paper as a blackboard on the wall above the mantle.
The same day, I found these little white pumpkins at the Junk Bonanza. I already have a collection of candle holders - but I never thought of putting something besides candles in them!
Here's my fall decorating so far - a bowl of pumpkins on a French Braid Runner. I love these colors - and of course they look great with my Fiesta dishes. I spent the rest of the afternoon arranging and rearranging some pumpkins in my living room. My daughter Megan had to help me tweak them with some fall leaves before I was completely satisfied. I changed my quilts several times - I always get frustrated because I want more wall space. By the time we finished it was almost dark and too late for pictures - I'll share some in a few days.
Hop on over to Heather's and not only will you get a great project today but her house will be decked out for fall! Then visit the other Fall-O-Ween designers to see how they decorate for fall.
Day 1: COLOR - Gudrun
Day 2: SCENTS - Sandy
Day 3: TASTE - Roseann
Day 4: TEXTURE - Kari
Day 5: CLOTHES - Me
Day 6: DECORATIONS - Heather
Day 7: GATHERINGS - Terri
Day 8: TRADITIONS - Carrie
Day 9: HAUNTS - Linda
Day 10: QUILTS - PatWelcome blog hoppers! I'm having a great time visiting all of the Fall-O-Ween blogs, and it's been fun getting to know all of you as I click on your comments and visit your blogs. Remember to leave a comment for each designer on their free project post; if you comment on all 10 designers we'll put your name in the hat for some great prizes!
Today is my turn in the spotlight, so let me tell you a little bit about myself. I've been designing patterns for over 15 years, and quilting since I was in college. Many of you are familiar with Atkinson Designs because of our best selling pattern Yellow Brick Road, but we also have over 25 other patterns and 12 books.
I especially like to make simple quilts that look like I worked really hard - figuring out shortcuts is the fun part for me.
Lately, I've been having lots of fun making little zipper bags. Since I couldn't find zippers in the colors I wanted, we now wholesale 36 colors of zippers to quilt shops in the US and Canada.
"Thank Goodness It's Friday" hasn't even entered my mind since I started Atkinson Designs because I get to do all sorts of fun stuff - like designing quilts, shopping for fabric, writing instructions, and of course, sewing. I get to work at my own pace and choose what I do each day. It doesn't get any better than that! My husband Kirk works with me doing all of the office things like shipping, ordering, etc.
We have two kids, and here is how they looked about 18 years ago. I thought I'd sneak their picture in for today's topic of fall clothes! Back in the "good old days" I made many of their clothes; polar fleece jackets and sweatshirts were especially fun to make because they were quick and easy, and sweatshirt weather is my favorite time of year.
My favorite candy would never be chocolate - I would choose candy corn! Today's pattern for you is a little "Sweet Zip" bag to hold your favorite candy. Two fat eighths (9" x 21") of fabric will make three "Sweet Zips" - one to keep and two to give as gifts. When you've eaten the candy, you can put a little pack of tissues inside. Download SWEET ZIP
I bet you think I forgot about Monday's orange fabrics - of course not! See the stripe hiding inside?
I hope I get to see your Sweet Zips - you can upload photos to our Fall-O-Ween Flickr site. Hop on over to the other designer's blogs and see if they are dressed for the weather! Gudrun, Sandy, Roseann, Kari, Heather, Terri, Carrie, Linda, Pat
Some elements by Holly McCaig Designs