October what?? 17th. Already??

Back in September Mary Fons was at the the Quilted Steeple in Lone Rock Iowa.

She did some classes and lectures during their open house.

There was an outdoor quilt show too.

A nice strong breeze made picture taking hard.

It is located out in the country. A new purpose for an old church.

She went up and down the aisle warming up the crowd before she started. We didn't do any of the classes, just the lecture. There is a picture of the crowd on the home page if you click on the link.

This was a dresser up on the second floor of one of the sheds. It was there when we bought the place.

The drawers were missing and it was falling apart. We added two shelves using scrap wood.

Then stained it...

It turned out a little better than anticipated. But we are still using it the way I had planned. As a grilling station. Our tiny table top gas grill sits on top and other grilling supplies are on the shelves. It is protected from the weather and will be brought inside for the winter. So it should last a nice long time. 

This was last years block exchange quilt. We had a meeting for this years. We will make a 12 inch star block and a 6 inch block of our choice (times 12). They will be in reds and whites. I think I have a plan already...but I haven't sewn one block yet.

That is probably where I should start...getting my blocks sewn.

Went to Des Moines for the AQS quilt show a couple weeks ago. 

Lynne had a quilt entered again this year. I love being able to see her stuff in person! We stopped to stare and soak it all in and take a photo. I bought her a pin too, but that is still in my bag. 

This car cover was made by one of the members of the Blue Earth Valley Quilters. Jan asked friends for orphan blocks to create this car cover. She made it several years ago. She had even sold the car. The new owner loaned it back just for the quilt show last August. I had heard about it, but this was the first time I saw it in person. It is pretty awesome. 

I still need to work on some binding. I can drag my feet with the best of them when it comes to binding. But today is the day. Pressure is on, I want it done before Monday and the next BEVQ meeting. 

One more thing.

The fabric pack challenge this year is Pumpkin Spice. I dug out an old pattern I made about 20 years ago. No Ordinary Cats by Country Threads. While making all the small flying geese and tiny stars that also go in this quilt, I discovered something.

My skills for sewing small stuff has not improved in 20 years. They are as wonky and off as ever.

When I pull this out again to work on it....I may be simplifying the pattern and using 2 inch squares for some of the filler. Or maybe not, but, that is just how I feel today.

I better get busy!