Tomorrow is November 1st.  Wow.  I never seem to think about making Christmas quilts until Christmas is upon us.  Here is a freebie from Pam Bono I hope you enjoy. 

I have a Christmas quilt from last year that I need to finish.  I think it will be next on my list as my patient brother has been waiting...

Do you have any Christmas quilts in the works?

Cheers!
Deb

I love it when companies make great patterns available for free. This duffle bag caught my attention on a quilting friend's Facebook page and I just have to share.  I downloaded the pattern and when things slow down a bit hope to go through my fabric stash and see what I can do with it.  

Get your free duffle bag pattern from Robert Kaufman here.  If you make it I hope you will share a photo with us. (Use the Contact Me form if you need help with this...sharing a photo not making the bag.  Though you might be able to bribe me with chocolate for advice.)

Taking it a stitch at a time,
Deb

It was my day off so I was looking forward to finishing the piecing on the quilt that  I am working on.  Best laid plans and all that...The quilt was a struggle.  I just could not get the pieces to iron well.  Sometimes the obvious is so, well, obvious, that we miss it.  My iron just was not heating it like it should so I was not getting those nice crisps presses that I need.   

Yep, that is the new iron I got to replace my old Rowenta.  I loved my old Rowenta, it was one of the "Made in Germany" ones that has lasted me about 20 years.  I will still use it for applique as I think the low heat settings will still be good for that purpose and keep the sticky stuff off the new iron.  

Black and Decker's classic model reminds me of my mom's iron.  How often I came home from school in the afternoon and there she would be; set up in the living room doing the ironing.  I have never been one to iron much except when it comes to quilting.  I believe that if I get those clothes out of the dryer as soon as the dryer beeps and hang them they are good to go for most purposes.  A little spritz of wrinkle relaxer is great too.  Every once-in-a-while I get the urge to press those shirts and make them crisp, but those moments are short-lived and happen about once every three years.  Still the image of my mother, in a dress, at the ironing board is a very happy memory, perhaps because it was also a time when we would sit down and keep her company as she ironed.  There was no internet to draw our attention.  And in Oregon it was just as likely to be a rainy indoor kind of day.

It would be hard to show in a photo just how much difference this new workhorse made in the finished product of my quilt.  Smooth as can be.  It is heavier than my old iron, still has that blasted auto shut-off, the bane of quilters, but really a good safety feature that I have learned to live with.  I keep my iron plugged into a power strip that also has my floor lamp over the work area plugged into it.  If the light is on I know I have not turned off the iron. 

When the quilting day does not go as planned it is always nice to have friends around to inspire you.  This is a block that Pat Sloan designed.  She is doing a sew-along based on her newest book.  I love her candy corn bouquet. 
If you have not met Pat yet you are in for a real treat.  She offers lots of fun and inspiration at her blog and in her forums.
Click on the image to visit her website.

 Despite the setbacks today I am in love with the new quilt already.  Soon it will be time for the big reveal. Though for this week today was the only day I had free to work on it for any length of time.  Things do not always go as planned, but that's okay- I am still smiling and taking it a stitch at a time.
Deb