September Is Here!

 Omigoodness. Can you believe we are here in September already? It just boggles the mind.

 

In my usual manner, I am wrapping up the old month with a collage. I didn't have many actual finishes, but I do have many, many starts. Let's see the highlights.

TOP ROW: In possibly the only quilt I quilted, another of Kay's quilts is done and bound and ready to be passed along. I have only alluded to this ongoing project of finishing quilts for Kay; at some point, I will post a more complete write-up of it, but timing plays a part. The middle quilt of the top row is a pretty pink floral 9-patch quilt made for the pending arrival of our first grandchild in October. I will definitely be quilting this (and a few others, hopefully!). The final pic of the top row is of the lush hydrangeas along the side of our house. We had some gorgeous humidity-free days in August bringing the clearest blue skies. I love living out here in the remote country farmlands. We are so blessed with acreage, trees, and all manner of wildlife. This picture contains the beauty of the white blooms, the varied greens of the trees, and the vivid blue of the sky - a winning combination.

MIDDLE ROW: At quilt retreat I made a 3-yard quilt called Crossroads, and here you see a closeup of the fabrics used in it. Center stage is one of my 70 stars for Lil' Orphan Scrappy, a quilt I worked in earnest on at retreat. All 70 stars are finished, and down below you will see an updated picture of my progress. On a Sunday evening about a week ago, we went to Columbus to meet our daughters and their fellas for dinner - to celebrate Emma's 30th birthday! On the way, we drove through a pretty nasty thunderstorm, but as we approached Columbus, the skies cleared and we were blessed with the most brilliant rainbow I've seen in a long time. It lasted and lasted - we could still see it as we entered the southern suburbs. I probably took a couple dozen pictures of it. Note that a faint second rainbow is in the upper right corner.

BOTTOM ROW: Another quilt still in progress is my green and beige snowball/9-patch. I have all the blocks made and now need to take an afternoon to sew the top together. Just this past weekend, DH and I visited his niece, her family and several extended family and the afternoon included a pontoon ride on the Ohio River. My first river ride, and it was perfection. Finally, my current focus is finishing up the blocks for Lil' Orphan Scrappy done in my scraps of William Morris fabrics. 

Yes, I do have a few ideas brewing and stewing for September. Sharon and I have decided that we both need more Kaffe Fassett quilts, so we have plans to do those this month. 

Besides the KF project, I will definitely be finishing the snowball quilt and the William Morris quilt. I then should turn my focus to the long arm machine - I really need to quilt 6, minimum, and could easily get ahead by doing that many more! I still plan to do some sort of pine tree quilt, and I always wish I had a leaf quilt when fall color arrives, so maybe that ought to go into the planning stage, too.

Since I am wordy today, let me finish with a couple of pics to further enhance the August collage. Two more pictures of the rainbow and one more from our Ohio River excursion.

I-71 in Grove City; Stringtown Road area.

I-71 northbound on south side.

Family fun on boat heading to the Ohio River.

It's always exciting to start fresh with a brand new month, so instead of bemoaning these waning summer days, I will anticipate all the fun that September will bring. New projects, new adventures, and football!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!