Welcome November

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." ~~  Michael Altshuler

In considering how it could possibly be November already, I found the quote above thought provoking. Food for thought for us all today. 

November!! Suddenly we are in the season of making holiday plans, winterizing our homes, and putting on an extra layer of clothing. At least I am doing all those things.

Before we get too far removed from October, let's have a look at the highlights of the last month.

TOP ROW: We took our third fall trip to New England to see quintessential fall color; the first two frames feature pics from that trip. First, Fallingwater, the unique, snug vacation hideaway designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Pennsylvania. It was built for a Pittsburgh businessman named Kaufman. Second, pretty trees along a random New York byway in the Finger Lakes Region. The final frame, of course, is our sweet Cate decked out in OSU colors.

MIDDLE ROW: More Cate in the middle row. And more OSU Scarlet and Gray. We had our annual family weekend at a cabin in Hocking Hills. We watched the Buckeyes beat Penn State at a nearby bar/restaurant.To honor the colors of the season, I finished Autumn Leaves. It will soon find its way onto the long arm machine. Again, dear granddaughter Cate, bows and smiles.

BOTTOM ROW: This row shows how busy I've been in the quilting room. First, I longarmed Alpine, and now have it ready for use. Next, needing a baby boy quilt for an upcoming blessed event, I whipped up a fun cowboy quilt from a layer cake. And finally, I added borders to the layer cake quilt I made at September's retreat - greatly enhancing it, if I do say so myself.

Now I can look ahead to what I will try to accomplish in this new month. Believe it or not, I am leaning toward not starting anything new. Gah! Yes, I really did say that. Even though my goals list for the year includes making a quilt from the fabric stack shown above, I am thinking that I'd rather spend time at the longarm machine finishing a few of the quilts already pieced.

Instead of using that luscious Winnemucca fabric, other items on that aforementioned goals list are very likely going to take priority. Two baby quilts HAVE to be quilted, so there's where I will start. The one above is for a new grand-niece coming in January. The other is the one mentioned in the collage, also needed by January. Below I've listed the 7 additional quilts made this year that I would like to finish. Hey! Maybe 2023 becomes the year of making quilts all the way through to completion! What a concept.

Just to remind us all, the as yet unquilted quilts made this year are:  Floral Diamonds, Wm. Morris Economy, Autumn Leaves, Floral Explosion, Buffalo Check, Kaffe Panels, Posies and Polka Dots.

Besides longarming, I will spend time addressing the ongoing Lake Effect - confession: I have barely touched it this year. I gotta' step it up. I WANT to see it finished. If I am not starting anything new, then it seems natural I should make time to focus on Lake Effect. At the rate I've been going, instead of a 10-year project, this could easily turn into a 20-year project. (Shuddering at the thought!)

Okay, BOOM!! My plan for the remainder of the year: longarm the quilts listed above and stitch on Lake Effect. Now, let's see how well I follow through with this plan.

Happy Quilting, Friends!