Rain Brings Out The Killers (Pacific City, OR)

In books, of course.

Ever since we settled in Pacific City, the days have been filled with lots of rain.  My walks have been short and the cats are not getting out....boy, are they telling us about it too.  No new photos of the outdoors, so I will talk about some of my favorite summer reads instead.  Nothing is more cozy than a hot cup of tea and a murder mystery on a stormy night....or an all day of dark skies and rain.

Buttons and Bones by Monica Ferris
I have read all of Monica's Needlecraft Mystery series.  Her series is one of the few paperbacks that I made room for in our motorhome.

One of these days, I will read them all again.  I have followed Crewel World's owner Betsy Devonshire as she accidentally becomes the owner of her sister's shop and a sleuth with a knack for solving mysteries by talking to people.  Her friends can be quirky as well as talented and helpful.  The best part is that each book covers a different needlecraft theme, so I learn something new each time.  Betsy's favorite handwork is her knitting.  It helps her to think better while solving mysteries, but she does try other needlecrafts such as cross-stitch, needlepoint, blackwork, and you name it, she has probably tried it.

In "Buttons and Bones", Jill and her husband buy an old cabin on one of the many lakes in Minnesota.  They invite Betsy to join them to help with their two little ones while they spend the weekend starting on renovating the cabin.  Soon, Betsy's quiet weekend is changed with the discovery of a hidden cellar and a skeleton with only buttons from WWII for identification.  Crocheting is the theme this time...just like in Grandma's house with doilies covering the back of chairs and tables.  The clues were great and I actually figured out the mystery before I got to the "here's what happened" disclosure.

The Quilt Before the Storm Arlene Sachitano

This story did not have as much quilting as it had more to do with the homeless and rescued dogs while dealing with a huge NW storm that has cutoff the small town of Foggy Point.  With most of the police force on the wrong side of the flooded river, it is up to Harriet and her house-full of friends to solve the multiple homeless murders while helping out the storm victims.  I admit with all the clues, I was surprised by the "who-done-it".

I saw this site and thought I would share it with other readers...
17 Problems Only Book Lovers Will Understand


On The Cutting Board

My needles have been on fire with all the handwork I have been getting done lately.  I finished three mug rugs so far:  the Witches Brew/frog and 2 of the 3 witches.  I got a little tired of working on dark backgrounds and decided to work on the two hogs instead.  I'm quilting them now.  I'm trying to finish all my unfinished mug rugs before starting new ones.

The only problem with that is how many I have sitting around.  I have at least another ten UFOs to finish with most of them being seasonal themed like turkeys and reindeer.  If I don't finish them soon, they will probably wait until next season and that is not good. 

I should make some more Santas, but I'm going to wait until I see how long I can keep up this pace.  If I don't burn out, I should have quite a stack of new mug rugs to list by the time we move back to Seaside on 9 Sept.

I hope to start working on some new trailers soon.  See, they are all cut out.  I just need to decide how I am going to embellish them.

I also have quite a few unfinished wall-hangings that I would like to list before the end of this year.  I worked on this one in-between working on the mug rugs.  

I bought this stack of teacups with a mouse design from Urban Threads.  I added the quote from "Alice in Wonderland" along with the wonky squares for the borders.

Happy Quilting!

New Seasonal Mug Rugs Listed Online

These were originally potholders, but I thought they were too cute to use under a hot dish.  I plan to hang my collection on the kitchen wall for seasonal decorations when I am not using them to as a Mug Rug.

With all this extreme hot weather, I am looking forward to cooler weather and a nice cup of hot tea in the Fall.  I'm ready with some Autumn colors of orange, red, green, and brown in these cute Harvest Acorn Mug Rugs.

Acorn Harvest Mug Rug

Harvest Acorn

Check out my new Mug Rugs in my QuiltinCats Shop


Description of all Mug Rugs:
I use all cotton scraps. All embroidery is hand-stitched with DMC 100% cotton thread. All quilting is hand-stitched around design. Appliqué is fused with Steam-A-Seam2. 

Batting is Insul-Bright. A heat-resistant batting. 
**Do not use for holding HOT dishes** The buttons are NOT heat resistant and may melt if a hot dish is placed on them. 

This cute pattern was designed by Nancy Halvorsen from Art to Heart. I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Art To Heart.

Isn't this cute!  As soon as I saw the pattern, I thought of Bugs Bunny and that crazy Witch Hazel! And that laugh!  She was hilarious!  She always cracked me up!

Witch Mug Rug

Holding my brew!

Seasonal Potholders or Mug Rugs

Summer has barely started and I am ready for some cooler weather. Well, I certainly don’t want to rush Father Time so I will be patient. While I am waiting, I will start working on some seasonal items.   In-between my quilt projects, of course.

I have been fusing fabric together with Steam-A-Seam2, but I’m find this fusible hard to get the needle through. It’s a little hard on the fingers and hands. Especially when there are 3 layers!  I think I’m going to try a lighter weighted fusible. Any suggestions? What do you use to fuse fabrics for appliqué work? 

Pumkin parts are ready to be cut out.



Tracing the pattern onto Steam-A-Seam2



I find using a pin to score the paper in the center works the best.

Peel towards edge.

Appliqué Pressing Sheet

I like using the appliqué pressing sheet.  The pressing sheet goes over the design. I can see the design for placement and iron on the sheet.  The fusible webbing does not stick to the sheet.  I start ironing the smaller pieces together.  I go backwards as I add the larger pieces.  This makes it easier to place each piece in its proper spot.  

3 more ready for embroidery

Working on Snowman.

Button Hole Stitch

I finished the Snowman and I am thinking of selling these as decorative mug rugs instead of potholders.  The reason for this?  I have been embellishing the 'potholders' with buttons and they might melt if a hot pot is put on them.  I think they will make a very festive mug rug, don't you?

Mug Rug?

Happy Quilting!

Happy Halloween!

Scary Buddies - Isn’t this cute?

This monthly mini took me only a week to make. The pattern is from Patch Abilities by Julie Bohringer. http://www.patchabilities.com/index.html Julie has some wonderful patterns that you can see on her website. I got this pattern from Quilt Corral Too in Rapid City. I used the Lite Steam-A-Seam2 to fuse the pattern together. While working on the hand embroidery, I watched a couple of my favorite Halloween movies like Practical Magic, Hocus-Pocus, and Under Wraps. I love a good laugh and of course, the movies get me into the mood for the season. I got a few more to watch, but I will have to work on my appliqué or my Christmas potholders instead.

I needed to get a small dowel, so I could hang my new mini in the window with a suction cup. I also needed to look for some batik for finish my pond quilt. Dan & I went to V & S Variety Store in Elma, WA. They advertised the store was an old fashioned variety store with candy, toys, housewares, and fabric. Oh, what a pleasant surprise! It is like Hobby Lobby or JoAnn’s only independent with over 5,000 bolts of fabrics. The employees were very nice and very helpful. I plan to visit again during our long winter stay.

Here’s my mini hanging in the window of our coach.
I found the perfect batik! It looks like little flagstones. A great finish edge for my pond.

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!