Falling into Fall

It has been an amazingly busy fall so far.  Today I finally pulled the last of the bean plants out of the ground, and brought in 3 remaining green tomatoes.  If we had any pumpkins, there would be frost on them.  The kale (above) is still going strong, at least for a little while longer.  There were even two raspberries this morning.

I've spent the past 3 Wednesdays documenting quilts at the Hawks Inn Museum in Delafield, Wisconsin.  An amazing group of volunteers from the Mukwonago Crazy Quilters came every week, and have now become pros.  They were a joy to work with, like everyone at this museum.

Here are just a few photos of the amazing quilts I got to see up close:

A signature quilt from Newfield, NY, dated 1853.

An amazing applique quilt.  Every block is slightly different.

A very unusual pattern.

We documented 35 quilts, and plan another date next fall to finish up.  We hope to be entering all of these into the Quilt Index this fall/winter.

You know the summer is over when the Flea Market season ends.  My husband and I went to the last Elkhorn Flea Market in late September, and the pile above is the loot I found.  I got lots of fabric, both vintage and recent, for an average of $3 per yard.  I will take that deal any day.

Here's a closeup of the baby quilt I bought.  It was a kit quilt from the 1930s or 1940s.  Very sweet.  A little worn, not too much.  Not bad for $10.00.

I dug the potatoes a few weeks ago, ahead of the frost.  This is our haul for the year, which isn't bad for two rows of a small garden.  Digging potatoes is like finding buried treasure.

Speaking of treasure, our quilt group had our silent auction at our meeting last week.  I got rid of a big box of rubber stamps and some books and rulers.  This is what I bid on and took home:

It doesn't really look like treasure, does it?  It was a huge bag full of batting scraps, plus a gallon zip lock bag stuffed full of narrow fabric strips.
Batting scraps are great for me, because I do a lot of quilt as you go.  I need squares for quilt blocks and strips for sashing.  

I separated the fabric strips into two piles.  The big pile is strips at least 1 in. wide.  I'll use those for string quilts.  The smaller pile is even narrower strips.  I'm using those to crochet a rug (pictures when done).  There was also a scrap of gray fabric often used to make ironing board covers.  I can use it to back a pot holder.

Here's the first block I made with the strips.  The new ones are the yellow with leaves and the dark green.  They go with the strips I already have pretty well.

The cost of this scrap pile bonanza?  One whole dollar.  And I'll bet the person who brought it is just as happy to be rid of it as I am to have it.

The tomatoes are canned, but there's a bushel of apples in the garage that needs to be put up so we can have apple pies and crisps all winter.  Plus the dog needs a walk, and I need to work up the bread and start the soup.  Not to mention making more quilt blocks!
I wish you the joy of fall this week. 
Happy Quilting!