October FM Challenge Done

I enjoyed this month's challenge from SewCalGal--it was presented by Teri Lucas, and was a lot of fun to stitch. 

I used a satiny piece of fabric that I've had for years, and some YLI Silk thread.  Turns out they were both the same color, but since it was the only silk thread I had, I decided to use it.  It was a little difficult to see the stitching once in a while, but it was a bright & sunny day yesterday when I worked on it which made it a little easier. 

The shiny fabric really looks great when stitched up. 

I added my name like we were supposed to do, but as a little feature on the side, not as a main feature.

I think this is the back.

Joan at Leschenault was nice enough to create a video to show me how she made her nautilus shells.  (Her stitching is already good enough that she should be teaching one of these monthly challenges, in my opinion).  My shells didn't turn out great, but they're ok for a first attempt, and I definitely liked doing them, so I'll be doing more in the future, that's for sure.  Thanks, Joan!

I also finally sewed these blocks together from my Judy Niemeyer pattern, Raindrops.  Now to get it ready for quilting, what a job that's going to be!

It's so big that it dragged on the ground when I hung it on the clothesline to photograph. 

And I also started (and finished) this quilt top over the weekend.  It was a pattern I found in American Quilter's magazine, by Marcia DeCamp.  It's really easy, and has enough of a structured look but still looks contemporary.  I used up a bunch of my hand-dyed and batiked pieces that I've made over the last year or so. 

I think I'm going to make another one of these, still have lots of hand dyes and batiked fabrics to use up.  All in all, it was a very productive weekend.