Pathetic......

YEP.....that would be ME!.....PATHETIC..... in a LOT of areas! I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged.....WOW, has it really been 4 months already??? Well, I HAVE done a FEW things in all this time I have been off. The only way I know to catch up IS to just START CATCHING UP with some photos of what has been going here at BROWN DIRT COTTAGE! I will start with the BLOCK LOTTO blocks I have made. Above photo are OCTOBER blocks.

NOVEMBER BLOCK LOTTO

MARCH BLOCK LOTTO

Even GOOBER...THE DOG is showing signs of PATHETICNESS {is that even a word}? Look at him...lounging....in the sun...all warm and cozy....a crunchy orange snack not far from reach. I guess like 'owner'...like 'dog'!!! COME ON GOOBER.....we MUST snap out of it and GET BACK into the GROOVE!!!!

I promise to share more 'CATCH UP' photos in the coming days! I have missed EVERYONE....have you missed ME????

Change is Good

Yes....I think there comes a time when CHANGE is good and much needed. CHANGE can come when you plan it and then again CHANGE can be forced upon you when you least expect it. This has been a hard year for Mr. Brown Dirt and myself dealing with his sick father. I soooo want to thank each and everyone of you who left heart warming comments on my previous post concerning the passing of our loved one. Our lives CHANGED this past year and continues to CHANGE each day after his passing. We have so many good memories though!!

I was in the middle of another CHANGE when father in laws sudden death occurred. I finally found some much needed new living room furnishings. Of course, NOTHING matches!! Soooo the paint color must be CHANGED. The curtain/drapes must be CHANGED. Here is how my living room has looked for 3 weeks now. My room is in a total mess, well...actually my whole house is sort of in a mess. The green is what is being CHANGED and that is primer you see there.

The mustard colored walls in Mr. Brown Dirt's office must be CHANGED too!!! This is the color he wanted, but I think 15 yrs. of me looking at it is long enough!!! I have already started priming it too.

The most CHANGE I need in my life is a little extra time. I need to make some CHANGES on how I spend my time. My house is in total disarray and the holidays are bearing down on me fast! I want to spend a little time being who I was before I started blogging and spending so much time on the computer. Soooo, it's time for a CHANGE here at Brown Dirt Cottage. I will be taking some much needed time out from blogging. This CHANGE will be good for me and maybe I can come back soon refreshed and with a clean and orderly house!!!! I may check in with some of you from time to time but I will not be posting for a while!! See ya!

Sad Day

Mr. Brown Dirt's father left this earth early this morning. He will be missed but we are glad his struggle and pain are gone for good! He was a hard working farmer man who loved his garden and the outdoors. Rest in peace Ed........

I Made Some Stars

Yes...I made some stars.......9 to be exact. That made me 9 chances of winning for this months drawing in the BLOCK LOTTO. I joined up the first of October because the block for the month was variable stars. Well, if you have followed my blog for these last couple of years you know i love stars!!! They are so versatile and fun to make. You can't mess them up....in fact i try to mess them up! The goofier you make them the more interesting they become! These are the largest stars I have ever made. These will measure a 9" finished block. So here is a parade of the ones I made. Hope you like them as much as I do!

The main reason for this post is to let you know I WON! I WON! Yes, I was one of the winners. There were so many stars made this month there was enough to have 5 winners this time. The first 4 winners will receive 48 stars each and the 5th winner will receive what is left. I was one of the top 4. So....I will be getting to keep the 9 i made and will have 39 more being sent to me in the ole snail mail. YIPPEE!!!!!!

You should go check out the BLOCK LOTTO. There is no commitment. You can choose any month or block we are making on any given month. All you have to do is make anywhere from 1 to 9 blocks. It's your choice to make as many as you have time for. It's a LOT OF FUN!!

I also talked my bloggy friend SHARON from INDIGO THREADS into joining this last month and she WON TOO!!!! Isn't that crazy!!!! I must say.....Sharon probable likes me pretty good about now!!!!

My Fall Quilt Festival Quilt

Here is my selection for Amy's Fall Quilt Festival. This is a Quiltville pattern...Chunky Churndash I made back in 2008/2009. I soooo love the scrappiness of it. I guess scrappy quilts are just about my favorite. The whole quilt was sewn with 'stash' scraps and yardage. The navy blue fabric is about 25 yrs. old, leftover from some curtains w-a-y back in the 80's when 'country blues' were all the rage. Was I ever glad to finally find a use for it.

I am a die hard hand quilter!!! I find it so relaxing and find the 'dip and dot' look most appealing .....but yes, I have machine quilted some of my other quilts and still plan on doing more. Hand quilting is time consuming and I'm already pretty behind on my finished tops.

I chose to hand quilt concentric circles for this one. I measured to find the center and just drew myself a 2 inch circle and went from there. I think my circles are about 1 1/2 inches apart. Don't you just love this photo of the back. I love it best 'cause it's finished!!!!
Now run on over to Amy's blog and check out the rest of the fabulous quilts. Blogger won't let me link from Amy's name above so just go to my sidebar and click on the Festival Button and it will take you right there.

Halloween Quilts

OH YEH.........I'm gonna have me some words!!!

Well.....I'm working towards it anyway. It's been a while since I made any letters/words and I feel a little rusty. I finished sewing all the sashing/blocks together and I think this quilt is going to be pretty cute!!!

.........LOL....... Looks like a pumpkin threw up in here!

Are YOU working on anything Halloweeny????

Halloween Quilt

I pulled out my Halloween Swap blocks from last year and spent a little time arranging the blocks how I might want them. Some of the blocks I received are w-a-y off the size they should be and some were not finished and so I just put it up last year and thought I would deal with the 'problems' at a later date. When I pulled these out and put them up on the design wall I found that I really like the blocks better now than I did last year when they first arrived. I think I agonized and spent sooooo much time on my boo/ghost blocks to swap that when we finally swapped I was just tired of it already! So this morning I finished a few needing attention and think I have come up with a few ideas to correct the ones that are not large enough. I am playing with this today......auditioning fabrics for sashing/borders etc. or whatever I decide to do! YEAH FALL!!!!

I also need to get these sweet little Halloween panels 'sandwiched' and quilted. My friend Gail (no blog) sent me these last year and I miss-placed them for a while. Boy, was I relieved when
I found them.......LOL.....you know how we quilters are.....they were not where they should have been. They measure about 20"x 24". I think they will be great for machine quilting practice!

I want to spend a 'few' minutes thumbing through these today. I'm a pack rat when it comes to my magazines....I never get tired of any of them!! I have Country Living all the way back to 1982...LOL....hey, it's ok if you throw yours out....but, I think some of the decorating ideas still apply for today...especially for the different seasons. I keep them stored in monthly order so at a glance I can pull out a few that fit the month I'm in for a quick inspiration! And besides, the Country Living seems to have quilts on every page!!

I also tear out cute idea pages to keep from some magazines I don't save....look...look at these fun ideas I might use on my porch or table to enhance the seasons here at Brown Dirt Cottage!

Talk about inspiration.......I LOVE this table scape!!!! YEAH FALL!!!!!

dots and flowers

Fort Worth Fabric Studio is a very good thing!! Dots and Windham feedsack florals galore. Jodie carries a lot of the newer designer fabrics at extremely reasonable prices. I think most of the yardage I have here was less than 8.00 a yard. Of course I had to add in sales taxes being we are in the same state and all, but I don't mind supporting my great state of TEXAS!

I was needing those feedsack florals for more of these.....! I have loved working on these hexies through the summer...perfect carry along projects.....and believe me....all I seemed to get done this summer was the 'carry alongs'! Yeh.....'cause I was carrying myself here and there and then carrying myself here and there some more! My little hexie flowers are about 10 inches in size. Oh yes.....my hexies in the middle are chocolate brown.....they look sort of black in this photo!

And remember when I showed you this on my previous post???

Well.....here is what was inside!!! How wonderful!! Sharon from Indigo Threads Blog sewed up the cutest zippered bags. The black one there on the left is made from a vinyl type mesh (reminds me of screen door mesh only better) and the blue fabric band she added in with the rick rack is from some of her 1920's vintage...I.LIKE. The other one is called a humbug bag...I'm crazy over the odd shape. Great goodies Sharon....thank you soooo much! This is from a Pay it Forward....Sharon featured this on her blog a while back. If there is anyone who would like to participate....leave a comment and let me know. You have a whole year to complete your little projects.

Christmas 'stuff'

Here is what I did this morning....I sewed these tee ni-knee half square triangles together! They measure about 1 1/4 inches big (or small)!! Aren't they cute!!

Those half square triangles were left over from this project. But more on this later 'cause they are some goodies I need to get sent out to 3 FAB....and I do mean FAB fellow bloggers!

And my 'snail mail' left this at my door too.....More on this later.........................

Sunflowers EVERYWHERE....

AAaaaaaagghhhhh.....this SUNFLOWER panel REALLY speaks to me!!! This piece is the right size to make a BEAUTIFUL table runner. A little while back I received another surprise package from my friend GAIL (no blog....lives in Michigan). If you have followed my blog in the past you have seen other wonderful boxes of fabric goodness she has sent my way. THANK YOU GAIL!!!

GAIL also included this generous pile of various FAB sunflower fabrics!

These are SUNFLOWERS I have INSIDE......now let's go OUTSIDE and look at a few real ones....afterall.....it's HARVEST TIME!!

Looks more like Aliens rather than Sunflowers! I think I see different personalities too...don't you? HA!

SMILE Mr. Sunflower..................this is about the size of an EXTRA LARGE dinner plate.

Look at them bowing...looks like they are giving homage to the great GREEN gathering machine. toooooooo funny!

Hey Mr. Brown Dirt...REALLY!!! PLEASE let me go dig out that yellow can of spray paint!!!

WOW...WOW........LOOK VICTORIA......I have one too! GAIL also created this w-a-y too cute table topper for me. What can I say? I LOVE IT!!

Here is the flip side to the topper. Yeee-ow....this is where the work is! Just millions of fabulous fabrics. I especially like the little hot pinks and reds GAIL slipped in here and there. There are some sparkle-ee ones too.....And what about that JUMBO RIC RAC!!!!!! This circle measures about 40 inches. GAIL sent one to VICTORIA too and gave a 'HOW TO' on this topper over on VICTORIA'S blog HERE.

MORE goody fabric piles sent by Gail......just can not wait to cut into some of it.

I LOVE...LOVE this panel.......THANKS AGAIN GAIL!!

And last but not least.......LOOK at this GREAT array of inspiration GAIL included in my package!! GAIL is always so generous with me and soooo encouraging to me in our email exchanges. I LOVE EVERYTHING GAIL....THANK YOU...THANK YOU....THANK YOU!!!