October wrap-up and on to November!

Cheryl Arkison's recent visit with a trunk show and three days of workshops  encouraged us all to have more fun with our quilting. She encouraged us to relax and lighten up a bit, and give ourselves "permission to play." Participants in the workshops learned about modern quilts, improv piecing, using up small scraps, and putting a modern spin on traditional blocks. She reminded us that it is okay to "just play" - to feel liberated from the need to "make something"... no product required - just focus on the process and feel free to experiment to discover what we do and don't like. A good reminder to us all!

Cheryl has written three quilting books, Sunday Morning Quilts, A Month of Sundays and You Inspire Me to Quilt, and also has patterns available for purchase. Visit her site here for more info.

Shown here are several of the quilts she shared with us in her trunk show.

Thanks to Lee M. for these photos from the trunk show.

Today is Nov. 1, which means it's the first day of the Row by Row After Party! For those of you who didn't get to a certain shop to acquire this year's Row by Row pattern, or purchase a kit, you can do that now. If there was a far-off shop whose pattern you loved but you couldn't get there to receive it, now is your chance.
Click here for a list of the Atlantic Canada shop participants, and here for Canadian participants further afield.
Click here to find shop links which show their RxR block. It seems this list is incomplete though, so click here for complete lists of shops which participated, with their contact info.





Also today the final pattern for the free Christmas Block of the Month Gnome for the Holidays is available from Fat Cat Patterns. Have you been participating? If so, you'll want this final installment to complete your project, click here. I wonder if we'll see any at this month's meeting during Show and Tell?
If you've become (or always were!) a gnome lover, you might want to check out the next Gnome BOM, beginning on January 1, 2019.
See Gnome Grown here.






If you've been doing the Hallowe'en BOM, BooTacular, this month's free pattern is ready now too. Click here for it.

TrendTex Challenge fabrics are now available from CQA/ACC. The cost is $23.00 for CQA/ACC members and  $28.00 for non members. Click here for the rules and info on ordering a kit.

Are you participating in any other BOM's or Sew Alongs?  Temecula Quilts has started a Secret Santa Sew Along. It's not too late to join in and get caught up. The quilt (finished size 43" x 56") is scrappy so yardage totals are made up of a variety of prints- great for using up some scraps! Colours they've used are reds, greens, tans/browns and lights for the background; of course you could choose your own colours if you wish. Each week's instructions are posted on Friday mornings. The final "reveal" of the quilt will be Black Friday Nov. 23. Available now are the fabric quantities here, and instructions for the first two blocks here and here. Step three will be posted tomorrow- a great project for this rainy weekend coming up!

If you know of other BOM's or Sew Alongs that are just getting started, and might interest your fellow members, let me know and I'll add them here.

What are you sewing on today?