Paper-piecing prairie tablecloth

Please ignore the ugly hammock but it was all I could come up with at 7 a.m. to get this pic taken.

The "fields" in the middle look horrible, I think.  Too traditional for the modern paper-pieced borders, but, oh, well. 

See the schoolhouse with flag and fencing?

And the church with stained-glass windows up above?

For the backing I used this nice Kaffe Fassett that I got for 40% off - yippee!

Going to be doing some basting today, and then some hand-quilting.  I'm going to try to make the icky prairie in the middle more modern.  Any ideas?  I was thinking maybe some Aurifil thread?  Never used it before, though. 

BTW, I lost a follower.  Maybe because I don't blog often enough, or just nothing to their liking?  Maybe they have too many blogs to follow in their reader?  I know I do!  I can't keep up but I don't want to miss anything, either!  Or am I just nosy? 

I hope you all are well!  Please give me some insight on how I can make my blog better - or, better yet, wait till I redo my header, design, etc. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  May you bless and be blessed!

~ Jodi ~

First day of Autumn!

But my morning glories are still blooming every morning.

And Ezra on Labor Day at a family cookout.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  

Okay, so my life has been in...

disarray:

But look at my cute little Tomte doll:

and one more:

She's a bit wonky, but it was fun making her.  The pattern is from the "Scandinavian Stitches" book, http://syko.typepad.com/syko/2010/11/on-tour.html.

Here's something else I accomplished recently:

I made this quilt last Christmas for my family Christmas party Yankee swap.  I told my niece (the winner of it) I needed it back to complete the quilting, which I finally did this week.  I had difficulty parting with it at the time, but I was rushing to finish it the morning of the party so it didn't bother me too much.  Now that I've had it back in my home for the past month or so, I hate giving it back!  I LOVE it.  It's soft as butter, and the colors are wonderful, especially the buttery yellow border. 

(Not-so-nice head shadow - a professional photog I certainly don't pretend to be)

It's going to be a chilly weekend - my niece will be very glad to have it back to snuggle under!

Tomorrow is Friday - yaaay!  Happy weekend, everyone!

~ Jodi ~