I finished my BQ quilt. This top is not yet quilted and I have pinned it to the quilt hanging in my entrance so the picture shows the edge of my sunflower quilt peeking out around the edges.

This top finished at 48 1/2″ square. This pattern goes together quickly and is very fun to do. When I cut the pieces out for this top, I cut an equal number of pieces to finish a second top. One of the quilts will go to my mother and the second one will stay at my house.

If you look at the previous post you will see that there is a shelf above the sunflower quilt in our entrance. LindaJ spotted some items up there and was curious to know what they were. So, here is a closer look.

The first two items belonged to my husband’s great-grandfather. They are woodworking tools used to plane lumber. They are made from wood and are well worn.

The next item is an old scale, confiscated from a discard pile somewhere. This was not an item passed down through our families–just interesting and old.

The next two items are from my grandfather and are irons. I have tipped the one on the left on its side so you can get a view from the top. These irons were used before electricity and were heated up on the old wood stoves of the day then applied to clothing to remove wrinkles.

This is a metal crayon box. This came from my great aunt Eva who was a school teacher.

This bell was from my grandmother who was also a school teacher. This is what the teachers in the small one room schools on the prairies rang to let the students know it was time for class.

My husband and I enjoy old things, aka antiques. I don’t like just any old things, I prefer old things that belonged to members of my family. I currently seem to be the only one in my family who really enjoys this old stuff so I have become the curator of the family museum. I often end up with items that someone feels should be preserved, but which that person does not want to store. I don’t mind, it makes for an interesting home.

As you enter my house through the front door, there are two spots to hang quilts. I like to change the quilts with the seasons. I have taken down the summer quilts and replaced them with these fall themed quilts. This quilt was finished in 1999 and shown on a post on March 6, 2006.

This quilt is called, Moonlight Over the Pumpkin Patch and was finished in November 2000. The pattern for this quilt can be found in the Fall/Holiday 1997 edition of Quick Quilts.

The weather has definitely changed. When we left for Vegas on Sept. 8, the weather was still warm and summer like. We returned to rain and 62 degrees on Sept. 13. We are definitely into Fall weather.

A change in seasons triggers a changing of the quilts in my house. This quilt is my pumpkin quilt. I finished it last September.

The pattern is called, “Warm Wishes” and was in the Nov/Dec, Issue #64 of Quiltmaker magazine.

The following pictures are photos of the inspiration items I brought back from our recent vacation to Las Vegas. At every turn, there were colours, textures, and designs to inspire the creative spirit. Yes, there is more to Las Vegas than gambling!

The 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers on the ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel.

The floor tiles of the Venetian reminded me of a Tumbling Blocks quilt.

Art on the ceilings of the Venetian.

A larger than life vase of flowers in the lobby of the Golden Nugget.

An intricate design in the carpet of the MGM Grand.

One of the mascots from the Rainforest Cafe inside the MGM Grand.

A glass sculpture suspended from the parking area in front of the Mirage.

Orchids on the walkway at the Mirage.