♪ It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go ♪

from my sewing room to the shops I visited today!

I visited The Quilted Ceiling in Valley City, ND today and found this cute guy. More about that quilt shop in a future post.

Lots of snowmen greeted me in that quilt shop.

Maybe you can say the same. It’s not too late to start quilting along with us on this merry adventure. Of course, the blocks are a mystery until they’re revealed every other Tuesday.

Sherry at Powered by Quilting presents our block for today. You can visit her blog here for a free pattern of it.

She’s included several ways to make this pattern your own.

I had a lot of fun sewing this one. It’s cute and quick and the directions are well-written. Be sure to use a scant 1/4″ seam so you won’t be making your block too small. I find when a block has lots of small pieces, and this one surely has some tiny ones, that one runs the risk of the block ending up being too small because the seam allowance was just slightly too big. Those slightly too big seam allowances can add up and one can find themselves with a block that is smaller than one needs. Yes, that’s experience talking…more than once. I’ve also learned to make sure I cut the pieces accurately.

I thought I’d show you the lovely back. I guess if I’d known I was really going to use this picture, I’d have given this block a light mist of Best Press (no affiliate) just because I like the way it leaves the block all crisp and neat. Sherry’s pattern gives you directions which way to press the seams. I like that! I don’t like to have to guess because usually I end up having to repress those seams.

I’ll be adding some button eyes, buttons for a mouth, a carrot button nose (I have to find one first—I’ve seen them), and some buttons down his “suit.”

On our shop hop trip, we found lots of carrot button noses and I even remarked about not being able to find apple buttons but I could buy lots of carrot buttons. Now I wish I had bought at least one. I think I’ll be using 5 small buttons for his mouth. Sometimes, after I see a block in a picture, I can tell how it would look better. I’ll sew them on after the quilt is all quilted so that’s a few months off, yet.

The pattern also includes directions for adding some twiggy arms which I’ll embroider later. If you don’t want to embroider yours, you can make some applique twiggy arms.

Be sure to check out all the handsome snowmen (and maybe some gorgeous snowgals) that will be popping up on the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long Facebook page as well as #iwishyouamerryqal on Instagram. If you are sewing one, be sure to link up at the party found on Powered by Quilting. Prizes are involved for a lucky person.

The next block will be revealed on Sept. 26th. Can they get any cuter than these?

My block three–Santa’s Belt– see my post here and find the links to get your free pattern for it as well as links to other hosts to see their versions.

My block four–Ornaments–see my initial post here to find the link to get your free pattern for it as well as links to other hosts to see their versions. You can see my finished block post here.

I am still working on blocks one and two, so you see, there’s still time for you to join along.

Meet the rest of the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long Hosts as they reveal their version of this block:

Pretty Piney
Sparkle On
JANDA Bend Quilts
Snowy Days Quilting
Cwilt
The Inquiring Quilter
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats You are here. Thanks for stopping by.
Kathleen McMusing
Slice of Pi Quilts
Sandra Healy Designs
SandyStar Designs
Powered by Quilting Here’s the creative designer behind this fifth block in the I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long. You’ll find the pattern here on her site as well as a full tutorial and the linky party to enter your sewn block for a chance at the giveaway.
Alice Samuel’s Quilt Co.
Quilt in Piece

Coming soon on Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats:

Tu-Na Quilts: The Reveal of the Listed Loot

Tu-Na Quilts: The Reveal of What Was Added to the List (a.k.a. The Big Splurge)

Tu-Na Quilts: The Reveal of My 2017 Quilt MN Shop Hop Fabric and a Bit More About the Designer

Tu-Na Quilts: A Few Words from Tu-Na Helper

Tu-Na Quilts: It’s All Out of the Bag (A Wrap up of the 2017 Quilt MN Shop Hop)

Tu-Na Travels: Visiting the Quilted Ceiling in Valley City, ND

What I Learned Today:

My eye is healing nicely according to what my eye doctor said at today’s visit. This is good and bad news. It means that all is going well. But that also means that it’s good enough to schedule the other eye surgery for the end of the month. See this post for more info about that.
I had an inkling that would be the report. This morning when I woke, my green, warning, wrist band fell off on it’s own.
North Dakota has some great quilt shops, too. On our long way home from the doctor, Monday, we stopped at The Quilted Ceiling in Valley City. Lucky for me, and you, the owner was there and I got a lot of interesting tidbits about that shop and some pictures that I will be sharing in a future post.

Question: Do you live in an area that gets snow? Do you play in the snow? A number of years ago, I helped my girl scout troop make snow angels on the lawn of our state capitol building. We held that world record of simultaneous snow angels for a number of years. It was fun to be a part of that record-breaking moment.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts

Linking to:

Block 5 Linky Party at Powered by Quilting

Linky Tuesday at Free Motion by the River

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication