October NewFO Linky Party and Giveaway

Welcome to my SCARY HALLOWEEN EDITION of the

And what could be scarier than this?  Tomorrow will be the first of November!  Good grief.  Time to start planning those Thanksgiving dinners.  And then it will be time to put up the tree.  And I haven't even taken down the tree from last year yet!  Actually, that's not true.  I just made that up.  But it sure feels as if we barely got it out the door, and it's getting close to time to bring in the new one.  And here's my scary Halloween face thinking about Christmas!  [Cue blood-curdling scream.]

But, as usual, I digress.  We're still in October, and I'll head into November kicking and screaming all the way.  Who's with me?

So, did you start anything new this month?  Anything for Halloween per chance?  Whatever the reason, it's time to show off your October starts.

As you know, I was seriously worried about getting anything new started for October with our plumbing disaster at the beginning of the month.  Despite my contractor working (or, more accurately, not working) his hardest to keep me out of the sewing room, I prevailed.  I am happy to say that I. Am. Back. Baby!  And I made the first block for the Folk Art Cats quilt.  

I've had this pattern virtually forEVER, and when I saw it at my visit to the Stitchin' Post quilt shop in September, I vowed to start it this month.  This was originally a block of the month, and so I started with the October block.

I still need to finish the top-stitching on the appliques.  The cat's eyes are supposed to be buttons, but I'm kind of fond of these hot fix nailheads, and so that's what I used.  All the cats I've made lately have been polka dotted.  I must have someone's spotted coat in mind.  It's a good likeness, don't you think?

Also, I completed the last of the blocks for the Plain and Simple Amish sampler that I started in January (my first NewFO of 2012):

and the last of the blocks for my White Trees quilt, which was my July NewFO.

Both of these quilts are in the sewing-together stage.  NewFO's are all about starting new projects, but I have several quilts in the finishing stages just now.  In the mood to wax poetic, I just now found this quotation from Greg Anderson, a best-selling author [that I've never heard of]:

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.

And here's what I have to say about that:  Joy is found not in finishing a quilt, but in starting it.  Although both have their merits, don't you think? 

So that's it for me during October.  I'm feeling pretty happy to have started anything this month having been locked out of the sewing room for three weeks.

Now I'm ready to see what you started during October.  So let the party begin!  Link up and show all of us what you've been up to for the month.  If you link up, you'll be entered to win this month's quilt pin:

All the best-dressed quilters are wearing them these days.  And this one is perfect for fall.  To win, please link-up with your newly started projects, finished or not.  If you feel like it, show us the progress you've made on your other 2012 NewFO projects.  Please link to your blog post, not your blog.  To do that, just click on the title of your post to isolate it from the rest of your blog.  Then copy the URL and use that to link up.  Don't have a blog?  Link to my FlickR group.  If you have questions about how to do that or about how to link up, please email me.  And if you're having trouble posting your image, email it to me as an attachment, and I'll do it for you.

I'm looking forward to see your new projects!  I'll leave this linky open for one week...until 11/7 and then announce the winner.  International entries are welcome.  So come on and party with me!

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