Travelling STASH Drawing and my Halloween quilt

It will be one week tomorrow since I received the Travelling Stash - Monday is a postal holiday so I have decided to ask anyone interested in winning the travelling stash to leave a comment between now and Wednesday October 12th.  I will draw a winning name on October 13th.  It is a fun idea.  You take out of the box what you like and replace it with like items from your own stash, hold a drawing and pass it on.  You must have your own blog to enter in the drawing.  United States and Canada only please. 
I finally remembered to take a pic of the Halloween quilt I started last August, but just finished quilting in September.  It is being used everyday in the living room and is a big hit.

I truly tried to get some pictures of my efforts at FMQ this one, but don't think they came out real well, oh and the backing fabric is soooo cute, had purchased yards of it years ago and finally got to use it. (extra points for using up stash)

I think I have another Halloween cheater panel which will probably find its way into the TS box and I am going to see if I have any of the witchy fabric left too. Adios, remember the Travelling Stash.   Bernie

Creative Courage

Actor Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion:

Courage.
What makes a King out of a slave? Courage.
What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage.
What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?
What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.
What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage.
What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage.
What makes the Hottentot so hot?
What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?
Whatta they got that I ain't got?
Dorothy & Friends: Courage!

Cowardly Lion: You can say that again.

That is what came to mind tonight.  Why can't I take this

And this

and transfer all of this practice to the real deal? The quilt top I threw together (rather sloppily) just to practice on?

Courage.  I am afraid to "ruin" this top with my amateur quilting.  I have practiced and practiced, I have several stacks of all my practice pieces, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to put this quilt under my sewing machine needle. I will have to get past this mental block, because I know the only way to really learn this skill is to do it.  So I will set Friday as my deadline to put this in the machine and start quilting it.  Maybe the great and powerful OZ will give me courage. :)  
I have been busy, loving the first days of Fall, loving the cooler weather.   We had a nice little mini holiday when my husband's cousin came to visit and then I went to a scrapbooking retreat with my oldest daughter and a good friend and that was fun too. I will be following up with pics on that adventure later.  Today is my favorite aunt's birthday and I had a nice long phone chat with her.  Happy Birthday Aunt Marion! October is my birthday month too, so I am making resolutions and plans for the coming year.  I want to try to work outside my comfort zone in quilting.  Here is a sneak peak of one of my current projects.

I am freemotion basting the applique with invisible thread and plan to thread paint it with metallic.  I am going to use a wool batt because I want the applique to stand out after quilting without having to do trapunto.  Hope everyone is sewing happy.  Bernie