just because....

my summer goals were not all met, doesn't mean can't start with fall projects, does it???  when my birthday comes around, i know it's a harbinger of fall and those back-to-school memories.  pal marianne flung a very pretty asian fabric to me earlier this summer...immediately had visions of autumn--my favorite season--and a cherrywood solids scrap bag i'd been saving....

the asian print is a tad under a yard but planning to use every last scrap for blocks and maybe squeeze a narrow border out of it as well....and with fall, pumpkins will soon be overflowing at farm stands....i can still see that everest-size pile of pumpkins at verrill farm in concord, mass (now gone of course) while driving route 2A.....pulled out this pattern...

by morgan and ambrosini printed off the internet eons ago....then right to the stash for fabrics....i'll be tweaking the pattern a bit and omit the printed border and square it off as it's all about the pumpkins anyway...

marianne flung the light gold yardage to me as well and i'm using it for the background.  this weekend, tho, it's still very much summer here in the south with temps hovering around 95, so will be tackling those summer projects first in the a/c cooled space.   ***  home nearly a week and getting my southern persona back on slowly....unlike new england, that autumn feel doesn't materialize until october, still very much summer until at least then.  half my heart is still with family left behind....and the other half joyful to be closer to daughter and son-in-law once again. 

back to sewing!

arrived back in the south last night after another long travel day...55 degrees in the maine morning and 91 degrees in the baltimore afternoon...quite a spread!  a restful night in my own bed and today is unpack, get groceries and car to garage for unspecified ailment that occurred on the drive west....as for sewing, this got done before departure...

it's 3 of 4 rows of a future donation quilt....appeared in american patchwork and quilting in august of 2018 designed by annette plog, although it's a pretty basic pattern so the "design" part confuses me....but anyway, used up a fair amount of blues just recently replaced by vic in NH seen in an earlier post....you know the blue attracted me right away!   as for vacation sewing, hand pieced 2 guild projects that must remain under wraps for now, but did manage to finish 3 little blocks for the next border of "midnight at the oasis".....

looking fine so far...and kaffe fassett has a new line of fabric out with more uber-colorful beauties....one of my faves is something called "sea urchins" in blues/grays....more blue doncha know!  ****  lastly, can you stand one more maine beach photo?  i know i can....another of reid state park in georgetown, the open sea (and always rough) surf....so beautiful!

oh and if you see annie oakley or alfred hitchcock today, wish them a happy birthday!  

20 hours.....

before heading south....altho i've lived there over 3 years, nothing except my daughter and son-in-law are tugging at me to return....not even my fabric stash is calling me...LOL!   leaving behind my cherished family members....not before taking a selfie with my mom...

 and my beloved cold atlantic....truly believe there is salt water coursing thru all my vessels...

sandy beaches (header photo), plus all the traditions collected my entire life so far--70 years' worth come the 27th.   southern life is ok, even good, but my roots are shallow there.  i'm still a driving wimp there, tolerate the lack of fresh seafood, feel out of the loop of family doings and almost never recognize anyone in the obits.  very occasionally i have a pity party of one, sitting in my apartment mired in lamentations until cher's immortal words of "snap out of it" jolt me back to a glass half full and often to the brim.  tomorrow's parting will be tough like always but will mostly evaporate by new york and the anticipation of reuniting with the southern branch of family...