mystery finished!

while most are starting bonnie hunter's mystery, today i finished up part of one i started from a previous year....these were pieces in a bag on the shelf for far too long, so finished up into blocks and will donate......

i usually don't do mystery challenges but the colors sucked me in and then fizzled....i'm sure they will find a good home and a purpose....next up was a charity lap robe size, 24 blocks of 10" finished....so the top is just about half done.  this will get tied with black floss and then donated..... should be gone before december is! 

lastly, had one more panel to make into a portrait....got 2 done last year and this one will be done for this winter.   the other 2 are strictly christmas, but this one can be kept up all winter long....was a freebie donated to the senior center and kinda cute....

that's what friday accomplished....just a bit of giftie sewing left and the rest of the year is clear for some basting, some small thingie finishes and knock off at least one more UFO.... with just a few weeks until the days begin to lengthen, this year has totally flown by....so many prayers answered and blessings experienced....i think of a cousin who lost her mom last year on christmas day and my heart just breaks, even though we are not in touch.  having my mom still with us this year spry and sharp-minded is the greatest gift....God is good indeed!

a blessed thanksgiving

unless you just arrived here from another galaxy far, far away, you have already been saturated with christmas and thanksgiving is almost completely forgotten....but we of the new england ilk hold thanksgiving in high esteem....first order of the day is to muzzle all the food police and nutrition pests who feel compelled to control the choices of everyone else.  as long as i have free will and am of sound mind, i'll enjoy the traditional holiday meal--in moderation of course--without calorie or content guilt and hope you do the same.  aside from that, hoping you have family and/or good friends to gather with and forget about christmas entirely, if possible.  i'll close with my very favorite thanksgiving drawing, done by a talented artist well known to me....happy thanksgiving all!

sunday stuff

it's been a quiet weekend here in lake woebegone maryland....weather mild, gray, dreary and sometimes wet....but sewing continues!  first on the list was a couple of giftie things that are under wraps for now....then got my gwen marston inspiration piece to the flimsy stage...

this might get basted before december finishes....but it will go on the 2020 UFO list.....then with a new year looming, my organization bug is in overdrive....had some baggies with pieces and some little piles of stuff set aside for future projects.   first cut up the piles and kitted everything needed for those planned projects, then emptied a baggie with some already-sewn units from a bonnie hunter mystery that got started then derailed....have enough units for 12 blocks of this...

these would be ideal for a little girl quilt as the light lavender is paper dolls.....not sure if i'll make this up or if the blocks will get donated...either way the baggie is empty and languishing pieces on the super highway outta here....then it was an hour or so of scrap maintenance as the 2" strip tote was jam packed.   pulled all the short pieces--less than 10"--and cut them up into squares, going into the 2" squares tote which has plenty of room.  ***  this time of year is always exciting to me with holiday traditions and clearing the decks for a new year.   keeping things orderly gives me more time to sew and plan new projects.   ***   and a plant-based thanksgiving dinner???  a fellow dieter years ago told me thanksgiving dinner is bread in every color--stuffing, squash, peas, white and sweet potatoes, gravy thickened with flour....she was right!   don't need thanksgiving to be thankful for so many blessings in my life....