what's happening

the design wall....

oh yes, i think the stripe will do quite nicely....busted nearly all of it on this small piece....and unearthed an oldie but goodie for the diamonds...

a yours truly plastic template dated 1979!  that is the year i started quilting, 45 years ago...omigosh has it been that long?  it would be sheer heaven if i had 45 more....

as if there weren't enough UFOs around, started this little piece.  the pattern was a gift; my birthday is in august.  somehow when i can't get motivated to sew, cross stitching seems give me an oomph

this should be a fairly quick finish and then into the duck it goes....or goose?  

my daughter made this in high school....it's filled with little stitchery projects on display....pretty clever of her i think...

and last but not least, if you see this charmer today, wish him happy birthday.  it's brother #1; his is the 2nd sibling birthday of the year.  lucky sis was the last to get a card from dear mom on march 1st....

here he is with my aunt's dog, mitzi, circa 1957....happy birthday bro!

a cat's tale....

 

today while quilting on this piece, found a boo boo....immediately set about to fix it and continue my efforts to get this done in may.  see the green cat in the top row?  does he look different to you?  me neither, until today that is.  with all that's been going on, no surprise that i missed it.  fast forward to today....

now he looks more like his fellow felines....the space between the tail and body was the issue.   a fussy fix but now done.  

and during last friday's quilt group, got this basted....

all hand pieced, now to be hand quilted and made entirely from stash.  that's a win/win/win in my book.  

happy that some of my mojo has resurfaced as days are long and uneventful.  i want to go someplace where there's no sadness but it doesn't exist.  so i'll stay put and tough it out and wait for better days.  they do come eventually so i'm told.  

the gift

here is me, age 9, wearing a dress mom made for me.  there was also a red plaid with a lace-trimmed peter pan collar, both using a borrowed machine.  the year was 1958 and she didn't own a machine until 1961.  today that machine is still running like new and used by me.  

nearly 67 years ago mom sent me to 4-H to learn to sew.  she was busy with a toddler and a new baby and hadn't the time.  once a week after school, the bus dropped me off at mrs. bryant's house; my dad picked me up later.   using the singer teaching materials, i learned machine basics and how to guide the needle.  homework consisted of an unthreaded needle following lined diagrammed papers of concentric circles or squares.  mom often said she never dreamed this would ignite the spark of a life-long passion.

fast forward in the blink of an eye, going back to the machine in my grief has provided a desperately needed peace, thanks to a couple of quilty peeps with their own kind of fire.  there were tears but phoebe didn't mind, she just kept on at a soothing, comforting pace,  so what did i sew? 

six more blue album blocks joined the pile, now grown to number 17....lots more to make of course, but they do sew up fast, after a marathon of block prep that is.  

this is them....and what else?

was gifted a stack of BIG kaffe hexagons....most were warm colors but a few blue, so pulled them out to play with.  my zoomer pals came up with a couple of ideas but thought i would start with this....found a few backgrounds in my personal kaffe stash to audition...my personal fave is the stripe...the two left backgrounds are way too light to compete with the big florals.  i have enough of the stripe for the setting pieces,  click on the photo to see up close and personal...in his december fabric release--kaffe fassett meets william morris--there is a lovely leaf print of white with a touch of magenta...can i hold off that long?  oh, i think i have enough to keep me busy until then.  stay tuned....

we are in a rainy spell again here...need to double efforts to stay out of an emotional sinkhole without the sunshine to cheer me.  sending missives heavenward for comfort and cheer....