week's end

new header photo?  damariscotta, maine..one of the many pretty coastal villages en route to pemaquid point.  

received a surprise friday from a fellow quilter....a small stash of vintage 30s and 40s melon pieces, perfect for leaves or orange peel blocks...and all basted as well...how good is that?  i feel honored she passed them along to me from her late mother-in-law.  a couple of ideas formulating already.

what else?  batik baskets is half quilted so should be a september finish as well.  a stitchery christmas gift has been chosen and kit assembled.  pulled out knitting needles for these...

mom was a knitter and made things for all of us...the last thing she knit for me was a pair of booties like this for winter and my sister wanted a pair as well.  mom had the yarn and needles but never got to them.  i have picked up the project and will do it for her.  i haven't knit in ages--not since daughter was small--but these are simple...i hope.  i think i was about 7 years old when my only left-handed aunt taught me how to knit.  

red letter day friday as decided to tackle walk to senior center with walker for balance and support--the cane just isn't enough for the downhill...and then did my half-hour workout.  nothing like exercise to boost mental outlook.  felt good to actually go someplace by myself...will attempt the return walk when it's a bit cooler--it's up a steep hill.  

a sunny and cooler saturday in store....outing with daughter and son-in-love today!

back to usual

after all that inspiration, happy to return to my small sewing space and drive right in with renewed vigor!  gray matter working overtime with ideas.  

tuscan starburst is a finish!  sunday spent sewing on and then down the binding.  found a suitable fabric in stash to bind that does not rob from the blocks. 

no time lost putting batik baskets in frame and starting quilting....another september finish?  that would be grand.  would give me 3 months to quilt bow ties.  skipped over the little bathroom quilt for now.

and while playing with the baskets, realized i didn't care for mixing the cream and white background squares so offering them up for $10 plus postage...i think they will fit in a small flat rate box...there are 25 of them, mixed prints from the original FQ bundle so there will be duplicates.  

keep in mind the camera photographed them a shade or two lighter than actual but still neutrals--nothing that shouts light brown or similar.  let me know if interested.  

and while at quilt show got a peek at kaffe fassett's new book....drool worthy of course and one pattern jumped right out at me...simple units with stunning fabrics makes a great project always....no big quilt for me but maybe a few small ones...

exercise done for the day...it's cool but humid with rain threatening and forecasted entire week.  a village-wide cookout planned for saturday...not sure what plan B is if it rains...happily i have other plans.  

last, not least

 more snaps from the show....

this exhibit was of portrait quilts....dimensions were given and each description included the photograph...i just liked this one with the orange hair...some older women nowadays have funky hair so maybe this was her color?

another exhibit whose theme was recycling....lots of eclectic entries as you can imagine but i thought this was innovative....

i didn't know that shweshwe came in colors, thought it was all indigo....french connection shop had a booth with LOTS of them, all different colors, plus african and french fabrics...scooted past real fast..

beautifully done i thought....ticks all my boxes....blues, geometric, sorta wedding ring/pickle dish...

this was in a section of traditional quilts...this woman is in my yahoo group and i said i would look for it...

nicely done EPP lucy boston...but the english major in me thought it should have been titled, laura meets lucy...

well that's just a cross section of all the gorgeous quilts...my knees gave out before i got to the kaffe and liza exhibit so glad i have some of his books.  the tremendous boost i got from a fun day away lingers still and has motivated me to not only finish things in progress but maybe think about a new, exhibit worthy piece.  most of these are way out of my quilting/design skills but who knows?  

facing a week of rain and back to the routine....exercise days, the usual cooking tasks...apt is clean so after that it's all sew time.  sunday morning the sneaky grief grinch attacked, prompted me to write this...

FIRST AND LAST

the first of us to feel her touch,

our 'gang of four' she loved so much

two girls, two boys, four years apart

bound by love within her heart

the years went by, the children flew

to here and there, the family grew

always there unconditional love

with wisdom and faith sent from above

then one day death made its call

with shock and sadness to us all

we knew her soul was heaven-bound

our dad and others to surround

the moment came, my task was clear

one final touch as she left here

my siblings were fortunate to have been spared that last half hour...nothing to be envious about i can guarantee them...

more eye candy

one exhibit at the show that drew me in was quilts made of tops bought online and finished...i didn't take any photos of them but thought it was a good idea to see them rescued, finished and seen.  

one of the first seen walking thru front door was this prize winner...pictorial quilts ranged from so-so to this beauty....definitely worthy of its prize

some i photographed just because of the colors and this was one...

another whose color grabbed me...not a technique that interests me but it is pretty i think...

the description totally lost me but again i loved the colors....

sorry about the blurry photo here...i liked the colors and the title really fit the quilt...

who doesn't love a finely executed new york beauty?  colorful--wish it had more autumn colors, but i don't live in NYC so maybe the colors are spot on

of note, the pickle dish from yesterday made from pattern by sarah bond....sadly sarah died about 3 weeks ago from metastatic cancer...such a great loss from the design and color use world...

saturday was a slow day getting back to routine...some sewing was done and the oatmeal cookies got made as well...and yes i did get dressed finally...LOL!  stay tuned for part 3!