about time!

 

according to the label, i made this wall quilt in 2003....that's 22 years ago....and today finally it got a sleeve so i no longer need to use a coat hanger with clips to hang it on the door...great huh?   i thought so....

another day with no place to go and no WAY to go either...so what did i do?  well, finally finished this wall quilt...

it's the 'oz' wall quilt renamed 'a quilter's journey'...after all, even with a wizard waiting, no quilter would pass by quilt shops along the way, right?  it's all ready to submit to the Maine quilt show late summer....i've kept my guild membership from afar...

and we all know sewing is fun but unsewing?  umm...not so much.  but that's another thing i did today....pulled out hexies meant for another project and began unsewing some to use in this month's chookshed challenge project....

not all will get used...perhaps some quilter might be interested in the remaining...happy to pass them on for postage only....

lastly, a confession....in the last post i showed "purple pathway" with plans to hand quilt....not gonna happen.  it was basted so i gave it to the senior center to machine quilt, bind and sell.  the money buys supplies for our charity projects and honestly, my quilty plate is full PLUS the list of things i want to make equally so.  a win/win anyway i think.  

the day is nearly gone and i won't belabor a lengthy diatribe on how bored or imprisoned i feel...i've a couple of outings this week and the following that should provide a smidgen of relief.  spring temps of 70 are due to arrive so at least i can escape the apartment and get some steps in.  i'm keeping up with the bike but it really isn't enough...thankfully my mom raised a family of readers and going thru a couple of good whodunit books every week that do provide a quasi-escape from hum drum.  been eating out of the freezer so no cooking to speak of---just fine with me.  farmer's markets open in april with early produce....mostly greens that i have to limit but even so, fresh vegs not too far away.  

anyway, it's keep calm and quilt on....or whatever keeps me from SCREAMING!!!!

welcome blog hoppers!

delighted i got into this blog hop at the very last nanosecond!  books, books, we all got books!  if you have been quilting for a while--46 years for me--you have some gems on that bookshelf, some from quilters no longer with us but definitely goodies.  a recent fabric catalog showed a pattern that immediately piqued my mojo sending me to pull out this book....

i took a workshop with pepper cory once on quilt marking and it was soo informative and helpful...this book is no exception.  lots of ideas and multiple size templates for any project--opted for 4" finished units.  found these cherrywood solids in the stash, beautiful scrap pieces....

in the 1980s i made a drunkard's path quilt and hand pieced it as curves were scary, but plenty of practice has made them now easily do-able by machine.  my design called for 49 units.  

played around with the units on my design wall and this was the result....

called "purple pathway to enlightenment"....still using methods from the long-ago quilt class, it's thread basted and will be hand quilted.  no, i am not a modern quilter, just a quilter who tries different things and loves to play with fabric, especially solids.  hand quilting is the part i like best and solids are the perfect medium for all those stitches and designs.  lured into quilting by amish quilts, they are still my first love. 

and though i NEVER EVER use a pricey fabric on the backs of my quilts, unless it's ugly of course, this gorgeous kaffe urchin print in the stash was perfect don't you think? 

and before you go, here is another wall quilt made from this book....called 'a quilter's journey'....even as Oz beckons, no quilter would resist stopping to shop along the way!  

be sure and stop by all the bloggers who have dusted off that book for something special!

March 3

Karrin’s Crazy World

Textile Ranger

 

March 4

Alyciaquilts

KathleenMcMusing

 

March 5

MooseStashQuilting

WithStringsAttached

citymouse quilter

 

March 6

NettieSews

Beaquilter

and thank you beaquilter for organizing this hop!

february challenge wrap

could i use up all the kaffe hexies?....in my dreams!  i think maybe 1/3 got busted, leaving a healthy stack still to use.  more plans for them but not now.  this was posted the other day....

now in the baste/quilt pile...and thursday spent assembling this...

a placemat measuring 12x20....i've triangles to make another at some point....

and here is where i've stopped on the rising sun blocks....

has to be put aside now for the march challenge....i've adjusted the color and this is pretty close...the gold does not want to photograph true...planning to have it done before fall as our local library is again having a show of local works...

and i've also been working on another UFO.....

before the pandemic somewhere i saw a collection of african wax resist fabrics, so naturally i scooted on over to the website and bought a charm pack--so hard to choose just one.  started during the pandemic with a working title of "telescopic travelogue" since distancing was the order of the day.  fast forward, now anxious to get this done, whipped out my karen kay buckley bigger circles and have gotten this far...there are 36 blocks altogether i think...the others are basted.  i alternated gray/black as i felt the black was too much and pretty pleased with the result.  not like the (ahem) love bug fiasco!  

so you see, peeps, plenty of irons in the quilty fire, no doubt due to extreme boredom waiting for warm weather and a bit of diversion.  i've a busy week ahead for a change....3 outings via county transit which takes a chunk out of each day.  since spring is just about here, will have to set aside a week soon for cleaning the apartment before the horrible hots arrive.  no summer clothes out yet until shorts weather.  still grieving of course, losing mom and then the car, a double whammy that totally derailed me.  the siblings and i move forward with baby steps as we navigate life without our touchstone and anchor...but resilient yankees we...just keep on keeping on....so off to do just that...have a blessed day!