a happy monday

no special reason at all, just that i'm happy my arm is nearly fully recovered, brother #2 called this morning, have gotten some sewing done and had time to read as well. it's also happy as there were no horrid, vile offshore callers to listen to and no forked-tongue employer in my life today either. will have some photos of finishes tomorrow probably.

Halloween Memory

a blast from the past! this is me and brother #1 circa 1958 or so. aren't we scary? sometimes i still feel like a hobo of sorts.....today's tricks include my health insurance terminating but at least they extended it for the entire month, which i didn't expect. treats? well, get to work on some sewing projects and I did sleep the entire night last night, no waking up at all. finally it seems the arm is nearly 100%, so that was a real treat. another week or so and i'll have some funds, a really BIG treat. now if i just get my unemployment OR a job, either one, that'll give November a terrific start.

see?

after about 5 hours of basting, i've gotten this much done, which is nearly 1/4 of the entire applique. the very center part is also done. i was hoping i might finish it this weekend, but not unless i baste around the clock, which isn't going to happen. today i also worked on my winter tote for the upcoming swap. good thing i picked up some of the items before the job went south. at any rate, i did free up a significant number of pins by completing this much. this is an excellent project for snow days.

another "process"

that would be basting the hawaiian quilt. at the moment it's just pinned but i took a detour from my current "to do" list and decided to see how much i could get basted while my roomie is away for a few days. i had to put up the folding banquet table and it's really in the way, so it's much easier to do with just one person here. nearly all my tiny applique pins are holding this down, so i wanted to get them back in their little box. it would be nice if i could complete the basting process but not sure if i can. i do have a few other things that really need to be done. ***** our warmish weather is about to disappear. everything is relative, though, and as long as there isn't any snow, i'm happy. even in the most bitter cold weather, if there isn't snow i'm still happy. i hate it when sidewalks and roads are slippery and cars have to be cleaned off. i'm definitely not a winter gal at all.

Another Finish

one of the few things that unemployment affords is time to finish UFOs. here is another I finished just last night. you can't see the quilting but rest assured, it is hand quilted. i love these colors, don't you? i used them in my DWR quilt also. gives it a bit of a vintage look i think.

A Special Day

if you see this little guy today, be sure and wish him a happy birthday. yes, it's brother #2 when he was very young! we aren't awfully close, 8 years apart, but he is no less special to me. i wish for him the happiest of birthdays, which he will spend with his growing family no doubt. we don't see him often enough as he lives way down south.

Today's Good and Bad Mail

Usually I don't get much of anything; advertisements and the like. Catalogs usually get tossed immediately. THE GOOD: from an online quilter, I got a lovely Halloween card and a FQ of fabric featuring Maxine of Hallmark Cards. The personal note was so lovely and much appreciated. THE BAD: from unemployment. I've hit the perfect storm of employers here in Maine. One place I worked (a doctor's office) had a stupid psychiatrist who came in once a week. He went to my boss one day and told a big fat out and out lie about me, for which I was seriously chastised. Of course, they believed him and not me since I was new. I applied for unemployment but they lied, of course, and I lost out. The second was also a doctor's office. I worked 2 days a week doing typing and data entry and some special projects for the office manager. I was out sick for 4 days, which did encompass 2 weeks, but again it was only 4 days, with a serious illness. While I was out sick, they outsourced my job fabricating a bunch of ludicrous untruths. My hours and income went way down, I had to give up my studio at the beach that was close to school and go back to commuting 1+ hours each way every day. I again applied for unemployment and again these horrid people lied about me, and again I lost out on what should have rightfully been mine. Now, it seems, Anthem is doing the same. The common thread with these 3 crooks is the University of New England, a medical school for osteopaths in Biddeford. The first clinic job was at a UNE Clinic. The second job was for UNE-trained osteopaths and Anthem's medical director was also medical director at the UNE Clinic. These are DO, doctor of osteopathy, not even real MD doctors. What they really do best, though, is lie through their over-educated teeth.

my biggest book

this was a gift from DD some time ago. if you know me, you know i don't make contemporary or 'art' quilts. however, this book is for anyone who likes/loves quilts, color, design and style. interestingly, the editors of this book credit the amish quilt as being the birth of art quilts because of their geometric design. this is a super book and contains luscious color photos on nearly every page from every quilter, known and unknown, who makes art quilts. i had never seen this before it was gifted to me and never since until i visited the New England Quilt Museum and they also had copies of this book for sale. it's a real treasure to me for many reasons, not the least of which is because my very own child gave it to me, which makes it even more special.

UFO Finish

yesterday i finished this tablerunner made from sandy gervais' charms line, "merry and bright." i love these fabrics but i confess, i don't really like charm packs because i always want more yardage of each of the fabrics! they just tempt me into buying more fabric, which is not always a good thing. ***** today i hope to finish up another UFO, which would be terrific. then i have a mini Amish log cabin to quilt and bind. once these 2 are finished, it's back to the winter tote to finish AND start quilting the wedding quilt. i hope to have that done before the end of the year, which would make 3 hand quilted quilts completed this year. once i cross off more UFOs from 2010, then I can start a couple of my WHIMMs and use up more stash.

a finish

just this evening i finished a hexagon tablerunner, christmas, using a packet of charms i got in a swap a couple of years ago. the charms are from sandy gervais' line called "merry and bright," and i am thrilled i used this packet up AND i knocked a UFO off my list. with 2011 just around the corner, i still have way too many on my list for my liking AND i've done the horrible deed of starting almost as many new projects besides. i am thinking of tying 2 of the UFOs in january and donating them, which will give me a good start in the new year. i'll post a photo of the tablerunner tomorrow when i take the picture.