as promised...

here is the completed winter swap tote, well-received (thankfully) by tudy just yesterday along with its contents.

tudy also makes/sells craft items and she has some displayed on her blog...hop on over, you might find something you can't live without! i was pleased with the result here. i received the green snowflake material in a christmas swap earlier this year and it was just exactly right, along with others from my stash, for this project. the only thing i wish i had done is make the lining the same blue as the top edge. i didn't have enough fabric, used muslin, but realized once it was complete that the blue would have worked better. ***** a sunny, cool thursday here in maine. no real plans except some sewing today and tomorrow also. i've nearly lost track of days now that they run together. still working on the unemployment, which will hopefully come soon. i'm a low maintenance woman but i do need SOME maintenance regardless.

more nashua

some of the amish style had striking colors like this one. this last applique quilt was done by wendy reed, the person in charge of maine's quilt documentation project. she always makes such beautiful repro quilts and this one with the sensational applique is no exception. i love it, don't you? ***** whoops, unemployment makes the days run together and i just realized today is WEDNESDAY, not tuesday, but no matter, nothing important to do. better hurry and get dressed for the non-exciting day ahead!

winter tote swap

my package got mailed yesterday to tudy, so it should be arriving in the next day or two. once it's received, i'll post a photo of the bag i made and sent to her. she requested a winter rather than christmas theme tote. fortunately, i had gotten some seriously snowflake fabric in a christmas swap earlier this year. i used that as the focus and added others from my stash to complement. i was pretty happy with the finished project and i hope tudy is as well. inside were some quilt-related goodies as well as a special snack for her to make/share this holiday season. this was the only swap i chose to do. being out of work makes it iffy to depend on income for postage/gifts etc. and i want to focus on my own family first. i like to do swaps, but with sporadic income it's difficult.

more nashua photos

apologize for the blurry BAQ, again the photographer was sorely lacking here. have more, will post tomorrow. terrific tuesday, still cloudy but no rain. have a few errands on the list today but then can sew. up early at 5:30 and usually i would stay up, but since i've no place to go and no place to be, went back to catch more zzzzzs for a change.

christmas list

for the benefit of any and all, i have taken the proactive step of posting my christmas list on the left side of the blog. any (and all) these items would be most welcome. i know times are tough economically for many so i've tried to keep the costs down. in truth, i don't get many gifts at christmas since my immediate family is small and not all swap gifts. regardless, i love christmas and try to get at least something for all my siblings and other immediate family members. christmas, after all, is the season of giving. if the unemployment check materializes, i'll be able to include some of my favorite charities as well.

i'm ready.....

for old man winter. mom advanced me some cash so i could get this down parka on sale. i look like an eggplant on steroids in it, but this is maine and maine winters have a way of disguising everyone like inuits, which plenty of people enjoy but i'm not one of them. we're having a nor'easter today, rain only, but it won't be long before it's white stuff. ***** today's agenda? well, it's monday so laundry, vacuuming, some sewing....that's about it.

scenes from nashua

These two were showstoppers for sure, both made by ronda beyer. there are ribbons on the black/cream as well, they just didn't get photographed (can't get good help these days...). as previously said, the black/cream also had tiny rhinestones that made it sparkle; this could be my fave though there are others equally beautiful. this is sue garman's pattern "washington medallion" which i've been drooling over but no way do i have the time to make one of these as my "want to make" list is already overflowing.

just like midnight

at 5:30 pm, which is awful but that's DST for you. from now until mid-january we'll be in semi-hibernation mode which is not my fave but it's one of those things way beyond my powers completely. an exhausting day doing the regular grocery shopping but fortunately it's only a few times monthly. we did however, spring across the border for some delish papa gino's pizza, a fave of mine. as they say....it was worth the trip!

road trip!!!!

today was my jaunt to the quilter's gathering in nashua, nh. i try and go every year. they have a terrific show (by invitation) and always a great selection of classes and fun things. this year i took a half-day workshop with kathy kansier on crazy quilting with batiks AND beading! now, i have avoided the embellishment road up until now, but i have to say after today, it does interest me. but, since i focus mainly on quilting, i am going to be very careful NOT to jump in with both feet up to my armpits; meaning, i am not going to get addicted to this area of quilting simply because i don't have time. my primary goal is to make the quilts i want to make and use up as much fabric as i can. speaking of fabric, this christmas lights half yard followed me home, i swear, it jumped into my tote and came back to maine with me. this is the type of christmas light i have on my tree and i love them. yes, i know they are not "efficient" or "green" and even give off heat and i do have to watch them carefully, but i don't care. i love them all the same. the little twinkle lights just don't have the glow. i love to turn off all the lights and put on the tree and just sit there feeling their warmth, smelling the pine needles and loving the colors.

just plain

rain in maine. no problem, it isn't SNOW! seriously, any kind of weather that does not confine me to an artificially-cooled space or prevent transportation is ok with me. that being said, since it's friday i've a few unimportant things to do. sew, of course, the library and maybe vacuum my room. other than that and job hunting, my life is pretty boring. once i have some kind of income, i will probably head to the local pool and see if i can get in better shape which might go a long way to enticing employers to hire me, even at my "advanced" (? what) age. fortunately, my brain still lives and my memory is sufficient to work and i can still pass those important neuro test markers to indicate such.