first official finish

can finally cross off a UFO finish from my 2011 list now that this quilt is done. years ago i was in a four-patch swap where every month was a different color, so i used them up in this scrappy quilt. even the binding is scrappy as it's 2 different colors....why not, eh? i didn't hand quilt this quilt, only tied, as it will probably be a donation quilt of some kind. even so, it's pretty and warm and now off my "to do" shelf as well! how good is that?

a done duo

though the photo is poor, you can see what i accomplished yesterday; that is, finishing up embroidering these dish towels. the windmill was done already and was waiting on the little dutch girl to be finished. not sure what i'll do with them now, but i had bought them several years ago and they needed finishing. they belong in somebody's hope chest. i do have a beautiful Lane cedar chest but am not accumulating linens for the future; they will probably get stored there anyway.

sneak peek

the top fabric is my new curtains fabric. just a hint of color (matches carpet) but not too intense. will be great for filtering light, i think. the bottom two fabrics? followed me home, were in my bag when i got there...who knew?

tale of two pictures

once upon a time about 25 years ago, a little girl came home from school with a piece of precious artwork (left picture). her mother ooohed and aaahed at the picture and promptly tacked it up for all to see and enjoy. since it was near christmas, the picture was left up for the holiday but carefully put away after with the other decorations. every christmas the picture was hung up for the holiday season. the little girl's mother loved the picture still and, being a quilter, vowed one day to immortalize the picture in fabric. when the mother moved into a new apartment, she hung the picture on her bulletin board as a reminder of the plan. that someday came this week when the mother pulled fabrics from her stash and carefully traced the pattern onto fabric. no, the fabric picture isn't quite finished yet (right photo), but will be soon and will be sent to the little girl, now grown up, to proudly display on the wall in her beautiful home. the little girl's picture will remain on the bulletin board for the mother to see and enjoy, always reminding her of a time when the grown-up girl was little but no less precious than today. (sniff, sniff)

lone star baste, part 2

i had basted this piece previously but wasn't happy with the thickness of the fleece used. i put it aside to think about it. when i revisited this, i realized the fleece was indeed to thick for a large wallhanging like this, so i pulled out the basting and rebasted with a thinner fleece. it is now ready to start quilting. this is my 2nd lone star wallhanging. the first was made many years ago and hung over my bed for a time. one day when my life was particularly gruesome, i just pulled it down, cut it into shreds and threw it away.....just like that. no regrets, but i did have to make another. this is entirely hand pieced because of all those pesky bias edges and the center lies flat, yippee! ****** storm over here in coastal maine, will dig out car this morning. didn't venture out at all yesterday except to get the paper just as it was starting to snow. worked on my new bedroom/sewing room curtains and made a pot of spaghetti sauce and just generally "chilled out" (no pun intended).

crumb-y tuesday, snowy wednesday

had some leftover "crumbs" (scraps) of 30s prints and couldn't bear to throw them out so i repurposed them into potholders. in the past i've made really nice hexagon potholders, only to have them get singed or dirty, so i decided to use up the crumbs and not put so much time into these useful items. ******** yep, snowing here in maine since about 5 am. good day to hibernate. i did manage to get out early and get the newspaper though.

reorg sewing space #1

all my quilty books were stacked on a shelf, plus shoeboxes on top of those and were difficult to get at, much less browse when desired. so, i have this little bookcase and moved them here. now i can pull one out quite easily (and put it back also). previously i had my vast collection of Quilters' Newsletter mags here, but those i stacked on the shelf as i don't refer to them that frequently. this bookcase is my "governor" if you will. keeps me from accumulating too many books, so easy to do for a constant reader like myself. i wish there were room to store them standing up and spine side out but there isn't. this is so much better than before, though. ***** so this was the first step in the reorg of the room. i've got more done but this week hope to finish. left now is to move a dresser, my elfa drawers, the TV, wash windows/sills, make new curtains and hang. i'll be off to marden's this week for the curtain fabric. watch this space for more photos!

it's come to this

our apartment is one of several in a large brick building and comes heated. even so, in the winter the indoor temp vacillates from that of an igloo or a sauna, depending on the weather conditions. the windows are not insulated, nor are there any storms, plus they date back to the 80s i'm guessing. so, sometimes it is quite cold even with the heat on. yesterday i broke down and put the flannel sheet on my bed, along with my 2 quilts. while i love its cozy feeling, i know that sometimes it will be too warm and i'll probably have to wear my summer pjs and/or open the window a tad to be comfy. that's winter in maine, constant adjustments.

favorite cookbook?

paula is wondering what my favorite cookbook is....well, i don't do THAT much cooking, but I often refer to those by Marjorie Standish, a maine cookbook author. She published 2, "cooking down east" and "cooking...the maine way." i use others like "artisanal bread in 5 minutes a day" and occasionally download something from food network. most things i cook don't require me to refer to a recipe as i make quick things (shrimp scampi) or ones I know by heart (spaghetti sauce, veggie soup, chowder, meat loaf, fajitas). with only 2 of us and trying to eat less/more healthy, we often eat fish or seafood prepared simply or some chicken dish. many bloggers, like judy for instance, always post recipes/photos/menus etc. but neither mom nor I rarely spends that much time on meal prep. ***** short night last night, too much caffeine no doubt. with days that run into each other and no appointments, time is almost meaningless. no big deal as i can always nap during day or whenever, it's just that casual.

waiting for snow

it's coming sometime today, though not much "they" say. you know who "they" are, don't you? in the meantime, it's me at the old viking and watching TV, sort of, mostly listening. that's pretty much what we do in the winter in maine, sit around and watch snow fall. at least those of us who are unemployed, which is far too many sad to say.