sorting strips

after getting all my boston commons squares cut, i pulled all the strips in the mini-tote and did a little reorg for when i have to revisit this stash. no doubt there is at least one scrappy top in this little container. thankfully, my entire stash is nowhere near barbara wilkinson's, who was featured on OWN's "enough already" last night.

that makes me really happy as i am using it up as fast as i can. ***** happy birthday george! those of us who were school kids in the 1950s know that today is your REAL birthday, no matter what the calendar says. ***** where, oh where, are the warmer temps? 30s daytime, single digits overnight....ENOUGH already!

basting party

as i mentioned, got these 3 little projects all thread-basted and they are waiting for hand quilting. due to a winter-to-spring cold, i've not done much of anything for a couple of days but hoping to get these done fairly soon and off my UFO list. the lone star comes first, though, once the box of kleenex is no longer my BFF. i've also been dabbling with some larger UFOs, doing some prep applique work and, of course, assembling the boston commons borders on the machine.

halfway there

after a mini-marathon sewing weekend, i've the top AND bottom borders done on the boston commons. now just the side borders are left, meaning cutting up more strips and yardage into those teeny, tiny squares and sewing them all together. that's probably at least another week's worth of sewing at a minimum. good thing i've got some projects basted to switch off now and then. sewing this top is like a trip down memory lane through my stash. so many pieces bring fond memories. this is a quilt i will definitely keep. it'll be hand quilted, partially with a neat border stencil i bought from pepper cory in nashua a few years ago.

new project

quilters, like savvy entrepreneurs and astute businessmen, are always thinking of the next project. so to keep in line with my fellow quilters i have pulled out my "civil war diary" book and started preparing patterns. this is the first of 121 blocks. there is no rush for this project, just a block here and there until it's completed. this is my version of Dear Jane, fewer blocks and easier to construct. and it seems my ex was wrong for i CAN draw a straight line with a ruler.....sometimes anyway. i needed a break from sewing little blocks together for the boston commons, at least for a bit. i'll be back at the old viking later today.

slow progress

this is the top (or bottom) border so far. it isn't that i haven't been sewing up a storm (no pun); i've a stack of scrappy strips all made, just not attached yet. there are 12 more to add to this to finish it and then i can start on the bottom (top?). i've errands out of the house today, so won't get much done but maybe by the time the weekend's over, i can have the top AND bottom done. the sides too? no way at all. it'll probably be another week before the top is completed. i am determined to whack off as many UFOs as possible, still hoping i can get back to work soon.

more squares

yesterday i sewed all the squares i had cut into strips and they are patiently waiting for more, so this morning i pulled out more scraps and cut these. i know i won't have enough for the side borders, so i'm keeping my rotary cutter close for future action. it's going to snow again tomorrow (not much) so i'll save that task for then. hopefully by the end of the week if i don't get bored, i'll have my borders done, sewn on and the top finished.....we'll see.

saturday photo

this was another little project that was idling on my sewing table, so i cut out the rest of the pieces needed and put the units together. i call it "snaky, drunk amish" for it's snake's trail version, drunkard's path pattern done in amish style. it needs a bit of revision to relocate some of those lights, but hopefully i'll get it basted this weekend. i went to joann's today and got some fleece half price for the task. my small solid scraps seem to be accumulating a bit, so will probably make up some small paper-pieced squares to use them up, a project for another day. ***** i also cut a stack of squares for my boston commons borders and that's on my agenda too. getting the borders done and sewn on will empty another shoebox, always a good thing. oh, and did i mention it snowed AGAIN today?

bound to happen

once i got the paper piecing method down pat, i guess it was inevitable that i would seque into curved paper piecing. i'm not sure, but this, too, is pretty easy. whoa, there is no huge new york beauty quilt in my future, but it was fun to try this technique and put another notch in my rotary cutter. i was toying with the idea of a wallhanging, but i've decided it'll stop at pillow size, mostly as i've many other things that need finishing and other patterns i want to try. time gallops on.....

later same day....

as the snow piles up, my daydreams are far from winter, especially after i found this website....www.lobsterrolls.com. i had heard about this place on our new england cable news station, but when i visited i learned they are going to open a year-round place this month....how good is that? me, i can eat a lobster roll most anytime. a good one is pretty simple: grilled hot dog bun, lobster and a tad of mayo...no celery, no celery salt, parsley or anything else.

delightful dilemma

unless you've been in an underground missile bunker the last two weeks, you know about our snowstorm wallop. as i write this early morning, the second wave has yet to hit but the wind is howling and the car is already covered over. so, being an industrious person i glanced around my sewing space for something to occupy mind and hands for the duration. i spied this overflowing shoebox full of 1.5" strips and thought about a pattern i've been wanting to try. the next few hours were spent constructing these little 5" pineapple blocks. i got the idea from bonnie hunter a while back and found the foundation pattern on a quilting website. being a predominantly left-handed (right brain) person, starting a new paper piecing project is always a bit clumsy; takes a bit to get a routine for the mechanics of the task at hand. but it was finally mastered and i was pleasantly pleased with the result. each little block has 37 pieces and, as per usual, the use was hardly noticed in my shoebox. i'd have to make a gazillion of these little blocks to use up all those scraps---NOT! i am going to try and make a small wall piece or table topper, though, because i am enthralled with these cute little pineapples. **** later in the day i worked on my lone star. today's project? plenty from which to choose, but definitely more lone star quilting and maybe work on the machine constructing another quilt top or maybe basting the 30s wallhanging.