back in harness

spent most of the day recovering from the temporary interruption in the norm.  the old viking is back on the table and works fine.  she spent the two weeks on vaca in her nordic homeland canoodling with old school chum sven....at least that's HER story....and don't you love these little bow ties?  wow, a 3" block a la bonnie who posted her challenge today to make these as leaders/enders for a year and see the end result.  i already have a L/E project but i caved and tried one and it is adorable!  i was going to do mine with cheddar and vintage indigoes, but i'm just going to try and use up more blue scraps...whaddaya think about "blue cheese" for a title?  i only have a yard of cheddar solid, so not sure at this point if i'll use it all up or just make a small wall piece...

look....all fixed!

no one would ever know that for two weeks there was a hole in the wall showing daylight!  despite the hot, humid weather, the repair has been completed today, not a moment too soon before thundershowers either.  this is the new little window fan in place already.  now to iron curtains, dust and put the rest of the stuff in order.  many thanks to our complex's fine maintenance crew who have always responded promptly and completed the task at hand.  not all tenants can say that, i'm sure.  did i whine and vent a little?  was i a tad impatient?  afraid so...whew, now back to the old viking....

thank you walgreen's!

found this little item in stock AND on sale!  the fan that died was from 2003 (i think) and was 10" and cost $8; this fan is 9" and cost $10.  close enough.  it's quiet, fits in the window and on a normal hot day (not like today), it works great in my not-so-big room.  though the fan did officially die from the crash, it was quite old and i didn't mind replacing it myself.  

postal present

about a month ago, bonnie announced she would be featured in an upcoming issue of Australian Homespun and debuting a new scrappy pattern.  well, once i heard the word "pattern," i scoured the web to find a store and the issue.  Erica's in Indiana was taking preorders, so i put in my order and today it finally arrived!  once again, bonnie has not disappointed at all!  in addition to bonnie's pattern, there are some other goodies in this issue too.  to subscribe to this magazine is prohibitively expensive, but i am enjoying looking at the ads and new pattern ideas.  today was the perfect day to receive it; the weather is nearly unbearably hot and humid, very oppressive, good to laze around and flip through.  we did go to the beach this morning but it was too hot to stay, no cool breeze at all.  **** the room repair is one day away from completion, not sure WHICH day it will be though.  i am getting ready to scour and dust once it is finished; i washed my new curtains today getting ready to iron and rehang.  in the interim, i've got 33 amish pinwheel blocks done, exactly half of what i need for the quilt top.  i'm using some of my cherrywood hand dyes, lusciously soft and colorful fabrics.  mmm, mmm, good!



applique envy

if you hop on over to http://www.gloriouscolor.com/ you will see kim mclean's stunning applique patterns.  i'm currently drooling over this one, but not enough to consider starting it just yet.  i've a few applique quilts in the works and i'd only be dreaming at this point, but such a lovely dream don't you think?  **** tomorrow i have to put a sleeve on my maine quilts piece to send it off next week.  hard to believe it's only 3 weeks away, which will signal the end of july and  the beginning of august.  summer goes way too fast, i think.  we are just now starting to get a good selection of fresh veggies, yum-my! **** thanks to those who commented on miss paige's baby quilt.  it really came out beautiful.  the fabrics were very good quality and the batt was just right for the quilting, made the designs puff out just enough to be noticed but not too thick.  it was one of those projects that just went together easily, quilted wonderfully and looks pretty perfect.  i've often said my goal is not blue ribbons so most of my things are not perfect, but this was one project that just got done without any glitches at all.  since it was a special gift, that made it a delight!

pinks quilt update

remember this quilt?  i had originally stated it was a commission piece but actually it was for a friend of DD's who was having her first baby.  this beauty now belongs to one miss paige elizabeth who arrived yesterday, finally, eagerly greeted by her impatient parents.  i was thinking about her mom holding her for the first time and checking her all over and it brought back memories of when i first held DD and did the same.  it was a supremely joyous day that still gives me a warm, wistful feeling all over even now.  **** the room repair progresses!  this is very good news.  could be that by tuesday all my doo-dads will be back in their nooks and crannies.  in the meantime, i've been cutting pieces for the christmas scrappy and working on the amish pinwheel.  idle hands, you know....

R.I.P.

i have a 10" square window fan i bought eons ago, like 10 years maybe?  it's quieter than a large box fan and does a pretty good job in a small space.  well, last night i went to plug it in and i believe it has succumbed to the crash.  it still runs BUT the plastic case has split along the seam line, causing it to rattle.  i paid $8 for the thing and it has worked for all this time; i don't believe it owes me a penny.  ***** another hot (for maine) day here on the coast and that is exactly where we are going today, in about 40 minutes or so.  as i mentioned, not all maine beaches are free and this one is no exception.  the cost kept us from going too many times last year, so this year we purchased a seasonal pass and already we are way over the original cost, so it was a good deal.  without further adeiu......

Plan B

you might wonder what i'm doing with the old viking AND little brother on hiatus (or maybe not) and this is it!  pulled out this shoebox full of gray and color solid triangles.  these are for the hand pieced, scrappy amish pinwheel quilt that is a someday finish (no deadline).  the christmas scrappy is machine pieced and quilting on the lovers' links is out of the question in 80-degree weather, so decided to make more of these squares.  ***** the repair persons came today and measured for materials to finish the wall job.  while they were here, they put the AC in the window.  my stuff is spread out all over the apartment, in addition to the aforementioned machines being packed away, and it will be terrific once things are organized again.  since we can do nothing to aid and abet in this situation, we are heading to the beach later on to enjoy cool breezes and cold water. 

A Happy Independence Day!

despite a gnawing unease from THIS, we kicked off the holiday with a wonderful band concert outdoors under cool but summery conditions.  If you are an American, natural born or naturalized, things like this should upset you.  i urge you to read "the federalist papers," a literary chronicle on the perils faced when forming a new, independent government, not the least of which was freedom from tyranny from outside forces.  the founders could not have foreseen the growing economic tyranny we now face that, if not stemmed and obliterated, will (i believe) destroy the America and its unmatched freedoms as we know it, or as it should be.  enjoy your celebration...our descendants may have only memories of such if things don't change. 

A True Legend

Sally Palmer Field of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has died.  she was a renown quilter here in New England.  when i first got into quilting in the 1970s, i heard about a new england guild that was having a meeting in a nearby town.  i decided to go and see what it was about.  when i got there, i realized that one had to pre-register to attend the meeting and so i went about getting information to register for the next meeting, held biannually.  little did i know i was on the cusp of a huge groundswell in quilting.  the guild grew so large in a 10-year span that it was a logistical nightmare to arrange meetings.  smaller guilds and groups sprung up all over new england as a result.  a museum was planned and became an eventual reality (much to my surprise).  the guild was finally disbanded after its original goal, and many more, had been attained.  Sally was at the forefront of the guild's formation as well as being a teacher, artist and promoter.  she was one of those people who was almost bigger than life.  when she came into a room, she brought vitality, inspiration and ideas.  she could have been a reader's digest "most unforgettable character" to most anyone.  i can't imagine anyone who was quilting in the 1970s or 1980s won't be saddened by this news.