introducing miss paige

here is the little cutie that now owns the pink pinwheel quilt...isn't she simply adorable?  her lucky parents get to have all that fun.  makes me quite wistful wishing i could too, but then i remember how time consuming these little people are and it would seriously hinder my quilty fun big time.  even so, i think i could be a grandma at some point without any difficulty at all! 

old viking fun

on friday, the old viking and i spent some quality time together and i rustled up these little dresden plates for a small quilt.  many thanks to donna who swapped with me so i get a lavendar and a yellow 30s piece as i had none.   today i'm working on the christmas scrappy again and also planning to (shamelessly) start another small piece.  ah, tis a sickness you know, but with all this fabric, it's impossible not to want to play!  the apartment next to my bedroom is now vacant, which means i can sew in the early AM.  i used to wait until about 9 am before cranking up the old viking.  now if i could just have that space too....

post script

the beach was sooooo gorgeous today; perfect in every way.  this is the best vacationland has to offer.  the weather was perfect...warm in the sun, cool in the shade.  the view was spectacular.  this park was established from land given to the state in 1946 (not the 30s).  it is as natural as can be for a place that welcomes the public.  there is open surf with high waves, a calm lagoon for children, plenty of facilities, tables and grills,  it's quite rustic in most of the areas.  aside from way too many mosquitoes and biting insects, it was perfect.  ***** on another note, the eagle chicks i've been watching since their hatching in february will be released into the wild on july 27th.  as a surrogate mom, this is a weepy but expected occasion.  another empty nest....

by the sea, by the sea

this is where i will be today!  this is reid state park, georgetown, maine.  as untouched today as when it was given to the state by John Reid back in the 30s (i think).  and what a gift it was and still is.  we used to go every july 4th with the whole family crowd and stay from open to close, inhaling its beauty and salt air, but our family has dwindled down and the aunts who loved to go are only now 2 and quite elderly, so our own family remnants make the trip only occasionally.  i'm taking my amish scrappy shoebox, of course!

two more weeks...

that's right, two more weeks to our yearly quilt event.  i got my wallhanging sent yesterday and my lunch reservation too, which was late (thank you ruth!).  the MQ venue is the civic center in Augusta, not quite midpoint of the state, air conditioned too!  i bet a lot of the gals from down east and the county (aroostook) stay overnight.  my class is on sunday only this year.  my quilt event budget is skimpy, so i like to spread it out as much as possible.  i took the trip to NY in april for bonnie's workshop, now this workshop and another in nashua in november, also a day trip.  after nashua, events here in new england pretty much quiet down until winter is over, with few exceptions of course.  with my life here in maine way below my liking, not sure what my plans are after november. 

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!