aaaaahhhaugust!

the end of Maine Quilts signals the beginning of august, the last third of the official Maine summer.  though i didn't get to see all the quilts, i had a wonderful class with jo morton making this wallhanging.  only 2 borders to go, one of which is flying geese, and the top will be done.  i had left my camera in the classroom and didn't even get a photo of my own wallhanging, sheesh!  no matter, it'll get plenty of viewing when it is returned.  ***** this is a big show and requires many hands and hours for a successful outcome.  kudos to all the chairpeople and everyone involved as it is a HUGE undertaking.  since i live close to the airport, i volunteered to bring a teacher back for flying out.  on the way we enjoyed a delish pizza dinner and some delightful conversation, strangers who became acquaintances through quilts.  ****** i did pick up a few repros that i'll show another day.  today it's just unpack and relax. 

2 gone, 1 on hold

photo by jim deal of one of the norfolk eaglets after release.  the 2 males took flight without issue; the female is on hold.  due to the heat and her new transmitter, she was overly stressed on the day of release and didn't take flight.  she's back at the wildlife center until another day when (hopefully) she will join her 2 siblings in the skies over the james river.  you can see more at the wildlife center of virginia's website and see just how huge these majestic juveniles have grown.  they are adult size now and all their devotees are hoping for good outcomes, though statistics do not support same.  we are all hoping the widowed adult male will find a mate and more chicks will hatch next year to watch and follow.  it's way better than TV!

down to the wire

so far there are 7 rows sewn together and only 6 more needed for this quilt.  i have a batt and need to work within the parameters of that, which is why it's a bit narrower than most quilts i make.  i have another 5 strips all ready and only 1 more to assemble, so it's nearly a flimsy!  i might make the august 1st self-imposed deadline after all....could be!  this means i have emptied another shoebox and my UFO list is will be getting shorter soon.  i might not have another finish until fall, though, which isn't that far away...how did THAT happen?  **** next up from the list has to be the red/cream north wind already in progress, which is a machine project.  in the meantime, my handwork projects are the lovers' links and the amish pinwheel. 

tuesday's bargain find

trekked to staples yesterday for mechanical pencil leads and happened on this nifty item.....graph paper composition books.  and the price?  a whopping 50 cents each!  so i grabbed up 2 which should last me the next 10 years or so.  i have a small graph paper notebook that fits into my purse, but lately i've been drawing out patterns on regular lined paper, so these will be a big improvement.  ***** hate to brag, but the temps yesterday were in the 60s and it's been a very cool and dry night, perfect for sleeping or just about anything else.  i've been getting jealous e-mails from those still suffering interminable heat, but come february i'll be the envious one.  unless you are a winter sport person, maine is simply horrid in winter. 



relief!

our oppressive heat has gone south (literally) and we are free from the A/C hum....for now anyway.  this morning the windows got opened, the little fan went back in the window and we are breathing outside refreshing air.  the first thing i heard was a squawking seagull in our parking lot.  i looked out and he had a small brown bag that had been crumpled up and he was desperately trying to get at the food inside.  he finally succeeded and then went on to the next "buffet" leaving the brown bag behind, empty. 

respectable progress

not bad, i think.  each stack is another row and the stack in the top row extreme right are half units ready to be sewn together.  the best part of this is that my elfa drawer of white and WOW scraps is getting used up big time.  there are times i use plain white fabric, but the big problem is that most of them are different whites, meaning they don't match so each project requires buying enough plain white to finish and i end up with a myriad of pieces that don't match, so they can't be used in a gift project or such.  thus, i decided to throw matchy/matchy to the wind and use them all up in one quilt, if i could.  this quilt is for me to use and i like the serendipitous quality of scrap quilts....this one is scrappier than most!  i will, however, probably have enough white and WOW scraps left over for another serendipity quilt. 

mission accomplished

did manage to finish this little flimsy last night.  spent most of the day on the christmas scrappy, cutting out more pieces the old fashioned way, with scissors.  today i hope to assemble some strips to see exactly how many more i need to finish this top.  then, there's a tablerunner to be basted.  i also finished another blue cheese unit and started appliqueing the dresden plates.  hoping by sunday/ monday it will have cooled off enough in the evening to do some quilting on the lovers' links quilt, as it's a gift and must be done by fall.  i do have another small piece on my official UFO list and might try and get that one done as i've shamelessly started several small projects THIS year and just might be on next year's list (sigh).  next up should be the red/cream north wind, a long-time UFO.  why you ask?  well, the first time i used the wondercut ruler was on this piece and misread the instructions, so the HSTs ended up a smaller than i wanted.  instead of 10" squares, i have 8" squares (eeek) so i've procrastinated big time on this....but no longer as i really must get this flimsy done once and for all. 

early morning stashbusting

what's a girl to do when she wakes early and feels productive?  why, bust stash of course!  i was up at 5:30 am and after a couple of necessary tasks, sat down at the old viking in my pjs and started busting this stash of 3.5" squares i had cut previously.  yes, these are leftovers from the pink pinwheel and there were enough leftovers to make another smaller quilt.  not fancy, only squares, but the fabric is gorgeous enough to kick this simple pattern up a few notches.  i still had some small pieces left over that will end up as strips.  ***** also today i hope to work more on the christmas scrappy.  the quilt calls for 21 strips of 12 sections, and right now i think i have enough units for 10 rows, which is about half way.  up until now i've used christmas scraps but next i will have to cut into some of the 1/4 yard pieces i have.  i started this quilt to bust white and WOW scraps i had and i'm happy to say the "whites" drawer is showing a serious dent that will only increase with the finish of this top.  these tasks are great for being shut up in the a/c!

so far this week

despite the heat, so far this week i've gotten quite a bit done quilty-wise.  i basted 13 little dresden plates onto background squares.  i assembled all these christmas scrappy pieces, about 30 completed units and these 3 stacks of half-units.  i also basted the red/white schoolhouse and the moda wreath wallhangings.  today you ask?  well, work on christmas scrappy of course and cut some 2" squares for the "blue cheese" piece.  i've a few driving errands to do as well.   a few more days and i can open the window again, i hope. 

a dangerous pattern

if you read the lists on the left side of the blog, you will see an ominous sign....i've completed 8 UFOs this year and started 9 others, yes 9.  my impromptu math skills leave a LOT to be desired, but in my book i'm running at a deficit here in terms of completing projects.  there is one redeeming factor here; the 9 new projects are all SMALL projects, meaning i could finish them in a week if i wanted to.   that is real progress, i think. ***** on a blistering hot sunday, i did get the scrappy units to the left chain pieced.  today they will get ironed and sewn into finished units for the christmas scrappy.  from here on out, i won't assemble rows until all units are pieced so all one fabric doesn't get clumped together on the quilt itself.   i also hope to baste the red/white schoolhouse and maybe a couple of other small flimsies that are lying around.