book recommendation

on a visit to the local library yesterday for DVDs i found this book.  it could be subtitled, "amish quilts leave the farm."  lots of luscious geometric projects done in mostly solids with black.  i found more than a few i'd like to make because you KNOW how i feel about solids.  i'm pretty sure i have all the materials on hand to whip at least 3-4 of them up right away, so......

MQ fabrics

here is the sum total of my fabric acquisition at Maine Quilts.  a chrome yellow, double pink and poison green (jo morton's) are going into my repros stash for the upcoming civil war diary quilt.  for now i am going to TRY and focus on finishing up some of the stuff that is currently lounging around the "studio" and also play around with a diamond design for my cherrywood solids.  ***** attended a free band concert last night, late to bed again and up early, so i'm headed back for an extended sleep.  it's a luxury i couldn't afford when working so i'm seizing the opportunity here and hoping later, if it ever rains and dries out the air, i can get some sewing done. 



birthday month

yes, my birthday is in august, near the end.  thank you, God, for giving me another!  as usual, i've a list of things i'd like to accomplish this month.  much depends on the weather, or heat actually.  some depends on motivation/inspiration and the rest, well, you know how it is.  so, you might wonder (or not) what my list looks like.  well.....

finish christmas scrappy top and (maybe) baste
quilt on the lovers' links
eat some lobster
finish the prairie patches top and baste
work on the amish pinwheel squares (less than 30 left to assemble)
start a new project...i've got diamonds dancing in my head!
make verrill farm's corn and tomato tart (mmmmm)

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.