early sunday sewing

me and the old viking were up early this morning listening to Itunes and finishing up this little piece showed earlier.  i got the 2 borders done, MORE HSTS!!!!  it's a teensy, weensy wonky on one end, probably from over-zealous ironing, but really rather OK considering. i am pretty pleased with it because i really hate doing all these HSTs.  but as i said, i measured twice, cut very carefully and it really made it as easy as could be.  now the remnants are in the stash, the book shelved and on to finish piecing the pinwheel runner.  we've a few cool, cloudy and rainy days so quilting the lovers' links is the TV project for certain.  so glad we got some serious beach time in before the weather changed.  i love, love, love the oean!

the latest

this is the first thing i've made from the Lori Smith book bought earlier this year (half price!).  i hardly ever use these colors but they caught my eye in february, the nearly end of an endless winter and so they found their way into my stash.  there's a small pieced border top and bottom to add and the little flimsy will be done.  i'm pretty happy with it considering it's a HST nightmare, but it measured twice and cut carefully and it does make a difference.   after this i really need to get back to quilting the lovers' links, finish piecing the pinwheel runner and working on those amish pinwheels as well.  these little projects will end up on my 2012 UFO list, which means i'll have lots of finishes as they won't take as much time.  next up is piecing the red/cream north wind, i promise.....

book recommendation

have been reading this book and which i can recommend heartily for its historical and documentation purposes.  lots of delish info on quilts at the Winterthur Museum, built by DuPont (yes THAT DuPont) in Delaware.  The museum owns over 300,000 textile pieces, 300 quilts.  There is a full-page photo of a huge sunburst quilt made in 1827 by Rebecca Scattergood Savery that has never been washed so the colors and condition are pristine.  There's also a quilt that was made in Hallowell, Maine, a port city about one hour north of here and also a quilt made by the cousin of John Quincy Adams' wife.  ****  gotta go, job interview this morning.....now where ARE those pantyhose? 

plaid-tastic!

ducked into marden's yesterday just for a look and found these cotton shirt plaids...aren't they gorgeous!  i have also gotten plaid shirts at the thrift store, but these were $3 per yard and for nearly the cost of one thrift store shirt, i got four different plaids for an upcoming quilt. 

it gave me the benefit of adding some different colors rather than the limited palette i've found in actual shirts.  more than once i've seen a shirt on a body somewhere and wished i could say, "please sir, can i have your shirt?"  but propriety ruled over desire.  ****** on the weather map here in maine this morning, i saw 59 in more than one place.  it was a cool day yesterday and a cool morning so far today, great for sewing.  unfortunately my day is already scheduled with nonquilty errands. **** also at marden's i found 2 cheddar prints, a great find!  i did search on the internet for cheddar prints, but found that different manufacturers have different definitions of cheddar, many of them more gold than what i think of as cheddar.   plus, the internet finds were much pricier....frugality usually trumps.

critical stage

this is my shoebox full of 1.5" strips.  the time has come for a decision.  either i get a larger tote OR i start using these strips.   i could cut some of them up for inchies of course.  have to think about it....meanwhile, it's coooool here in coastal maine, low 60s.  a day without the hum of fans or air conditioners.  cloudy too, but i hear summer is coming back for the weekend. 

Boomer FYI

just the other day, Jay North, aka dennis the menace, turned 60....

apologies

first one is to atkinson designs, their pattern name is "pinwheel puzzle" and the first time i made this pattern, it felt just like that.  this time around, though, it's much easier.  and the second is to bonnie hunter.  see these little scrap triangles?  bonnie would have turned them into an astounding scrappy piece but mine are (gulp) getting tossed.  they are just way too small for me to work with; anything that is smaller than a 1.5" square goes and these are no exception.  sorry bonnie; i am a true believer, i really am, but not with pieces this small.  **** also pictured is the pinwheel puzzle so far, just have to add in a few border pieces and it can be sewn together.  i am liking this pattern.  i see one in batik scraps, don't you? ***** no fans or air conditioners here today, it's 62 and breezy...wheeee!  no sun, but no problem at all!

double dipping

two projects got pulled from the shoeboxes yesterday and i spent the entire day sewing!  still no work, so the sewing goes on and on.  the wallhanging is a pattern i bought in PA last year.  all the pieces have been cut and placed; the "white" pieces are freezer paper and the yellow dots are pins!  i'm hoping it will be done for halloween but we'll see.  the second photo is an atkinson designs pattern from 1995, "pinwheel patches," done in heirloom lilacs from 2006 (i know the date from the selvedge!).  i think it's properly aged by now; i'd like to get this top done this week and put the remains in my stash.  that'll give me about 7 small projects in the flimsy stage.  some blustery winter week i'll get them all finished at once, no doubt!  i've also been working on handpiecing some amish pinwheels.  it's a lofty goal, but it would be nice if all the squares were done by the end of the month.  there will be an intricate quilting motif medallion (i love the hand quilting part) and i've a wool batt set aside to use.  the same 2 quilts have been on my bed for some time now, so i think a change is in order, don't you?  i'd like to get it quilted before winter, that and the 30s lovers' links.

blue cheese so far

this is my blue cheese project so far.  i'm saying "so far" because i haven't decided whether this is it or if it will be a larger finished piece.  the colors are a bit bright because i wanted a closeup so you could see the mouse fabric in the lower left corner.  i think i have just enough left for one more square, if i decide to make it bigger.  it's a bit boring because a solid is the only cheddar i have in my stash that i could use.  i do have a cheddar plaid but it's being reserved for another project. **** thanks to those who posted kind words about my christmas scrappy!

half the christmas scrappy

since my design wall is vertically challenged, i had to fold the flimsy over to pin it on to take its photo.  even so, you can get an idea of its complete size and how it looks.  i'm glad this is done.  next is baste and then quilt and bind.  no border as the batt i'm using isn't large enough for one.  i might use red for the binding and muslin for the back.  i don't think this will get finished this year, but we'll see.  it's 48 x 72, large enough for a sofa or twin quilt.  as predicted, i didn't completely bust my white scraps but one more scrappy just might.