block #3

block #3 is done BUT i see after photographing that the dark green is more of a green/brown value, so this will be a do-over.  i might have to find a FQ of this color as i don't think i have any repros that will suit.  off to marden's i guess......what a hardship.....LOL!  it would be nice if i could get 2 blocks done every week, though that's more of an ideal situation than a firm plan, especially when i go back to work.  since there's no rush, just have to see how it goes....

119 to go

with 121 blocks, the civil war diary quilt is akin to a dear jane EXCEPT the blocks are larger, very little applique and no complicated border.  the challenge is to match the colors and to execute the blocks precisely.  i've gotten these 2 blocks done already.  i'm not working in order front to back (of book) but rather building my confidence by starting out with simple geometric blocks. no time frame at all to get this done, simply to do it well and have fun with the patterns and those luscious repro fabrics.

it's coming....

that's right, just a few months away we'll be gathering together to celebrate thanksgiving.  happy to say i got invited out!  not sure if we'll have turkey or not, but it doesn't matter.  ****** no real sewing to report from tuesday, just a bit of this and that.  today i hope will be different as i do have a few (!!) projects that need attention.  ***** rain has finally gone and left us with a good day today.  i have the window open and have just heard the plane for baltimore take off; it's the one i usually take when i go.  wish i lived closer to DD and her husband but the plane trip is only 1.5 hours so that isn't too bad at all. 

just like a quilter

the purples pinwheel puzzle isn't even DONE yet and i've already found fabrics to make another.  it's leftover batiks and i am so anxious to bust my stash, i put together this little stack for yet another pinwheel puzzle.  the neutral on the left will be the background/border and there are 13 colors for the pinwheels.  ***** last night got to quilt some on the lovers' links.  this is very good!  it should be done by fall for certain.  i'm using 2 different motifs for the white spaces and it'll be my primary handwork piece until finished.  ****** the rain is mostly over and it's a bit warmer today, though cloudy and dreary.  this, too, shall pass of course!

Brrrrr

no photo today as i'm sure everyone has seen rain, which is what it has been doing here all day today.  we have no danger of flooding where we are, but not far away on the coast it does happen.  it is chilly!  to go from nearly 80 to 62 is noticed here, even though cold is relative in maine.  for a february day, for instance, this would be balmy!  had to don the thermal, long-sleeve top and kept my socks on all day long.  it's an ideal night to quilt on the lovers' links, which is exactly what i am going to do.  ***** my new read is "caleb's crossing," about the first native american graduate of Harvard, a Martha's Vineyard Wampanoag, though much is fiction.  the book came out at the ideal time as a descendant of his graduated Harvard this past june.  as a native new englander, i know much about the area's history, so the locale is familiar.  oh yeah, the overnight temp is predicted to be 57!

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.