The Stash, Part I - Books

part of my role as an official "stashbuster" is to confess the size of my stash in my birthday month, so here's part I, my books.  i have a small bookcase, 3 shelves, and do have a few books that i keep.  mostly i heavily utilize libraries as i think buying a lot of books, DVDs, videotapes, etc. is a waste of money and requires lots of space, which i do not have.  so, i limit my stash of quilt-related books to one shelf; if i want to add one, i first go through and see if there is one i can sell or donate.  occasionally i will add one without flinging one, but not often.  if it doesn't fit on the shelf, it doesn't come into the apartment.  reason?  there simply isn't room. so here they are, all neat.  the large book on the left was a gift from DD and is a real beauty, one i would never have bought for myself; the 2 binders on the right are printed patterns/magazine ripouts.  tomorrow, part II.

Almost!

not quite yet, but with temps in the high 50s overnight, there is a definite feel of change in the air.  we do get plenty of summer weather in september and even october, but the change in the feel of the air is unmistakable.  we do mourn a bit for the passing of another all-too-quick summer, but eagerly anticipate crisp night air, warm days and all the beauties of autumn.  **** with cooler nights and days, it's back to serious quilting, until work materializes, that is.  first up is finish the lovers' links and hoping i can squeeze in another big quilt finish before the end of the year.  ***** starting to plan now for the holidays and a slew of autumn family birthdays. 

retreat progress

a stashbusters weekend at-home retreat and FNSI (friday night sew in) enabled me to make significant progress on this long-languishing UFO.  i procrastinated big time because of the scads of HSTs (half square triangles) in this quilt.  but my wondercut ruler proved to be a real asset and i took the plunge.  i've now 2 entire rows assembled (of the 14 total); each has 10 squares, so i still have plenty to do.  this project is nearly total chain piecing, feeding little pieces into the machine as fast as possible.  this will be my main machine project until the flimsy is done, which may not be until mid-september or later.  no real rush until i get the word on a job.  this quilt is from marsha mccloskey's book "quick classic quilts," a book chock full of beautiful traditional designs done in nonboring ways.  one caveat:  the word "quick" is relative of course, but when i actually sat down to sew, it didn't take too long to get a number of squares finished.  even so, it's a lot of prep work beforehand.  as you can see, in addition to the completed rows, i've quite a stack of units at the ready, so in no time i should have another 2-3 rows ready to put together.  better than that, soon i'll have another empty shoebox!

FNSI

it's Friday Night Sew-In!  if you are looking for me, i'll be at the old viking working on my red/cream north wind....and watch tomorrow for photos of my progress!

L is for....

lobster, of course!  on our way to the beach, a lobsterman sells his catch out of his garage.  i've been watching the prices slowly decrease until yesterday when they were rock bottom.  so, i stopped and picked up 6 of the lovelies for a late summer feast.  this time of year, the lobsters shed their shell and grow a new, larger one.  there is a little less meat in a "shedder" as opposed to a hard shell lobster, but it is sweet and succulent; hence, the lower price.  at the fish market, cooked lobster is about $35 a pound, usually only claw and knuckle meat.   i picked out these 6 and got just over 2 pounds of cooked meat for about $28, which included the bodies as well.  i even sucked out the legs, which have only a sliver of meat but oh so good!  it's a labor intensive task but for the price, certainly worth the effort.  one of the benefits of our coastal locale is the abundance of fresh seafood year round. 

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!