sweet september!

first, i had never used a quilter's dream batt.  at maine quilts in my tote bag was this handy little folder with samples of all their batts (more on the back).  it was the dream poly that interested me.  here was a polyester batt that felt like a cotton batt.  i went to a local shop on my birthday (20% off) and found the cotton but not the poly.  quilters rave about the cotton, so i picked one up for a future quilt but i'm still going to try the poly.  has anyone used the poly?  i'd be interested in your impression.  *****  ahhh, woke up to temps at 57 here in coastal maine.  it was hot yesterday, meaning 80.  went to the beach and stayed a couple of hours.  it's been feeling fallish here for a week or so.  there will still be good summery days ahead, but we are heading into crisp nights and nature's kaleidoscope of color.  i just love autumn! **** the red/cream northwind?  last night finished up another 20 or so blocks that will be added to the first 2 rows today (maybe).  the sewing table is strewn with tons of triangles and blocks at every stage of construction.  this time i am serious about finishing this flimsy, really!

update...

i added the new quilt to my "started" list and named it.....amish in the city!   so, do you think i've enough projects on my UFO and STARTED lists?  could be......stay tuned!

busting more stash

in the true spirit of stashbusting, i've pulled fabrics for yet another project.  it's a pattern i saw in the "city quilts" book i borrowed from the library, not exactly like the book but more inspired from that source.  i've got both the black and charcoal for the background.  i'd prefer to use the charcoal but i think the higher contrast with the black will be better.  the charcoal is easier as far as the actual quilting, but i may have to relent and use the black.  it's a geometric pattern, so i'm thinking of the baptist fan pattern for the quilting, which will soften the angles.  this style is a bit outside my usual quilt type, but it's the colors that grabbed me.  sort of amish goes to the big city look....

back to quilting

so, today i finished RE-basting the lovers' links quilt that i want to finish this autumn.  i bit the bullet, put up the folding table and got it done.   now, i can sit and quilt on it in the evening as we are getting temps cool enough to do so.  i hope you can see how it's going to be quilted, in the white spaces only.  also today i worked on the amish pinwheels AND the red/cream northwind.  these 3 projects plus the civil war diary are going to dominate my time for the immediate future.  once this bed-size quilt is done, i'd like to tackle another bed size and get it finished before the end of the year.  as i've said before, i'm paring down the number of bed quilts i'll make and focus more on small projects i can finish quicker.  **** went to the beach this afternoon for a few hours; no "stuff" just a chair and a bottle of water.  it was heavenly there; nice breeze, not too hot.  it was easy to see where irene had left her mark.   lots of seaweed and broken shells, driftwood and even rocks washed up.  the tide came all the way up to the parking lot, which is a fair way from usual.  we're taking advantage of every good beach day we can, soaking up all the rays we can!

good to the last scrap

back in the 1980s when my DD was in grade school, i made her clothes.  one outfit was made from a pattern by jessica mcclintock for gunne sax.  it was a vest and prairie-type skirt with loads of lace and ribbon embellishments.  did she love it?  no, but i loved making it and loved the fabric.  this scrap is the very last piece of the red.  there was also a blue with cheddar stars and a gold with (i think) a blue design.  as i was ironing this, getting ready to strip it for the northwind, i am sooo wishing i had lots more of this.  if bonnie hunter could see it, she would drool as it has her red AND cheddar!  sorry bonnie, this piece is the very last.  the vest and skirt were handed down long ago to somebody else, but seeing this makes it seem like yesterday.   perhaps barbara brackman will include this in her 1980s repro line....that would be terrific! 

lilac flimsy

finally got the border resewn and the top of this runner finished!  it'll go in the stack of things to baste, now 5, for later.  **** all week i've been fighting a bout of vertigo, not severe but annoying.  just today while driving my right ear started draining and i remembered back to a beach day about 10 days ago when i got hit by a few waves, aha!  that must have been the problem!  all's well now, thank goodness. **** with irene's arrival this weekend, i've got plenty of sewing projects lined up.  providing we don't lose power that is.  ****  finally, today's my birthday.  no, no big celebration or fuss, just another day to rejoice in life and a number that means little to me.  biggest delight is having my mom still here to make me a blueberry pie.  i can get good cake at the supermarket and will have to someday, but as long as she's around, we'll have pie.    

The Stash, Part II - Fabric/UFOs/kits

this is pretty much all my fabric, UFOs, kits and magazine stash.  the elfa drawers hold about 3/4 of my fabric, the rest is on the shelves apportioned out in projects and kits.  in the elfa from the top down are white scraps, lights, solids, prints, prints, plaids/batiks, christmas and batting scraps.  again, due to space and time limitations, i try to keep it contained in these 2 places.  on the side of the elfa are stencils, scissors and rulers.   having most everything in plain sight makes it easy to use as i'm inspired almost daily.  the 3 drawers in the sewing table hold all my machine parts, various notions, ribbons, felt and other miscellaneous items.  that's pretty much all of it.  i go through every few months and weed out, donate or fling.  ***** oh, i forgot.  under the bed is a plastic storage thingie with some garment fabric, not much but it's there.  i've kept my patterns but don't do much garment sewing these days, only occasionally.

one more thing; in among the quilty stuff are a few cross-stitch UFOs AND  under the bed is also a plastic tote with cross-stitch stuff. 

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!