quick stop

though i try to keep my posts quilt related, this will be a rare exception.  on the way to the beach today, stopped at the local farm stand and picked up this colorful bounty.  not pictured are 4 ears of corn and a jar of jam.  in summer we consume mass quantities of the fresh veggies available.  the peppers will go into spaghetti sauce, the zucchini for pancakes or bread; the rest just get prepared simply to maximize flavor.  we already had green beans, so i passed on those. there were winter squashes also, but plenty of time for those when the others are gone.  we've also had native peaches and muskmelons from this stand this year.  we also get fresh garlic, red potatoes, red onions, scallions, broccoli and herbs.  nature's bounty indeed! ***** the beach?  it was a perfect no sunscreen, no umbrella, no sweatshirt day.  not hot, not cold, breezy, refreshing; water was cold, of course, but not unbearable.  can only hope for more days like today. 

day break

the shore beckons and the weather is summery.  what is an ocean-loving girl to do?  answer the call....quilting postponed to another day

how eerie is that?

in 1991 or 1992, i went to visit the statue of liberty.  it was the very beginning of november, the day before the NY marathon.  the weather was a balmy 72 degrees, unheard of for late fall.  the day was gorgeous.  the ferry across the harbor was spectacular.  the christmas decorations already displayed seemed utterly out of place.  on happenstance, i snapped this photo.  i found it the other day while cataloging my trip photos for a scrapbook.  i thought it was a twilight zone moment, like some supernatural event, coming across this particular photo in this particular week. 

thank you, denise!

now, i'm pretty sure denise can count and read. even though i only needed 2 FQs, she very generously sent 6!  now i can cut out the remaining triangles for my northwind quilt. i'll have some scraps left over for other projects, too.  i received many, many red scraps from other stashbusters, some swapped and some donated, so it was a real joint effort by lots of quilters.  **** i've been spending time cross-stitching the past few nights working on a christmas project.  this weekend i hope to tackle quilty projects; the northwind, amish in the city and maybe get some things basted too PLUS quilt on the lovers' links.  how did i ever have time to work?

extra! extra!

i've just received an e-mail from the editor of australian homespun magazine who tells me they now have digital subscriptions.  i haven't tried the link but i am posting the info here AND on the sidebar with the link sent to me, hoping it does work.  they had some glitches but hopefully are now ironed out.  for those who like this magazine but found the cost of a subscription over the top, this is a solution!

just arrived

yesterday the mailman brought this.  it's the sears roebuck of fabric and there is serious drool all over the pages already.  if i only bought my very favorites from this catalog, it would add probably another 6-8 yards of fabric in half-yard or FQ pieces.  there are soooo many beautiful ones from which to choose.  sometimes i only see 1-2 but this issue is overflowing with luscious, gorgeous fabric.  alas, i do not need it whatsoever nor can i squeeze that much $$ out of the budget either.  and wouldn't you know, now that my hawaiian is in the basting stage, i saw another, more beautiful, batik that would have been ideal.  "make another," says my mother.....she is kidding of course.  the first one isn't even close to being finished yet.  i do draw the line (with ruler of course) someplace.  ***** as you can see, i've added my photo to the blog.  i took it myself with the camera, taking care to avoid the double chin naturally, hoping to retain the illusion if possible!

and now a word....

no, not a sponsor just an endorsement.  when and if you come to maine, you'll see lots of blueberry stoneware.  the tourist havens are overstocked, but you might not see this one.  this is union pottery's blueberry pattern and by far, the most beautiful of ALL the blueberry dishes i've seen, even those at "the big boot"  you know who i (rhymes with) mean.  theirs is probably from china anyway.  over the years, i've been given pieces of this but by no means have an entire set yet.  at one point i had 4 luncheon plates, but in a move from a storage unit to Lynn they disappeared.  one of my bowls cracked and because they have a replacement policy, yesterday i trekked to union, maine, to order a new one.  the blueberry isn't their only pattern but to me, it's their best.  go on over and see for yourself....www.unionpottery.com.  needless to say, no quilting was done yesterday.  haven't yet figured out how to quilt and drive at the same time.

northwind so far

even though i have a HUGE stack of blocks assembled, about 10 rows right now, i've only got these 5 into rows.  the squares work up super quick (yes marsha, quick) but the rows take a bit more time.  from here on in, i'm only making rows as i've got to get 2 more FQs to make blocks and don't want all the new prints jammed into the last few rows.  so, a few more days' work should do the trick and morph this into a flimsy.  it's a beauty, too....scrappy just speaks to my inner design diva!  **** what else is new this tuesday?  the amish blocks are DONE; that's right, all 66 blocks are completed.  next step is design wall for color balance and then flimsy.  the empty shoebox will soon be filled with my "amish in the city" UFO.  ***** also spent a bit of time monday working on some giftie items.  the week promises to be cooler, like high 60s, so i should be able to quilt on the lovers' links as well. 

wanna swap?

as it turns out, i am going to need 2 FQs of red print to finish my top.  i'm putting these batiks up for swap; nearly 1 or more yards total of 3 batiks for 2 FQs of red prints.  e-mail me if you are interested.....

almost!

almost meaning i've almost finished assembling the 66 blocks i'll need for this amish scrappy pinwheel flimsy...yes!  my saturday sewing was focused on this project and it's going to take another couple of evenings or another day to finish them all up.  today, however, my sewing is going to be on the red/cream, squaring up blocks, assembling rows and putting units together.  i've almost used up all my red scraps (photo tomorrow) and i want to make sure they are all gone before obtaining more.  red scraps are good to have on hand as they can make a scrappy quilt zing BUT i don't want a glut of them.  i'm trying to use up my fabric, not stockpile more, you know!  tomorrow's sewing focus will be quilting on the lovers' links quilt, hoping to finish it by the end of september.  fabric and batts have their cost but two shoeboxes emptied in september?   priceless!