wed night sewing

first off, what do you think about this color combo?  i was watching a free episode of "why quilts matter" on alex/ricky "the quilt show" and saw an amish quilt in the background, maybe trip around the world, in this combo.  i rushed to the stash and pulled these to photograph; that's cheddar on the bottom of course; i might have left out one, not sure, definitely food for thought.  looks like a sunflower group to me!  ***** on the right is my stack of red/cream northwind blocks.  i've got 5 rows put together, this stack is another 5 rows, so only 4 more rows to make, total of 32 blocks.  the completed flimsy is in sight!  ***** i also spent some time quilting the lovers' links last night also.  with another week until october, i might just get it all quilted by then.  we're having a stretch of rainy/cool weather, so it's quite possible.

scrap book giveaway

janet over at rogue quilter has a terrific giveaway, new book by Lynn Roddy Brown with some luscious scrap patterns and ideas.....hop on over and leave a comment and you just might win!

back to red and cream

today after some necessary household chores, i sat down at the old viking to work on red/cream blocks.  tonight i'll square them up and maybe get more rows together to add to the partial flimsy done so far.  not much work on this project in the last week or so partly because i've been hand quilting the lovers' links and partly because my room was a bit disorganized and needed vacuuming.  no vacuum bags, so had to get bags and finally today it got vacuumed.  i hate to work in a messy environment.  yes, it's a bit cluttered while i'm sewing, but it has to be neat before i can start sewing.  i also had a few things on the sewing table that needed attention.  the planets aligned today and all the necessary stuff got done and could sew again!  **** i've gone back to exercising on a regular basis and it's been an adjustment; exhilarating but an adjustment.  i hope i can keep it up.  so far i've lost 8 pounds of the 20 i wanted to drop before thanksgiving. ***** it's such a nice day today i had hoped to grill out and use up our bag of charcoal but alas, it's really too windy.  rain is predicted for the next few days but maybe on the weekend we can enjoy grilled burgers again before cold weather.

trunk show success

my little trunk show at the women's residential home went pretty well.  i had one HUGE suitcase of quilts and a large tote bag (the ricky tims one) as well.  i brought a few unfinished items, such as the hawaiian, the amish center diamond and the red/cream northwind.  there are less than 20 women who live at this home and some were out but most came and seemed to have an enjoyable morning.  i brought along dessert of apple crisp; i had been invited for lunch when the show was booked.  many of these women have done needlework in their lifetime but no longer for various reasons.  i was back at my apartment, which is about one hour south, at 3:30 pm, left at 8:30 am this morning.  a long day for a change.  ***** most of the vertigo has subsided, which is a real blessing indeed.  after a good night's rest, i can get back to sewing projects tomorrow. 

coincidence?

flipped over the calendar page today and this is the pattern, "geese in flight," so apropos because early this morning i heard a flock of canadian geese honking while they flew on by.  you think they can read?  naw.....but i do love this little perpetual calendar.  there are some great scrappy patterns i'd like to make someday.  ***** spent most of yesterday quilting on the lovers' links and i've got sore fingers as proof.  by the time my quilter's callouses have developed, the quilt will probably be done.  ***** just popped a huge pan of apple crisp into the oven.  makes the apartment smell sooo homey.  it's majorie standish's recipe so it'll be yummy for certain! **** today?  more quilting on the lovers' links, maybe some machine time also and read my sunday paper at a leisurely pace.  busy week ahead and october is looming, can you believe it?  as of oct 4th i'll be unemployed a whole year this time around.  maine truly is vacationland....has been for me anyway.   

FNSI Report

disclaimer:  this is probably a boring post but i worked on only the lovers' links last night during FNSI.  it's at the hump point, meaning seems like it is taking forever to get it done, but a little push and the finish will be in sight.  that'll rev up my impetus to finish this and get down to the binding for early fall completion. 

FNSI

sheesh, almost forgot; tonight's the night!  friday night sew-in!  i'm ready, got the lovers' links in the hoop to work on PLUS busy cutting out "amish in the city" inbetween.  just popped some orange cranberry scones (barefoot contessa recipe) in the oven and plenty of diet pepsi in the refrigerator; how good is that?

half done!

the quilting part, that is.  there's still the binding to do after, but at least the lovers' links is getting done.  i've some lavendar solid for the binding, so some day i'll have to pull that out and get that made so it will be ready.  with half the month to go, i could very well get this done if i don't work on too many other projects in the meantime.  **** my other handwork project is sewing together squares and rows of the amish pinwheel.  that'll be the next bed quilt to be quilted.  ***** our temps are down to real fall levels.  last night i even wore my FLANNEL pj pants to bed, with one quilt over me and the window open.  fall activities are in full swing in maine, meaning apple picking and orchard festivities.  i just love the autumn!

the word uttered

this very morning, september 14th, the local weather guy said it OUT LOUD!  what was it?  SNOW....off with his head!

on the wall

the amish pinwheels have made it vertical!  i did this for color placement and am pretty satisfied, though i did find quite a few purple value blocks in the stack.  the center medallion is to be quilted.  it's a large urn with feathers and topped with a pineapple.  though i don't like to use fusibles on my fabric, not being sure what their very long-term results are, i couldn't think of another method that would be as botch-free as Transfer-eze.  i've got a wool batt at the ready for this once the flimsy is done, currently being assembled by hand.  this is another fully hand-pieced, hand-quilted project.  after i finish quilting lovers' links, this one will be quilted, hoping to get it done for my bed this winter.  it'll be cozy, don't you think?