the ship is in!

no it's not MY ship, that's still cruising around someplace, but it's somebody's ship.  we trekked the 6-7 miles over to portland to see the new, larger terminal and this baby that had just come into port.  before this opened, portland couldn't handle the really big cruise ships and lamented every day over lost tourist dollars.  living here we totally forget that portland is a travel destination.  we saw plenty of buses at the terminal also, heading for locales like kennebunkport and LL Bean, other big tourist draws.  we saw plenty of street walkers with their jackets on.  i know one thing, if i go on a cruise i'm NOT taking my winter jacket.  *****  that roving quilter, bonnie hunter, has arrived in maine and off to rangeley for quilt camp, details here.  on a return trip from baltimore last year, my seatmate was a very pregnant young woman with her toddler.  she was going to visit her mother who just happened to be the very same carol perkins at threads galore, like how eerie is that?  anyway, i'm sure bonnie will find plenty to like about maine...she's northwest of here about 2 hours' drive, in the hinterlands which is probably quite beautiful right about now!

wednesday witch update

been busy with applique on the halloween piece.  here's the latest photo of what is done so far.  i've got one of the bats done which drove me a tad "batty" but looks pretty ok to me.  now i'm on letters.  although i am not "into" embellishments, the whimsy of this piece is screaming for some, so i've got some ideas in mind to kick it up a few notches and make it really dazzling.  *****  today no real plans, so might tackle the red/cream blocks or even a new quilt top.  ****  our veggie drawer is nearly empty now that our favorite local farm stand has closed.  a few carrots, a couple of disfigured cukes, 2 tomatoes and 2 peppers are all that remain of our summer bounty.  *****  after a cool night, it's sunny and seasonably warm here.  while not summer-ish like last weekend, it's not yet coat weather either.

two weekend pursuits

this weekend was quite un-fall like weather.  portland broke its heat record yesterday, 81 set in 1909 actual was 84.  we went to the beach and it was actually hot there.  later in the afternoon it was just perfect except the sun set way too quick for my liking.  plenty of cars in the parking lot and people in the water.  don't imagine we'll get any more swimming weather this year; this weekend was a gift. *****  i got quite a bit of sewing done, not the least of which was to finish these red/cream northwind blocks.  now i can get the rows assembled and finish the top.  someday soon i'm going to have to have a basting day with 3 quilts to baste.  ****  our foliage is at about 30% right now; it's tough to say for certain due to the glut of pine trees in the area, but there are plenty of trees left that

haven't yet turned to gold/red/rust.  lots of the young trees are bare but mature trees are still in summer mode.....like everyone i guess.  **** 

two revolting things

two things i saw again this week that simply fed my wrath.  one is a food bank, a small, generic building that has now tripled in size not far from here.  the second is a shelter that was formerly a motel and is now bigger than a mcmansion with new buildings and wings.  working class people are down and on life support and the only thing that shows signs of expanding in this horrible economy are organizations that service homeless and poor.  not far from here they built 4 new banks along a small stretch of route 1 in the past year...huh?  when i came to maine i had hoped to continue in my career and buy a condo of my own but in 10 years that has not yet happened.  i worked very hard for many years and don't claim to be a genius by any means, but i did work hard and kept my family off welfare when they wanted a lien on my home.  at this point i am wondering why i bothered, except i raised a child with pride in herself and a strong work ethic.  if the middle class gives up or goes under, no doubt we'll see more homeless palaces.

retreat so far....

in addition to finishing the center of the amish diamond quilt, i've been working on my halloween piece and the red/cream northwind.  as you can see, i've gotten as far as the shoes, working my way down from the hat.  after the shoes and buckles (green pieces) are done, it's the bats and letters and lastly the spider.  it could very well be done by the witching hour, at least i'm hoping it will be.  the sock print will be the binding.  ****   i've also finished a stack of red/cream blocks, leading me to think about the border(s).  piano keys?  sawtooth?  remains to be seen at this point, totally dependent on how much red fabric i have left.  **** if anyone had told me a month ago that october 9th would be a beach day, i don't think i would have believed them, but so it is.  in fact, portland is set to possibly break a heat record today.  great beaches and cheap lobster, only 2 of very few reasons i know of to be in maine at all.  

it works!

this is still wet but i wanted you to see how it came out.  the Solvy has completely dissolved and my quilting is intact!  i solved the needle problem by switching to a heavier between, probably an 8 or 9 so no more blunt tip.  i am anxious to see it once it has dried but so far i'm pretty satisfied and i would definitely use this transfer agent again.  it takes a bit of getting used to, but it was the perfect choice for this particular project.  the batt in this quilt is 80% cotton and 20% wool, something i had ordered from buffalo batt eons ago.  the finished quilt will have some weight to it, but that is fine.  i might have to use only this one during the winter instead of a poly quilt AND a blended batt quilt.  now back to the halloween wallhanging and the red/cream northwind.  3 whole days to go in this weekend!

trying something new

last night i decided to try out my water soluble "paper" on a design for this amish center diamond quilt.  in pepper cory's quiltmarking book, there's an antique design that she gave permission to copy.  i thought it would be neat to preserve this design in a new quilt.  i enlarged the pattern as indicated and used Solvy water soluble transfer paper to trace it, basted it to my quilt and here it is!  it's a bit like quilting through a raincoat and it seems to be blunting my very sharp #10 quilting needles, making it a bit more difficult to quilt.  it would be really difficult to do an entire quilt or even a very large area with this, but for the center of this quilt, it'll work fine.  ***** it's a stashbuster at-home retreat weekend and maybe i can finish the red/cream northwind flimsy.  that plus the halloween wallhanging is on the ever-so-flexible agenda, but at any rate, it's 4 days of no real plans and plenty of projects.  

swap treasures!

wow!  got my swap package from donna yesterday and it is super!  sooo many delish goodies; some yummy honey for tea and biscuits, a "necessary" needlecase and needles, an "essential" pincushion and my favorite quilting pins, a country-ish mug for that hot chocolate and tea along with a mat from moda's "grace" fabrics, a journal for my jottings, some delish dot fabrics and a quilt calendar for next year...how great is that?  and she wrapped them all in some gorgeous fabrics and will fit nicely into my scrappy stash.  i am blown over at the thought and care that went into this stash of goodies.  **** pretty cool here in the hinterlands overnight.  bonnie is coming to maine in a week or so and i hope she brings her woolies!  i had to close my window last night even.  **** last night worked on my halloween wallhanging, hoping to get it done in time for the big day.  then i'm going to quilt the amish center diamond.  my bed needs a new quilt this winter.

a fine fair quilt!

spent this lovely autumn day at the fair!  i was there helping out at a craft booth in amongst all the quilts and such.  i didn't get much time to look around but this beauty was hanging nearly over my head.  from far it looked a lot like kaffe fassett fabrics, but up close i see they aren't.  even so, it's stunning don't you think?  had some yummy fair food (kettle corn and fudge)...just a bit mind you.....and saw tons of people and some cute little kids.  hope i was able to plant the idea of quiltmaking into a few interested minds.  i took my halloween piece to work on now that my big quilt is done.  i am itching to start quilting on another big quilt but the spooky stuff comes first!

done!

the lover's links quilt got finished last night!  though it can hardly be seen, it was bound with a lavendar cotton, so right with these 30s repro fabrics.  this is a giftie so it'll get mailed off as soon as it's washed.  ****  another bed size quilt from my list is done, so i can move on to the next one.  the amish center diamond is all basted and ready to go, hoping to finish this before the end of the year.  for hand work in the meantime, though, i'm going to finish the halloween piece.  for machine work, it's the red/cream northwind flimsy to finish. ***** though i do enjoy quilting, i really need something different to do.  still working on a job hunt with hardly any result.  it's downright discouraging.