orca bay progress

back to our regularly scheduled project!  before turkey day (actually it was ham day) break, i had finished this many of the quarter square triangles for part 1 of orca bay.  bonnie has now posted part 2 so i've a bit of catching up this week.  i think there about 100 in this small pile, not even half of the required 224, so the old viking is going to be smokin'!  i've a few errands today and a few household chores as well, but after that it's clear sailing sewing-wise.  **** while in maryland, i looked over some senior housing possibilities.  yeah i know, i don't feel senior and certainly don't look senior either, but my birth certificate says otherwise.  course my actual years are immaterial in today's ever-youthful culture; why, even my mom at nearly 85 still drives, keeps active and would be working if she had her choice.  i, too, would be working if i could.  my hope for a career is nearly gone, a real heartbreak for me.  i got a taste and wasn't permitted to dive in to the full banquet of a career i really enjoyed, for reasons too numerous and nefarious to list.  i never had dreams of corporate ladder ascension, only of doing a job i really enjoyed, was fulfilling and rewarding.  so, when life gives you scraps.....

1 down, 2 to go...

holiday that is.  had a wonderful thanksgiving with DD and DSIL and DSIL's parents. wonderful family time, great food....can't beat it.  i was near baltimore and it was 70 degrees on thanksgiving day....super gorgeous day!

blog break

recently i found this stunning piece of priceless artwork in among some school papers of my daughter's, just in time for thanksgiving too!  i'll be taking a brief break from blogging until after the holiday.  i'll still be sewing and enjoying our unseasonably warm weather here in coastal maine.  i wish everyone an enjoyable, thankful Thanksgiving. 

feathered star update

so, as of yesterday (friday) i've gotten half the star sewn together.  it's all set-in seams and i had to take a break.  today i must do some garment sewing tasks so it'll probably be monday or tuesday before it gets all sewn.  i have to cut the corner squares and setting triangles also for the next step.  once they are in, it's just the border that remains.  it probably won't be all assembled as an official flimsy until after the holiday.  it looks pretty good so far, though, i think.  ***** last night for quickie sewing whipped up more of bonnie's mystery QST (quarter square triangles) or hourglass blocks.  i am going to try and get these done by tuesday before the holiday and the next installment is posted next week. 

so far so good...

here is square 1 and yes, i do have more than this itty bitty QST done.  i spent most of the day on the feathered star, however.  the pattern calls for setting in all those HSTs and the larger triangles they are attached to.  i got half of the star itself pieced today and then had to quit for the day.  no point in sewing more when it becomes a tad stressful.  then i turned to bonnie's mystery.  i had cut strips earlier in the day after pulling what i could from my strip shoebox.  i'm new to the companion angle ruler, so it took a bit to get acclimated and then i got to sew.  bonnie's black is my green.  not sure how long i'll be sewing tonight but i'll show them as i go along.  i still have to get a few more green fabrics for this project as i've pulled all i have and there simply isn't enough.  how are you coming along?

it's mystery time!

that's right, today is the start of bonnie hunter's mystery called 'orca bay' in homage to her most recent alaska trip.  i'm still in my jammies but not for long.  normally i don't do mystery quilts but this one has a friendly-for-me size and i've nothing else really pressing (no pun) to do, so i'm going to see if i can keep up.  that whirring noise you'll hear a bit later on is the old viking at full tilt....care to join me?  **** last night i started quilting in the large brown triangles on the center diamond quilt.  i had to scrounge around the kitchen to find a circle the right size for my clamshells, which i'll probably start later on today.  i'm also hoping to get the feathered star assembled before turkey day plus i've got that garment item to whip up too.....good thing i got the laundry all done.

a little finish

if you saw my pink pinwheel baby quilt earlier this year, then you will recognize these leftovers.  amazingly, those 9 FQs i bought were enough for both quilts, this one being a bit smaller and simpler, but a quilt nonetheless.  this one is also tied instead of quilted.  it'll now go in the stack of finished items for some future time when needed.  i still have some pink pieces leftover from THIS quilt too, enough for maybe a doll quilt or a couple of placemats. 

center diamond so far

so this is what the first border looks like all quilted.  unfortunately, the thread shade that was available at the LQS is a tad lighter than the fabric, so it will show slightly once the chalk marks are gone.  couldn't be helped at the time and i wouldn't take it all out now.  this design is from one of my books that i cut out myself, but i did have to draw the individual feathers, helped immensely by the class i took in nashua with sue nickels.  so, it's coming along nicely i think.  it was set aside for a bit during our brief episode of warm weather, but this weekend promises a return to cool, november temps so i'll start on the brown triangles and clamshells!  ***** last night i also tied a baby quilt made of pink pinwheel leftovers; today the border.  i also worked more on the feathered star sewing up all those itty, bitty triangles for the "feathered" part.  next up is a garment item that needs to get finished before friday and the start of bonnie's mystery!

the 3 fabrics

see what i mean?  though i really like all 3 fabrics, the 3rd choice (far right) was my hands-down fave.  the middle had too much gold and the left wasn't navy at all.  i chose the first (far left) partly because of the olive green and turquoise combo, but when i saw the last fabric i couldn't pass it up at all.  no regrets whatsoever. 

star so far

i've left this photo a bit larger so you can see the print fabric i used, which i totally love!  note:  the blue/yellow dots are pinheads!  the border will also be of this luscious print.  when i was planning this project--it's a gift--i bought some fabric online.  it arrived but was not as pictured.  i then purchased another print locally more to my liking.  before i could get this project started, i saw yet another print i liked much, much better.  a quandary...should i buy yet another piece for this project?  wouldn't be frugal but would i be happy with it?  my inner color guru said "no" so i did get the 3rd piece, this one, and it's ideal i think.  i love the color combo of maroon/navy and with the gold it's perfect.  it's one of the very few times i ignored my frugal angel and went with my heart's choice.  i still have the other 2, and i'll post a photo of all 3 so you can see why i made the choice i did.   with this much progress in one day, i might have the wallhanging all pieced by week's end, thus emptying yet another shoebox!