book recommendation

i've always been a reader and had a love of books.  when i was 16 i was at the local library in a very upscale town south of Boston.  the librarian was a stodgy yankee who had been in charge since the mayflower, i think.  i pulled a book from the shelf titled "light in the piazza."  it was a thin book but sounded interesting.  dear old mrs macduff (really, her name) looked at me over her glasses and said, "this is an ADULT book you know," and i replied that i knew very well.  with hesitation she checked it out for me. ***  currently being unemployed, i read stephanie plum before going to sleep and other various mysteries, legal dramas, contemporary novels and some quirky books as well.  recently i finished a book called, "the end of everything."  this is an eerie, contemporary mild thriller type of book.  not too many dead bodies or whodunit plots, but eerie nonetheless.  if you enjoy a non-gory, non-gumshoe book with a modern headline topic, by all means read it.  it's not a hugely thick book but you won't want to put it down once it's started. 

shelf progress

this is what i got done this weekend; rearranged shelving stuff after flinging most of the vinyl LPs.  got all my shoeboxes on one shelf; shoebox contents got re-org'd as well as on the shelf itself.  the orca bay shoebox is on the sewing table, as is the feathered star.  both should be empty sometime in january and, at this point, i don't have any projects to be added.  however, i neglected to "neaten up" my 2 strippie totes, the messy looking ones but in time, in time.  next up, the elfa drawers!  *****  got my 2012 calendar up already, don't see any point in putting it off until january 1st...

a busy gap week

with Christmas now over, i can set my sights to a new year and getting organized.  usually i spend the week making lists....UFO lists, plans for the new year, things i want to do and must do.  this week will be no different.  i am totally excited!  i've already reorganized my shelves a bit, labeling my kits and shoeboxes to make it quicker to locate things.  i've also copied most of my vinyl LPs to CD and flung them, making more space, not to mention lightening the load significantly...those suckers are heavy!  i've already gone through all my commercial patterns and flung the no longer wants.  i've also roughed out my budget for the next few months--the basic and the particular--to get an idea of upcoming expenses and need to pay items.  of course, my 2012 UFO list is made and documented.  very soon i am hoping to get some flimsies basted, those for which i already have the backs and batts, and set aside for quilting.  i've also cleaned out the sewing table of all notions and the like of no longer wanted/needed and flung.  paring down and organizing is not only fun it's necessary, given our small digs.  i'll be able to start the new year off with an organized space and clear decks.  

i just had to say....

now that everyone is probably up and into gifts and such; me, i was awake at 4 am so i'll be taking a nap later for certain.  had a delish breakfast hours ago and working on some yummy tidbits for grazing; listening to christmas music.  no big dinner here today,  we'll have our annual roast beast on new year's day.  enjoyed our traditional clam chowder supper last night before gifts, so some is leftover of course.  wishing you all the very best holiday ever. 

2 cross-stitch christmas finishes

DD is a cross-stitch expert and years ago i started this piece for her to carry her projects.  while cleaning out my cross-stitch stash, i came across it again and decided to get it done for her.  so here's the finished bag with the cross-stitch that i did, nowhere near as exceptional as her work but i know it'll make a good carryall for her work.  the heart below was finished long ago and put away for someday.  this year it got completed and given to my elderly aunt in assisted living to brighten up her space.  i don't have many more unfinished cross-stitch projects but i am determined to finish them all....sooner or later. 

first four on christmas eve

just for fun i decided to whip together these 4 squares to motivate me to finish the units still lagging so far--the purple strippies and the green triangles.  it never ceases to amaze me what beauty scraps can create.  it's the color that does the work, not the prints at all.  in fact, if done right, the prints should become invisible.  if you don't believe it, just squint.  me, i'm mesmerized and tantalized by color.  from the crayola box to paintbox to fabric to fireworks.  many artistic gurus have encouraged and taught me to develop my love of color into a real working, love relationship that continues to feed my creativity.  thank you one and all. *** a most blessed Christmas to those who celebrate, too....."and the beautiful red bird on Christmas shall sing, for the manger at Bethlehem cradles a King"

friday sewing

today i finished the cheddar strippy squares.  also got the squares from part 6 cut as well.  tonight, it's square up and rip; square up the cheddars and rip out the papers is what i mean.  i also worked a bit on the purple strippy squares; it'll take a few days to get them done.  i am also hoping to get some of those ohio star blocks assembled too, not to mention more of the green triangles.  bonnie said there were 8-9 parts of this mystery, so i'm thinking 2-3 more weeks and i can get back to my UFO list and some other projects.  i have another of bonnie's mystery projects as a UFO but i many abandon it, not sure yet.  ***** the inevitable happened overnight, we got about 2" of very wet, heavy snow.  it rained some this afternoon and will be cold tonight, so i imagine it will be icy tomorrow morning.  i was busy all day and didn't venture out at all and might not tomorrow either. i'm missing DD and DSIL this Christmas again but they have to work.  that leaves a big gap in the celebrating for me but i know it can't be helped.  even so, much for which to be thankful this holiday season.  

finally a sew day

last night i did get more units done on orca bay and today my hope is to finish this stack of cheddar strippy squares.  that'll leave me with the purple strippy squares and the rest of the HSTs to do.  bonnie has already posted part 6, assembling some ohio star squares.  i'm not quite keeping up but this should be a january finish, along with the amish center diamond.  ***** last night i also worked on the last of my 5-in-5 challenge pieces, a small patriotic wallhanging that will be finished before new year and will also get deleted from next year's list.  ***** first day of winter and we still have bare ground here.  this is my kind of winter for absolute certain, though every day like this is a gift and we know it well.  sooner or later old man winter will pay us a visit. 

i AM sewing...

albeit very little these pre-Christmas days with a heftier-than-usual to do list.  these are my triangle units on the corner of a very old sewing table.  the chunk you see that's missing from the corner looks larger than it really is; however, the sewing table will be retired soon i hope.  the old viking is simply too heavy for its fragile condition.   but i digress....yes, i got in some sewing time yesterday.  today should be the last day of chores and i should be able to get back to orca bay for the remainder of the week.  not sure at all if i'll be up to speed by friday's next part or not, but i can try.  i also want to finish piecing the feathered star top and also finish another small piece for the 5-in-5 challenge.  ***** today is a rain day, which is a much better 4-letter word than snow.  it'll come soon enough for me.  **** did i mention...i HATE carpet on the sewing room floor!!!

so this is christmas?

yesterday morning it was 11 degrees....this morning it is 39 degrees....no snow here or even in sight!  i can take this weather until march for sure.