chain piece frenzy

thursday was a super sewing day.  first, i finished a window curtain for my DSIL that gets mailed today.  thank you for being patient!  then, i went back to my orca bay project, still working on catching up.  i squared up the cheddar squares that were done, yes!  next, i tackled the triangle part.  here you see my stack of chain pieced triangles.  i wish i could say they were done but nooooo; today i must cut more and re-chain this entire pile!  then they will be done.  the last thing i did was wind 5 more bobbins as i used up 6 whole bobbins this week so far.  bonnie will be posting the final part this weekend, so i'm hoping another week will have this into a flimsy, two at the most.  this needs to be gone by the end of january for certain and i need to get back to quilting on the amish center diamond.  do you think i can do 2 finishes in january?  i'll certainly try. 

comments on orca bay colors

i sure do appreciate everyone's kind comments about the colors i chose for "fat tuesday on orca bay."  i have to admit, i only went with the scraps of which i had the most.  these are not especially favorite colors of mine at all.  i went for high contrast and when i pulled them and put them together i realized how "wow" they actually were.   hope you all keep watching and see when the cheddars and more purple added to the mix.  ****  our 50-degree temps from today are slowly waning and frigid air moving in slowly.  this day has been another gift for us, usually knee-deep in snow and ice about now.  i feel bad for the people who rely on snow for their daily sustenance, snowplowers and the like.  but i have to say it's real nice to go out and not have to clean off the car or inch along on slippery roads.   but that's today; tomorrow could be an entirely different situation.  now, off to shower and slip into those jammies.....

tuesday progress

the stars are stacking up and making good progress on orca bay.  still have most of the purple strippies to do and also more of those green triangles too.  with temps hovering around 50 here today; that's right, 50...will be sewing with the window open until tonight when it's dropping to 14, right...14!  wacky winter indeed!

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.