first finish

and they're off!  this is my first finish of 2012, right off my UFO list.  i finished the binding last night and dunked it in cold water to remove the quilting lines.  even the yellow chalk came off, which is a very good thing!  this will go in my pile of finished items that i'd like to sell at some point.  only 27 to go.  i also spent time quilting on the center diamond last night, since the weather is now officially frigid--albeit the ground still green as a shamrock.  that's right, we are still "sans snow" for which the snowmobilers and skiers are all now on prozac, but those of us who hate to drive in the stuff are happy as proverbial clams! 

sneak peek

even though i haven't finished all the parts yet, i couldn't resist putting this together to get a preview of the finished top.  i spent most of monday working on the ohio star blocks and they are just about done.  i still have plenty of purple strippy squares to do and some of the green triangles to finish as well.  i haven't even cut the "lights" for the border yet either.  however, i will have a UFO finish this week some time, so that's good.  ****  also, spent time trying to create a bit more space in my room.  i've gone through all the elfa drawers and pleased to find they hold less fabric.  i also found a smaller tote for all my cross-stitch patterns/fabric, also good.  next up?  pulled some small pieces that have to be cut into squares/strips.  i have to do this occasionally.  ***** on the job front, i got another response to my applications, so that would be a game changer for sure. 

a table quandary

this is a table i saw on the IKEA website.  trouble is, closest IKEA 125 miles from here and it can't be shipped.  sooo, there are 2 other tables i've been considering for the old viking.  both are from staples.  one is a melamine topped 4-foot table, the other is a formed resin top 4-foot table.  i've read comments on both.  the resin looks sturdy but customer comments indicate it's a bit wobbly.  the melamine top is made of particle board, so i'm wondering about the long-term life of that.  at the thrift the other day, i looked at a sewing machine and that table was made of particle board.  when i opened it up and pulled out the machine, it fell out onto the floor.  i checked home depot and lowe's and they have about the same thing....both of these are in my price range.  i'm not totally sold on any of the options i've seen so far.  the antique table is solid wood, no particle board and no resin.  i had hoped to select the melamine top but i've reconsidered and will keep looking.  i was considering an elfa desk with the wire drawers, but that top is also particle board.  perhaps the melamine or resin table WITH a wood topper might be the most economical solution.  years ago i had the ideal table and it was in storage for a long time, but i finally tossed it because it seemed pointless to keep.  where was my crystal ball then?

it's heeeeere!

here it is, 2012, a new year; 366 days or 8784 hours or 527,040 minutes or….you get the idea.  As quilters, all these lovely minutes are tantalizing segments of quilting, sewing, binding, patching, appliquéing, designing, traveling, learning and socializing.  Don’t forget, though, included in those segments are possibly (gulp) cooking and cleaning, driving, family nurturing, working, healing, refereeing, caregiving, and maybe even just surviving.   When it’s put in that perspective, we are amazed we even got any quilting done at all.   But reducing life into an efficiency task isn’t necessary.  What is important is to make the best use of our time, be good stewards of those precious minutes, like we take care of others and planet earth.  

the start of a new year is a time for resolutions, hopes, plans, goals more quilting!  I’ll throw the proverbial caution to the wind and carry on as usual, drooling over woven cotton and its color that calls this moth to its flames.  I’ll still cut it up into little pieces and sew them back together, satisfying my creative soul like nothing else.  You might think sheesh; this woman needs to get a life/job/husband/grandchildren, something to steer her off this over-zealous quilt fetish.  Well, I do (sort of)/looking/happily divorced/not yet, but none of those things fill that little corner of quilty hunger.  From the look around, though, I’ve plenty of company in that respect and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Not for a year/day/hour/minute!

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.