blue cheese flimsy

this lounged around while i decided whether or not it should be bigger, finished off, etc.  it finally spoke to me and so i added these 2 narrow borders....now it's a flimsy!  i haven't given up making bed-size quilts, but it's quite fun making lots of little quilts.  i get to play with lots of color combinations, patterns and ideas without having a stack of unfinished big quilts.  and naturally, they get finished quicker too.  these little HSTs finish at 1" and it wasn't THAT long ago when i would NEVER have made anything that small.  but, bonnie hunter has made me see the light and the EZ angle ruler, which makes these little squares oh so easy!  **** it's stashbuster retreat weekend, so i'm off to get started!

this is done!

took advantage of the early quiet hours to finish cutting out these hexagons for the amish honeycomb quilt top, total of 202.  some have already had the edges turned/basted but not many.  there are a lot of cherrywood scraps left over, so will need to use them up in small quilts.  what else did i do?  shortened a pair of summer slacks, did some quilting, did some ripping....now i can sit down and sew! **** and i decided, the ulmer frame is back on my wish list. 

waiting on daylight

up early this AM and eager to sew, but in deference to the people next door (their bedroom is on the other side of the wall) i will wait until a decent hour.  am in mourning for dick clark, of course, as are many others of my era no doubt.  i started watching "american bandstand" when i was 8 or 9 years old; it was black and white then of course.  he was a giant, could always count on quality entertainment if it had the words "dick clark production" in the credits.  wondering how many of the old philly gang who were bandstand regulars are still around.  there was even a magazine devoted to the bandstand regulars in the 1960s.  **** my work schedule has been tweaked a bit, which should give me more daylight sewing time, plus i'll have a weekend day off as well.  ***** and i see blogspot has rolled out its new format, for posting at any rate.  off to get breakfast and do some nonsewing stuff until later.

solution #2

at joann's the other day, they had a 50% off sale on storage PLUS i had an additional 20% off coupon sent to me so i snapped up this bigger shoebox.  now all my jo morton fabrics are together in one space.  not sure if i will keep them apart from the other civil war fabrics but for now they are.  that left 2 reg shoeboxes free for the repros overflow **** and today?  .... the 18th of april in '75, hardly a man is now alive, listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of paul revere!  and PS...happy birthday conan o'brien!

just takes 2 more

at this point i am revoltingly behind on this project but vowing to get caught up very soon....i hope!  in fact, i have to hop on over to the site today as more blocks may have been posted this past week.  and should you think so, of course my working part time has cut into my sewing time a bit, but not significantly.  with 3 whole days off every week, i do have blocks of time to spend with the old viking AND phoebe, and evenings i do have handwork when listening to TV or videos.  no doubt it's just because i have soooo many projects in the works; no surprise there eh quilters?  **** yesterday was my first real challenging day at work.  i made a booboo and it really affected the rest of my day.  i am hoping today is a start over and all is still well.  i am really enjoying the job; the paycheck is nice as well.  all in all, i don't think i'm doing THAT bad, especially considering i was away from a work environment for nearly 18 months; it's an adjustment and would be for anyone. 

finish #2

this itty bitty quilt is also done.  it's a lori smith pattern from her book "fat quarter quilts."  i've used this terrific book quite a bit for patterns and inspiration. it's chock full of little quilts, blocks and ideas.  these are colors i hardly ever use, but i saw them together in a shop a while back and picked up a few FQs for a future project.  they were perfect for this.  it measures 16 x 20 so you know those HSTs are really tiny...for me anyway.  i hardly ever do projects requiring units under 1"...short, chubby fingers you know!  **** it's early yet but the temp is already over 50 degrees, with a high of over 80 expected today, despite that no sun will be out....a good beach day even so.  our wacky weather continues.

tale of 2 woodstocks

 this woodstock was created by DD in grade school...see i was right, budding georgia o'keefe!  it was at christmas time and i hung it up right away and did every year for so many years.  i always loved it; it has been on my bulletin board for some time now...note the fading.  i decided to make it in fabric to keep always (see below).  i quilted a tree for the branch too!  it seems like only last week she brought it home....wasn't it?  so that's finish #1 from last week. 

daytrip photo

the best way to ward off triskaidekaphobia is to ignore it, so mom and i ventured across the border to north conway, nh, for sightseeing and sustenance.  we lamented the loss of the old man on the mountain and gasped at the oodles of snow still on top.  the town was bustling due to early warm spring temps and a waning winter that was nowhere to be found.  we checked out empty storefronts and headed for a yummy burger haven...no, not a fast food one!  mom and dad spent their honeymoon in north conway all those years ago and often revisited and rekindled.  with dad gone now, mom and i make the trip once or twice yearly so she can recall those special memories.  i am blessed to be able to do this for her.  the only challenge was several spots where construction is in full swing and had to dodge the orange cones.  and i was good...avoided 2 whole quilt shops!

sew busy

last week i dug out my civil war reds to start this little quilt...the blocks will be 8" square when finished.  these are needleturn and it's difficult to see the actual pattern from this photo, but it's more intricate than at first glance.  as mentioned, i was looking at moda's friendship red prints, but after pulling these, i think i have enough for what i need....and then some.  ***** another project, you say?  never fear, i did have 2 small finishes this weekend, will post photos later, so i am getting things off my list, too.  it's easy to do when i spend my free days at home in the studio rather than gallivanting, which i did 2 of 3 days off....more about our daytrip later, too.

solution 1

this pattern is by sherri driver from a 2011 mccall's quilting magazine.  i'm thinking it should help alleviate some of the overcrowding, or at least help.  i love making the little quilts but it's clear that i need to bring in the "big guns" to make progress a bit faster.  this would be a quilted quilt, not tied, and will probably be mine for the time being.  ***** on a tad more serious note, for those of you who follow my blog and believe in prayer, i ask that you uphold my DD today.  can't be more specific but this mom's heart is hurting, as most moms would, in this situation.  band-aids won't work anymore like they did when she was small and prayer is the most effective first-aid i have.  i am grateful if  you could do the same.  i can't be there to wrap her in my arms but God can, with your help.