whadda ya think?

went to joann's to get some polyester stuffing for a pincushion.  i couldn't believe i had absolutely NONE for this project.  they usually carry a small craft bag of stuffing but none in stock.  so, my only choice was this 2-pound bag....so, do you think i have enough for a pincushion here?  even though i did get it at half price, the problem (as always) is storing it in my already tight quarters.  i can't imagine how long it will take to use this up.  *** and today?  sew down the binding on the feathered star, sew on a label and a sleeve and call it done!

design wall dud

i love the color combo in this wallhanging but i am not happy with the placement of the values...not one bit!  the center block has chrome yellow in the corners...that is the block but because of the value placement, the other blocks are nearly invisible.  it is 9 blocks total but they don't show.  so, will have to do some ripping and replacement to get the design effect i originally wanted.  good thing there's a stack of pieces already cut.  first, though, i need to finish the feathered star, and maybe do something else.  or maybe i'll put it aside and make it bigger someday...stay tuned.

binding begins

last evening after a wonderful mother's day, sat down and got the binding pinned on this feathered star.  so, most likely this week some time it'll be done!  then it'll be flying south to DD and DSIL for their anniversary.  i'm told there is a place waiting for it already.  **** for mother's day, my 2 local siblings and i had a wonderful breakfast with mom at a volunteer fire station near where bro #1 lives.  it was pure small town america but the food and company were excellent.  **** as mentioned, got a terrific greeting from DD and hubby; she chose a funny and loving card that made me chuckle and get misty, but then, her selection in cards is always letter perfect!

lucky me

it isn't every mom who has one of these beauties, right?  i found it when i was pawing through a box of stuff looking for something else of course.  sure, i got a commercial card this year but this one money can't buy.....and it's all mine!  

play date

this morning phoebe came out for a play date and to get acquainted with her new case-mate, the pretty, pinky pincushion.  it's important for case-mates to get along and so a little bonding time was in order.  as one who has had far too many roommates, i know the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to sharing space.  **** got all the blocks done for the little quilt for may, now to put the blocks together into a flimsy.  i am also just about to start attaching the binding to the feathered star, so will have a UFO finish very soon.  that means i should have time to finish a couple of small UFOs before may is history.  or maybe i'll dig out the center diamond, mark the last border and get that done first.  **** a beautiful early summer day here in coastal maine, nearly 60 degrees already! 

2 squishies!

that's right, mr. mailman brought 2 lovely packages for me today!  first, from abby, a swap package including this lovely, spring-y pincushion made of dogwood prints...oh abby!  i used to have a dogwood tree in my front yard that i would gaze at often and this reminds me of that.  mine was white, not pink, but the pincushion is a real treasure.  i think i'll keep it with phoebe to use when she and i play.  and the evelyn sloppy book?  that will come in handy for sure to help me bust that civil war stash.  **** the other package was from the new england quilt museum, a collection of FQs from judie rothermel's new line titled "union forever,"  based on a potholder quilt made during the civil war, given to a soldier at Andersonville and then eventually donated to the museum.  i got to see this quilt up close and personal recently  these are FQs so it's only adding 1.75 yards to my bulging civil war repro stash, but i am loving using these fabrics.  the book and the stash?  a dynamic duo!

if you see....

this guy tomorrow, be sure and wish him a happy birthday.  this is brother #1 on a long ago summer day in front of our aunt's killer buick.  no doubt he well remembers packing this car to the roof and heading to the beach on july 4th...at least i hope he does.  those were idyllic times for our family.  and no, he isn't doing his ed grimley imitation with those pants up around his chest. *** on the quilty front, i've been working on the may small quilt and just takes 2 this morning before work this afternoon.  TGIF...at least for me!

shameless testimonial

if you've never had one of these in your morning shower/bath, you are missing out.  this is a bona fide, natural, from-the-ocean sponge.  after my surgery,  i was oh-so tender and a regular washcloth was way too rough.  we had a natural sponge so i used that because it was soft as silk on my tender area.  it was used to shreds so i had to get more.  these come from tarpon springs, florida, the epicenter of sponge diving...as far as i know.  they are very reasonably priced and cheap to mail because they weigh so little.  no matter, they are worth 10x their weight in gold.  i highly recommend you get some and experience the difference from washcloths or those nylon shower scrubby thingies. 

scraps no more

so, the solid scrap squares have been assembled into these scrappy 4-patch units.  like a true disciple of the bonnie hunter repurpose/scrapsaver doctrine, i make every effort not to see anything in the trash larger than 1" square.  if i can't get an inchie out of a scrap, out it goes.  with fabric now at $10 plus per yard (except at marden's!), it behooves one to be as thrifty as possible in busting one's stash.  these units got tucked away with the little solid 9-patch units and the solid QSTs recently sewn.  once the ocean waves is a flimsy, i'll have a better idea of how much solid stash is left and can start on my scrappy solid bow tie quilt and cross it off my WHIMM list.    

for sale

normally i don't try and sell used magazines, preferring to pass them along.  this magazine retails for a bit more than most, $6.99 per issue, and i'm trying to recoup postage costs for swaps etc.  asking $3 per issue plus media mail shipping from maine.  pictured are dec 2011, feb & apr 2012 issues.  plenty of interesting articles about talented quilters, famous and not.  and the best thing is they are not chock full of fabric ads like many magazine nor will you find lots of repetitious patterns either.  but it's the many reading articles i really enjoy.  **** as usual, didn't get as much done as i'd planned over the weekend but still plenty of prep work for picking up to sew these next few days that i work.  i've also got half pieced one of the 3 complicated blocks of JT2 with the big applique and feathered star left.  this plus quilting on the feathered star kept me occupied.  nearly done with quilting the corner squares and setting triangles, meaning the border is next.   with almost the whole month to go, i should be able to finish this and perhaps a couple of small projects too.