a maine summer breakfast

what's not to like?  fresh, juicy fruit (no sugar added!), a fluffy biscuit and a dollop of sweet dairy....a delish pyramid!  today is my dad's birthday and though he is no longer with us, we always honor his memory by enjoying fresh, sweet strawberries.  i can take or leave strawberry shortcake, but i love the whole fresh berries when they are a bit over-ripe, sweet and juicy.  that is how i enjoy berries best, plain all by themselves.  ***** on tap today?  physical appointment, long overdue, and sewing of course! 

quilting detour

though my quilting time is focused on the scrappy pinwheel, i took a short detour to this small piece yesterday.  it was service day for the car, 2 hours' worth, so i pulled this out and put it in the frame to take with me to pass the time and, hopefully, close in on a june finish.  in the time i was waiting, i got this nearly half quilted.  it's free form, no marking, and i can definitely finish this in june....the scrappy finish is iffy due to weather and warmth of working on the wool quilt batt.  **** since retreat is getting closer, i need to make up a couple of kits to take with me, in addition to the civil war diary quilt project.  **** i haven't worked on "just takes 2" for about a week now and in 2 days more blocks will be posted.  in a week filled with errands plus work, i've been hard pressed to find much sewing time at all.  between the car mechanic, doctor, dentist and a bit of grocery shopping, not to mention a few household chores, the old viking and little phoebe have been found wanting.  i hope that changes soon.

escape from the comfort zone

this quilt is based on one i saw in the book "city quilts" by cheri harris.  i call mine "amish in the city," and it is certainly not my usual style of quilt.  now that i see it all together (and the shoebox empty,  yay), i wish i had a large wall so it could hang rather than drape over the sofa which, by the way, will soon be gone...no room!  it will be hand quilted and then bound with the turquoise, see in the 2 bookend blocks, although the one in front left corner appears off shade due to camera flash.  not sure yet how it will be quilted.  **** monday again so soon?  hard to believe july is a little over 2 weeks away.  funny, when i wasn't working at all, there were endless days with nothing to do.  now that i'm working only part time, it seems every day is packed with tasks.  i am still managing to get sewing or quilting into every day and the pinwheel just might be done this month!

bag o' batiks

leftover from last year's pineapple blossom with bonnie is this little bag of batik scraps, well the little pieces anyway.  couldn't decide how to use them but it would definitely be scrappy.  then i printed off this little paper pieced block pattern, 25 of 'em, and put it aside.  curiosity got the best of me one day so decided to make one up just to see.  yep, i like it.  judging from this one block, doubt that the 25 will use up all these little scraps but no matter, they will make great inchies and 9-patch squares too.  and no, it isn't a new project, but my resolve is weakening after receiving a swap package of 80 shirting squares in the mail the other day.  can i resist and for how long?

more scrap busting

sat down at the machine table yesterday and proceeded to clear the decks when i came across these little solid squares recently cut.  hmm, i wondered, how long would it take to make up some little 9 patches for future projects?  it took just about an hour to use up all the little squares and end up with 13 little units.  these will get put away with other miscellaneous units i've made for some future sewing, maybe a little quilt, who knows?  ***** this morning i've a few non-sewing things to do and then continue on, maybe even get a flimsy together..we'll see.  P.S.  happy birthday johnny depp!

belmont baby birthday

if you see this cutie today, wish her a happy birthday!  she was born on the day of the belmont stakes only a few years ago (wasn't it?) and, coincidentally, years later she got married on the day of the preakness.  it has been my joy and privilege to have been "loaned" this precious girl, and we survived and thrived through good times and bad.  drop on over and i'll show you the other million or so photos i have of her....the curse of the only child for sure!  truly, the best job i ever had....mom.  **** aside from missing my DD today, i have errands and sewing i want to do on this my last day off before sunday.

swap stars in progress

huge sigh of relief here; i signed up for this swap BEFORE i had tried making any of these little stars and thought, oh no, what did i do?  but after getting one done, i am really glad i did and am looking forward to sitting down with phoebe to make the rest.  i'm using jo morton fabrics.  what i'm really anticipating is the ones i'll receive in return...i know what my fabric looks like but the surprise of getting someone else's is exciting!  ***** busy days off this week but hoping to get more quilting done and also more machine time.  would also like to get the first section of "just takes 2" done.  i've some paper piecing squares and a few applique blocks to do yet. 

inchies on hiatus

rather than start a new project, i pulled out this one...scrappy 9 patches.  swapped these for the inchie project as my leaders/enders to see if i can get enough put together to get this flimsy together, quilted (or tied) and done.  this will be a snowball/9patch quilt or maybe bonnie's rickrack pattern, not sure yet.  scrappy quilts are so fun; there are so many memories in these little pieces.  no, i didn't do all of these yesterday!  these are quick to piece as there is no matchy/matchy, just pulling squares from the stack and sewing 'em together.  true serendipity, and for sure i've got plenty of material to make this and probably 100 more just like it.  **** did see a glimpse of the sun earlier this AM but overcast again.  no matter; busy morning and then work, and for me it's friday, yay!

believe it or not..

i am making progress on this project.  left to finish this section (1/4 of total) are 5 blocks and a few flying geese strips.  i can see i need more dark brown squares.  there is a large feathered star block that fits on the extreme left so i should choose a dark brown for that one, giving it some balance.  really enjoying the actual process and i have a collection of great blocks in various sizes also. **** aside from trying to stay dry here in drenching maine today, i'm working on a summer wallhanging plus quilting on my pinwheel.   i also have some blocks that need to get assembled into a flimsy so might tackle that as well.  ***   

not sure if it's the weather or just inspiration from other blogs, but in the mood to start some new small projects.  though i really wish i had a much bigger spaceand really do need a bit more, the lack of it sometimes keeps me from having too many in-process things lying around, always a good thing!

first things first.....

thanks to all who leave such nice comments on my blog.  though i don't respond to each and every one, i do read them and thank you!  ***** now, here are the little quilts i got basted last week.  aside from these, i've been mostly quilting on the scrappy pinwheel as i hope to get it finished in june.  **** on friday i didn't sew at all as we made a spring trek down east to jonesboro where my mother's parents are buried.  she had planted a flowering shrub some years back and each fall when we go, it looks pathetic.  we took some fertilizer and clippers ready to "operate" if necessary.  happily, it was thriving and lush and loaded with buds, which made my mom very happy.  it was a lovely summer day but a very long ride, about 4 hours each way.  **** it's been rainy, cold and dreary since saturday and will be most of this week.  no matter as i'm cozy working on my quilt with the wool batt!