room with a view

no sunshine yet but not a big deal at all.  i'll be in the sewing room for the morning working on one of my sewing projects.  a delish buffet breakfast was thoroughly enjoyed!  pinch me, am i dreaming?  yeah, it's THAT good!

i'm heeere!

no photos, way too tired tonight.  it was a very long day partly due to a very short night.  just too excited to sleep, i guess.  anyway, after stopping for a few "eye rests" not to mention some slow traffic areas and rain, i finally arrived.  have a case of nearly terminal white line fever, so no sewing tonight.  instead, had my shower, in my jammies and de-stressing with an oh-so comfy bed and pillows....also rehydrating as i tend not to drink much on long trips for, ahem, obvious reasons. i stopped at one convenience store today in a terrible rush and was horrified to find it occupied.  it was a tense moment and the clerk even asked me if i had to go THAT bad...i said i did because, well, i did.  a gen-x-er guy of course!  finally averted a near liquid disaster.  anyway, watch this space!

last square!

today's the day the last block gets quilted on this scrappy project.  how good is that?  then i can start sewing on the binding, which i think is going to be navy blue.  i had some binding left over from another project but it's a washed out peach color and i just didn't see that on this quilt.  closing in on a finish....finally!   who's next?

bit of a stretch

as anyone who has cable TV knows, they are in the business to sign you up and sell as many channels as they can.  we do have a cable package, albeit not a premium package, but for our 2nd TV, MY TV, time warner has been systematically removing channels from the package if you don't have a box.  enter the adapter.  while there are still some channels i can't get on the 2nd....my....TV, there are a few that are now available like LMN, OWN, TRAV and a few others i occasionally watch.  magnanimously provided free by TWC, i had to call on all my techno skills to get it working....and i did!  talk about slaying the dragon...i am woman hear me roar!  gotta have the TV on while quilting, if just for the background chatter.  **** and today i also got the VCR hooked up AND programmed...how good is that?  and i didn't even have an erector set when i was a kid either. 

a minor slip

while mom was at the hairdresser, i peeked into cyndi's shop for a look and these found me!  some were on sale so it was a minor attack on the budget.  it is not a good idea to go here without a list or at least some idea of what one seeks.  it's wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling mostly civil war reproduction fabrics, some a bit earlier and some a bit later.  there were empty boxes on the porch so i knew there would be some brand new stuff inside and not yet unwrapped even!  i don't know how she keeps up with them all or how she keeps from sewing nonstop, never mind cooking, cleaning and shopping for food.  **** in the background on the left is my change bank, now empty, its contents ready for PA.   however i did set aside all pennies minted before 1984 as i read someplace that when the mint stops making them, they can be sold for their copper content like any other precious metal.  just don't try it before they are no longer minted or it's a fast trip to leavenworth. 

i found one!

a copy of this issue of "quiltmania" that is...the one with the luscious jo morton quilt on the cover AND this really useful notepad was included as well.  how good is that?  i could have waited until jo's new book came out, but i seldom buy books and almost never at full retail price, but i really wanted this pattern.  now to decide...do i make it in jo's fabrics, kaffe fassett fabrics, just civil war repros?  maybe one of each?  so many tantalizing choices.  **** just 4 more blocks and i can start to bind the amish pinwheel...will i make it before tuesday?  it'll be close if i do  ****  trip minus 4 days, suitcase ready to go (minus toothbrush), phoebe packed, fabric packed, projects packed, anything else?  oh yeah, my lunch and that will have to wait until THE DAY!

it's true!

yes, we DID have an earthquake right here in maine and yes, it does happen occasionally, meaning one that is noticeable.  the shaking went on for about 20-30 seconds, seemed like much longer, and when it stopped, well, everything was normal...no damage of any kind!  my coworker explained that was why she left california, fear of dying in an earthquake, and i told her in maine one would be more likely to die of freezing than an earthquake.  we do have geological faults but they have been dormant for millions of years, so this was just a run-of-the-mill, earth-moving kind of quake.  might be 5-10 years before we have another and that wouldn't surprise anyone.  **** and it is also true that i have finished applique on the 9 blocks of various reproduction reds.  now to put the piece together and quilt.  doubt it will be this year, though.  it's a 2013 UFO for sure!

leaving the nest

remember this quilt?  finished some time ago, it's been sitting on the shelf patiently until a certain event.  today it is getting packed up and mailed off to its recipient.  also going off is the orca bay flimsy to a charity where it will be finished and gifted to a needy family.  that'll make some space on the shelf for more recent finishes.  it's a constant battle in such a small space for all my sewing and quilting stuff.  i periodically go thru clothing items and toss some and i haven't really added much in the way of fabric because it's being used all the time.  ****  off to tackle today's list!

my kind of winter

ever since "eye of the needle" eons ago, i've been a bona fide follett fan.  and now, a facebook follower too!  and finally, my name came up at the local library to get this goodie.  oh, i love really thick books!  it's the sequel to "fall of giants" and i also heard that "world without end" is out on video or something like that.  if you haven't read "pillars of the earth" and its sequel "world without end," then run, don't walk to your nearest library and scoop them up.  i am so thankful to my mom who raised a family of serious readers!

dullsville

no, not my impression but the actual name of this quilt seen yesterday made by havrilla stephens.  she started out with some gray batik strips but ended up with this quasi-lasagna quilt which isn't dull at all i think.  interjecting those beige-y diamonds has really kicked this up a notch from ordinary to interesting and oh-so very modern quilting, which is all the rage right now.  *** went to bed early thus this very early morning post.  now to make my last pre-retreat list before going back to sleep.  a few errands later this morning and whip up a batch of spaghetti sauce is also on today's agenda.