a soon-to-be WIP (work in progress)

on my want-to-make list is a vintage red/green project.  i've had the fabric for some time (thank you reproduction fabrics!) and found the ideal pattern.  not too big, not too small, just right i think!  it's only about 30" square, but it'll be a nice holiday and year-round piece....for NEXT year! **** getting my list for santa ready...first up is a sewing room, yes!  i used to have one when i shared half a house with a couple of moronic so-called christian roommates but alas, no more.  it needed TLC so i washed windows, put up storms, kept my areas neat and clean, planted bulbs and generally improved the place but again i could not find work, so now i am squeezed into this maine dungeon....but i digress.  yes, santa, i need more sewing space...can you fit that down the chimney?

the end of fall

this is the view outside my window this morning.  not a pretty sight, either.  sure, it'll melt in the next day or two but no matter, it means that fall is really over and anything can happen from here on in.  guess i can put those sandals away now.  but it's the hurricane victims that concern me in weather like this.  i can't imagine how tough life must be for them right now. 

civil war progress added

new tab at top of page if you want to see my blocks thus far.  i love this project!  good thing i am going for the "antique" look as machine piecing can be a challenge for me.  am thinking one of jo morton's new "toasted" fabrics would be an ideal sashing for this quilt.  have 8 blocks done, only 113 more to do...that's not so much ya think?  this and the hawaiian will be my long-term projects i'm pretty sure.  so what, they get done when they get done and i will love the process.  beats knocking over convenience stores or similar pursuits i'd say....

a finish!

the scrappy pinwheel is now done and on the bed, just in time for cooler new england weather.  it's hand quilted, of course, and i've also posted a photo of the center quilted basket motif.  *** next up is a secret project finish...i'm moonlighting as one of santa's elves this year and that special holiday is creeping up!  i'm hoping, though, i will be able to squeak out at least 2 more finishes from the UFO list before december 31st, so we'll see how that works.  and yes, i did get some work done on the civil war diary quilt that i'll show later....

extra hour spent

november's little quilt over at kathy's blog is this and this morning the extra hour was spent pulling it together.  now how did she know i had a stack of solid stamps already cut?  once recovered from the shock of having to cook my own breakfast after being spoiled on retreat, i spent some quality time with the old viking and some scraps, always a good thing.  mostly, though, i am busily finishing the scrappy pinwheel and good thing, too, as cooler temps are on the horizon here in coastal maine.  *** this weekend is the NH gathering and although i usually go, had to pass it by due to retreat.  now off to dress and make plans for this sunshiny new england day!

a super scrappy

this is cheryl's 1000 (or is it 2000?) patch scrappy quilt.  start with 2" squares for the big blocks, then a narrow white border and then a border of more squares, then put the squares together with narrow white sashing.  you know i LOVE scrappy quilts and this one is no exception.  my postage stamp quilt is similar but not exactly like this.  i think her blocks are 10 x 10 and my postage stamps are 16 x 16.  i never met a quilter who didn't have scraps and this is a perfect way to use them.  can't wait to see it done!  ****  the binding on the scrappy pinwheel is nearly finished and i've another small UFO that is halfway done as well.  so these 2 should definitely be done before the end of november.  that gives me 3 weeks in december to hopefully finish the border on the center diamond.  as mentioned, i've reserved the week between christmas and new year's for "just takes 2" to see what i can get done on that. 

hello november!

this photo was taken at the people's place museum in bird-in-hand where the jo morton quilts are also on view.  amish quilts were the pied piper that lured me into quilting and i love them still today, even more i think.  **** i am busy sewing on the binding on my scrappy pinwheel and next up is the last border on my own center diamond quilt.  ****  with november comes the reality that snow could come anytime.  not a welcoming prospect to many.  adding to that insult, the tolls on the turnpike have gone up again today.  i drove from here to lancaster and paid more tolls in maine than the rest of the trip combined even before the increase.  revolting!

treat from retreat

so this is the finished batik top made from scraps from a pineapple blossom quilt made last year.  i think it looks like a kaleidoscope with all the angular bright colors.  now to pull out the papers and get it basted.  wish i could say i used up all the scraps in that bag but not quite.  it'll just be saved for when there are more batik scraps.  might make a series of them as the quantity of scraps permit.  and to think there was a time when i wasn't enamored with batik fabrics....go figure! now, however, i am a true believer.  **** hoping all those affected by sandy will get back to normal soon.  judging from the images on TV, it could be a while. 

last one, i promise....

fabric photo, that is.  picked this up at a shop where the owner offered our group a special price on selected FQ bundles.  i chose this one because it had the largest number of FQs....25....and because it included some "mod" fabrics that i've seen used and wanted to try.  there are some repeats but no matter, i've got some ideas for some of them already and whatever i don't use will get chopped up into squares or bricks.  remember, if it's still ugly, it hasn't been cut small enough! **** we sailed through sandy with no damage at all and only a flicker of the electricity.  so many of my friends were in harm's way and at the least have no power this morning.  also thinking of my own dear children in maryland this morning.  and my biggest problem so far was that i had to cook my own breakfast for a change.  i do feel blessed and pray for those who are facing challenges today.  

thank you, sandy!

don't get me wrong, i completely sympathize with those whose lives get disrupted and upended by storms like this, but it helped me tremendously in that traveling today was much easier without usual traffic numbers.  i came sailing through hartford with hardly any cars at all to be seen.  all the way north to good ol' maine, the roads were less traveled by hordes, which made driving in the nearly gale force winds easier than it would have been.  maybe, just maybe, we can squeak by halloween without snow, you think?  wouldn't bother me a bit.  i can wait.