lest you think...

my needle has been idle during this brief blogging break, au contraire!  these are 2 applique blocks for "just takes 2" from the most recent collection.  this erstwhile project will soon be addressed in earnest once all the christmas prep and sewing is completed.  **** it is a warm day for december in this new england woebegone but not for long, flurries and freezing are always a hair's breadth away this time of year.  today, though, we will languish in the sun and 50-degree temps of this early winter gift.  **** a few house chores and then back to sewing for me after working half day for a coworker.  it's a no-stress job but still work, some days more harrowing than others.  i am truly grateful to be working!

so, what's black & white,

black & white, black & white, black & white and....no, not a nun falling down the stairs but black & white swap strips!  yes, they arrived in my little post box yesterday and aren't they gorgeous!  thank you to the swappers at quiltville swappers yahoo group!  i see them with lots of bright colors like cheddar and green and blue and pink and, well you get the idea.  and since these are swaps, there is no addition to the stash whatsoever.   

handwork project

no, not ANOTHER new project, rather one that has been in the works for some time.  since it's being hand sewn, not enough progress to show until now.  this is a gift quilt that will have alternating pieced and blank squares...for the quilting of course!   and since i am trying to use up some of the cherrywood scraps, there is the occasional un-matchy piece included (see purple square).  *** though many think maine is such an idyllic place (mostly tourists or those who have only seen the LL Bean commercials), for me it has been like living under a ladder, with a black cat or broken mirrors nearly every day.  what with too much healthcare that has bordered on benign neglect and hordes of indifferent, indignant healthcare employers, plus the feeling of general imprisonment, it is hardly vacationland to me.  true, it is a beautiful place but when i lived in the city, though i was often alone, i never felt as lonely and isolated as i do here.  it's because i was home, you know, and now i'm not.  whether or not it will be my home again is anyone's guess, or maybe i will find a new home.  i know, though, it won't be maine.   stay tuned.... 

whoops

looks like i collected a few too many scrappy indigos.  some will go into the civil war repros stash and the others back in the regular blue stash; some will go to a scrappy binding too.  i love scrappy quilts but in order to have a real nice scrappy, a large selection of fabrics is a must.  it is a challenge!  the square-in-a-square units are done and now working on the flying geese units that encircle the squares.  and you won't believe what i am saving....waste triangles!  my frugal gene is in overdrive and i keep hearing the scrap savers' mantra over and over about little scraps being the same price as yardage, so my conscience just won't let me toss them out.  **** spent some time quilting the christmas ribbons too, so it's coming along nicely.  hoping i can squeeze 2 more finishes out of december.....

super sewing sunday

wow, so much done for a one-day blitz!  after the last hem on the ottoman cover, finished all the little patchwork ornaments and finished all but 2 of the scrappy indigo square-in-a-square units.  also went through a large food bag stuffed with selvedges and trimmed them up.  i also got some santa sewing done and remember those red repro applique blocks?  got them assembled into a flimsy.  it was a no laundry, vacuuming or cooking day, just plain sewing.  after venturing out first thing for a bit of exercise, it was just me and the old viking all day long...plus bonnie and her quilt cam!  a most relaxing, enjoyable and productive day indeed. 

non-quilty finish

not the greatest photo but this is the ottoman cover completed.  hardly a professional job--no cording or pleats at the corners--but a HUGE difference from the previous second-hand condition.  the futon chair cover is cranberry so this goes perfectly.  i guesstimated at buying the fabric with 2 yards, so not enough left to even make the cording for around the top.  it goes well with the blue carpet as well.  with this out of the way, i can return my focus to quilty UFOs and sewing.  **** we have a bit of snow on the ground but temps are going up to 50 tomorrow, so bye-bye first snow.  me, i have other dreams instead of a white christmas regardless of how festive and quaint it might be, not the least of which is "blue variety" coming this spring. 

a winter squishie!

a smiley face and a survival kit for some stormy day this winter.  i have a pattern already in mind for these repro colors.  this came from vic who lives further in the country than i do, so i am hoping she has plenty left for any dreary day that comes her way this winter.  **** no word yet from australia on the arrival of my secret santa package.  the postman said it would be 5-7 days by air mail, so it should be any day now.  *** on today's agenda is a bit of christmas sewing and maybe get that ottoman cover hemmed and on the ottoman.  that leaves me with 1 nonquilty project, that of painting the chair in my sewing room and making a chair seat pad, which will be a string thing done with selvedges. 

one done

first, OMG, is tomorrow really december 1st?  like, how did THAT happen?  really fast, i'd say.  today, though, i've been sewing away on a few things.  i got the first entire block done of the scrappy indigo quilt; there are 12 of these in all.  so far i like it, a lot.  blue and white is so crisp and classic.  next, i've been working on a cover for my ottoman.  finally got tired of seeing it in the used state (it was a freebie) and so got it nearly complete today, just needs to be hemmed.  it isn't anything fancy, i don't really do slipcovers at all, but it works and looks fresh and new and matches my chair.  those were all my requirements.  then i've been quilting on the scrappy christmas quilt because, as i mentioned, tomorrow IS december and i hope to finish it before the end of the month/year.  so, what are you doing? 

save the date

someone decided the time has come to promote the LQS or local quilt shop.  a date has been proclaimed, january 24, and so i am happy to do my part.  now for those of you (er, us) who might have possibly overindulged in 2012, a whole new year is starting soon, clean slate!  so, help the economy and visit your LQS on january 24th, or maybe 2-3 of them?  i patronize a few for different reasons and it's difficult for me to choose just ONE, but rest assured, i will rise to the challenge.  for more details visit here.  it's the right thing to do.

times have changed

whereas in past decades i swooned over crooners and hunk types, now this makes me feel faint and go weak in the knees....paisley!  these are from edyta sitar's "dancing in the rain" line, just in at my fave repro gathering place, BUSY THIMBLE of litchfield, maine.  i've had them a couple of weeks now and can't get enough of looking at them and wondering what luscious project awaits for them.  and whereas in past years i have gifted myself with something particular at christmas, i think i've taken care of that already this year, what with my Lancaster trip and now these.  and i say, who better to choose a gift for me than me?