using it up

when life quilts give you scraps, gotta use them up.  today making yet another project from daydreams scraps.  and not done using them up yet.  those 2 layer cakes aka 10" square bundles i bought will be spread around plenty.  most of what is left will only yield inchies; that is 1.5" squares for a UFO in progress.  but there are still some triangles left for pieces a bit larger, probably 2.5" that will be ideal for most anything.  thanks to bonnie hunter, i visualize my scraps as being part of yardage that was paid for with real money, meaning scraps have plenty of monetary value.  anything that ends up in the trash can is money down the drain.  have you checked your trash can lately?  of course, more scraps means an overflowing scrap basket of which i have 2, so there will be plenty of scrappy sewing in my future.   **** this is my weekend and so far it's been wonderful.  a rainy day is  sewing day but hoping for some beach weather tomorrow.  gotta jam as much fun as possible into 2 days off! 

cabana daydreams reality

yes, it is a flimsy now!  it is 2 rows shorter than the pattern for reasons totally frugal....i like to keep my tops so i can use 90" muslin as backing and 2 more rows would be a tad too wide.  also, i ran out of yellow print triangles.  thinking of using a white flannel instead of a batt so it would be an ideal summer topper.  it will be hand quilted of course....probably a 2015 finish.  **** still working on the hawaiian, or i should say playing, because that really is the correct verb.  ***  now that CD is a flimsy, can move on to some swap blocks and a couple of small projects swirling around in the gray matter.  first up, though, is to tidy the sewing space, send the remaining triangles to the scrap basket and enjoy the rest of the summer.   **** retreat is a mere 80 days away--2 months plus--and have already started my list.  plan to devote september to finishing up a donation for B3--bob's blankie brigade--and cross THAT off the UFO list.  **** my weekend starts tonight and vacuum is at the top of the to-do list!  PS the new header photo is our nearby coast during the tail end of a hurricane a few years ago....10 foot waves....awesome!

brief nonquilty detour

a shocking detail became apparent to me yesterday....janet lennon, who is very, very slightly older than me, is now singing with her GRANDDAUGHTERS!  that's right, her granddaughters are now part of the singing lennon legacy.  while nowadays lawrence welk and his show are the butt of negative humor, the fact is that during the 1950s his show was very big.  as a young girl in the 1950s, i spent a lot of time at my grandmother's house and with my aunts, the younger two who were typical 50s gals.  there was a hi-fi there and plenty of records, many 78s of the WWII era and some pop 50s stuff like perry como, les paul and mary ford, etc.  that is where my love of music was fed.  and i totally adored the lennon sisters...so attractive, accomplished, talented, always every hair in place and pretty outfits.  my youngest aunt had this album and i must have played it a zillion times.  in the 60s and 70s i desperately tried to get a copy but failed.  now, though, mp3 is magical and it is available.  went to check on one of my fave gal groups and found out about janet and her granddaughters.  where did the time go?  how do i make it slow down?  the great thing is, when i play "christmas island", i can close my eyes and i'm right back there in 1958 playing the red  45s and singing along....

design wall monday

only 3 days into august and have made good progress on finishing up the applique for my hawaiian quilt.  the center portion (pictured) and 2 of the quadrants are done....can i get the other 2 done in august?  we shall see....icky weather weekend equals more sewing time, but beach weather is returning some time this week.  ****  yesterday had to do some resewing on the baby quilt top.  the stripe i used absolutely required that all stripes should go in the same direction, so required a fix.  the backing is on site....an orange with white polka dots...so after a wash/dry, can work on getting that tied and finished.  ***  today working on cabana daydreams for a while.  the flimsy top is over half done and hoping to get that completed between today and tomorrow.  ***** with handwork project lined up for the near future, the machine work can focus on the projects in my WIP storage drawers....plus an upcoming swap of blocks and the weekly sew-a-long.  enough to keep me occupied?  no problem!

daytripping to.....

steeplebush herb farm in limington, maine...about an hour NW of our coastal location.  it was another stellar friday weather wise, and we had a casual, meandering ride through rural areas to find this picture perfect place.  the owner was in the garden, and she and her two dogs welcomed us to wander and browse.  there were also some katahdin sheep grazing nearby, sheep that shed and do not required shearing...interesting!

the tiny shop was jam packed with all varieties of dried herbs, potpourris, herb mixes, hand made soaps and gifts.  i always enter shops like this gingerly (no pun) due to my sensitivity to certain fragrances, but here it wasn't overpowering.  the scent of a couple of her mixes didn't agree with me, but overall a short visit was tolerated.  the shop was surrounded by blooming, well-manicured gardens and potted plants for sale.  alas, we have no growing space at all, so we just admired.  after leaving the shop, we ventured to a new mexican restaurant for lunch, then off to the beach.  it was a jam-packed day away and oh-so enjoyable.  we like to take advantage of good days as much as possible as jan/feb are so very long and confining.  **** this morning i am tweaking the baby quilt top.  i had used a striped print and thought it didn't matter if all the striped squares faced the same way...wrong!  last night the hawaiian got more attention too.  once the baby quilt top is fixed, it's back to cabana daydreams, for a hopeful sunday flimsy.  **** FLASH!  minick & simpson's "lexington" is now in stores.   i smell an early birthday present for meeeeee!

my block's done!

on a roll!  first block of first day of the marcus bros. sew-a-long with pam buda and friends....pulled my fabrics out (they were close by) and got this little block all assembled.  i didn't get the kit, rather pulled from my stash, so fabrics are from designers jo morton, judie rothermel, paula barnes and pam buda.  so far so good!  ****  mom and i celebrated the beginning of august in style with a day trip...photos tomorrow...some beach time, a delish lunch out at a new mexican place nearby.  now in my jammies and the hawaiian is next!   a wonderful day all around....

a giveaway!

hop on over to sew and sow farm for a delicious HUGE giveaway!

later same day.....

ok so here it is nearly full....with only 10 drawers knew it wouldn't take long.  there are other WIPs in shoeboxes but they are packed, i know of at least 1 more, which  can't be all.  this is a great visual to remind me not to start anything new PLUS my leaders/enders projects will be at hand.....inchie blocks, scrappy log cabins, scrappy shenandoah log cabin...i had seen these units many times in joann's but walked by because i thought it was too small.  but for this purpose it works well.  oops, just thought of another and that is the indigo basket project, which will fit nicely too.  and there you have it....10 drawers full!  excuse me while i return to sewing.....

christmas present for UFOs....

before july is gone, thought i should open and assemble a christmas gift that has been hanging around, partly because i knew the drawers weren't THAT big and wanted to make the best use of the space.  have now decided this will be my UFO cabinet...so hopefully that will encourage me to LIMIT the number of UFOs i have; actually it's more like a WIP cabinet, for those that are currently stored in shoeboxes.  when i have a bit more space, it can reside next to the sewing table for quick access and, ahem, hopefully quick finishes.  it is smaller than i had thought, like who reads box info?  it will be easy to move when THAT happens, which is still the plan and i'm still more than half packed up for same.  anyway, thanks sis, for gifting me with this.  i know it will be used a lot.  **** been mostly working on the 2 machine projects, a baby quilt and the cabana daydreams.  ****  cool here for late july, actually been a cooler than normal summer, but sun is shining and temps are high 70s all week.  a taste of fall and delightful for doing just about anything.   

monday playtime

inspired by victoria findlay wolfe, spent time today playing in the daydreams scraps.  while it took considerably more than 15 minutes to assemble this piece for a little project in progress, i am satisfied with the result.  and i did use up a significant number of the little pieces of leftovers.  there are plenty left of course--that is how it goes with scraps--some did get used.  these colors are simply eye popping and i might just make more daydreams fabrics to use for other things.  ****  hard to believe this is the last week of july, summer 2/3 over, and so quickly.  now back to the machine and more play!