and the winner is.....

dondi murdock!   please send me your snail addy and i'll get the scissors out to you right away (probably friday).....and thanks to all for your kind comments over the past 1000 or so posts....hopefully soon will have more quilty stuff for you to read.......

one of my faves....

if you have read my blog for awhile, you might remember this beauty....it's a pattern by marsha mccloskey from her book "quick and easy quilts"...called north wind and done very scrappily....controlled but still scrappy.   i love this top.  it got donated to a vermont group making quilts following a horrendous winter for those who were displaced.  was happy to send it along to make somebody warm but i just might make another when my machines are back in action.  ***  snow is finally gone and we've had a mini-monsoon the past 2 days.  temps are moderating and no doubt when mr sunshine comes back, will be definitely spring. 

blasts from the past....

if you check out mrs. goodneedle's post today, you can blame her for mine.  in addition to packing up all my stuff, i've collected photos from my mom to save.  lots of memories of days gone by of me and my siblings and relatives no longer with us are now in my collection.  check these out....

this is me posing in my hopalong cassidy cowboy pants....the shirt, by this time, had been passed on (very reluctantly) to my brother and the boots had been lost during playtime in a haymow, never to be seen again.  they must have turned up at some point. 

this is me and brother #1 helping my aunt plant her garden in early spring.  everyone had pitched in after supper to get those peas in the ground early.  we worked until dark, which explains the dark background, dreaming of sweet bowls to come. 

and the day that started our family.....handsome groom and beautiful bride in 1946....

the giveaway....

a bit late but it's a goodie i think.....a pair of karen kay buckley's scissors with the serrated blades...these are medium, i have the larger ones and LOVE them!  the drawing will be wednesday april 22nd by noon so be sure and include your email contact.  and by the way, get well wishes for karen kay buckley who recently underwent cardiac valve replacement surgery....

the scissors measure about 6" total length, have those flexible handles and will be perfect for any sewing task.  *** otherwise no news in this lake woebegone.  it's a very difficult situation too complicated to even think about, let alone relay to anyone else.  ***  sending get well kisses to my daughter down with strep throat...i know her hubby will give her the TLC she needs for a quick recovery....now to find some pleasant diversion from the current distress....

since you asked....

this is what i have been keeping occupied with (some of the time) while marooned here on homeless island.   this is my counted cross-stitch christmas stocking. had been wanting to do a sampler AND a christmas stocking, so combined the two with this project.  no deadline; it gets done when it gets done.  also have my little busy box of solid little bow ties.  thought i had packed these items in a box but actually tucked them away in my suitcase, so do have a couple of handwork options (found them, denise!) while the quilty stuff is in storage (AGAIN!!!!)....i do have the girls here with me but useless without the stash and notions.  while grateful to have a safe place to crash, it is way far from ideal or even where i should be right now....which is in my own apartment....but in between venting and being angry, am enjoying a few creature comforts.  *** and the giveaway IS coming....should be in a day or two so keep watch!   meanwhile, pray for me that my situation gets fixed immediately if not sooner...am way beyond weary of what many enjoy, a place of my own to live and to be safe and cozy.

watch this space!

1000 posts....giveaway coming!

more recent stash additions

about 2 months ago in the midst of my packing frenzy, realized that marden's might soon be unaccessible...so in a pre-emptive strike, gathered up these lovely spring-colored goodies for future sewing fun.  of course, this was way before the recent twisted events, but even so, think it was a wise move.  the machines are safely tucked away leaving me without quilty fun.  working diligently with housing, hoping to be moved and settled soon so i can get back to lots of fun with old and new projects.  sadly, the hawaiian is packed away as well so no finish on that is on the horizon.  without the quilty part of my life and a home base, simply adrift in the sea of a terrifying and isolated life experience making it difficult to even function day to day.  i seldom get depressed, but without my sewing and quilting to shore me up through this difficult passage, relying on faith-based inner strength to keep me going.  by that i do not mean the support of church family Christians, as in the past i have found they were nonexistent.  we are all recovering pharisees of course, but far too many claim God's agenda as their own, doing great harm in the process.......

aaarrrrrrrgh!

as snoopy often says, or another way to say it is SH** happens!  should be in my cozy new apartment by now but alas and alack, dark forces have derailed well laid plans once again.  have mostly gotten over the screaming and crying....well the screaming anyway....and formulating plan B, then C and D to cover all bases.  to say i am disappointed and angry is a gross understatement....as some of you know, for the past 20 years, life has been an uphill challenge with setbacks too numerous to mention.  have not been able to figure out the problem, apparently way too dense and brain-addled for that.  the whole mess has made me physically ill and hugely upset.  with all my sewing goodies packed away, unable to treat with daily sewing fixes.  instead have had to wash dishes as a salve to the wounded spirit and soul, so you know the situation is pretty bad.  *** as somebody once told me about my disastrous marriage, it was like my 40 years in the desert....who knew the desert experience would continue my whole life (sniff, sniff)....it isn't that i don't have gratitudes just that was hoping life would be more enjoyable at some point.    i know there are those in worse situations and am grateful mine is fairly benign; it's just the longevity is wearing me down.  this short post is an update for those who care and maybe even some of those dark forces who snoop.....

last marden's haul

taking a breather before the great unpacking begins....caved and slipped into marden's just once more and picked up these.  marden's simply cannot be beat...here is 4.75 yards total for a mere $19...how good is that?  i loved the pastel plaids and stripes and found a yellow for the stash, plus a couple of solids for my ocean waves top.  bottom shows a couple of jo mortons (shirting and stripe) and a purple remnant and a prussian blue.  and the orange mod print?  i have that same in lime green....luscious!  i am so itching to get my girls set up and whirring.  they are faring well with the trip albeit crowded...LOL!  *** and i never had a professional mover before but it is simply the way to go...pricey on my fixed income but slick and quick!  i've just about caught up on rest from the getting ready part and will certainly need my wheaties for the other part.  i know my mum is in good hands with my bro and sis, tho i miss her already.  now think i'll have another quick snooze just because....have a good day!

spring break!

no, not lounging on some white sand beach this week--far from it!  instead, packing up and moving south.  it's a move that's been in the works for some time now, delayed only by bureaucratic reasons.  eager to get it done and get back to sewing, which has been on the back burner, except for the hawaiian.  it's a daunting task, even with my small (by comparison) amount of belongings.  easily half or more of my boxes are sewing related.  excited about the future and new experiences....until then....oh and one last thing, 3 more posts and i'll be at the 1000 mark, so once the dust settles, a giveaway will be on tap....watch this space!