seriously tempting....

this is the mother of all projects.....www.365challengequilt.com.au....starting january 1, 2016....i am picturing scrappy to the nth degree here....some blocks 3", some 6" and i would guess the corner squares and center are 12".....a heavy commitment that depends on stamina and continuing good health...can i do it?  should i do it?  or possibly tweak it?  maybe make only the 3" or the 6"....plenty of possibilities...in the meantime will focus on today's quilty plate that includes the bonnie block from farmer's wife, some stars too....some serious caffeine first as it is a cloudy and rainy day, good day for a book and a comfy chair with a cozy quilt.  the good AND bad side of the internet--so much--too much--quilty temptation.  have time to ponder this while focusing on today's.....keep dry and quilt on!

off and running!

the farmer's wife sew-along has started....actually last evening about 6 pm canberra time....and have patiently and obediently waited until the official start to make my first block.  here is it....done is those gorgeous civil war tones, the first of 99...or maybe 84; doubt i will make all 99 as the quilt would be too large for my needs or personal style.  probably will be a few duds along the way that'll get relegated to the orphan pile so that i end up with 84 good ones.  there are setting triangles as these will be set on point; i do have some black in the stash but remains to be decided definitively.....anyway, now to get caught up on the stars before wednesday....

again, the camera angle and remaining papers make it look a tad wonky but it is fine....*** now off to find my jacket with the fleece lining...yes, it is THAT chilly here.  got new shoes just in time to put aside the sandals for another year. 

the jingle goes....

i shoulda bought it when i saw it at marden's....and yes, they play it while you are IN the store, naturally, but no jingle was needed to entice me for these....

the flannel i bought is the top portion...a red rooster quilter's weight flannel....$2 per yard and only 2 yards left so they are mine now....and the bottom is a fat eighth packet, 10 of 'em in these gorgeous bright colors for $4.49 I think...or $4.99?  either way a good deal.  it's quality, tightly woven fabric too...already have plans for these cuts....there was another packet of different fabrics in turquoises...you KNOW how i feel about turquoise....but i liked the gray/lime/oranges in this bunch....orange DOES make my heart beat faster!    vic emailed me to let me know she was going to marden's saturday, so anxious to see her haul.  ***  frost on the ground this AM so that means end of our veggie season not far off.  the woodpiles are high and the days are shorter; aura of busy prep for the coming cold season is everywhere.  still good days ahead, just closer to *SNOW* and soups on the back burner.  time to quilt!

little finish

not the greatest photo but a finish nonetheless....this will hang in my sewing space when that is available...the heart block was a gift and then i added to it using some of my inchies and a very pretty dark purple paisley for the border.  the border is difficult to see because of the rug surrounding--photo taken in a chair.  no sewing today but will continue on with the previous to-do list tomorrow, i hope.  aside from that, nothing new here in lobsterville excepting the weather change and the declining hours of daylight....

ready or not....

the 28th is coming soon and so yesterday pulled out the ENTIRE stash that is with me currently and chose some lovely fabrics for the farmer's wife sew-along starting sunday here in the states...my heartfelt thanks to those who so generously shared with me in this interim period while mine is packed away and stored.  because of your kindness, and some i had chosen, i've got this gorgeous palette to work with for this year-long sew-along.  do i miss my kaffe fassetts, my minick & simpsons and my other jo mortons and scrappie stash?  absolutely, but these are so very fine and very ok for this project....hope you agree!

back to the 50s...in temps that is, which is definitely fall feeling and even frost way up north....today i've got some things on the list, first of which is the little heart project that is almost done.   found a spool of quilting thread and it's just about finished except for some embellishment.  next up are some star blocks for the brackman sew-along and then back to applique blocks for midnight garden.  also want to mark the mod spools with some varying size circles for quilting, hoping to get that done soon.  sounds like a full day....

fabric karma

someone had so nicely gifted me with some circus-theme fabrics....lovely clowns, animals etc....well, fussy cut the animals from their background and left the clowns and another animal piece intact.  so how to use them?  find a background and make a cheery circus kid-size quilt of course ....went to marden's, partly to ogle and fondle, and look what was there!   the popcorn fabric....light background with circus popcorn boxes and popped corn all over....how serendipitous is that?   my other purchase was some nice quilter's flannel at $2 per yard, just enough for cozy lounging pants wherever i may be this fall/winter.  ***  a bit under the weather past few days but hoping i will be hale and hearty for the farmer's wife sew-along, now that my book has been spiral bound.  next up is choose fabrics, which will be civil war i guess, since not enough of anything else available right now and not going to buy more.  *** aaaahh a beautiful early autumn day....70, breezy, sunny, crisp.....the perfect season in my opinion!

big vs little

stopped in at a well-known craft/fabric establishment to pick up a new cutting mat with a coupon, and immediately inside the front door was confronted with many, many bolts of definite quilt-shop quality cottons priced at $12.99, which is a quilt shop price also.  this is not a new development, rather an expansion of an obvious effort to compete with smaller quilt shops for the fabric dollar.  lacking here was the personal service and relationship a quilter forms with the quilt shop, but also here is the advantage of coupons to lessen the sticker shock.  will be interesting to see how this goes forward and whether or not small shops will be impacted.  not much for me personally, but maybe for some.  here in maine we have the added factor of marden's, which can be a good source for some quilt-shop quality fabric at astounding prices.......as for sunday sewing, started a small project which i blatently copied from pal janet, whose effort is gorgeous and mini in size...my squares are about 1.5" finished, small enough for me and a complete 180 from the quilt in the previous post.  have also included a photo of the centers for my scrappy repro daisy chain project, just for a glimpse of what is to eventually be...

and with sunday, fall has arrived--according to the thermometer anyway.  temps tonight in the high 40s, another harbinger....too bad they wouldn't just stop here as this is smiply perfect weather.   and i wouldn't be surprised if clam chowder is on the menu some time this week.....delish!

remember this?

have only been awake for just over an hour and already my fingers are itching to sew and this is the wonderful instigator....

if you recall, someone had gifted me with this book recently by jen kingwell, an aussie designer, with so many terrific patterns.  well, jen is also the designer for this smashing quilt...."midnight at the oasis".....

oh yesssss!   this is definitely a must do for me? will i ever? maybe....this is all bonnie hunter's fault you know...i lay the blame entirely at her feet....before bonnie i was a dyed-in-the-wool, traditional quilter with a strong rigid sense of matchy-matchy and coloring ALWAYS inside the lines....then i met up with the queen of quiltville and the rest, well it was a fast, slippery slope into scrap mania and anything goes.  she tapped--rather smashed--into my love of color and i was a goner.  if you know bonnie, then you know what a wild and crazy fun-filled, fabric-filled ride it has been so far with no end in sight, and who would want to stop?  not me, oh no...i am in it for the long haul.  so what day is this anyway?  who cares, as long as it's a sewing day!    

addendum to friday post...

forgot to mention (exhaustion!) there is at least ONE quilter in the building, a SERIOUS quilter, meaning lots of stash and several machines who has it bad like me...lol!  after 9 hrs straight of sleep am thinking clearer now and hoping they didn't find me too weird...tend to babble when overtired...so maybe will get my gear together in anticipation....it's the right thing to do!

quiltus interruptus

yes folks, time again for the so far unproductive, superfast trip to interview for housing, yes, in maryland...took the midnight train (9:30 really), which should be renamed the back buster...but i digress....akin to being on a roller coaster in the dark that stops and starts several times.  arrived bleary-eyed and exhausted; picked up rental that was upgraded from subcompact to jeep latitude with nice, roomy, reclining seats perfect for occasional naps and the size of a small yacht....a pleasant surprise!   after the required but alarmingly brief 15-minute housing interview, more napping in the jeep and return car, wait for 10:40 train that turned out to be 11:05 train and another excitement filled trip to new england, then another bus ride (another nap) and finally back to square one...literally.  i took my sewing (no loud guffaws, please) and the ipod (perfect), drove thru chick-fil-a twice,  a change of clothing (wise indeed) and little else.  again promised  am "near the top", which must be a euphemism for "haven't a clue" or "don't hold your breath," or "sometime this decade" providing, of course, i am the proper "fit" (? huh) for senior housing community, meaning around age 70 (me 66) and with a keen interest in dominoes!  not looking for a life partner here, people...just an apartment near my daughter and SIL....crikey!   seriously, it is a lovely place and the people seem nice--how can one be sure in 15 minutes?  the location is nice also, near lots of retail and community resources; spit polish neat and most of all, my own apartment....(pause for drool and near heart seizure)....if only the beckoning call comes, for which i am definitely NOT holding my breath.  six months ago was #3 on the list for another location and still no call.  my income has been downgraded by social security, thanks to working too much last year, so essentially poorer than ever.  have described my desires and hopes and the direness of my current situation, perhaps too overzealously, that seems to fall on deaf ears.  am wondering now if perhaps they are oh-so silently skipping over my name, which would be illegal, so probably not.  at least i hope not.....stay tuned for more adventures of grace's housing pursuit...now back to the regularly scheduled quilty posts!