nice-n-icy

air temp and water temps equal at about 40 so a seaside excursion was in order!  the nearly high tide revealed jonas ' last gasp with the water up over the rocks and onto the narrow street in places.  only a few gawkers like us ventured along the shore road.  the onslaught of seaweed is seen from previous high tides.  the water looked perfectly sea-foam green in the partly sunny sky and was quite rough with high waves in places.  hated to postpone my day's sewing but was glad for the sea air was quite invigorating and a nice change from too-dry house air.  after lunch, communed with phoebe (and still am) sewing the 9-patches into a flimsy and cutting HSTs for the sawtooth border.  glad for the respite from frigid air with the realization that winter is half over and the joy of lengthening daylight! 

finally a finish!

just this morning took the last stitch in this table topper for my mum, all gifted fabric and only purchase was the batting...not much stash busted but gives me a finish and off the UFO challenge queen's throne!  as far as this week's stash report goes.....well, needed half yard of kona snow to finish something, accidentally ordered a yard and THEN a sticker on my package said i hit the jackpot and got the end of the bolt!  how revolting!  any other time it would have been a welcome bonus but not this year--ended up even steven as the wallhanging busted about 1.5 yards and the kona snow was that.  so final tally....

stash used:  1.5 yards (not official)
stash added:   1.5 yards kona snow

i'll do better next month, a promise i'm making to me!

farmer's wife progress

the latest 4 in the farmer's wife sew-along, papers not yet removed.  when this sew-along was started, all fabrics in these color families were put into a bag, and this was the kind you take to the supermarket...that big!  then, a few others found their way into the bag via the postman.  even so, have busted some pieces completely.  just this morning a 2.5" strip--background on bottom left--was totally used.  a small piece, but gone nonetheless.  just over 1/3rd finished with this, and anticipating to see the bag's contents decrease even more.  now back to quilting.....

my new fave tool

my christmas gift to me this year was this itty bitty 8ths ruler.  my rogue quilter pal has used this and raved about it a lot.  i don't make the precision miniatures that she does, but with these small blocks for the 365 challenge, it is an essential and quite useful item.  mostly i get by with the rulers i have and don't get everything that comes along, but this one lives up to its reputation and glad it's added to my ruler repertoire.  *** not much new here in frigid city but busy with sew along blocks and quilting.  the binding for the table topper is prepped just waiting its turn.  don't think i'll be sending any penalty blocks for the UFO challenge this quarter!  now to keep warm and sew on!

quickie stash report

this past week:

added - ZERO
subtracted - ZERO

the table topper is almost done, prepping binding today.  also on today's list the 2 sew alongs....but no new stash is good! 

365 update

due to time differences, lucky enough to get caught up with this sew along BEFORE the actual date...LOL...here are the latest groupings...first is 6-10...

this group is 11-15..

and this is my storing method....3 plastic folders at the dollar store...i may have to get more for 365 blocks!

photos not the best as they were taken in a darkened room with camera flash but thinking you get the idea..but 15 little blocks bust hardly any stash but the top is 90 x 90 so overall will use some up.  oohh see daylight peeking over the horizon...isn't that terrific at 6:41 am? 

in the hoop!

just today got this basted and in the hoop to quilt.  it WILL be a january finish for sure...at least i think so!  it's a table topper to match the valance in my mum's apartment....

aside from this, have been working on the 2 sew along blocks and am up to date, well i was until today!  transitional life is a juggling act and i have plastic bags everywhere filled with blocks, strips, squares and all manner of scraps.  next plan on cutting the connector blocks for the scrappy 9-patch so i can work on that flimsy.  ***  so nice to see an extra bit of daylight at both ends of the day now, just minutes of course, but more and more as the month progresses.   when it's still daylight at 5 pm, i know that winter is about half over and the extra sunshine will cheer up the days.  and please pray that housing comes soon...i am anxious for beginning a new chapter in my life and for a fresh start!

sewing along...

these are the 2 latest of the farmer's wife sew-along blocks....both paper pieced as i wouldn't have done them any other way.   the 365 is up to date as well.  finished all the pink reel blocks i could, now waiting on getting more pinks from the big stash in storage.   tomorrow hoping to baste a couple of things for quilting.  the 12 days of christmas blocks also on the list, as this would give me a quick finish.  will also be cutting more scrappy bricks for that project.  working on several things at once usually gives me lots of finishes at once.  when i was a single parent had to juggle several things at once, so it's a method now used for my sewing projects.  silly me thought life would be less complicated with no children to care for, a house to maintain and 2 jobs....not sure what happened or if i'll ever get the satisfaction of an explanation, but thankful God gives me the strength and perseverance to keep on keeping on....quilting that is!

stash report & quilt cam

first official stash report of 2016....0 stash in and 0 stash out!  plenty of sewing going on but nothing quite finished yet.  during quilt-cam last night did some of this...

the little pink virginia reel blocks are coming along, there will be 24 in all and i'm about halfway there....and some of this...

scrappy 9-patch blocks from fabric that was gifted to me last year...70 were needed and they are now done; next is to cut the connecting squares and sawtooth border triangles...this will be a donation quilt at some point in honor of those who so generously shared their stash with me during my sojourn here in the desert (again!)....moses wandered in desert but died before entering the promised land...hoping my situation will have a different conclusion...of course am keeping up with the 365 challenge AND farmer's wife sew-along... on today's list?  the 2 FWS blocks and the 365 block and more on the 2 projects shown....a great day to sew!

5 for 5

day 5 and here are my blocks so far...have a bag of small pieces right next to phoebe and try to get these sewn up as soon as they are posted.  going all scrappy and so far so good!  also been working on some of these little paper pieced blocks for a january finish maybe?

the UFO list is officially at 41 so hoping that 2016 is the year of the finish...lots of them in fact....this will also help me focus on busting stash after shamefully accumulating nearly 100 yards (didn't count the gifties), more than enough to finish all my UFOs and generate several more, especially if i continue with small projects like these.  planning on donating 2 bed size quilts in october and also have a quilt of valor on my "hope to make" list...it's a wonder i have time to do anything else...LOL!  and if the start of 2016 is any indicator, likely to be the year of the new car, not showroom new but parts new as in frequenting the repair shop.  it's only january 5th but spent 3 of those days bonding with various car mechanics and incorporating a whole new vocabulary--calipers, rotors, differential, sensors, yokohama (tires)--and (gulp) attacking the bank balance.  fabric sales and quilt shops are definitely off limits for the time being.  it isn't that my car is in bad shape, it's just the nature of mechanical things (sigh)....but, as mrs. g says, life is still good!