not too early....

to think about next year's projects and progress....with my birthday coming up end of august, am thinking about gifting myself with this....

it's the quilters' planner....in addition to this roomy monthly calendar, there are project pages, graph paper pages, lots of idea jotting space, etc.  it's sort of a birthday/reward gift for my lengthy and so-far successful no buy behavior.  having worked for behavior modification specialists in the past, know the value of a reward and this is a doozy!   so, am i addicted to organizing?  does it make my life unmanageable?  not a whit....in fact, just the opposite.   same with quilting....all this chat about quilting as an addiction is pure hooey in my book.  no matter if one swoons or eyes glaze over fabric, not even close to addiction.  in the past had occasion to visit more than one detox facility and there IS a difference, trust me.  doctors, PhDs, therapists are all too quick to label people; in fact, everyone they encounter from the grocery store clerk to the dry cleaning cashier.  diagnosing patients is one thing, but snap judgments are quite another and often these so-called professionals cannot distinguish between the two, something about not seeing the beam in their own eye....so go ahead, beef up the stash, quilt til you wilt, take that cruise and sign up for that workshop...it's good for you!  and besides, it's only an addiction if you want to quit...LOL!

hel-loooo june!

finally finshed ALL blocks for may and am now starting on june....so, not too far behind at this point but some of the early june blocks are super complicated, meaning lots of little pieces--but forge ahead i must!   and since may blocks are done, here's a peek at the last few.

during the recent stash reorg, found some green lights and mediums that would work for this project, so added them to the mix.   have printed out up thru june 10th; will see how long it takes to finish them.   before moving on to june blocks, took a mini-detour and finished up blocks for this little UFO

that hope to tackle today and at least get it to the flimsy stage; from there it'll be a quick finish.   *** few days of 90s weather coming up, which makes for good sewing time.  even when i lived near the ocean, didn't venture out, especially to lounge on hot sand.  haven't yet found my way to the shore here in maryland, but there'll be plenty of beach days ahead....enjoy your summer sunday!

the fabric corner....

out of sunlight but definitely within my view, the stash is now all together!   don't ask me why the bookcase i bought was a different one than the first, sheesh! and yes, it was supposed to be the same height, but there was a bit of a construction malfunction, so improvisation stepped in.  there are still 5 shelves albeit different heights.   but, happy to say ALL the fabric fits nicely.  i know, it isn't neat like those who use boards or specific folding methods, but really i just needed it in one place where i could easily pull fabric and be motivated to NOT buy....so this works!  and the bag of fabrics for the farmer's wife got emptied as well...a good thing!   now there is room for my full-size bed when it comes....  sadly, no room for the few books i have tucked away, but perhaps later can replace the short bookcase with one like the taller, or possibly create a space for the books....we'll see.   ***  whoosh!  another week has gone by just like that!   wasn't super busy but spent some time with daughter and SIL, volunteered some, and sewed a lot, which is on this afternoon's agenda.   and aside from a bit of housework, my weekend is free as well....365 here i come!  enjoy the day! 

not just flag day but....

this would have been my dad's 91st birthday so the day would have meaning for us even without its national significance....

he walked on earth a little while, a promise to fulfill;

but in our hearts thru peace and love, he walks among us still

my first block today is may 27th, so being on target for july1st is a very real possibility and good thing too, as farmer's wife blocks need attention as well.  *** first thing this morning sorting fabric piles as the 2nd bookcase arrives today and finally ALL fabric will be off the floor; hoping there is a tad of shelf space left for some books that are tucked away waiting for a home...now it's just a bed, a desk and a chair and casa frederick will be complete!

design wall monday

bored yet?  hope not, just over 6 months left in this sew along....with each block i glance at the directions and groan, but methodically follow directions and when it's done, inspired to move on to the next block.

today starting on may 23rd block, so moving steadily closer to june's blocks....and have not bought one square inch of fabric yet for this sew along!  ***  another week starts and few things on the calendar.  weekend heat has abated and laundry is on tap for this morning, then free to sew...can hardly believe i am so fortunate in my richness of available time!

the un-fun sewing....

firmly believe everyone should have pj shorts festooned with flamingos and palm trees....you can be sure this fabric was on the markdown table, as it's what always gets chosen for nighttime attire.  they are done now and crossed off my june list AND 1.5 yards busted from the stash as well...a win/win in anyone's book....all while flipping channels and finding, of all things, "wagon train"....ward bond, black and white...how retro can you get???   can now return to fun sewing and more 365 blocks....and quilt-cam on a saturday afternoon!!!!  super sewing with bonnie!

the latest....

inch by inch, life's a cinch, and that goes for the 365 challenge as well....today's the 10th, have finished may up to the 17th, so that means 24 blocks to get current....my weekend is plan-free so hoping to bring that number under 20.....while each and every one of these blocks is a challenge, have to say into the swing of the task and am really liking how these blocks are coming together.   would like to take a break and get the dark border assembled, but holding off until get closer to june's blocks.  the old viking and i are joined at the hip until this project is done, a mere 6.5 months from now....

the challenge continues!

hard to see clearly from this photo, but the date on this selvedge is 1989...that's right 27-year-old fabric that was sent to me last summer....still usable and going into the 365 project...

trying to do 3 blocks a day, if possible, to get caught up.   you can easily see why this is called a challenge....many of the blocks have a LOT of pieces....

and many of the units essentially get cut twice, once out of the fabric and a second sizing up the individual units....26 blocks to go and tomorrow is out due to a special birthday....good thing nothing else on the agenda.....many of the participants have their little dark squares already sewn onto the medallion, so there's that to do as well....sure you don't want to join in? 

june gauntlet

sarah at confessions of a scrap addict has issued a june challenge about what might be accomplished this month.....

a bit late with this due to weekend visitor and catching up on sleep, but here's my "proposed" list...

1.  name badge for guild
2.  finish my kaffe wallhanging
3.  baste "milky way masquerade"
4.  catch up on "365"
5.  stay current on "farmer's wife sew along"
6.  at least 2 lap quilts for guild charity project
7.  finish pink virginia reel
8.  finish midnight garden
9.  cut out 2 schnibbles using on-hand layer cakes
10. sew up pair pajama shorts

i think i'll stop there....if i'm successful, that'll knock off 3 more UFOs, not big ones, but done nevertheless.....now it's wheaties and caffeine....have a quilty monday!

light of day

unearthed from the maine boxes were these 2 small UFOs, now happily up on the design wall....hoping to coerce me into finishes.   the itty bitty virginia reel (3" finished blocks) needs 7 more blocks and the midnight garden piece needs a pieced border...that's it.  

finally got a bulletin board up, waiting on return of the clock and delivery of another bookcase for (what else?) fabric storage.  one shelf, though, will have to be taken over for books now in hiding until then.  so very wonderful to be settled.  a desk, chair and bed will complete the apartment but it's still home sweet home until they arrive.  i realize the hottest months are ahead, but can get thru and can't be much worse than snow and ice from november until april that force hibernation as well.

so my goal for the first full week of june is to make more 365 blocks, finish quilting the kaffe wallhanging and attack these 2 projects.  wednesday is a wash as it's DD's birthday and for the first time in many years, I get to revisit the day of my greatest joy and shower her with affection.....otherwise i'll be in the studio...catch you there!