my mission....

should i choose to accept (remember the old series 'mission impossible'?) is to tackle THIS today....great mindless activity while watching olympic cermony tonight.

either that or it's get a new basket, which is not a good idea.  after a busy few days, will be nice to relax with rotary cutter, ruler and get this pile under control.  *** last night at guild was workshop with heather kojan and this cute little project bag workshop....so many pretty ones...with all my fabric, you might have expected something flashier but confess didn't want to cut into my "good" fabric....LOL....and thought this would be appropriate, especially to get hauled around.   my hexie project has outgrown the little bag that vic made for me, so will get transferred to this one and the little red bag will become a home for something else.

already august 5th and time for more 365 blocks.   and have you thought about christmas yet?  i've got some gift ideas percolating...with the budget tight, gotta fire up the creative muse for some good ideas...  but first up, stock the larder! 

monday design wall

a fairly busy sewing weekend here in steamy and occasional monsoon-like weather...what else to do but sew, right?   first up, nearly busted an entire layer cake with this wallhanging....it's sandy gervais' rambling rose line and this layer cake was a giveaway...lucky me! 

the flash washed the color out a bit, but it's pinks, aquas, tan/browns....with a pile of leftover waste triangles, started sewing up a dolly quilt.   would have liked more of the cream prints, but had to work around what was available...one of the issues with layer cakes, but it'll get hand quilted and then a pink binding which should tone down the brown flying geese a bit.  next up, 2 more farmer's wife blocks, leaving me with 2 more to get current....what can i say....slacked off a bit...

and lastly, here's a look at the 365 with ALL the borders on to date....that is today's task...more 365 blocks. with august here, only 5 months left on this challenge and my interest has waned a bit, but can't stop now.   i think this 3rd border of little blocks is about 3 months' worth as well...

the schedule is a tad crowded this week for a few days....hoping friday/saturday will be devoted to cutting up scraps and clearing out the basket...it's way beyond due....another hot week, but over summer's hump and have made it so far and on our way to autumn...my favorite season of all!

two more done...

instead of the 6 would have liked to finish, but dabbled in a few other projects and indulged in afternoon power nap so i could sew thru quilt-cam, which got cancelled for audio issues...bummer!  maybe there'll be time this morning for just one more block before going out.   

and would you believe this happens all the time?  cutting over the trash can that's barely 2 feet away and still the scraps and papers fly all over the floor...gotta get a larger and taller trash bucket, i guess.

finally cooler with temps in the 80s....oh yeah, that is sure welcome....have a balmy day!

a small dent

in the farmer's wife sew-along blocks....today was a delightful all-sew day.  first thing, made the 2 missing blocks in the light border of the "365" and got that last border sewn on.  then tackled the farmer's wife.  got these 3 done with 6 more to go....hoping to get more done on thursday and then it's back to 365 blocks.  will be jockeying between these 2 projects the next few days and then maybe can work on something different come the weekend. 

nice to have access to my entire stash for these blocks.  glad this farmer's wife will be winding down soon.  have already decided to participate in a double wedding ring sew along for next year and that'll be it!  not that far away as 2016 is whizzing by at a whirlwind pace!

my next 365 block...

and see that date!  yep, just 3 blocks to do!   i am sooooo thrilled and relieved that my block backlog has disappeared.   course, now i have to tackle the farmer's wife with about 8 blocks to do.

this should be a quick one indeed!  and here are a few of the latest i've sewn....a few challenges

but the middle one in the top row?   went together lickety split....sometimes it just happens that way...they aren't as wonky as they look, but because some have so many seams, even pressing doesn't tame them.  ***with housework done and blocks up to date, can dabble in a couple of other projects for a change.  yes, the farmer's wife is #1 and have been itching to start a mod quilt in orange....about 3 years ago, many internet quilters generously shared their orange scraps with me and i'm just about ready to get started.  today also finished some paper piecing leaf blocks for the guild raffle quilt next year, and there'll be some applique work on that too.  can i squeak in another small finish this month?  wouldn't hurt to try....temps modulating a bit with high 80s later in the week...oh yeah i can take that easy!

birthday?

not yet, not for a month yet, but these 2 birthday goodies came my way today...first a cake, rather 1/4 of a huge cake, from a neighbor...does this mean i'm older than i think i am?  hopefully just happy coincidences....

looks scrumptious and i did taste a tiny bit, but may have to share even this....it's 4 layers and loaded with frosting, a bit more than even i can or should eat.   and then stuffed in my mailbox was this, from victoria, who always sends something early...

a lovely pillowcase and quite a few pieces of new fabric, plus a couple of drawer sachets too...i ran down to get the mail before doing my laundry and now can wash my other pillowcase and all this new fabric!   so very thoughtful of you vic!  was feeling a teensy bit deprived after not buying even one charm square at quilt odyssey.  not having a little part-time job has put me on a strict financial diet, and although there's plenty in the fabric larder, once in a while would like to indulge.  one thing on my birthday list is a stippling stencil that i saw at quilt odyssey.  great for backgrounds!  ***  and yes, it's blistering hot...97 today and no, have not ventured out to check.  the entire week is in the 90s so have to buck up and get through it.  it's just a blizzard in reverse with clear and dry roads.  and now that my housework is done, the rest of the day is mine!  

quilt odyssey--a fantastic show!

starting with the venue, which was the hershey conference center....here are some shots inside and out...what's NOT to like about a chocolate ballroom!   it was a perfect day from start to finish, totally oblivious to the searing heat outside.  my seatmate on the bus was priscilla, a certified NQA judge, and we chatted about many things--places to visit, places we had visited, our quilty interests and a bit about our lives. 

out front under a portico, large round tables while waiting for the bus, taking a break or whatever..

lovely pond with water plants and oh those hanging baskets....gorgeous!

the foyer with raffle quilts....

yes, that is karen kay buckley with "brandywine triumph," a raffle quilt adapted from her 'majestic mosaic' pattern

show rules posted in the booklet prohibit me from sharing any photos of the display or juried quilts, but i am guessing because the above are raffle quilts, photos of which are widely available for the purpose of selling tickets, it's ok to show them...if not i'll gladly remove from the post.

lazy wednesday afternoon....

but did manage to get the latest "westering women" block done, not too soon either as the next will post in a week....not sure what will do with these blocks when done, but love the colors. this is penny rose's "indigo and cheddar" line...

first up, tho, was to remake the 365 block--done and added to the border--and then tweak the block top left, which somehow came out just a smidgen too large.  refused to go on until it was done and the right size.   the center block got cut just a tad too large, no doubt it was "pilot error"....lol....shouldn't drive and rotary cut at the same time!   ***  yesterday was simply delightful warm day with NO humidity, making it downright pleasant.   windows open for a change, soaking up fresh air before the big heat arrives friday.  almost feels like a touch of fall, if only for a day.  ***   no blocks today as senior center this AM and a wake this afternoon...and tomorrow is road trip day but saturday, sunday and monday are indoor days...i'll be cool but the old viking will be hot, hot, hot!  so very fortunate to be able to stay in cool a/c with no job responsibilities.   and don't worry, stocked up on diet pepsi too!

coming together!

it's the 365 and even tho one more border needs attaching, couldn't resist showing it....one block was waaaaaay too small--not sure how THAT happened--so it's a do over, and there are 2 more hiding someplace before i can sew on the final border.   but this is definitely a WOW project!

wasn't sure i'd like the different colors, but really they are mostly very light and in this photo not too distinctive.   just 4 little blocks for getting current; tend to sit down every so often and do 4-5 at a time.  and gotta hunt up those 2 errant blocks....so nice living by myself with NO roommates means they are definitely here someplace and didn't grow legs.  and if they can't be found, will just hold off until the next round of light blocks and make 2 extra...easy peasy!  only 5 months left and have to say, being involved in this has made the year go pretty fast.  rough plan for the remainder of 2016 is some charity sewing that will go to the top of the list, finish out the farmer's wife blocks and get to the flimsy stage, pull out brackman stars and get those into a flimsy, finish as many things as possible from the UFO list....think that's enough???   ***  enjoying brief respite from a/c with nice 80s temps and windows wide open for a change--if only for a day!  now go out there and quilt something!

done on monday!

always good to start the week off with a finish, even a little one like this...

even a little scrappy project like this is sooo pretty i think....everything came from the scrap basket, even the binding that was already cut and wrapped on a paper towel holder.   but if you look close at the back--a neutral print--it's wrong side out...LOL!   can only tell if you look close as it's a light tan print so it's staying that way.   this got started a few years ago when a different 365 challenge was going around...that of making a little paper pieced house block every day.  i wisely deferred but couldn't resist making up a few.  ***  decided to put the pink reel piece aside and continue quilting on a donation quilt.  with quite a few charity projects in the works, think probably should concentrate on getting those done.  plus after quilting on this, eager to continue doing the part i like the most--the hand quilting!  ***  heat continues here but hey, it's summer right?  with august only 2 weeks from today, many say it'll starting cooling a bit in another month or so.  and it's another busy week for someone who has no real job; makes me feel like a malingerer or some kind of slug...so i've had to ignore those feelings and keep busy doing meaningful things....aside from surfing the web, that is!