the monday list

monday once again and very fine in the weather department....61 degrees at 7 am!   there is a hint of fall in the air, and the kiddos are back in school as of today.   the cooler air is invigorating so got right at it, but first a tiny finish....the pink virginia reel is done via sparse machine quilting (the only kind i do) and leftover binding.  not perfect but it'll make a great placemat and stains won't phase me.

 
basically i wanted to try the little blocks and found they are too small for my liking, but it's pretty and useful, if not perfect....next was to baste the 12 days.  pulled out a piece of fleece that was larger than needed and remembered another small thing that was ready for basting, so was able to bust the entire piece....

these will be sparsely hand quilted and bound...both are smaller than the pink and will use up only about a yard (if lucky) for all three, BUT it's 3 dones from the UFO list.   and over the weekend washed/dried my versailles giveaway pile...these are straight quarter yards and not FQs but not an issue at all...and they look sorta dutch chintz in a way, don't you think?   at least the colors are....thinking about making 4 feathered star blocks or maybe some lucy boston POTC blocks, which would really highlight the fabrics.  

would love a few more yards of the tiny blue dots....makes great background fabric!  ***  it's going to be a very nice late summer week culminating in my birthday, my first in Maryland....

sew along saturday...

up early and already at the old viking playing catch up on sew along blocks....here are the last 2 (until next week) of the farmer's wife....dinah and augusta....before putting this top together, some squaring up will be required

next up are 365 blocks and with pretty much the whole day ahead, should get those done as well...and have you seen these?   it's 'gratitude', jo morton's first fabric line with moda, and they are pretty darn gorgeous...i could sure enjoy a FQ bundle of these or, better yet, a half yard bundle...LOL!  

would they make some really nice vintage looking patriotic wall hangings?   yes indeed....

thursday blocks

starlight, matilda and carol....that gives me a total of 62 done, 26 more to reach the 88 needed for a twin size quilt top.   background material is on the shelf.  when this sew along started, 2-3 blocks per week were being posted, but now it's down to one so doesn't look like they'll all be done by the end of 2016 unless i forge ahead on my own.   sorta rests on my other sew alongs, holiday sewing, UFO sewing and what else is going on.  still looking for work and checking out other things that are contingent on finances.  with august whizzing by, that leaves a mere 4 too-short months until another year arrives and the UFO list still looms large....right now quilting and sewing take up most of my free time and while i'm fortunate to have this, occasionally feel the need to do something different.  for now will keep on keeping on and be attentive to options that present themselves....  

owning up....

at august guild meeting, there was a local vendor from WV with--what else--fabric at rock bottom prices...was feeling celebratory as it's my birthday month and well, one thing led to another, and before you can say "i'll take a yard" ended up with 4 yards of fabric, but the kicker is that the total budget hit was LESS THAN $9...that's right, a whopping $2-ish per yard...now these are marden type fabrics, meaning leftovers from years past but good quality cottons. i needed some solid black but none was available, but found these....

the lights are for the next round of 365, the teal/purple prints too pretty to pass by, the top fabric reminded me of turkish or tuscan walls, and can't leave candy canes behind, especially with a blue background.   except for the lights, have no project in mind for these but one day the right pattern will come along, i'm sure of it.  i still need some solid black, like 2 yards, but all in all, have done well curtailing retail fabric therapy this year so far...only 4 months left and am hoping to fit some new jo mortons into the budget, but that should be all.  ***  thinking more and more about machine quilting the little christmas and little pink virginia reel....so many seams, and this would give me a couple of quick finishes....then can focus on finishing my current donation quilt and keeping current with sew alongs....so watch this space!

in the house....

and sooo pretty too!   thank you henry glass fabrics AND the fedex driver!

design wall monday

with no other tasks on the to-do list, was able to start my day with the old viking--recently oiled and cleaned up and ready for action!   first thing was the 365 block for today, done!   next up tackled some secret christmas sewing.  then tackled the 12 days of christmas blocks that are now a little flimsy, about placemat size. 

needs to be trimmed to size for basting, quilting and finish....i have a pretty Christmas stripe i think i'll use for binding; either that or some polka dots.   then moved right along to this as was anxious to sew with these pretty fabrics...

the limes matched in regular daylight but not quite with camera flsh.   ***   and when life sends zucchini my way, i make zucchini bread, complete with raisins and walnuts...it makes a big pan so half always goes into the freezer...love it toasted for breakfast.  oooh, the aroma of spices is filling the apartment!

and last, but not least, got a lovely email from lisa at henry glass fabrics...i won a giveaway of some beautiful new fabric...how great is that!   it's journey to versailles and gorgeous blues, reds and creams....in fact, the entire line is sooo pretty.   check it out! 

so, spent every minute of this day; will get my dishes washed and then relax with some quilting...and this busy monday will be history....

sweet sight!

whew, after two and one-half days of sewing, just this afternoon got current on my 365 blocks!   this certainly feels good....block for august 15 is in my inbox but not looking at it until tomorrow....and next up is farmer's wife....could get very used to this new trend!   here are the latest..

the lower left block has a corner that's a tad larger due to the way it was trimmed...and notice the date in the upper left corner...today!!!   

horse before cart....

while clearing off the ironing table, happened to glance over and saw an unfinished christmas project from last year--the 12 days of christmas tiny blocks--and realized that planning yet another christmas project was putting the cart before the horse, so pulled out the 12 days and did some auditioning to get this into a flimsy and then a finish for ? maybe august ? september...

these blocks are tiny, meaning 3"....like the 365 blocks....and shopped the stash once more for a suitable green....they all work but leaning toward upper left or upper right.   basting table is still up, so now that scraps under control, a basting day is on tap for sometime next week.   ***  it seems like i've sewn a tremendous amount this year but without enough finishes to support the effort.   makes me realize just how much sewing time the 365 has consumed.   more discouraging is the measly yardage busted as many of the actual finishes were small pieces, not all big quilts.  so, with 4.5 months left in 2016, maybe can get at least a couple of bigger quilts done and rack up a respectable use of actual fabric.  in any case, enjoying the process and whatever doesn't get used will still be there for shopping and sewing fun.   

back on track

after a mini-detour, today printed up the most recent blocks and got these done today....looking pretty good i think...can definitely see improvement in my machine piecing efforts...

up to august 4th, but you can see that a few hours of sewing is really productive.  but before these got sewn, westering women block 7 was put together, so current on something at least...

and inbetween went shopping in my stash. while trolling the internet and various blogs, stumbled on a christmas sew along, 25 blocks measuring 6" finished....pulling these helped quick start my mojo.  would like to participate in this christmas sew-along, but ultimately hinges on other fall commitments....it sure was fun shopping anyway....aren't they pretty?  

and thanks to the camera, see that the turquoise is a bit too dark so back to the store...LOL!

double vision?

not really, if you look close that is....both wall pieces are now flimsies and there were 4 little 9-patch squares left that have gone into the orphan block pile.  really like how they turned out....finishes for 2017 maybe? 

and a heartwarming sight indeed....an empty scrap basket!   i'll be needing a new rotary cutter blade, and all the little units have been put away in their shoeboxes....will be cruising for patterns for 2.5" strips and squares as that shoebox is chock full now.  

ventured outside for a very few minutes as the bookmobile was here.   this is a fantastic benefit..it comes twice a month and all i have to do is reserve stuff online and pick it up.  today's haul was 4 dvds and 3 books.   didn't dawdle as it was quite hot and oppressive.  ***  next task?  print out sew-along block instructions and start sewing!