saturday sewing....

woke up to downright CHILLY air but ooooh so refreshing!  did a bit of sewing yesterday to show....first up "carolina" block for farmer's wife....

think there are about 17 left to do on this sew along....then came christmas!  might rename this "cotton candy christmas" because of the colors....

still haven't swapped out the blah green one, but it's a work in progress....although i love that michael miller print, am finding it is really difficult to work with in a project like this....may end up redo on more of these than i'd like....or maybe stick to the red and green solid?   or keep it as an example of color gone wrong?  but this next piece came out just right!

with pumpkins aplenty floating all over facebook and yahoo, jumped right in and sewed up this little piece.   the triangle units and stars were already on hand from previous swaps, so an aha moment reminded me to use them up!   the flash on the camera shows this lighter than actual, but not as dark as the pattern, which was more primitive-y...it'll get hand quilted and displayed with other fall theme items....i toyed with the idea of more string type pumpkins, but time didn't permit.  ***  and now that housework is done, time to tackle 365 and maybe a pot of soup....sounds good!

time for a finish...

but first, my little blueberry clock is back on the wall after 1.5 years in a box and then getting new hands....so happy to have it home at last....

and the lady of the lake swap blocks have been finished into a donation quilt...they are sooo pretty and glad i opted for 2 rounds to give me enough for a good sized flimsy....

closing in on another finish but not sure it'll be done before september flies....seems so warm to me for september, hovering around 80s all week...but, as john belushi says, but nooooo!

saturday surprise

it was about 4 pm when finally got dressed (yeah, i know) after sewing a good portion of the day...decided to mosey on down to the mailbox and look what was waiting....

a fat 8th bundle of jo morton's "gratitude" with coordinating bella solids AND aurifil thread!!!!   you can bet my quilty to-do list just got a tad longer....oh yes, thinking of a di ford project here...these are soo beautiful...i confess i had a 15-minute pity party this afternoon after a very nice day sewing and roasting a chicken.   the job hunt has been a bust and some pressing big ticket needs were on my mind.  a chat with an internet pal cancelled that party pronto and then this.....i'm humbled, thankful, blessed and feeling totally unworthy of such blessings and guilty for even 15 minutes of the poor mes....

video recommendation...

yesterday morning getting ready to sew, popped in this video i found on the bookmobile...only an hour long but it was jam-packed with inspiration, ideas and enjoyment.  can heartily recommend it to see...five minutes in and my fingers were itching, my brain was whirring and the old viking and i were in sync...

reminded me of that oldie but goodie "quilts in womens' lives", another video well worth watching.  i  was block sewing of course, but the video gave me a sense of freedom and serendipity that took my "in the box" blocks to a new level.   first up was the next christmas block. this high contrast block was exactly what was needed.  have decided to replace the 2 blocks to the left....the polka dots are nice but too distracting from the focus fabric.  the lime with red/white print is a washout....the fabrics are nice but it takes more than good fabric to make a quilt work.   magazines show us quilts all the time that are ho-hum just to feature a fabric line, which defeats the purpose.   the 2 duds will go in the orphan block pile...anxious now to see the changes and a project with a bit more va-voom, if you know what i mean....

at day's end, my creative muse had been satisfied and 5 more blocks for 365 got finished as well....today's agenda includes some farmer's wife blocks along with 365....or maybe a quilt to be tied?   now into the shower to get this day started!

show and share...

today linking up with cynthia's orphan adoption day....two littles looking for a new home....first is a small set of churn dash blocks made with jo morton's red variety line...i've made a couple of wallhangings with these fabrics that i love and maybe you will too.    next is another small project, some precut plaid hearts gifted to me.   again, made 2 wallhangings with these and hate to see them relegated to the back burner.  these are FREE to a good home only, and will even pay first class postage to your US destination.   but they MUST be loved and FINISHED; would love to see a photo from you when they are....any takers?

now hop on over to see what else is available to adopt!

eleventh hour post....

had a busy day and after arriving home, had a teensy weensy nap and then a bit of caffeine, so got a second wind.....wanted to show my latest blocks.   now into september with these; skipped over the sept 1st 12" corner block as another will be posted in a couple of weeks, so will do them both at once.

figured would continue with these since the pile of dark fabrics are at hand and no room for a different pile on the table.   ***  at the senior center today, our little group spent time going thru fabrics on hand and lots of donations that had accumulated over the years.  some had to be eliminated as not appropriate for quilts or other projects, but it was heart wrenching to see.  mostly others did the weeding out and i tried not to look....my frugal dna was in overdrive, even though i knew they were doing the right thing.  my sufficient stash at home helped keep the fabric rescuer in me at bay.  ***  an empty schedule tomorrow means a full day of sewing....aaahhhhh!

scraps dwindling???

on my ironing station is a pile of dark scraps i've been using for my 365 blocks....and what the hey?? they are actually disappearing....albeit slowly, but disappearing nonetheless.   will have to go shopping in the stash and pull a few more as there are more tiny dark blocks in my future.   here is today's batch.   one more little block and i'll be in september.   the september 1st block is the first large corner block (12") of the final border, so the end is in sight.  

one little block a day didn't sound like much in january, but mostly doing them in batches and--no surprise--it has been more time consuming than it sounded.  ***  as for farmer's wife, i'm 22 blocks from being done and not sure the sew-along will be done by then, but hoping i can wrap mine up by the end of the year.  before september ends, have another donation quilt to tie and bind, and before october ends, another donation quilt has to be completed.  ***  and don't forget, UFO adoption starts friday over here !  might have a few small projects than need new homes.....

slow progress but progress...

another little block done for MMC  (modern magical christmas) because of an uber-busy week with lots of time spent at various meetings and some mundane tasks.   the digital camera has grayed out this green background fabric, which is much brighter in person but looks oh-so washed out here.  guessing the flash wasn't enough with window blinds closed.   i'll keep it in, just not close by the one above.  loving this color palette....21 blocks more so it'll be pretty colorful when all together!

quick show 'n tell...

got few more blocks done, farmer's wife and another magic of christmas, which i'm calling magical modern christmas....blistering hot rest of week so no doubt will get more 365 blocks done and MMC #4....have a good day and stay cooool!

monday design wall

just like that, was 16 blocks behind in the 365, 2 behind with farmer's wife, a westering women and magic of christmas block to do also, so fired up the old viking and got to it....results?

westering women block 8 and magic of christmas 2 done  (3 was posted today!!!)....and the afternoon was dedicated to 365, knocking off  another 5 challenging blocks

leaving me 11 behind, one which is a light 12" corner block, plus 2 farmer's wife and 1 magic of christmas....the sun has set and the old viking is ready for cooling off and another lint cleanout....one caveat:  don't set your pincushion on the directions....otherwise pretty happy with every one. *** still looking for part-time work but keeping busy nonetheless.  and september already?  but this is maryland, not maine, and summer is far from over, although a few days without a/c has been heavenly.   now, off to start the week!