super saturday!

exactly as weatherman had predicted (how spooky is that?) about 2 pm it turned dark and very windy and temps began to plummet...in 3 hours went from 68 degrees to 40 degrees....no matter to me....was engrossed in this that the mailman brought...

which had tons of eye candy and great articles, not to mention this...a gorgeous quilt by jo morton...

which had me drooling, but with laundry done was time to start supper....and what better for cold and blustery than this....clam chowder!   the simple new england kind with NO celery, NO flour, NO crazy herbs of any kind....just chowder with a dash of leftover cream added....mmm mmmm good!

will taste even better tomorrow....so fortunate that my local market carries the chopped sea clams normally used, since fresh, whole, shucked are exorbitantly priced.  will provid needed sustenance for mega cleaning before company arrives early next week....

on the wall....

today finally got around to hanging this piece that has been rolled up on the floor since moving in...

another of my imperfect pieces; actually this was a replacement for an earlier one that got trashed.  it could use more quilting in the white spaces if motivated to do so.   while tidying up, noticed this horror......

put this runner together eons ago from some squares inherited from the ex's aunt, most likely made by his grandmother....now that i've been instructed on old fabric types, can clearly see this brown stripe (lower right corner)  that has now horribly faded due to direct sunlight.  most of these fabrics are 30s era but thinking the stripe is older than that...immediately pulled it out of harm's way and it'll get put away.  and just for reference,  got out some broken dishes squares taken from a quilt top given to me probably around 1990 or so.   they are hand sewn.  the top needs some mending, and since it was quite large, removed one row for repair squares....but nothing like the brown stripe in these.  will defer to my pals cyndi and wendy for their learned opinions....

the colors are spectacular as the quilt was never finished, never used or laundered.  it's a someday project....remainder of the weekend goes to thorough cleaning of the apartment, finishing up my portion of the guild's raffle quilt and finishing up a donation quilt.   in the good news/bad news department, the 365 turns the corner today with the start of 6" squares for the final border.  won't divulge how far behind, but after the holiday this project will be my BFF.....or at least until the end of the year!

gone!

that would be another 3.5 yards outta my stash...

this issue of 100 blocks came to me in a giveaway and right away spied this block (left side) that was scrappy friendly...

my blocks were done in a variety of solids with the side/top sashing a charcoal....ran out of charcoal so for the last row, added 6" border of solid black on each side along with 2" top and bottom....no longer hiding out in the elfa drawer, but will get tied by some willing hands for a worthy cause.   ***  continuing to work on guild raffle quilt with a probable finish before week's end.....donation quilt all quilted and ready to bind and get mailed first of december...365 lags further behind but still hope to finish up by end of december, that and farmer's wife.   ***  christmas sewing plans finalized and easily do-able with other sewing.   ***  another year is nearly history, one that had big changes for me but at home and fully settled.  have navigated single and finally living alone--and loving it--with few blips although budget still very much a concern.  it seems that formal work is really behind me for good and although have plenty to fill my days, still feel too young to be shelved.  fortunate that gratitude for each day, and the Lord's pleasure to grant me same, plus creativity keep me engaged and involved, albeit with no extra income for many fun things.  things could be a lot worse....fortunately plenty of UFOs on hand for hours of free entertainment  ***  lastly, menu tip for the cost conscious...tweaked mac and cheese using half cheddar, half taco cheese, adding few slices of chopped pepperoni and sliced cherry tomatoes, divvied up in ramekins and popped in freezer....not boring at all!

thinking ahead....

last week a friend and I visited a new guild for an amazing program featuring WWII quilts collector Sue Reich...by all means go to hear her and see her quilts if you can....so interesting!   at the end of the evening, my friend won a door prize....this book

but after leafing through it and finding many applique projects (which she doesn't do), she passed it along to me...how lucky!  spied several possible projects (like I needed more!!!) and, with stash in mind, immediately honed in on this one....

tho a pillow is pictured, opted for a small valentiney wallhanging instead....so this morning (up 5 am) pulled out my fabrics and got it started....

hoping this will get done and NOT end up on the UFO list for next year.  along with this, made binding for donation quilt that's almost done, worked on guild's raffle quilt, some housecleaning, made a chocolate cream pie (yummm), cut background squares for a new project, sewed up some units for another project, puttered and organized in sewing space, made a christmas to-do list.....i guess that's about it....and there is plenty of day left so without further adieu.....

never forgotten....

my dad, a WWII vet of utah beach, at rest now for 14 years....he never talked about the war even tho we had a ton of grainy, sepia-toned photos of many fellow GIs....the few comments he made during my lifetime were casual things....scrambling eggs in his helmet, sights seen in paris, a glimpse of bing crosby....but the impact of war on his life was immeasurable with him fading away like most WWII vets from a constellation of ailments and then multi-system failure.  his corny jokes and tender heart live on through us.....just another imperfect human who left a great legacy....one of so many who served, worthy of all our honor and thanks....

still waging my own battle with 365 blocks....4 more added to the pile and still 21 blocks behind...hoping this weekend will afford some time to shorten the gap, eventually to win this war by december's end.  

a peek at upcoming blocks revealed some HUGE challenges....like a tree of life....in 3.5"??? are you kidding???  

november and flowers?

yes, even though we have plenty of this in the neighborhood...

this being the northernmost southern state, there are also these still blooming everywhere....some variety of a bush rose....they bloom continuously all summer and into the fall apparently...

drive by these often and just had to snap a photo....these are a lovely pink.....the tree photo was taken at a local state park, Gambrill, about 5-6 miles from here....up a small mountain with plenty of views overlooking the valleys.....built by the CCC back in the 1930s.   lots of picnic spots with grills too....will have to visit next summer and (make note) take hot dogs!!!   ****  upcoming church bazaar means tuesdays are ultra-busy sewing up tied quilts and other items for sale.  have contributed one bed size flimsy with another nearly done, which partly explains why my own sewing is lagging.  quilting on the donation quilt is nearly finished, thinking another week or so should see it done.  then can devote more time to 365, finishing farmer's wife (for which all background triangles have been readied) and the last few westering women.  empty spools are piling up as it has been a banner sewing year for me!

latest batch...

of  365 blocks, that is...still just under 3 weeks behind on this sew along that is plugging along at a snail's pace.  with the holiday closing in, going to make a supreme effort to be current before family arrives later this month.

funny how some go together smoothly but others are a huge challenge...the bottom row far left was a nightmare, one of the worst of the year, but it's passable and hoping will blend in ok with the finished project.   choosing fabrics randomly also results in some surprises as in the top right.   there are 3 corner blocks that are 12.5" unfinished waiting as well, but thought would hold off and do all at once and use same fabrics.   if your interest in this has been piqued, it's being run again next year--same patterns--for newbies or those on the fence or some who dropped out/fell behind.   even if january is catch up month for me, anxious to get this flimsy done.  hoping to make 2017 a year of wiping out old UFOs....  all in all, have to say in spite of the elephantine challenge, has been interesting and a boon to my machine piecing skills overall regardless of some that are far from perfect.

first friday finish

here we are solidly on the road to thanksgiving and my first november finish!  it's a table runner, pattern by kim diehl....quilted sparsely to hold it together, busting a mere 3/4 yard of fabric in total, but it's done. i think this came from her book "simple blessings".....

it's sitting atop a small bookcase flung to me recently, along with a small end table, that completes my furniture needs for the apartment.  this is in the bedroom holding a small collection of books and a few display items.   the end table is next to my quilting chair, freeing up a tray table that can now function as the dining room, as there is no eating space per se.  all the needed things now are smallish items that will come in time.  since the bed arrived, the echo is gone and it feels like a real home---plenty of sewing space, plenty of living space....feeling very blessed!

holiday baking

some time in the last year, a blogger had links to several Christmas projects....found this called 'christmas baubles' by jen daly for the moda bakeshop.  with endless fabric combinations in the stash, started with this one....

still need to move some squares around and add borders, but so far looking good i think....already my mind is veering off to kaffe fassett fabrics?  batiks?   civil war repros?   any fabric style would work, depending on your decor and/or stash.....***  october is just about gone and, shamefully, have not finished one UFO....did bust a fair amount of fabric and basted quite a few items, so hoping november will fare better.  with the end of the year looming, plus planned finish of 2 big sew alongs, the 2017 UFO list will still be way too long.....not too many new things started this year and not very many new fabric to tempt me, which should help.  *** and a BIG thanks for those of you who commented on the previous post....

extra! extra!

imagine, here in maryland a mere 7 months and 5 days and already making headlines!!!  well, on a small scale, that is....it's the senior center newsletter and here is my hawaiian and the other blue ribbon winner by my fellow super quilter, emilie, pictured.  the only blue ribbons of the senior center, that is. 

unlike some quilters who start every project with visions of big ribbons and even bigger payoffs, this project was started for one reason alone...the quilting.  my fingers tingled to get to the echo quilting, with the applique part a means to the center of the tootsie pop, if you will.  will probably never ever seek another blue ribbon, though i didn't this time either...i simply wanted to show off my beautiful quilt, as i was as stunned as anyone about its beauty.  and truth is, anyone can be an excellent quilter...it just takes practice and the sheer love of doing it!