in the hoop

a few years ago lucky enough to win a layer cake of sandy gervais' "rambling rose" fabrics. made up this little wallhanging with some of that and it is now in the hoop and should be finished by week's end.  goodbye another UFO!  i love the delicate colors in this fabric line....

this was the doll quilt i sent along to mary ellen in lori aka humble quilts' annual swap.  it was well received, which is always nice.  with a significant repro stash, it's easy to find ideas for small projects like this...

and a couple of more shots of the ocean venue visited recently....

the beach really is quite narrow and long and the one "in your face" view is the infamous bay bridge.  there are plenty of shady places to sit and grill and just chill out though....and today i do mean chill....it's only 48 degrees here now.  another lovely monday and a whole week ahead.   later on will pick up the senior center's quilt of valor and bring that home to finish the quilting.  other than a few household things, plenty of sewing time available....keep calm and quilt on!

offered......

this is a quilt top given to me by a friend who was collecting items for a church yard sale back in the early 1980s.  it is a TOP ONLY, hand pieced, broken dishes pattern.  a prominent new england quilt historian inquired about purchasing this back then, but had visions of repairing and completing it myself.  fast forward 30 years and i realize that will probably never happen. the colors are like new as it has never been laundered.  i have a ballpark idea of its value, but willing to consider any reasonable offer.  some repairs are needed, primarily seams.  an entire row was removed by me and separated into blocks for any fixes to maintain the integrity of the original and would be included of course.   it was made by a massachusetts lady who attended the episcopal church in brockton, massachusetts; no other information is known by me.  please e-mail if require further information, close-up photos, etc. 

ho-hum day...

well at the moment, anyway....weather is still cloudy and cool, no big plans for the weekend aside from household stuff.  i have gotten the "bargain basement" ready for borders, though, and here it is...

next comes a narrow cheddar border and then a pieced triangle border of red and neutrals...this would be ideal for somebody's log cabin, eh bonnie?   ***  a few years ago, my sister--the soon-to-be college grad--gifted me a roll of 90" wide batting that is still supplying me with batts big and small.  i estimate there are still 4-5 large quilt batts on that roll plus the ones already basted and waiting for quilting.  hoping that this summer will be able to finish up enough UFO flimsies to use up the roll...once the hot weather arrives, will be easy to crank up the A/C and sew, sew, sew!

something new

since recently busted a fair amount of yardage, pulled out this pattern and started sewing up something colorful for my door.  the blue narrow piece is from the "row by row" fabric collection and with the little boats was just perfect.  first i auditioned yellow for the letters, but they didn't stand out enough so orange did the trick.  the boats are a batik and my lobster print was perfect for the background.  the vertical design of the center square makes it look a bit wonky, so the jury is still out but i love the colors....anyway, it's a work in progress

normally red/white/blue is my go-to combo for summer, but i've a couple of things planned for those colors and thought the warm tones would evoke summer better....got more of my solid bow ties done and have another wallhanging UFO half quilted, so stash busting continues here during this short spell of rainy weather.   also putting together my "bargain basement" from bonnie hunter's book "scraps and shirttails", a pattern i've not seen widely used.  she used a lot of dark plaids in hers whereas i've chosen a greater amount of lighter plaids--anxious to get the top finished and have a good look.   ***  been in kind of a blue funk past week or so for a lot of reasons, but ventured out to guild last night and it helped chase away the poor me syndrome.  the budget--or lack thereof--is a huge wearing concern with few options for solving.  but since i'm blessed in many ways, not the least of which is sewing materials, hope to keep mind occupied and gray matter humming....

recent finishes...

2017 means i've been quilting now for 38 years and it appears have finally learned how to make log cabins....not without my trusty cheat sheet tho...here's a photo of the scrappy flimsy recently donated to disaster relief to finish and get outta my UFO pile...

the blocks finished at 7.5" and made hardly a dent in my strip tote--guess i'll have to make a couple more.   streak of lightning is one of my fave settings, that and courthouse steps.

and another UFO that got finished and donated is the westering women sew-along.  both of these busted 7.25 yards.  two other items--lap robe and doll quilt swap--busted another 3.5 yards, so definitely on the downward slope

these 2 photos were taken with my phone, so colors and lighting not optimal but you get the idea.  *** another summer day has dawned and the laundry pile awaits....

the un-swap day

new header photo of the blooming roses in the front yard here....the yellow ones are starting to bloom as well....summer is here even though it's going to be a coolish week, like high 60s every day....enjoying the sun and breezes before rain comes for the rest of the week....

missed today's quilt meeting and also the mug rug swap....here's mine that i made....so summery i think....will put aside for another use i guess....

and here's a photo of the milky way masquerade all done....busted 7 yards on this twin size quilt...the colors really zing....batiks, you know...

still here....

but without photos today I'm afraid....not that I haven't been busy....milky way is almost done, finished up the scrappy log cabin flimsy and that has been donated, 2 lap robes done and ready to go, plus finished DD's top....will post photos when able....summer has arrived in Maryland so the a/c is on and my beach pass is at the ready--a great time to quilt!

a foul deed....

This beautiful Lakota star quilt was stolen off the altar of a church in Pine Ridge, South Dakota yesterday.   The evil that men--and sometimes women--do takes no holiday...ever.   I saw this on facebook first thing this morning and was sickened.   Our native citizens have already suffered way more than is humanly tolerable and this just adds to the insult.   Hoping that by getting the word out, this will lose its value for the perp and be returned unscathed.  If I were flush, I'd rent a billboard.  ***  the weekend is here and my to-do list is in good shape.  have to add re-washing kitchen floor after dropping entire jar of applesauce that shattered and splattered.  doll quilt is done and ready to mail.  log cabin flimsy done and outta here.  just 3 lap robes to finish and a summer top for the DD and I can get back to UFOs in earnest.  taking a summer break from charity sewing and already have more than enough projects lined up....job?  who has time for a job???

design wall monday

even though it's a cloudy and rainy monday here, my heart is joyful....something about Easter monday always makes me feel good....the tragedy and horror of the crucifixion is over and resurrection has breathed new life into the world....

so, been playing in the plaids today....no doubt bonnie hunter will recognize these blocks.  since my charity and swap sewing is on track and nearly done, took a break for some stash fun. 

this is bonnie's 'bargain basement' pattern that have been itching to do....total of 42 blocks are needed plus a couple of nice borders.  just happened to have some little 3.5" solid squares in the elfa drawer waiting for this project.  will be great for hand quilting too....stay tuned!

and the other day got re-acquainted with this UFO of some hand-pieced bow tie blocks, also in solid...

the little 4-patches were made up of some tiny sample squares flung to me a couple of years ago, and the plum strips are repurposed from another project, leading to this...

this flimsy will need a total of 20 blocks of 16 little bow tie blocks...i've got 7 blocks done so nearly halfway there....but still need about 200 bow ties.   so you see, i AM trying very hard to use up my stash but still don't seem to be sewing fast enough.....does anyone really?  ***  as far as adding to the stash, i caved this year for jo morton's little women club from busy thimble in maine, which should arrive soon.  that plus the current UFOs are on my summer sewing list, while a much-needed break from charity work is planned.  but you know what they say about plans....LOL!

happy easter!

 

 

my second Easter here in the south and it's gonna be a warm one, like 85 degrees!  sending Easter and Passover greetings to all my blog readers....