it's official!

yesterday, sarah posted details of the blog hop "12 days of christmas in july" and it does start on July 14th...the day before my post!   i've "borrowed" her announcement photo, but you should definitely visit her for all the details....

spent entire sewing day monday working on the ocean waves....have begun putting rows together already!  cut a gazillion more triangles to finish up units but still have fair amount of solid stash left, of course.  but with this project have finally used up all my cherrywood solid scraps from years back when i indulged in a few of their scrap bags.  kaufman solids are another fave, and recently i've added some made in america brand solids, which are not as heavy as the kaufman, but i like the idea of buying american made goods.  ***  being further from the ocean means totally different products available in the fresh fish department at the grocery, but after having local fresh haddock for so many years, i simply cannot bring myself to buy fresh haddock from china....china???  isn't that a lot further away than new england?  

whew!

my secret sewing is finished!  all that's left to do is organize the photos and i'll be ready for christmas in july!  you may have guessed that i've been asked to participate in sarah craig's "12 days of christmas in july" blog hop (confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com)...my day will be saturday, july 15th, so check it out plus all the other wonderful christmasy projects by my fellow christmas bloggers!  i don't know exactly what day it starts, but i'll let you know.  in the meantime, since the secret stuff is done, that means the clear organizer is was empty, quickly replaced by pieces of that wonky border flimsy.  have come up with an alternative border that will preserve the triangles, but first have to remove all of them, unsew and repurpose.

unsewing is great TV watching work, so another UFO flimsy for the machine has now come to light..

it's the solids ocean waves and hoping that can get this to the flimsy stage in the next week or so.  by then should have the borders off the other one and then can rework and finish THAT flimsy.  *** it's a gorgeous monday here and windows are open wide for some fresh air sewing.  summer is 1/3 gone and making good progress on my goal of emptying boxes/bags/drawers filled with UFOs, which has also kept me from starting a whole lot of new projects.  quilting the QOV is more than half done and after that, another bed size is waiting in the wings, which should be a 2017 finish.  hoping to squeeze one more big quilt finish before 2018 arrives....and just like that, the year is half over!  fun quilty days flying by.....

sum-sum summertime!

though it's already been summer here in maryland for a bit, now it's official with temps in the high 80s every day...spent tuesday doing more of my secret sewing, but last night during quilt-cam got the binding cut and applied on this little wallhanging i'll be sending off to my mum for her door. 

if you recall, the patchwork block looked wonky because of the pattern in one of the fabrics, so i pulled it out and replaced it with this, which is better.  *** today's task is to finish the borders on the 9-patch flimsy, maybe do some baking, maybe more laundry. organizing bug into overdrive so cleaned out the laptop of any extraneous files, went thru recipe book and did likewise, next up is my box of documents.  plus there's dusting (still) and more secret sewing...who knew not working was so busy?  hoping to clear out one more UFO drawer before June is gone....and it's another gorgeous day to sew!

"she folded her napkin"

i love that line from the movie "the miracle worker" when annie sullivan's efforts resulted in improved table manners and helen's mother exclaims, "she folded her napkin!"  it's one of my favorite movies and truly defines the word 'handicap'...if anyone had reason for a life-long pity party, helen keller did, but her challenges never held her back.  anyway i digress.....monday was definitely housework day....tackled vacuuming, laundry, floors, plus sundry other cleaning tasks...and the sewing area was not exempt....she finally cleaned off the sewing table (to paraphrase)...

doesn't it look user friendly now?  i also removed the risers off the ironing table for ease of use.  since my new chair has no wheels, it works better and easier to have the table lower, since i can't wheel over to iron...i also moved the old viking to the edge of its table and created a sewing L, which also gives me more mat space.  will try it out, but think it'll be more conducive to sewing productivity...and first task is to tackle that 2nd border of triangles....i think i have enough fabric left for the outer border fix, at least on one side....it'll never be a silk purse quilt, but hopefully can elevate it from sow's ear status....then have to move on to more secret sewing and also a new little project from some orange mod waste triangles.   ***  today is dusting day and perhaps a bit more laundry too...something about a clean space that energizes me....and did i mention?  it's a beautiful summer morning!

lessons learned

spent sunday finishing borders on this flimsy.  after completed, took a photo and was not too happy....even though i followed instructions for cutting the triangles, the bias edges ended up top and bottom of the inner border and created havoc.

as you can see, the side borders aren't too wonky, but top and bottom horrific!  nothing else to do but recut making sure bias edges not at top or bottom where the border attached to squares and 2nd border.  decided to leave the sides since although not great, not nearly as bad.  so, after recutting triangles, resewing and reattaching top border, found another problem...

the top redone is better but still not great.  realized some of the issue had to be the way the borders were cut.  now, i usually always cut across the width of fabric....never been an issue until today.  went and checked the leftover yardage and it appears that while the lengthwise grain is firm, the width is a bit stretchy.  i never checked before cutting the borders....i never really have before this.  had no problem with the blocks construction.  i could remove the outer borders and replace with another fabric BUT that means disturbing the side border triangles that DO have bias edges.  either way am afraid it'll possibly be worse off than it is now.  it was going to be donated, but perhaps i'll just tie it and tuck it away for a beach blanket....no way can i simply toss all that effort and fabric.  there is a use for it somehow....but pretty sure it's the last time i cut borders across the width and not down the length....thankfully no real harm done....i've done pieced borders before, even sawtooth ones, without this much disaster....so must be the outer borders causing most of the trouble...as i have often told my daughter, live and learn!

side job

spent friday morning doing more of my secret sewing, but then dug out a piece of fabric for a chair seat cover...

this was found at the recent free yard sale.  it just needed a quick cleanup and a new seat cover.   thanks to my trusty staple gun!   i know, it's a 50s chair with a civil war cover but it works... i would like to paint it, but don't want to take time now to sand, etc.  ***  in addition to the secret sewing, pulled out a nearly flimsy and began adding the borders  so it can be moved to the ever-growing finish pile.  it, too, will be a donation quilt at some point.  ***  summer heat is here in force and sooo thankful for my cozy apartment and having my sewing stuff at hand.  making good progress on my summer goals so far and, despite numerous temptations from quilty peeps on the 'net, have ignored and avoided even brief sew along temptations...am behind on my DWR challenge but there was no deadline and it's at hand when time is available....nothing to do but keep cool and quilt on!

it's flag day and....

today would have been my dad's 92nd birthday....and who knew, he shares this day with (gulp) president trump!!!!   have no idea what my dad would have thought about that...lol!  he's been gone now 15 years...time does fly....a WW II  veteran of utah beach in july of 1944, he talked very little about his war experiences....we had a gazillion photos of GIs, none of whom he could name.  he only talked about being in Paris and seeing bing crosby, not bob hope...and of course, at mealtime we often got reminded of children rummaging thru garbage to get enough to eat.  as kids we just rolled our eyes trying to imagine anyone rummaging thru garbage to eat lima beans or brussel sprouts... 

he only liked 2 kinds of pie--hot and cold!  on his birthday, my mom would make his favorite dessert, a plain cake layered with strawberries and whipped cream...he was our family photographer/ videographer and he drove us crazy taking pictures/movies all the time, but now we are so happy he did.  he taught me how to drive a standard shift car, which obviously hastened his too-early demise...

he was a simple, uncomplicated, country boy, a godly man and a true hero....happy birthday dad!

getting ready

to celebrate a huge anniversary in our country's history...it's the 240th of flag day...tomorrow...and in preparation, sewed up another little RWB pin cushion or tuffet...

thanks to a quilty pal who shared her stars fabric with me....and here they all are!

pretty darn cute i think...and very festive....already this morning we're closing in on 90 degrees and more humid today than yesterday...no matter at all...so much better than icy roads, snowy cars and frozen fingers....made a huge dent in scraps pile that was on the floor...nearly gone and repurposed into squares and strips.  still have the full basket for another day....today it's more sewing, of course!

monday flimsy

in addition to binge watching "the keepers" on netflix, this weekend finished this flimsy that'll be added to the baste/quilt pile.  one of these days, will have another basting day to prep several things for eventual quilting.   this is a low priority finish, though.  opting for some lighter value fabrics really improved this pattern....

thinking red is the obvious and best choice for the binding....next up is to make blocks from the circus print fabrics....and then some secret sewing for a special event....there's a clue in the left side column....the heat is on for a few days, so perhaps will attack the scrap pile and chop up into strips and squares to relieve the floor from still another pile...good day all!

a definite improvement

spent entire friday morning rummaging and sorting and pulling out smaller pieces destined for the scrap basket...only problem is, they don't exactly fit in the scrap basket....so they have made their own little mountain, now waiting for the rotary cutter

ending up with these is the result of this.....a new and improved bookcase of yardage, mostly FQs and half yards, but there were more pieces of 2 yards or more than i had realized....looks better for sure!

and while i thought another bookcase like this would be needed, it appears as though that would be too much space.  thinking more clear shoeboxes would work better and be less expensive as well...a real plus!   here is what the overflow looks like; am thinking 12-15 clear shoeboxes readily available at ye olde dollar store

feel quite confident there is most certainly less fabric than when originally unpacked over a year ago.  while poring over nearly each piece, a gazillion projects came to mind, one a scrappy christmas cracker quilt, another a 5" churn dash in reds, a di ford or petra prins style medallion to name a few.  before those, some must-do finishes come first.   ***  scooted out this morning before extreme heat arrives to a local church that was having a free yard sale (oxymoronic?)....everything had been donated and apparently once a year the public is invited to come and freely take anything that is needed.  even though i arrived early, there was already a line of course.  i had a list with me and was able to find a desk chair and these vintage-y items, which were needed.  it's a great idea and a wonderful benefit for those of us who are monetarily challenged. 

now back to regularly scheduled sewing!