the tree and me...

wish everyone a Blessed Christmas!  Even though my unexpected surgery wiped out everything fun from Halloween on, made sure got my tree up and decorated.  though you can't see them, it has 4 long strings of pretty lights on it making it pretty festive. 

it'll be a different sort of Christmas celebration this year, but doesn't change the reason for the season.....and just for a chuckle....

There was an old man of Blue Hill
Who when church was quiet and still
At Christmas Eve mass
Liked to pass gas
Toward a candle, just for the thrill!

Remember, as Chuck Swindoll says..."don't sweat the small stuff and most everything IS small stuff"!

holiday finish

another UFO is escaping the 2018 list....this wallhanging of little baskets is done and ready to be gifted.  had purchased a FQ bundle of Margot Krager's Dargate Indigos and could never decide how to use them sooooo cut up the entire stack into these little applique baskets with the intention of making a large quilt, which is still on the planning list.  there were plenty to make this small piece for a quick finish.

with no real plans and iffy weather coming for Christmas, might possibly knock off one more UFO...have 2 small pieces that would like to see done before 2017 is history....but without my usual caffeine habit that could be an over-ambitious goal.  i really, REALLY miss my diet pepsi big time....

the forest thickens....

with the addition of more tree blocks....i am sooo liking the look of these so far and all from stash too!

it'll be a fun christmas quilt when done.  ***  whew, the calendar may say december but here in maryland the mercury has been hovering near 60 and 50 for the past week or so.  it has started to cool down some but definitely no white christmas.  this former new england gal has seen quite enough snow and i am loving the maryland winters a whole lot!   ***  gonna be a low key holiday here, but the real reason for the season can always be celebrated...

too early?

that would be to think about quilty goals for 2018...i don't think so!   there's a party going on over at jetgirl's blog with some super giveaways....one being the quilter's planner.   have ogled this for some time but simply cannot justify spending that much money on something that might not get used to its fullest...after all, i want to sew in my free time, not journal/write etc.  anyway, thought YOU might be interested so i'm doing this post to alert the quilty masses!  course i wouldn't turn down the other delish prizes like aurifil thread, patterns, mags etc.... as for my personal quilty goals, it's about the UFO list, the stash and just plain keep on doing what i've been doing....my "new normal" lifestyle requires regular exercise, but i'm betting there will be more energy that goes along with that, which means more time to sew/quilt/create than previously.  it's been a tough journey to this point with more work ahead that'll hopefully lead to more fun as well....a friend whose journey has been more challenging than mine always says we are not promised tomorrow and we aren't....but can enjoy THIS 24-hour slot with hope and fulfillment whatever we do...

crafts of christmas past

even though i started quilting nearly exclusively in 1979, prior to that i was a serial crafter.  each year when i unpack my ornaments, those years come wafting back to me in wonderful memories.  here is a sample of what's on my tree....

oh the hours this sampling represents!  felt and sequins and beads, oh my!  made lots of those.  the bandana ornaments were in a family circle mag eons ago.  the bell and blue were kits.  the cross-stitch ones came from a pattern--have made a ton of those and given many away.  then there was the year in ceramics...the angel, the stocking and the 3 wise men yet to be unpacked.   the pinwheels are more recent, as is the fabric star with sequins...that was a swap with the jo morton yahoo group (i made 2 of them...overachiever me)....the felt monogram mitten was just my idea using iron on alphabets.  and then there are these...

as a child, my daughter was fascinated with gumball machines and i found a kit with 2...and the butterfly was a freehand idea of mine for a niece.  we used to live near a yarn shop that carried a lot of these felt kits with sequins and beads.  she has an advent calendar--another kit--of a tree with 24 pockets each containing a little ornament for the tree...more sequins and beads....and a nice big star for the treetop.  she also has a nativity set done in crewel that came in several kits and finally got finished about 10 years ago.   now that i pretty much only quilt, my ornament days are mostly past.   luckily i get to revisit them every christmas...like most of you, no doubt.  give me any old tree--even the cheapo fake amazon i have now--but load it with lights and my ornaments and it'll always be christmas!

only 30 years or so

that's how long i've had this pattern and this quilt in the works...not that it's done yet, oh no, but i've gotten it this far....it was the applique that held me back and then i just decided to do it and if it wasn't perfect, then so what.

 

first saw this done at a show in new hampshire and bought the pattern.  i loved it then and love it still. next comes a narrow blue border, then wide muslin border with more appliques.  the fun is definitely in the process.  ***   and did manage one more tree block, a pear tree of course!

and remember my post about this?  my ikea bag and kitchen timer?  well, surprise surprise, they have

mystically re-appeared.  this has been going on since i moved in here.  somebody with a twisted sense of humor is playing cat and mouse, the invisible invader who comes into my apartment and takes inconsequential things and then returns them...things like stamps, like freezer container lids, like CDs, stuff out of my cupboard, polident tablets, a mitten, others i can't recall now and then the ikea bag and timer.  wonder if it's the same vile violator who followed me around massachusetts and stole 3 purses, tampered with my old cars, stole mortgage checks off my mailbox, a gold sand dollar necklace from a safety deposit box (plus the keys), utility and other bills from my mailbox, an amy grant CD out of my glove compartment...to name a few.  those items never found their way back--one was an especially nice leather purse from the thrift--but here at violator village they usually do.  maybe the perp thinks that redeems them....guess again.  it is never ok to violate my apartment and car whether or not things are taken and later returned.  i don't do it to anyone here and it shouldn't be done to me.  unfortunately that is life with infantile people of nearly zero integrity, not everyone here, but one is too many.  it just isn't right at all.

waiting.....

the other night during a brief period of energy, paired up most of my christmas stash for trees...and they are still waiting....

every morning have to take the new meds that nearly totally flatten me.  often i must nap and then feel draggy the rest of the day.  not complaining, mind you, as they keep (almost) everything moving and help my heart/body to heal, but for a person who was used to jumping out of bed eager for the day, it can be discouraging.  yes, have had a few small pity parties, but mostly feel thankful i've done so well in just 6 short weeks after such a grueling and brutal surgery.  whereas i often used to start  sewing right after breakfast, instead i take these meds (4) and then wait for the cannonball to hit.   i make a to-do list halfheartedly knowing it's a fool's errand.  any dedicated sewist would feel the same, i'm sure.  my previously go-to caffeine hit has been banished, so it's cold turkey with just juice and water....very poor substitutes!  plus it's another 3 meds in the evening, so it's often a double whammy.  many tell me one day i will feel absolutely terrific, much better than before the surgery, but it isn't today.  i know others might not be faring as well, for which i feel guilty and blessed...but betty is waiting and we need to play, not just to make trees but for my own mental comfort, way better than anything from a drugstore.....don't you agree?

a christmas forest

had a bit of extra energy today...and who wouldn't after 2 naps...necessitated by some required activity and recovery from a brief cardiac procedure on thursday with mostly good result.  pulled a stack of christmas prints for more scrappy trees....i am really liking how these are working up.

have been wanting to use up some of the christmas prints and this seems just the perfect project.  thinking might eliminate half of what's on the shelf; first have to decide the final size.  these blocks will measure about 7' x 9" finished and will need to accommodate a backing 72" x 90" or less.  also quilting a small piece in spare moments that will be gifted at christmas.  ***  in the meantime, recovery continues slowly but steadily.  i still get quite tired with any sustained activity and had to pass up some fun things this week due to being just plain wiped out.  next week will be six weeks from surgery and will be discussing cardiac rehab at my next follow-up visit.  i'd prefer the magic wand fix, like who wouldn't?

net surfing too much?

probably, but there are just soooo many things that tweak my quilty muse...for instance, saw a christmas tree flimsy done with scraps (of course) that just had to try.  before you can say "hello betty," i'm at the machine with some stash pieces....leading to these

can definitely see this becoming a new christmas quilt.  i had planned one using the christmas cracker pattern but liking these trees a whole lot more.  plus they work up so darn quick.  even with my abbreviated sewing time, was able to make these four pretty fast.  these aren't exactly like the top i saw, but they're my version and i'm happy with them.   ***  busy weekend that included that dreamy shower and some laundry, new post-surgery tasks for me.   weary of baby steps progress but that's how it goes.  each PT session finds me walking further but still requiring that daily nap to recoup.  managed to put up a few christmas decorations today too.  tomorrow might even manage to put away halloween stuff!

fun with betty

my machine has been feeling neglected and why shouldn't she....aside from some hand sewing and a bare few minutes at the machine, she's been idle, waiting patiently.   this morning before zombie meds take over, wanted to play a bit.  during my first hospital stay, a friend brought me this thrift store book.  inside was a very pretty plaid quilt that immediately caught my eye.  with a significant plaid stash, always on the lookout for ideas to use them. i especially love the spiral binding too!

these are a great size for quick paper piecing.  when i returned home for good, traced out a couple of triangles and pretty happy with the result.  this will be a quick project and good for hand quilting.  thinking a flannel back will make it ultra cozy. 

this is my 3rd new start this year, but still hoping to knock off a couple of small finishes before year's end putting the 2018 UFO list in good shape.  my OT kindly put up my folding table as hoping to baste a flimsy this weekend to start quilting in january.  ***  in addition to basting a quilt this weekend, laundry needs to be done and that longed-for, dreamy shower is on the list as well...hoping to eradicate the remaining tape residue from various places and feel more like a person and less like a patient....always good!