new year, new month, new day, new projects!

the new year is hardly here and already planning a couple more new projects...is that revolting or what????  it's the malady called quilting i'm afraid.  starting january 31st, last wednesday of the month, barbara brackman (she of time warp stars fame) is beginning a new BOM.   i've got the fabric, i can make the time so i'm in.  is my "stars" quilt done?  of course not!   do i NEED another project??  no way!  regardless, i'm still in.  ***  and then there's barb, barb vedder of "fun with barb," who is starting a churn dash with sign-ups next week.  had already planned a kaffe project when i saw this, had the background fabric as well and had a pattern in mind but found this, so i'm giving it a go. 

the background is a bit lighter than i had chosen on the internet, but decided to use it anyway, one of the pitfalls of ordering online.  it'll work just fine.  two very different fabric styles so it should be fun and interesting.  i've got a few days to tidy up, fine-tune betty, get some much-needed housework done and get a bit more organized.  now that some energy has returned, gotta start the new year right!

tally up!

reckoning day has arrived....the numbers have been duly crunched....and the result is.....40 yards USED and 21 yards ADDED for 2017!   even with my fuzzy math, that is a net used of 19 yards!  those yards are gone and outta here....some went for lap robes, some went for finished UFOs....these figures do not calculate the UFOs still waiting for a finish or the 3 projects started this year...only 3?  remarkable restraint, considering how easy it is to get sidetracked with tantalizing internet photos.  not included in this tally was fabric used for doll clothes and some minimal fabric used to finish up cross-stitch projects, probably the most satisfying finishes as they had been tucked away in a tote for so long, too long.  time is fleeting, bodies age, faculties diminish, so it's imperative to use time wisely, live each day to the fullest, spend those minutes and hours and not let them just slip thru our fingers.  a happy quilting/sewing/stitching new year to you all!

my 12 "scrap attack" list

when i posted this, neglected to list my 12 monthly scrap tasks....i've listed them in no particular order, but will be starting with the orange mod flimsy in january to empty the shoebox and get it in the "baste and quilt" pile.  it's half done so should be a quick finish.  the scrap basket project is listed twice for obvious reasons. 

1. cut up scrap basket scraps....empty basket

2. finish inchie project in progress using 1.5" scraps and empty drawer!

3. empty selvedge shoebox making potholders

4. make scrappy DWR flimsy using scraps

5. finish repro bricks project and empty drawer

6. pull out 2.5"strips shoebox and get a top done

7. sew up 4-patches using 2" squares already cut

8. cut orange peels from jo morton charms

9. finish up cheddar/indigo scraps on a wallhanging

10.  make flimsy triangle plaid scraps

11.  finish mod orange flimsy and empty shoebox

12. cut up scrap basket scraps...empty basket AGAIN!

this list is pretty daunting but won't consider it etched in stone with some wiggle room.  whatever scraps get used up will be a plus!   now off to start my household to-do list and finish another UFO before 2018 arrives!

calling all quilters!

earlier this year, I posted information to help those affected in Texas by Hurricane Harvey.  Another opportunity has come to light to help California fire victims....

Ventura (CA) guild is collecting blocks to assemble quilts for fire victim relief efforts.   At first I thought they were looking for orphan blocks, but instead have requested the above pattern be used.   if you've got scraps, won't you take a few minutes and whip up a few and send them along.  for additional information or to learn more, go to:

 http://www.venturamodernquiltguild.com/2017/12/11/thomas-fire-blocks/

while we all go about our normal daily routine, these fires continue to rage and destroy and displace families.  we as quilters have always risen to the call for a need, and i'm guessing the need will be ongoing for some time.  feel free to share this on your own blog or with your guild. 

Requiem

with the passing of my last remaining paternal aunt on monday, my father's family of origin is now once again all together in heaven.  my grandmother, the pastry cook; my grandfather whom I never knew;  aunt dorothy, the sensible devout one; aunt lillian, the bossy can-do one; aunt madeline, the worry-wart energizer bunny; uncle ronald, the pampered one; my dad, the outgoing farmer at heart; aunt beverly, the compassionate and caring one....all now joined by aunt carol, the baby and self-absorbed one.  these are people with whom I spent most of my growing up years.  We were quite a gang at holiday dinners and beach outings.  From them I learned to embroider and knit, family secrets from long ago, corny jokes, met missionaries and talented musicians, spent time with their chickens and in their gardens.  peonies, sweet peas and hollyhocks will always remind me of my grandmother's favorites.  I was her designated donut shaker and donned a nurse's cap to bring her pills when she was sick.  my aunts would take me into the wild surf and pull me up high to jump icy waves.  special dresses were sewn for me by them. from them I learned to love piano music as two of them played.  it was inevitable, of course, that this would happen.  saying good-bye one by one tricked me into thinking it would never be so, but it is.  only photographs remain and the void, of course, that can never be filled. 

scrap attack for 2018

sarah is spearheading this 2018 challenge and although i am already committed to stash busting, attacking the scraps isn't far behind.  it does appear, though, that hers are more out of control than mine (or does it?) with the exception of "the basket" that has had to wait until i'm cleared for serious rotary cutting. 

and i do happen to have a scrappy DWR in the works as well.....

then there are those constantly reproducing selvedges i use for potholders, a project that got set aside earlier

and then there's this drawer full of inchies, 1.5" squares, that also multiply like rabbits no matter how many one uses......

and lastly this stack of precut scraps just waiting their turn to be used and escape their plastic prison....

so am i in with this challenge? it appears i have met the requirements....care to join in the fun?

onward to 2018!

Christmas is over...mine was very quiet with no big celebration for various reasons, so i began the new year purge. went thru desk drawers and tossed stuff, cleared away clutter from when i was recuperating, snacked for meals instead of cooking anything, put up the 2018 calendars, reorganized some of the sewing corner.  later this week can get reacquainted with vacuuming and mopping--not a moment too soon!

the start of a new year is always exciting to me, this year especially so.  with bypass boot camp ahead (also known as cardiac rehab), hoping to be 110% afterward--just in time for mid-atlantic spring days.  though there are ever-present financial challenges, still feeling totally blessed after this very long surgical siege.  every day feeling more and more like myself and doing more and more of my normal stuff.  many told me this would happen and even tho couldn't believe it some days, it's becoming a reality.  praying for God's continued watchful care today, tomorrow and every day ahead.  now back to UFO busting!

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...