scrap attack progress

it's nearly may and time to take stock of my scrap attack goals for april....pretty slim i'm afraid. i think i made a total of 10 civil war diary blocks, a pitiful attempt at the 121 i need.  for may's scrap attack, i've chosen these leftover cheddar/indigo pieces to use.  some 4" churn dash blocks are the plan and it'll be a small wall quilt that'll finish off this pretty FQ bundle.

another UFO drawer will get emptied and, being a smallish project, should give me time to make more civil war diary blocks.  also on may's plate are 2 more gardening angel applique blocks and finish quilting the donation quilt.  switching out some projects each month avoids boredom and shortens (hopefully) my list of unfinished stuff.  trouble is, there are always more to take their place...LOL!   and just this morning, attached a sleeve to this and got it on the wall....it really brightens up my living/sewing room and gives it a bit of an exotic flair.  now off to rehab again!

sewing from stash

of course i have lots of scraps but for thursday's sewing, was able to pull from stash and start using up the inventory.   first up was a small piece made from a charm pack sent to me by vic in NH and i believe the binding material was also from her.  this is the 2nd small piece i made from the charm pack, so it's gone from the stash entirely.  i call it "tic tac autumn" and after a quick wash, it'll go in the finished tote to hang up in the fall.

next came more civil war diary quilt squares....got 3 more done and pulled from stash for these as well and some leftovers went into the scrap basket, so they are also gone from stash.   glad to see the pile of completions growing, if slowly.  part of the fun of this project is finding fabrics in the stash that match the photos...the camera flash alters the colors a bit but they do match. 

the last sewing task of the day was to work on the guild's quilt of valor flimsy....all rows are done except one and working on the sashing now.  a guild member has kindly offered to quilt it and there'll be a presentation later this year.  gosh, i love red/white/blue together, don't you? 

even tho i skipped housework for the day, didn't get to the last item on my list, which was the donation quilt.  hope to get in some time on that this morning before my cardio visit and then rehab.  and just like that, another week has flown by....how does that happen?

life's just a bowl of.....

cherrywood fabrics!  

a guild pal of mine went to paducah, so i requested a cherrywood solids scrap bag....with prices going up may 1st and being able to save shipping, it seemed like the right thing to do.  in the past i had bought 3 scrap bags and used them all up.  the colors are soo gorgeous and that suede-like finish ramps up any project several notches.   for now i'll just fondle and drool, but sorta planning on a few small amish-style wall quilts for starters.   but not today....on today's list is finish the guild's quilt of valor flimsy, bind a small UFO, do some quilting on the donation quilt and get back to the front with more civil war diary blocks....i've the whole day free and have declared it a NO HOUSEWORK day...care to join in?

a most special gift...

from a new frederick friend.   she recently took the trip of a lifetime--a long, posh plane ride to nepal where a helicopter took her up the himalayas in the shadow of everest.  breathtaking photos of a far away land and even more remote culture.  she left her fears behind and stepped out into an unexpected journey of dreams, so much more than she could have imagined.  courage, awe and excitement were her constant companions.  i consider myself fortunate to even listen to her travelogue and see her photos but then she gave me this....

halfway thru her talk i had to visit the bathroom where more were hanging on the walls...i remarked how everyone had a bathroom but not everyone had beautiful molas for decoration....and now I can decorate my own bathroom....but so much more than the gift is her friendship, her vibrant decorating flair, her sidekick furry friend, her spirituality and sense of humor.  another reason why the move was the right thing to do....i sure feel blessed.  ***  and first thing this morning, had an email declaring me a winner for this e-book giveaway....had seen some photos that piqued my interest and so glad i now have the book for even more....God knows i have plenty of scraps!

caught up!

that would be on the 'antebellum album' sew along....

with the april block due to be posted next week, was a bit late in getting march's block done, but now it is and can relax for a few days.  with weekend half remaining have made so-so progress on my list.  the small UFO is all quilted and needs to be bound.  the QOV flimsy is in progress.  the house stuff is done and food and clean clothes at hand--always helpful.  hoping to get at least 2 civil war blocks done and spend some quilty time on the donation...oh, and the always must-do exercise slot...pretty sure that'll fill up the day plus leave some time for outdoor sun...who said being retired is boring??

second thoughts

remember this?  the beige that looks gray, is called gray by the manufacturer but in person is really beige?

remember the retailer agreed to take it back?  had every intention of returning it, but frugality dictated otherwise.   it's a "name brand" fabric, very good quality, was on sale at $5 per yard plus shipping so originally cost $20.  it would have been probably another $5 at least to return it, so $25 would have been spent for zip.  decided to keep it and semi-planned another project for its use.  so washed and dried and went into the stash pile.   fast forward a couple of months.  out of curiosity decided to audition a small piece for my "midnight at the oasis" quilt and here is the result...

this is just the tiny center 6" square but the kaffe fabrics completely take over the gray cum beige and the entire issue is a complete non-issue.  wish i could put everything else aside and play with this, but not possible.  this weekend's quilty list includes labeling and mailing doll quilt for swap, finishing up a small UFO, putting together a QOV flimsy for the guild service project, quilting on the donation quilt, some civil war blocks....think that's enough?   plus cooking-dishes-laundry and squeezing in some personal care--yeah, i think that's gonna use up the 48 hours and then some.  *** my rehab plan for next week is getting ramped up a bit so a couple of naps might be needed...hard to believe i've hit the halfway point.  it's been an exhilarating/exhausting/challenging task so far and it just might be the cardio man won't recognize the new me!

in memoriam....

more skirmishes...

and 2 more victories....am really enjoying this project way more than when it was first started. 

this time around have even been thinking of how to set all these blocks.  the book shows them with sashing but that makes it a very large quilt....still have time to mull over.   the other big positive is that all these fabrics are from my very own stash.  even though each block uses a small amount, lots of fabrics are getting used that haven't seen the light of day since they were added.  ***  another busy day so no time to waste....hoping warm weather arrives soon!

civil war (sewing) continues...

and, in fact, has lasted way longer than the actual war did...eeeeekk!  happy to say there were four skirmishes saturday with four victories!

for this block, the diagram shows the color as purple, but the photograph of the block shows a purple background with white circles, which completely changes the color.  and my photograph completely washes out the tan fabric used next to the purple triangles.  

whoops, this last one needs a couple of clockwise turns to match the photo.  have to say am enjoying this project a lot; half the fun is choosing the fabrics and then the construction is always something of a challenge.   it was another summer-like day but that's it for now.  think it's safe to say our snow is gone for the foreseeable future.  ***  up early and already quilting on my little doll quilt swap that should be ready to mail by midweek.  it's another jam-packed week with no significant downtime--meaning whole days--until next saturday....daylight approaches so better get movin!

short and sweet....

a very brief post on this summery saturday morning.  the quilty to-do list awaits and no household chores to do (except laundry)!  between rehab and my regular diversions, the weeks fill up fast and thanks to rehab, so far able to keep up.  last night finished the lap robe top just waiting for a final press...

my NH pal vic had gifted me a jelly roll of pastels and i pulled out all the greens and pinks to go with the fabrics from the group.  they really give it a zing i think....shorts are on the wardrobe today and plenty of fabric fun!