this and that

here's the doll quilt i made and sent off to patty....forgot to photograph before it got mailed, so she kindly sent me one....

up to date now with the antebellum album sew along with completion of april's block....

the pink in this block is one of the scraps the barbara sent with my doll quilt....just perfect i think!  and got a bit more done on the may scrap attack....

just pinning them to the design wall for now; have no idea what the final setting will be....i do like this fabric line a lot.... ** ultrabusy day and week with errands and such, but this coming week is designated spring cleaning for sure before summer heat arrives....

tale of two quilts

again this year joined up with lori at humble quilts for her doll quilt swap.  due to escalating postage costs, it's the only swap i do these days.  it is a first-class swap and every little quilt is excellent and gorgeous.  i patiently waited for mine and got a double delight!

this is from barb in AZ....teeny tiny flying geese, so perfectly executed and quilted...and the colors!  oh my, they are gorgeous!  she was kind enough to send along some leftover fabric too....

this one arrived from sue in NZ along with a few little gift items...not seen is a card wallet she made to hold my excess reward cards etc....which have been falling out of my wallet nearly daily, so this was a timely and much-needed gift.  again this is a very nice doll quilt of broken dishes blocks, beautiful colors and quilting too.  so consider myself doubly blessed for this swap. 

running start

on the may scrap attack goal....

the smallest block was already on my design wall; the others i made first thing this morning.  then some 1.5" strip pieces prompted me to make these little 4-patches that could be fillers....anxious to see how many blocks these scraps will make and how they can be set.  might even need some HSTs and a floater border for that littlest block....a true kitchen sink project!   ***  also on today's sewing plate is get the QOV flimsy done and also, since summer has arrived, fix the hem on a pair of shorts that are fraying.  some muslin bias will re-hem them nicely to get them thru another year. *** and since i've started my maine vacation planning, have changed my header to a dreamy vista of boothbay harbor taken a few years ago.....

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....