monday musings

summer has arrived in force here in maryland and i'm loving it...so i guess that means i am a native now....and what better way to brag about my new home than with these....

these were a mother's day gift from DD and DSIL.....maryland flag sox!   i love them!   i don't make a big deal of mother's day since i have an only child and don't want to put pressure or guilt on her....but she did take me for a wonderful, delicious lunch....my first steak in over 6 months!  it was back to chicken today (fish tomorrow) and some sewing with 2 civil war diary blocks done...

and a few more leader/ender blocks too....

lastly, some evening applique work that closed out another busy day.   only 7 more rehab sessions and i'll be finished.  my spot won't be vacant long as every week--and sometimes every session--brings in new cardiac patients.  crossed another threshold of endurance today, but with a 5:45 am start to the day, i'm still tired early and it's another early night with a book--for a few minutes anyway.   got my tuesday to-do list already roughed out.....more fun tomorrow!

our family's treasure

that would be this 1945 beauty....our mother, carolyn, who is still a looker today at 91!   though we cherish and revere her every day, having her with us another mother's day is a priceless gift, one we don't take for granted.....i'm with her only in spirit today, and my heart goes out to all whose mothers have passed on....

final layout

just have to sew blocks together and maybe add a border of some sort...no plans for this, just wanted to finish up this FQ bundle and i came close.....but these little leftovers will be going to janet so she can work her mini magic...

and a new leader/ender project is in progress as well....

these finish at 4"....have been ogling the pattern for some time, so might make 2-3 of these in different fabric styles.   for this one am using up some reds in my stash as have an over-abundance of that color....and two more gardening angel blocks are in the works....they work up faster than i had thought they would, altho still quite intricate.

this is january and february that will make 4 completed....and only 8 more to go.  *** with my may scrap attack project just about done, it's back to civil war diary blocks....never a moment to waste!

indigo and cheddar v. 2

tweaked the blocks a bit and pretty much settled on this layout.  only 2 more mini blocks to make and then i'll be flinging the small leftovers to janet who is a whiz at mini quilts....then this FQ bundle will be history.  not a smidgen left in stash at all...and while flipping thru some old mags yesterday, happened on this inspiring photo/pattern....so the churn dashes must have been buried in my little gray cells....i am still thinking of making this one....scrappy you know

then, i had seen this pattern in progress on the 'net someplace and the maker recommended the book, so got it from my library

another pretty scrappy that intrigues me, but not sure i want to buy the ruler....many other things i really want to make so will think on this a while....but finally have a whole day unplanned and a few house chores have to come first on this picture perfect day...summer's here!

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?