dulles expo eye candy - part 1

today was my maiden voyage to the quilters' unlimited show at the dulles expo in VA...after a rocky start to the day, arrived just after doors opened and met up with a couple of stashbuster pals.   i don't use a fitbit but got in plenty of steps up and down the aisles.  didn't really visit any of the vendors. once i'd spent all my energy, sat and chatted with a very nice lady from DE and her bus mates and got to ogle plenty of fabric purchases.  here are some of the quilts i really liked in no particular order.  i do apologize as i did not get makers' names for these 3 very pretty quilts...first up, done in batiks, very striking...

next, a very pretty aqua, red and white quilt...just enough red to make it pop...

and loved this wall quilt done in reds/greens, burgoyne surrounded pattern.  have always loved this pattern but haven't made one.....yet.  just as stunning in a smaller version. 

this quilt by marisela rumberg was near the entrance and many took the opportunity to have their photo taken with butterfly wings...this is my quilty pal, marianne, who "tried them on"....

this is trish nicholson's version of the eclipse.....small but very nicely done....

this is called "wave dancer" by linda cooper....another small but very nice piece...it's how many people feel about the ocean....

chris prestenbach's version of a jen kingwell pattern....such great contrast and bright but not blindingly so colors....there were a few others but this was my personal fave...

julia rouse made this batik quilt of simple shapes but the colors chosen makes it very pretty.....

this is a red/white/blue by kelley davis...only 13 blocks and some simple applique, but pretty...but i like RWB quilts mostly anyway....

and last for this post is libby samuel's snail's trail wall quilt....this is another pattern fave of mine; love her choice of fabrics and colors....

there are more for another post, but i'd like to end with a photo of my quilty pal, marian, and a pair (only one pictured) of wall quilts she made for someone using ties....i was witness to the process and thought they came out very nice.  they are for a relative and hope they are appreciated, but that isn't always the case with relatives....

officially summer?

in maine, when memorial day arrives, the residents "hope" it's summer; here in maryland it has already "been" summer for a couple of weeks now....LOL!  my holiday was quiet but productive...

first up the windmill blocks....all 30 are done and auditioned for the border...happy to say that one of the shoeboxes holding red fabrics is now emptied..yes, emptied!

then couldn't help but rummage around in the muslin tote; pulled out all the bigger pieces to put aside for later.   also in the tote were a couple of 2-yard pieces of kona white on hand for backgrounds.

that left the tote half full (or half empty?) of leftovers that'll get cut into squares and rectangles in june, which will be a fairly fast scrap attack....will be pretty exciting to see the bottom again!

in the tote was this dish towel that had cross-stitch on one end...i like the cross-stitch, but with a full quilty plate decided to add some patchwork to the opposite end and call it done.  now it can be used and is no longer UFO....

i probably bought this when i was in my 30s and thought i might live forever and/or have oodles of free time to cross-stitch dish towels...not either!  also spent a large amount of time quilting the donation quilt, which seems to be taking forever.  the gardening angel blocks are just about done, except for a few small pieces and a bit of finish embroidery.  with guild challenges and a few other quilt-related commitments plus the exercise, it's shaping up to be a busy summer.....

nobody but kate

if i live to be 150, i don't think anyone will sing "God Bless America" as good as Kate Smith...i know it dates me but i don't care....on this 150th memorial day as America's fallen are remembered, i think we should remember kate as well....her rendition of this beautiful song made me proud to be an American.....she never showed her thighs, never was trendy and hardly svelte, but she made irving berlin's catchy, patriotic tune immortal.....

scrap attack oversight

somehow--and it's easy to figure out why--when my scrap attack list was written in january, this behemoth got overlooked (january was 2 months after surgery)...

this is an XL LL Bean tote filled to the brim with muslin pieces that have been tossed in over time....how long you ask?  can't say for certain, but have mostly ignored it until saturday when i was diving for big pieces for a frankenback for a wall quilt.  so the June task just got sidelined for this task because one of the UFO drawers holds this....

it's another reproduction scrappy top that needs lots of 2.5" and 1.5" muslin squares....so those are the sizes i'll start with....the blocks are 6" finished so it SHOULD use up a noticeable amount of the scraps.....and happy to say the frankenback is now ready for the sunshiny day wall quilt, seen here....

and also assembled a frankenBATT for my RWB piece....

with a tiny slip of the scissors necessitating a minor fix....

but at the end of the day, the RWB and cheddar indigo were ready for basting; the sunshiny day just needs some batting cut, the muslin scraps are up next for attacking--and a few other red windmill blocks got sewn.  spent couple of hours on the applique angels too....also had the opportunity to pay it forward and hem a pair of slacks for a resident here....it's my way of giving back as many have helped me in a multitude of ways....and with 2 more weekend days, have left the best most boring for last--housework!

weekend update

it's been a crazy week around here, capped off with a quick ER visit for abscess in my graft site...inner thigh behind knee....where as BB (before bypass) would have gotten by with a quick office visit, now had to trek to ER for ultrasound, bloodwork etc.  all is well now that antibiotics are on board!  also got bogged down doing some family research for my mom...and that, as you know, is like m&ms or potato chips...one link leads to another and before you know it, 2-3 hours have evaporated....

i did get the border on this so now it's ready to baste and quilt...the border fabric is one of marsha mccloskey's basics and it's just perfect...in fact the whole line is...

then betty got a present!  as mentioned, i've been doing some applique blocks for a guild member and with the funds obtained a walking foot for betty.   so pulled out this little piece made of bonus triangles and hoping to have time to try out some matchstick quilting....

not that i will ever switch to machine from hand quilting, but i like the look of the matchstick style and it's perfect for small things like this...and there is the quicker finish of course!

finally, over at humble quilts,  lori is having a show and tell of all the doll quilts in the swap....serious repro eye candy!

monday design wall

only 13 more of the red pinwheels to go....got these done on sunday as leaders/enders while making more civil war diary blocks....so with 2 more of THOSE finished, only 79 to go..

first block was easy peasy but 'dark gloom' is a perfect name for this challenging block...resewed this puppy about 4x before getting it to this point, and that is where it stays.  not perfect, but done!  ***  and it really is summer now...week ahead in the 80s every single day and finally sunshine today after too many dreary, wet days....nearly finished one of my gardening angel blocks; the 2nd is half done and both should be finished before week's end.  then the donation quilt will be tackled in earnest to see how close to finished before june arrives....

only 81 more....

with the most recent civil war diary block finishes, now have a growing stack of 40 blocks with (gulp) 81 more to make.  while i'd like to hope i'll make them all, it would become one huge quilt, so might stop before it gets to be gigantic.

and a look at the current stack....

on another note, it seems to have stopped raining finally...for now anyway...lots of damage around due to above and below ground creeks that have overflowed....our local Y had 10-12 feet of water in its lower level that houses both pools, but should be up and functional within the week they say.  *** only 5 more formal rehab sessions to go; cannot recommend this program highly enough as after a grueling and discouraging nearly 7 months, am feeling great and beyond my pre-surgery activity and endurance levels, not to mention an entire wardrobe that needs replacing.  i'll be at the thrift when not at the YMCA in the coming days....

it's baaaackkk...

that would be the annoying thief in my building....now among the missing is one of my 3-pound weights, my mother's album from my daughter's wedding, my DAR certificate....somebody needs to have their hands lopped off--the sooner the better don't you think?  i had a cousin (now deceased) who would occasionally ask me if i still had such-and-such.  i'd go to get it or look for it and it, too was gone.  at the time i figured she was the light-fingered brat as she had been jealous of me my entire life.  once she helped me move some household stuff from a storage facility to her cellar temporarily.  somewhere along the way, my blueberry luncheon plates disappeared.  they WERE in a box in storage but somehow never made the hour's trip.  i knew she had taken them.  at the time i was homeless and she could well afford to buy them for herself, but she felt justified stealing from me.  she later had a brand new home, took trips to europe, had many of life's benefits but alas, died of cancer before she could spend one year in the new home.  she grew up very poor, always wore hand-me-downs and often went hungry, but a good marriage to someone with a good income changed all that.  down deep, though, she was always that destitute child and earned my pity.  as to who the building nasty is, it's anyone's guess.  even the management here isn't trustworthy, so it could be anyone.  thankfully, my God watches over me and seeks His own form of retribution--a very comforting promise. 

potpourri

tuesday spent wiping out the to-do list that included some sewing, of course....put together cheddar/indigo blocks, so now going to audition a border....and got a couple more leader/ender blocks done.  sometimes i try color combos and they don't work out.  wasn't sure about these red windmills but liking them so far.  have to make a total of 30 for a wall quilt...no rush on this.  then put up the star blocks made with kaffe fassetts and the pale pink solid.   i liked them as individual blocks but even more so seeing them together.  have downloaded the other patterns, just way behind is all.   this will give me the mojo to make more.

put together one more civil war diary block.  had hoped for 2 but this one took over an hour in the late afternoon and ran out of oomph. 

lastly, some friends were chatting and mentioned rhubarb cobbler.  my mother makes an awesome rhubarb pie but alas, i did not get the family pie crust gene, so before doing any sewing cobbler it was.  i was a bit shy of the rhubarb needed, so cut the sugar by 1/3 and it was plenty sweet for me.....and need i say delish?  the photo tells the tale!

next time i'll use more rhubarb and less cobbler....now off to get lunch....and dessert!

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!