a finish for the 4th!

happy independence day!  so proud to be an American today and every day.  may we all be keenly aware every day of the sacrifice of so many to preserve America. in these chaotic political times, let us never forget freedom isn't free and we who claim citizenship have ownership and enjoy benefits of that freedom.  America is not a life preserver, a meal ticket or a free ride.  America requires our citizenship, upholding the Constitution and supporting those who defend it, which includes securing our borders.  a country divided against itself cannot stand, so we must all join together as "one nation, under God" to preserve the ideals of the founders for future generations.  in America, ALL lives matter, for a country to preserve and continue, it takes the effort of ALL citizens.....no politics here, just plain old garden variety patriotism....and here's my 4th finish, the red windmills, again machine quilted and done.

plenty of red but alas, no white or blue in this one.  the extreme hot is with us for another day or so; until then it's hibernating in air conditioning.  working on my vacation itinerary that will include 2 fun fabric places--marden's and busy thimble--and plenty of Maine lobster!  keep cool and quilt on!

july already?

so very true...sneaked up on me while i was busy sewing obviously....and new month means tackling the scraps aka....

at first thought july was ideal to finish the scrappy trees flimsy but that would just give me one more flimsy in the pile...how about something i could actually finish and get outta the drawer??  so unearthed this UFO and have to say, love it as much today as when it was first started....it's a mega-memory project,  a microcosm of my stash over the past 40 years...sentimental attachment to the max! from clothes for myself and my daughter, to long ago quilts and projects, to swaps and gifts from other quilters, they're all in this piece. 

the colors are much nicer than this....my phone isn't exactly perfect for pictures....but you get the idea.  it's 16" blocks of inchies, a total of 12 (or will be) with a border of 4" of neutral inchies, then a final border of 4" scrappy inchies.  this will be a tied quilt, obviously, but will definitely be a keeper.  there's a drawer of inchies just waiting to be played with, no doubt way more than i will need...so stay tuned.  being a graduate of the bonnie hunter scrap saver school, i always check out her yearly leader/ender challenge, but this year i am way ahead of her!  ***  day 2 of heat hibernation but plenty of things to keep me busy....stay cool quilty peeps!

full front view

hoping the blog title doesn't pull in the weirdos and crazies...LOL!   finished sewing down the binding and ready for closeup....pretty happy with this even tho the reworked border was labor intensive....will make a nice twin bed/sofa/cot quilt for somebody....thanks to all who donated fabric for this endeavor!

this weekend?  hoping to quilt/finish red windmills, do some housework, catch up on antebellum album and quilt more on the donation project....all while keeping cool, of course...you do the same!

under the wire....

to get a finish before july arrives; got this scrappy 9-patch tied and now pinning down binding...did i mention i LOVE the walking foot for sewing on bindings?  whereas i used to do these by hand (yes, all of them), can now get them sewn on well and quickly. 

this was made from fabrics gifted to me during my year of housing limbo...it'll go to a charity and be well used i'm sure....and since i'm deep into the learning curve of the walking foot, this is next up to be quilted and bound....a tad bigger than the orange piece and probably the max size i'd machine quilt.  you can see the flannel i've used as batting that should make it hang nicely.

and this pillow is nearly finished as well...a giveaway kit from jan patek, i love the folk art style....just waiting to be hand quilted and finished with a red cording...

lastly, one of my guild's community service project is for lap robes, wheelchair and walker totes, runners and soft cuddle toys for a local long-term care place....started this lap robe with gorgeous batiks that'll no doubt cheer up somebody...

it WAS ironed but getting moved around got it all wrinkly again....it's much brighter in person....so even tho my posts are fewer, still busy in the background with sewing and projects...can't believe this year is at the midpoint except the weather tells me it's definitely true.  dog days are here, so stay cool and sew on!

wild sewing

some time ago had seen this on the internet someplace and tried to obtain the pattern....to no avail since it was out of print.  a fellow stashbuster had one and kindly sent it along....

it's from country threads (now closed shop) and called "wild turkeys"...the fallish colors and folk art look really appealed to me.  one marathon sewing day pulled out plaids and got the turkeys basted.  yesterday at sewing bee started the applique, perhaps for a thanksgiving finish?  that's the plan anyway.  surprised at how quickly got nearly the entire turkey finished....now for the feet!  already tucked away are the half square triangle squares so it could very well be done for thanksgiving...

stuck in a cloudy/rainy/sunny weather pattern and can't believe friday is here again....have roughed out my weekend to-do list but counting my blessings is at the very top.  next week is shaping up to be another busy one!

the finish

binding on and done!   wow...this old dog has a new trick!

took the plunge!

despite being wiped out from whole HOUR of exercise at the Y today with a short nap that followed, attached my walking foot for a trial run.  this little piece was ideal for practice as it's a bit wonky, but doesn't look too bad i don't think!  the batting was a bit thicker than it should be making it puffier, but still a good trial....

with a thinner batt, would quilt closer lines....a quick finish is great!  have some orange binding all ready and it'll be done!   i am so liking this a lot for small pieces...won't take the place of the hand quilting that i love to do, but for certain things it'll be ideal.   ***  my (mostly) plant-based diet continues and is in overdrive now that fresh veggies abound.  the latest is this dish of roasted vegs--zuke, vidalia onion, red sweet pepper and carrots--mixed with a bit of olive oil, garlic powder and fresh thyme....deee-lish! 

just one thing....

seems to always lead to another!  while pulling large yardage pieces off the shelf for the canvas tote, found a 2 yard piece saving for sashing for a jo morton project...well, that could go in the shoebox with the other pieces, right?  then wouldn't take long to cut up the strips for the sashing and be done, right?  then it's out of the stash completely, sort of...this is the project, her s'mores pattern from an old magazine...

on the back burner a while but now officially "in progress"....then finished up the first leg of round robin brown bag challenge for the guild, so that is now "in the bag"....

and since i actually finished something, decided to play around with these blocks to perhaps use for a tablerunner.....

but i think it's going to remain on the design wall for another purpose...and many more blocks of course.  ****  with june flying fast, trying to get this official UFO done and off the list....coming along and most likely it will be finished by the time july arrives....a jan patek pillow received in a giveaway....nice folk art piece she is well known for designing...

i have her nativity wall quilt pattern but haven't started that yet....january maybe?  *** today is cleaning day as tomorrow is guild workshop day to make up kits for the work meeting.  i did get one tablerunner top together and another is in the works. ***  finally saw "the shape of water" and "phantom thread", both really interesting but very different movies.  one is a compilation of beauty and the beast meets romeo and juliet meets splash ("shape") and the other, daniel day-lewis' last movie (so he says) is a quirky and has a bit of an ewwww factor.  couldn't help wondering if his character is based on a real life person....sure hope not!

ADDENDUM:  re those plaid blocks?  i see a mistake...uh oh...time to rrrrip and resew i guess!

scrap attack success!

one day shy of June's halfway point and my scrap attack goal has been met.  the LL Bean tote is now empty and all the muslin scraps have been ironed and cut for future use.

it's been over 2 years since the bottom of this was seen.  now it's ready for something else...hmm large yardage pieces perhaps?  and these are now on hand for future sewing....

during the cutting up process, this arrived in my mailbox and right away i honed in on this pretty blue scrappy quilt....so with lots of blue fabrics and now plenty of precut muslin squares ready, the plan is to kit this up and add it to the list....it's only 12 blocks and all straight seams, like how long can it really take?   designer is annette plog.....and well, it's blue...

i had made this square, also bricks and cornerstones pattern, from plaid scraps thinking about a manly type quilt, but this might get repurposed for a charity tablerunner....remains to be seen since all the cheddar centers are prepped and ready. 

so i guess i am uneducated but since both are the same block, the bricks and cornerstones, then why is the magazine version "designed by" someone....it's just her version i would think and she doesn't hold the copyright on the block but maybe her version of the block/quilt?  regardless, they are both wonderfully scrappy and equally inspiring!

monday design wall

after auditioning several fabrics for this piece, finally settled on this light gold.  the previous cream background with a tiny red design was too much red so close to the pinwheels....

i like this one much better and there will be a very narrow red binding.....and while watching the Tony awards last night, picked up this UFO that should be a fairly quick finish....it was a giveaway from Jan Patek a few years ago.   the pillow has a red piping and will give the place a folky-artsy touch....

the little red piece on the right is the door.....there are some nice folk-art flowers to go....also been working on the donation quilt and prepping a guild brown bag challenge piece.  it's mostly a quiet week around here that'll usher in mid-june on friday...whew...flying by, i tell ya!