not quilt related....

raining again outside and in my family!  my daughter lost her job today.  she is a nurse and worked at a rehab facility where most of the help are lazy and not really interested in patient care; managerial staff hardly speak English and have no managerial experience; several instances of staff members stealing drugs; lack of adequate supplies on a regular basis; agency nurses get called in without ever having seen the place and not knowing procedures; patients always late getting meds if at all; the food is terrible....i could go on and on.  she made an error, which is no surprise given the conditions there.  it happens frequently by others yet they get to keep their jobs.  my daughter isn't perfect.  when she first got the job, she was suspended for stealing drugs--which she didn't--and after contacting the state nursing association who connected her with an attorney, she was reinstated after 4 days with back pay....that was an omen i believe....she hardly ever had time for lunch.  am i biased?  well probably, but i know she is an excellent nurse, both in compassion and procedural issues.  does she get flustered with too much stress?  absolutely....her patients love her care and say so frequently.  the wound care supervisor has commented positively many times about her treatment.   some of her co-workers are clearly there for the paycheck only without regard for patient care.  the place is running on a shoestring without proper supplies, orientation of agency staff, firm but fair managerial staff.  my daughter deserves better, and we are trusting God in this storm for direction, wisdom, revelation....it's the best we can do. 

bit o' playtime

saturday was a day almost totally devoid of any ambition....exercised, did laundry, cut up more scraps, picked up generally but not much else.  no doubt it was from the extreme change of temperature from blistering hot to downright chilly...but at the end of the day rallied a bit to try an idea that's been swirling around in my mind...

dear friend vic in NH had gifted me a kona cotton jelly roll of pastels a while back....over time i've used a few strips but still have most that were waiting for the right project.  with plenty of precut scraps on hand, got these 6 blocks together lickety split.  i'm hoping to use up the rest of the jelly roll making these squares from a pattern found in a tula pink book....the green print fabric on the bottom middle block is a leftover from a trip around the world quilt i had made for my daughter about 35 years ago...i think that was my 2nd quilt.....

finally got my new marden's stash washed and a couple more pink polka dot blocks done.  while cutting up scraps, found the white with black dots in the basket.  not sure how many more blocks i'll make but it'll be a respectable wall quilt when finished.  ***  now that autumn is close, been firming up my christmas gift list.  it'll be here THAT quick and looking forward to a bit more holiday enjoyment after being sidelined last year when missed all the holidays from halloween to valentine's!

friday breather....

for the first time this week, the temp was only 70 degrees at 6 am....so cool down is finally here!  the end of the week also brings a respite from marathon charity sewing....today with the QOV now done and patterns traced and ready, can start my historical sewing.  speaking of QOV,  here's a shot of it on my bed....

i just love RWB quilts and this one is ready for some well-deserving veteran....and speaking of color, our speaker at guild last night was a sorta local gal (PA), gyleen fitzgerald....

her trunk show was awesome and her talk was lively, fun and interesting...always insightful to see how other quilters work and what they make....she didn't get thru her entire stack of quilts, but the ones seen were simply stunning and awe-inspiring.  if you need entertainment for your guild, can highly recommend her.  and once she said that most of her entire stash is FQs, well, i felt an immediate kinship as that describes mine as well.   that means it's all about the color and value and not necessarily the print of the fabric.  ***  my to-do list is ready for the weekend, one that is decidedly cooler and probably wetter; good sewing weather!

Quilters Meet and Greet!

For all of you from Victoriana Designs, hello and thanks for stopping by! Be sure and scroll all the way to the bottom for the prize drawing link! (for more info, click the graphic above)

I'll start off with a little personal info....I've been sewing since age 8 (61 years now!) and drooled over quilts until 1979 when I caved and took a class at the local high school. This is a photo of my very first quilt, the ever popular sampler....this finally got used up and had to be discarded....

Amish quilts drew me in and, although I was heavy into several crafts, most got happily dropped for quilting.  So, now it's nearly 40 years that I've been making quilts and my only regret is that I didn't start sooner....as I still have a long list of patterns I want to try and plenty of stash to use!  ***  I am a native New Englander but recently moved to western Maryland where I absolutely LOVE the winters!  I belong to the local guild and a group at the senior center.   Being retired has presented lots of opportunities to sew for worthy causes that I have to monitor closely to make sure there's time available for my own projects and a long list of UFOs  (unfinished objects).  Rather than chatter on, I'll include some photos of other things I've made, not all of them bed quilts.  Other than a great-grandmother who made quilts, I'm the only other quilter in my family, but fortunately quilting itself is one large, happily stitching family!

a perky pumpkin wall quilt for fall decorating...

a summery mug rug for cool mornings....

a patchwork bag, one of four, made for my daughter's bridal attendants.....

some festive christmas stockings to display and fill...and one of my few heirloom quilts...a full-size hawaiian!  oh and by the way, i am a hand quilter thru and thru.  recently acquired a walking foot that allows me to finish some small pieces quickly, but really, i love hand quilting! 

and one last thing...i do this for FUN!  there are NO quilt police in my quilty world.  it is my relaxation, my muse, my creative outlet and my passion....aka FUN!  you might find mistakes in some of my stuff but i really don't care.  i try new techniques and do the best i can, learning and having FUN all the way!  

Be sure and enter by clicking the graphic....Thanks for stopping by....come again anytime!

scrappy day

the calendar says holiday but for the quilter with an overflowing scrap basket, it's a work day.   for this month's scrap attack had to switch and do this, originally scheduled for december...here is the before shot.....

after a nearly full day bonding with the rotary cutter and ignoring household tasks, can now see both handles of the basket with a mountain of cut ups to be sorted into their shoeboxes....

along the way cut up some blues for a quilt i recently saw in a magazine.   the day isn't over and hope to get more out of the basket.  so much for a holiday!  i can only devote today to this task as tomorrow tackle more of my september must-do projects....getting close to a finish and then i can return to my own stuff.  aside from cutting scraps, did get some exercise time in, washed dishes and cooked some zucchini.  ***  be sure and come back tomorrow as i've been chosen by victoriana designs to join their meet and greet team....and there is a chance at a prize too....

two down, er done

that would be 2 of my 5 "must do" sewing tasks this month....

a lap robe and runner done for the local residential home....runners were requested to brighten up rooms so our guild has stepped up and made (hopefully) the 60 or so runners needed, one for each resident's room.  lap robes, walker and wheelchair totes are always needed as well.  these 2 items constitute one task off my list.  the other that got finished is a secret, so can't be shown yet....

my quilty pals treated me to a birthday lunch at a local asian spot...and when the fortune cookie arrived it said this (absolutely true!):  "it is time to start something new"....how did they know that just that morning pulled out a stack of fabrics for the tree of life quilt?   these have been assembled and border ideas gleaned from several places....i absolutely won't start cutting until other things crossed off my list, but the plans are formulated anyway...

another guild member inspired me to pick up this portable light for little money but big help.  some places i take sewing along don't always have enough to sew with ease and this'll be just the ticket...thank you sandy!

today will work on september project #3 but tomorrow (monday) is scrap attack day and plan to do just that....the scrap basket has been moved to the floor and is spilling out all over, so it's time....

birthday plea....

is there no end to the wackiness of some people/groups/companies???  in honor of my 69th today...and darn blessed to have another....am asking for boomers to rally in defense of an icon...

Note:  this is a photo of a tin...with the animals in cages....but could not find a photo of the actual box.  give me a break!!  those wacky PETA groupies with nothing better to do than to troll the internet and create tempests in teapots....the crackers come in a box, PETA people....no animals were caged or harmed in the production of animal crackers.   it's cardboard, a receptacle, a container....leave it alone!  and those wimpy Nabisco people actually knuckled under these whiny radicals.  if they choose to boycott fur, meat, fish or fowl i don't care.  but really, all this over a small box???  the emperor has no clothes on people...remember that story?   and we've seen just how many actually believe that he does....write nabisco and scold them...they deserve it!

saturday sewing

with impending heat wave,  ran around saturday picking up groceries, prescriptions etc.....finally got some sewing time in the evening before mandatory silence cloaks the abbey (manager's initials are MS so i've nicknamed her mother superior...LOL).  most of my september "must do" items are secret, but did work on the seemingly eternal donation quilt...

every time i think i'm getting close to finishing, glance at the entire quilt and sigh....but it WILL be done maybe by year's end?  ***  when life gives you blues...make muffins!  up early doing some hand sewing due to "silence curfew" and thought about the pint of berries in my fridge....yes, they are delish!

bit of housework before can dive into sewing stuff....now that sun up and dracula has retreated, can use the noisy sewing machine....

a positive sign

for those of you who are doing the moda blockheads sew-along, you'll recognize this block from laurie simpson over at minick & simpson.  i had seen this block in a blues/white quilt on an earlier post and swooned over it.  then at a recent guild meeting, saw a collection of pink polka-dot fabrics that called my name, sooo.....

spent some time getting re-acquainted with betty and sewed these up..  more to come but liking them so far.   of course, i have no business at all starting something new, especially with this staring me in the face and looming larger and larger...

this behemoth has to be tackled very soon or scrap basket becomes scrap tote, and that is a slippery slope that must be avoided....LOL!  ***  september is a busy charity sewing month for me, but hoping once all commitments are met, it'll be my turn to rack up some finishes before (shudder) 2018 breathes its last.  and you know, it comes all to quickly....we are in for a hot week next week, meaning hibernating in A/C meaning betty will be humming from dawn to dusk.  keep cool and sew on!

back to home base

after a very early departure from maine (5:45 am), arrived at BWI Amtrak station at 7:14 pm weary but not exhausted.  it's only the last hour that is tough....spent overnite at DD and DSIL getting a whopping 10 hours' sleep...so very thankful to have that option.  arrived back at home in time for bookmobile and getting a few grocery necessities.  then the job of unpacking....first was this lovely small quilt that'll make an ideal table topper for my chairside table from vic.  she loves red, and this piece with some of her beauties is so fall-like. it has a nice floral flannel backing too....

this letter opener was a give back from mom.  it was bought at the UN in 1965 by me as a trinket and she's had it all these years.  a few nicks, but just seeing it brings back memories of the day.  it was a trip by the world affairs club in the 10th grade... ***  and isn't this a gorgeous bag?

it contained my birthday gift from DD....a gold chain for my gold cross charm and a lovely new nitegown....she has such wonderful taste and always knows just the right things to choose...and the card was sentimental that choked me up....i am so blessed indeed!