a blessed Thanksgiving!

just love this artwork from my used-to-be 7-year-old channeling her inner Picasso! for many years we lived an hour from plymouth, so it became ho-hum to us.  we did the plantation thing, the rock and mayflower thing, the cranberry thing, the thatch-roof cottages tour, and seeing docents dressed up in all manner of puritanical garb was commonplace.  the local radio station bills plymouth as "america's home town" and it is.  that was then and this is now....in light of the california fire devastation, i look around my ordinary apartment and realize how truly blessed i am.  i look in the mirror and see my scar and know how God has touched, no....preserved....my life.  a home, good health, a loving family and kind friends, necessities of daily life and more than a few of the extras....blessed beyond measure and most likely you are too.   give thanks!

monday design wall

the snow only encouraged me to ramp up my sewing time....it's almost gone now and pretty sure we'll have a green thanksgiving...the inchie project is coming along....every effort will be made to get this done this month but it'll take a few days of nonstop inchie busting....the second scrappy short border is just about ready to add, then it's the 2 side borders and gasp!  i might even have to raid the strip bin to cut more....how good is that?

and another stocking got made lickety split....they take about an hour if all the strips are ready....i had pulled one fabric for the lining but changed my mind and had to go stash diving for another....

and more polka dot squares got assembled as well.  in fact, cut all the needed blocks so they can be used as leaders/enders inbetween inchies...

all the freezer paper pieces for my red/green wall quilt are cut out and ironed on, plus worked on the guild's round robin that can't show right now...all this plus some christmas cross-stitch and an embroidery piece made for a busy week's end and weekend....resumed my exercise and the housework, laundry and annoying cooking got done too!......number one on my list for santa is grocery stores that stock more low or no sodium added items that can be easily found......i think gluten free is covered by now but us cardiac patients need equal space!

let it snow?

what's this?   four inches of snow?  before thanksgiving?  thought i left that behind in new england, but noooooo!  with all my fun things cancelled, pulled out some christmas fabric for this...

i made just the one but like potato chips, pulled fabric for 2-3 different fabric combos....also worked on my guild's round robin project and (gasp!) started something new in red and green....wednesday evening was a guest at the Baltimore Applique Society meeting where the trunk show was vintage red and green quilts....mostly applique of course.  so inspired to make a wall quilt of 4 large squares and am planning on a swag border too, something i've never done.  ***  red letter day today as off exercise restriction and can resume my regular activities.  good thing too, as was starting to feel like a slug.  and once the warm temps clear off the car will be venturing out for a couple of errands.....countdown to turkey day begins!

confucius say....

big print hide small mistakes.....advice i'll surely take if i have to make another one of these...it's block #10 of the antebellum album sew along....

not bad....but will quilt down the glitches!  sunday was a serendipity day for me...doing whatever came along...a bit of housework, a bit of cooking and lots of sewing took up most of the day...

DD loves to cross stitch....sewing not so much so mom gets recruited for finishes like this....a piece she did eons ago is now a fluffy pillow.  she did inherit some of my DNA that took a bit of a side route...for instance, she does beautiful cross stitch but no traditional stuff for her....her latest endeavors are pirates, yep a collection of small pirate pieces that got framed and hung on the wall.  and while she loves to read, only non-fiction stuff....no romances, murders or historical stuff.  instead her inquiring mind is in overdrive and she knows a lot about iranian princesses, the british royal family, toxic waste dumps, organized crime etc.  needless to say, she'll be donating all my books to the thrift...LOL!......and finally, inching along (bad pun) is this flimsy, destined to be finished this month...linking up with oh scrap! today with this photo...

up early this AM and while under vow of silence restrictions, finished cutting the pink polka-dot pieces, did some on a brown bag challenge for the guild and started pillowcases for DD, thereby eliminating some piles of fabric on the so-called ironing table.  would love to have another long table, but that is a slippery slope indeed.....lots of things with deadlines this time of year and eliminating clutter seems to unclutter the mind as well...aha!  the organizing gene!

turkeys addendum

apologize for not giving credit for the pattern...it comes from country threads, altho now out of print....

gobble, gobble, gobble...

a label and sleeve and these wild turkeys will be up on the wall.....so glad to have this finished and another UFO off the list.   my only other thanksgiving decorations are these...

the cornucopia was made in ceramics about 40 years ago...never got around to filling it with anything....and of course, john and priscilla!   the wool mat was a gift from a quilty friend.  with few horizontal spaces, it fits just right on the end of the cedar chest...what would autumn be without some seasonal tastes?   this recipe came to my inbox from YANKEE magazine....pumpkin muffins from old sturbridge village's publick house restaurant....they are very dense, just right if you are planning on chopping wood or hauling water buckets all day...LOL!  nice spices, some walnuts and raisins....delish toasted i can attest!

getting downright cool here in maryland, like 40s for the weekend and beyond....yeah, that's cool for us!  it is amazing how quickly the body acclimates to changes in temperature....in maine, 40 is almost balmy!

a new challenge....

follow up with cardiologist today to go over recent test results....unfortunately, living in this toxic smoking environment has caused further damage to my heart muscle despite my efforts with drugs, diet and exercise.  to say i'm discouraged is an understatement.  the blame lies at the feet of the management of this horrific housing place for failure to do their job in making this what was promised to me in the beginning....a smoke free home.  i pity them for what they sow, they will eventually reap.  am strongly tempted to take my own revenge but am powerless to do much of anything.  without resources or vacancies that are readily available, have no choice right now but to remain here hoping that the offenders will die or move or even that people in authority will actually do their job.  am still restricted from the YMCA that provides much-needed exercise and the mental lift it gives.   even tho have had quite a few pharisee days lately, know that the God who protected me for so many years when my symptoms were ignored will continue to keep me in the palm of His hand where i am safe....but definitely not here.

monday update

weekend went by in a flash....thought when i stopped working they might be longer, but noooooo!  plenty of this going on though.....

the inchie blocks are picking up steam....and the turkeys are closing in for a finish, binding a little later this week....and for those of you of a "certain" age, who could forget this saturday hero?   today is his birthday, 107 years, and his physical presence may be absent, but he will never be forgotten, by me anyway....

happy trails to all today!

new photo

new header pix is of my farmer's wife sew along flimsy...not yet basted but have batting and backing side aside for it when the time presents itself....my friend nann received an obscene amount of free fabric recently, like 350 yards....yikes!!!!   so thankful it wasn't me but she is one uber-productive quilty lady so it'll probably be gone in no time....then guild meeting happened along with several boxes from a deceased quilter....feeling deprived (oh no!) picked up about 15 yards that included a couple of backs and some smaller pieces...

plans for a few of these already....our guild speaker was terry kramzar and if can get her to come to your guild, you really must!  a prize-winning quilter of course, but her adventures as artist-in-residence at national parks are riveting, humorous and downright thrilling....oh and her quilts....oh my! 

she is a pennsylvania gal, but her hiking tales prove she is willing to go just about anywhere!

happy heart anniversary!

despite the past week's events--echo, stress test and cardiac cath--along with medication adjustment issues, it's a great day indeed!   can't quite yet run like this gal, tho....but as the cath nurse told me this week..."you are so much better than last year and next year you'll be even better."   had not anticipated a detour this far out from surgery, but just have to sail thru.  i admit discouragement and the downright annoyance of more patient time, but knew it was necessary.  another quick test and two appointments, plus hiatus from the YMCA ahead.  but time for more important things like...

now that october potholders are history, time for november's project and the goal of an honest-to-goodness UFO finish....the inchies!  remember this?

only 2 more blocks and finish the borders; you can see the light and the next is scrappy, also 4"wide, and it can be tied and bound and crossed off the list....got a head start wednesday night.  some smaller projects for DD will be sprinkled inbetween this plus the turkeys and dora's quilt...a healthy list indeed!