a smattering of sewing

just because i haven't posted recently doesn't mean i've been idle...on the contrary!  remember these?

this week have cut up nearly all the rest needed for this project....it'll be 54" square when done, large enough for a shortie like me....anticipate if the weekend stays calm, should be a flimsy by monday....

and cleared out a UFO drawer by getting this to a flimsy that'll be tied and donated to the guild's second community service project this year...and another will get crossed off!

with that one ready to finish, started on a second....pulled out the 1.5" strip tote--jam packed of course--to get the first block done...there will be 18 blocks in all, 6x3, per specifications of the charity....

and then the new 'quiltmaker' magazine arrived the other day and this little wall quilt caught my eye...with patriotic holidays ahead wanted to get it done by flag day, which would have been my dad's 96th birthday....oh, we still miss him and think of all the family changes since he moved on....

and finally, quilting continues on 'cabana daydreams' that is now about 3/4ths finished....thinking about binding color, but it'll have to be something in the stash....

wasn't certain about using the variegated thread but find that it is just perfect for this....so much so that my orange mod scrappy will be quilted using only the variegated (not green obviously)!  the box of aurifil variegated 12wt was a lucky door prize at one of their presentations at a local quilt shop....the 365 is now basted and ready for quilting once 'cabana' is done.....really delighted that i've made up for the detour of 2018.  the stash is reorganized and healthy, the UFOs are getting done, doing some new things and just plain old having quilty fun to the max!  feel so very blessed....life is VERY good indeed....

celebrate freedom!

regardless of who temporarily lives in the White House, our freedoms can never be taken away without ourselves allowing it to be done....presidents come and go and yet America lives on and, with our determination, will continue to do so.....and on this solemn day, thoughts are filled with names of many and thousands more whose names i'll never know for courageously stepping up and defending OUR America that cannot be erased by one man or one ideology.....

update....

a roving detective has provided the name AND correct location of the pattern....it's "chop suey" by scott flanagan in the 2015 may/june issue of 'quiltmaker'.....thanks! 

thursday's flimsy

recently a friend gifted me some batik scraps....such rich and vibrant colors!  i washed them and put them away....sorta....but kept thinking about them....and then came across this pattern...eureka!

this came from the may/june 2014 issue of Quiltmaker....if you can tell me the designer's name, i'd be grateful....i gave away the pattern without taking note!   the colors are much brighter and sharper in person....a great little project that shouldn't take long to finish.....

outta here!

today was the last DAR meeting until september and our annual picnic luncheon.  dora's quilt was raffled off and garnered a healthy sum for our historic preservation fund....here is the lucky winner with me....

happy to know it will be loved and well cared for and enjoyed....and for the opportunity to pay it forward for those who have been generous to me with fabric and quilty stuff.....thank you!   ***  summer is here it seems with temps hovering around the 90 degree mark....so have exchanged snow days for sweltering, equally suitable for sewing!

friday update

it was a day chock full of quilty and sewing fun....the plan was to get two things basted, which got done...first was the antebellum album sew along top.....

next unearthed this flimsy and got it basted as well...the blue and white.....

but before these, was up early and cutting up more solids for the mod black stripe project....a throw size is 81 blocks and when these are sewn up, will be just over halfway there...

and what's this?  more black and some batik strips...hmmm....another new project?  yes indeed...but a small one and should be able to show the flimsy in a day or two...

well the black fabric was already out and found a pattern while searching for something else....alas, the civil war diary blocks are delayed yet again but not by much....and at monthly bee yesterday got another stack of bow ties sewn up....May might just be a super month for busting stash!

same old story

was clearing the decks...the sewing table...to tackle more civil war blocks and came across some black strips cut for project in progress....got tired of moving them around soooo, sat down and made more blocks...sidetracked bigtime!

i'll need a total of 81 so just over half to make, but they work up quick....and with May nearly half over, sewed up my rainbow scrap challenge blocks today also....

pretty good progress considering in slow mo after a day of celebrating with my daughter and son-in-law....so nice just being with them but a beautiful gift and yummy dinner made it extra special! 

bit o' basting...

on the weekend to-do list was getting some things basted and ready for hand quilting.....these 2 wall pieces are now ready plus prepped backing for the "antebellum album" top...this is the newest sew along from barbara brackman, "stars in her crown"....will look great on my beige walls...

and this one from just leftover scraps....might be put in the "to sell" pile, not sure....also cut a new small stencil for the solid squares to use....solid turquoise binding is ready and waiting!

the "antebellum album" is bigger than these 2 so will hold on basting until the senior center is open next week...our work room there has about 7 large banquet-size tables with plenty of room to lay out quilts....once the "cabana daydreams" is done, then will baste the 365 quilt for a 2019 finish and gift to my daughter and SIL....tons of quilty fun ahead!

a friday finish

last year one of the guild's projects was a round robin....happy to say mine is finished and ready to hang on the wall...

the colors are brighter and more intense than you see.  the feathered star is paper pieced.  used some of that fabric i was "saving" ...i keep referring to it as "red robin"....juicy, mile-high hamburgers on the brain no doubt...LOL!  ****  and if you see this little guy today, wish him a happy 66th!   it's brother #1 and he is no doubt the brainiest person in our family.  a tough but tender yankee, sometime foil, sometime comedy routine partner, sometime adversary but always resilient and much loved.   he missed the whitney hair genes and he has ignored common sense sometimes (i.e. choice of females) but we adore him anyway! 

well it's friday and since i only sew on days that end with Y, the studio is calling!

mayday! mayday!

after finally cleaning my stove this morning, sat down at the machine to tackle my may list....all was going well until went looking for a particular scrap.....

bad idea....realized the scrap basket was once again overflowing--toweringly so--and cannot be ignored much longer.  ok, will start by pulling the solids....which still leaves a monumental (think WASHINGTON MONUMENT) pile of scraps.  the May list will get adjusted to now include cutting up at least half of these to prevent collapse....and is it really the 7th already?  so 3+ weeks to june....it goes faster and faster!