vacation countdown!

starting to cross off the days until my summer aka cooler vacation in maine...can't wait to catch up with family and visit up close and personal....but the july sewing list is at the forefront today....what's on it?

1.  finish quilting the 'cabana daydreams'.....almost ready for the binding

2.  get the scrappy christmas trees to the flimsy stage....need 90, have just over half done

3.   finish up some border blocks for a wall quilt to get a flimsy....about 10 more to go

4.   october guild challenge project....templates prepped, fabrics pulled....it's a small wall quilt but can i get this to a flimsy too?

5.  and (hopefully) get another scrappy to the flimsy stage; it's a quasi-log cabin, dark blues and tans, only 12 blocks but they are 16", lots of strip cutting will need to be done....

all this plus the extensive cooking i routinely do, plus occasional housework, some volunteer duties, required grocery trips and all-important sleep.....already today have washed dishes and made a wild mushroom tart....so citygal, start that vacuum!  

homage

what better way to start off july than by honoring a long-ago quilter and some of her work....this piece was donated to the senior center in a box of stuff--some quilt tops and a few blocks in progress--and i quickly brought it to the supervisor as being vintage and worthwhile to preserve.  she mentioned the county heritage center, so i called them and offered it.  but because its county provenance could not be authenticated, they had no interest in the piece.

i could not bear to toss it out....it is hand pieced, and yes, wonky and imperfect, but the fabrics are clearly old.  deciding against fussing with it too much as it is fragile and stained, decided to just add this little printed chevron border and bind.  things like this always make me wonder about the maker....there were a few other blocks in progress but this was the only one completed.  it's a testament to someone's desire to create for whatever reason, and as annette funicello said, "life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."   so too with quilts....

and since the dog days of summer are here for the entire week, some refreshing "green tea" will be on hand....the basting pile grows by one!

when friends....

give you scraps, you must make blocks!  pal marianne is currently making green churn dash blocks and i think the scraps she gave me are from that project....looks like some were leftovers from the GO cutter that she uses....

these are cute little paper-pieced Ts and will only make them until the background fabric is used up--about a yard.  got the foundation pattern from this book, also a pass along from marianne....i like paper piecing and the patterns in this book are fast and easy, just right for using up scraps

this little project will get finished and put in the "maybe sell"  or "maybe gift" pile....but i get to have the sewing fun!

light of day

yesterday i posted about the wonderful get together of some long-term stashbuster group members and how much we all enjoyed the day....we were drunk with giddy quilty fun, but today's another story....the harsh reality of the day after is glaringly evident in the afterglow of such fun....what reality you say?

THIS reality!!!  while marianne is happy to have alleviated her cabinets, my one bookcase is anticipating the battle of the bulge....a little bit of everything--batiks, fossil ferns, solids and a few fun prints....right away pulled out these 2 for some now sewing...

some forest green batik scraps and a green print neutral....my first fun chore...and she also gifted me a delightful and useful desk lamp for my sewing table....she valiantly tried foisting spools of thread on me but with no current need, sternly declined.  the lamp has taken its place next to betty and will be a thoroughly useful and enjoyable addition to the sewing studio space...

now to prep for the weekend of bad apple behavior and a management company that cares nothing for the life quality of its residents.   they go to great lengths to distribute stern rules but in truth, their only concern is the building and grounds.....more residents they can get but lush property and a sound edifice are of sole concern. 

gang of four

it was a hilarious, fun-filled meeting of the minds yesterday at stashbuster marianne's house.....L to R are grace, marianne, barbara and nann....the stars aligned and we were able to meet in person to (ahem) bust stash?  LOL....after conversing via posts to the yahoo group for many years, nann and i met in person... she brought book goodies, marianne provided the necessary sustenance and barbara and i contributed our sparkling personalities!   did i have this much fun in my 40s?  i don't think so at all....driving home after dark had to navigate orange barrels and closed lanes but fortunately no deer jumped into my path, as so often happens in these parts.   so delightful to take advantage of this opportunity for who knows when it will present itself again....

monday design wall

in addition to yesterday's progress  post, before going to bed laid out the little kaffe pennant blocks, and early this morning fired up betty and got this small wall quilt together....

thanks to my pal marianne and her generous gift of some KF lights, this perfect border fabric was on hand and is exactly what kaffe might have chosen i'm sure...LOL!   wouldn't mind having more of this pretty print....always brings hester prynne to mind for as hawthorne said, "she loved beautiful things," a serious crime for a puritan. ***  have slacked off on my daily gratitude journal but so glad for God's gift of another day and another opportunity to try and live up to my name....

head start

july goals have been formulated and written down....june goals met--or almost--but time and tide don't wait so onward it is....the cabana daydreams is just about ready for binding so it'll get finished before vacation comes.  this weekend started on a july goal....this scrappy log cabin variation done in dark blues and tans....this will probably be a donation quilt and tied meaning a quick finish before fall arrives--or should be.  with steamy hot weather all week long and probably beyond, lots of indoor sewing time.

pattern found in american patchwork magazine, designed by annette plog....august 2018 issue.  here are my 12 blocks started....

also finished another block in THIS donation quilt that needs to be finished by october....

this pattern came from the book "no scrap left behind" by amanda jean nyberg....a great idea for any and all scraps...plenty of combos come to mind, any that would make it a winner!  lastly, finished up making stems for this project and have started basting on leaves....

would love it if this could be a finished flimsy by december and start the quilting in january of 2020, only about 20+ years since pattern was bought....i still love it tho and really does evoke new england for me....busy weekend half fun and half horror thanks to those selfish, ignorant neighbors of mine....even mister rogers would say so...

silly question

would you like some kaffe fabric scraps?  faster than you can say 'paper piecing' they arrived in my mailbox.   had been eyeing this quilt for some time....it's in "glorious patchwork" by you-know-who....

these are 6" blocks but mine are half that size....

in my solid stash are (were) 3 straight quarter yards of kaffe's shot cottons.  i never included them with other solid projects as they are not exactly solid/solid as warp and weft threads are different.  they just got repositioned and refolded several times...until today.   i'll make these little blocks until the shot cottons are gone and then decide on a pattern....so a heartfelt thanks for the kaffe scraps and yes, i can use them...LOL! *** steamy summer days and another medication tweak this week but things have evened out and chilling out in the studio....it's the best kind of R and R....

QOV

last thursday our guild once again awarded a quilt of valor....the worthy recipient is the husband of a DAR and quilty friend....

a retired Lt. Cdr. from the US Navy with a family heritage of many Navy vets.....these awards always choke me up as they display the sacrifice and service in such a tangible way....and even tho mother's day is long past, just finished up a gift for my mom...

a stack of these batik strips were another donation to the senior center, enough for this bag and a second one for me (not quite finished).....it was the first time i had used a fusible foam to give it body, which worked very well....so another cross off from the june list...what's left you ask?  guild challenge project, more civil war diary blocks and more cabana daydreams, which is nearly ready for binding....an orange batik is on hand that should add to the summery feeling of the quilt....

finish and flimsy

just saturday finished the binding on this donation quilt....sized for infusion chair at the local cancer center....

started these repro bricks some time ago and decided to use them up and get 'er done!  UFO list down by another one....yay!  next up is a throw flimsy of these mod-type solid blocks which is now off the design wall and in the basting pile....

i've seen this pattern done in shades of red and blues/mauves/purples, both very stunning....i am working away on the solids pile so mine is scrappy....though the top half seems darker than the bottom, it's the angle/flash of the camera and in person the blocks are distributed quite evenly....a laid back sunday thinking of my dad, of course...and a bit of playtime with kaffe fabrics to be seen at a later date....