back to sewing!

arrived back in the south last night after another long travel day...55 degrees in the maine morning and 91 degrees in the baltimore afternoon...quite a spread!  a restful night in my own bed and today is unpack, get groceries and car to garage for unspecified ailment that occurred on the drive west....as for sewing, this got done before departure...

it's 3 of 4 rows of a future donation quilt....appeared in american patchwork and quilting in august of 2018 designed by annette plog, although it's a pretty basic pattern so the "design" part confuses me....but anyway, used up a fair amount of blues just recently replaced by vic in NH seen in an earlier post....you know the blue attracted me right away!   as for vacation sewing, hand pieced 2 guild projects that must remain under wraps for now, but did manage to finish 3 little blocks for the next border of "midnight at the oasis".....

looking fine so far...and kaffe fassett has a new line of fabric out with more uber-colorful beauties....one of my faves is something called "sea urchins" in blues/grays....more blue doncha know!  ****  lastly, can you stand one more maine beach photo?  i know i can....another of reid state park in georgetown, the open sea (and always rough) surf....so beautiful!

oh and if you see annie oakley or alfred hitchcock today, wish them a happy birthday!  

20 hours.....

before heading south....altho i've lived there over 3 years, nothing except my daughter and son-in-law are tugging at me to return....not even my fabric stash is calling me...LOL!   leaving behind my cherished family members....not before taking a selfie with my mom...

 and my beloved cold atlantic....truly believe there is salt water coursing thru all my vessels...

sandy beaches (header photo), plus all the traditions collected my entire life so far--70 years' worth come the 27th.   southern life is ok, even good, but my roots are shallow there.  i'm still a driving wimp there, tolerate the lack of fresh seafood, feel out of the loop of family doings and almost never recognize anyone in the obits.  very occasionally i have a pity party of one, sitting in my apartment mired in lamentations until cher's immortal words of "snap out of it" jolt me back to a glass half full and often to the brim.  tomorrow's parting will be tough like always but will mostly evaporate by new york and the anticipation of reuniting with the southern branch of family...

last blast....

this post is probably boring to most except some far away family.....with only a few days until amtrak whisks me back to maryland, we scheduled a seaside family cookout with more.....you guessed it...

once again we visited our favorite lobster boat fisherman...these are what they call culls, which can have only one claw but in this case there are 2 claws, one being smaller.  they cannot be sold as regular 2-claw lobsters and are a bit less money but taste exactly the same...the price of regulars is $5.50 per pound and these were $4.50...wednesday we trekked to downeast machias to visit the ancestral home and take a look at a shrub my mother planted on her parents' graves.   she pruned it severely before i moved to maryland thinking it would be her last visit.  happy to say this year like last it is blooming abundantly and thriving very nicely, helped immensely by pruning a nearby apple tree that provided too much shade.  half the small cemetery holds her relatives....

the cemetery is located within a huge blueberry barren (field) which had not been picked, probably allowing it to go fallow....and we of course stopped at a local dome-shaped tourist hut painted blue for blueberry...and had our photo snapped for posterity....

tuesday out to lunch at yet another seafood shack type restaurant with dear sister....it's a local uber-favorite and was bustling from the time it opened until we left....the local national guard members visit often...and large take-out orders for businesses and elderly residences are common.

still a few things on the list before the rental is returned, leaving time for a thorough rest before departure.  once again the time has flown far too fast but already planning for next year's visit and preparing to temporarily say goodby to my dear family members....a heart wrenching task....

a week to go...

with plenty on the 'to do' list yet....today ventured to the shore again for more of this...

met up with NH friend vic in freeport and she brought me this lovely bundle of birthday blues!

since my blue scrappy is nearly done, these will fit nicely into the stash for future projects....if you hop over to her blog, no doubt she has posted a photo of us chowing down fresh lobster roll (hers) and steamers (me) at harraseeket lunch and lobster where the parking lot is always full!

can't beat a maine lobster shack!

more fun....

perfect weather for outdoors so headed to the coast but first a visit to 'busy thimble' shop...repros from floor to rafters...good thing my budget was limited and i had preselected some jo morton indigos, a few pinks, a couple of di ford prints and a nice purple..

awesome peacocks!   and on arrival at cyndi's shop, spied some very tall deep purple hollyhocks strutting their stuff....my grandmother had hollyhocks in her yard and they always remind me of her...then it was onward to pemaquid point, a favorite spot with gentle breezes and sparkling ocean..

after a scrumptious lunch and some relaxation, onward to boothbay harbor and more ocean sights....plus some gently lapping waves...finally into vacation mode after a shocking start of car accident with the rental (yes AGAIN this year) that was not my fault and no injuries, but unnerving as it occurred only 15 min after picking up the rental.  had to switch vehicles and refocus on having fun.....

rough day

after a very long travel day arrived at maine destination where it was still hot and humid....but the itinerary had been mapped out so first day trekked to a very chic lobster shack where we dined in the rough on fresh delicious fish!  the vistas right off the travel brochure but so typical of any small fishing village...

this photo could have been snapped at any one of fish piers all along the coast....nothing fancy at all but the view and the delicious fresh food prepared simply--no CIA-trained chefs need apply!  

and no coastal trip would be complete without a finish like this....

a stop at our favorite lobster pound then scooted back to pop them in a hot pot for several yummy lobster rolls, again prepared simply without celery, lettuce, herbs or fancy bread....just a new england style top cut bun, some mayo and the lobster....fancy chefs take note!

done and done!

oooh loving this horribly hot weather!  so fantastic for hanging out with the air conditioner and sewing machine!  happy to say finished these 2 small wall quilts--not official UFOs--but done nevertheless. 

made excellent headway on my official UFO of blue scrappy strips top as well.  *** ran out very early and opened up the grocery store for a few necessary items, then quickly back to the cool.  tomorrow the reprieve air arrives and it will be welcomed....but one day left to retreat into the quilty space....isn't life grand!

ADDENDUM:   oh nooooo!  while sewing on the sleeve realized had made an error sewing the rows together....sheesh....silly me!   it's staying that way i'm afraid....chalk it up to being imperfect....no surprise to anyone i'm sure...

a proclamation

Be it known that on this day, July 18th, in the year of our Lord 2019, the quilting has begun on this behemoth queen size quilt known as 365 challenge.   The idea of tracking actual hours required to finish crossed my mind briefly, but instead will take notice only of beginning and finishing dates.  the quilt is destined to grace the bed of dear daughter and son-in-law.  in the interim, some small wall quilts and tied donation quilts may be finished to initiate progress on the seemingly stagnant unfinished project list.

actual pattern and design for the quilting is somewhat flexible due to the enormous amount of seams in the many 3" blocks, but may be resigned to stitching in the ditch in those areas.  using aurifil 28 wt thread in a very pale ice blue tint, hoping the nearly full spool will be enough.  there will be a brief detour from this when thread to finish 'cabana daydreams' is on hand after vacation, as that is nearly done.  I attest this a true and factual account, sealed by my hand and signature....citymouse quilter!

home stretch?

well, being a mostly "glass half full" person i'd say yes indeed!

this project got started when hector was a pup, meaning eons ago....it's my perennial busy box sewing that gets toted everywhere there might be time to sew up a square or two.  only one more row meaning 64 more bow ties (63 really as i've got one left over)....decided to call it joseph's technicolor bowties....and i think it'll finally finish off the plum solid i bought at my first lancaster retreat in 2010....3 yards of it!   i'll definitely hand quilt and keep this one as it's probably something only its mother could love....but maybe down the road somebody else will too.   and while flipping thru a book, quilty muse inspired me to another wall quilt i've been wanting to make....first to finish the plaids tho.....had hoped 'cabana daydreams' would be done by now but the variegated thread has slithered off someplace so have to wait a while to see if it comes back, otherwise gotta replace. 

another detour

the july list has once again taken a back seat to some fun sewing....recently acquired this book...

ideal for me as much of my stash is fat quarters......inside was this project....

pretty plaids that enticed my quilty muse, so what's a quilter to do but....

once again, my choices resulted in a higher contrast.......will brighten up the apartment nicely i think.....good to get back to sewing after nearly a week tending to dear daughter who had successful surgery last week.   unfortunately the aftercare at this mega-city hospital was horrific at best.  some scary medication errors and lack of basic tasks left us leery and quite concerned for her postop well being.  thankfully our God watched over her and she came home quickly and is recovering quickly as well.   ***  it's a very hot week here with triple-digit temps by saturday.....time to stock up and hibernate!