corona-cation, episode 4

it's another week of absolutely nothing but housework and sewing to do.  have to admit, the days are starting to lengthen but i do have a tip to make afternoons fly by--don't get dressed until noon!  i tried it saturday and it when i thought it was about 2 pm, it was actually 4 pm!  unfortunately i did think saturday was sunday....😧 but this could be the week i start my spring cleaning---it might.  and, i have a finish to report!

i busted about 3 yards with this and it's off the list! not sure where this will go, but definitely won't be hanging here anytime soon.   course i am still sewing circles on joseph's coat hoping this will be the week those all get done.  and since time is of no consequence, decided to trace my own paper piece foundations for an easter wall quilt that'll incorporate some lettering a la tonya ricucci's book "wordplay".

only 16 were needed and it was good mindless work while attending online church sunday morning.  i'll also be participating in lori's small doll quilt swap again this year....it's about the 5th year for me and my piece is ready for basting and hand quilting.  *** continue to feel very blessed that i have not lost my job, do not have children at home, my income is secure and i'm healthy...so full speed quilting ahead!

corona-cation, episode 3

sun is finally out and springtime temps have returned....corona sewing blitz continues and happy to report another finish!

it's  the asian autumn wall quilt....leaves are cherrywood solids, background a small asian piece that was just too pretty not to use, now used up and gone from the stash!   in the hoop is the 'home sweet home' wall quilt, fitting as today is my 4-year anniversary as a marylander--a topic for another day.    

probably be my first april finish....in the meantime, have been adding centers to the joseph's coat flimsy, which is more time consuming than putting together the rest of the top.  

but before anything else, a special request from a special downton abbey fan....2 sets of pillowcases in homage to her favorite masterpiece series....

hoping you are finding the silver lining in the world-wide cloud.  i know that each day that passes, i feel more and more blessed to be free from worry and stress, even though this thursday is yet ANOTHER non-quilty guild meeting day.....aarrrrrgh!

someday is today

we all have those things we want to get done "someday"....one of mine is this rug that needs repairing...

a long time ago in another galaxy, i was going to braid chair pads.  the wool and necessary tools were bought and i actually got one done--i needed 4--and then set aside for garment sewing, work, house maintenance, landscaping etc.   then i met a woman who actually made rugs, small ones.  we agreed to swap....the bag of wool with the one chair pad for a rug....the sewing of the braids has come loose in several places.  i love this rug and now have the time to fix instead of just vacuum around it....and then there's this....

the farmer's wife sew along flimsy....it's been at the bottom of the basting pile for far too long and been thinking about it....came close to tossing or giving away a few times, but i really like the blocks and realized it's the setting fabric i don't really like.   have decided to deconstruct and find something more to my liking in the stash....now that i have a lot more choices....finally, happy to say the basting blitz is finished for now with these 2 added to the quilting pile...the hexie stars and the scrappy "orange is the new neutral" quilt....

i had just enough pellon left for the stars, so that 3 yards is gone....the orange will be quilted with a large baptist fan stencil that came from a barb vedder giveaway.....hoping to get back to the machine today and tackle the "wildest dreams" stars....hoping to have joseph's coat ready to baste by end of month so can get it quilted in april....i shall conquer the UFO list!

corona-cation, episode 2

after a saturday away from sewing, played catch-up today...first, a task that had been postponed--new cover for the ironing big board...

then vacuuming with a bit of a temporary blip....the binding for my stars sew-along was tacked to the bulletin board and just touching the floor and whop!  in a flash the power nozzle ate it!

after gingerly removing it and tossing it in the trash, decided to see if it could be salvaged.  it had been way too long to begin with, so what was worth keeping will be enough for my small quilt...

early this morning the folding table went up and basting commenced....first the solids honeycomb sofa quilt...

then the flamingos and the stars sew along piece....

next up is the orange scrappy....took a bit of a break to make my low sodium pizza for lunch, light supper and a piece left for breakfast....the small amount of sodium in crust mix and mozzarella is legal for me when divided among 3 meals...

to be honest, i do miss pepperoni but the 'new normal' forbids it.  and managed to fit in some exercise using the hallway railings and some free weights i have....for nonquilty entertainment, the us army band is live streaming concerts every day thru thursday on youtube...check it out!

corona-cation first edition

ever dream of an endless sewing vacation?  i have and it seems it has finally materialized  (no pun!)....the old viking is 41 years old and this era of daily sewing just might finish her off....LOL!  here is today's installment....after cutting up a bunch of scraps, many of them reproductions, decided to try out this pattern....

my quilty pal, nann, had made an entire scrappy quilt of this pattern and it was so pretty, but i opted for a smaller version using scraps she mailed to me....not sure how big this will eventually be.  the block boards gifted to me are quite handy for small projects like this....and a guild pal had a vinyl project bag and it caught my eye; picked up some vinyl and pulled a couple of kaffe prints and made this...

she told me someone made it for her and used vinyl for the inside as well, which she thought was a plus, so i did as well....no pattern, just winged it with pretty good result...have enough vinyl to make another at some point....in addition, have put the 'home sweet home' wall quilt in the hoop and got the ironing big board recovered.   ***  tomorrow is going to be a wash but next up is basting!

sewing in place

while most of the world is going berserk, spending my time re-organizing life without regular fitness center visits--and formulating plan B.  if this nonstop virus talk continues, may even volunteer for that trip to mars.  the plus of this altering event is that more sewing fun is happening.  my only request would be if they DO set up a field hospital nearby, hope it's staffed by the 4077th....but i digress....yesterday finished this cute little wall quilt made entirely of fabric that was gifted to me.  i'm calling it "morning constitutional"....

and while the aqua/black/white blocks reside on the design wall and after playing with some of the new scraps, clearing the decks to return these back into the stash...most some of the strips from the swap got used but alas, not all.

now that some sort of schedule and order has been established, have added this chore to the to-do list....the always everflowing scrap basket....

appliqueing circles on joseph's coat and sewing up wildest dreams stars continue.  a basting weekend has been scheduled as well, but vow to houseclean first, although there seems little point.  despite all, consider myself blessed and glad to be healthy.

spending my corona vacation..

unlike many, the coronavirus shutdowns aren't affecting me that much....just doing basically what i do most of the time.  somehow, tho, it feels like a bonus and has fueled my quilty muse in a big way.  first up, got this little sew along challenge to the flimsy stage...

needs squaring up, then can be basted and quilted....deadline for finish is may...the indigo binding is all prepped....next, a turquoise and black/white inspiration on the net prompted me to pull a bunch of 2.5" strips from a long-ago swap.  a recent fabric gift of a turquoise tone-on-tone sent me into action for a pattern...mistletoe lane by rebecca greenberg.  in no time at all, whipped up 30 blocks for a likely donation quilt....still need some rearranging but the pile is gone...

thinking a white border 2.5" wide and then a turquoise binding....and another fling to me was this book with a cute flamingo wall quilt....a fling of a small piece of tropical fabric WITH flamingos made it imperative for me to make one....one flamingo done, 2 more to go....

this was a great gift as so much of my stash is FQ size...this will be the second project i've made from this fons & porter book....lots more great ideas, both large and small, for future use.   ***  aside from the sewing, did some laundry, made irish soda bread and did a brief grocery run (not toilet paper).   *** received word via facebook that a nearby quilt shop is closing until end of month...no doubt this is just the first.  me, still not worried and think there is way too much panic over this.  30 years of infection control inservice during my work years taught me that washing hands frequently is the best and simplest way of protection.  after heart surgery, more aware of taking small precautions that might compromise my health, but really much healthier now than i was before with improved heart function, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels only 2 digits!  ***  old viking is calling, now back to sewing!

what, me worry?

it feels as though i'm in the minority because i am not that concerned about covid-19.  do understand the ramifications, but there are only a few cases here in MD and my regular stomping grounds are local.  nonetheless, as the world around me becomes increasingly more in lockdown, will continue doing what i mostly do anyway--stay home and sew.  finished placemats for the guild, inspired by bonnie hunter's she recently made for her retreat house.  i do have some RBR license plates but saving them for another project...

more time will be spent on current in process projects and really MUST do some household things as well.  while i did forego guild meeting today, it wasn't due to coronavirus phobia....cigarette smoke at 1 am....in other words, usual crap that goes on here....

what's up wednesday

only hump day but busy week nonetheless....first, in the hoop is a small autumn leaves wall quilt...the joseph's coat isn't yet basted and that needs to be done by may, so pulled this for a quick finish...

and while sewing up some placemats for the guild sale, decided to start something that has been a pile on the sewing table far too long....the aqua was gifted to me and the black/white strips were from a long-ago swap.....the pattern is "mistletoe lane" by rebecca greenberg.....am trying to thin the herd of 2.5" strips and this pattern was ideal, though not at all christmas-y...

this will be a great gifting quilt or maybe even flimsy.....works up uber fast too!   and a birthday?

this month is the 200th birthday of maine statehood....so proud to say one of my female whitney ancestors from gorham was on the committee to incorporate statehood.....and lastly,

today it's been 18 years since my dad departed this world....we still miss him...this was taken at our favorite oceanside spot that he tolerated because he loved us...he preferred quiet lakes with fishing gear in tow and a simple rowboat....where did those 18 years go?

a finish and a story

the blue and white is done and ready for snuggling!  pattern by bonnie dodd-witt, who made it with other colors, but of course i went for the indigo....

there is a great story behind this quilt....the pattern came from this specialty magazine from 2011...

if you have one of these, it is pure scrap quilt gold!   so many beautiful scrappy quilts....serious eye candy....when i bought it, one quilt grabbed me right away....it was this one....

and guess what!   it was made by my stashbuster pal nann!  not only did i love the quilt, i was gobsmacked by nann's colors and scrappiness!  but she makes a LOT of beautiful scrappy quilts...we are color sisters, meaning we have the same color sense and vision....and there was also this beauty...

another show stopper by sarah wilhelm......but wait, there's more!   if you recall, i made a scrappy postage stamp a couple of years ago and the inner border was made of light inchies.   i borrowed the idea from this quilt near the end of the magazine....

this was made by helen weinman on cape cod...she used pastel scraps, but i love how she separated the sections with the light border.  thank you, helen, for inspiring me!   if you ever find this book, by all means snap it up!   ***  it is more and more like spring here.  flowers are starting to bloom and trees are greening up, ready for leaves to pop.  i've pulled a small wall quilt for the next quilting project until the joseph's coat is ready.  hoping to have both done by the end of april.   i've also started a couple of new small things and more potholders are needed as well.   spring and summer plans are being made that'll include some time with my maine family....countdown to the guild's quilt show means busy days ahead....all fun!