corona-cation, episode 6

as the unplanned retreat rolls on, doing my best to avoid the news most of the time.  it's always grim and makes me feel more helpless, so i just don't watch period.  this gives me more time to putter around the apartment and work on my sewing projects and cook those ever-tantalizing low sodium meals!  like many others, have made some masks...

my daughter requested leftover downton abbey fabric for hers and grays to match my son-in-law's work scrubs.....i lined them with a kona white cotton, a tightly woven fabric.  ***  then the black/aqua/white got to the flimsy stage at the same time more batting arrived, so this week's goal is to get that tied and finished for donation....

then, circles around the edge of the joseph's coat got sewn on....have to say these finish much quicker than the circles on the interior of the top...one side was done in short order and another all pinned.  this will get basted this week i'm thinking....

happy now that i finished this as i do like it, altho my mom has claimed it when it's finished....last but not least, got tired of seeing piles of fabric on the sewing table and the floor in various places, so took an hour or so to do this....

the browns go on the top (not seen), so essentially at the same level i have been since moving here 4 years ago....the reds/greens/tans are in those shoeboxes on the right and pieces 2 yards and over--backgrounds and backings--are in the canvas bag on the left.  no surprise that the biggest collection is blue fabrics, light to dark and everything inbetween.   taking stock just about cures me from adding more, altho did cave and purchased half yard of lobster fabric and half yard of blue crab fabric in homage to my "dual citizenship"...    ****  when this began, i had toilet paper so didn't rush to get any and, of course, it's been out of stock everywhere since.  my kiddos came to my rescue with 4 precious rolls which should last until the hoarders think they have enough.  

corona-cation, episode 5

it's finally sunny here in this part of MD....and 60s too so very spring like...been a busy couple of days here.  i think i've finally gotten into a recognizable routine, in fact i know i have because when i woke up, i knew exactly what day this is...LOL!   even the old viking is smiling....here are some photos of what i've been sewing....some potholders made from mini-charm squares gifted to me...finished off the binding and the silver cloth too!

two i'll keep and two for somebody else....the binding was on hand, donated to the senior center a while back.  just knew it would be handy someday....and remember the easter panel?

added a couple of borders to it and will now quilt/bind and gift....so cute...another senior center donation....next, got the rows of the black/aqua together...

i really like the color combo of this...tomorrow will be a flimsy....it'll be donated...did some leader/endering and remember this?

pulled out the backing bag, did some frankenbatting and now ready to baste.  this will be the last and then i can put the folding table away.   it's not in the way but it does take up a fair amount of floor space.   ***  hoping your corona-cation is as productive as mine is so far....

addendum...

just to keep me honest, the 'home sweet home' pattern was by samarra khaja....

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!