week 2 sew along...

it's the autumn jubilee sew along as seen on this blog...week 2 is done and i've purposely made it ultra scrappy in order to incorporate as many of my delish autumn fabrics as possible...

it's a short sew along, only for october....2 more rows to go....that sewing took up saturday morning.  in the afternoon, off to fitness and then a bit of meandering on the hunt for some fleece pants at a thrift store....finally found a pair about 40 miles away....good price too at $2.99.  also found a wooden spoon, a small pyrex casserole dish for the toaster oven and this little cutie...

a lovely christmas mug from mikasa...there were several but barely have room for this one...received some holiday spice tea as a christmas gift and it's perfect for cool nights especially near the holidays ****  and i'm always on the hunt for low sodium snack things....along with the salt-free corn chips i found this yummy salsa, only 25 mg sodium per 2 tablespoons....

it's good even if you don't care about the low salt.   ****  a lazy sunday with starts on needed housework and plenty of sewing on triple irish chain....first thing, tho, appliqued this little heart square for an ailing guild member.....i chose the fabric for the colors but i see it looks like a funky kodachrome angiogram....LOL!

hope you enjoy your day as i am enjoying mine!

thursday musings

another week nearly gone and the boredom of the status quo is firmly entrenched....i love to sew and have lots i want to sew, but there are times when it just gets too much, you know?  despite the mundane am keeping up to get this to a flimsy...

ten rows done, the 2 outside just need to be sewn on....4 more to go....thinking about how to quilt as it gets constructed...lots of seams but do-able....saw this in an old fons & porter magazine and set it aside for future sewing fun...when the sewing gets blah (only infrequently), have a stack of mysteries to read now that our bookmobile is making regular stops.  first i read this...not a mystery...but being a fan of the movie, curiosity piqued my interest...

this is about mary, the plain jane, part of the woodwork sister....the first 150 pages are a synopsis of the movie, so i whizzed thru to get the rest of the story....it's an okay book, lacks the jane austen undertone of dissatisfaction with the cultural confinements, but interesting and brings closure to the family of sisters.   was happy to get back to my mysteries.....

two of 3 volumes written by adrian mckinty....this trilogy only part of the books he has written about his detective sean duffy....backdrop is the irish troubles and written in the style of raymond chandler...witty, even funny in places, but full of trials and challenges of solving murders while dodging bombs, terrorists and divisiveness of that era.  these are fine whodunits, no chainsaw-type gore or paranormal stuff that holds no interest for me.  

the weather here is just picture perfect....am thinking it's time for another road trip to nowhere special, just for a change of scenery and escape the institution.  it's either that or housework, so a no brainer!  am avoiding baking as well.  today a zoom quilt guild meeting much anticipated...so better get dressed!

special request

while visiting with my mum, she noticed my summer bag of red/white/blue that i had made to take away.....and she requested one as well...a bit smaller, longer strap, to wear while shopping....

it looks small but it's about 7x10...just big enough for her wallet, glasses, keys and cellphone....has a velcro closure.  doesn't bust much stash but all materials were on hand.  this will give her hands free ease without worrying whether she'll leave her purse somewhere...which we've all done at some point.  recall a few times when my dad had to go and retrieve it from some store....

late start this morning...no rush at all so some tidying up has been done...you know, putting this and that away, getting rid of trash/recycling and a bag of clothing to the thrift.   we're back to late summer after a brief cold snap.  a large batch of veggie soup is now in the freezer for when the cold returns.  some housework needed but not today....saving for rainy weekend....

october's gift

yes i have started a new project...it's a month-long sew along called "autumn jubilee" over at this blog...what can i say...autumn fabrics always tempt me!  this is the first step of this mystery...

these got assembled lickety split thanks to my shoebox full of 2.5" squares (thank you bonnie!)....the tan background works perfectly but had only a scant 3/4 yard so went hunting in the stash for something else to use as sashing....tried a couple of tan prints that were blah, but the batik....oh my!  course, i only have about 1/3 yard of that too so not sure how this will play out, but the stash has an ample amount of equally beautiful autumn prints.  next week, step 2!   

aaaaahh-ctober

has to be my very favorite month of the year....especially now that there's no horrific winter on the horizon.  but would gladly return to new england if things were different...after all, it's home.   and i do have a guest staying for a month....

looking good for his age, about 41 i'd guess...he's very quiet which is required in this nursing home/mausoleum....he and i have survived all the crappy moves and disruptions life has tossed us....one more move is probably in the cards--this time to a definitely safe and comfortable place where we can both finally relax and enjoy many more octobers....

local orchard has this display every year....you know how i feel about pumpkins in general...

progress on the triple irish chain continues, as well as the ocean waves....now that the pesky medical appointments are over for the week, can spend serious time having fun!

october already???

indeed...just one day away....so you know the holidays and a new year are not that far off....no problem, i'll take a new year gladly, how about you?  have kept busy trying to ignore the antics in the periphery....the ocean waves is coming along very nicely indeed....briefly debated about not quilting each triangle but happily abandoned different options...will be comfy for fall and early winter quilting....

and the plumberry fabric finally arrived!  altho i had requested my mail be delivered on the 22nd, somehow it didn't arrive until yesterday.....a large stack including flyers, my ballot, my mail order drugs and the package from fat quarter shop were all jammed into my institutional receptacle...

someone asked me what i was going to use them for....use them, i said....just going into the pile after the wash and dry.   i will incorporate some into the current repro project....

speaking of which, been busy working on the repro triple irish chain, a messy but enjoyable project...it occupies every available inch of space with various strip sets and units at hand....no, don't need a bigger table...would only encourage a bigger mess!

and in the battle of the command hooks, 3M has these replacement strips available....so they obviously realize the product has its drawbacks....i got 3 packages and my design wall is now back in its proper place....we'll see how long they hold....

blogger acting very badly indeed this morning....has taken me nearly half an hour to get this post ready to publish and still some of the spacing is off....oh well, it's small stuff indeed....will be sewing thru the rain today!

drought over...

 the quilting drought that is....last night sat and relaxed with hoop and needle to work on the latest project...didn't get a whole lot done but was definitely in my happy place...

then first thing this morning, set up phoebe (featherweight) to attach the little orange peel blocks to the center of "midnight at the oasis"....oooh i am loving this!  the next border is wider and applique...this is a jen kingwell pattern.  

wednesday was super busy getting groceries, medical appointment etc but had to sneak in a brief morning nap....vacation is hard work...LOL!   ****  and just because i am a commoner doesn't mean i can't breakfast like royalty...

'tis the queen's own favorite marmalade....there's the royal warrant smack dab in the middle...my daughter, the downton abbey devotee and now uber-anglophile, gifted me this along with a jar of lemon curd from the british food depot.  it's tangy and only a tad sweet and yummy of course.  trust her majesty to find the best!

my mother's birthday gift this year was a gorgeous quilting calendar...

a portent of things to come when, hopefully, covid-19 will be just like the blizzard of 1978--a distant memory.  oh and the usual scrumptious blueberry pie....

i'll close with a brief video of vacation vistas....

vacation wrapup

it's been summer to fall and soon back to summer after arrival in maryland later this week...33 chilly degrees here in midcoast maine this morning but the air is crisp and autumnal evoking pumpkins, apples, cider and eruption of foliage color...we enjoyed the absolute best september/late summer weather at the beach....last thursday was 75, warm, hint of breeze and spent nearly the entire day lounging in the sand....lobster rolls for lunch of course!  my lazy needlework slowly progressed, first with the applique block...

and then some cross stitch that gets pulled out now and then....a short mealtime prayer i heard long ago and then found this sampler....

friday we visited our favorite seafood shack for one last yummy shellfish treat....

ordering to go as it was too cool to dine al fresco...fried clams for me and fried scallops for mum....aside from the clams and one hot dog, kept very close to the cardiac diet with fresh seafood and chicken...saturday morning packed up and back to mum's until departure....one last family dinner to bask in close ties only family provides...leaving with mixed emotions as always....but of course, in my mind i'll always be here...

by the sea!

tuesday check in...

and it is a very chilly morning and day here in coastal maine....46 degrees at 5 am and going way up to 60 later today, so these are now in use...

yes i packed my wool sox...and glad i did too!  warmer weather starting tomorrow thru weekend, tho....and i have been busy sewing too...

all 12 of my little orange peel blocks are done and ready to attach to the medallion center at home....before i left, the ocean waves got put into the hoop and the quilting just started....

a family luncheon was held last thursday where we served up plenty of lobster and steamed clams, fresh veggies and iced tea....it was wonderful....precious time with my family...

lobster prices are reasonable and we had the fish market cook them for us, eliminating some of the mess...they were delish!  but since only one was left over, we visited our local lobsterman's garage and picked up more...

these we just picked out and are using for lobster rolls....mmmm good!  the lobster man said they came off the boat the day before, so uber-fresh!  and finally, a view of the ocean....still warm for this time of year at 62 degrees....big waves for a few days from tropical storm paulette off the coast...

we are soaking up as much sand and surf as possible...it will be difficult to leave....i never get enough beach time......clam chowder on deck for today, ideal for cool temps...but first off to the beach and take in those big waves!  

hey diddle dee dee...

the seacoast life for me!   oh how i am loving being right on the ocean again...we've already scarfed down fresh scallops, haddock and crabmeat...taken up residence in our motel room with an ocean view....at least if there was no fog....

we did have one sunny day so far with the usual seasonal distancing typical for after labor day...

the seagulls, i've noticed, are a tad on the thin side....without tourists they are having to make do with seaweed and fish...no hot dogs, cheese puffs, sandwiches and the like...   plenty of hand sewing getting done....my eagle is ready to baste and quilt....

some 'midnight at the oasis' blocks are progressing...

and even a bit done on a camel...for the nativity piece...

today is our family reunion lunch...dear daughter and son-in-law have arrived and are taking in the smells and sights....it's lobster and steamers on the menu with fresh veg.   we are staying at the echo motel in old orchard beach....a superb lodging with the most comfortable beds...the most accommodating owners who have thought of everything....the area has lost 35 million this summer alone from lack of canadian tourists, but we are doing as much as we can to contribute to the economy...now off to the beach!