ten thousand blessings

sunday AND all soul's saint's day....perfect anniversary for the "zipper" cardiac surgery....can it really be 3 years?  has been a rocky, roller coaster ride so far but improving every day and big leap from last year.  despite the nicotine and pot smoke environment, the excellent, watchful care of all healthcare providers under guidance from the Great Physician, the recovery has been no less than amazing.   to say i feel blessed beyond measure is a huge understatement...even though i'm still one heartbeat away from life's end and i have a sure hope of heaven, thankful beyond words for each day and admonishes me to live to the fullest, savoring this gift...

trick or treat?

 how about trick AND treat....

sewing and reading and watching (oh my!) all seemed rather mundane but then remembered this puzzle acquired over 6 years ago, never opened.  table set up (for basting originally) and box opened....was the right sort of diversion for seemingly endless days.  days can quickly and easily disappear when engrossed in a puzzle, which is why they don't often see the light of day.  after a few hours, time wasting guilt sets in and other things get done.  good way to see halloween in and out i'd say....

and i never tire of seeing these two ghouls....i think my aunts were having a party with church people as the background man is the reverend...my dad's old hat got repurposed that evening....

and a farewell until next year from jack, my 41-year-old october roomie!

better than fabric?

that would be FREE fabric of course....saturday the guild held a trunk-n-treat event across from our meeting church....we brought our free table stuff to find new homes...and vice versa...LOL!  i ended the day fairly close to even.  unfortunately tons of books went begging...all good books and ones we all had when we started, but no longer needed.  i found some backing fabrics and some other interesting pieces...

the rooster fabric was a small piece but i thought it was cute...and the ducks piece was just over 2 yards and also cute....and lime?  always comes in handy....

to banish boredom monday pulled out a UFO, a jo morton design.  slight detour from the last quarter list...i keep most of my UFOs in drawers for easy access and organization....

even with 2 zoom meetings, made good progress....

mostly jo morton fabrics and jan patek, some from the 1980s too.   *** with temps slowly ratcheting down, this just might be some of the last roses of summer...

bush roses are everywhere in maryland....here at shady pines they are yellow...these are down the street and are mostly pink, but a couple of red ones always pop out...  today must get back to that list for the last quarter of 2020.  with this pandemic continuing on at a snail's pace, it's getting more and more difficult to be motivated and alleviate boredom.  it also heightens my discontent here at the village.  thankfully my fitness center remains open and can visit often to jump start endorphins.....until normalcy returns, my job is to keep on keeping on i guess...

monday report

fall has definitely arrived here in maryland...temps in the 60s daytime, 50s at night but later in the week, 30s at night...bring on the winter menu!   and winter means quilts!  busy hand quilting the amish inspired ocean waves...just this weekend finished the first of the plain squares....a traditional feather wreath.  have always gushed over feathers and wreaths as they just satisfy my traditional muse.  

hoping to get this finished by christmas eve....to sleep under while waiting for santa!  i'm thinking a quick trip to lancaster is a must before long....

then the last row of the autumn jubilee sew along was sewn....gorgeous pumpkins, scrappy of course.  i brake for pumpkins!!!  

waiting to see how the hostess sets the rows, but i've been toying with my own ideas...

and if you see this handsome devil tomorrow, wish him a happy birthday AND congratulations....he became a brand new grandpa last week, his first...it's brother #2 and he is so very blessed...

orange you glad???

that it's autumn??....i am...because i get to play in my orange fabrics for those seasonal pumpkins of every size and style....

the last row of the autumn jubilee sew along is pumpkins!!! how wonderful!  thankfully the orange stash is healthy and available for sewing some. ****  it's a glorious warm fall day here and went out for a leisurely drive to soak up rays and see the sights....not much foliage nearby here, still plenty of green trees, but the fresh air was, well refreshing!  won't get that nip in the air that new england is already feeling until november some time....and when i arrived home, there was a squishie in my mailbox....from a quilty friend...

it's the "alaska" pattern and templates....how generous!  i am humbled by such a kind gesture...and when the stimulus check arrives, i'll venture north to lancaster to get the fabrics...i might have one of the blues on hand but generally most of my inventory is half yards or fat quarters...now off to make pumpkins!

can you say...

flimsy?  just this afternoon after a short post-exercise nap, got this wall quilt to the flimsy stage...

i have always liked this color combo from the 1980s and so this kit caught my eye right away....everything was included--fabric, batt and backing.  also worked on some charity tops for the guild too...phoebe was whirring i can tell ya!  tonight i'll be doing more hand quilting on the ocean waves....the UFO list waits for no one...LOL!  

good day as returned to fitness center after brief hiatus...it felt good!  also back on board are all regular meds so those plus some extra rest and fluid replenishment got me back in the normal groove...blessings abound make life good indeed!

happy hump day

colonoscopy is over and done and i'm off the hook for quite a while...the entire unpleasant but necessary test is a much bigger ordeal because of my cardiac meds, a nearly two-week process.  spent the day before ignoring my hunger pangs by working on this...

this was a kit purchased from a fellow guild member last summer.  it required my full attention and was a great diversion....this is how far i got with it...

two more of the beige pieces to sew in and then the border can be attached....intriguing construction, but you know me...it's the quilting i like best.  this wall quilt is on my last quarter list of things i'd like to get done before january arrives.   ***  this despicable living environment has created another health issue for me...the corneal tear is taking longer to heal than expected and will require an eventual procedure for a more permanent fix.  thanks neighbors...i could have gotten along fine without this...quilting really does keep me sane and also from becoming a felon...

saturday sewing

it was catch up day for the autumn jubilee sew along....one more week or so and this should be a flimsy....this week it was the ever popular leaves, a favorite of mine....

i didn't realize how many autumn theme fabrics i actually had until i started using them....each and every one a microcosm of vast foliage vistas....the middle leaf here is actually from fabric with butterflies on it; the one directly to its left is called "tulip time"...who knew?  looks like autumn to me.  ***  next up is to tie and bind a baby quilt for an october baby.  and with cooler temps, time for some new flannel lounge pants. ****  and do you know this lady?   it's mercy otis warren, a prominent female figure in the establishment of the republic.  the us postal service is considering her for a stamp.  you can help make that happen....simply drop a note of a few sentences to the postal service requesting same...

Stamp Services, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, D.C. 20260...and thanks!   ***  short week what with 2 days for routine colonoscopy prep and appt....yeeechh!

the whole thing!

years ago there was a tv commerical, "i can't believe i ate the whole thing!"....well, i can't believe i finally sewed the whole thing....this triple irish chain top!

all those tiny postage stamp squares...the squares were sewn in strip sets, but still took about a gazillion pieces.  i finished off 3 spools of aurifil and many full bobbins too.  best of all, a UFO drawer is now empty.  **** on another front pulled out this seaside theme toile from the stash...

as backing for this...

haven't yet decided whether machine or hand quilting tho....and another planned weekend task is this...

this piece of flannel will be fashioned into lounge pants now that cooler weather is here....mine are ancient and in need of replacement.   ****  first up are 5 leaf squares for the autumn jubilee project.  such fun using up some very pretty autumn prints in the stash!

almost....

 done with these cute little patchwork blocks for the triple irish chain...only 15 more to go!

would have had them done except for detour thanks to the antics of the gray-haired juvenile delinquents in my building....seems i just get into a good fitness and sewing routine and bam!  their selfish behaviors derail my entire life, this time affecting my vision.  but there are some positives....all the drops and ointments are making my complexion glow like a 25-year-old...LOL!  and there is that idea for a new cookbook entitled "half baked"....recipes for the one-eyed cook!  while it hasn't been a humorous situation at all (quite the opposite), thanks again to my ever-vigilant PCP and the awesome frederick health system, i'll be right as rain in no time at all...