did you notice?

yesterday, about noon, a gentle, refreshing, breeze emanating from south of here....filled with hope of unity and respect, kindness and truth, clearing away detritus of malice toward many, divisiveness and lies.....an old face with strong ideals and his army of believers who carry the prayers and hopes of a (mostly) grateful nation who love America and for which it stands....

we did it!

 that would be me and my two experts, so handy to have at my fingertips!

if you suffer from border timidity, can highly recommend this book....even me, the ultimate math dummy, can assemble a decent pieced border with the info found here.  have only used it maybe a dozen times since it was bought used eons ago, but it is a must for my library and maybe yours.  and here is the result...

this is yet another project that was put off due to fear of messing it up...but after finishing one side, was anxious to gingerly continue and finally couldn't stop until the border was complete...the next border is another narrow pink and have several ideas to go on from there....trepidation aside, eager to continue until the top is finished....can't wait to use more of those lovely dutch chintz fabrics!  the weekend is off to a smashing start!

first finish!

 the UFO train has powered up and happy to post a photo of 2021's first finish....

my dear daughter finished the cross-stitch on this elegant sampler stocking for me and put it under the tree...for me to complete, which i happily did....i love the antique samplers and always hoped to make at least one, but quilting has completely taken over all my time.  then i found this pattern....apologies to the designer--if she is still with us, that is--as it's been in the works for AT LEAST 20 YEARS....but it's done now and ready to display year-round....the hanger was reinforced just in case santa has to fill it with coal--don't snicker, it's a real possibility...LOL!  regardless, it makes my friday happy indeed....

another repro mini

not tiny but mini....blocks will be 7" finished, which called for some advanced math on my part, always a huge undertaking!  saw this block on the web, kim diehl simple whatnots i think, and wondered if it would work larger....plenty of scraps at hand of course....

another row and some sashing and might be large enough for guild charity project....or sew together and add sawtooth border--that's a sample peeking out--....might eventually sell it if i can...would make a great album or friendship block...plenty of possibilities anyway....

and meet the newest member of the family....it's joy!

a new zigzag machine to tide me over until the singer 328k comes my way....does what i need and has a decent warranty....won't get daily use, have phoebe for that.  the viking could not be replaced as machines are not made the same these days, not even singers.....i didn't want embroidery or computerized...hesitated to buy used on the internet due to chancy shipping and other unknown factors...disheartening to shop for quality items that have become obsolete...i don't love joy but i don't have to.  even if i had a gazillion greenbacks, the old viking wasn't coming back--gone the way of the rotary phone.  sometimes progress just isn't.....

my facebook account has gone haywire....somehow i had two of them, have deleted one and cannot get into the other....so set up another....sent friend requests to my "regulars" with no responses whatsoever...i only friended family members but some of my usual groups are non-responders as well....they should know i'm not donald trump...LOL

brrrr-isk saturday!

yikes, 25 degrees at 7:30 am....that's cold for these parts.  had planned to visit the gym but plans again derailed due to chemical abuse from nasty neighbors...makes me plenty mad i can tell you...that's what happens when low-life, self-centered people with an over-inflated sense of entitlement live in apartments.  came close to ER visit but my life-preserving meds rescued me.  

did spend time putting new belt on trudy treadle, made more challenging by significant dust layer, but got 'er done and gave trudy a whirl.  by afternoon was able to pick up some sewing....first up

felt good to rock the stitch again and make progress on this..hoping for january finish....then sat down at phoebe to stitch up more blocks for another small reproduction piece.   saw the pattern online someplace and tweaked it to fit my needs....25 blocks in all, will be about 35" square when done...

then, somber call from sewing machine repair confirmed the worst--old viking cannot be repaired.  parts stopped being made years ago and replacements nearly nonexistent for an issue rampant in these old machines.  it was repaired once about 20 years ago extending the life, but now must say goodbye.  seems silly but i'm heartbroken.  it went with me everywhere--rented rooms, other scuzzy apartments, seemingly immortal with a 25-year warranty that doesn't exist today.  it was my grown-up blankie.  one last visit next week to retrieve personal effects--magnets and such--that adorn her.  profound tearful sadness probably just the result of most recent huge pile of disappointments and stressors of the past year and will pass...but not today.

friday finish

that would be the new england sampler flimsy.....just about ready for a gentle wash and press and then mark for quilting and i am deeee-lighted!

all that's left to applique are the tiny centers on 4 of the blue flowers....so glad this is nearly off my quilty plate and can get back to ocean waves and other winter goals....got me thinking about how many applique projects are in the works....first is the sew along with bea and cecile project...

orange peels from a jo morton charm pack....this has a may deadline, is a small quilt, should be no problem getting it done on time (3 done so far).....

four of these big blocks, christmas red and green....just barely started so no deadline whatsoever....i do know it'll have swags, something i've wanted to do....then there's this in the works...

the wide polka dot border of this is applique but nowhere near as involved as the sampler....the corner baskets are pieced....this'll probably be the next applique that gets done after orange peels so i can proceed with the remaining borders.....not bed size but large wall quilt, like the sampler....then this is waiting in the wings....

worked on this during summer vacation....again no time frame or deadline....a lovely primitive jan patek pattern....then there is this, the newest, applique project on the list....

it's one large block, a whig rose variation, using that luscious salmon pink repro gifted me by an online quilty pal....i wanted a pattern that used it a lot and with big pieces..such a lovely fabric.....the jo morton cream from her 'glad tidings' line makes a perfect background for it....the stems and leaves are a brown print....i'm really good at leaves now...LOL!   last is the vintage tin of dargate indigo blocks....i had bought a FQ bundle of these rich indigo prints and cut most of them up into basket appliques....one wall quilt has been made and gifted to dear daughter, the rest just keep stacking up for a someday quilt...i often grab this project to take to guild meetings for busy work, but no progress nearly all last year of course...

even though i piece most of my quilts, applique is a technique that really tantalizes me.  my skills and confidence have improved a lot, so the skittishness that hampered my progress on the new england piece has dissipated and can't wait to forge ahead on these....time gallops on and so thankful my vision and fine motor skills are up to the fun and hope they remain so....

back to basics...

now that the holidays are officially over for another year.  from here until february, it's just plain winter.  this is prime quilting time, however, as any quilter can attest.  no gardens, lawns, cookouts to muddy up the schedule!  new year's day was a pajama sewing day for me....didn't even take time to make the bed or get dressed!  with jane austen on the telly, sewed up all the wishing ring blocks that were cut....

so there are just about half of the 143 i need for a good size quilt....and this year signed on for another small quilt sew along....the theme is curves and these blocks had already been set aside for someday....so it was kismet that i should join...

these are jo morton fabrics from a charm pack and the project has to be finished by may....thinking no problem here.   and then on my trek east for christmas, stopped at the guild receptacle and picked up 2 more top kits to sew.....

the gals who head this committee could be CEOs of any Fortune 500 company....tireless soldiers who motivate and manage an army of recruits....many charities benefit from our efforts and i'm proud to be one of the worker bees.  it's been a challenge without access to our ideal space but it's getting done, quite admirably too.  

so clean slate, fresh start and all that other stuff we tell ourselves at the start of any new year.  my family and i are blessed beyond measure, despite the valleys we've trekked thru and will probably continue to experience....but the joy of life knows no equal!

are you ready?

with no firm end in sight to "blursday", am fully prepared to know at a glance what day of the week it is that i'm repeating over and over...LOL!  you might recall my mom gifted me this in august at my birthday....

how did she know i had been ogling this online?  and then this arrived in the mail with autumn......

a really nice calendar with historical photos....last year it was portraits and this year highlights architectural details of this beautiful building in DC....this beltway chicken has yet to visit only 40 minutes away....and here's another i get every year with a gift subscription to my brother and SIL.....

this brings glorious photos of home and many places i've lived or visited.....then i get one of these every year.....

the delicately beautiful watercolors of this talented artist make me positively swoon....when the year is over, i repurpose many of the drawings for my scrapbook....i have 4 rooms counting the bathroom and each one gets a calendar....but the one i rely on most is this beauty, a gift from my daughter and SIL this Christmas....

this one gets my appointments and other useful info to keep at hand every day....last year's, of course, was nearly totally blank but feeling confident that this year's will be used more.  

i've been working on the new england sampler and it's getting closer to baste ready....

no other plans for the holiday other than relax and enjoy and my jane austen marathon, so take a cup o' kindness yet for auld lang syne!

finally together!

that would be ALL my fabric stash....not the precuts in shoeboxes or fabrics with UFOs....but everything else, including big (over 2 yards) pieces.  all it took was extending the shelving by 5 inches on one side....here is the before....

an inexpensive bookcase purchased when i moved here nearly five years ago....has served me well despite its precarious structural issues....yes it DID lean a bit now and then!  see the canvas tote?  yep, stash in there, as well as an underbed storage container that holds big pieces...plus the shoeboxes on the floor holding more fabric....but here it is now....

still six feet tall, but the space on the right has now been utilized with a slightly wider shelf width.  the shelves themselves are deeper as well, not required but easier when pulling and returning fabric. the shoeboxes came in handy to keep stacks from falling out.  big pieces and backings on the bottom.  the price was nearly the same as the shaky bookcase and is my christmas gift to me.  the underbed storage container is empty.  the white and muslin scraps have now rejoined their cotton kinfolk and the big canvas tote?  well, it WAS empty for a bit.....

pulled everything that was smaller than a FQ or quarter yard to cut up into strips and squares.  many are large enough to cut into squares for the guild's charity project quilts too...was nice to revisit each and every piece recalling places purchased and confess did toss a couple of pieces just too heinous to keep.  

as far as sewing, working on the new england sampler and all those needleturn flowers.  doubt it will be ready to baste by the new year but not long after, which is ok with me.  the pandemic rolls on and anticipate lots of sewing time well into the new year.  no word yet on vaccine for at risk folks.

when i turned 65, thought i would wake up that day being old but i wasn't any different at all...and anticipating the new year is much the same situation....dreaming that on january 1st life would be miraculously normal but knowing it won't happen.  even so, life is good, very very good!

scrappy sewing blitz

good thing phoebe had a tune-up...it was a busy weekend for her!  pulled out the tote with the 2.5" strips and removed lid gingerly....it was stuffed to the brim!  and there were more in another shoebox....time to thin the herd!

when the dust settled, 31 blocks had been assembled....these join the ones i removed from the design wall....

and another stack is waiting to be sewn....

i'll need 143 blocks in all for a decent size tied quilt for donation and i'm just about halfway there...sewing these up is like eating M&Ms....lickety split and there is a pile of them  (just the reverse with the M&Ms tho...LOL)....best part is the tote really shows a significant deficit.  i also pulled all the pieces that were 6" long or less and cut them into squares....then separated lights/darks to make it much easier to get back to cutting more blocks. 

this is my re-org week, one where put off tasks get done, some culling of no-longer-wants, getting out the winter quilts, attacking the budget and roughing out a sewing list for the first quarter,  the ocean waves didn't get finished yet due to time out of quilting because of my eye procedure.  

so thankful that another Christmas has come and gone and no family members lost due to pandemic.  that alone is a huge blessing.  despite concerns regarding family and friends that keep my prayers at the forefront, it was still a wonderful holiday!