winter rolls on....

with no sign of slowing down yet...in a few weeks spring should be on its way!  but i need some spring NOW!!!  went to the stash and hauled out a spring-theme UFO that uses this cheery fabric...

the other day--when it was warmer--actually heard birds singing!  so the sewing to-do list was revised a bit and hope to have a wall quilt flimsy by the end of the weekend....have more of these small blocks to paper piece first tho...

yesterday's task was to baste the "stars" quilt and that is now done....

i really like this quilt...."stars in a time warp" a barbara brackman sew along started in 2016 i think...this is another keeper....today's task is to baste the "new england sampler" as it's the next to be quilted.

lastly, a book review.....

robert galbraith is actually jk rowling of harry potter fame.  this is the 4th book in her mystery series featuring dectective cormoran strike and, in my opinion, the worst.  it is a whopping 950 pages with fully a third of extraneous, unrelated story line that could have been left out completely without affecting the evolution or outcome of the mystery.   it reads as though she had no idea whatsoever where to take the story when she began writing....making it a too long, too tedious, too convoluted and disappointing book.  i liked the other 3 mysteries but probably won't pick up another, that's if she writes more.  

joy at work

"just joy" the new babylock zigzag got a chance to show her stuff....a beloved t-shirt had developed a few holes....it's a sentimental thing and so a repair was required....happy to say back in one piece and joy has proven herself useful even tho not loved....

the other day a nonsquishie package arrived....items passed along from a quilter who no longer sews....happening more frequently as many age out of their beloved hobby....a day we all dread, well at least me....some patterns and kits...

a few of some finished blocks....

and lovely fabrics to make more....

as soon as the box was unpacked, my muse went into overdrive....too many projects?  don't be ridiculous...LOL!

and for all you winter weary folks (meaning me of course).....

reservations made for late summer.....counting the days!

february finish first

though a LOT of sewing got done in january, no finishes to check off....but that has been rectified with this first finish of 2021....the scrappy plaid triangles!

this is a donation quilt and it was tied with perle cotton....the ocean waves SHOULD be a february finish also....just about done with all the little triangles and then 9 feathered circles to quilt....only this corner of triangles left...

the patriotic wall quilt and sew along piece both got basted.....i used flannel on the sew along piece as it's small and will be hand quilted....the flannel will give it a nice hang....

today is guild sewing plus baste the 'stars in a time warp' ...then the table can come down for vacuuming and possibly some dusting....

when vaccine is available, the health dept people will come to our complex and do everyone....no idea when that might be whatsoever......everyone wants this like yesterday....like many, i am beyond bored but there is a faint light at the end of this pandemic tunnel....time for another mystery road trip and change of scenery!

getting ready for snow

like so many, this morning ran to store and fitness in expectation of a couple of days of hunkering down...might even get to a few house chores...friday was taken up with lengthy visit to cable company....budget demanded a downgrade and went from 125+ channels down to 25+ channels with only a meager $30 savings....cable company obviously designs viewing packages to benefit the company and never the consumer.   but did sign me up to save another $11 off my mobile service that necessitated a new (and FREE) phone, a new learning chore.  but they transferred all my stuff to the new phone and got it up and running......then to the machine!

the little sew along piece is ready to baste.....pulled out binding fabric as well to prep that

another jo morton print so naturally the colors match...will probably hand quilt, due end of may.  

then a little project for guild.  someone had given away this adorable chicks fabric and it came in handy for this little quilt.

there is enough for the backing as well....it'll be machine quilted for a quick and sturdy finish.....i'm  hoping these spring-like plaids will appeal to some little one....it's for an Easter giveaway.  

maybe now can get the folding table set up and start tying the scrappy plaid triangles....would be nice to start february with a finish!

winter day

a bit of snow overnite and icy this morning, so winter isn't quite receding...great sewing weather! after all my kitchen duties finished, went right back to phoebe and the stash....finished this small civil war flimsy, now in the hand quilting pile....

then moved on to the bea et cecile sew along project.....

started this with one idea--orange peels--and remembered these jo morton charm squares...then while pondering how to assemble, remembered this stripe print, also a jo morton, in the stash....thankful had just moved the stash onto bigger shelves, which brought it to mind.  this will be a small finish adhering to the 'curves' theme....the colors appear much brighter in photo than actual and will be hand quilted of course.  finish deadline is may--no problem at all.  i'd say one of the rules of quilting is to absolutely know your stash.  it certainly helped me in this instance.... also doing some giftie sewing than cannot reveal right now...

my group is up for vaccine but of course, there is none at present.  another resident here tested positive, the second so far.  holiday spike seems to be waning but alas, nowhere near back to normal anytime soon....

ho hum sunday....

and although i started the day with list as per usual, not many things got done....laundry yes...and some sewing and quilt related things....

needed 32 of each and did just manage to squeak them out of quarter yards....only a few scraps remain that went into the basket--could not bear to toss these lovely dutch chintz pieces...

and some of this....

2 borders are on and 2 remain to make and sew on....then it will be a flimsy....

saturday was an exhausting day with grocery pickup and put away, then made a huge pot of beef vegetable soup....lots of chopping etc. that obliterated nearly the rest of the day.   then today decided to make some artisanal bread....commercial varieties are loaded with salt, so it was the best alternative.  i do have a great cookbook for all sorts of artisan breads....first up olive rolls...i did notice the missing salt even tho the few chopped olives are somewhat salty....

and a small loaf of sun dried tomato/parmesan bread....

these will go great with my soup.  one package of yeast made both and pretty happy with outcome...my paternal grandmother was a pastry cook in a small hospital and after retirement baked constantly at home...always rolls, bread, biscuits, cookies, donuts, pies, cakes on hand....my job was donut shaker...LOL....

then what's better on a dreary sunday than a good whodunit?  nothing!

this author (aka jk rowling) has penned another great mystery (so far) featuring her detective, cormoran strike.  i've read the others... this one is a whopping 950 pages!  and no wizards in sight (so far).  just one of those disjointed kind of days where can't seem to settle on one thing or actually feel like doing any one thing....maybe pajamas will help!

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