national quilting day wrap-up

although quilters have a designated "day", being retired means i sew/quilt pretty much every day  it's the retirement goal i had for many years, one of very few that has materialized (no pun).  even though i was "down for the count" for a couple of days (thanks to fellow tenants), managed to play in the stash.  more accomplished on the scrappy DWR....

the pile of completed circles grows and all needed pieces have been cut.  there might be enough left for the binding but even if another half yard is needed, that's progress for me.  the remainder of march will be assembly....then with a trip coming up, restocked the busy box for travel....

another of those projects that's been waiting for some attention....a jan patek nativity.  prepped enough for 3 more blocks which is an ambitious goal, but one never knows.  

then with 'midnight at the oasis' hanging in plain sight, pulled out some greens for the vine on the applique border.  

the blue thread bobbin is almost gone...the binding will be finished once thread color changes..  then more hand quilting done on the new england sampler....but this hampered any further sewing progress...

this is an interesting and beguiling story of a child's request....a mystery but more than that, a relationship story between a retired cop and a child, the rural culture and how problems get solved in a harsh, impoverished environment.   sort of the dark side of 'ballykissangel'....i seldom choose books that i can't put down, but this is definitely one of them.  ate up the most of two whole days!  

even with the book and all the sewing (note:  no housework or cooking!) managed to enjoy some burgeoning springtime weather....

and that, my readers, is the most delightful thing about this chamber of horrors called taney village.

pajama sewing

with rain coming down steady, an empty to-do list, listening to ambulance arrival (a regular occurrence here at mausoleum manor), no place have to go and just joy beckoning, sat down and sewed up a couple of "what if" blocks...

i know there is a cracker pattern project in my future....but what fabric genre?  christmas?  kaffe? scrappy?  still deciding so will hang on design wall until little gray cells arrive at decision....in the meantime, hoping to spend the weekend on this flimsy-to-be...

so this is how it goes together.....5 circles wide and 6 rows in length....now that i've put together enough to get the hang of it and have sewed together all the melon sections....

it's onward to the circles and then the rows!  easy peasy....anticipate a march finish for this flimsy....

almost finished quilting 3rd row on the 'new england sampler' so only 2 rows left and the applique border so guessing an end of april finish....

flowers starting to bloom and rainy weather will green up grass nicely....cherry trees ready to pop...my 5-year anniversary as a maryland resident approaches....wish i had gotten a place to live where locked doors and personal property are respected and left alone...but maybe one day the ambulance will cart off the perp(s)....have caved and will get dressed now....LOL!

three is better than two....

isn't it??  so working on 3 projects simultaneously is a good thing, right?  i had to, it was a matter of fun versus death by boredom.   the double wedding ring is going along, one row assembled, more rings ready for the second.   the new england sampler is moving along pretty well....

the little flowers row is all quilted....now working on the next....loving the cross hatching....but was bored with these two projects....fun but the pandemic was stronger....so moved along to the kaffe project...midnight at the oasis.

for some reason my phone camera hated to take this photo....the blush pink you see doesn't exist in real life....the funky baskets border is on and applique vines and flowers will get added.   then another narrow row of lime.  the next border is comprised of tiny churn dash blocks....and these are fun to make!  get to play in all those bright scraps....2 done so far....

only 50 more to make that won't bust too many scraps but very colorful....so these 3 should keep me from extreme boredom, especially now that one vaccine shot is done and warmer weather is bringing more freedom from isolation....waiting for red letter day when the mask gets tossed....

a chaotic week here with some mom duty and another corneal tear requiring 3 office visits and eye drops nearly hourly.  the spring weather helped but still glad to arrive at the weekend....happy to say just joy has fit in....disappointed i could not get a machine that matched the quality of the old viking...but this one meets my needs and will work nicely until my mom hands down her vintage singer....then i'll be able to pass this one to a new sewist

no cooking, cleaning, dishes or laundry to do so i guess it's just a sewing and exercise weekend!

it works!

the pattern i'm using for my scrappy DWR is new to me from an old quilters' newsletter magazine.  it gives the quilt a straight rather than curved edge.  i have done a curved edge before but the straight edge is much easier....still lots of piecing to go, wanted to see if it goes together easily....

so far so good....five circles to a row with six rows....big enough for my needs and liking....my usual piecing style meaning most seams matching perfectly...doesn't matter, it's the quilting that'll make it....i love it already!

and recently some old photos of my mother's family came to light....her father was the youngest boy of 14 children....this is him in the 4th grade....tall for his age and his usual facial expression....i picked him out right away....

his younger sister was also at the school....priceless images and memories added to our family story....

spring temps for the week and plenty of sun; one shot down and one to go....seems like topsy turvy life is beginning to right itself....i couldn't be happier!

saturday already??

another week has flown by despite weariness with the pandemic, the mask, the isolation, the boredom etc....no doubt you are feeling the same.  this week finally received my first shot as did my mom, so there is light at the end of this very long tunnel.  there were times i didn't feel at all like sewing or doing anything really...one day was a total wash...there was some progress tho.....

'hosanna' is a finish....in plenty of time for holiday hanging too....with a delightful toile backing that makes the back as nice as the front....

and that means this piece was immediately put into the frame that might be an april finish....

so happy to see this finally......and some marathon machine time resulted in this...

still a long way from a flimsy here but good progress.....always have the urge to start a new project but thankfully the UFO list has kept me from doing so....i really would like to chop the list in half this year if possible....can always pull one out to work on to alleviate boredom when it crops up....

and would like to direct you to this website....NEW ENGLAND QUILT MUSEUM (neqm.org)

to see a preview of one of their current exhibits....quilts by my friend wendy reed of maine.  even if you can't visit in person, just seeing a few of her beautiful quilts is inspiring and exhilarating.  i am so very happy the museum has highlighted her work....and kudos to the original museum committee....i remember the infancy of this project and thought they were nuts....but they persevered and had some help along the way and was finally established....

one more week to daylight saving time...yippee....no more dark mornings!

bad habit gone

sat down at the sewing table to cut more pieces for the scrappy double wedding ring....it's is was my bad habit not to make sure i had enough fabric.  working from a small piece of the blue solid, realized it was too small.....oh no, did it again???  that would be NO!  there on the shelf was the other yardage, more than enough for all the pieces.  no frantic last minute try to match saga!  color me happy!

sunday while sewing was perplexed about how this top went together....so when all else fails, read the directions grace!   lots of frogging (ripping out) now on the correct path for construction.....today i've gotten this far....

apparently all the circles have to be made first and then put together....and since i'll have lots of blue solid left over, started to think about how to use it in another amish style piece...isn't that just like quilters??  always planning the next project....

and if you see this cutie today, please wish her a happy 60th birthday....the baby youngest in our family....if i close my eyes, i recall my younger self standing beside her crib....

and finally the sun has arrived for the rest of the week.....thank goodness!

february's final!

 just in time to see the back of february.....a wall quilt finish....

note:  no toes this time!  

saturday sewing

another gray, rainy, damp day outside but inside the sewing machine is busy....with my 'hosanna' wall quilt all pieced (and basted too!), time for another UFO for the machine....passed over 'civil war diary' for the scrappy double wedding ring.  would be nice to get this to a flimsy this year...

the rows are 6 x 5 so closing in one row 1.....good thing i saved the magazine and my rudimentary layout drawing, otherwise......you know the rest!

last night was tinkering with border pieces for the dutch chintz panel....it's english paper pieced and wasn't totally certain how to manage the elongated hexagons.   have a friend who does lots of EPP and is very good at it, naturally....but it's a skill hardly used by me.  how to make it work?

have 64 of these units to make and had to break one of my personal quilting rules by using a tad of roxanne's glue to tack down the sides and then thread baste the ends.  proceeded to sew a few together to make sure it would work....and it does.  i don't like to use adhesives of any kind on my projects but felt like it was the only way.  it's more hand work that will be a good take along project if i were going anywhere...not likely... also for zoom meetings and such.  *** but the very best news this week?  both mum and i are getting shots next week if anticipated vaccine available.  even rain can't ruin that parade....

weekend excuse

 nope, didn't get to housework this weekend as planned....and this is why

an idea that turned out exactly as hoped....at marianne's get together nearly two years ago, fabric was flung and these green hand dyes came my way.  they were small pieces, scraps really, but too pretty to use just anywhere.  saw this block--aptly titled hosanna--triggering quilty muse.  used my cute little bird fabric for sashings and the whole time i worked on this, my sunday school lesson on palm sunday percolated in my mind.  couldn't be more pleased with the result.  it'll get hand quilted SOON and then binding with green in time for palm sunday.  and just this morning heard a bird outside my window, in spite of THIS!!!!

weatherman says over by one-ish....and then warmer all week, hoping this is the last.  so no more excuses, will be tackling that housework now.  and if you are of a certain age, today is notable for this gentleman....

in school the teacher would pass out mimeographed coloring pages of washington and lincoln and the classroom was decorated in red/white/blue.  all washington's grisly flaws have come to light, but none should diminish the courage, persistence and leadership that forged our nation.  no man is perfect, but he and his efforts shouldn't be tainted by 21st cultural mores.  God bless America!

light in the tunnel....

for a change in the weather and perhaps my turn for the vaccine!  it's been a wintry week and pretty cold this weekend, but next week warmer and on the road to spring....i'm ready for sure!  spent the week finishing the ocean waves quilt....took longer than anticipated....

it needs a wash but have to get some color catchers first....this was one of my someday quilts and happy now it is done....this one stays with me for the duration....so what's next to quilt?

had planned to start 'new england sampler' but decided to see if i could squeak in a couple of small projects...so the sampler delayed until march 1st for this and maybe one other.  with little else to do except exercise visits and housework, can make some real progress on the UFO list.  sewing machine had a nice rest but that's about to change...

with all the disasters around involving weather and economy, feeling quite blessed and insulated so no whining about being bored or sick of winter....just thankful for another day, sunshine and the ongoing good health of my family and myself....got joy in your life?  it's there somewhere--hope you don't have to look too hard to find it!