bonnie hunter was right!

when it comes to ugly fabric, per bonnie there isn't any, just cut it smaller and it'll work....turns out she was spot on!  while assembling my 'splash of color' blocks i pulled this blue/white batik..not exactly an ugly fabric and it's blue, so it'll work, right?

sewed up a couple of blocks using it for the biggest triangle and nope, didn't work at all.  i was really disappointed as i like this fabric a lot (it's blue remember).  but, the bonnie hunter angel on my shoulder whispered "cut it smaller"....and voila!

okay this WILL work!  so big triangles became small ones and will get used.  these blocks are piling up and their bright colors are lifting my mood this sunny sunday.  and have you looked up lately?

i'm seeing tons of pine cones on fir trees everywhere (click on photo for closeup)....in my neighborhood (new england) that is a bad winter harbinger for sure.  it's nature's way of providing enough food for birds in the frozen season.  will see if it holds true for maryland as well i guess.  ****  one monthly goals are on track and the challenge quilt is moving along as well.  next is to come up with a november mini--my kind of work!
 

quilty choices

last weekend looked up jen kingwell's new book "quilt recipes" and was hit with immediate sticker shock....on amazon it's $49.50!!!!  yes that's right.  it has the 'wensleydale' pattern that had attracted my quilty muse.

it's a lovely book of course but at that price, totally out of my budget....there are templates with no instruction, but they are $31.50....again, beyond my budget.  everything is more expensive these days and more so down under australia i guess.  but for one pattern and maybe one recipe, just not practical for me.  will stick with the more frugal substitute and sort of similar UFO project by jo morton, an equally proficient designer in my mind.

aptly titled economy blocks done in delicious repro fabrics...gives me the same cozy traditional feel as the joseph's coat quilt and equally satisfying as 'wensleydale'....course if joe sends along another stimulus check might reconsider...

splash of color moves forward...i tweaked a few of the blocks whose value seemed incongruous with the overall effect...22 of the total 64 blocks are done....

added benefit of this project is i get to use up this thread...somehow i had 2 spools of turquoise thread which doesn't work for many projects but hardly noticed on this one.  used one spool for bobbins and this one remains...

 

 

have ordered replacement black thread for the UFO i was working on so maybe can get that one done this month as well.  added the cobalt blue for the scrappy double wedding ring to make postage worthwhile. 

regular exercise is doing wonders for the hip.  walking normally until it gets tired when hobbling returns, but i do now believe eventually all will be well.  it was booster shot monday and can now say i've had all my shots....LOL...

November OMG x2

november?  is it really?  indeed...and for this month am focusing especially on these 2 projects...first, a smallish wall quilt "amish granny" because of the granny smith apple green fabric.  have put the quilt that requires black thread on the back burner temporarily to get this one finished and off the UFO list...

an opportunity to use another border stencil...and since batik fun continues, hoping to get these blocks all done--39 to go--and maybe into a flimsy before december arrives.  

this isn't the final layout, just get put up as they get finished....hoping will put a dent of some sort into batiks in the stash... november's monthly mini is added to the list as well.  these should keep me out of trouble...LOL!

November 1st is the anniversary of the cardiac bypass operation....a roller coaster four years has zipped by....so happy to be alive and probably in better health than i was for a long time.  so thankful to the Great Physician for preserving my life and bestowing wisdom and expertise to those who are His facilitators.  as Mrs. Goodneedle always says....life IS good!

no tricks, just treats

lazy sunday sewing...and that is a HUGE treat of course!  the third finish of october is now crossed off the list. 

 

a big block wall quilt measures about 24" made to use up that beautiful piece of border.  this was a donation to the senior center but just small pieces.  not even enough to miter the borders so had to finagle for aesthetics.  what else have i done?  

now there are two....shuttle blocks that is.  this is going to be wild....like m&ms, i want more!

later the same day....

this is a "good" from today.....loving these batiks and playing with all these colors....anxious to continue tomorrow when the silence curfew is lifted....about 8 am....but there was a bad....while i was out today at fitness or bookmobile, my only spool of aurifil black quilting thread grew legs...almost full too....the bug man was here--he always leaves a calling card--but someone had to let him in.  nobody told me he was coming today.  so a $12 spool of thread has evaporated....other evaporations have happened here before.  and it will turn out that "nobody" took it.  so my person and place continue to be violated here almost since the day i moved in...wish i knew why...and wish it would stop.  for good.

monthly mini

my monthly mini was a UFO so doubly glad to finish it...

it's probably a smidge larger than what others make as mini, but it's a mini by my fuzzy math! just needs a wash to remove chalk marks.  and i've been playing in my quilty crayon box!

a box full of batik pieces that are positively swoon-worthy....such bright colors that are morphing into these...

four done and only 60 to go....winter will NOT be drab around here....and caved to one more new start, my last of 2021....a kaffe fassett pattern for that charm pack recently gifted....the accent fabric arrived and couldn't wait to audition....

pattern called "shuttles" by kaffe....the black/white is a timeless treasures called 'wild camo' and is zebras on swirly stripes...the unit measures 3x5 and tantalizing expectation is making me giddy... now back to that fuzzy math to decide how many to make....bought 1.5 yards of the zebra so will see how far it goes...

and just like that another week is on the wane...my melancholy has also diminished tho not entirely.  keeping busy, exercise and autumnal weather are a great tonic!

starting the week...

with two finishes....the monthly mini is done but will keep under wraps for another week.  the One Monthly Goal is finished and here's the photo finish.

it's the joseph's coat repro....i love this quilt...it isn't perfect but i don't care.  started years ago when piecing skills still needed work, but it just epitomizes "quilt" to me...about twin size, it's colorful, cozy, evocative of simpler times....i just love it!  i'll be linking up with OMG and document my goal reached.  what's next?

this is throw size and should be able to finish in november.  perhaps squeak in a small one or two besides.  attacking the UFO list with fervor!   my hand work project is the "midnight at the oasis"....the vine is basted and now to applique and add flowers.  hoping this will be a flimsy and maybe basted by new year's.  that leaves the next machine project...one wheelchair top and then this.....

called "splashes of color" by katherine guerrier from her book "scrap quilt sensations"....so many beauties in this book, all done with color crazy batiks.  difficult to choose and there is a scrappy blue snail's trail that is whispering to me as well...

this week will find out if guild meetings can resume...oh i surely hope so...has been a too-long hiatus and tho thankful for zoom, nowhere near the same.  and have you seen this?

it's a jigsaw puzzle designed by--you know who--kaffe fassett!  a biggie 1000 pieces and i'm pretty sure i need one...LOL!  it just might be the christmas present to myself this year.  available from C&T Publishing....no conflict just my personal advert...speaking of christmas, my kiddos are both working christmas day so declaring it a day-long pj retreat with a few allowed munchies and white christmas on tv...no snow needed, thank you very much!

hump day

that phrase has almost no meaning at all now that i don't work...LOL...not to say i haven't been busy sewing tho....first up, joseph's coat quilting is done and i've pulled the binding fabric...

a stripey fabric that's been in the stash and will work nicely.  that's on today's agenda.  the next UFO is already in the hoop.  then, i've been sewing lanyards for the new local vet center...a project called platoon22....every day 22 vets commit suicide and the new center will provide support to help ameliorate the suffering...our DAR chapter made lanyards for nametags.

my guild has a challenge linked to our biannual quilt show.  this year it's color theme and my choice was blue...naturally!  a bag with assorted fabrics came my way and this is the start...

shouldn't take long to applique this center block and the others are pieced....january deadline for this.  last, a dear friend and enabler of the finest kind sent this my way....

a kaffe fassett charm pack!  swoon worthy as usual....i've already started a new project with these and other kaffe scraps in my collection.  this is start #5 for the year, not too bad....with 11 knock offs from the UFO list it's progress in the right direction.  hoping to cross off a few more before january rolls around.

summer has finally left the building!  yesterday swapped seasonal clothing and flannel pants already in use.  hoping guild meetings in person will resume soon.  since returning from maine, have been mired in doldrums and bogged down with concern relating to friends' illnesses, my own economic situation and ongoing housing problems.  really in need of some honest-to-goodness fun and diversion...so thankful family, online pals and my ample fabric stash have kept me going...

summer or fall?

today it'll be half and half...but it's been summer for this week anyway.  first i put quilts on the bed, then i took them off...going back on today tho...i am so ready for fall!  this little hanger got finished yesterday...

another free chart off the internet that i've finished for my mom's door...now all the aida cloth scraps are gone!  one cross stitch UFO remains....it's been my focus this year to get them finished.  other than this, working on the monthly mini and One Monthly Goal, which is to finish the joseph's coat quilt and with half a month to go, could very well make it.  the monthly mini is a UFO also so two more done is very good.  another UFO, my version of bonnie hunter's 'narragansett blues' is a top and will be flung to the guild's charity project.  

i am not a huge pumpkin foods fan but there is one scrumptious recipe i make....yankee magazine's Publick House Pumpkin Muffin.  The recipe comes from Publick House tavern at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts...a re-creation of a new england 1840s village.  i've visited several times and it is definitely worth a trip if you are in the area.  i've included a photo of the muffin and the recipe...

every bit as good as they look....

Ingredients

    2 cups granulated sugar
    1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus extra for pan
    3 large eggs
    1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin-pie filling), such as One-Pie brand
    1/2 cup water
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon table salt
    3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    11/2 cups raisins
    1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:
Grease cups of two standard muffin tins or use paper liners. Set oven rack to the middle position.  In a large bowl, stir together sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and 1/2 cup water.  In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until moistened. Add raisins and walnuts and stir.  Let stand 20 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°.  Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, each two-thirds full. Bake until golden brown and domed, about 15 minutes.  

Useless tidbit...if you saw the movie "Hawaii" with Julie Andrews and Max Von Sydow, parts were filmed at Sturbridge Village...enjoy!

monday report

a busy weekend but not much to show...did quilt on the joseph's coat and sewed up more red/white/blue blocks for the donation top.  both should be off the list very soon.  to stave off boredom, decided to try this...

first block of the 'alaska' quilt by edyta sitar.  carefully prepared pieces and checked 1/4" seam allowance...all went well until finished...the dreaded center points were off...and so was the block size too.....what?????   supposed to be 9.5" but mine came out 9.75"....but oh the center...a total disaster!  so unsewed a total of FOUR times until ended up with this result, which i'm calling good enough.  there are 48 more blocks all with equally annoying center points which have decided to machine piece the block halves but then hand sew the seam joining the two halves.  i'll try the next block and see if it also measures 9.75"....if so will just go with it and resize the borders.   

it's a dreary monday morning with promise of summer heat this week.  then maybe fall weather?  aside from exercise and house chores, another blank calendar week...