nick of time

i don't make teeny tiny blocks like many so this is my kind of mini.  it's the boston star pattern i've been saving...i lived in boston and surround most of my life, so it brings back all kinds of memories.  it's red and blue and gray, not quite white.  it also resurrects long-ago ancestors who fought for establishment of our republic when maine was also massachusetts. and it's done.  on time.  as good as it gets!  (whoops..linking up with wendy and other monthly mini-ers)

and here's the placemat from some of the gifted christmas squares. don't you know had just the perfect small piece for the binding.  will pop into the donation bag for the thrift, hoping somebody will buy and enjoy.

another hot week....midnight border on tap and finish the batik splash.  *** holiday plans consist of mother duties for dear daughter off her feet with an injury...nice to be needed still...see you in july!

sewin' along...

first, can i say it again?  PT is sooo under-rated.  an extremely painful shoulder has resolved AND a few new modalities have improved balance and walking immensely.  the shoulder was part residual from fall and part sewing setup that has been tweaked. ***  busy weekend--farmer's market, some house chores, exercise and lots of sewing helped me avoid news!  whipped up more of the christmas broken dishes blocks...

black/white print almost gone...have a few ideas on how to use them.  then, made a few of the 6" churn dash blocks....will need 26 and had planned them for july, but here's a preview....

don't look like much at this point....but they look good along side the little bright ones...yesterday went back to 'midnight' border blocks.  had hoped this would be a june flimsy and still might be....

they are fun to make and a bunch are cut and ready to assemble.  love working with those happy kaffe fassett fabrics.  *** the monthly mini ready to bind, today maybe, and the squares placemat.  with 3 days left to the month, the batik splash won't get finished, but close.  and before friday, the border on the gift quilt will be done as well.  *** the weather is hot and humid and gas tank nearly empty until payday friday, which is the day maryland gas tax goes up another 7 cents.  no holiday plans at all but might veer off the chicken for a pizza! 

saturday for squares

with the secret sewing project top just about done--just a border to add--decided to let my quilty muse take flight and she headed right for those christmas squares recently gifted.  how to use them?  organized them again by print....and sewed this up first...

all those pretty neutral backgrounds called me...another placemat but not before i add some wildlife applique, maybe a moose or bear and a tree...i know just the person for it!  then, more of the broken dishes blocks....

this is what's left of the black/white print...

so not too many more....next?  set these aside for a patchwork stocking...

leaving these....

after using some to finish the black/white print, maybe a few more stockings.  i have plenty of suitable lining fabrics...maybe i'll use the neutral prints and add a moose to that or just some trees....anyway, respectable dent has been made and a hot saturday has been well spent.  the only other thing done today was a quick trip to the farmer's market to replenish vegs.  pretty soon will need to replenish some thread!

churn dash-ing

only one photo today...most of my sewing is on the secret gift quilt project, but i did get all 29 of my little churn dash blocks done...a june goal.

one will need replacing as the contrast is minimal...but waiting until assembling the top as there might be others when the time comes....

and this fall, sending just joy to live with my sister-in-law.  mom has decided to pass her machine to me.  it's a vintage singer 328k work horse that sews like a dream.  a bittersweet transition of course, but it's been hardly used for many years, which won't be the situation here i can tell you!  featherweight and trudy treadle still on board for now, keeping the machine stable at 3, which is enough.  

evenings spent quilting 'batik splash' hoping for a june finish as well....we'll see. 

lastly, if you are a praying person, say a quick one for me and my sister...both of us near top of housing lists.  we've waited over 3 years, so long overdue for safer places...thanks!

monday report

monday again?  crikey, weeks go by fast...but have truly been busy all week.  doing what?  first, the weekend was spent sewing together the secret gift quilt.  the top half is done...it's a biggie at 90" square and got 5 rows put together when i had enough.  will probably get the top done before week's end.  this is the largest quilt i have ever made and will ever make.  what else?  

a bunch of little churn dash blocks got cut out and ready to sew before sunday ran out.  on today's list.  *** last week at the farmer's market, purchased a jam tart for $2 and the more i thought about it, the pricier it seemed, so tried some of my own.  i don't have the fancy tart pans but they taste the same...

might have mentioned culling old quiltmania magazines....something that can be problematic...LOL

most of the pages i saved were for small projects except this one that more than whispered to me.  of course ran right to the stash for a tryout...

while i don't have enough background yardage for the entire piece, pulled several FQs of same value.  when i finish one, will just continue with another.  will probably skip the sawtooth border.  absolutely no rush on this, long list of others first, but just couldn't pass it by.  and so it goes....

wednesday morning status

a hot weather week--great for sewing!  mr. mailman delivered a squishie the other day....

a baggie of scraps...all 2.5 inch squares...and a book about the area where my mother's ancestors and family are from....washington county, maine, downeast it's called....the northeastern corner of maine, "where America greets the day" as the morning sun shines on America there first!  the squares are all christmas themed...oooh quilty muse sprang into action!  sorted them by pattern and some prints had only a few, others many.  how about a placemat?

so the very light print, gold and green are now gone.  what else to make?  a trip to my stash and pulled a black/white christmas print and presto! some little broken dishes blocks...

how many to make?  that's easy....whichever fabric runs out first....a tad less than half yard of the black/white print and this many squares left....

closeup makes them look much larger but none bigger than 2.5" -- a few under that got tossed.  it'll be a leader/ender type project...so more stash will be busted...what is it about someone else's scraps that make them so inspiring/tantalizing/fun?  *** elsewhere, more secret squares done, more hand quilting done, floors got washed and laundry too.  with every day to sew, still feel like there is never enough time to accomplish what i plan....spooky!

short post

a whole week has gone by and no posts?  that's because most of my sewing has been on the secret gift...happy to say only 12 blocks more and assembling the top can begin.  should get basted in july...but can show you this...

while clearing away stacks of fabric and looking for churn dash ones, found some juvenile charms...not quite enough for this but added a few, sewed them up and added the border.  it'll be finished and put aside for a need....

i did add 3 of the narrow lime borders to "midnight at the oasis" so i can soon start to add the last border of blocks.  hoping for a june flimsy....

took my daughter to a birthday lunch last week and she gifted me this...

it's the jubilee mug!  i already had the queen's own marmalade on board...you can get it from amazon...and yes, it is the one she prefers!  now just waiting on the monarch to ring the buzzer downstairs and it'll be tea time!  unlike paddington, i won't be drinking mine directly from the pot...LOL!

warm and humid but can get away without A/C...not too bad thus far for summer in maryland...have a good one!

monday design wall

sunday's weather was finest kind and took advantage for a short road trip, but did get some sewing done...

 

chooky and the her zoom pals are having a sew along the next 4 months....she already got hers done as you can see and many drools later, a group of us are now following!  some are using her pattern and others something different.  mine was already started, a UFO.  need 29 of these 4" done in june...july will be the 6", august the 12" and september the 16".   all i can say is, stay tuned...LOL!

summer sunday

the weather here is just perfect and we've a long stretch ahead that promises the same...not too hot, no A/C needed, gentle breezes....great for sewing!  what did i do saturday?

a bit of sewing area rearranging, putting the UFO drawers directly behind me for very easy access.  why?  my bad habit was to pile them on the floor but the other day had another fall, a short one this time, sidestepping one.  was holding 2 china cups and neither broke, no bleeding injuries, partly saved by the back wall.  enough already!  while tidying up, once again crossed paths with the batik leftovers....

refused to move them yet again, so rustled up this placemat, using up not only the side pieces but the ugly backing as well.  there were 4 of the HSTs left that'll go into a potholder.  so they are now gone!  and squishie arrived with bit of new fabric....

couple of bodacious kaffe prints and some white neutrals for the secret project....and this week my little girl has another birthday...she is all grown up of course, but i still miss those early days when i could fix all her boo-boos and rock her on my shoulder....so very proud of who she has become....a godly woman who has endured many trials and disappointments but still lives life to the fullest....what i gave her was awfully inadequate but God has picked up the slack nicely...

it wasn't 100 years ago but sure seems like it....well, gotta go, i think i hear some fabric whispering!

june's OMG

 yikes, june already???  here's the official goal for june, the batik splash now being quilted...

it's about 25% completed so june finish is do-able...and in case you were wondering...

alive and thriving, newly repotted, mystery revealed...it's cilantro!  and lazy hazy days of summer are here so time to think about another project...

from quiltmania, pervenche des toiles designed by france aubert...i've opted for 9 blocks only so should be finished in my lifetime...LOL....here are the tuscan-style fabrics have been hoarding for the right thing!

got these on the internet as a small bundle perhaps 8 or so years ago (not the far left neutral)...purposely did not cut into them for anything else.  the main background will be the yellow paisley...but won't get officially started until more UFOs are done....so what else on june's list?

• 25 tiny churn dash blocks, 4"
  
• 43 not as tiny kaffe/MATO border blocks, 5"
• june mini (cut out to assemble today)
• mom's purse -- finish in time to travel in august
• finish secret project blocks and assemble top -- behind on this, no surprise

going to be a busy summer i do believe!