november mini

with the holiday over and leftovers gone, time to get back to sewing!  since my return from Maine, have been quilting the gift quilt.  but after the parade, the featherweight came out to play...first up, to finish this...

it's machine quilted with flannel batt; at about 16x20, this is mini to me!  you know how i feel about amish solid-style quilts and so no surprise here.  after this, a sleeve got sewn for a gift wall quilt, and the december mini got basted too.  but nothing goes in the hoop until the gift quilt is done and feel confident that'll be well ahead of Christmas.  only necessary house chores until then, so week between christmas and new year will be more thorough and decluttering to get ready for yet another sewing-filled year.  

december will mark the end of the monthly mini challenge for me.  i've had fun and used some of my pretty fabrics.  loved seeing what others make, which is always inspiring.  blame it on the brevity of time...if i was sure i'd have 40+ years of quilting ahead i would probably continue, but that's only a tantalizing wish i'd guess, and there is that 3-ring binder chock full of things i want to do!

happy thanksgiving!

hoping that you, like me, have a long thankful list this year....yes, news is grim and there is more than enough sadness and misery to go around, but in the midst of it all i consider myself blessed!  my life is poor in material riches, but overflowing with the important ones.  my maryland family works tomorrow so it'll be just me for dinner, and yes, i've got turkey and all the sides...it'll be a sew day for me!

 Blessings to all who read this!

trip recap

have returned to maryland and temps that are a bit warmer....yes, we DID have SNOW on wednesday but only a couple of inches...so here's the final report--if you're interested, that is....

waiting at airports got this much done on this christmas stitchery....there's more to the top border and a single row of the zigzag along the bottom and then can finish into a festive wall decoration...love those reindeer!

while at mum's, stocked her freezer with some future meals....not fried clams but rhode island clam cakes, more like puffs as you can see, but they do taste exactly like fried clams. 
 

in addition to home cooking, we dined out a few times and were treated to a delish breakfast by my bro and SIL at a B&B near their home....plus lots of seafood and yes LOBSTER got consumed.  i do miss it a lot here in crab territory...

we took advantage of a couple of balmy days and visited our favorite beaches....here's a link to a video of reid state park and the effects of hurricane nicole.   we visited on a whim but the parking lot was nearly full of other beach lovers and we were rewarded with this show of nature.  in all my beach days, i've never seen the waves curl like this!  enjoy!

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNK2Ys5YS0uJdrmOUkXL3FFxa7HifOxGCrbQsFz

 

no new sewing....

am away in maine visiting my family for a brief week before snow flies...enjoying lobster of course and other seafood delights....we trekked (well, drove actually) to boothbay harbor, a favorite seaside locale and found it quite deserted, not a tourist in sight!  just the locals getting ready for the holidays....

this colorful buoy tree adorns the waterfront....i love it!  then ventured to a local eatery for a delish seafood (natch) lunch overlooking the harbor....heartily recommend it if you find yourself in the neighborhood...

the tugboat inn has been a fixture for many years....then another trip to yet another seaside favorite and watch the awesome waves because of hurricane nicole's visit....i'll post it when i can.   *** before  traveling back to MD, we'll all gather for an early Thanksgiving meal and more of that precious family time...

chilly has arrived

it's true, summer weather has gone and with it my shorts wardrobe...was inevitable of course and i am ready for it.  ****  the kaffe lozenges is a flimsy....

i moved around some of the prints to achieve balance, but it seems as tho the bottom half has fewer dark prints so might still require some tweaking...as far as other sewing, quilting the perimeter of the gift quilt so a christmas finish is definite.  it's huge, 96" square, way bigger than i care to make really, but for a gift i soldiered on.   **** a friend loaned me this to read and perhaps discuss with others in a small book group....

thoroughly interesting read...it is believed hawthorne based his hester prynne on anne hutchinson who, the ministers of the colony agreed, "she was a woman not only difficult in her opinions, but also of an intemperate spirit".  easy to recognize the traits of 21st century women in this trail-blazing rogue of her time--in short; outspoken, with common sense, confident in her opinions and belief that she was the equal of any man.  you can understand why she was feared in Puritan America.  cool weather is ideal to curl up under a cozy quilt and be whisked away.....

bit o progress

here's the kaffe lozenges wall quilt, almost a flimsy, just a few rows to go....

the original plan was to piece 10x10 but thinking might do 11x9 instead...i absolutely love those prints...pretty sure i have plenty on hand for a few more projects...and what else?

it was zoom time for a bit last night....i've been working on the wildest dreams squares hoping to assemble the top this year.  one evening last week sat and pinned in the setting triangles to have at the ready.  there were only 6 blocks left to do....

happy to say on zoom 3 got finished with the triangles, now waiting for the 4 corner squares.  maybe this weekend those will get pinned in...anxious to see this become a top.  dreaming of the quilting as i sew....perhaps quilt every little triangle and some feathery stuff in the pink pieces?  oh yeah, that sounds good...

november arrived once again for me....on 11/1/22 it was 5 years since my life-saving cardiac surgery....that's 5 years of sewing, birthdays, christmas and thanksgivings, beach visits, lobster, happy times with family and just plain lots of love....i couldn't be more grateful and blessed!

and all you boomers don your cowboy hats in tribute today and sing along with me....."happy trails to you..."  it's the birthday anniversary of the king of the cowboys...roy rogers!

now there was a real hero....

october mini

just this morning sewed down the last of the binding....

while i was quilting, noticed that had forgotten to baste...LOL...pattern is kentucky crossroads...used a background fabric that was another of those pretty things had bought for "someday"....tops for november and december mini are also done.  *** so what is on the design wall now?

it's the kaffe lozenges piece....nearly 50 are done waiting for other half.  hoping to baste by end of week...then it'll go into the to-be-quilted pile.   *** the christmas gift quilt is coming along, nearly ready to start quilting the border; christmas finish is very likely.  if santa brings another joann card, will stock up on batts for the few bed size quilt tops waiting for basting.  looks like 2023 might be another UFO busting year!

now and then

it took only a couple of days and some marathon sewing to make a dent in the strip tote....this is now...

and this was then....just mere hours ago....

the tote even weighs less...LOL....and now i have these....

49 blocks waiting on more....such fun and lots of memories come to mind, so just like visiting old friends...but the angel on my shoulder kept whispering UFO.....UFO...so will save the strips for another fun day and pulled out this, the lozenges wall quilt using awesome kaffe fabrics...

current plan is for 10 rows of 10 lozenges for the flimsy.    ****  peak foliage has finally arrived here with balmy, sunny days where the out of doors is always beckoning....just driving around with no destination is wonderful!

it's been windy off and on making lots of trees prematurely bare....all around town fall/winter pansies are planted, so plenty of color everywhere!  no real weekend plans--exercise, bind october mini, quilt and read....that's about it.

 

happy birthday.....

to this little guy....dear brother #2....he lives far away but in our hearts and thoughts every day...he's a grandfather now...how did that happen???   8 years younger than me, so now he has joined the medicare generation...

 and just like popcorn, couldn't stop making those scrappy squares from 1.5" strips....

don't mind my wonky design wall....i needed a piece of flannel for one of the monthly minis and yes, i hacked it off my design wall...  these are NOT log cabin blocks, rather just strips sewn as pulled from tote until they are the right size.   some days miss going to work but not on a blitz sewing day!  still a long way from emptying the tote, tho...keep calm and sew on!

a flimsy!

 

the amanda nyberg pattern is now a flimsy, 60" square and soon to be flung to the thrift...somebody should love it's colors and find a place for it, and it'll generate funds for their service projects, win/win i'd say!  

moseying around blogland inspired me to answer the siren call of the scrappy sewists...LOL!  the tote of 1.5" strips was in my face and overflowing...what's a sewist to do?

especially when a blank afternoon is on the horizon....well, thought i would try a scrappy block or two...and shazam!

the sewing mojo kicked into overdrive and now there's a stack of half done blocks plus these....no pattern, no fussy cutting, no nothing but pull out a strip, sew it on and trim.  now that's what i call fun.  thinking another donation top is well on its way....and only a load of laundry and the day is wide open...more sewing fun!