the reveal

it's been another year of health challenges for me, but i've soldiered on and hope and pray i've got the latest nearly conquered.  it's also been so wearying with too much violence, war, political strife, immigration mess and way too many gun deaths.  why doesn't anyone have any common sense anymore?  often it's been a chore to find an oasis from all that and more than a few times i've skipped the news altogether.  but i digress.....

the gift quilt has been opened and, hopefully, oohed and aahed over, so now i can post a photo...

this is the biggest quilt i ever made, 96" square, busting just over 15 yards of fabric.  nearly all came from my stash;  added only a few half yards of the neutrals.  the bedroom it now lives in is small, so i hope they squint to get the whole vision of the design. 

here's wishing you a healthy, prosperous and enjoyable 2023 with more than a little fun added.  "And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been."  Rainer Maria Rilke!

december mini

as mentioned, this is my last monthly mini quilt.  i've got UFOs and WHIMMS (works hidden in my mind) that are whispering very loudly to me.  i want to finish everything on my quilty plate.  the paramedics are here at my complex nearly every day, sometimes more than once per day, reminding (screaming) to me that life is finite.  these are things i lovingly started and want to see done.  

my churn dash needle was stuck in its groove and i wanted to use a lot of different greens, not to mention that lovely paisley fabric in the border.  the red toile was a small piece that is now gone.  it's my type of mini, about 22" square....linking up with wendy and the other makers of marvelous minis!

my mom gifted me "yankee" magazine, which i love and then sent me these....first, the box of attachments for the vintage singer that is coming soon...

they are in this vintage chocolate box, i think given to her mother by her father...there are very few momentos left so i did what i could to repair it...the contents still faintly seen on the cover.  my grandmother died shortly after my mother was born, so almost nothing of hers remains.  she also put this in the box...

a lunchbox fave from my childhood...fluff and peanut butter!  i still can sing along with the TV commercial from the 60s....it's a new england staple!

and something i gifted myself....

a real bargain at $2.50, used on Amazon.  it had been a library copy and honestly, i don't think anyone ever used it.  the pattern sheets are still attached in the back of the book, so it's like new.  

just an example of the beautiful vintage designs in this book..in my soul i am an expert applique quilter but alas, it hasn't filtered down to my fingers.  already it has drool on it....LOL!

slowly moving away from the deep freeze that came for Christmas...going from single digits last weekend to 60s next...and of course, we have no snow at all.  celebrating with the kiddos new year's with dinner and prezzies.  i miss new england a lot but so delighted to be close to my daughter. 

lastly, the gift quilt is done and packed, getting mailed today so will be able to post a photo when it's opened.  have to say it looked very nice on my bed and hoping the recipients feel the same.  bring on the next UFO!

holiday wishes

 

just a quick post to say 'merry christmas' to those who celebrate and happy holidays to others...as always in spite of challenges that seem to occur all too frequently, my life is full of blessings that overflow.  happy to be ending the year still on 2 legs, even tho a bit shaky at times.  i didn't put tap shoes on my christmas list but maybe next year??  may we all bask in the joys of the season and look forward with anticipation and hope for a kinder, gentler world.  seems unfathomable i know, but still possible.  thinking surely woodstock would agree!

in the hoop

the humongous gift quilt is now done, just a wash and then it'll get packed and sent off to its new home.  happy to say i busted just over 15 yards with this project.  ramps up my usage considerably.  i don't keep detailed in/out statistics, just a basic tally that might not be wholly accurate....no matter, i'd rather be sewing than accounting.  so this project is now in the quilt hoop....

it's the glad tidings wall quilt....the mustard print is called glad tidings by jo morton...i swooned over this print and know it will be a seasonal favorite when complete.  you can see the shell pattern i'll be quilting in the blank squares....and on the design wall....

the dargate baskets....i took this with me on vacation and think i finished one block...totally anemic effort.  i put the finished ones on the design wall as a "reminder" or "nag" to get going on this...it's one of my oldest UFOs, if not the oldest....and to the far left is a string of "S" hexies for the dutch panel project.  

heading into 2023 with about 26 UFOs, 4-5 of them bed size and all but two of these ready to baste and quilt.  the rest are wall quilts.  roughly calculated about 3 years' worth of sewing--lots of hand work with piecing/applique/quilting required.  not included are 3 scrappy tops that'll be donated as tops being made from precut scraps on hand.  one new year's wish is for continued health to see all of these done.  

getting ready for a big freeze and nasty weather here...ran out this morning for gym, groceries and gas, so the next 4 days i'll be ensconced in the apartment...if i get really bored i can start in on cleaning....LOL!  and one christmas wish?  that mary berry would invite me for dinner!  flying time to applique baskets and i know i'd look good in that funny paper crown!

countdown to christmas!

naked no more....the tree has been trimmed and its lights and ornaments happily revisited once more.

the tree itself is a cheap fake one, but works as a foundation for these cheery lights and my dear ornaments, all rekindling warm memories of past christmases and kind people....i do miss the aroma of fresh evergreen tho.  ***  have returned to my apartment after the brief sojourn retreat a mere hour away.  was busy while i was gone with results to show!

'wildest dreams' has been flimsified...alas, no big design wall to show it off properly but you can see nearly all of it.  i am quite excited to get this basted and start quilting, especially those big and little squares just screaming for some vintage-y designs.  should be a finish in 2023 finally.  i have just about decided to quilt every stinkin' triangle.  *** the 2 seasonal stitcheries also got completed--well, the stitchery part anyway.  

this will get finished as a bowl filler....and this next one will be a small wall decor piece...

that french general fabric is just perfect for finishing....love those reindeer!!  

holiday plans are set.  my kiddos are working--hospitals, you know--so i'll be enjoying the day myself with a special lunch and probably sewing in my jammies for the day.  still have a few things i'd like to finish this year....the december mini is just about ready to bind and the gift quilt binding will get sewn on tomorrow.  have begun tallying the year's progress and roughing out 2023 goals.  marathon cleaning week coming up to clear ALL the decks before new year's.  so very thankful for a year of health and sewing!

Retreat weekend sort of...

No place exotic and me the only attendee...condo sitting for my kiddos an hour from toxic village has given me days of free hours used to advance a few stagnant UFOs.....

all these blocks are now done and ready to flimsify....new word!

And up next....

a bit of applique and some homey embellishments anthis will be ready to flimsify too!  amazing what a change of venue can do...plenty on the list on return to the village but for now, an enjoyable respite....,

my week

for someone who doesn't work and has no outside time commitments, the weeks evaporate regardless...of course i sew something most every day and there are boring, repetitive household things...what's up this week?   first off, the thus-far naked tree...

it's small but still, lights and tons of ornies take time...then the ever-present stack of books

tantalizing mysteries whispering, no shouting at me each time i walk by....and this brand new, can't be renewed DAR book club must read...

i finished "american jezebel" and was gobsmacked to find i am a descendant of Anne Hutchinson and, get this, also Mayflower passenger Constance Hopkins!  another delightful accident for sure...my grandfather always told us about the Mayflower connection but never located until now.  *** so where's the sewing you ask?

a patriots scrub top for dear daughter, and flannel batt for kaffe's lozenges, can now baste...gotta try and rack up a couple of small finishes before december flies...lastly,

a pinwheel baby quilt gift that'll probably be done before january as well...plus finish the december mini AND the huge gift quilt that is almost ready to bind....enough to keep me off santa's naughty list...i hope!!!

a UFO tale...

into our 3rd dreary day, 2 of rain, and almost done with the gift quilt (finally!), so pulled out an ancient UFO....you might remember this...

it's the 1861 healy quilt...had avoided getting sucked into the hexie craze for a long time until this came along...could i do it?  why not?  i did give it a determined try...spent a lot of time on these tiny hexies...3/4" ones....here is the proof...

take-along bags filled with tiny pieces and papers, all cut from free magazine inserts....

a drawer filled with various sections....the quilt itself required 192 of the size rosette seen here in the pink, not to mention joining sections and rows.  life changes as it does and my fascination dwindled, sitting in the drawer with a twinge of guilt each time it was opened.  but no longer!  the tiny hexies are now being repurposed--the pink and blue ones--into an applique for a border on my dutch chintz wall quilt.  

have been trolling the 'net looking at di ford style medallion quilts for border ideas and saw this.  it's perfect!  not all the hexies will be used so the finished rosettes will be repurposed into a wall quilt of some sort, but the time spent isn't totally wasted.  i can feel the guilt dissipating as my plan is put into action.  the weather stinks but it's sunshiny in my studio!  ***  and now to avoid other guilt, i'm off to the gym!

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!