it's come to this...

have had to add moderation to all comments....weird people commenting who are apparently on google but no information as to who they actually are....

finish #9...

and no love potion required!  nine finishes so far this year, on track to knock off 3 more before 2024 i hope...curtailing new starts has aided the whittling of my UFO list.  

a certain someone sent me a squishie this week....some cute snowmen and pastel prints that i just knew would be fun to use...plan in place...watch this space!

 

chilly temps mean fall baking is back....larder not quite bare but a loaf of home-made bread is always welcome....oatmeal.

the best of all months starts sunday!  cooler temps are here--out come flannels, fleece pants, sweatshirts and sweaters.  maybe a few more days for shorts but soon they'll get packed away.  *** happy to say hip/knee now all better...TLC and exercise have put it right.  *** farmer's markets winding down, which i'll miss terribly.  *** sewing mojo full throttle and gift ideas in the works.  ***  exercise routine back on track and the best of all tonics!   thankful for so many blessings....

Thanks ophelia...

Still in town today so live streaming church....it is simply awful outside....But my saturday was just the boost needed to get this done...

Now to baste and quilt....61 days to december 1st!  The colors in the photo are much brighter than in person...and oh those sheep legs!  Thank goodness it's folk art...😉

waiting out ophelia

a week since i posted last?  day after my return chaotic as my car was relieved of its nearly-new battery.  seems i had forgotten to lock it and after trying 2 other cars, the thieves tried mine and met with success.  then GEICO's tow company subcontracted a doofus of a tow truck driver and between helping him PUSH my car out of its spot and trying to climb INTO the tow truck, wrenched my left knee and hip that i've been coddling ever since.  nothing broken, most likely soft tissue sprain but nuisance regardless.  and sewing?  after restocking larder, doing laundry and de-stressing, have returned to soothing pastime. 

first, assembled the little drawstring bag from a kit that chooky sent me all the way from Oz!  so cute yes?

then the solids sirens lured me and finished this wall quilt into a flimsy...

and caved on yet another cross-stitch pattern...i am a pushover for christmas doncha know!

got mine on Etsy but also available at Fat Quarter Shop. 
 

today's task is to finish those itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny legs on the sheep for the nativity top.  all necessary errands before storm got done and aside from missing family, suffering seafood withdrawal and the $220 battery fiasco, all is well in now-cool and very wet maryland! 

From Fall to Summer...

new header photo is Pemaquid Lighthouse, now getting walloped by Hurricane Lee.  Left Maine beach feeling quite autumnal back to summer-like Maryland weather.  was a grand vacay with my family and chowing down oodles of seafood. after a horrific first day where my car was violated and battery stolen, am slowly re-acclimating to maryland life and home.  finally sat down at machine last night for a brief sewing escape....

another wedding quilt twosie....going to assemble the squares in twos and then find a very big table to lay it out....probably at the library as i don't have that much space here in the apartment....

more on the amish buggy wheels....only 4 more arcs to sew and will have all i need....did i bust some solids scraps?  sure but impossible to see the void...

and what i hope to be the last in process photo of the jan patek nativity wall quilt....my shepherds look pretty good eh?  just finish up the last king and the little legs on the sheep and it'll be ready to flimsify....meaning put the top together.  this WILL be a finish for this Christmas for sure i'm thinking...

this week something doing sunday thru thursday for a change, usually have days with nothing to do plus back to gym monday.  when arriving home daughter presented me with birthday gifts....money to fix the belt on the Singer and this...

so the truth is revealed....i'm a 'sewciopath'.....LOL!  (PS she's a psych nurse so she knows!)

ERRATA:  Actually header is photo of Nubble Light in York, Maine, in autumn...

Packing up

One last seafood meal, one last ocean vista, a last hug from mom (til november!) and 2023 beach trip filed away...and sewing goals?

My 3 kings block almost done....

And just to make sure i didn't run out of things to do, picked up internet pattern, floss and fabric for a christmas gift...

Today is day 2 of inclement weather so no lounging under outside umbrella to avoid sun...a great place to stitch!

And yes that is the ocean in the distance, a short 5 minute walk to sand and surf!

A finish

 

Blues and bricks got finished just before vacation departure so I could relax and this place was just that...relaxing!

Damariscotta lake state park....had a lovely picnic and after some homemade ice cream...

Small town Maine at its finest ....

And while at the beach snapped this of my dear mom....

Hard to believe she's 96....and yes that is her natural hair color!

Sewing 1-2-3

No Wi-Fi until now to blog....arrived at beach...hot day for Maine 85ish and humid....Good vacation week weather predicted....been keeping busy with portable project.

One:   stitchery for my gifted kit from Aussie pal chooky....

Drawstring bag to be assembled later....cute huh?

Two:  progress on the Jan Patel nativity squares....

Angel #2 and the  shepherds ready to add....the 3 kings block is next and last!

Three:  one 'Alaska' kit came to Maine and 3 blocks hand pieced and done...

Aside from sewing, visiting with family and collecting hugs and kisses from my mom.  Weather sunny and 70s until today so we lounged on her back deck....

and are these not the biggest nasturtiums you ever saw???

typing on tablet so forgive glitches...now to mosey on down to seaside!

yeah it's friday but....

today's post brought to you by the letter "T"...rainy day here in the pine tree state but blessedly cool!

a wall quilt made eons ago and hung up at mom's house....i always liked this one and so does she....

and this....

Turner's lobster garage....has his own boat and traps and pools.....price on monday was $5.89 per pound...always fresh and delicious!

recently learned that 3.5 ounces of cooked lobster has a whopping 600+mg of sodium so i have to enjoy sparingly...but oh so worth it!

portable sewing projects in full swing....plenty to show at future post!

this and that

flying time nearly here so it's been a busy week wrapping things up for the duration.  exercise, 2 medical appointments, zoom quilty meeting, games with new church lady friends, senior center quilt group, eating out of the fridge and cooking and plenty of sewing.  like what sewing?

started putting blocks of wedding quilt together...pattern credit to anorina over at 'samelia's mum'

and started another new project, a small one so won't be a 2024 UFO....

someone gifted me some silvery print small pieces and i wanted to use them (they were constantly whispering to me!)...and had a small piece of this angel print left...so this will be 'advent sky'....someone will surely like it i hope...i do anyway.

and of course, caved on 'amish buggy wheels' and sewed up one scrappy arc...

math skills failed me again and realized i didn't have enough of the teal to pair with purple, but i did have a dark forest green on hand that was enough.

a quilter blogger is making this jo morton pattern and asked me to post mine again...i put it in the hoop just to see how it looks and pulled out the thread for the quilting...after 'midnight' is done, this one will be next.  also finished a small wall quilt that's waiting for a wash, giving me 8 finishes so far this year.  will post photo later....

this went on my door as it'll be mid-september when i return...and put this over the chair just because i really like this piece a lot...memories of keepsake quilting shopping with late NH pal victoria...

tho i am not a perfectionist quilter, some things do come out that way and this is one that did.

preview of some good mysteries from tried-and-true authors coming this fall...

last but not least....a stashbuster pal from my yahoo group passed away last week.  she was a steadfast champion of the pine ridge reservation and spent hours sewing and sending donations for them.  the plight of our native peoples often gets swept under the rug, but they live in deplorable and unsafe conditions, not to mention extreme poverty.  did you know they live in trailers because they cannot get a mortgage to build a house?  true.  the US Government owns reservation land and they are technically tenants...no wonder they work tirelessly to take back ancestral properties.  our government refuses to control illegal immigration but imprisons our native residents...i don't think that's fair do you?  i'll stop there...

ADDENDUM:  star block pattern from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltmaker column called "Spinner"