Ready or not!

a few surprises this week....a gift of fresh balsam from maine; battery candle ok for the apartment....love it!

the use-it-up project is coming along....i did have a few strips of the cheddar left, not enough for binding i'm afraid.  the sashing is another scrap and fingers crossed i've enough for all.  if not, pretty sure i've something that'll work.  that's the downside of working with scraps, often hard to calculate if there's enough, for me anyway.  

a neighbor gifted me this stack of old quilt magazines....pure gold!  thumbed through a few and found more project ideas....like who wouldn't?  a dangerous, delightful gift!

a couple of recent flingee boxes of fabric came my way.....always fun to play with somebody else's fabric!  

perked up my days several notches i can tell you.  sending huge thanks to these very generous quilters for blessing me so generously.  my budget has no room for fabric but no need with fabric angels like these.  no doubt what i'll be doing over the holidays!

few holiday happenings here at the complex that allow for cheerful gatherings with other residents, new and old.  i did meet another quilter who moved in recently.  

another round of PT on the calendar that'll keep me busy thru january--when i'm not sewing that is! 

as you can see, blogger being obstinate again despite my repeated attempts to align the text to the left.  i don't know how to reveal formatting codes so just have to go with it.  

Holiday stuff

i'm supposed to be at a church concert tonite but the weather is totally miserable--heavy rain and wind--plus it's dark so opted to remain at home and enjoy online concerts--there are plenty!  i did manage to clip some of this before rain arrived....

it's bye bye bittersweet and hello holly!  it grows like wildfire here; i've seen tall trees of the stuff....not in new england tho, so i had to have a bit to gussy up the kitchen...all my holiday hanging stuff is up and out came ornies and tree....

more ornaments to place in the back but already it's quite full...and hey, do you have a CVS santa ornament?  CVS gave out yearly ornaments for a few years back in the 1980s or 1990s..have a few others....such warm memories of people and places resurrected for a bit.  

doing some secret sewing that has to remain under wraps for now, but also working on the blue/cheddar blocks in between holiday stuff and usual must dos....

you can just see the edge of the red/green trip around the world finished this year...

here's another lovely cross stitch card received while i lived in frederick from a fellow quilter....she does such beautiful work!

a local church came to our complex today with lunch, music, advent encouragement and a lovely gift.  totally blessed by their generosity.  and as if they knew, some of the food had NO SALT....a divine gift for sure!  

 

designated sewist

what about you?  are you the one family members come to for all things mending and sewing?  in my family, it's me.  this is the current family fix-it....jacket zipper.  

for anyone else i'd say no.  retrofitting commercial garment sewing is not for the faint of heart or even us with repaired hearts.  Zipper in and works but safe to say, land's end won't be offering me a job anytime soon.

more wednesday wedding sewing coming up....goal is to have a top to baste come new year's...more blue/cheddar 9-patches made.

A neighborly santa left this for me....

And tree up with lights glowing...i love them.  This means little Frosty keeping watch...

Made this little guy in ceramics class, oh 44 years ago--that's about right...

no snow here of course, but enveloped in the music, decorations and activity of Christmas.  I might be home alone on the day,  but i've a plan and know i won't be lonely...my Savior always is with me.  😊 

saved by sewing

tuesday calendar clear so what to do?  sew of course!  i had pulled out a pattern sheet of bonnie hunter's from Quiltmaker column i'd saved for 'someday'...tuesday was someday!  

blue and cheddar....nothing better!  while rummaging in the stash had seen just the right fabric--small enough to use up but big enough for placemats or small wall quilt.  instead of using neutrals with the blue, using the cheddar with neutrals for setting pieces.  let the stripping begin!

hmm...are there some blues in scrap basket i could use?  went to check and shazam!  saw strips of a red batik mistakenly cut for a previous project PLUS some leftover green squares from last year's gift quilt....hmmm, red and green?  sounds like christmas!  so i pulled them, ironed them and stripped those as well....took me about 5 hours (includes bathroom and lunch breaks) in all but this is the result...

leftover solid apple green on the back and used for binding....a win/win!  not only did i wipe out aforementioned red/green scraps, ended up with a very festive, seasonal and possible gift!   late afternoon returned to the original project, blues and cheddars.  so it was sewing and inspiration to the rescue for an otherwise boring day.  

brrr cold day here, 24 degrees....yes that's maryland cold.  no matter, got my ll bean heavy coat, my lovingly knit hat/mittens/scarf/sox and those all-important cuddle duds long underwear.   ready to brave the elements!

necessity, they say....

is the mother of invention.  i never invented anything but having a need and finding a solution has challenged the little gray cells many times.  during a sleepless early morning, trying to figure a way to move quilted items to a tall shelf--vertically challenged, you know!  here is the shelf...

this was my solution.....

used the walker and wooden step left over from broken hip rehab, along with my regular step stool, to gain enough height to move things and make sure i had necessary support to avoid another broken hip.  worked like a charm!  i'll use this method to hang the rest of my wall quilts too.  

so now i have this....empty half shelf

that i hope will fit these....

things that need basting and quilting.....(ignore broken printer on bottom)....hmm might be a tight fit.  getting the last couple of stacks off the floor makes me happy.  

while moving things around, came across these in the "to be quilted" pile, 3 more of the hawaiian album blocks.  thinking a table runner for these once the squares have been evened up....

in addition to the blocks--i think there are more tucked away--came the pattern and a small stash of beautiful hand-dyed fabric pieces to make more.  i don't think i'll be making more but will finish up the blocks and use the remaining fabric elsewhere.  as i said, these were gifted to me and it's my honor to use them.

friday finish

quick post to report my 11th finish this year...that's one per month for the numerically disadvantaged, which includes me!  being a hand quilter slows me down from many of my fellow peeps but it's the part i like best.

the colors are off, being more muted and dark in person...the pitfalls of electronic eyes...really happy this is done in time for the holiday season.  

hope your turkey day was enjoyable...mine was quiet and subdued but glad to spend it with family.  then it's back to some wedding quilt sewing and  a re-watch of the parade.  no shopping day for me....i've got more UFOs to tackle!

We Gather Together...

to ask the Lord's blessing.....for me, it's not just today but every single day.  gather those i hold dear in my heart and prayers.  though i miss those huge holiday dinners with aunts, uncles and cousins and my grandmother, joining with my dear daughter and my dear son-in-law is equally enjoyable.  may you also commemorate this important day with those you love and cherish!

it's worth remembering that our native peoples actually kept the pilgrims alive and from starvation that first difficult year and joined with them in the first harvest feast.  it doesn't erase the horror that followed, but i imagine that recollection is painful. we owe them so very much.   i'll sign off with this masterpiece created years ago by my cherished chipmunk!

Tuesday tale

what's on the design wall?  wild turkeys of course!  as an homage, i'm having chicken on thanksgiving day....LOL!   actually, i ran to the store this morning and NO turkey legs or thighs whatsoever....a whole is out of the question, so chicken it is!  

folk art nativity is out of the hoop and ready for binding, so because nature abhors a vacuum, immediately pulled another UFO for possible december finish.   was gifted a number of baltimore-style blocks of a hawaiian theme.  decided to assemble them as smaller projects and this is the first.  i'm doing echo quilting of course and do so admire the lovely applique work as i quilt.  

monday pulled out the selvedge basket and sewed up some string pieces for potholders.  my mum is in need for a few and decided to make extras.  half the selvedges are used up and plan another day to empty the basket.  

starting this week, wednesdays are declared wedding quilt day.  hope to have the top done by the new year so it can be basted.  

stormy, rainy and windy day here with "cold" temps, as the weatherman says, arriving after.  when he says cold he means 40ish....will be dining with DD and SIL thursday and then it's heavy into christmas festivities.  putting up my tree very soon and bask in enormous thankfulness that i'm here to see all the cherished ornaments once again, but the real reason for christmas remains in my heart as always.  wishing all a blessed thanksgiving and hey, go easy on the pie!

all i can say is....

this is probably one of the worst tops i ever made in 40+ years....truly.  i cut each triangle individually on the straight of the grain, pressed not ironed, spray sizing on every piece, cut borders lengthwise and measured more than a few times....i like it color wise, but oh those borders!  i don't want to take them off or fudge anymore because it would probably end  up worse....i'll finish it of course....blasted bias edges!  will definitely keep me humble!  LOL!

it's a gorgeous late fall day...out doing a few errands and spied some bittersweet beside the road....i love the colors and it brings back memories of long ago....snapped off a few branches and here they sit.  the view is the back of my building where there are colorful trees but the sun is eclipsing them.  

while at mum's took a snap of this wall quilt--tropic pennants--as i don't have a copy among my completed photos....just love the colors and thinking i might make a companion piece and call it 'arctic pennants' in shades of blue/gray....

and flying back from maine got to ride in southwest's fancy plane....decorated with an indigenous hawaiian design to promote their hawaii flights i think....more inspiration!

quilting on the folk art nativity is coming along and should be a november finish....then it's on to another UFO, hoping for an even dozen finishes this year.  also roughing out what needs to get done first part of 2024....definitely wedding quilt top and baste.  i'm saving two small starts for 2024--buggy wheels and advent sky--as i'd like to finish a few of the bed size pieces that have been waiting long and can fit the smaller things inbetween.

picked up lots of autumnal produce today so it's been a whirlwind of cooking to have on hand--vegs, applesauce etc.  a squash pie is also on the list....recipe from the Daniel Webster Inn in Sandwich, MA....a definite keeper!  

never enough thanks

for all those who have served and are serving....

i'm a descendant of many such men, the truest of heroes, and at present are twin nephews, now recently deployed to the middle east.  may God protect them as they serve!

quick visit to my family in maine and of course this was on the menu....never get enough of delish maine certified lobster.  

stitchery on hand and plenty of hugs and laughs before my return home to MD...