thursday chat

OMGOSH!  the weather has been soooo wonderful....coool, breezy, sunny...it is totally invigorating!  lots of puttering type things going on as well as plenty of sewing action.  progress on the chookshed challenge...

they are a bit fussy and even tho 5 are done, there are 13 to go....but not today.  i met the august challenge by emptying the tote...

and this little quilt got finished...machine quilted with the new walking foot....went to the stash looking for binding and pulled out a piece i'd never seen, so it must have been gifted to me...was just right so thank you to the generous quilter!

waterfall got basted, another off the summer to-do list.....

it's down the home stretch on the dargate basket appliques....still mulling over ideas to use them now that have nixed the big quilt idea...once the baskets are finished applique, there is ONE thing left on the summer list....BASTE BOW TIE QUI!LT!   it's a biggie and will probably take 2 days or maybe one very long one....it just has to be done...

and because it's cooler i actually BAKED!  lemon shortbread cookies got turned out---tasted and approved!  

also a new dish, eggplant and tomato gratin.  can always use more good veggie recipes in my repertoire, and fresh, local is even better.  another taste test approved...the only salt in this would be from a sparse sprinkling of parmesan and small amount of bread crumbs...but portioned out very tolerable...

avoiding political news if at all possible....races have become personality contests and rhetoric, but saying things and making promises hardly ever fruitful.  the fairy tale 'emperor's new clothes' is always in the forefront of my mind...and there are few to step up and voice any real common sense to the voters.  and remember that old commercial?  promise her anything...but give her arpege?  well that is what politicians do...promise everything and give darn little...

too nice a day to dwell on bluster and kindergarten-style slurs...temps start to ramp up tomorrow back to 90 by monday...ick...good time to clean house!

monday report

usually end of august leaves me sad for summer's leaving but not this year...summer in the south sucks...period.  leaves me longing for this...

i tell people winter can be quite beautiful with crisp air, glistening snow on fields and trees, the bright sun lighting up the whole world but they aren't convinced...it is a nuisance driving and plans do get cancelled every other thing, but i miss the defined change of seasons and different vistas that just don't happen here.  we don't get any nice crisp autumn air either, summer just slowly morphs into dreary, quasi winter...

this weekend resulted in a flurry of different sewing things....first, baskets....down to 7, YES SEVEN!  pretty excited about that....also worked on the bathroom wall quilt squares...nearly completed...

these are from a sew along that got abandoned and stuffed away!  CAVEAT:  be careful when decluttering....LOL...a bit more organizing unearthed these....

the pieced stars that got made first....these plus the pieces given to me will suffice in a nice little wall piece for my bathroom.  course, nobody sees it but me but that's ok.   what else?

selvedges be gone!  no magic just some time with the machine and these are ready to become potholders...for what?  who knows, but done and that's a good thing.  and....

some orphan block sewing....sew along leftovers, these also got "found" in a drawer and just need some sort of a plan....still in the works as you can see...and weekend would not be complete without this....

another sort of abandoned project (sense the theme here???)....row by row, remember those?  i never went on a quest to get them all--not possible--but did garner a few and they, too, have been silently waiting for some attention....the time has come....one of my summer to-do things is to move this along.  no rush on it but at least in the works...

did some zooming with quilty pals friday and always good to have friends visit while you are in pajamas...LOL....cardio visit went very well, things improving so cardioman happy.  stocked up at farmer's market...mmmm delish!   with cooler, drier temps have been doing more walking outside but curtailed when it's humid.  

another monday, whole week to map out and see what can be crossed off the quilty plate.  apartment inspection next week so some housework must be done.  time to start the engine...have a blessed day!

header photo

this is reid state park in georgetown, maine....one of the gazillion gorgeous places along the coast...our july 4th celebrations were always here, even if the weather wasn't perfect because the location always was...

sore throat and chest congestion has me sidelined this weekend...but hoping more progress on baskets can happen....only 10 left!  yowza!  

this is the last bundle of 10....i had pinned the blocks in bundles so i could keep count to motivate me...so happy to see the end of this part of the process....been mulling over ideas for the blocks...a huge quilt not so appealing to me anymore.

cooler but very humid here this weekend, but hoping can avoid A/C use....enough already!

the kindness of quilters...

i turn down many offers of free fabric except from a very few and some of those are for needed items kindly gifted to me.  just this week a box arrived with batting and backing for my blue album quilt...i am gobsmacked with surprise and humbled with thankfulness....

our senior center group received a large, filled tote of pieces separated by color, not all quilty cotton, most from 1980s or so, but i found this that was interesting and sad...

crafted with pride in the USA.  some companies even ship US-grown cotton overseas to be made into fabric.  that in a nutshell is the state of bigger things and explains a lot.  i was given these small pieces, ideal for my bathroom wall quilt....

that was it.  the remainder of the tote now waits for someone else to collect as most was passed by.  

working on eliminating the selvedges, found that i did not have enough to sew up all the potholders i planned...so, that means the tote of 1.5" strips will be raided to finish them....happy thought indeed!

dargate baskets?  16 baskets left, 17 days to go...i am on a mission!

busy-ish week with cardioman visit today.  my neighbors have been uber-kind in letting me tag along to shop.  our temps have begun to modulate as the earth spins ever so slowly on its annual schedule.  there are darn few weeks in the year when maryland weather isn't complain worthy...

two more done

 august plows on....the summer to do list is dwindling with two more finishes....

the lobster runner that DD has claimed already

my mom's sampler....ready to hang up.  was a tearful day getting this finished i can tell you...but it's done now and i am pleased.  

basket report:  22 days left of august and 24 baskets to applique...they WILL be done by the 31st!

the batik baskets are basted and in line for quilting while i work on tuscan starburst.  now in the works are the selvedge potholders for the chookshed challenge.  first, cut up the remaining backing fabric to see how many i could make.

two will be made from batik basket orphan blocks, the rest from selvedges and was delighted that a few were done so sat at miss sunny and whipped out a few more....

emptying this little container will free up more space under the ironing table.  unearthed this pile of scraps of new england patriots fabric...any takers?  will be happy to pass along for postage only.  i'll keep them until the end of the month and then they go regardless.  

last but not least at all, when i returned from the senior center my neighbor knocked on my door and shared these with me....oh how i love yellow roses!  

a temporary lift of my melancholy.  she is a sweet christian lady, former missionary, such a dear.  i am truly blessed to be her neighbor!

this and that

august rolls on....trying to keep busy...finding places to tidy and things to use up or pass on...all while air conditioner drones on....dreaming of 60-degree nights with a cool breeze wafting thru the window and a quilt up around my ears....not anytime soon unfortunately and no beach vacation ahead this year sadly.  here is one problem area that i've sorted...

the scraps and some UFOs get stored here for easy (not) access.  doesn't take much for it to become chaos.

another summer to do done....this little stitchery pattern was a gift and since my birthday is in august i knew it HAD to be finished now.  pattern by country cottage needleworks from 2011....

today's dargate report:  28 more to applique, 25 days left in august....veering off into hate for this project...LOL!

and the downside of tidying those drawers and crannies.....

blocks from an abandoned sew along....there were pieced blocks as well--those are done--but alas these got waylaid... my bathroom walls are pale yellow so a wall quilt is in the works!  can these get done in august as well? gonna try....

another day heat index over 100 but thanks to debby there will be a much desired break...can't wait til she gets here....rainy the rest of the week but i'll take it...

summer list progress

thanks to sweltering temps and no vehicle, the summer to-do list is coming along nicely.   this is the latest getting attention....

my mother's sampler....have added border, prepped a binding, basted it with flannel and a lovely kaffe print on the back.  she taught me everything except how to regain joy in life without her, and no freedom makes it doubly difficult.  the things i enjoyed doing here in MD no longer possible.

batik baskets is a flimsy.  not an official summer to do, just a UFO that needs to get done.  i did tweak the setting a bit more and made 2 more blocks to even out colors and values.  it does seem a bit heavy on darks in the top half but not taking it apart at this point...it'll get donated and somebody will love it...next up is basting....

not on summer list is this quickie project for our senior center group....

the panel i was given could not be squared up to add borders without skewing the design, so i trimmed off the edge and basted it to this red, which will get machine appliqued, then add the woodland border.  somebody will quilt it and add binding.  problem solved!

and a large tote of fabric pieces was getting emptied and passed out but sensibility ruled and i came home with just this one small piece, good for backgrounds in scrappy blocks...

lobster runner ready to machine quilt but a new walking foot had to be ordered, so by midweek a finish probably.  the small august stitchery is done and will be finished into a stuffie today most likely.  

still grieving the loss of my independence....i don't think new hampshire is the only place where you can 'live free or die', praying it's only temporary....have a blessed sunday...this IS the day the Lord has made!

done!

shazam!   i did manage to cut up all the scraps in the basket...a happy result indeed!

all that remains are a few pieces suitable for broderie perse...so now that task is done!  

what's next? here is august's chookshed challenge....

3.  finish up the selvedge strips.  little container half full (or half empty) shouldn't take more than half a day at most.  

first thing is to prep some foundation squares...then i can sew up all these selvedge strips into potholders....or maybe i can find another idea for them...this will be a win/win as it'll finish them up into something useful AND free up thie small tote for another use.  

after staring at the baskets on the design wall, decided it needed better contrast in some of the blocks so this is the second version which i like much better.  might still move a couple around tho.

wednesday felt more like a usual day before my year got sidelined...cut up my scraps, made some yeast onion rolls and a nice luncheon salad (thank you lidia bastianich), watched olympics, read a bit and washed my recent quilt finish.  that's more than i've accomplished in one day for many months.   tears still come but not consuming my whole day...not that i miss her any less or that my life is less empty without her.  still hemmed in at the apartment of course.  ortho guy told me to get a scooter but as long as i'm on two legs, not gonna happen. he's probably got 2 cars in his driveway....

down to the wire

for the chookshed monthly challenge....mine was to empty the scrap basket and this is my progress so far...

that's right, NONE!  so today's the day....will see if i can empty this or not...only added a couple of pieces this month while i was occupied with UFO finishes...horrible heat back for another week so hoping can keep on task and not go off the rails with being confined inside...thankful for A/C of course and kind neighbors who ferry me to shop when needed.

also finished all my batik baskets and got them up on the design wall....still needs some tweaking but they are done AND surprise!  i had enough of a white batik print for the setting triangles AND the binding if i choose...now that's a first!  

moving along on dargate baskets also...have about 36 left to do so an august 31 finish is likely...color me happy!  i had thought it might get to flimsy stage but doubt it...

and hard to believe, but sewing does get boring now and then.  whereas usually i'd pull out a long-buried UFO, can't even face that so off i hibernate with a good read.  this came my way--advanced reader copy so not available til fall but can recommend.  i'll only say this:  swamps, suspects and murder oh my!  i'm also reading thru the inspector lynley mysteries ebooks from library...

and of course, the olympics are on TV...NBC only shows you what they want and i don't pay for Peacock so can't see everything.  enough women's beach volleyball please..no doubt camera guys preference!  

now back to that basket!

FYI

in case you wondered....the header photo was taken at pemaquid point in maine...it was my mother's favorite place to go and just sit and read....after my father died, she often went after work to just ponder, probably pray, and soak in sea air and sunshine.  when i was there, we always visited.  i wish i could have taken her more times.  the black stripes in the rock are called dikes, cooled molten lava...there is a lighthouse there and a lovely little restaurant.  the restaurant burned a few years ago but was rebuilt.  it is one of the many, many beautiful spots in maine, seldom over-run with tourists....no beach but oh the view.  lobster boats can often be seen hauling traps...if you love the ocean and get to maine, it is a must.