may challenge

 summer IS coming...we've had a few 80+ degree day already...and may day is going to be another...

chookshed challenge number has been announced!  

8.  red/green applique.  a visit to the baltimore applique society initiated this project--i'm making 4 blocks (2 done) shooting for a finish next this Christmas.

my red/green applique project....if it hadn't been chosen i was going to swap out for this one...these days sometimes too warm to sit with large quilt on my lap, more comfy to do some applique.  working on block #3 now and quite possible to get them all done, squared up and maybe even basted?  

as for machine sewing this month, hoping to empty a shoebox of scraps for more blocks i hope to sell....vacation is looming--a mere 82 days away--and fun money is definitely required.  

no plans for mother's day so most likely will order a special dinner for delivery....and today?  a start on apartment clean before summer arrives in earnest....remember to count your blessings and have a good day...

then there were.....

 44!   my SMT  (scrappy meets thrifty) sew along blocks are piling up....

now that i see them on the design wall, thinking some sort of spacer block might be needed...so will play around and see what's in the stash....most of my time has been taken up with this....(bad blogger)...

the repro triangles top....final size is 66x90 so generous twin or double....the colors are a bit more subdued than this photo depicts...this is now off my UFO list as i am hoping to sell the top for vacation money...and in the nick of time, my chookshed challenge is done too!

a challenging financial week here in now 80s maryland....supplement health insurance took a $41 hike and the cable also went up $25....money out of the food budget....so had to cut the cord....2-3 streaming services will give me plenty to watch at way less money--alas, i had to sacrifice 'jeopardy'....but gained a few channels that i really like...

and couldn't resist this little chuckle....how things have changed, many not for the better but still there are blessings....summer is finally here!  have a blessed day....

sunday inspiration

saturday was a fantastic fun day for me....two friends invited me to tag along to a local quilt show...rain held off until i got out of the car at home...LOL!   here are a few that caught my eye...

nice representation of kaffe's wild fabrics....there was another done similarly but without the sashing...not as effective...the sashing is needed for a visual resting place to really appreciate the prints i think...

there were very few hand quilted pieces that i saw, but this one was done so beautifully...the flowers were painted on and then hand quilted for accentuation....there was a bit of some glittery stuff too, giving it a wow in my book....like irises in the morning sun with dew glistening on petals...

another that caught my eye...so simple yet delightfully appealing because of the fabrics...i thought hmm i have plenty in my stash that would work...perhaps a smaller scale?  

there were a few of these, a mini-challenge i think....the perennial tomato pincushion....i heard many say they had one from a mother or grandmother....i have my mother's as well...

another that drew me in....batiks sashed with the striking black/white stripe....crayola box on steroids....i love it...i could definitely make one albeit smaller....

there was a bed-size hawaiian, hand quilted, and some smaller hawaiian-style pieces machine quilted.  in the "bid or buy" section were small amish style hand quilted priced at $100, quite reasonable.  there was a vendor selling machine quilted table runners priced at $80...and some small pieces that were mostly thread art priced at $3500....prices unjustifiable by me or my cohorts...

i have a neighbor a bit older than myself totally frustrated and constantly complaining about the effects of aging, like why does she have to put up with these changes....and then i saw this on instagram....

it gave me a chuckle but would only increase her frustration....nothing to do really but find quality of life in spite of age....isn't that what we all do?  

here to stay

that would be spring....altho it was 80s over the weekend, this week is 70s all the way...it was a quilty weekend for me since holidays don't really exist anymore...it's been hard to get out of the 'family dinner' mindset, a tradition most of my life, so i always plan other things to not feel abandoned.  i never thought i would be spending my life alone without family at this point or any close BFF either, but...

here is progress on the scrappy repro top....

there is also a stack of units waiting to be ironed and more rows assembled....that's on this week's list....

and last week attended the monthly "featherweight fellowship" at a new local shop...this was our project...

great for those things needed at hand...utilized a clear lucite stand-up frame ($1.14 at walmart) and some scraps (plenty of those)....took about half an hour tops...

skies are gloomy again but temps seasonable so it's all good...no summer clothes out just yet...life isn't perfect but still filled with many blessings....keep calm and sew on!

necessity, they say....

is the mother of invention...this week's sewing took a wee detour.  the ott lite shade fell off....adhesive apparently dried up and down it came.  light is perfectly good and a tight budget meant a fix...but how?  i tried masking tape--same deal, dried out and didn't work...but eureka!  needle and thread to the rescue...the shade is linen on paper and some running stitches near the top and thru the frame did the trick...honestly, i surprise myself now and then...

household sewing project #2 also got done....double windows in kitchen, but this part of my apartment juts out from the building, as do the units below me...when it's windy it can be cold despite a heater unit under the window.  the kitchen floor is nearly always cold.  a lined drape was a must.  at the senior center was a box for scraps and somebody tossed a linen shower curtain exactly the right size....a quilty friend passed along some flannel, just exactly enough to fit...and the daughter of my late neighbor gave a curtain rod just exactly right size...and her husband put it up for me even!  

the flannel is the very palest blue and a quick tieback allows window light.  hoping this will keep out summer heat as well as winter chill...am i blessed or what?  

i did finish my doll quilt swap, just needs a label and then can be sent.  lori said it should look like it was old so put this revolutionary war print on the back...one of those things in the stash that is tough to use on many projects....it's hand quilted of course.

more rows got sewn on the chookshed challenge top....it'll measure approx 63x70" when finished...enjoying working with these repros after so much kaffe fun....

if wishes were horses i'd have a much bigger design wall!

a late start this morning due to late night hours awake...started spring cleaning tasks a bit every day.  weather is still see-sawing with cold and warm days.  evenings in the recliner quilting on 'dreams' and a small UFO that needs to be done soon.   may is a mere two weeks away.  finished my 365 daily emails from griefshare with a repeat in progress, now in a much better place learning to keep on keeping on.  i'll end with a chuckle here....

reading a book set in 1990 belfast...two young hooligans verbally sparring and one says to the other...."it used to be called a jumpoline until your mother got on it"    i can just see them can't you? ...LOL!  sun is finally out and the bike beckons....have a blessed day!

 

a magic trick

always decluttering around here...a habit of mine....the scrap basket popped into mind...more precuts?  put them where?  a light bulb moment...a quilty pal of mine COLLECTS scraps...so a bit of magic happened....

full basket....

empty (nearly) basket....

definitely my kind of magic....my "loss" someone's gain....

introducing Baskets II...

measures about 40" square, the max size of what i'm making these days...only 6 blocks left destined as a placemat...and more magic, just like that, over 200 baskets used...i've another much smaller basket project in mind for another day...

before getting back to scrappy repro triangles in earnest, had to clear the design wall of these...

just pinned for now to get them off the design wall for whenever...the green blocks will be squared and the bottom repositioned before basting...a good take along project at some point...

doll quilt for swap is done, quilting on "africa" is started, hoping for april finish....quilting on "dreams" continues...now i can focus on the triangles top, also hoping for april finish....

a stark realization becoming more frequent....two friends emptied the sewing room of recently passed group member...3 SUV trips later it was finished...me coming home thankful of my limited stockpile of quilty stuff

spring can't make up its mind...one day chilly, one day warm...talking weather heads say we need the rain but honestly the gloom is sooo boring...it's windy too so keeping drapes closed to ward off chill...like living in a cave...trees have leafed out, blooms everywhere, just waiting on sun!!!  

the toughest year - an homage

no quilty chat today.....one year ago mom stepped on heaven's shore.....as she aged, every day we breathed a thankful prayer as she escaped dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, loss of mobility, nursing home placement and mental decline, not imagining ugly cancer would invade that shocked and horrified us all.  the day before she died it was early Sunday morning and i caressed her shoulder.  she opened her eyes and i said "good morning sunshine, i love you"  with a bare whisper she mouthed "i love you"...no more whispers after that. 

yes, i still grieve and sometimes cry but it's normal, it's just because she was so dearly loved and is so dearly missed.  grief has forever changed me.  it shattered my heart that has yet to heal.  grief is individual and a journey that takes however long it takes, but days now include more warm memories than tears.

when i meet or interact with people, i want them to see her.  i want them to see qualities in me that she taught me, that would make her proud.  she had many mothering regrets, but as a motherless child herself, her best was more than good enough.  as the oldest, i'm now the family historian and now her glue to keep us together in a loving, edifying and compassionate way.  it's what she would expect and how she taught me anyway.....thank you mom.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" Psalm 147:3

weekend sewing

the weekend list got trimmed a bit due to an outing with a quilty pal....a gigantic local craft show and a nice lunch out...very enjoyable until later that day when word came one of our group had passed away...not a surprise but a somber reality that we are all seniors and anything can happen.  while pondering which project to tackle veered off the list....

remember this?

thinking about sprucing up the kitchen, pulled it out and this happened...

rework required to fit a specific wall place....i actually think i like it better this way anyway...but didn't stop there....remember these?

i had put these and the original top up for sale on a yahoo group with no takers...turns out glad they didn't sell...

sewed up this runner 16x24 for the new-to-me table....not into much decorating but an occasional change isn't too time consuming...so now two more UFOs...LOL...they will get done soon tho.  they are sort of the carrot that will entice me into spring cleaning...

also worked on a window treatment for said kitchen...someone left a linen shower curtain in the giveaway box...brought it home, sewed on a sleeve and will get lined with some gifted flannel...for keeping out the chill from a large double window and the sun in summer...

both evenings found me in the happy place recliner with my quilting project...

this week's plans?  finish doll quilt, start quilting "africa", more "dreams" quilting and more rows on challenge repro triangles...temps fallen back to 60s so not quite summer...and the laundry basket again leering at me...

off to start the day...have a blessed one!

friday report

sitting here with a thunderstorm brewing outside, awoke to lightning....i do love them!  it's been a week filled with blessings...the recently acquired recliner is perfect for evening quilting and that's just what i've been doing--a happy place indeed!  but miss sunny hasn't been ignored....

this is Baskets I....it was on my design wall and needed to finish the top freeing up the space....still have a stack of those basket blocks and thinking about a different setting for Baskets II...

then this came out from under the ironing table....

hung it sideways so it fits...10 more rows to flimsy...this got unearthed along with it...

the pile of neutrals and repros that got set aside for the remaining rows...once this is done and gone it'll be another container emptied...the only glitch is the scrap basket is getting fed, but saving that task for either end of year or next year's challenge.  the little bird pincushion was a wee gift from janet who makes such beautiful and stunningly challenging minis...

today is quilt group friday...taking the doll quilt and the 'africa' piece to quilt...and with 2 of 3 long-time prayer requests answered, now anticipating the last with eagerness...so joyful at my Savior's love and care AND provision, but still mindful of so many others who grieve or in need of comfort and care.  

here comes the rain!!!

 

april's challenge

the number chosen for April was #4 BUT doing a switcheroo and backing up to #3....the repro triangles top...this needs to get done ....10 rows to go...

why?  i want to finish the borders on the panel project so it can be basted and put in the quilting pile AND the pieces for the triangle project have been sitting under my ironing station and in the way.  a month should be more than enough time to do both.  i'm a bit saturated with applique right now.  PLUS #4 is the wensleydale, which is essentially a new start.  not really in the frame of mind to start something else right now.  

the latest....

a sneak peek at the last border....am thinking those elongated pieces are a tad too wide for this border so plan to tweak them a bit....seem to be overpowering....i'll keep the length as they just fit the border....the side borders will go edge to edge...

if both do get done, then might try and get a couple of basket tops together...and spend quality quilting time on "dreams" that has been ignored the past couple of weeks.  oh and baste the "i spy africa" top too, as that would be a fairly easy finish...

have a few projects in mind to start in addition to the challenge ones, but focus at present is on some UFOs...

april fool's joke by mother nature...yesterday 85 today 60...just a tad too cool to sit outside...but sunny and bright...have a blessed day!