well begun

is half done right?  getting close anyway....my sewist heart smiled when seeing these on the design wall...

the tan triangles finally have a purpose....no more ugly pile relegated to scrap waiting room....i do like them a lot! anxious to make more, and it's a good project to focus on this week being way too hot to venture out.  

lately busting stash is a lot like swimming against the tide....at friday quilt group this came my way...for the christmas stocking project in progress...believe there are enough Christmas fabric scraps for 100 stockings...we're only making 20...

and another quilty peep brought in a shopping bag of asian prints...i've never used them but honestly several caught my eye and somehow ended up in MY studio....

had previously received a book by  karen kay buckley of an asian garden quilt...could make a few blocks i suppose.... after all, the fabrics are soo gorgeous and should be showcased...quite sure you concur....

and this chuckle was found on instagram...i am a potato chip devotee and can fit the low sodium kind in my diet occasionally....

so it's a week to keep cool and sew on!

solids sewing

 finished the first of two planned projects for the solids.....it's a flimsy....

it's 46.5" square and used up a LOT of scraps...NOT!  so vexing!!  anyway i think it's colorful....

what else?  we all know somebody else's scraps are much more fun and so it was with the baggie i recently received...in it were some nice halloween-theme scraps, mostly 2.5" wide of varying lengths...so darn cute soooooo....now that i have a table, a placemat was just the ticket....

pulled an autumn print for the back so it's reversible too....

the backing is a Hoffman print bought long ago...it was $3 per yard and i bought 3 whole yards, something rarely done, and glad i did....lining is flannel picked up at senior center...

would have posted earlier today but had extreme thunderstorms plus tornado quite close, like 3 miles away...many trees down and some hit by lightning....weatherman says more substantial storms tomorrow...then the high 90s and even 100...so glad i have my bike and larder is stocked...summer has landed with a vengeance...no farmer's market this week for sure....

tomorrow will start on solids project #2....doubt will have time for another, but the drawer stash has decreased just not emptied quite yet

rainy days and mondays

get you down?  not me, especially when it means no ultra hot and humid...just turn on a couple of lights and do whatever....still hacking away at solids drawer....tackling this pile next...

these were part of the farmer's wife book blocks....the blocks are long gone but kept the triangles...waiting for an idea and finally one "materialized"   ooh sorry, bad pun!  i've just under 2 weeks to use these up....

the solids drawer won't be completely obliterated but will wait for another rainy day....that seems to be the norm for this year's chookshed challenge...

yes i AM spending a lot of time cruising instagram...sent this to my bookworm brother, the most voracious reader in our family of readers....

now the bike and then sewing without guilt....my kind of day!

my tribute

at friday quilt group, busy measuring and trimming my red/green blocks...here they are all together waiting for the border...

relieved to get this far, anxious now to move on but not today....still whittling away at the solids scraps hoping to get a top done this weekend...

while busy, a few gals were reorganizing our tall cabinets and unearthed a delightful array of paper pieced blocks...donated by someone at some point....the maker?  her family?  we'll never know...but passed by until they came to me.  so much work went into them...by donating them to our group, the hope was they would be used...so most came home with me.  no doubt you will ooh and ahh as i did....

only 10 of these blocks, but there were many others much smaller, taken by another lady in our group.  one can only guess at what was the final setting, us having only pieces of the puzzle...and more blocks....

these were made with many of the same fabrics at the bird houses...blocks in the bottom photo about 4", top photo about 6"...plan (and honor) is to come up with a setting and assemble large enough for someone to quilt and finish and offer for sale...there were other miscellaneous paper pieced blocks, all individual patterns and different sizes....

lastly was this intricately pieced block...the only one in the pile but i couldn't leave it behind...so pretty and so perfect...it'll be the joseph's coat of many colors on display in my kitchen...

so anonymous quilter, your creativity and skill lives on, appreciated and enjoyed, not cast aside...your sister quilters have accepted the torch and will carry to the finish....rest easy.

rainy-ish weekend here, cooler but weather no consequence to me....got my list made and high hopes, thankful for leisure time and all the blessings in my life that money could never buy.

best kind of mail

mostly i never get any mail at all, an occasional advert, the monthly flyer from PBS station and my Yankee magazine...occasionally a quilty peep shares their bounty with me and yesterday it was like Christmas!

the latest book from Victoria Findlay Wolfe...more than a pattern book, it's a quilting diary and memoir all in one.  i've only started reading and highly recommend already...

the box was too small for a car but plenty else to make me squeal....

some very floral applique patterns to drool over and send the quilty muse into apoplexy...LOL!

a Christmas wall quilt ready for quilting....and maybe gifting?

a couple of baggies of scraps...new fabric is always interesting right?  

the cute snowmen blocks got used right away as I had the perfect setting fabric...

not only did the snowmen get used right away, that background print is now gone completely...and last but not least, a lovely, endearing read just right for nighttime...

my mom loved elisabeth ogilvie books and i had read some of her fiction as well...these gifts will distract me from being cooped up in the A/C and result in more UFOs probably, the best antidote for boredom and much preferred over other remedies...

brief sojourn today for quick lab appointment....then it's more cracker blocks--i've decided on 25 total, so 10 more to go.  for the smaller pieces, some checkerboard blocks are planned.  next outing friday afternoon for quilt group, so thankful for diversions while chilling out with a couple of 90-degree days ahead.  another day with overflowing blessings for health, home, family, friends....

just yesterday....

received this precious gift....

was actually 51 years ago yesterday....a classic beauty, artistic, compassionate nurse, comedic, intelligent and insightful, strong faith and often opinionated...lucky me...

no more procrastinating...pulled out the solids to jump start the muse....i had an idea and made a couple of blocks but no thrill so went looking for more inspiration.  started on this...

.had always planned some cracker blocks but with christmas fabrics?  blah...saw some on the net made from bright colors so jumped right in and fired up miss sunny--after thorough oiling and new needle that is.  not sure final top size but not a lot of my scraps are large enough for the block itself, hence the piano key border.  i thought about 8x8...blocks are 8" finished

along with lots of quilting on 'dreams', some sewing for senior center also got done....found these 2 panels in the christmas stash and whipped up a couple of placemat tops to finish and sell...happy to do what i can to generate funds for our group.  

vacation looming and have to say with a bit of trepidation...have not been to Maine since mum passed away and i know it will be tough...that'll be me crying on the bus as we get closer no doubt...

days roll on and counting my blessings each one...now back to the machine!!

throwback thursday

 

yes indeed...and i have been doing some but mostly frittering away time setting up new computer.....first the phone then the laptop....and i probably shouldn't say but the toaster oven is underperforming as well...adding all those quilty blog bookmarks was a big task but necessary....

while transferring files from old laptop to new desktop, had a chance to revisit some long-ago finished things...here's a few

a sweet little patriotic wall quilt gifted to a neighbor....i used a yellow chalk marker and it never did fully wash out...lesson learned, now i use only white or washable graphite pencils

the infamous orca bay top...this was huge and (ahem) resewn several times to get it right...too many seams to hand quilt so the top was gifted to vermont flood relief to finish and donate.  i used mardi gras colors so called it 'fat tuesday on orca bay'...

and this was made decades ago when i was dipping my needle into mod territory....the original i had seen in a book was various shades of blues/mauves but of course my scrappy muse took over, but i like it a lot...

summer has arrived and the shorts are on for the duration...hot weather recipes on tap and anxiously awaiting native tomatoes and cukes...pretty much all ready for vacation in just 46 days....have a glorious day!

perfect weekend...

well almost...never is without a car but i digress....the weather WAS perfect...good thing as hots coming later this week...but any weather is ok for sewing...

this got machine quilted and finished...a table topper from waste triangles...miss sunny, being (ahem) older, is not enamored with the walking foot, the new-fangled thing for machine quilting.  but she persevered under duress and it got finished.  she doesn't care for bulky seams either, so it was a double challenge....

this wall quilt got basted...plan to hand quilt this one; being small should be a fairly quick finish...

some sewing done for senior center...added these pinwheel blocks to this panel...probably somebody else will add borders and finish for selling...funds go to our group for supplies etc.  the photo is horrible but it's a nice red cream blue combo....(blogger has decided it has to be on the left)

more quilting on dreams...this should be a June finish....and resurrected these previously used triangles from the solids drawer...time to use them up!

will be firing up the A/C since hot humid starting tomorrow...just in time for those increased electricity rates...fresh veggies just starting to come in.  concerning news all around and personal stuff as well, but today it's gorgeous and perfect for doing anything  ....in spite of all, so thankful for my God who cares for me abundantly...Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

june challenge

deana has pulled #5 for the june chookshed challenge....went and consulted my list and this is my #5....

pull out the solids elfa drawer and see if it can be emptied, all used....always collecting ideas for scrappy projects when i see them, so time to choose some.  as far as may's challenge, well that was shown last post....alas, did not get the 4 blocks squared up and sewn together but at least the applique part is done.  

crazy weather here this week with tornado warnings, winds and rain....so far today the sun is out but the 90s are coming next week.  a few days left to enjoy being outside....

also this week more quilting done on 'dreams'....have to check but it might be half done at this point...

a few errands next week that'll diminish the cabin fever a bit....will spend weekend formulating next week's list, a bit of tidying, maybe a batch of cookies.  i've some sewing to do for the senior center and would like to get that off my plate and turn in next friday....

even a boring life can be a blessing....there were days and years i longed for and desperately needed free time such as this...so trying to keep that in mind as i meander thru senior-dom...counting my blessings today!

weekend over!

wish i could say i enjoyed it but no way no how!  no BBQ, picnic, day trip, family time for me.  i am seething due to being cooped up without independence or freedom...but did manage to sew a bit.  finally all four red/green blocks are done!

before may ends hope to get them squared up and sewn together....borders and swags another day.....this satisfies my baltimore-type desire completely....what else?

all the scrap squares are now done as well....40 each lights and darks, good for a 48x60 top for someone else to make....

alas, no dent in the tote of course....we ALL know how that goes....next a wee bit of mending...

i've had these denim shorts about 10 years i think....now too big for me so i've taken in the waist, added a tiny patch on the area that gets the most use and covered the fraying hems....i did say i was going to get a new pair this year but perhaps i can squeak out one more summer....my frugal angel's recommendation....

and boring cardiac diet??? mary berry to the rescue!  this is her chicken fried rice dish...

the only thing i didn't have was curry powder, which would have kicked it up a bit for sure, but it's quite tasty without....the only "bad" ingredient was a teaspoon of soy sauce, less than 200 mg for 4 servings so easily tolerable for me.  bag of precooked brown rice from food pantry came in handy.  best thing is it doesn't taste like chicken...LOL!

and another day of keeping my anger and frustration in check.....saw this on instagram, a perfect illustration of how i feel...

i am ignoring upcoming july 4th...a lot can happen between now and then...even daily bike isn't providing the boost i need right now...

so lunch is ready, apartment tidied, dressed, exercise done.....would love to run away but i guess it's only as far as the sewing studio for now....