redo report

dropped out of reproquiltlover's economy blocks sew along, but did manage to sew up a fair number of them...first attempt at using them up failed but after a blogger's suggestion, tweaked a bit and settled on this...a red binding should finish it nicely

now a flimsy, had to sew up a few more to get it square....looks like the right side border needs a redo....plan B did the trick!

plan B also worked for the kaffe scraps....overflowing shoebox has been tamed!

pulled out all the very small scraps and the nickels went into the nickel shoebox...this is what's left...and a project has been chosen...

yeah they are small but have this stack to cut up and use....no time limit on it at all...but a nice change of pace project for machine time....

winter is ahead and basically confined to quarters, so the bright prints should offset the gloom, both external and internal....

and finished this placemat to use after the holidays...

put flannel in the middle and finished it off envelope style....next is finish up a few other things PLUS wildest dreams.  new year approaches and must get lists ready and game on for 2026!

saw this which suits me perfectly....my mom often remarked how she never dreamed that first 4-H sewing class would be a lifelong passion for me....

i got uninvited for thanksgiving so have formulated plan B, which is to turn the apartment into christmas...plan to cook a few traditional yankee must haves, watch the parade (love those rockettes!) and play christmas music....now full speed ahead to the week!!

brrr tuesday

verry chilly this morning.....31 degrees, which is akin to the arctic for marylanders....any day perfect to remember and honor all our veterans...

always deeply honored for anything i can do for them!

good to sew in any weather as well....up early this morning for some scrap playtime...cut some kaffe squares first...

meh....doesn't do much for me....will make a few more and use as placemat....no biggie if it gets stained...back to the drawing board for the kaffe scraps

next pulled out the red/green scrappy economy blocks made earlier this year....

had pulled some background pieces and sewed some twosies...uninspiring but will sew more and play around with them.....

and got the "semi" sewing bug?  that's semiquincentennial....pulled out this pattern thinking i might make one eagle....fabric on hand....still mulling it over....

and a dive into the senior center's scrap tote revealed these....some autumn fabrics for a future project and some neutrals.....

always dreaming of this.....

gremlins busy overnite with computer and blogger is always temperamental....so annoying....have a blessed day and  keep warm!

at last!!!

 been chomping at the bit to get back to this....

finally pulled out of the closet and gave it a try...eureka!  and this is the last inside block to be quilted, now for the outside rectangles, triangles and squares...so a 2025 finish?  i surely hope so....

veterans' day is almost here....with our country in chaos it is more important than ever to remember those who gave their all....i found this on instagram and it made me wish we had such a president now...two very very different republicans...

other progress....

the scrappy christmas top is done....i didn't have enough squares in the baggie that was given to me so i made some out of 1.5" strips...which i think gives this a different vibe....so the $3 the baggie cost was used up  almost entirely.....

and another instagram photo sums up my feelings precisely......

sun is shining....70 degrees on sunday.....roasting a chicken tomorrow as some soup will be needed next week when a cold snap arrives....it's the seesaw season, temps up and down...have a blessed day!!

plans?

seems harmless to jot down things to do, right?  lately my list has turned on me like a mad dog....all set to assemble these into a scrappy top.....

seems harmless enough task right?  derailed by yet another ER run....testing revealed meningioma in cerebellum...huh?  another diagnosis that totally shocked me....grueling 40-minute MRI was reassuring.. now back home after a totally no-fun weekend....almost don't dare to get out of bed anymore...LOL!

and just when all the winter clothes are out the weather turns warmish for another few days...no matter....i'll enjoy it!

have a blessed day!

birthday boy!

today is brother #2's birthday....he is 8 years younger than me so i remember clearly my mother being pregnant with him, her baby shower where she received 4 tiny adorable dresses that were passed on, the day he came home from hospital (halloween) and his growing up years...he was feisty and energetic from day one but has mellowed with age like all of us....

he's a grandfather now, a musician, an author, dad to 3....happy birthday bro!

week ahead wide open so making the list with high hopes...LOL...while rearranging stuff found this...

easy to machine quilt so will get 'er done and out of the waiting pile....

and a spring stitchery kit got pulled together....

last, this pile needs to disappear.....a scrappy top is in the works, just a few hours with miss sunny should do the trick...

and if time permits, hope to start applique on the red/green album-ish top.....after some cooking and house chores!  here's to a blessed week with some good news from DC for a change....

some progress!

waited to post until some finishes ready to show.....tackled some things piled on the sewing table....

the socks....they are a bit roomy but not so much i can't wear them...and they are warm and now done....win/win/win!

a little cross-stitch piece started eons ago...pattern from meredith's blog, pinker n punkin...she is very generous sharing all kinds of little stitcheries....this is winter saltbox and finished ahead of the season for a change....just stuff and add it to the display....

rather than start another new thing, pulled out this piece, added the borders, cut out and pinned the swags...would love this to be finished by christmas but really depends on the fingers....wish i could have made the border a tad wider but limited to the piece on hand...once the applique is done it won't appear as crowded....

signed up for a christmas swap and need to make a couple of things for that, must keep under wraps for now....

feeling sorta rabbity, jumping from one thing to another....it's because i have so much free time....just work on whatever comes to mind at the moment.  really trying to move some UFOs forward while waiting for fine motor touch to return in full...needs must tackle some house chores sooner rather than later...cabin fever isn't fatal but some days seems like it might be....

quilty peep gladi always includes nature photos on her posts...she lives in southern NH so plenty of seasonal change photos....here is one she said i could post....

and since it's the season, i found this on instagram....andrew wyeth...

if you ever find yourself in rockland, maine, the farnsworth museum has an entire building (a former church) chock full of works by all 3 wyeths....definitely worth a trip....the elevator is huge and contains an old church pew!  it's interesting to see the 3 very distinctive styles of their work....

what's shakin'

a squishie arrived the other day, a 'pass along' from an online quilter.  she has been organizing her stash, finding things long buried, adding them to her list.  to say she is overwhelmed is an understatement but making good progress.  she showed these...i started drooling....she graciously sent them to me!

they are fragile but whole...enough for a quilt i'd say....the original pattern idea was sent along too.  as if i needed another project......

our weekly store trip was to walmart and these were already on display....

plus all the decorations and other holiday trappings....i'd say the stores are desperate, especially around here where so many have lost government jobs and things currently look bleak for many more.  so naturally came home and started on a decoration of my own, something that's been swirling around in the gray matter....

also pulled out a few things that needed basting....anxious to catch up on some finishes...

and sock saga?  sock #2 is done and big improvement over #1....not perfect but better, plus made longer in calf so almost knee hi which is good...then took #1 and ripped out half for a do-over...i see why so may make them...they are quick and cozy and the yarns are so colorful....

this is the cog railway in bretton woods NH....the foliage is just breathtaking....maine is past peak now and winter prep efforts being ramped up....thinking about getting out winter clothes this weekend as the heat has been on overnight a few times...a frigid 36 degrees here this morning...that's cold for maryland...there'll be snow on Mt. Washington very soon i'd say....

another weekend ahead....nothing fun to do but hope you have a good one!!

 

red letter day!

that would be friday.....arm bandage be gone!

my 12-inch serpentine scar is out there now for all the world to see..but no biggie to me.  just glad ordeal is over--well just about.  still waiting on fingertips to wake up a bit but coming along slowly and they are quite usable for most tasks.  dr said it would be 3-4 months and he was just about right...10 days shy of 3 months.  

after few quick errands saturday, the sewing mojo kicked in and sat down at the machine to finish up some things.  i think my head had to adjust to not being a patient anymore...i could resume a life without nurse visits, gauze and other trappings.  so what did i do?  

first was get the HST border on this panel....one more border and calling it done...most important, it and all the pieces are OFF the sewing table now....

next came this project....

this panel was a donation to our group and since RWB lap robes were requested, this was flung to me to make larger.  there was a cream border on it that got removed but that didn't help a whit squaring it up.  it was woefully wonky, so called on all sewing tricks to get this to the requested size.  the word to remember when working with panels is FUDGE!  a checkerboard border is always a helpful tool...now that and its pieces are off the table as well....rest assured, my next project is NOT a panel!  

second sock coming along nicely....have now decided to rip out the other at the ankle where i made the biggest boo boo....i know every time i put it on it would nag at me...

hand piecing and hand quilting still waiting in the wings...still plenty of things waiting for attention plus a christmas wall quilt is planned.  numbness aside, hugely grateful for the progress thus far and all those who offered prayers and the wide range of professional expertise.  now can i have that vacation please?  yes, i'd gladly go to maine in october....have a blessed day!

a finish!

not quilty but my first sock is done!  it fits, it's funky and it is finished!  few errors still but one biggie related to left/right directions that can be adjusted on the next one.  fortunate i didn't expect perfection...LOL! 

also this weekend worked on the second lap robe flimsy for our group's vets project...and then some cool weather cooking was completed....was given 2 fat red peppers so stuffed peppers it was....

jam packed with fall veggies and in the freezer for quick fall meals.  next up was a pork stew.

was given some boneless chops...trimmed off fat and added to this melange of sweet potato, carrots, celery, onion, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, rosemary and oregano.  really nourishing, very low sodium and satisfying on cool days.  simple tasks but evoke long ago memories of busy kitchens where jams, veggies and fruits were "put by" for the winter ahead by my mom, aunts, great-grandmother.  

today could be the last bandage day.  able to get my watch back on so that's a big help.  nurse visit later in the week.  in two weeks it will be 3 months since onset of this current medical disaster.  so often i thought it would never end.  typing easily with both hands altho a bit of numbness persists.  feel like i can finally breathe a sigh of relief--once the housing issues get settled that is.  i am so overdue for some fun and diversion.

i saw this on instagram....a good reminder but confess i have failed at it already.....but today is a new day and God forgives....no halo for me yet....LOL!  have a coooool Monday!

looky looky!

well it finally happened!  friday took some hand sewing to weekly group and was actually able to do some applique....yowza!   the arm rebelled a tiny bit but then relented....the sorest place is just below the elbow in the widest part of the arm where the incision ends and where the giant clot was...it's slowly recuperating and getting used to moving again....but here's the sewing...

these had been prepped a while ago for 'sometime' which came yesterday.  it was a pleasant afternoon of chit chat and sewing...helps me feel less like a patient and more like a real person again...

i turned in my lap robe flimsy...

as of now i think we have about 18 or so with a goal of 25....next up for me is to utilize the panel and do something with that.  this project is a win/win for me as i get to serve vets in my community and also log these as volunteer hours for the DAR...

the give away tote yielded this light weight linen piece, just big enough for a table topper for christmas....it got hemmed and will snag some holly branches from nearby bushes to make a pretty festive table....it's about 30x34"....

once again find myself in an annoying housing situation where old selfish buzzards do as they please and management could care less.  complex rules work on paper only i guess.  the smoking and noxious air freshener fumes are quite bothersome to me and sometimes sideline me for an entire day.  what gives with these bratty seniors anyway?  with nowhere to go and no funds to take me, seems again trapped in senior housing hell....sheesh...more than irritated and discouraged at this point...was hoping for some enjoyable senior days but still elusive...

OT has discharged me and with few nurse visits left, could be finished sooner rather than later...one tiny spot still draining some but not for long.  anxious for this long, horrific saga to wrap up, fingers crossed that maryland will inflict its havoc elsewhere.  though it has been quite miserable, the excellent caregivers have been huge blessings and expertise to me...i could hug every one!

autumn is here and foliage up north has exploded...now would be a great time to have that stolen vacation in new england, don't you think???    blessings to all today!