friday road trip

this is the new england quilt museum in lowell, mass.  friday we went there to see the current exhibit on quilts from the maine documentation project.  it's in a terrific downtown location.  i am a member of the museum.  the gift shop has really expanded since i was last there about 8 months ago.  the quilts were gorgeous; all antique and one a quilt of tiny yo-yo squares set on the diagonal.  they have a library and i borrowed some videos; gwen marston and ruth mcdowell plus "quilts in womens' lives," and they also have tons of used books for sale, but i resisted.  i met some friendly quilters in the library who share my memories of the new england guild of long ago, now defunct.  we stopped for a delish seafood lunch on the way back to vacationland.  the weather was simply beautiful; sunny, not too hot, breezy; typical early fall.  if lowell were closer to the coast, i might move there....seriously.

another bonnie fan?

this is the tie brian williams had on last night during the NBC newscast.....cheddar and blue?  just goes to show bonnie hunter's influence is far reaching, way beyond quilty circles!  i am certainly impressed.  hmmm, you think his wife makes quilts?  is a quiltville fan?  could be.....**** no quilting today, off daytripping AGAIN, that's the 3rd day this week.  boy, this unemployment stuff can be challenging!  plus wednesday was the shopping day; these have really cut into my sewing time.  oh well, winter is coming and there will be weeks when i hardly leave the apartment no doubt.  we are taking advantage of this oh-so gorgeous fall weather to the max!

a busy 2012

on a whim, i roughed out my 2012 UFO list, perhaps a bit premature since it's still 3 months away. i could conceivably finish another bed size quilt before the end of the year OR i could knock off some of the small projects i started this year.  with no real quilting mojo today, i'm just lazing around watching old tapes of "simply quilts."  judy mentioned them on her blog today and they are a great source of quilty info and entertainment.  i plugged the old VCR in and am getting inspired all over again. 

nearly done

with only few more white spaces to quilt, less than 10, it looks like the quilting part will be done this week.  then it's on to the binding.  this will be finished in plenty of time for its final destination.  with 2 months left in the year, i might get another bed size quilted before year's end.  i thought about going on to the amish center diamond, since it's already basted.  the red/cream top isn't done and neither is the amish scrappy.  i'm also hoping to get my halloween wall piece done in time for the big day.  plus i've a couple of small projects to finish as well.  ***** it's downright cool here this morning.  had both quilts on the bed last night; course the window is still wide open too.  even with the less than summer weather, 7 cruise ships will be in port this week.  they come in, the people get off and onto a bus bound for LL Bean, maine's most famous retail destination.  **** will be visiting the local veggie stand for the last time this season on saturday.  want to cook a few things to freeze and stock up on squashes, etc.  picked up some delish cider the other day!

a marden's sale

spent part of monday indoctrinating some of the quilty faithful in the delights of marden's fabric prices and eureka! they were also having a sale!  that's right, several bolts had been pulled and set aside as clearance, priced at 1.99 per yard!  is that great or what!  i myself happened to find these little plaids for an upcoming quilt, a lot easier than pulling buttons off a shirt and cheaper too, given thrift store prices in our area.  and of course, the cheddar...i couldn't pass that up.  after i got home, i wished i had bought the rest of the bolt as there wasn't THAT much and one can never have too much cheddar!  i also bought another piece for a swap that i can't show, but for less than $10 i got 3 yards of fabric....sorry LQS, just can't pass that up.  **** still quilting away on the lovers' links now that my quilty callouses are at their peak.  maybe today i'll get the binding ready as i will need it soon.

a california treat

now that we have a local whole foods (4 years) market, we get a larger variety of yummy stuff like these fresh black mission figs from california.  before that i found them only sporadically here in maine.  when i lived in boston, i would go to the haymarket produce vendors on saturdays and would often find them (in season) and get them by the tray.  it's a fruit i never had as a child and never saw in the market.  though i am a great believer in the locavore movement--we eat local as much as possible--i am glad we can get these in abundance and priced reasonably.  if i had to choose between these and chocolate, it would be these for sure, but luckily i don't....LOL!

swap very soon

one more thing to pick up today and then this batch of swap goodies gets mailed to donna!  friday is the deadline and i'm ahead just a bit!  ***** no new quilty goodies to show today as i've been working on the lovers' links all weekend with good progress.  could be a finish this week, at least that's my goal but i've got a few other things to do besides quilting, so might not make it; no matter, i'm closing in on this finish soon. 

benefits of stash

having a stash of fabric at the ready is a real benefit when luscious magazines like this arrive.  i don't buy many magazines, but this one came recommended.  there are some really beautiful quilts inside and don't you know, i found 2 i want to make!  years ago i collected a few vintage indigo fabrics and have added to them from time to time.  i also purchased 10 yards of kona white to have "on hand" when needed.  my fabric karma was working overtime because when the magazine came, i saw a traditional type scrappy and thought, where are those indigo fabrics?  and do i want white or muslin and remembered the kona white....voila!  another project!  no rush on this one of course, i'm busy trying to finish a bed-size right now, but soon i'll be busting more of my stash.....how great is that?  

seasonal sewing

with winter not that far away, time to do a little preparation.  yesterday i pulled out a hunk of flannel and whipped up a pair of flannel lounge pants.  i have one other pair and this will give me an extra.  ***** years ago my sister gave me a pair of flannel pajamas for christmas.  the pants got worn to shreds but not the top as i hate button tops; i tend to wake up during the night and they are unbuttoned and the "girls" are cold...LOL!  anyway, i found it recently and decided to remove the buttons and just sew up the top so i can wear it now.  it'll be cozy to wear in the evening or after coming in out of a storm.  **** also had time for more quilting on the lovers' links and sewing of the red/cream. 

wed night sewing

first off, what do you think about this color combo?  i was watching a free episode of "why quilts matter" on alex/ricky "the quilt show" and saw an amish quilt in the background, maybe trip around the world, in this combo.  i rushed to the stash and pulled these to photograph; that's cheddar on the bottom of course; i might have left out one, not sure, definitely food for thought.  looks like a sunflower group to me!  ***** on the right is my stack of red/cream northwind blocks.  i've got 5 rows put together, this stack is another 5 rows, so only 4 more rows to make, total of 32 blocks.  the completed flimsy is in sight!  ***** i also spent some time quilting the lovers' links last night also.  with another week until october, i might just get it all quilted by then.  we're having a stretch of rainy/cool weather, so it's quite possible.