a finish!

i finished binding my batik pinwheel runner yesterday.  the photo was taken vertical so ignore the background.  i have one more of these pinwheel runners to quilt and bind, good olympic watching work.  **** just back from maine quilts and i am so overwhelmed due to the many, many beautiful quilts.  i did take some photos but have to sort them out and will certainly post.  i took a half-day class in hand quilting to get some pointers from an expert and i wasn't disappointed.  one thing that caused some dismay is the lack of crowds, not sure if i just missed them or if the turnout was indeed lower than in previous years.  and i came away with only one-half yard of fabric for a planned project.  with lancaster firmly in my mind, i am formulating my list for october instead.  summer is 2/3rds over and no doubt the rest will fly by as well.  last year we had good weather right thru november and we'll take that again this year too. 

paid in plaids

yesterday evening was the opening reception of maine quilts for 2012.  this is the first time i have attended, despite going to the show many times.  since i was going up to augusta anyway, i volunteered to pick up a teacher at the airport and transport her to the show.  saves someone having to drive down to portland--60+ miles--and then back.  as a volunteer i received 2 FQs donated by marden's.  last year i drove a teacher back at the end of the show and the selection was pretty poor (yes, i did use that heinous blue rick-rack print) but this year i got to choose from the entire collection and found these luscious plaids without having to deconstruct any shirts!  i've got plans for each already.  the star print was in my tote bag.  i think that'll make a cute baby quilt with some black/white checkerboards in the border.  it's going to be a rainy weekend, so perhaps attendance will be higher than normal.  **** i've got my handwork projects lined up for olympic watching the next few weeks.  first up is to bind the batik runner and revise that UFO list.  but miscellaneous tasks are calling....

little quilt progress

so far so good.  if you look close, you can see one of the shirtings i got last week when visiting victoria in NH, so i do use it up...eventually!  the great thing about these little quilts is they whip up so fast.  maybe tomorrow i'll get this assembled with borders ready to baste.  and what could be better than indigo anyway?  ***** severe thunderstorms are in the area so my computer time will be brief.  and is august a mere one week away?  i do believe so, along with another birthday which makes me very happy.  i love birthdays...the more the merrier!  **** my tablerunner is ready to bind, plus i've started quilting the 2nd.  these are the pinwheel tablerunners i assembled some time ago.  i'm also still doing some applique on a summer-y piece that remains to be seen.  also working on some kits for retreat, which is less than 3 months from now.  in the meantime, chowing down on mass quantities of fresh veggies, mmm mmm good!

12 hexie flowers

got 'em all done!  they are all ready for october's little quilt challenge; kinda cute too!  but on to the next project, which is finish quilting a tablerunner and prep some hourglass units for THIS month's little quilt.  one of the shirtings i got last week will be used for the background.  i'm also working on ocean wave units, hoping to use up more solids before october's trip to Lancaster.  **** can't tell you how enjoyable it is to get up a day after being at the beach and have no sunburn, no pain, no misery.  for years i tried to get that coppertone tan, never realizing that with my skin type it was never going to happen.  finally, i gave up and succumbed to hats, sunscreen, shirts and long pants if necessary to avoid sunburn.  i enjoy the beach just as much, if not more, only i no longer care how silly i might look with various modes of coverup.  **** so, off to jot down a few "must do" tasks and goals for the week. 

beach day

yeah, this was my view until about 1 pm today when it got too windy to really enjoy flying sand.  didn't even put up our umbrella, but while it lasted it was really nice.  the water was warm and wavy due to incoming tide.  brought my sewing but because of wind, was impossible to even thread a needle.  no matter, it was a truly relaxing time.  a short stop for ice cream--chocolate truffle raspberry--and then back to the complex for shower, shampoo and siesta!

newest stash

really, just a few basics and a couple of "had to have" pieces were all i got yesterday.  first, from L to R, 2 shirtings, always needed; next, a cheddar and poison green print, definitely a basic; next 1/4 yard to go with the last print; next, a french general very gorgeous piece and beside it a "go with" piece from red rooster; then a basic double pink for the civil war diary quilt and last but not at all least is a christmas print that i couldn't leave behind.  of all the christmas fabrics, this bolt had the most left; it was lonely, felt left out, so i brought home 1/2 yard for a project that is all planned--lovely, colorful pears! **** slept soundly a whopping 8 hours last night.  been puttering and doing some quilting and scrap chopping this morning.  it's another near perfect midsummer day, not to be confused with midsomer where all the murders take place.  an english place where it definitely isn't safe to live but just fine for DVD watching. **** back to puttering!

a perfect play day

took a brief sojourn from the city today to visit victoria, a country mouse!  we had a lovely nearly day-long visit and quilty chat and you'll never guess...we found a quilt shop, with a sale no less! i got a few lovelies as did victoria, both of us sorely lacking in the fabric department....NOT!  victoria prepared a delish panini lunch and i brought the dessert.  i got to meet her fur baby, raven, and roam through her oh-so spacious quilty space.  her husband was equally hospitable, until he retreated to his garden.  it isn't that far to her home but it's all back roads, so it takes a while.  i saw plenty of veggie stands and berry picking places.  back to the city at last to wash the fabric

with ideas dancing in my head.  **** when i arrived, the dump guy had come and taken away the old TV, so i can move the elfa drawers freely and even clean behind them if need be.  now for a shower and jammies...after jeopardy, now that time-warner and hearst have called a truce. 

different design wall

good to see something besides brown on the design wall.  since it hangs in my room, it's part of the decoration of the room and while brown/muslin is nice, i needed a change.  here are the ocean wave blocks so far.  i used up all the triangles that were cut and i can see i'm going to need a lot, lot more.  will i wipe out all my solid scraps?  time will tell, but i love it so far.....very colorful even though not strictly traditional old-order amish.  ***** i'm also working on some applique inbetween machine time, one of which might be ready to show soon, plus quilting a tablerunner to give me a UFO finish this month.  ***** if you are a baby boomer like me, no doubt you remember bobby rydell from philly and his hits from 1960.  bobby is now 70 and just underwent kidney and lung transplant.  like, wasn't he on bandstand not that long ago?  i thought so.  **** and the muggies are gone for the time being with temps going down to the mid-50s overnight.  makes for great sewing weather!

at last

finally got this first section all pieced.  the lower right block, the big applique, is actually done differently than the pattern.  i looked at the diagram only once and when i went back to check the squaring up measurements, realized that the little hand-like pieces were supposed to go inbetween the curved pieces.  this explains why mine doesn't exactly fit as it should but it works regardless.  for sure i'm not taking any out to redo it.  this is what happens when i try to sew when i'm tired or have other things going on.  anyway, looks good to me as i know there is a tremendous amount of work even in this one section and it's a quilt for me, so i can live with it no problem.  i used to think brown was boring but not any longer.  something else gets to hang on the design wall now for a change.  **** my name is creeping up on the queen's list in the UFO challenge so i'll probably take a quilty detour from the pinwheel and get a couple of smaller things done.  my list for the year was longer than i'd like, 23 unfinished projects, so it really needs serious, continual attention, especially since i've started some new things this year that are also not yet done. *** aside from that we are weathering the weather quite nicely, expecting thunder, rain and hail later on today then a change to nicer days.  no matter as i can sew and quilt most any day. 

basting blitz

whew, most of today was taken up with basting, and i mean the old fashioned way, by hand with needle and thread.  all ready to quilt now are 2 tablerunners, 2 little quilts and 2 twin size quilts.  the christmas quilt front right is scrappy from top to bottom--even the background that is made up of scraps of white-on-white pieces and other white cottons from various projects, not enough of any to put in one project.  i know it isn't matchy-matchy but definitely frugal and scrappy, which is just fine to me.  **** these basted projects will join others on the shelf waiting for quilting; 2 bed size, 4 wallhanging and 1 little quilt.  there's also the 2 amish bed size in progress, so even if i don't start anything new, i've got enough to keep me sewing for a couple of years anyway.  stick around, could be there'll be plenty to show in months to come.