brown truck visit

safe to say i almost never pay full price for a book but after serious consideration, succumbed to this one.  it arrived yesterday and today i'm adding one more thing to the sewing space--a scrap basket.  previously i had cut up scraps into squares or strips but after reading AND seeing this, i need a scrap basket.  i have a lot of strips and squares on hand that do get used but will try something new and exciting with them.  what she does with scraps isn't new, so it must mean i'm creatively ready to veer off into a new quilty direction.  traditional quilts are still my faves, but using color in a different (to me) way is beckoning.  if you read this book, it may speak to you as well.  at the very least, it's worth a look.

october little quilt

with the completion of these squares, i am jumping OFF the little hexie bandwagon so popular right now and seen around blogs.  these squares are about 6" square so they aren't really THAT little but about as small as i care to do.  and now that they are done, yeah, they are cute, but i just don't get that excited about the pattern or even making them.  course, i do have my amish style honeycomb quilt in progress made with much larger hexies.  the pattern was chosen because of its scrappy possibilities and the opportunity to use some luscious cherrywood solids.  the hexies are done, now just waiting assembling--that's a total handwork project. 

one by one...

they fall away.....that's what happened last night.  my aunt madeline, 3rd from left, passed away.  she was 92, without major illness really except weary of life and lonely for her other siblings, except the one remaining.  this photo was taken at my parents' 50th.  my parents are 5 & 6 from left and of course, my dad has been gone now 10 years.  only the sibling left is next to my mom, 2nd from right.  it doesn't seem possible.  in the last 12 years these plus 4 of my cousins have all passed away.  life seems very strange without these people nearby yet i cherish them still.  we believe in a heaven so they are together again.  it is a joyous yet sad day for those of us who remain. 

holy crunch time, batman!

yikes, been spending time at the old viking and completely forgot this month's strip swap of blacks and whites!  some were purchased specifically for this swap, so hoping the hostess will let me send them priority mail today!  sheesh, where DOES time go?  it's been 3 weeks already since returning from retreat and so much has happened in that brief span...election, sewing, work, snow; it's mind boggling.  now to the ironing and cutting table!

another finish looming

just baste, quilt and bind and these placemats will be done.  they are an official UFO and should be off my list before long.  i found the pattern in a very old quilt book borrowed from the library.  and then i found the perfect fabric--the white background blue print--about 5 years ago, so it's been a WHIMM for some time.  *** it's tuesday and a work day so off to the old viking for some playtime.  and speaking of playtime, hop on over to victoria's page for her kind of fun and a terrific book just new to the market!

quick shelves re-org

if you had seen this shelving unit before yesterday, you would have noticed SPACE at the top but no more!  the sewing table was crowded with stuff making it difficult for me to sit down and sew or work on a specific project, so spent a few minutes trying to make more space.  i found some, not a lot, but enough for the time being.  at the top underneath shoeboxes are basted quilts destined for other locales.  if i get these done, then i'll have a bit more room.  on the other side of the room is the elfa drawer unit where most of my fabric is kept.  for the rest of the year, i'm deleting any emails from fabric sellers....i simply have to! 

a "fair" veteran's day

first, homage to all our service men and women, past and present, for their sacrifice and for the honor they bring our country.  you are not forgotten. my dad was at utah beach during WW II and it changed him forever but he was always proud to have served.  **** and "fair" day as in "metropolitan fair," which finally arrived at my fave repro shop, the busy thimble!  i was in the area and cyndi graciously allowed me to come by, even though the shop wasn't open, to pick up my FQs of this gorgeous fabric line by barbara brackman.  from left, there's tan, red, green, gray and chocolate colorways.  not pictured is a blue that i passed by....for now! *** and now back to my regularly scheduled projects!

next project, please?

though i was planning to tackle the center diamond quilt next, the borders need marking and i need space for that so i picked this up instead.  nice to have quilts all basted at the ready!  this one doesn't need marking at all and should be a fairly soon finish.  i'm just quilting down the side of each row and already i have almost finished 4 "lines."  there are a total of 13 rows so that is 26 "lines" so it's coming along fairly quickly.  and what is better than a new christmas quilt?  i had a large collection of christmas fabrics (still do) and tried to use them all in this quilt.  it's a good christmas fabric memory quilt for me.  **** at the same time, i'm assembling a quilt for sandy relief using some luscious batiks and a deep plum accent color.  **** i'm also currently embroiled in a war of words with time warner cable.  our on demand is a sometime thing and it infuriates me.  they continue to advertise it as a real perk of their outrageously expensive service but not for us it seems....the tech is coming again monday for yet another box; this makes about 4 and not sure why this service is so terrible.  i've lived other places and never, ever had this much difficulty with cable before. 

swap HSTs

mr. mailman brought these little HSTs today from a recent swap.  they are 2" unfinished and look to be a great variety ideal for maybe some of my little civil war repro quilts.  next up is black and white strips.  **** a recent visit to nann's blog revealed how she stores her fabric or, more specifically, FQs and such.  they are in clear shoeboxes by color.  hmmm....although i love my elfa drawers, maybe the shoebox system would make it easier to find specific colors.  right now they are sorted by color with civil war repros in their own shoeboxes.  i am tempted to try it but don't want to spend my sewing time organizing fabric.  it is a slippery slope and my preference is to sew rather than get ready to sew.  maybe it can be done in snippets of time.  **** a very nice fall day here, sunny and cool; it was a grocery shopping day for me plus a few other errands. 

a soon-to-be WIP (work in progress)

on my want-to-make list is a vintage red/green project.  i've had the fabric for some time (thank you reproduction fabrics!) and found the ideal pattern.  not too big, not too small, just right i think!  it's only about 30" square, but it'll be a nice holiday and year-round piece....for NEXT year! **** getting my list for santa ready...first up is a sewing room, yes!  i used to have one when i shared half a house with a couple of moronic so-called christian roommates but alas, no more.  it needed TLC so i washed windows, put up storms, kept my areas neat and clean, planted bulbs and generally improved the place but again i could not find work, so now i am squeezed into this maine dungeon....but i digress.  yes, santa, i need more sewing space...can you fit that down the chimney?