springtime in naples

naples, maine, that is...due to a severe case of cabin fever and temps finally cracking 50 degrees, we took a leisurely drive to north conway, nh, and back thru little towns.  this is naples, maine, a bustling and crowded summer tourist destination partly due to now-disguised long lake.  in other seasons, it is a busy, beautiful, large lake.  as a pre-teen attended summer camp on the shores of long lake where i once again flunked swimming lessons and fine-tuned popsicle stick crafting and lanyard weaving.  if you find yourself in the area, worth a trip to see its unfrozen state.  ***  not much sewing going on in my neck of the woods.  aside from the hawaiian that seemingly has no end in sight and a few star blocks, the old viking is resting.  nearly all the stash is in boxes, and each day more things get unearthed that need to be packed.  would like to pack up the car but it's a bit early for that with just over 2 weeks to go before departure date.  in the meantime, basking in emerging spring and delicious sunshiny days....

spring tease

revisiting a springy wallhanging made a couple of years ago....so apropos for a day like today with temps in the mid-40s and tomorrow up to 50 even...how good is that?  busy here in lobsterville packing for the move in about 3 weeks.  today pulled trudy out of her cabinet and she will ride shotgun with me for the trip.  she is tucked away in my LL Bean canvas bag and should arrive no worse for wear.  most everything is packed now except the old viking and the barest of necessities--dishes and the like.  made one last marden's run for some stash that i'll show another day.  making plans for one more fried clam dinner and some lobster too before arriving in crab country.  so delighted this has finally come about and looking forward to some southern friends and fun. 

stars update....

thanks for your patience during my brief hiatus.  most of what i needed to do is done, so have some breathing room AND blogging time.  did manage to keep up with my stars sew-along....bottom row madders and top row indigos.  see the top left blue star?  the background fabric with the yellow roses is one of my very faves.  i bought 3 yards, unheard of for me, back before 2000 or so at the old fabric place in woburn, massachusetts.  they were a lovely fabric store meaning FABRIC....no crafty crap like you-know-who.  one could buy very nice garment fabrics of all types, drapery and slipcover fabrics and plenty of cottons.  they had delish remnant bins that were often large pieces, hence the 3 yards of this lovely print.  this was eons before the repro bug bit me, but i just loved the fabric and have used it in several things....so happy to have some left for this project.  *** while i was gone coping with various things, not the least of which was a horrific february, winter finally gave up the ghost.  the feeling and smell of spring is everywhere and though it'll be a while before the snow all melts, it is inevitable.  we know it's spring when dairy queen opens for the season....lol!

new header photo and taking a break

new header photo is a collection of swap siggie squares from online group called "real women quilt" from a few years ago.  my block is not included but i did make the letters in the lower right corner to identify the wallhanging.  aside from working on the hawaiian, busy packing.  it is now necessary for me to take a bit of a blogging break until things are less chaotic.  i'll continue to take photos of my work (fun?) and post at a later date and will, of course, try and keep up with my little stars sew-along.  aside from the repros, most all other fabric is packed up....i won't tell you how many boxes are fabric, will just say it's more than some and less than others...LOL!    see you in the spring!

double pinks done

first thing this morning after the usual stuff, sat down at the old viking  and got my double pink stars done to add to the growing pile.  this time tried to be less matchy matchy and think they turned our ok....loving this sew along, so do-able and lets me play in my gorgeous stash of civil war fabrics....and if you see this pinup gal, be sure and wish her happy birthday....my dear mom...can easily see why my dad was attracted to her...and she has grown in beauty that radiates even to this day....happy birthday mom!

home stretch....sort of

thanks to our winter, the quilting on the hawaiian is over half done.  the orange part is all quilted and now starting on the white background.  thinking this will definitely be finished by end of march or maybe sooner (snow again this weekend....LOL).   unashamedly bragging about how gorgeous this is...not worth 10k maybe like one in a hawaiian shop, but priceless to me.  as for machine work, still working on scrappy solid project but this weekend must make my double pink stars for the brackman sew along....otherwise we are enjoying hint of coming spring with longer days of more sunshine and a definite change in the air.  i even changed the desktop photo on my computer to lovely narcissus! 

more snowy day sewing....

remember this?  it's a block made some time ago from an issue of quiltmaker's 100 favorite blocks...thought it would be a fun project to use up some small solid pieces...worked on it some at retreat last year and decided to try and get this flimsy done.  have no illusions about using all my scraps....that would be pure folly....but hoping to at least make a dent.  purposely didn't pack the solids hoping there would be less to pack after it's done.  it's a good way to celebrate being over the february hump, cruising toward march and spring.  st. patty's day is just around the corner!  and look what arrived on valentine's day....a surprise kaffe charm pack!

now that is what i call spring!

a snowy sewing sunday

these are my lady of the lake swap blocks all sewn into a flimsy.  yes, a few of them were sewn a bit different but they will be left as is....when i was figuring size on this allowed for 12" blocks, but in fact these are 8" finished so it's a bit smaller than anticipated but no biggie, will add a border and call it done.  will make a very nice throw size.  aren't these batiks gorgeous?  *** and after going back and looking at my red/cheddar, decided i did not like the light strips so as much as i hate to, will cut more dark strips and replace them.  i think the very light ones detract from the overall effect of the quilt.  it's a later some time project.  and next?  have a scrappy solid project in the works so think that'll be next in hopes of busting more solids.  that should keep me busy until winter's almost over....that and the hawaiian of course.  ***  it's a bright and sunny albeit bitter cold day here.  the lengthening days are a sure sign spring is coming, only about a month away.  ahhhh it'll be wonderful!

two for one....

my red/cheddar antique reproduction flimsy is now done....i love it and you should imagine it brighter than this photo depicts....it really wows the room.  the photo from which i took this pattern was in black and white so i have no idea what colors were used originally.....since it came from the 1840s midwest, i doubt they were as bright but you know that i go for colors, even in muted/grayed reproduction and solid fabrics.  it is the cheddar, of course, that kicks this up several notches.   and as a bonus, the leftover strippy squares yielded this....

a mini repro quilt...and my version of math didn't fail me as there was plenty of red fabric to make the top and plenty of cheddar left to use as binding.  this will go in the flimsy pile for now while my quilting concentrates on the hawaiian....and my next flimsy?  the lady of the lake swap blocks.  *** yes, it's snowing and blowing and freezing cold here in lobsterville but no matter....the old viking is smokin'....now off to change the thread color and sew on!
 

more stars

first thing this morning with no other demands got these little blocks all done.  start to finish they take about 1.5 hours so work up quickly.  had a darker poison green in my stash but not enough to make all 3 so went with this one instead.  so nice to have gorgeous fabrics to work with, most of which so far have been from my jo morton tote.  no longer just fondling and refolding, have pulled out several to use.  they are all very nice and soon will have a few more.  squirreled a bit of cash from my tax refund to get some from her new "hollyhocks" line.  otherwise, i am on a strict no-buy fabric diet....not a big hardship as plenty on hand for loads of quilty and sewing fun.  *** enjoying the sun on an otherwise frigid day.  the piles of white snow reflect the sun making it very bright and cheerful....stay warm and sew on!