shopping?

not!!!   not when 365 needs attention....latest stack....excited to be nearing the end of this year-long challenge.

the 6" block is the next-to-last of its size for the dark border....just the one more 6" dark block and 18 smalls to finish the dark squares, then move on to the last and light border.  skipped over the tiny tree of life and chose a bonus block that was posted for those who needed one.  even if had funds to shop, simply no time.  have a small christmas gift list that was finalized before this weekend, so no impulse buying either.  much more enjoyable playing in the stash than fighting for parking spaces, standing in store lines and elbowing crowds.  the holiday season has begun!  i'll be linking up with oh scrap! because quilting IS way more fun than housework!

not too soon....

to pull out the christmas quilt as my first holiday decoration.   arriving home after wonderful turkey day (although we had ham) with my daughter, son-in-love and my mom visiting from maine, went to the quilt pile.  it is a smallish quilt so put another underneath, the amish pinwheel with the wool batt.

this is a true scrappy as even the background white fabrics are a variety of scraps.  my other christmas quilt is a double wedding ring done with solid forest green and cranberry.   ***  blessed holiday and visit with my mom.  wednesday we went to gettysburg battlefield which is GINORMOUS!   spent 3.5 hours driving thru reading many informational plaques and monuments as we took in the enormity of the casualties, the battle, the landscape (which was mostly woods at the time) and the general atmosphere of such a hallowed place.  normally chatty, it overwhelmed us into reverent silence for the sacrifices of so many and disgust as, in today's world, many tramp on those sacrifices because of their own agendas.  the plaques listed the action over the days of the battles, the number originally sent, those killed or wounded and the many missing whose remains must rest below the earth in such a solemn place.  urge you to go if you are ever nearby.  then a quick trip to harper's ferry and finally home to relieve our fanny fatigue.  ***  thankfulness continues with post-holiday sewing time and finally mystery clue #1!

365 so far aka seam-mageddon!

next task is to make the corner squares, obviously, and finish up the little blocks so can get the last 2 dark borders attached.   adding these 2 has re-ignited my mojo for this project.  no fabric was purchased for this project at all, entirely from stash.  explains why there are lots of empty spools.

managed to keep my bare toes out of this photo but going to be a challenge to photograph when the top is done.  would have loved to used a particular color scheme on this but have to say scrappy is not entirely un-pleasing.  you can still sign up for next year....just search for 365 on facebook!  this has been a HUGE machine piecing challenge for me.  some of the blocks are perfect, some are awful and a lot are not bad, but it has ramped up my skills and (so far) glad i tackled it....  ***  ah, november 22nd, a day boomers will never forget.  walking home from 9th grade thru downtown and passed appliance store with several televisions on--black and white of course--seeing that JFK had been killed...seemed very unreal but horrific at the same time.  then four days of nothing but funereal dirges and nonstop TV watching of ensuing events.  no school, of course, so days seemingly endless hours of ceremony, dignitaries and then actually jack ruby walking right up and killing oswald...live!   that was REAL reality TV....

fast finish

only busted half a yard but another UFO is history.....one of the many little quilts that got sewn up last year when had no real sewing space but compelled to sew something!!!

actually made a couple of these using different fabrics, one was amish and completed previously.   also closing in on another finish and, no surprise, have started quilting on another--the milky way masquerade.  ***  ready as can be for bonnie hunter's mystery starting friday.  won't get much sewing done until then, but the weekend is dedicated to 365.  all the little blocks have been posted and the daily blocks now are for the final border, so imperative to get caught up so can finish on time.  

super saturday!

exactly as weatherman had predicted (how spooky is that?) about 2 pm it turned dark and very windy and temps began to plummet...in 3 hours went from 68 degrees to 40 degrees....no matter to me....was engrossed in this that the mailman brought...

which had tons of eye candy and great articles, not to mention this...a gorgeous quilt by jo morton...

which had me drooling, but with laundry done was time to start supper....and what better for cold and blustery than this....clam chowder!   the simple new england kind with NO celery, NO flour, NO crazy herbs of any kind....just chowder with a dash of leftover cream added....mmm mmmm good!

will taste even better tomorrow....so fortunate that my local market carries the chopped sea clams normally used, since fresh, whole, shucked are exorbitantly priced.  will provid needed sustenance for mega cleaning before company arrives early next week....

on the wall....

today finally got around to hanging this piece that has been rolled up on the floor since moving in...

another of my imperfect pieces; actually this was a replacement for an earlier one that got trashed.  it could use more quilting in the white spaces if motivated to do so.   while tidying up, noticed this horror......

put this runner together eons ago from some squares inherited from the ex's aunt, most likely made by his grandmother....now that i've been instructed on old fabric types, can clearly see this brown stripe (lower right corner)  that has now horribly faded due to direct sunlight.  most of these fabrics are 30s era but thinking the stripe is older than that...immediately pulled it out of harm's way and it'll get put away.  and just for reference,  got out some broken dishes squares taken from a quilt top given to me probably around 1990 or so.   they are hand sewn.  the top needs some mending, and since it was quite large, removed one row for repair squares....but nothing like the brown stripe in these.  will defer to my pals cyndi and wendy for their learned opinions....

the colors are spectacular as the quilt was never finished, never used or laundered.  it's a someday project....remainder of the weekend goes to thorough cleaning of the apartment, finishing up my portion of the guild's raffle quilt and finishing up a donation quilt.   in the good news/bad news department, the 365 turns the corner today with the start of 6" squares for the final border.  won't divulge how far behind, but after the holiday this project will be my BFF.....or at least until the end of the year!

gone!

that would be another 3.5 yards outta my stash...

this issue of 100 blocks came to me in a giveaway and right away spied this block (left side) that was scrappy friendly...

my blocks were done in a variety of solids with the side/top sashing a charcoal....ran out of charcoal so for the last row, added 6" border of solid black on each side along with 2" top and bottom....no longer hiding out in the elfa drawer, but will get tied by some willing hands for a worthy cause.   ***  continuing to work on guild raffle quilt with a probable finish before week's end.....donation quilt all quilted and ready to bind and get mailed first of december...365 lags further behind but still hope to finish up by end of december, that and farmer's wife.   ***  christmas sewing plans finalized and easily do-able with other sewing.   ***  another year is nearly history, one that had big changes for me but at home and fully settled.  have navigated single and finally living alone--and loving it--with few blips although budget still very much a concern.  it seems that formal work is really behind me for good and although have plenty to fill my days, still feel too young to be shelved.  fortunate that gratitude for each day, and the Lord's pleasure to grant me same, plus creativity keep me engaged and involved, albeit with no extra income for many fun things.  things could be a lot worse....fortunately plenty of UFOs on hand for hours of free entertainment  ***  lastly, menu tip for the cost conscious...tweaked mac and cheese using half cheddar, half taco cheese, adding few slices of chopped pepperoni and sliced cherry tomatoes, divvied up in ramekins and popped in freezer....not boring at all!

thinking ahead....

last week a friend and I visited a new guild for an amazing program featuring WWII quilts collector Sue Reich...by all means go to hear her and see her quilts if you can....so interesting!   at the end of the evening, my friend won a door prize....this book

but after leafing through it and finding many applique projects (which she doesn't do), she passed it along to me...how lucky!  spied several possible projects (like I needed more!!!) and, with stash in mind, immediately honed in on this one....

tho a pillow is pictured, opted for a small valentiney wallhanging instead....so this morning (up 5 am) pulled out my fabrics and got it started....

hoping this will get done and NOT end up on the UFO list for next year.  along with this, made binding for donation quilt that's almost done, worked on guild's raffle quilt, some housecleaning, made a chocolate cream pie (yummm), cut background squares for a new project, sewed up some units for another project, puttered and organized in sewing space, made a christmas to-do list.....i guess that's about it....and there is plenty of day left so without further adieu.....

never forgotten....

my dad, a WWII vet of utah beach, at rest now for 14 years....he never talked about the war even tho we had a ton of grainy, sepia-toned photos of many fellow GIs....the few comments he made during my lifetime were casual things....scrambling eggs in his helmet, sights seen in paris, a glimpse of bing crosby....but the impact of war on his life was immeasurable with him fading away like most WWII vets from a constellation of ailments and then multi-system failure.  his corny jokes and tender heart live on through us.....just another imperfect human who left a great legacy....one of so many who served, worthy of all our honor and thanks....

still waging my own battle with 365 blocks....4 more added to the pile and still 21 blocks behind...hoping this weekend will afford some time to shorten the gap, eventually to win this war by december's end.  

a peek at upcoming blocks revealed some HUGE challenges....like a tree of life....in 3.5"??? are you kidding???  

november and flowers?

yes, even though we have plenty of this in the neighborhood...

this being the northernmost southern state, there are also these still blooming everywhere....some variety of a bush rose....they bloom continuously all summer and into the fall apparently...

drive by these often and just had to snap a photo....these are a lovely pink.....the tree photo was taken at a local state park, Gambrill, about 5-6 miles from here....up a small mountain with plenty of views overlooking the valleys.....built by the CCC back in the 1930s.   lots of picnic spots with grills too....will have to visit next summer and (make note) take hot dogs!!!   ****  upcoming church bazaar means tuesdays are ultra-busy sewing up tied quilts and other items for sale.  have contributed one bed size flimsy with another nearly done, which partly explains why my own sewing is lagging.  quilting on the donation quilt is nearly finished, thinking another week or so should see it done.  then can devote more time to 365, finishing farmer's wife (for which all background triangles have been readied) and the last few westering women.  empty spools are piling up as it has been a banner sewing year for me!