bit of playtime

with one day of antibiotics left, bronchitic haze is starting to lift so was able to spend a few minutes playing with the old viking and my scraps for the double wedding ring sew along.  this is my 3rd DWR project, the first done completely by hand and the second by machine (except hand quilted of course)...

this one has paper-pieced arcs, all scrappy, and you can see my little organizer chock full of scrappy squares, probably way more than needed but no surprise there.  i'll go on record and again say this is my ONE AND ONLY sew along this year as i focus on unfinished projects and sew up some "want to try patterns" while shopping the stash.  in just a year since moving, can definitely see a difference in the "shop inventory", although do plan on a bit of retail therapy this year, especially during my vacation.  ***  today's chores include a few "must do" household things, more sewing (i hope) and basking in 70+ degree weather for another day....unheard of i'm told for maryland in february.  looking more and more like a snowless winter! 

special day.....

today is my mom's 90th birthday....every single moment i thank God that He blessed me with such a priceless gift ...her own mom died when she was 2, a life-long emptiness that i cannot even fathom...just thinking about what that means causes me to weep....she is truly worthy in His sight.....Godly, faithful, funny, resilient, tender, steadfast, teacher, compassionate, smart, wise....i could go on and on....we had our adversarial days long ago and now, though miles apart, closer than close....wishing her blessings beyond imagining for this milestone and every year ahead....

happy birthday, mom!

autumn finish

now that antibiotics are at full tilt and bronchitis slowly but steadily abating, actually felt like picking up a needle for some sewing.   quilted and bound this wallhanging waiting in the F (finish) pile. 

the HSTs and friendship stars were from previous swaps and just waiting to be used when this got pieced last fall.   also managed to quilt some on the milky way quilt, and hoping for a march finish for that.   hoping that this week can get back to regularly scheduled events and forego the daily naps that have been previously unavoidable.  ***   now that sew along blocks have been repurposed into flimsies, can finally start the stashbuster double wedding ring sew along.  this will be my one and only sew along for the year and done at a leisurely pace.  the only other project have signed up for is jo morton's little women club....patterns and fabric to arrive soon.   pretty proud of myself as it's nearly march and no new fabric yet except for a $2 bag of scraps at guiild meeting.   everyone knows they don't count because it's almost impossible to calculate yardage....lol!

last pile....

of sew-along blocks now a (mostly) flimsy...still needing setting triangles, fabric yet to be chosen.  it has taken me all week along to get the last 2 rows done and put this together in between the tasks required for recuperation that are very slowly producing result.

only 2 blocks left over that'll go in the orphan pile.  when these were being made, didn't realize how many reds and blues got used but still a good mix of some of everything else--purple, gold, green, cheddar, poison yellow.   leaning toward cheddar for setting triangles as have enough on hand.   ***  making a herculean effort to dress and take in some spring-like temps this weekend and most of next week.  looks like february is a no-snow month and if we squeak thru march, it will have been a snowless winter start to finish....my family in maine are too busy digging out to even THINK of spring!  ***   linking up with "oh scrap" blog.....

spring already???

at the PO the other day, spied this....a large forsythia shrub just starting to bloom...and this wasn't the first forsythia i'd seen in bloom either....that's what our winter has been like...do i miss snow?  not a whit!  haven't cleaned the car off once either....still out of commission with a particularly horrid bronchitis that is improving a bit at a time and nowhere near fast enough for me.   my machine gals miss me and i miss them, although i've been doing a bit of hand quilting.....back to baseline soon i hope....

$10 ott lite....

well just a "shade" over $10  (ouch...terrible pun)....but with shorter days, found more light was needed in the sewing corner.  with a budget on life support opted for Plan B....local thrift and a $2.99 lamp and 99 cent shade, then to joann's for an ott-lite bulb (on sale 50% off) which made it $7.50 and voila!  ott-lite brightness for a pittance.  

this isn't the first time went this route.  my mom had a floor lamp ott-lite that finally died.  without funds to get a pricey new lamp, just bought the bulb and used it in a lamp she already had on her chair-side table....worked perfect!  ****  another trip to the local walk-in for (finally) antibiotics. bronchitis tad better but still energy draining and symptomatic.  one of these weeks hope to be able to function again.  ***   and what's that yellow peeking thru on the corner?   a bit of sunshiny scrappy sewing that's taking way longer than it should due to illness, but hope to reveal soon.  otherwise, girls (old viking, trudy, phoebe) are on continued hiatus--not too much longer i hope. 

thrifty switch

in the interests of keeping stash visible and handy without investing in more storage, decided to repurpose this organic spinach container.  as you can see, the inchie scraps had way outgrown my little fabric basket and this way, can access them easier and quicker for leader/ender sewing fun!

another repurposed container holds a small project in process....it's been a challenging month...first mobility issues with right leg that affected my pedal foot too.  after xrays and starting PT, happy to say nearly back 100%.....just in time for a particularly vicious roaring bronchitis which, i believe, was brought on by the nasty little smokers in the building who smoke in their apartments evenings and weekends...not to mention those little old ladies who overdose on perfume and air fresheners.  i thought the 5th floor would provide plenty of fresh air but so far been disappointed....and then there is that OTHER issue....ongoing problems with surgery from 2010.   had i only broken a mirror, would now be enjoying relief, but since had the misfortune to put my bodily functions into the hands of one who must have gotten her medical license at K-mart, am still dealing with those annoying and often painful issues.  thankfully can modify my schedule when need be since i seem to be officially retired from regular work.  *** even with these intrusions, happy and grateful to have a home and a place where i can be sick and sloppy without interference.  even though our weather isn't winter-like at all, the thought of homeless people in severe winter conditions reminds me how blessed i am.....

3 down, 1 to go...

that would be sew-along flimsies...the 365 and westering women are done and now so is the farmer's wife...turns out not enough blocks were completed for 8 rows so opted for 7 and calling it done. 

100 years from now only the most dogged researcher will know the difference...and now you do too, of course.   but to be honest, am bored with it along with being a bit impressed with myself that i got this many done and they look fairly good.  the instructions called for a border but no border for this, just put into the finish pile for a basting day--after a good iron.  *** happy to say the stars/time warp is nearly ready to put aside as well....just a couple of single rows to get the whole top together....it's on point as well...with setting triangles to come later after the right fabric is chosen.  the pile of blocks was haunting me, so now they will be off the table.   february is off to a good start!

it only took 37 years...

for me to get the hang of the log cabin block....i've made them in the past, even did a swap, but alas they were done WRONG!   i chalk it up to my lefthandedness as was turning the blocks and adding new logs the opposite of the correct way....well, that's my own justification anyway.  these were started in a workshop at the now defunct crafters' quarters in amesbury, massachusetts, a few years ago and thankfully, the instructor gave me a lefthander's guide to keep....now out of the UFO vault and getting finished for a flimsy for disaster relief thru my church. 

working from my 1.5" scrap bin, which shows NO signs at all of being depleted.  this is the double shoebox size, too.  only 39 blocks to go to get 80 made for the ladies to assemble and finish. there are a few more projects like this needing to be unearthed, finished and sent along for similar result, which is helping to reduce MY inventory while providing benefit for somebody else, a win/win all around.  there'll be plenty of 1.5" strips left (alas!) but a new mag in the mail today showed a terrific scrappy that'll be just right for using up more.  ***  winter, or what marylanders call winter, continues without any snow still!!!  this new england transplant is simply stunned and, even more surprising, a forsythia bush in bloom was seen just the other day....amazing indeed for february....loving this new winter normal....not ONCE have i had to clean snow off the car....be still my heart!

got pins?

as part of the WITB (what's in the box/bag) challenge at the yahoo group 'stashbusters', found these just waiting to be finished....the pink is pretty ancient, meaning 70s, whereas the bluebird is more recent.  not official UFOs but now no pangs of regret knowing they are languishing in the tote.

and with valentine's approaching, finished up this little wallhanging as a gift....love these fabrics...was pictured as a pillow but this is more useful....a gift for my mom to hang on her apartment door--and this one is on the UFO list, so another cross off....

and today is must-do vacuum and floors....a busy week of sewing and guild fun ahead with no time for boring tasks....the stars/time warp is a half flimsy at this point that needs to get done so can begin my double wedding ring sew along....it's the only one i'm planning for this year and it has no deadline AND it's from the scrap basket, which is now overflowing again.   soooo many scraps and soooo little time!