december scrap attack

my year of attacking scraps is winding down with just december remaining....have attacked quite a few scraps and scrap UFOs plus a few cross-stitch UFOs....even though i didn't manage to obliterate them completely...so what is up for december?  first, finish up some christmasy things that are mostly hand work and under wraps until later....

then, had some solid 4-patches on hand and soon they will be gone in this...

and this pile of blocks got completed, just waiting for assembling and finishing....40 pink polka dot blocks that might get called plenty good....

but the "official" scrap attack project is this....file under "been there, done that"....not as bad as earlier this year but well on its way, so want to start january and 2019 with it empty once more. 

today the turkeys and pilgrims will get put away and the christmas decorating tote and tree will make its appearance once more....if there should be time, hope to finish the scrappy trees blocks and put that flimsy together....plenty of sewing still ahead!

wednesday math class

while pondering the really important things of life like UFO and stash busting--forget immigration, climate change and gun control--pulled out this aging piece waiting to be finished...

it isn't large but holding me back was the wrong foundation paper, a fibrous thingie that doesn't wash out and difficult to remove by hand.  so what to do with it?  math to the rescue!    i took this 1 small and pretty UFO....added 2 flannel scraps taking up little but valuable shelf space...

add yards of bias binding on hand, an orange batik that was just right!

i store leftover bias binding strips on paper towel rolls for whenever.....and the sum of all these parts is....

a colorful potholder that'll make a nice bread'n'butter gift for somebody....and if you look close you can see a couple of pins where the stitching came out when trying to remove aforesaid foundation material....out of the parts got enough for 4 of these plus some leftover strips that'll get pieced together frankenstein method to make at least one for me....and that's a subtraction from the UFO list....win/win! 

post office closed!

happy to say this drawer got completely emptied when i used up ALL my inchies...every last one!  then had to cut a few more from 1.5" strips to finish the top...

what a grand sight to see....but this is even better....

a november finish?  gonna be close but just might, but definitely before december's over....but alas, nature abhors a vacuum and with UFOs overflowing to the shelves, the empty drawer got filled up quickly...

thus creating some space on the shelves for the 12 or so new things started this year and not done...of course....and while moving these from bag to drawer, realized where a good amount of my pins are...now on to the sewing to-do list, things that need to be finished by christmas or before...two of them by december 6th!

over the top

that's how my thanksgiving day went....my kiddos went all out and welcomed me with open arms and a simply delightful day all around.  there was a superbly cooked turkey with all the sides....but before the meal started, glasses were raised (sparkling cider) and they gave a toast to me for being alive and way better than last november....choked me up as you can imagine.  everything was cooked to perfection; DD loves to try out new sides and they were scrumptious!  most were cardiac-diet friendly, the culprit as always was salt, but i didn't overdo.  leftovers of the super moist turkey and others rode shotgun home with me , enough for the next few days....and she happily received these...

pillowcases made with mask fabric given to me by marianne....had just enough for the front of the cuff aka the part that shows!  before leaving yesterday, my mailbox gave up this wonderful package...

it's jo morton's 'spice it up' FQ bundle...holy repro batman!   gobsmacked by generosity of a friend....and they are all very gorgeous prints....drool factor of 10+ of course....these have been available for a while but was holding off for january and her 'hancock ridge' line  (whoops...hickory road i mean!)....jo morton is hands down one of my very favorite designers, as my stash can attest.   hoping your holiday was over the top as well!

a blessed Thanksgiving!

just love this artwork from my used-to-be 7-year-old channeling her inner Picasso! for many years we lived an hour from plymouth, so it became ho-hum to us.  we did the plantation thing, the rock and mayflower thing, the cranberry thing, the thatch-roof cottages tour, and seeing docents dressed up in all manner of puritanical garb was commonplace.  the local radio station bills plymouth as "america's home town" and it is.  that was then and this is now....in light of the california fire devastation, i look around my ordinary apartment and realize how truly blessed i am.  i look in the mirror and see my scar and know how God has touched, no....preserved....my life.  a home, good health, a loving family and kind friends, necessities of daily life and more than a few of the extras....blessed beyond measure and most likely you are too.   give thanks!

monday design wall

the snow only encouraged me to ramp up my sewing time....it's almost gone now and pretty sure we'll have a green thanksgiving...the inchie project is coming along....every effort will be made to get this done this month but it'll take a few days of nonstop inchie busting....the second scrappy short border is just about ready to add, then it's the 2 side borders and gasp!  i might even have to raid the strip bin to cut more....how good is that?

and another stocking got made lickety split....they take about an hour if all the strips are ready....i had pulled one fabric for the lining but changed my mind and had to go stash diving for another....

and more polka dot squares got assembled as well.  in fact, cut all the needed blocks so they can be used as leaders/enders inbetween inchies...

all the freezer paper pieces for my red/green wall quilt are cut out and ironed on, plus worked on the guild's round robin that can't show right now...all this plus some christmas cross-stitch and an embroidery piece made for a busy week's end and weekend....resumed my exercise and the housework, laundry and annoying cooking got done too!......number one on my list for santa is grocery stores that stock more low or no sodium added items that can be easily found......i think gluten free is covered by now but us cardiac patients need equal space!

let it snow?

what's this?   four inches of snow?  before thanksgiving?  thought i left that behind in new england, but noooooo!  with all my fun things cancelled, pulled out some christmas fabric for this...

i made just the one but like potato chips, pulled fabric for 2-3 different fabric combos....also worked on my guild's round robin project and (gasp!) started something new in red and green....wednesday evening was a guest at the Baltimore Applique Society meeting where the trunk show was vintage red and green quilts....mostly applique of course.  so inspired to make a wall quilt of 4 large squares and am planning on a swag border too, something i've never done.  ***  red letter day today as off exercise restriction and can resume my regular activities.  good thing too, as was starting to feel like a slug.  and once the warm temps clear off the car will be venturing out for a couple of errands.....countdown to turkey day begins!

confucius say....

big print hide small mistakes.....advice i'll surely take if i have to make another one of these...it's block #10 of the antebellum album sew along....

not bad....but will quilt down the glitches!  sunday was a serendipity day for me...doing whatever came along...a bit of housework, a bit of cooking and lots of sewing took up most of the day...

DD loves to cross stitch....sewing not so much so mom gets recruited for finishes like this....a piece she did eons ago is now a fluffy pillow.  she did inherit some of my DNA that took a bit of a side route...for instance, she does beautiful cross stitch but no traditional stuff for her....her latest endeavors are pirates, yep a collection of small pirate pieces that got framed and hung on the wall.  and while she loves to read, only non-fiction stuff....no romances, murders or historical stuff.  instead her inquiring mind is in overdrive and she knows a lot about iranian princesses, the british royal family, toxic waste dumps, organized crime etc.  needless to say, she'll be donating all my books to the thrift...LOL!......and finally, inching along (bad pun) is this flimsy, destined to be finished this month...linking up with oh scrap! today with this photo...

up early this AM and while under vow of silence restrictions, finished cutting the pink polka-dot pieces, did some on a brown bag challenge for the guild and started pillowcases for DD, thereby eliminating some piles of fabric on the so-called ironing table.  would love to have another long table, but that is a slippery slope indeed.....lots of things with deadlines this time of year and eliminating clutter seems to unclutter the mind as well...aha!  the organizing gene!

turkeys addendum

apologize for not giving credit for the pattern...it comes from country threads, altho now out of print....

gobble, gobble, gobble...

a label and sleeve and these wild turkeys will be up on the wall.....so glad to have this finished and another UFO off the list.   my only other thanksgiving decorations are these...

the cornucopia was made in ceramics about 40 years ago...never got around to filling it with anything....and of course, john and priscilla!   the wool mat was a gift from a quilty friend.  with few horizontal spaces, it fits just right on the end of the cedar chest...what would autumn be without some seasonal tastes?   this recipe came to my inbox from YANKEE magazine....pumpkin muffins from old sturbridge village's publick house restaurant....they are very dense, just right if you are planning on chopping wood or hauling water buckets all day...LOL!  nice spices, some walnuts and raisins....delish toasted i can attest!

getting downright cool here in maryland, like 40s for the weekend and beyond....yeah, that's cool for us!  it is amazing how quickly the body acclimates to changes in temperature....in maine, 40 is almost balmy!