no foolin'!

a new month but an old UFO has moved to the top of the finish list....it's my "cabana daydreams" bed quilt...

if it looks familiar, it's because the scraps from this went into "sunny day" that got finished a week or so ago...again with the bright colors!  these were charm packs gifted to me about 4 years ago in my gap year while waiting for the maryland move.  and since it's a beachy type quilt, using a scallop pattern for the white spaces..

and while white thread is being used for the triangles and the hexagon outline, pulled out an aurifil variegated to do the scallops....so all the categories are now covered for april....hand quilting, machine quilting and hand piecing!  will be squeezing in a basting day sometime this month and the scrap basket is overflowing again too!  these should keep me outta trouble for 30 days...lol!

made the deadline!

with april arriving tomorrow and my plan of finishing the civil war diary blocks, was imperative to get this to the flimsy stage today....and it's done!

this is called "honeycomb" and it's from a vintage amish-style pattern book purchased in my freshman years as a quilter aka 1980s....most of the fabrics are cherrywood solid scraps and it's nice to see i had enough of the navy for the borders too...not always the case i'm afraid!  and bonus, the binding is also navy AND it's all sewn and rolled on a paper tube waiting its turn.  of course you know it's the hand quilting that makes my heart quiver, and this is the stencil i've chosen for the border....will outline the hexagons at perhaps 1/2" since they are about 4" across.  but oh the border....i can see it already!  *** and with this flimsy comes another empty drawer (temporarily) but it's progress nonetheless....

after my road trip this week, have a couple of ideas for new projects, but they'll stay as WHIMMs until more finishes are accomplished....

perfect!

new header photo of cherry trees that are now exploding with cotton candy color....official now that spring is really here!   The first section of "MATO" is done and the first narrow lime border is on and i think it's just perfect....any wider and it would take over, but this narrow slice of lime is going to make the other colors pop, especially against the very neutral background.

again, the colors are not as vivid but hoping you get the idea....and peeking out at the top is the first block of the next section.....first thing today was to make myself a list for april as otherwise, i'd drop everything and work on only this...when finished, this should really brighten up the industrial beige that surrounds me doncha think??? 

road trip!

to lancaster as it's quilt week!  just went for the day before all the activities start, mainly to meet up with a friend and trek to quilty gathering places and eat forbidden foods...LOL!  first stop burkholders...jam packed with like-minded fellow cultists, tons of sales and more fabric than anyone can lust after....but lust we did!  found 2 sale bolts, a lime green for my "midnight at the oasis"....perfect don't you think?

this wall quilt medallion has 3 very narrow (one inch) borders and lime it is to set off kaffe's fabrics perfectly and for binding...another sale bolt of adorable birds....both pieces gifted to me...

then some little rolls for 50 cents each, more than 1/8th but less than 1/4....who can pass that up, right?

after burkholders, a sumptuous, delicious, family-style lunch meal stretching the food restriction limits a bit but oh-so worth it...could you turn down home-made chocolate ice cream??? i didn't think so.....and at the last stop, once again foraged into the grocery budget for some half-price kaffe fabric not-fat quarters for MATO (midnight at the oasis) blocks....

thankfully, will still be able to eat until payday though was sorely tempted to over-indulge!   after a day of too much fun and the drive home, sewing out of the question but wednesday?  could very well be....

little sewing

mostly have been cutting up fabrics for a friend but did manage to get a tiny bit of sewing done on this honeycomb quilt top...made with cherrywood solids....it's couch throw size...there'll be a 5" navy border as i've a feather stencil been wanting to use....

all the side triangles are sewn in and now at the bottom of the honeycombs....did have to cut a few different colors...hoping this coming week will be able to add borders...and then there's this little sewing....

a new baby boy just has to have some fun bibs!  backed with flannel and velcro tabs, done in a flash!

it's heeeere!

it's the annual UFO adoption day...looking for somebody else's treasure to adopt?  hop on over to cynthia's blog to see what is available....what's that?  you say you already HAVE  UFOs?  well, dear readers, who doesn't??? but you just might find that dream project already started that you can finish up lickety split....i had a couple of UFOs had thought about putting up for adoption but can't quite part with them yet...maybe next year (if they aren't finished by then..LOL)....spring rains here today but no matter, it's a sewing day for me...

new week, new finish

spent a good part of the weekend finishing up this wall quilt....my apartment is industrial beige from floor to ceiling in every room so guessing that is why have been gravitating to bright colors more than usual...the camera doesn't do it proper brightness justice tho....

went with the navy binding to tone down the yellow which is a screaming YELLOW....a color i seldom use.   title is "sunny day" and today is very sunny....spring is here for certain as daffodils are starting to bloom....so another UFO is history, off the list....

plastic!

with spring cleaning in full swing, the sewing space is not exempt.  whereas in past years have hung onto these, their time had come to go.   a bag full of pattern templates carefully fashioned out of template plastic...

the large baggie (also plastic) was full, each held together with pins, for future use.....until the rotary cutter arrived on the scene!  only occasionally did they get used but never in the last (at least) 5 years....so they are going the way of rotary phones, 8-track tapes, subway tokens....gone but not forgotten.  ***  and this being st. patrick's day, the aroma of corned beef is wafting thru the building....though it's a no-no for me, did get a slice from the deli to go with my vegs.  i promised the cardiac surgeon i would not squander the gift he gave me and aside from tiny, very occasional foodie indulges, i'm keeping that promise....the gift of life is far too precious!

finished!

not an official UFO but done and daughter is delighted!  didn't bust much stash on this at all but some is better than none....and still plugging away on this, slow but sure....applique on the stems will commence this week....

car still on sick list for another couple of weeks i guess...so have a ride to the store today...off we go!

M is for.....

March!  as in all people quilt's March Madness Pillowcase Sweepstakes.....and then M is for MODA!   yes i won!  a fantastic gift package from Moda....arrived today on this our first real spring day....a big box waiting at my door....how good is that?

a real treasure trove of all things quilty!  should really be thanking my mom, who gives me the subscription to the magazine where the info to enter was found....but can also be found on facebook....a terrific surprise and will be thoroughly enjoyed....