almost alaska!

 

only one more fabric and i'll have all needed to start this project....it's edyta sitar's "alaska"....yesterday while in lancaster picked up the medium blue in the middle; others came from stash.  may end up swapping out the mottled blue tho.   all that's needed is the 2.5 yards of white....looking for a white batik, or one that 'reads' white anyway.  no rush at all.  happy to continue sewing AND eliminating UFOs for the time being.  

daughter and i went to lancaster to their excellent butcher shop, but of course quilty retail therapy always happens...lol!  was odd not seeing any buggies, but being good friday some shops were closed and no amish were about.  in addition to the blue pictured, these lovelies came home with me...

more blue solid for DWR border and binding, a tula pink print, a kim diehl pink, another piece of jo morton's 'glad tidings', a repro neutral and some dish toweling..  a delightful day spent together shopping and lunching....i moved to maryland to spend lots of time with my daughter doing just about anything so naturally the day was perfect.  

friday was a no sew day but thursday just the opposite....more little churn dash blocks got sewn...

because they are very small, high contrast is a must to see the pattern....here are a couple of rejects that'll become potholders probably....

Easter has arrived and it truly feels like a new england one with temps only 40s daytime and (yikes) 20s overnite.   Good weekend to mark the solemn occasion inside!

no fooling!

just joy has been quite busy since the last post....we are now getting along fine altho i've pretty much abandoned the needle threader.....suitable for a right-handed person don't you know...awkward for me so stick to tried and true method.   first, the march goal of getting the scrappy double wedding ring to a flimsy has been met!

and this will definitely need a border, about 3" i think....the original pattern called for one much wider and then appliqued but not for me.  with the border it'll be quite suitable for my use.  this was a great project to use up thread odds and ends and i think a total of 5 or 6 partial small spools are now gone.

evenings have been spent quilting on the new england sampler, also making good progress.  just about ready to start quilting borders....hoping for an april finish....some details need to be added also....bird beaks and such.  i get simply giddy when i think about this being finished.  

and once the double wedding ring top was done....an actual empty UFO drawer!

then it was on to more of those little churn dash blocks for the MATO....midnight at the oasis....one row of the border is now complete...first another narrow lime border has to be added tho.  

and yes, those little houses are kaffe fabrics too...a pattern that was on www.allpeoplequilt.com called the house that kaffe built.  they are paper pieced, total of 26 for the wall quilt.  another UFO waiting for more. 

since i've not bought any new fabric yet this year, or acquired any at the guild free table, i just might have to treat myself to some of these....."holly time" by riley blake....available in may.

aren't they cute?  then later this month i'll be visiting my friend cyndi's repro shop in maine for her retirement sale.

best news is i'm now fully vaccinated and my mom also this week....our family has been supremely blessed that no one has contracted coronavirus.  my daughter is now eligible for a shot too. like most everyone, hoping this year brings quilty gatherings and getting back on track to the precovid lifestyle.  

slow stitching....

that would be the scrappy DWR assembly.....as much pinning and ripping as sewing it seems....and you know piecing is not my best skill....😉

was procrastinating adding the second row....but was actually easier than anticipated....it's still a process and not a quick one at that....these two rows measure about 26" long so it'll be about 64x76....and since the blue is readily available thinking might add a border, maybe 3" or a bit less...just to frame it and suck up some of the scrappiness chaos....even so i like it very much....

and while i was putting off the second row, got the bias length done for 'midnight at the oasis' and  pinned on....needs some tweaking but not bad for a first try.  i do not have a flat horizontal space big enough to lay out the entire top so considering that, not too bad.  any big table space i could have used are under pandemic lock down...

once the wedding ring top is done, i can get back to the kaffe little churn dash blocks for the next border.  

aren't they cute?  before i sew down the green vine, want to get this border attached to get the vine even all around....then can applique down the flowers and various circles and leaves per the pattern.  

even with spring exploding, life is duller than dishwater and i'm starting to slink into my hermit phase...i still go for regular exercise but that's about all i do.  with easing restrictions i could wander around in the mall if it weren't for the blasted mask....governor tells us to 'wear the damn mask' and i do but really hate the 'damn mask'....zoom gatherings are losing their magic for me as well...my conversations with the television have escalated i'm afraid...LOL!  but i count my blessings and soldier on....so thankful these are the only challenges...this WILL pass i am sure!

national quilting day wrap-up

although quilters have a designated "day", being retired means i sew/quilt pretty much every day  it's the retirement goal i had for many years, one of very few that has materialized (no pun).  even though i was "down for the count" for a couple of days (thanks to fellow tenants), managed to play in the stash.  more accomplished on the scrappy DWR....

the pile of completed circles grows and all needed pieces have been cut.  there might be enough left for the binding but even if another half yard is needed, that's progress for me.  the remainder of march will be assembly....then with a trip coming up, restocked the busy box for travel....

another of those projects that's been waiting for some attention....a jan patek nativity.  prepped enough for 3 more blocks which is an ambitious goal, but one never knows.  

then with 'midnight at the oasis' hanging in plain sight, pulled out some greens for the vine on the applique border.  

the blue thread bobbin is almost gone...the binding will be finished once thread color changes..  then more hand quilting done on the new england sampler....but this hampered any further sewing progress...

this is an interesting and beguiling story of a child's request....a mystery but more than that, a relationship story between a retired cop and a child, the rural culture and how problems get solved in a harsh, impoverished environment.   sort of the dark side of 'ballykissangel'....i seldom choose books that i can't put down, but this is definitely one of them.  ate up the most of two whole days!  

even with the book and all the sewing (note:  no housework or cooking!) managed to enjoy some burgeoning springtime weather....

and that, my readers, is the most delightful thing about this chamber of horrors called taney village.

pajama sewing

with rain coming down steady, an empty to-do list, listening to ambulance arrival (a regular occurrence here at mausoleum manor), no place have to go and just joy beckoning, sat down and sewed up a couple of "what if" blocks...

i know there is a cracker pattern project in my future....but what fabric genre?  christmas?  kaffe? scrappy?  still deciding so will hang on design wall until little gray cells arrive at decision....in the meantime, hoping to spend the weekend on this flimsy-to-be...

so this is how it goes together.....5 circles wide and 6 rows in length....now that i've put together enough to get the hang of it and have sewed together all the melon sections....

it's onward to the circles and then the rows!  easy peasy....anticipate a march finish for this flimsy....

almost finished quilting 3rd row on the 'new england sampler' so only 2 rows left and the applique border so guessing an end of april finish....

flowers starting to bloom and rainy weather will green up grass nicely....cherry trees ready to pop...my 5-year anniversary as a maryland resident approaches....wish i had gotten a place to live where locked doors and personal property are respected and left alone...but maybe one day the ambulance will cart off the perp(s)....have caved and will get dressed now....LOL!

three is better than two....

isn't it??  so working on 3 projects simultaneously is a good thing, right?  i had to, it was a matter of fun versus death by boredom.   the double wedding ring is going along, one row assembled, more rings ready for the second.   the new england sampler is moving along pretty well....

the little flowers row is all quilted....now working on the next....loving the cross hatching....but was bored with these two projects....fun but the pandemic was stronger....so moved along to the kaffe project...midnight at the oasis.

for some reason my phone camera hated to take this photo....the blush pink you see doesn't exist in real life....the funky baskets border is on and applique vines and flowers will get added.   then another narrow row of lime.  the next border is comprised of tiny churn dash blocks....and these are fun to make!  get to play in all those bright scraps....2 done so far....

only 50 more to make that won't bust too many scraps but very colorful....so these 3 should keep me from extreme boredom, especially now that one vaccine shot is done and warmer weather is bringing more freedom from isolation....waiting for red letter day when the mask gets tossed....

a chaotic week here with some mom duty and another corneal tear requiring 3 office visits and eye drops nearly hourly.  the spring weather helped but still glad to arrive at the weekend....happy to say just joy has fit in....disappointed i could not get a machine that matched the quality of the old viking...but this one meets my needs and will work nicely until my mom hands down her vintage singer....then i'll be able to pass this one to a new sewist

no cooking, cleaning, dishes or laundry to do so i guess it's just a sewing and exercise weekend!

it works!

the pattern i'm using for my scrappy DWR is new to me from an old quilters' newsletter magazine.  it gives the quilt a straight rather than curved edge.  i have done a curved edge before but the straight edge is much easier....still lots of piecing to go, wanted to see if it goes together easily....

so far so good....five circles to a row with six rows....big enough for my needs and liking....my usual piecing style meaning most seams matching perfectly...doesn't matter, it's the quilting that'll make it....i love it already!

and recently some old photos of my mother's family came to light....her father was the youngest boy of 14 children....this is him in the 4th grade....tall for his age and his usual facial expression....i picked him out right away....

his younger sister was also at the school....priceless images and memories added to our family story....

spring temps for the week and plenty of sun; one shot down and one to go....seems like topsy turvy life is beginning to right itself....i couldn't be happier!

saturday already??

another week has flown by despite weariness with the pandemic, the mask, the isolation, the boredom etc....no doubt you are feeling the same.  this week finally received my first shot as did my mom, so there is light at the end of this very long tunnel.  there were times i didn't feel at all like sewing or doing anything really...one day was a total wash...there was some progress tho.....

'hosanna' is a finish....in plenty of time for holiday hanging too....with a delightful toile backing that makes the back as nice as the front....

and that means this piece was immediately put into the frame that might be an april finish....

so happy to see this finally......and some marathon machine time resulted in this...

still a long way from a flimsy here but good progress.....always have the urge to start a new project but thankfully the UFO list has kept me from doing so....i really would like to chop the list in half this year if possible....can always pull one out to work on to alleviate boredom when it crops up....

and would like to direct you to this website....NEW ENGLAND QUILT MUSEUM (neqm.org)

to see a preview of one of their current exhibits....quilts by my friend wendy reed of maine.  even if you can't visit in person, just seeing a few of her beautiful quilts is inspiring and exhilarating.  i am so very happy the museum has highlighted her work....and kudos to the original museum committee....i remember the infancy of this project and thought they were nuts....but they persevered and had some help along the way and was finally established....

one more week to daylight saving time...yippee....no more dark mornings!

bad habit gone

sat down at the sewing table to cut more pieces for the scrappy double wedding ring....it's is was my bad habit not to make sure i had enough fabric.  working from a small piece of the blue solid, realized it was too small.....oh no, did it again???  that would be NO!  there on the shelf was the other yardage, more than enough for all the pieces.  no frantic last minute try to match saga!  color me happy!

sunday while sewing was perplexed about how this top went together....so when all else fails, read the directions grace!   lots of frogging (ripping out) now on the correct path for construction.....today i've gotten this far....

apparently all the circles have to be made first and then put together....and since i'll have lots of blue solid left over, started to think about how to use it in another amish style piece...isn't that just like quilters??  always planning the next project....

and if you see this cutie today, please wish her a happy 60th birthday....the baby youngest in our family....if i close my eyes, i recall my younger self standing beside her crib....

and finally the sun has arrived for the rest of the week.....thank goodness!

february's final!

 just in time to see the back of february.....a wall quilt finish....

note:  no toes this time!