July 4th Independence!

with this new month comes a new monthly goal....that would be this long-time UFO...

working on the last border cross hatching now....so hoping for independence from this before the dog days of August arrive!  check out www.elmstreetquilts.com for other participants...

a sort of busy week also brings independence from home PT services....now to outpatient to advance using the cane and shed the walker...anyone who has lower extremity mobility issues can recite all the challenges, but this week a few angels provided much-needed help....one was the gas station attendant who put air in my tires and another was the farmer's market vendor who cheerfully came to my car, took my list and bagged up my selections....sadly the week was marred by the loss of a quilty friend unexpectedly.  

however you celebrate, do not forget all who have given much to establish and preserve our freedoms....

MM and OMG

 MM is for monthly mini....

this is a close up so it looks big but it's really small...at 14x20 not as mini as some but it used up my mini charms and that was the original goal....

OMG is for one monthly goal....linking up with elm street quilts to report my finish...

the gazillion dargate indigo baskets are all basted and tucked away in their to-go pouch for easy travel....plus the other two monthly goals are done--blues and bricks and guild's top--which you've seen before....and what else is going on?

quaker pumpkin is done and ready for autumn...hoping i'll be living somewhere that i can decorate and be homey where locked doors are respected and other tenants have some semblance of courtesy for others....for now everything non-essential is living in boxes so stuff doesn't walk off or get mysteriously broken somehow.  with just joy on the fritz, that's the 2nd sewing machine and yet another electronic thing with problems.  in the past year or so have replaced many....the old viking, the paper shredder, my phone, my cd player, computer and mouse, a box fan, iron....seems excessive to me.

and then there's this....

just 5 or 6 more houses to make but wanted to sew up some trees....changed design in midstream so need about 20 or so of these....my math is always dodgy but i think it's now workable....

another blistering hot day altho not as bad as some places....small pity party monday has dissipated....car issues, hip issues, money issues, logistics of doing basic things and serious cabin fever all precipitants...thankful for good books that allow me to run away and refuel until i am once again able to be out and about....soon, since final PT eval on thursday.  back to fitness friday (if car permits) and a holiday weekend with fun planned....

monthly goals progress

 started june with 3 things had hoped to accomplish....2 are now crossed off the list!

you saw this one....the blues and bricks flimsy....waiting for a baste and into the quilting pile.....have also crossed this one off...

all...i mean ALL...the dargate baskets have been basted to a background square and tucked away in a zippered pouch for easy take along....the charity top is half done and will certainly be done before july arrives....so what else have i been doing?  

with the guild show on for may of 2022, time to plan some entries....these are scraps from a charm pack of african wax resist prints....the minute i saw them a project popped into my mind....sunglasses required...LOL!   two other projects are in the works for the show as well...and remember this?

mini charms from the hands2help door prize....with plenty of time on my hands, decided to use them up quick in a monthly mini....

and now they are all gone so won't be going into the stash....plan to machine quilt this and add my name to wendy's link up on july 1st...

recovery continues at a pace far too slow for my liking...hope ortho checkup will be more revealing...2 more weeks of home PT and outpatient...have sinking feeling this is going to take much of the summer to resolve...but thankful house restriction will soon lift...did you ever notice when lower extremities are impaired everything falls on the floor? 

a fine friday

next week is promising to be busy so thought i would post another photo of my little houses in progress.....need to make 20 more and hoping to get most of those done this weekend....

they are just so darn cute!  also on the weekend agenda is to finish the guild charity top and baste more baskets....oh and maybe quilt more on the new england sampler....sounds like a pretty full plate!  exercising more has enabled me to sew more!

another picture perfect day...would so love to get in the car and drive somewhere but not quite yet....my home PT has been extended 3 weeks and upped to twice weekly, then outpatient.  new exercises have also been added.  doctors and nurses are essential but i do believe PTs are the under appreciated heroes...

this and that

just plain lovely here today...not hot, not humid, sunny, gentle breeze....it's june!  i've a few mundane things on my to-do list but plenty of unplanned hours too....the mailman brought me a lovely package yesterday....

a very nice moda door prize from sarah over at "hands 2 help" a charity sew along she chairs every year.....i've already got plans for the tote....the little stitch book has grids for squares, hexies, triangles and diamonds....a great take along!

before i got back to sewing, picked up this cross stitch to finish....was going to make it a pin cushion but rather will just stuff it and use it for fall deco....i love pumpkins!

my sewing set up is L-shaped but found that the gentle twisting from machine to iron/cutting board was problematic so retrieved this from the shelf....it's a portable ironing board given me by my dear friend marianne some time ago....i never went on retreat so it's been waiting for now obviously....it'll be a year next week she passed away....a very long year without her quips, chatter and friendship......she is missed.  

farmer's markets are in full swing but until i graduate to 4 wheels, off limits i'm afraid...maybe next week? 

halfway progress

june is half done and taking stock of my "one monthly goal" status.....not too shabby!  the guild charity top is half done...this little wall quilt is a flimsy too....

 

my little pile of dargate baskets is dwindling with only 39 to baste....then it'll get put away for a take-along project....

and since my sewing mojo has recovered somewhat, pulled out an official UFO and my box of kaffe scraps for more little houses.....

my design wall fell down again....the command hooks hate my concrete walls....so i'm making do with it hanging precariously on my shelf unit....but aren't they cute?   need to make 36 in all....and they are fun too!  

it's week 7 after surgery and progress is steady but too slow for my liking....anxious to be on two feet and driving again....been using the stationary bike more, very gingerly as PT advised...now that life is slowly returning to normal in the world, anxious to do some fun things again.....soon i hope!

long may she wave!

hope you are flying the flag today on Flag Day....despots, crooked politicians and even bad presidents have failed to destroy the democracy represented by the stars and stripes....would the founding fathers be surprised the republic has survived through all that has transpired in nearly 250 years?  for an eye-opening view into the struggles they faced, recommend reading "the federalist papers".....

and our family never forgets Flag Day for it was my Dad's birthday....

 

for a time he served in the civil air patrol and visited cape canaveral in FL......he would have been 98 today....

recovery from hip and dental surgery continues....the infirmary is just about closed and sewing mojo is returning slowly.....will have photos later this week....beach vacation just 82 days from now....now bring on monday!

two for thursday

 

more serendipity sewing and now there are two butterfly blocks!  also, the little blues and bricks is done except for its borders, a weekend task no doubt.  with june nearly half over, plan to cut up the remaining 49 background squares for the blue basket project.  am determined to get them all basted as my One Monthly Goal!  

all home care providers are done except for PT with 2 more home visits....that may extend to outpatient.  i've 3 days for strengthening the leg, some mundane home chores and a serious tidy.  the dental visit is history but more to come more when i'm fully ambulatory.  today was able to stand long enough to make a batch of turkey meatballs for the freezer and i'm hoping to make some yeast rolls this weekend.  i sure do miss being able to hop in the car and do my own errands.  the transportation and delivery expenses i've had during this injury have seriously dented my budget.  thankful our county has a free ride service for medical appointments and an all-important bookmobile that comes every two weeks. 

a notable day

it was 77 years ago that D-Day occurred....June of 1944....it was just a month later that my own dear dad arrived on Utah Beach....the war changed him forever; he never really recovered like so many who served, but at least he returned home; weary and ill but back to those he loved and who loved him.  he wasn't my dad then but nevertheless he is revered and honored....my mom's uncle was on a coast guard ship off Omaha Beach picking up the dead....a thoroughly gruesome and heart-wrenching task....

back to sewing news!  one monthly goal progress continues.....there are 49 baskets left to applique, but first background squares have to be cut....

do confess to a bit of a detour.....a friend has been on a layer cake purge, sewing like mad using one after the other on some really cute quilts....one was a butterfly pattern from Quilty Box....i caved and got the pattern before my vacation and a Tula Pink layer cake, aka really bright fabrics!  here is the first one...

still needs some applique.....all 9 that i'm making will be different but a very colorful small quilt nonetheless....

and as if a broken hip weren't enough to occupy me, a chipped tooth necessitated a dental visit and another this coming week....plus the nuisance of stopping my blood thinner, giving myself shots every day, another clinic appointment to make sure my level is back to normal....

regarding the hip, the cane is here and will be tackling ambulation sans walker with the OT this week....it still hurts but pain slowly waning....if i'm back to two legs (3 with cane) and able to drive and moderate exercise by month's end, i'll be a happy camper.  

even though challenges seem to keep coming, am very blessed and grateful....my thoughts and prayers are with those with no voice and no choice....my daughter and i researched the rehab facility where i stayed and found they are chronic offenders of HIPAA regulations....nasty business indeed!

and so it begins!

starting June with ONE MONTHLY GOAL, actually 3 of them....not to be an over-achiever but to make up for the past weeks when sewing and even fabric were far from my mind.   my official OMG is this aged UFO.  about 20+ years ago, bought an entire FQ bundle of margo krager's dargate indigo fabrics.  i used some here and there but settled on a massive basket project.  a small quilt was given to my daughter and SIL, leaving me with a gazillion baskets all cut and ready to applique.  June is going to be the month all the baskets get basted onto background squares in readiness for take-along sewing days to come and my fall vacation.  

another June goal is to get this little quilt top finished....bricks and blues.  The blue is leftover from the scrappy DWR partnered with other leftover solid scraps. getting this to the flimsy stage shouldn't be difficult...

lastly, i've a kit from the guild for another charity top.  this will definitely get done as well.  i'll continue to quilt on the New England Sampler but doubt it'll be done by month's end....no problem.  

now that summer temps have arrived, the summer clothes have to be unpacked and the apartment needs a thorough go-thru, being neglected now since late April.  my OT has declared me fit for advancing to the cane at next week's visit.....and finally, back to driving before month's end....hopefully not too ambitious goals!