Heading down to beach in a bit so a brief post....weather is perfect....hurricane out at sea so big waves today....this year made it to the water...Last year was impossible so soon after hip break but delighted with progress...Stitching continues lazily...
That would be mr. Sunshine!
in a word....pitiful. in order to complete the applique on ALL the baskets, would have to do something like 13 per day....nowhere near that i confess.
this is the same photo from last post as no way currently to upload a more recent one...anyway, no guilt on the lack of progress. spending most of the time traveling to and from HUGE family reunion, catching up on sleep, visiting with my dear family whom I miss terribly when in Maryland. plus getting re-acquainted with an "old friend".....the lobster! prices are reasonable so have been over-indulging....
we eat them like real mainers....no celery, lettuce, fancy aioli, celery seed....nothing, just plain lobster, bit of mayo on a toasted new england style bun. we think it's the best way! *** few more days and we'll be heading south to our beach for the remainder of my stay. it'll be cool...talking maybe high 40s sunday morning....but plenty of warm things on board and heck, there is always LL Bean if needed. so ocean photos to come!
while rummaging thru the stash, pulled out this prussian blue column print...one of my pretties. it looked lonely so decided to use it for this month's mini. it was just a FQ so none left over, but do have this cute little wall or table piece to enjoy.
block pattern is flyfoot....colors i don't use often but they work.
since i'm away from the village, i've brought some long overdue UFO applique blocks with me that i would love to finish...a 2022 flimsy would be awesome!
most math is fuzzy to me but i can at least do this much....take one pile of batik strip scraps...
add two hours of afternoon time....
and that makes three scrappy blocks, waiting for more!
this pattern is by amanda nyberg and it is one of my very faves...why you ask? because not much background is required but lots of scraps are! i've got a medium tote jam packed with 1.5" strips just perfect for this pattern. i've made a couple and there will be more. this one uses a swirly background fabric--i bought only 1.5 yards--and some batik scraps cut into strips, left over from the batik splash quilt. not sure how many blocks i'll get out of the background (that's too much math for me) but plenty of batik strips and more FQs on the shelf...probably finish this off with a dynamic piano key border. *** what else is going on? mr. boo #2 is all finished waiting for his trip north...
this is Emma.....She is my brother's only daughter, his last born....
she looks like my brother and her siblings...she has my father's eyebrows....i wish i could say she was missing, kidnapped or stolen, but it is only her mother's and seemingly her choice that she is a stranger.....it was a messy situation....parents not legally married; angry, vindictive mother who is very intelligent and with devotion to her only child; religious, cultural and social differences. it started out like most divisions as a financial war, or maybe that was just the excuse. our family hoped when she grew to adulthood she might be curious about us, at least want to know her father and maybe his family, leave the past behind, but not as yet. she is brilliant, successful, intelligent, educated and accomplished. she had advantages her siblings did not, though they are equally intelligent. my brother is smart, educated, musically gifted, deeply emotional and devastatingly broken-hearted at this estrangement. with a big family reunion coming up, all our wounds are seeping once again. this photo was taken from a professional page, not current. the last one her mother sent was about age 6, nothing since. my father lived and died without knowing his grand-daughter, a joy robbed from him. at the end of the day, when all else disappears, the family bonds keep us afloat. we don't expect her to show up and automatically feel at home, but to do the adult thing and make peace, call a truce, no explanation necessary. our family consists of imperfect people with flaws and occasional flares of disagreement in the ranks, but we love each other deeply and unconditionally. i'll add this photo to our family array and there will always be an open chair if the seemingly impossible happens.
we're halfway thru august and there are fall harbingers everywhere. a weather change has brought cooler temps and thoughts of overflowing farm stands, apple cider, pumpkins and turning leaves. when my APQ magazine arrived there were some fall quilting ideas, one that immediately called to me.
the Canadian cold front is here...days are balmy--warm, breezy, dry--and idyllic. no matter the weather, sewing goes on anytime. pulled out a UFO in progress, some strip pieced spider blocks...
but before resuming, there were 4 small, ancient orphan blocks in the drawer and decided to use them in a "rustic" topper for the table near my chair where I spill put things...
yeah it is a bit wonky partly due to the homespuns, but it's functional and used up more backing scraps and some flannel scrap as batting. quick machine quilting and binding and done!
this is the drawer with far more plaid scraps than i'll probably use, we'll see.
what else?
a cute little summer stitchery, free on the internet, and when it was done, hopped right into christmas...
this block will be easily recognized by many...it's 'beaded lanterns' by christaquilts...a freebie on the internet. her block measures 6x12" but i've downsized it a bit and final finished size is 4.5x8.5"....i'm calling it 'blue lanterns'.
i've about 1+ yards of the gray print so uncertain how many blocks i'll make...ming tsai, the boston chef, has 2 restaurants--blue ginger and blue bamboo--perhaps he will establish another and call it 'blue lanterns'? i just made one block to get the measurements right....maybe before vacation i'll get all the pieces prepped....lots of different blues of course as the stash is overloaded with them! the september mini is basted, too!
lots of people seem to be downsizing. when i was forced out of my little house, i was fierce and now miss some of the things i jettisoned. since then i've lived in far too many places, certainly not by choice, only feeling at home in a very few. so it is with this senior complex, definitely NOT my idea of home at all. perhaps the next place will be...or perhaps i'll never have home again. i keep hoping as there is something to be said for the comfort of home, an oasis, a sanctuary, a place that fits, to claim and belong.
another scorching one as well but relief approaches! confined to quarters means a sewing blitz! here are all 18 of the 10" churn dash blocks...
hmm that purple one might have to go....the key to this project is similar value all across the board, at least i think so....pulled out the 3 of the 16" blocks i had previously made for a look see...
nope nope nope....backgrounds way too light but the biggest problem is i don't really like them that big. and that purple sticks out again! it's history for sure. someone asked me how big this will be and i rechecked the pattern.....80x68.5" oh oh....too big for me. so, on to Plan B. thinking of scrapping the 16" blocks, take what i have done and do a re-design with them. minus the purple one of course! so watch this space....
what else got done? august mini basted and to be quilted before vacation. september mini is also ready to quilt that'll get done after vacation. picked up some cross stitch plus quilting on the gift quilt. i also did a big shredding project. next 2 weeks focused on last minute cleaning, laundry, change bed, returning books, emptying fridge. now down to counting the hours!!!
