one photo this week

lots of other diversions this week but did manage to finish all 13 of the star blocks in part 1 of the Quiltmania mystery.  just starting the applique blocks that might be done by weekend's finish....we'll see.

color's not exact but close enough to get the idea.  Part 2 is now out and consists of 3 small birdie blocks and some flower applique blocks....not sure how many....will have to look closer when i get my issue.  

good news in the health dept...won't bore you with details but happy to say improvement continues albeit with some function totally normal and some that simply won't ever be...doesn't disable me exactly but my walking and standing endurance is affected.  i had a wee cry over it but then off to the gym swapping that negative for a positive.  my living situation has contributed, unfortunately, with corporate scum who dropped the ball on their so-called mission statement of "residents first."  oh yeah?  well i've got a bridge for sale too...

it's been a sorta of wintry day here with a few flakes this morning that quickly turned over to rain--damp, gray, chilly and gloomy--but chicken soup on the stove for me and my soul!  good thing it's only 18 days to my maine trip...just hoping no snowstorms while i'm there!

short post

my weekend was busy doing lots of things but not much sewing or fabric-related stuff.  mostly i finished kitting up "alaska" blocks...

doesn't sound or look like much but it was a big, time-consuming task....12 different blocks....each baggie contained pieces for 4 blocks....each block had max 12-14 pieces....you do the math.  all cut by hand with scissors, templates traced on fabric after ironing....yeah a big job.  

in addition, did quite a bit of hand quilting on the lozenge wall quilt--you've seen that.  and more prep on the quiltmania mystery part 1--you've seen those as well.  the remaining 7 star blocks had to be cut and the circles on the 4 applique blocks had to be prepped.  

all the above plus laundry, cooking, exercising and other such boring stuff.  anyway, hoping this week will reap some finishes and moving projects forward.  the weather is dynamite at high 50s.  only a couple appointments this week too.  next weekend is daylight savings....bring it on!

sunday report

so many bloggers have posted photos of beautiful flowers that inspired me to send this to my mom for her birthday.....it bloomed 2 days after but beautiful nonetheless....called 'apple blossom'...if only the sun were out when the photo was taken....across the street is construction of a new police station so all the residents get to be sidewalk engineers...LOL!

it was a busy sewing sunday.....finished placemats....

and blue lanterns got some progress....

thinking maybe 20 blocks in all for this wall piece or 30 at most, will see.  these sew up so very quickly....finished all these in about an hour. 

then caved for another new start...my absolute last for now.  first i need to apologize to a zoom quilty pal.  i sort of agreed to sew a quilt with her--"make it blue" by natalie bird--but bailed as i already had a blue piece in progress--"alaska".  didn't feel i could commit to another large quilt project.  but now the Quiltmania mystery has called to me, reasoning i wasn't committed beyond what i wanted to do.  and what color is it?  blue with yellow....so that's 3 blue projects....here's what got done today.  in the nick of time since the next issue/step comes out march...

 

a respectable start and step 1 might be done before too long into march--only 7 stars to go.  Miss Sunny is a machine of a "certain age" so without many bells and whistles of newer machines.  she does, however, come with attachments.  pulled out the single needle throat plate, making piecing of small units much easier...had never used before but will leave it on for the time being.

 

another week with few must do items.  might have to resort to house chores...😕

winding down

the week, that is.  summer was here yesterday, nearly 80 and quite enjoyable.  a pesky medication glitch interrupted but didn't detour...gave me time to decide.   

for the Quiltmania mystery...i know, i know, plenty of UFOs and such but i can only resist temptation so long....thinking about what was on hand and what combo would work.  i purchased this solid yellow some time ago for some sort of yellow quilt.  i can get more if need be.  i can bail at any point as well.  so yellow background and blues it is.  i've lots of them in different fabric styles--batik, repro, kaffe etc.  so an eclectic collection.  weekend start it is....camera is subpar in color representation.

and in the moving things along department....

2 more starbursts cut and ready for hand sewing.  thinking should make them all before hunting background pieces...and another golden print is needed as well.  

the lozenge/shuttle wall quilt is half quilted so probably won't be a february finish, no doubt soon after.  plenty of diversions for the weekend and upcoming week with no appointments except my old pal Gym...LOL!

in the interest of keeping the quilting community informed, publishing this page to some FREE Kim Diehl patterns...I am not responsible for any or all you choose to download and/or drool over.  http://quiltinspiration.blogspot.com/2023/02/free-pattern-day-kim-diehl-quilts.html

have a good day!

midweek sewing

one of those days....up early and usual tasks done before 7 am...time to sew!  the first thing on my list was to baste the spider web wall quilt....done!  then, since i was basting, pulled out these to get them done as well....

the lighting is horrid but you get the idea.  my stash santa gifted me a whole bunch of christmas-theme squares....a couple of stockings were made and then these 2 placemats.  not only got them basted but busted a couple of ho-hum red prints besides...

once machine quilted, will bind in a pretty holiday red and off to the thrift!  next?  

the 'blue lanterns' wall quilt UFO, barely started.  now fully committed since i cut up the entire piece of background into strips.  when they're all used, it'll be done.  *** and in the 'blame it on bonnie' department....have you seen her solids quilt 'butterfly kisses'?  well i was hooked immediately but have tried to ignore in favor of my UFO list....but no longer.  the stash santa also gifted me a bunch of hand dyes in various rich colors...

they are corralled in a square container and just had to try one square....

oh yeah, these will go together fairly quick.  no size determined as of yet but these are 8" unfinished.  speaking of temptation, quilty muse drawn to the 2023 Quiltmania mystery.  now i mostly NEVER do mystery quilts but seen so many awesome blocks so far so went ahead and downloaded step 1...

thinking about colors/prints/style so not definitely in yet, but i fear it's a matter of time!  next?  i'll be cutting binding strips for the spider web and placemats.  the spider web wall piece is UFO #5 for this year and #6 is the shuttles/lozenges in the hoop.  *** aside from sewing and gym visits not much doing.  bookmobile comes today so have to go thru my kaffe books once more and copy what i want before returning.  ***  in closing, another cardio test earlier this week came back with good result...ejection fraction, which measures how efficient the heart is functioning, is now 60-65% with normal being 55-70%....it was 45% just before surgery, so color me very delighted.  firmly believe the exercise has made the biggest difference--great motivation to continue!

the finish

the twisted star wall piece is now done and another UFO crossed off...

only 22" square and busting just under a yard, even so....one less UFO lying around in wait..besides, i like it a lot.  what else?  this became a flimsy just this morning...

i like this one too but gotta say Miss Sunny is not terribly fond of the corners with so much bulk.  we came to a truce and got it done.  thinking machine quilting on the featherweight will finish it up.  another small one at 24" square so another yard and skosh will be used when finished.  *** UFO #5 is in the hoop, the kaffe lozenges or shuttles; 2 rows quilted with 8 to go.  done before march?  could be...

no new starts yet this year but may cave soon with bonnie hunter's luscious solids quilt "butterfly kisses"....mine won't be bed size and have already drafted an 8" finished block.  a stack of hand dyed fabrics gifted to me are ideal to use.  

friday night zoom with the chookshed gals played with another UFO.  it's "Alaska" by Edyta Sitar.  Had pulled fabrics--all from stash except one--and now kitting up blocks for traveling. 

pieces for 12 different blocks, 4 of each, are cut and put into baggies with directions to tuck into carryon bag for airplane waiting and family visiting.  this is a no rush project but perhaps a flimsy by year's end...

that's about it...another day with no plans, like most of my weeks.  aside from gym and one lab visit, my week's wide open.  thought about trekking to lancaster but weather is going to be unsettled most of week so postponed.  we are on the cusp of spring here with flowers up and budded, just waiting for the signal from Mother Nature that winter is truly over.  have a blessed day!

game day fun

football?   nahhh, not me.  my fun was of the needle and thread kind.  i think football is dangerous, players overpaid and over-idolized, poor role models for kids and just plain ho-hum.  it was another dreary weather day, so brightened up with colorful fabrics!  early morning sewing yielded progress on this project...

just 4 more starbursts and acquisition of the all-important background to move this project along...then spent some time with Sunny on this UFO....

leading to this....

the empty drawer....yay!  even had to pull out some plaid FQs to get enough to finish....hopefully a flimsy before week's end.  *** then there's this UFO....

this was a wall kit bought from a guild member who was thinning the herd.  see those feathers?  i marked them on soluble interfacing with a yellow pencil, which is ok but now that the quilting is done, i didn't want to risk the yellow pencil staining the piece, so gently cutting interfacing from each little teardrop...2 corners are done and no rush on others.  finish this week maybe?  *** only 45 days into 2023 and i've crossed off 3 UFOs and maybe 2 more this month.  pretty satisfying....might be time for a new start?  bonnie hunter has 'butterfly kisses' on her blog, all solids which always call to me.  i'd go smaller of course, but just might cave for this one.  

our craft room has a gazillion puzzles and i try and choose complicated ones....keeps the gray matter percolating!  well that's the sum total of my weekend...plus gym visits and a smidgen of meal prep.  another week has started with temps hovering around 60, so spring approaches! 

a new development

that would be mister fassett's neighborhood!  lots of fancy houses from which to choose...i hope kaffe would approve.  these wildly colorful fabrics are such fun to use in any project.  i've got more than a few and i love them all.  

nice to have another finish so early in the year.  maybe another can get crossed off before march winds blow.  *** and what else is going on?

strips in the drawer dwindling....and these are on the design wall....

i am hoping to squeak out 16 blocks so might have to raid the plaid stash.  i really like these blocks as well.  miss sunny is grousing a bit as she is working too hard....LOL!  i just ignore her!  *** my friendly bookmobile came by yesterday and brought me these.

i almost never buy quilt books anymore, much easier to borrow and return.  so many lovely ideas swirling around for possible future projects.  but no new starts for me just yet.  my motivation to finish UFOs hasn't waned yet.

before starting another UFO to quilt, plan to sew up some "tuscan starburst" blocks, and after finishing my puzzle, will baste "wildest dreams" before table is stored.  i think i have enough to keep me sewing for 47 days 'til i fly again...

A Sunny sewing Sunday

today's the day many are waiting for...a day when temperatures rise!  it's gonna be 50 here today for us and sunny too i hope!  but it'll be sunny inside with Miss Sunny whirring away on a UFO project, another that got put aside.   I have been quilting on the Kaffe wall quilt to get it done when i spied this....

this is the "sidewalk" in the neighborhood and SOMEONE cut it too wide....like who??  must have been binge watching Vera that day.  then SOMEONE sewed it on without a second thought....so out came basting, picked up ripper and took it off, trimmed to the correct size, then had to adjust length of 2 connecting sides, resew everything and rebaste....took a few hours but happy to say quilting the border houses is nearly half done and a definite finish next week....stay tuned! 

after lots of hand work last week, a machine day is needed.  pulled out this UFO to see how far it could progress.  these plaid strips got cut for another project that was abandoned but rather than toss the strips, printed off foundations for small spider web units.

don't plan to cut more strips, just use what's in the drawer.  and this time, i was sure to set aside plenty of navy blue for all that will be needed.  have always liked this block but passed on a full size quilt.  will see how much gets done today....after exercise and some dreaded cooking, then washing up.  

february in full swing....counting the days til my family visit late March...this month we celebrate our mother's 96th birthday....we--the sibs and I--are beyond blessed to have her with us, still living independently, still that youthful countenance, still sound mind and able to care for herself...a true gift from God.  soooo, keep warm and sew on!

wednesday doings

getting ready for uber-cold here, which in maryland speak means 30 or less...LOL!  well i guess it'll be very cold with wind chill.  my maine family getting much worse....take a look.

the only good thing about temps like that is the likelihood of sea smoke, which is just beautiful!

have fully recovered from my stairway spill and walking pretty good again...also managed to get caught up on household stuff.  ***  a few UFOs getting closer to finish....pulled this out and now hate to put it aside...

finished the first of 4 blocks with planned border of swags, that's IF i can find the matching green.  it was set aside but now appears to be long gone, got used i guess.  i do have some of the maroon fabric but not enough i think.  this got started after a visit to BAS (baltimore applique society), a meeting on vintage red/green quilts. i think i'm hooked on applique now....

valentine piece done and ready to deliver.  happy to infuse some delight into DD's life, one that's had many more heartaches than most.   Miss Sunny was introduced to the walking foot and performed just fine.

and have auditioned a few fabrics from the stash for "tuscan"....still no aha so will wait for lancaster.  have postponed my trip to a warmer day, better for moseying.  am leaning toward a yellow gold rather than the light...but will depend on what is available.  this one here is too dark...too bad as i have about 3 yards on hand.

another housing interview...if the next move is another disaster, just might resort to a hemlock milkshake...not really, but it is more than wearying and annoying.  revolting how many of these housing people are totally dishonest in what they say....sigh