week's end

new header photo?  damariscotta, maine..one of the many pretty coastal villages en route to pemaquid point.  

received a surprise friday from a fellow quilter....a small stash of vintage 30s and 40s melon pieces, perfect for leaves or orange peel blocks...and all basted as well...how good is that?  i feel honored she passed them along to me from her late mother-in-law.  a couple of ideas formulating already.

what else?  batik baskets is half quilted so should be a september finish as well.  a stitchery christmas gift has been chosen and kit assembled.  pulled out knitting needles for these...

mom was a knitter and made things for all of us...the last thing she knit for me was a pair of booties like this for winter and my sister wanted a pair as well.  mom had the yarn and needles but never got to them.  i have picked up the project and will do it for her.  i haven't knit in ages--not since daughter was small--but these are simple...i hope.  i think i was about 7 years old when my only left-handed aunt taught me how to knit.  

red letter day friday as decided to tackle walk to senior center with walker for balance and support--the cane just isn't enough for the downhill...and then did my half-hour workout.  nothing like exercise to boost mental outlook.  felt good to actually go someplace by myself...will attempt the return walk when it's a bit cooler--it's up a steep hill.  

a sunny and cooler saturday in store....outing with daughter and son-in-love today!

back to usual

after all that inspiration, happy to return to my small sewing space and drive right in with renewed vigor!  gray matter working overtime with ideas.  

tuscan starburst is a finish!  sunday spent sewing on and then down the binding.  found a suitable fabric in stash to bind that does not rob from the blocks. 

no time lost putting batik baskets in frame and starting quilting....another september finish?  that would be grand.  would give me 3 months to quilt bow ties.  skipped over the little bathroom quilt for now.

and while playing with the baskets, realized i didn't care for mixing the cream and white background squares so offering them up for $10 plus postage...i think they will fit in a small flat rate box...there are 25 of them, mixed prints from the original FQ bundle so there will be duplicates.  

keep in mind the camera photographed them a shade or two lighter than actual but still neutrals--nothing that shouts light brown or similar.  let me know if interested.  

and while at quilt show got a peek at kaffe fassett's new book....drool worthy of course and one pattern jumped right out at me...simple units with stunning fabrics makes a great project always....no big quilt for me but maybe a few small ones...

exercise done for the day...it's cool but humid with rain threatening and forecasted entire week.  a village-wide cookout planned for saturday...not sure what plan B is if it rains...happily i have other plans.  

last, not least

 more snaps from the show....

this exhibit was of portrait quilts....dimensions were given and each description included the photograph...i just liked this one with the orange hair...some older women nowadays have funky hair so maybe this was her color?

another exhibit whose theme was recycling....lots of eclectic entries as you can imagine but i thought this was innovative....

i didn't know that shweshwe came in colors, thought it was all indigo....french connection shop had a booth with LOTS of them, all different colors, plus african and french fabrics...scooted past real fast..

beautifully done i thought....ticks all my boxes....blues, geometric, sorta wedding ring/pickle dish...

this was in a section of traditional quilts...this woman is in my yahoo group and i said i would look for it...

nicely done EPP lucy boston...but the english major in me thought it should have been titled, laura meets lucy...

well that's just a cross section of all the gorgeous quilts...my knees gave out before i got to the kaffe and liza exhibit so glad i have some of his books.  the tremendous boost i got from a fun day away lingers still and has motivated me to not only finish things in progress but maybe think about a new, exhibit worthy piece.  most of these are way out of my quilting/design skills but who knows?  

facing a week of rain and back to the routine....exercise days, the usual cooking tasks...apt is clean so after that it's all sew time.  sunday morning the sneaky grief grinch attacked, prompted me to write this...

FIRST AND LAST

the first of us to feel her touch,

our 'gang of four' she loved so much

two girls, two boys, four years apart

bound by love within her heart

the years went by, the children flew

to here and there, the family grew

always there unconditional love

with wisdom and faith sent from above

then one day death made its call

with shock and sadness to us all

we knew her soul was heaven-bound

our dad and others to surround

the moment came, my task was clear

one final touch as she left here

my siblings were fortunate to have been spared that last half hour...nothing to be envious about i can guarantee them...

more eye candy

one exhibit at the show that drew me in was quilts made of tops bought online and finished...i didn't take any photos of them but thought it was a good idea to see them rescued, finished and seen.  

one of the first seen walking thru front door was this prize winner...pictorial quilts ranged from so-so to this beauty....definitely worthy of its prize

some i photographed just because of the colors and this was one...

another whose color grabbed me...not a technique that interests me but it is pretty i think...

the description totally lost me but again i loved the colors....

sorry about the blurry photo here...i liked the colors and the title really fit the quilt...

who doesn't love a finely executed new york beauty?  colorful--wish it had more autumn colors, but i don't live in NYC so maybe the colors are spot on

of note, the pickle dish from yesterday made from pattern by sarah bond....sadly sarah died about 3 weeks ago from metastatic cancer...such a great loss from the design and color use world...

saturday was a slow day getting back to routine...some sewing was done and the oatmeal cookies got made as well...and yes i did get dressed finally...LOL!  stay tuned for part 3!

fun on steroids

at least that is how it seemed to me...friday started out a bit cloudy but soon gave way to bright sunshine ending with a huge orange ball at dusk....only one thing could have made it more perfect, revealed later...

two quilts shows in our proximity--AQS and Mancuso--and was fortunate to tag along to the Mancuso show about 3 hours from here.  lunch and all necessaries packed and rollator too for walking around.  it was heaven to be amongst the faithful and soo sooo many beautiful quilts plus tantalizing and tempting vendors.  some of the many i found quite appealing

pickle dish is on my someday list....and next?

could not resist this homage to kaffe fassett...next?

the lancaster diamond done in brights....have to say i have been mulling this one over in my mind...kaffe fabrics maybe?  and from the hoffman challenge collection....

the fabrics chosen were all beautiful blues so naturally a lot of ocean/sea types but the bag was a unique idea i thought...and then the mermaid was just so spectacular...

will save the rest for another post....so what did i buy?  not very much...i had a short list and found all except one thing--many vendors had the chalk marking pencil but nobody had any refill leads...i was hoping to avoid pricey shipping but now will have to i guess...these came home with me..

the red and green stripes from one vendor...i'm into christmas mode a bit and always nice to have some pretty stripes to use....the other 2 were from a shop we visited after the show and will be used right away for planned projects...and i simply MUST give a huge shout out to AURIFIL...i found the hand quilting thread for my whole cloth wall quilt...

superior had a lovely booth and lots of nice thread but nothing for hand quilters...the photo shows the color much lighter than actual....the thread is called 'mulberry' and i was ecstatic to find it and sad to see not much traffic at the booth.  thank you AURIFIL!  you support hand quilters with your high quality threads...i am a forever customer...

such a perfect day--weather, awesome traveling companions and driver, comfy ride, scenic vistas, a smashing dinner at the last, plenty of bathroom stops.  it was a blissful mini-vacay from concerns and so badly needed by me, not to mention the always needed exercise.  and the one thing lacking to make it perfect?  winning a new bernina to bring home....LOL!

thursday chat

it is ANOTHER gorgeous day here in maryland...all week can you believe?  i can't...but it sure is energizing and i have taken full advantage of its boost.  this was on my september list...

i'm calling it 'detour to oz' and it uses up those few row-by-row license plates i had on hand...just have to cut/sew 5 more units for the very top row, then sew together, baste and quilt...sewed those drunkard's path units on machine and they came out really nice...

as mentioned, the senior center gals are knee deep into christmas sewing...someone is making patchwork tree quilts and remembered some shiny fabric i found in the drawer organization...made a couple of star blocks for her...this is the 2nd...the shiny fabric really gives the quilt a boost.

and though i rarely go anywhere these days, my take-along project is the 'alaska' wall quilt...blocks being hand pieced and it's slow progress but did get another block done.

another found project, and i hope there aren't too many more lurking in the depths...this is an official UFO...some african wax resist fabrics bought during the pandemic....

tried sewing circles but not happy with result, so invested in some karen kay buckley bigger circles and that's where it stands...leg surgery and moving intervened.  the fabrics are so pretty.  would like to have done for maine show next year.  

quilting the 'tuscan starburst' is nearly finished, then bind and cross off list.  then it's the blue bathroom piece and then those wild solid bow ties....

yesterday laundry and today vacuumed and washed all floors...veggie cooking always on the list...tomorrow is a day trip day and so looking forward to some fun.  beyond desperate for some of that and a change of scenery.  fingers crossed no blips....have a blessed day!

it's friday....

time marches on and christmas things--yes christmas--are in the dollar store right now!  not much new here...weather continues to be downright perfect...i got this made...i love making these stockings....about 2.5 hours start to finish...

the weekend list?  work some on a new piece to use up these row-by-row license plates...for now holding off cleaning out anymore drawers that might reveal other lurking projects...lol!

more quilting on tuscan starburst, baste down tulips on the kim diehl applique...some veggie cooking and freezing, fit in some exercise too...wash kitchen floor?  maybe....

days are getting easier....always i try to think what would my mom want me to do...she came to me in a dream about a month ago, i was crying and she sat on the edge of my bed and said 'don't cry for me'....woke up and my face was wet.  a love that never dies....

and on a cheerier note...reading this book by carl hiaasen...

i've read others by him and they are always very funny, very irreverent and very politically incorrect!  in a recent interview he was asked where his descriptive style emanates and he replied from sitting in endless traffic in florida where he lives...his characters live in a world of ignorant hope...if anything can go wrong it does, seemingly simple plans always go awry and the mundane always has drastic results.  some of his other titles?  razor girl, bad monkey, strip tease....great diversions for the car-less, fixed-income senior set...LOL!

wednesday chat

keeping busy here in finally cool maryland....sleeping and doing just about anything is grand!  still in shorts, tho...today's tasks?  trim this piece and get the woodland borders on

then it goes to our group quilter....i left the banquet table up to do this, but it's in the way....my living room is small but handy when needed.  

pinned the new appliques on this piece....next is to press and get out the ruler before sewing down....i'm left handed, aka sinister, and i believe that means my eye...i keep a level on hand also to hang things as without it, well they'd all be skewed...

i do like the addition of the tulip stems and have an idea for the big pink petals as well...doing just for fun....applique fun you say?  yes getting that way....

quilting steadily on 'tuscan starburst' as the bathroom hanging and batik baskets must also be quilted before i can start the bow ties, which i am itching to do.  then blue album to start by january if not before.  also in the planning stage is a special project for an exhibit next year...

upping regular exercise is surely improving my mental attitude and am settling into a sort of routine sans car....grieving continues of course but not crippling, still have that huge hole in my life...no doubt worse as still feel a stranger here with no close friends and where people don't really know me and without any common history with anyone.  so what to do but keep on keeping on as so many do...could always be worse, right?  

silk purse?

 not even close....remember this sow's ear?

i tried to ignore but it kept falling off the closet shelf...could no longer avoid...came up with an idea that resulted in sacrificing some points and still a tad of a ripple in the top border, but here it is, renovated and ready to baste...

so what was done?  took off all green borders...it was still bit wonky despite all the measures i took to avoid same...then sewed the side borders back on moving in one-half zig-zag WITHOUT removing the outer edge row units, hoping to maintain some sort of straight edge.  worked pretty well--not perfectly--then re-measured, trimmed and re-attached top/bottom borders.  i can now and finish it without shame.  if you don't tell, then nobody will be the wiser....LOL!  my frugal muse simply wouldn't allow tossing it....

what else shakin'?  some cooking of course--corn fritters, veggie prep and chicken/leek pie.  laundry, bathroom freshen...then this...

yet another UFO wanting attention....block pattern from kim diehl...was going to call it ok but there's a blog i follow, actually drool over....https://gladiquilts.wordpress.com/....if you have seen it you know what i mean...the block looked bare...what would gladi do?  so decided to add the tulips...am i done?  not sure...maybe those big pinky blooms need something added...anyway, it's a work in progress...and just to prove my growing obsession with applique....

the wall quilt for dear daughter to commemorate her savoy hotel tea in london...using those luscious liberty fabrics...only 13 blocks, still seeking the fabric for the alternate blocks....the perfect pieces i had are too small...

the santa panel for senior center is getting needle-turn appliqued but when done plan to do one row of zig-zag stitch for stability.  hoping to pass along to the quilter friday....

monday holiday finishing up photos for siblings and hopefully baste blue album...day by day life returns to normal or at least as normal as it will be from hereon in...have a blessed day!