Three Cheers!!!

for the red, white and blue....

ignore the politics, blustery rhetoric, partisan wranglings and just bask in the freedoms and the sacrifice of those who have made them possible for nearly 250 years....researching my ancestry gave me a greater appreciation of ordinary people who did extraordinary things to protect their livelihood that led to the formation of our republic.  they could not have imagined where their actions would lead.  hoping you take a moment to reflect on all that independence means and how important it is to preserve a government of the people, by the people and for the people....

be patient disgruntled and dissatisfied Americans...from ev'ry mountainside, let freedom ring!  

a new challenge!

 

Deana has selected item #9 for the July challenge....my #9 is designing a small whole cloth quilt and getting it going--however, since i am struggling to finish 'wildest dreams', swapped #9 for #1 which is....

A is for Alaska....a gorgeous pattern by Edyta Sitar...was gifted the templates and i've got the pieces cut and sorted into baggies...a project that needs attention!

the baggies are stuffed into a project bag...it's the perfect take along project...i know it won't be anywhere near the flimsy stage, but if i can finish a few of the block baggies (4 to each), that'll certainly be progress...

since it's now officially july and the hottest maryland month, have been working on those christmas stockings for the church fair...my homework is to complete 5 before next meeting, july 11th...

in the baggie of scraps were several twosies and hoping there are enough scraps to make a couch throw the center can finish and sell...at some point it should get cooler here....

and will close with a chuckle for you...

Be cool and sew on!

goodbye june...

now only 90+ days to cooler temps...LOL!  it WAS a stressful week for so many under the dome...

did manage to complete this goal.....

the tan triangles have (almost) left the building!  that means every time the elfa drawer is opened, they won't be staring glaring eyeing at me waiting to be used....audible sigh!  

all that remains are some small solid pieces and a few cherrywood scraps in dark amish colors...stash is really getting busted here....

and with this flimsy finish.....

the chookshed june challenge is completed....with 4 challenges left in 2025, waiting to see which deana draws next....

as for me, dreamily imagining days at the shore, sand/salt/surf close by...this yankee gal was not made for these horrific hots

when i tell people i came from maine, they always say  "ooohh it's cold up there"...and thank God for it I say...one can always add clothes but not much can be shed to be comfortable in this weather.  

time to make the weekly to-do list and some vacation prep tasks...first up is sleeve and label for my Maine Quilts entry...always thankful for the sustaining care God provides each and every day...

quilting karma

the stars aligned and the tan triangles are scraps no more!  and yes, quilters, i used every single one!! not one left over!!  that almost never happens...color me giddy...and just like that, the solids scraps drawer is nearly empty...

once sewn together, hoping i have enough of a plaid that will yield a border but remains to be seen....good news is have actually completed a chookshed challenge...

last year a quilty peep gave me these 30s melon pieces she got from a family member...i tried not to drool when she said i might be able to use them...LOL...found the green in the stash but alas, not quite enough for all the melon pieces...

no, not buying more fabric...instead used what i had for as many as i could....this will be an ideal travel project...and the leftovers?

enough for a small project...yet undecided...felt quite honored she chose me as the lucky recipient...

brutal weather designed for reading...this new book was on my reserve list and available 10 pm last night...so naturally had to start right away...

for michael connelly fans, this book introduces another new character....you might know him from the lincoln lawyer, bosch and ballard volumes...

another heat dome day....we got some thunder for about an hour yesterday but no rain and no cold front arrived either...did get a love note from the electric company that my monthly budget amount has increased $13....and then a second email saying i got a $2 credit for saving energy....confused yet?  

quilty group on hold until building repairs completed...so will be working on christmas stockings at home instead of communing with peeps...

and no explanation needed for this....

keep cool and quilt on!

well begun

is half done right?  getting close anyway....my sewist heart smiled when seeing these on the design wall...

the tan triangles finally have a purpose....no more ugly pile relegated to scrap waiting room....i do like them a lot! anxious to make more, and it's a good project to focus on this week being way too hot to venture out.  

lately busting stash is a lot like swimming against the tide....at friday quilt group this came my way...for the christmas stocking project in progress...believe there are enough Christmas fabric scraps for 100 stockings...we're only making 20...

and another quilty peep brought in a shopping bag of asian prints...i've never used them but honestly several caught my eye and somehow ended up in MY studio....

had previously received a book by  karen kay buckley of an asian garden quilt...could make a few blocks i suppose.... after all, the fabrics are soo gorgeous and should be showcased...quite sure you concur....

and this chuckle was found on instagram...i am a potato chip devotee and can fit the low sodium kind in my diet occasionally....

so it's a week to keep cool and sew on!

solids sewing

 finished the first of two planned projects for the solids.....it's a flimsy....

it's 46.5" square and used up a LOT of scraps...NOT!  so vexing!!  anyway i think it's colorful....

what else?  we all know somebody else's scraps are much more fun and so it was with the baggie i recently received...in it were some nice halloween-theme scraps, mostly 2.5" wide of varying lengths...so darn cute soooooo....now that i have a table, a placemat was just the ticket....

pulled an autumn print for the back so it's reversible too....

the backing is a Hoffman print bought long ago...it was $3 per yard and i bought 3 whole yards, something rarely done, and glad i did....lining is flannel picked up at senior center...

would have posted earlier today but had extreme thunderstorms plus tornado quite close, like 3 miles away...many trees down and some hit by lightning....weatherman says more substantial storms tomorrow...then the high 90s and even 100...so glad i have my bike and larder is stocked...summer has landed with a vengeance...no farmer's market this week for sure....

tomorrow will start on solids project #2....doubt will have time for another, but the drawer stash has decreased just not emptied quite yet

rainy days and mondays

get you down?  not me, especially when it means no ultra hot and humid...just turn on a couple of lights and do whatever....still hacking away at solids drawer....tackling this pile next...

these were part of the farmer's wife book blocks....the blocks are long gone but kept the triangles...waiting for an idea and finally one "materialized"   ooh sorry, bad pun!  i've just under 2 weeks to use these up....

the solids drawer won't be completely obliterated but will wait for another rainy day....that seems to be the norm for this year's chookshed challenge...

yes i AM spending a lot of time cruising instagram...sent this to my bookworm brother, the most voracious reader in our family of readers....

now the bike and then sewing without guilt....my kind of day!

my tribute

at friday quilt group, busy measuring and trimming my red/green blocks...here they are all together waiting for the border...

relieved to get this far, anxious now to move on but not today....still whittling away at the solids scraps hoping to get a top done this weekend...

while busy, a few gals were reorganizing our tall cabinets and unearthed a delightful array of paper pieced blocks...donated by someone at some point....the maker?  her family?  we'll never know...but passed by until they came to me.  so much work went into them...by donating them to our group, the hope was they would be used...so most came home with me.  no doubt you will ooh and ahh as i did....

only 10 of these blocks, but there were many others much smaller, taken by another lady in our group.  one can only guess at what was the final setting, us having only pieces of the puzzle...and more blocks....

these were made with many of the same fabrics at the bird houses...blocks in the bottom photo about 4", top photo about 6"...plan (and honor) is to come up with a setting and assemble large enough for someone to quilt and finish and offer for sale...there were other miscellaneous paper pieced blocks, all individual patterns and different sizes....

lastly was this intricately pieced block...the only one in the pile but i couldn't leave it behind...so pretty and so perfect...it'll be the joseph's coat of many colors on display in my kitchen...

so anonymous quilter, your creativity and skill lives on, appreciated and enjoyed, not cast aside...your sister quilters have accepted the torch and will carry to the finish....rest easy.

rainy-ish weekend here, cooler but weather no consequence to me....got my list made and high hopes, thankful for leisure time and all the blessings in my life that money could never buy.

best kind of mail

mostly i never get any mail at all, an occasional advert, the monthly flyer from PBS station and my Yankee magazine...occasionally a quilty peep shares their bounty with me and yesterday it was like Christmas!

the latest book from Victoria Findlay Wolfe...more than a pattern book, it's a quilting diary and memoir all in one.  i've only started reading and highly recommend already...

the box was too small for a car but plenty else to make me squeal....

some very floral applique patterns to drool over and send the quilty muse into apoplexy...LOL!

a Christmas wall quilt ready for quilting....and maybe gifting?

a couple of baggies of scraps...new fabric is always interesting right?  

the cute snowmen blocks got used right away as I had the perfect setting fabric...

not only did the snowmen get used right away, that background print is now gone completely...and last but not least, a lovely, endearing read just right for nighttime...

my mom loved elisabeth ogilvie books and i had read some of her fiction as well...these gifts will distract me from being cooped up in the A/C and result in more UFOs probably, the best antidote for boredom and much preferred over other remedies...

brief sojourn today for quick lab appointment....then it's more cracker blocks--i've decided on 25 total, so 10 more to go.  for the smaller pieces, some checkerboard blocks are planned.  next outing friday afternoon for quilt group, so thankful for diversions while chilling out with a couple of 90-degree days ahead.  another day with overflowing blessings for health, home, family, friends....

just yesterday....

received this precious gift....

was actually 51 years ago yesterday....a classic beauty, artistic, compassionate nurse, comedic, intelligent and insightful, strong faith and often opinionated...lucky me...

no more procrastinating...pulled out the solids to jump start the muse....i had an idea and made a couple of blocks but no thrill so went looking for more inspiration.  started on this...

.had always planned some cracker blocks but with christmas fabrics?  blah...saw some on the net made from bright colors so jumped right in and fired up miss sunny--after thorough oiling and new needle that is.  not sure final top size but not a lot of my scraps are large enough for the block itself, hence the piano key border.  i thought about 8x8...blocks are 8" finished

along with lots of quilting on 'dreams', some sewing for senior center also got done....found these 2 panels in the christmas stash and whipped up a couple of placemat tops to finish and sell...happy to do what i can to generate funds for our group.  

vacation looming and have to say with a bit of trepidation...have not been to Maine since mum passed away and i know it will be tough...that'll be me crying on the bus as we get closer no doubt...

days roll on and counting my blessings each one...now back to the machine!!