red and white bandwagon

thanks to the current exhibit of red and white quilts in new york, red and white projects are popping up all over blogland. i, too, have succumbed but with restraint, meaning no bed size quilt. i've long admired the schoolhouse block and so i drafted a 6" version and picked up the fabrics and will make a small wallhanging or tabletopper or whatever. just another little project to squeeze in amongst the UFOs that are ongoing....

quilting detour

every so often the cross-stitch tote under my bed whispers to me in the wee hours to open it up and choose a project. for some time, i've wanted to do a vintage sampler AND i wanted a christmas stocking done in cross stitch. i found this pattern in a magazine eons ago and have kept it close by. i started it a while ago, did a bit and put it away. this past week or so i've spent a lot of time working on it, though the progress thus far is deceiving. i'm not expert, not like my daughter, but i love the result and best of all, it won't have to be framed. it's going to be my christmas stocking THIS year, God willing, and that'll be another needlework wish satisfied. ***** though we did get a bit of snow end of last week, it's mostly gone but winter just won't let go. one of these days it will probably be 80 or so and spring will be gone, even though we haven't had any yet of which to speak.

A is for....

not adulterer but, in my case, applique. took a break from quilting the lone star and appliqued this cute little piece based on my daughter's school days artwork. also, it helps in fine tuning my needleturn skills getting ready for the big kahuna, aka the hawaiian quilt. not too bad if i do say so myself, but more precise skills are needed so i will continue practicing until i've got it down pat!

still here....

haven't fallen off the face of terra firma yet, so thought i would just post that fact since there's nothing else to tell really. we are still waiting for the bona fide spring to arrive instead of the teaser weather we've been having of late. it's almost here but just not quite....

lone star update

here's a current photo of the lone star wallhanging and a closeup of one of the triangles already quilted. i've one more triangle and 3 of the corner squares to quilt with this arc design and then i can bind it. you can see the green solid i chose for the binding. i actually had to go out and buy it because i didn't have a piece large enough for the entire binding in my stash. it pulls out the green fabric in the star itself. green is not my favorite color but i felt there was enough blue/pink shades without choosing either of those for the binding. i'm a bit disappointed as it didn't come out as well as the first one i made but it was a lot of work, pieced by hand and now quilted by hand. not perfect but then who/what is? i can live with it without a lot of guilt and only a smidgen of regret. i do this for fun is why.....

yeeccchhh!

why? it SNOWED today! after 60-degree weather last week, this is one of the last things we wanted to see. "they" say we might get up to 5 inches overnight, but the good part of snow in late march is it's soon gone, as this will be by wednesday, again "they" say. even if they are wrong, it won't be by much. ***** and what have i been doing? well, quilting on the lone star. i am now quilting the corner squares and triangles, having finished every one of the individual diamonds. i got the binding fabric over the weekend; no, i didn't have any in my stash to match. i've also been on a job interview today, done the usual weekend stuff like laundry, read the sunday paper and do some miscellaneous sewing on other UFOs. the unemployed life is hardly exciting, i'm afraid.

afterthought

today is the first time i've heard the seagulls squawking in the morning. that has to be a sure sign of spring. the sun is out again today after a rainy wednesday and it's going to be quite warm for march, about 50 or so. i can take that for sure...

the sewing table

this is my sewing table. it belonged to my late ex-mother-in-law, Maude. Most likely it really belonged to her mother before that, Lila, as she was the quilter in the family. I don't think Maude ever sewed. When Maude died, my ex-father-in-law, Joe, sold it to me. He said he couldn't give it away, but i could buy it for $5, a pittance. i understood his reasoning because i knew him pretty well. it was my blue antique period so of course, it got "antiqued" (dumb) and the drawer pulls got changed (dumber). anyway, because it's old, the top drawer front broke off and the drawer itself was in shaky condition. i bought some wood glue and glued the daylights out of it and it pretty much held, except for the drawer front. i finally took it to be repaired and a whole new drawer had to be made for the old front.....and here it is. back in "normal" shape again. don't mind the fan, no place else to store it...and the right shoe? i usually sew without one. if i could afford it, the table would be refinished and new "old" pulls reattached but no funds for that. no green today but then i'm not irish either.

this and that

this is one of the "ends" i finished yesterday, the block started in the curved paper piecing class. it may be just an orphan block or used in something in the future, time will tell. ***** more progress on quilting the lone star, so it's coming along fairly quickly and may indeed be a march finish. **** today's the day to make irish soda bread. we aren't irish (i don't think) but we have corned beef and cabbage AND irish bread anyway. our heritage is English, some Native American and not sure what else.

remember?

if you are of a "certain age," then your mornings--like mine--often started with this little tune....takes me back to a galaxy far, far away...well, not THAT far away!

UFO in progress

here's the red/cream north wind UFO i've been working on this week. every so often i pull out the shoebox and sew together a stack of units and some squares. these are 5" unfinished because I misread the new ruler directions and cut the strips 1/2" too small. won't do THAT again! i'm nearly at the point i have to cut more HSTs and extra triangles to assemble the middle portion of the square itself. today i'm probably going to finish up some odds and ends and maybe hand quilt for a change. i've 4 small UFO projects that need quilting and could be knocked off my list if they were done. ***** the sun is streaming through my window here at 7:45 so it's going to be a sunny day. plenty of natural light flooding my sewing space....always a good thing!

"into" antique quilts?

margaret over at www.quiltstation.com.au is drafting and selling the patterns for this beauty. there are 60 blocks plus the center medallion. i am sorely tempted as i think it's a real masterpiece but i have more than a few projects already in the works PLUS others on a "want to make" list, so i have (so far) resisted the nearly overwhelming urge to cave. it would be no small feat to add this quilt to my list. i am already choosing certain flimsies to tie rather than hand quilt to save time. with one large applique project in progress and 2 baltimore books over which i have sufficiently drooled already, not to mention the hawaiian AND the civil war diary quilts, i simply have to pass on this one.....for the time being. more than once i have wondered why i didn't start quilting when i was 13 instead of 30.

nature abhors a vacuum....

with the completion of flimsy #2, the shoebox was empty, but not for long. in went another in progress UFO, the amish ocean waves pieces. even though the shoebox is no longer empty, i think this is real progress. ***** today i spent a good portion of the time working on another UFO, the red/cream north wind squares. this has been in the shoebox quite a while and the top at least needs finishing. i have to make 130 of these little 5" squares, and each square has a bunch of little and 2 larger triangles. **** i have spent most of my time lately doing machine projects, but also working some on the lone star to get it hand quilted. it's coming along and i'd hoped for a march finish, which still may happen but might not. the best part is i am seeing a change in the amount of fabric i have in my elfa drawers, always a very good thing. it is completely mind boggling how slow a reduction in stash occurs. i can't just fling it to the thrift because i feel i have too much. i paid for this fabric and intend to use it up if at all possible. i am happy to share but don't feel as though i can just just toss it; it wouldn't really be frugal at all. and truth to tell, i don't think i have too much but certainly enough for the foreseeable future.

another flimsy

one of the local shops sponsors a buck-a-block and 2 years ago (i think) i signed up and got this pattern and this fabric. today i got the top done with muslin sashing and the binding will be next (after basting). this quilt will be tied, not hand quilted, and probably donated at some point. i really am quite determined to finish everything on my UFO list. **** our snow is nearly gone and we are hoping for no more until christmas time.

a done flimsy

it's the boston commons scrappy style! the photo doesn't really do it justice but i think it's still gorgeous. truly a beautiful scrappy quilt. there are about 1000 little squares in this top that the pattern classifies as twin/full. no way would i ever make one any larger than this. there won't be another border on it at all, just bind it with white, i think. i'm not big on adding borders just to make quilts larger. yes, that's my hawaiian pillow up in the corner. that led me down a slippery path to wanton excess, meaning the bed size hawaiian i now have in progress but oh what fun. ***** it's a beautiful pre spring day here in maine, temps around 40 and sunny, a true portent. i've spent most of this day (2 pm right now now) adding the last border section on the above and also putting together another flimsy that i hope to finish today. that'll be two in one day!

scraps and strips and squares, oh my!

spent most of saturday morning with the trusty rotary cutter and some scraps that got cut into strips and squares for current or future projects. the largest stack is for the boston commons, of course; the batiks for a pineapple blossom scrappy; the green for a moda bakeshop christmas wallhanging and the smallest strips for an autumn scrappy in progress. the last little bits are for an ongoing postage stamp project. after those were done, i pulled out the hawaiian and finished basting the last little corner. it's 100% basted now and all my little applique pins are back in their tiny box. sunday is going to be a sew day! **** i told you about new england weather, right? well, early friday am it was 0 degrees, and then early saturday am it was 29 degrees....gotta love those warm fronts!

finally!

this top is finally basted down! i think it's stunning....actually there is a little corner left, 2 leaf groupings that still have pins, but it's almost done! done enough to oooh and aaah over anyway. besides pinning it down in the first place, this was the most time consuming so far. next comes the needleturn applique, another time consuming portion but i don't care, it'll be an heirloom when it's done. i really love it....

one to go

here is the first side border on the boston commons. that leaves one long side left, but first must cut the 200+ squares for it. i am totally delighted as i think it's a gorgeous scrappy quilt. i'm spending odd moments strip piecing thinking of how i will quilt the scrappy parts. i already have a stencil for the white border, but not sure about the other places yet. with all those seams, it will probably be an all-over design of some type. and binding color? could be anything but might just stick with white.....the quilt will "speak" to me when the time comes i'm sure. i don't consider this an "heirloom" quilt but it's one i will definitely keep for all the memories in those little patches. ***** i'm using my "inchie" project for leaders/enders and i've nearly enough strips to make a square. these are 1.5" squares sewn in strips to become squares of postage stamps or pieces that finish at 1" square. if i can't get a 1.5" square out of a scrap, it gets tossed. that is my limit, even at $10 per yard which isn't my stash at all. that is the going price now at quilt shops and makes me more diligent in shopping my own stash.

view from here

yes, that's the old viking and more strips of those pesky squares! i totally underestimated the amount of time it would take to finish off the borders of this quilt. the sewing time is minuscule compared to cutting up the squares. course, i took a detour and organized my strip bin too. good thing i have nearly endless time available. the two weeks i was sidelined with bronchitis and a sinus infection was also a hindrance and would you believe, my sinuses are still not clear? pretty much at 100% baseline now, though. ***** don't know about you but i am pretty sick of seeing bad behavior on the news of so-called stars. these privileged people don't deserve all this airtime. they are to be pitied for sure. ****** i can cautiously say spring is definitely near. despite a couple of days of frigid temps, after that they modulate quite a bit for a long stretch; 40s in the daytime is very good.

Vote Tomorrow!

Check the left side of my blog for the button SewCalGal. Starting tomorrow, March 1, you can go to her website and vote for your favorite quilter. There are a number of categories and you can nominate the influential quilters in your life. You have until March 15th (beware!) to vote. ***** would you believe i still have 220 squares to cut for my boston commons borders? i've one side border just about done but it used up nearly all the squares i had cut previously. i'm closing in on finishing this flimsy....sort of.

sorting strips

after getting all my boston commons squares cut, i pulled all the strips in the mini-tote and did a little reorg for when i have to revisit this stash. no doubt there is at least one scrappy top in this little container. thankfully, my entire stash is nowhere near barbara wilkinson's, who was featured on OWN's "enough already" last night.

that makes me really happy as i am using it up as fast as i can. ***** happy birthday george! those of us who were school kids in the 1950s know that today is your REAL birthday, no matter what the calendar says. ***** where, oh where, are the warmer temps? 30s daytime, single digits overnight....ENOUGH already!

basting party

as i mentioned, got these 3 little projects all thread-basted and they are waiting for hand quilting. due to a winter-to-spring cold, i've not done much of anything for a couple of days but hoping to get these done fairly soon and off my UFO list. the lone star comes first, though, once the box of kleenex is no longer my BFF. i've also been dabbling with some larger UFOs, doing some prep applique work and, of course, assembling the boston commons borders on the machine.

halfway there

after a mini-marathon sewing weekend, i've the top AND bottom borders done on the boston commons. now just the side borders are left, meaning cutting up more strips and yardage into those teeny, tiny squares and sewing them all together. that's probably at least another week's worth of sewing at a minimum. good thing i've got some projects basted to switch off now and then. sewing this top is like a trip down memory lane through my stash. so many pieces bring fond memories. this is a quilt i will definitely keep. it'll be hand quilted, partially with a neat border stencil i bought from pepper cory in nashua a few years ago.

new project

quilters, like savvy entrepreneurs and astute businessmen, are always thinking of the next project. so to keep in line with my fellow quilters i have pulled out my "civil war diary" book and started preparing patterns. this is the first of 121 blocks. there is no rush for this project, just a block here and there until it's completed. this is my version of Dear Jane, fewer blocks and easier to construct. and it seems my ex was wrong for i CAN draw a straight line with a ruler.....sometimes anyway. i needed a break from sewing little blocks together for the boston commons, at least for a bit. i'll be back at the old viking later today.

slow progress

this is the top (or bottom) border so far. it isn't that i haven't been sewing up a storm (no pun); i've a stack of scrappy strips all made, just not attached yet. there are 12 more to add to this to finish it and then i can start on the bottom (top?). i've errands out of the house today, so won't get much done but maybe by the time the weekend's over, i can have the top AND bottom done. the sides too? no way at all. it'll probably be another week before the top is completed. i am determined to whack off as many UFOs as possible, still hoping i can get back to work soon.

more squares

yesterday i sewed all the squares i had cut into strips and they are patiently waiting for more, so this morning i pulled out more scraps and cut these. i know i won't have enough for the side borders, so i'm keeping my rotary cutter close for future action. it's going to snow again tomorrow (not much) so i'll save that task for then. hopefully by the end of the week if i don't get bored, i'll have my borders done, sewn on and the top finished.....we'll see.

saturday photo

this was another little project that was idling on my sewing table, so i cut out the rest of the pieces needed and put the units together. i call it "snaky, drunk amish" for it's snake's trail version, drunkard's path pattern done in amish style. it needs a bit of revision to relocate some of those lights, but hopefully i'll get it basted this weekend. i went to joann's today and got some fleece half price for the task. my small solid scraps seem to be accumulating a bit, so will probably make up some small paper-pieced squares to use them up, a project for another day. ***** i also cut a stack of squares for my boston commons borders and that's on my agenda too. getting the borders done and sewn on will empty another shoebox, always a good thing. oh, and did i mention it snowed AGAIN today?

bound to happen

once i got the paper piecing method down pat, i guess it was inevitable that i would seque into curved paper piecing. i'm not sure, but this, too, is pretty easy. whoa, there is no huge new york beauty quilt in my future, but it was fun to try this technique and put another notch in my rotary cutter. i was toying with the idea of a wallhanging, but i've decided it'll stop at pillow size, mostly as i've many other things that need finishing and other patterns i want to try. time gallops on.....

later same day....

as the snow piles up, my daydreams are far from winter, especially after i found this website....www.lobsterrolls.com. i had heard about this place on our new england cable news station, but when i visited i learned they are going to open a year-round place this month....how good is that? me, i can eat a lobster roll most anytime. a good one is pretty simple: grilled hot dog bun, lobster and a tad of mayo...no celery, no celery salt, parsley or anything else.

delightful dilemma

unless you've been in an underground missile bunker the last two weeks, you know about our snowstorm wallop. as i write this early morning, the second wave has yet to hit but the wind is howling and the car is already covered over. so, being an industrious person i glanced around my sewing space for something to occupy mind and hands for the duration. i spied this overflowing shoebox full of 1.5" strips and thought about a pattern i've been wanting to try. the next few hours were spent constructing these little 5" pineapple blocks. i got the idea from bonnie hunter a while back and found the foundation pattern on a quilting website. being a predominantly left-handed (right brain) person, starting a new paper piecing project is always a bit clumsy; takes a bit to get a routine for the mechanics of the task at hand. but it was finally mastered and i was pleasantly pleased with the result. each little block has 37 pieces and, as per usual, the use was hardly noticed in my shoebox. i'd have to make a gazillion of these little blocks to use up all those scraps---NOT! i am going to try and make a small wall piece or table topper, though, because i am enthralled with these cute little pineapples. **** later in the day i worked on my lone star. today's project? plenty from which to choose, but definitely more lone star quilting and maybe work on the machine constructing another quilt top or maybe basting the 30s wallhanging.

the month of luuuuuuv

february is coming in like a lion, sitting here waiting for the 1-2 snowstorm punch. by the time the air clears, "they" say we could get anywhere from 13-22 inches here in coastal maine. fortunately our complex is well maintained with regard to snow moving and removal, but at some point i'll have to venture out and move the car. until then i'll don my "uniform" of cozy LL Bean slippers and quilt!

riding in style

thanks to a generous christmas gift from DD and DSIL, i was able to get this sewing trolley so viking's little brother could travel in style. took it out for a spin yesterday and worked like a charm! not only does little brother fit, all my accoutrements were snug as well and then it even zipped..how good is that? as far as the road trip, since little brother's "discharge" from the sewing machine infirmary, it runs like a charm. no, it isn't a featherweight but works and travels great just the same, and that's really what was needed.

finished flimsy

some time ago (last year?) i was in a swap with some quilters over at Real Women Quilt. I finally got the top together yesterday adding the paper-pieced letters in the bottom right corner. it was one of those projects languishing on my sewing table for what seemed like eons, and now it isn't. yesterday i also pin basted my 30s wallhanging, also paper pieced, quilted on my lone star plus reading my book....which is almost done. goody, goody, i can request the 2nd one, "the girl who played with fire."

a shameless plug

i am happy to announce that bonnie's new book (her third) is now available for order and will be shipped on or about march 1st from her site at http://www.quiltville.com/. as i am a self-proclaimed scrappy quilter, i find bonnie's patterns to be simply the ultimate in using up scraps. her many followers and pattern copycats can well attest to the excitement of her quilts and the info she offers free of charge to quilters everywhere. take a peek and you just might get hooked as many of us already are. thankfully, she is finally coming to maine this year and again in 2013.

cold week pastimes

the two things i'm mainly doing this week until the bitter cold temps modulate are reading this book and quilting my lone star. i've also done a bit of flinging from my room and working on another quilt top as well. the book has people waiting for it, so i have to get it read as i won't be able to renew. no matter, it's a goodie....

a finish/a flimsy

a busy week as you can see, and it's only wednesday! first, i finished my 30s tablerunner (left) so that makes 2 UFOs done this month. then i put together this christmas runner from a workshop in nashua a couple of years ago. i was actually sick with tonsillitis the day of the workshop and got the pattern from the teacher to make. i think i will bind it with red. hopefully it won't be a UFO for 2012. ****** both of these are hanging on my new design wall. it's only a piece of flannel with a dowel hanging from an over-the-door hook on my bedroom door, but it suffices and was quite cheap to fashion. i've saved the flannel for eons and just had to purchase the dowel for $2. pretty frugal i think, don't you? i'm using all my free time to think of ways to enhance my quilting fun for little cash.

first official finish

can finally cross off a UFO finish from my 2011 list now that this quilt is done. years ago i was in a four-patch swap where every month was a different color, so i used them up in this scrappy quilt. even the binding is scrappy as it's 2 different colors....why not, eh? i didn't hand quilt this quilt, only tied, as it will probably be a donation quilt of some kind. even so, it's pretty and warm and now off my "to do" shelf as well! how good is that?

a done duo

though the photo is poor, you can see what i accomplished yesterday; that is, finishing up embroidering these dish towels. the windmill was done already and was waiting on the little dutch girl to be finished. not sure what i'll do with them now, but i had bought them several years ago and they needed finishing. they belong in somebody's hope chest. i do have a beautiful Lane cedar chest but am not accumulating linens for the future; they will probably get stored there anyway.

sneak peek

the top fabric is my new curtains fabric. just a hint of color (matches carpet) but not too intense. will be great for filtering light, i think. the bottom two fabrics? followed me home, were in my bag when i got there...who knew?

tale of two pictures

once upon a time about 25 years ago, a little girl came home from school with a piece of precious artwork (left picture). her mother ooohed and aaahed at the picture and promptly tacked it up for all to see and enjoy. since it was near christmas, the picture was left up for the holiday but carefully put away after with the other decorations. every christmas the picture was hung up for the holiday season. the little girl's mother loved the picture still and, being a quilter, vowed one day to immortalize the picture in fabric. when the mother moved into a new apartment, she hung the picture on her bulletin board as a reminder of the plan. that someday came this week when the mother pulled fabrics from her stash and carefully traced the pattern onto fabric. no, the fabric picture isn't quite finished yet (right photo), but will be soon and will be sent to the little girl, now grown up, to proudly display on the wall in her beautiful home. the little girl's picture will remain on the bulletin board for the mother to see and enjoy, always reminding her of a time when the grown-up girl was little but no less precious than today. (sniff, sniff)

lone star baste, part 2

i had basted this piece previously but wasn't happy with the thickness of the fleece used. i put it aside to think about it. when i revisited this, i realized the fleece was indeed to thick for a large wallhanging like this, so i pulled out the basting and rebasted with a thinner fleece. it is now ready to start quilting. this is my 2nd lone star wallhanging. the first was made many years ago and hung over my bed for a time. one day when my life was particularly gruesome, i just pulled it down, cut it into shreds and threw it away.....just like that. no regrets, but i did have to make another. this is entirely hand pieced because of all those pesky bias edges and the center lies flat, yippee! ****** storm over here in coastal maine, will dig out car this morning. didn't venture out at all yesterday except to get the paper just as it was starting to snow. worked on my new bedroom/sewing room curtains and made a pot of spaghetti sauce and just generally "chilled out" (no pun intended).

crumb-y tuesday, snowy wednesday

had some leftover "crumbs" (scraps) of 30s prints and couldn't bear to throw them out so i repurposed them into potholders. in the past i've made really nice hexagon potholders, only to have them get singed or dirty, so i decided to use up the crumbs and not put so much time into these useful items. ******** yep, snowing here in maine since about 5 am. good day to hibernate. i did manage to get out early and get the newspaper though.

reorg sewing space #1

all my quilty books were stacked on a shelf, plus shoeboxes on top of those and were difficult to get at, much less browse when desired. so, i have this little bookcase and moved them here. now i can pull one out quite easily (and put it back also). previously i had my vast collection of Quilters' Newsletter mags here, but those i stacked on the shelf as i don't refer to them that frequently. this bookcase is my "governor" if you will. keeps me from accumulating too many books, so easy to do for a constant reader like myself. i wish there were room to store them standing up and spine side out but there isn't. this is so much better than before, though. ***** so this was the first step in the reorg of the room. i've got more done but this week hope to finish. left now is to move a dresser, my elfa drawers, the TV, wash windows/sills, make new curtains and hang. i'll be off to marden's this week for the curtain fabric. watch this space for more photos!

it's come to this

our apartment is one of several in a large brick building and comes heated. even so, in the winter the indoor temp vacillates from that of an igloo or a sauna, depending on the weather conditions. the windows are not insulated, nor are there any storms, plus they date back to the 80s i'm guessing. so, sometimes it is quite cold even with the heat on. yesterday i broke down and put the flannel sheet on my bed, along with my 2 quilts. while i love its cozy feeling, i know that sometimes it will be too warm and i'll probably have to wear my summer pjs and/or open the window a tad to be comfy. that's winter in maine, constant adjustments.

favorite cookbook?

paula is wondering what my favorite cookbook is....well, i don't do THAT much cooking, but I often refer to those by Marjorie Standish, a maine cookbook author. She published 2, "cooking down east" and "cooking...the maine way." i use others like "artisanal bread in 5 minutes a day" and occasionally download something from food network. most things i cook don't require me to refer to a recipe as i make quick things (shrimp scampi) or ones I know by heart (spaghetti sauce, veggie soup, chowder, meat loaf, fajitas). with only 2 of us and trying to eat less/more healthy, we often eat fish or seafood prepared simply or some chicken dish. many bloggers, like judy for instance, always post recipes/photos/menus etc. but neither mom nor I rarely spends that much time on meal prep. ***** short night last night, too much caffeine no doubt. with days that run into each other and no appointments, time is almost meaningless. no big deal as i can always nap during day or whenever, it's just that casual.

waiting for snow

it's coming sometime today, though not much "they" say. you know who "they" are, don't you? in the meantime, it's me at the old viking and watching TV, sort of, mostly listening. that's pretty much what we do in the winter in maine, sit around and watch snow fall. at least those of us who are unemployed, which is far too many sad to say.

men's shirts?

a new beau perhaps? or taking in laundry? no on both counts. got these at the salvation army thrift today for about $1.50 each, 100% cotton plaid shirts. over one-half yard of fabric in each shirt...how good is that? so, my TV time will be spent cutting off buttons and pulling out seams to add this to my plaid stash for an upcoming quilt project. remember, buy u$ed and $ave. i try to whenever i can. ***** a first for mom today! took her to a local Thai restaurant for lunch. she had never eaten Thai food and i'd been hankering for some pad thai so off we went. she thought all Thai food was spicy hot and was pleasantly surprised. a brief diversion in our otherwise boring no-work existence.

bonnie's new look

bonnie of quiltville fame has a fancy new look to her blog courtesy of some techno-santa...check it out! looks sort of like the north pole, don't you think? bonnie could be our very own mrs. claus!

(not so) extreme makeover

i've been pondering how to find a larger flat space for ironing/basting small projects etc. i've started the process today after repurposing a folding table we've had around for eons. i've moved some furniture around, vacuumed ALL the dust bunnies and the plan is taking shape. just a few small purchases to make to get everything in order and also make some curtains. once it's done i'll do a grand unveiling. it has been a challenge and more than once i have verbally expressed a wish for a larger room sans carpeting, but it simply can't be changed. even so, i think i can make it work. watch this space.....2011 came in like a lamb, a cloudy, misty, gloomy lamb. the sun peeked out once or twice, but tonight it's going to rain, so a sunny day has been put off.

first finish and thank you!

last night i didn't want to choose something from my UFO list, so i pulled out a pattern and whipped up this little doo-dad. it's a sewing machine mat with pockets! i used a rebecca barker print i bought in lancaster plus some scraps and finished it this morning. great for those notion items i like to keep at hand but don't all fit on the table OR, more likely, get covered over by projects on which i'm working. not my idea but a goodie. ***** thank you to the invisible computer guru who cleaned that hideous rogue software off the computer. ****** it's a balmy day in maine with sun shining! today's the day for clearing the decks, taking down the tree and other christmas decorations, cleaning up the apartment, enjoying our annual treat of a roast beast dinner and just plain relaxing. i got my laundry all done yesterday in anticipation of a busy day. no resolutions but goals, plans and etc. for what i hope to do this coming year. as always, my wish is for good health for me and my family, prosperity, help for those in need, time for fun and staying focused on what is really important amidst all the distractions. that about covers everything......