finished!

ok so this is the latest batch of stars that i am able to make with what's on hand....top photo is printed plaids and ombres, bottom photo is purples and foulards.   not counting today's post, still have 8 weeks' worth of stars to catch up on making.  they don't take too much time or fabric to make, and once my full stash is at hand again, can whip them up.  ***  the summer sampler sew along at temecula quilt company starts next week.  those are little blocks and all fabric is on hand for those.   ***  today, though, it's a quick trip to my favorite repro gathering place to pick up the newest  "quiltmania" magazine featuring a quilt by a maine quilter of some renown in these parts, wendy reed.  she has won many ribbons and rightly so.....her quilting is perfect!  *** and at last, mr. sun is back, just in time for laundry to be dried and to quell the dreariness that has been hanging around.  gonna be a terrific day, i can feel it!  hope it's the same in your neighborhood.....

another winner!

that would be jo morton's new line due to arrive this month.  do you see those paisleys?  how about those petite prints? how about that itty, bitty cheddar?  oh, i do love this collection!  no, i don't get paid to promote her fabric, just a devotee is all.  as i've often said, my admiration started with a workshop at Maine Quilts 3-4 years ago (or longer?) and ever since, my collection has ballooned.  but not just a collector, i use them often and for good reason.  some of these will definitely be coming to live with me.....can't wait!   ****   unlike texas, maine's rain has been continual for 3 days now but nowhere near as destructive.  it was needed and the farmers are relieved, but it's been cool again...time for mr. sun and summer to return.  and hoping today will get back to the machine for some sewing fun. 

sneak peek

the pattern is an ann hermes design featured in the latest issue of American Patchwork and Quilting that arrived yesterday.  there was also a large quilt.  in this issue they have included directions for table toppers on a few of the projects, which is a good idea.  not sure about you but my math can definitely be fuzzy. at times!  can't recall if they had done this in previous issues or not but i give the idea a thumbs up.  am going sorta repro on this project with a real red, a brown and a cheddar print ***  another perfectly, astoundingly beautiful day....warm sun, gentle breezes, lush vistas. ***and don't forget, tomorrow summer sampler starts!

a seaside sojourn

it was a perfect june day in may, so a trip to the water seemed right.  a quick picnic was packed and eaten here at the fisherman's memorial in boothbay harbor.   directly across from the memorial was this church with a carillon that played a few hymns while communing with sun and seabreeze.   idyllic and picturesque and thoroughly peaceful!  back at the mailbox a new quilt mag arrived with a cute tabletopper idea, so fabrics were once again pulled from the box and plans swirled around the gray matter.  so blessed to have been given this gift of a wonderful day that started by putting my mind at ease about some financial stuff.   hoping you found joy in your day today as well.....

it's that time...

first, it's that time when your thighs stick to the (wooden) chair, especially if they are a bit....let's say generous....like mine!   having some hot and humid weather for a few days. second, it's time to get some of the stars done as in playing catch up.  here you see the foulards, a printed plaid and an ombre.  others are in process on the sewing machine and will get finished soon.  once these are all done, will still be a scandalous 8 weeks behind on this sew along.  but does that stop me from joining in on another sew along?   but, nooooo!  over at temecula quilt company they are starting a summer sampler of little blocks and i am in!  thanks to my christmas box, will be able to do this one without difficulty, i hope.  i do so miss the rest of my stash and stuff a LOT, not to mention my summer clothing and swimsuit too.  and i certainly won't dwell on the fact that i was SUPPOSED to be in my apartment in maryland long before this. it's just too nice a day for any of that.  instead, will count my blessings, focus on gratitudes that include enough sleep for a change, a chance to sew, a place to hang out from the heat, a haircut, good health of course, and ever mindful of those without such blessings.  so many across every economic strata are much worse off than me today.  life is still good!

a civil war christmas

about a week ago mr. mailman brought this to me.  a nearby quilter that i've only met on the 'net asked me if i would like some civil war fabrics as she was downsizing.  she wanted to share with me and vic in NH, also a reproduction fabric devotee.  a box arrived with these....omigosh!  have no idea exactly how much is here but plenty to keep me in scraps for a while.  most pieces are 1 yard or less but there are a few of considerably more.  she wanted nothing in return but i have ways of reciprocating that will hardly be as generous, but hoping she will know how thankful i am for this stash of wonderful, quilt shop quality fabrics.  and yes, i intend to pay it forward in several ways.  vic posted photos of her share earlier this week.  i do hope this was prompted by a happy, not sad event, but feel blessed to be one of the lucky recipients.  *** it's a cool, sunny and wildly windy saturday here.  but just in time, summer starts tomorrow with hot weather.  am slowly working on some stars that i'll post in a day or two.   and in case you are in need of some eye candy, hop on over to cyndi's blog for a peek at some new fabrics she just got.  ooooh those 1892 prints.....love 'em!  *** and today's gratitudes are good health, catching up on sleep, summer arriving, family....and fabric of course!

sewin' on summer!

while my girls--old viking, phoebe and trudy--are temporarily on hiatus, been sewing on mom's vintage 1961 singer 328k whom i have named summer....it seemed like a 60s kind of name...remember those days?  hard to believe my sewing days started in the 1950s....it was just yesterday i do believe.  mom bought this as a repo portable; when taken back by singer, the original cabinet was badly damaged.  mom used it as a portable for many years and then got this cabinet.  got some stars from barbara brackman's sew along all cut and ready to put together.  i'm only 10 weeks behind (oh the horror!) and tomorrow is another chapter.  the limited stash i have on hand isn't enough for all those i need to make but will do what i can.  since the move can come any day, whatever i get done is a bonus.  and today's gratitudes?   nice early summer weather, a rhubarb pie in the works, a good night's sleep, lilacs filling the air and the promise of moving any day.....

bit of sunday sewing

mum has moved into senior housing and she needed a tiny window treatment.  got this nice little valance sewn up for her.  the fabric came from a rather large box of civil war fabric received this week from an internet quilter whom i've never met in person.  wanted to make the valance without spending any money.  found this lovely henry glass shirting and some red print for an accent stripe and managed to have just enough of the shirting for the job.  maintenance will come and move it up to the proper place but for now we get to make sure it fits, which it does.  i am not a drapery seamstress by any stretch but can manage the few straight seams this project required.  *** my situation has not improved; in fact, worsened a bit but will only focus on gratitudes today--pretty good health, a place to hang out during the day,  place to catch up on sleep and fix/eat meals and shower, extra time with family and sporadic moments of what seems as normalcy in an otherwise chaotic maelstrom of days.  not perfect or ideal, but life is still good........by the way, have just about weaned off facebook for various reasons; please do not take offense as i have "unfriended" everyone, no exceptions, for the foreseeable future.

on hiatus...

holding off blogging until life levels out a bit....

not just today.....

but every day is mother's day to me....so blessed my mom is hale and hearty; her four children, now nearly all senior citizens, still need her!  she grew up without her own mother, and it breaks my heart to know she didn't have the nurturing and love i have had all these years....can you imagine this adorable little girl without a mom to snuggle and kiss her?  me either.....

probably my mom's best mother's day gift was brother #1....yep, he was born on her special day...how cool is that?   and  this mom was hoping to spend the day with her daughter but alas, no housing yet.  soo very discouraging, surely it must come soon....it just HAS to.....say a prayer, won't you?

another header photo

a cute little spool wallhanging devoted to my love of sewing.  the spools were hand pieced and, of course, the machine and its details hand appliqued. still on sewing hiatus but not for long i hope....

tart wannabe?

my throwback thursday photo is a summer one....ideal for an early summer day like today....me in a sundress, off the shoulder no less, and posing for dad probably, age 4 or 5....except for my sister, we 3 started out with platinum blonde hair that has darkened through the years.  my youngest brother had nearly white hair and it is now brown.....course, mom's hair is still nearly gray/white less with her dirty blonde locks, unbelievable at age 88....but it's genetic.  we think it's from the blueberries down east as my grandfather had salt/pepper hair until he died, even after chemo treatment for severe psoriasis when it fell out, came back white fluff, then back to its natural color.  ***  trying to keep busy and my mind occupied while continue to wait for an apartment....vacillate between resignation and rage, neither of which are productive, and fortunately don't last long. so thankful for health, my family, mobility and an income....life is good!

RIP little herb....

some time between 8-11 am yesterday morning, little herb went to that big sheep pen in the sky...no visible trauma or injury, seemed fine at 8 am....state vet will inspect and see if can determine cause....he is missed....

say hello to.....

peaches and herb! these are my brother's brand new lambs, boy and a girl (left to right), and they are sooo darn cute!  they are now scampering around the pen and playing like little toddlers....leap frog too! course, they are never far from mom katie  (aka the feedbag) but they are just so fun to watch.  not nearly as much fun as sewing or quilting but a different kind of fun.  *** thankfully, it seems spring HAS arrived with flowers now blooming and temps far above freezing.  course i am still living the vagabond life but there are perks and have settled into a routine of sorts.  still very thankful for all the blessings in my life and praying for those who face trials and discouragements.....life is good!

throwback thursday

without any quilty photos of mine to show YET.....decided to post this photo of my paternal great-grandfather, joseph, with his wife, annette, and baby son charles f, my paternal grandfather.  joseph is the civil war vet on my father's side of the family, was at Appomattox when lee surrendered.  easy to see where the good looks come from...he was quite dashing for his day i would think.  so very proud of all those who served on both sides of my family.  ***  another nice early spring day, still on the cool side and occasional gray skies.  good day to do just about anything.   ***  lamenting being so far behind in my "stars in a time warp" sewalong but pretty sure can catch up quick once all accoutrements are at hand.  this week is paisley and i absolutely LOVE paisley fabrics, have a collection of them so no problem getting these done.  *** even tho currently without my own housing, acutely aware of how fortunate i am and how much worse things could be.  like snow, for instance, and a host of other complications.  so whatever your situation, try and stay positive.  yeah, i know, it's a job all by itself.....

diversion therapy

woefully behind on my stars sew-along, mostly due to fabric packed and in storage, but also as i had no ombres or printed plaids (? not sure) in a box someplace.  anyway, decided to make a quick and necessary (aren't they all?) visit to cyndi's shop chock full of all things reproduction.  she generously shared some printed plaid scraps with me and i picked up 2 ombre prints.  and delightfully found some jo mortons on sale that got added to my collection.  now to find space/place to sew after assembling the necessary notions etc.  did find that the rotary cutter and some rulers are with me and of course, phoebe is along too.  not sure if there is a mat in phoebe's case or not....will have to search.   apparently for some mysterious reason i am not allowed to move where i want when i want like so many others do (she says very sarcastically).  happily, tho, can sew anywhere if space and tools are at hand even without having reached contentment  (sorry st. paul...).   *** special prayer today for myra who so gallantly returned a lost wallet with all items intact.  i promised her i would say a prayer for her every day that she may find a blessing and feel the hand of God in her life somehow.  it's the very most i can do to repay her.....

a bonnie quilt

this is orca bay by bonnie hunter, our scrappy pattern guru....this top got donated as well...for purely selfish reasons....it was too big for my usual needs and with so many seams, tough to hand quilt.  i love the pattern and the colors i chose but somebody else is enjoying its warmth, which is fine by me.  *** brief pity party before cruising blogs and finding cancer, MS, a disabled husband and other situations much worse than mine.  snapped me back to reality and how fortunate i am even with current life glitches.  a quick "thank you" to God for a safe stop on my way even tho missing my sewing but hoping can remedy that soon.  ***  remnants of winter linger in nippy breezes and overcast skies.   can't last as summer must come eventually, which will be thoroughly enjoyed by all.  now where ARE those shorts and swimsuit????

new header photo

back in 2012 i was in a small quilt swap and the recipient requested "something geometric in black and white"....so this is what i made and sent along.  i never heard a word from the recipient whether she liked or disliked the piece, but i thought it fit her request.  one of the few times i've had a less than good result from a swap.  the other was when i never received any swap blocks back after sending mine along.  that's a pretty good track record i think....i don't do a lot of swaps now because of postage costs, but i think they are fun.  ***  brrr....temps stuck in the 50s with gray skies and intermittent sun/showers...not quite warm enough for my liking yet.  *** not yet back to sewing which is distressing but can't come soon enough...it's my respite and relaxing place and i do miss it every day.

and the winner is.....

dondi murdock!   please send me your snail addy and i'll get the scissors out to you right away (probably friday).....and thanks to all for your kind comments over the past 1000 or so posts....hopefully soon will have more quilty stuff for you to read.......

one of my faves....

if you have read my blog for awhile, you might remember this beauty....it's a pattern by marsha mccloskey from her book "quick and easy quilts"...called north wind and done very scrappily....controlled but still scrappy.   i love this top.  it got donated to a vermont group making quilts following a horrendous winter for those who were displaced.  was happy to send it along to make somebody warm but i just might make another when my machines are back in action.  ***  snow is finally gone and we've had a mini-monsoon the past 2 days.  temps are moderating and no doubt when mr sunshine comes back, will be definitely spring. 

blasts from the past....

if you check out mrs. goodneedle's post today, you can blame her for mine.  in addition to packing up all my stuff, i've collected photos from my mom to save.  lots of memories of days gone by of me and my siblings and relatives no longer with us are now in my collection.  check these out....

this is me posing in my hopalong cassidy cowboy pants....the shirt, by this time, had been passed on (very reluctantly) to my brother and the boots had been lost during playtime in a haymow, never to be seen again.  they must have turned up at some point. 

this is me and brother #1 helping my aunt plant her garden in early spring.  everyone had pitched in after supper to get those peas in the ground early.  we worked until dark, which explains the dark background, dreaming of sweet bowls to come. 

and the day that started our family.....handsome groom and beautiful bride in 1946....

the giveaway....

a bit late but it's a goodie i think.....a pair of karen kay buckley's scissors with the serrated blades...these are medium, i have the larger ones and LOVE them!  the drawing will be wednesday april 22nd by noon so be sure and include your email contact.  and by the way, get well wishes for karen kay buckley who recently underwent cardiac valve replacement surgery....

the scissors measure about 6" total length, have those flexible handles and will be perfect for any sewing task.  *** otherwise no news in this lake woebegone.  it's a very difficult situation too complicated to even think about, let alone relay to anyone else.  ***  sending get well kisses to my daughter down with strep throat...i know her hubby will give her the TLC she needs for a quick recovery....now to find some pleasant diversion from the current distress....

since you asked....

this is what i have been keeping occupied with (some of the time) while marooned here on homeless island.   this is my counted cross-stitch christmas stocking. had been wanting to do a sampler AND a christmas stocking, so combined the two with this project.  no deadline; it gets done when it gets done.  also have my little busy box of solid little bow ties.  thought i had packed these items in a box but actually tucked them away in my suitcase, so do have a couple of handwork options (found them, denise!) while the quilty stuff is in storage (AGAIN!!!!)....i do have the girls here with me but useless without the stash and notions.  while grateful to have a safe place to crash, it is way far from ideal or even where i should be right now....which is in my own apartment....but in between venting and being angry, am enjoying a few creature comforts.  *** and the giveaway IS coming....should be in a day or two so keep watch!   meanwhile, pray for me that my situation gets fixed immediately if not sooner...am way beyond weary of what many enjoy, a place of my own to live and to be safe and cozy.

watch this space!

1000 posts....giveaway coming!

more recent stash additions

about 2 months ago in the midst of my packing frenzy, realized that marden's might soon be unaccessible...so in a pre-emptive strike, gathered up these lovely spring-colored goodies for future sewing fun.  of course, this was way before the recent twisted events, but even so, think it was a wise move.  the machines are safely tucked away leaving me without quilty fun.  working diligently with housing, hoping to be moved and settled soon so i can get back to lots of fun with old and new projects.  sadly, the hawaiian is packed away as well so no finish on that is on the horizon.  without the quilty part of my life and a home base, simply adrift in the sea of a terrifying and isolated life experience making it difficult to even function day to day.  i seldom get depressed, but without my sewing and quilting to shore me up through this difficult passage, relying on faith-based inner strength to keep me going.  by that i do not mean the support of church family Christians, as in the past i have found they were nonexistent.  we are all recovering pharisees of course, but far too many claim God's agenda as their own, doing great harm in the process.......

aaarrrrrrrgh!

as snoopy often says, or another way to say it is SH** happens!  should be in my cozy new apartment by now but alas and alack, dark forces have derailed well laid plans once again.  have mostly gotten over the screaming and crying....well the screaming anyway....and formulating plan B, then C and D to cover all bases.  to say i am disappointed and angry is a gross understatement....as some of you know, for the past 20 years, life has been an uphill challenge with setbacks too numerous to mention.  have not been able to figure out the problem, apparently way too dense and brain-addled for that.  the whole mess has made me physically ill and hugely upset.  with all my sewing goodies packed away, unable to treat with daily sewing fixes.  instead have had to wash dishes as a salve to the wounded spirit and soul, so you know the situation is pretty bad.  *** as somebody once told me about my disastrous marriage, it was like my 40 years in the desert....who knew the desert experience would continue my whole life (sniff, sniff)....it isn't that i don't have gratitudes just that was hoping life would be more enjoyable at some point.    i know there are those in worse situations and am grateful mine is fairly benign; it's just the longevity is wearing me down.  this short post is an update for those who care and maybe even some of those dark forces who snoop.....

last marden's haul

taking a breather before the great unpacking begins....caved and slipped into marden's just once more and picked up these.  marden's simply cannot be beat...here is 4.75 yards total for a mere $19...how good is that?  i loved the pastel plaids and stripes and found a yellow for the stash, plus a couple of solids for my ocean waves top.  bottom shows a couple of jo mortons (shirting and stripe) and a purple remnant and a prussian blue.  and the orange mod print?  i have that same in lime green....luscious!  i am so itching to get my girls set up and whirring.  they are faring well with the trip albeit crowded...LOL!  *** and i never had a professional mover before but it is simply the way to go...pricey on my fixed income but slick and quick!  i've just about caught up on rest from the getting ready part and will certainly need my wheaties for the other part.  i know my mum is in good hands with my bro and sis, tho i miss her already.  now think i'll have another quick snooze just because....have a good day!

spring break!

no, not lounging on some white sand beach this week--far from it!  instead, packing up and moving south.  it's a move that's been in the works for some time now, delayed only by bureaucratic reasons.  eager to get it done and get back to sewing, which has been on the back burner, except for the hawaiian.  it's a daunting task, even with my small (by comparison) amount of belongings.  easily half or more of my boxes are sewing related.  excited about the future and new experiences....until then....oh and one last thing, 3 more posts and i'll be at the 1000 mark, so once the dust settles, a giveaway will be on tap....watch this space!

nick of time

our favorite seafood place opened up for the season today....nick of time too as soon it'll be too far for me to indulge.  not today, though....fried clams done to perfection, fried in batter which isn't done by everyone, and a few onion rings as a "veggie"....LOL!   just a few remaining days here, so racking up as much quality mom time as possible.  packing just about done.  tomorrow the old viking will be packed up as there won't be time to give her a workout before the move.  so excited and sad at the same time.  spring DOES arrive later today, although the real spring temps will greet me on my arrival south, but the real draw is family of course.....

week 2 no stars

this is the 2nd week i haven't--or can't--make any stars for the sew along.  the designated fabrics--chrome yellow and green calico--are packed up.  the old viking is sitting here waiting for some action but nothing so far.  will wait one more wednesday and then pack it up for the trip south.  there has been plenty of sewing action on the hawaiian, however.  now starting my 3rd round of echo quilting on the white background and looking real good.  all those facebook photos are making my fingers twitch big time.  so very anxious to have fabric to fondle and books to peruse.  for someone who normally sews every single day on something, this is a too-long hiatus.  ***  march marches on with extreme wind and blinding sunshine.  we are now 3 hours added to daylight and it is delicious; we know warmer temps will come.  thought i might wake up in oz due to the gale-like winds but no munchkins were spied so we are still in kansas i guess!  now back to the hawaiian!

erin go bragh!

photo of an old wallhanging now buried in a box someplace, but it's festive and green so.....work on the hawaiian continues as does the packing, tho remaining unpacked items are few at this point.  yesterday was a bit of a down day due to ongoing issues from surgery in 2010.  at some point will need a redo but this time will be looking for a legally blind, one-armed surgeon as would get a better result than from the previous supposedly unimpaired surgeon....who knew?  though i have ceased sending complaint letters to both the doctor and hospital out of religious conviction reasons, the reality hasn't changed.  i don't believe in litigation and, unfortunately, too many doctors take no responsibility for their mistakes without legal action, so it's like rearranging deck chairs on the titanic--pointless.  just that some days are better than others, like everyone else...moving on....

the home stretch

after quilting on nothing else for nearly 3 solid months, have finally reached the easiest part of this project--the simple echo quilting.  took me nearly 2 weeks to quilt the first row as had to navigate all the curves and fill in little spaces that got closed in with the first row.  now it's simply mark the distance as i go and continue until the edge is reached.  the binding is all ready once the quilting is done....another month maybe?  it is really in need of a wash once the binding is on.  this has been a HUGE project but certainly well worth the time and perpetually sore fingers.  the liquid bandage helps a lot.   is it perfect?  not by a long shot   do i care?  not a whit!  do i love it?  absolutely!   ***  march weather is anything goes and we've had a bit of snow but no real inches.  mom and i are busily boxing and donating.  i think i have one more box for pans and dishes and small odds/ends and then done.  still waiting on apartment confirmation, which should come this week.  moving van is booked and only have to pick up map at AAA.  the "girls" aka trudy, old viking and phoebe are ready to roll and though i can't speak for them, i am excited to be closer to my daughter and son-in-law.  having been a new england yankee all my life, this move takes me into the south and away from horrific winters permanently!

great bargain!

if you live locally, this item is up for sale. it is an LL Bean quilt rack, never used, had it about 10 years, hardware still in package.  style is similar to that pictured....i'll try and get an exact photo today if anyone is interested.  must sacrifice at $10 but must be picked up, cannot mail.   mine is about 4-5' long....have always lived in smallish spaces and so was never put up....feel free to email me for directions; i'm near maine mall. *** and a word to the wise...if you are thinking about adding to your stash, try packing what you already have in boxes....just saying....

springtime in naples

naples, maine, that is...due to a severe case of cabin fever and temps finally cracking 50 degrees, we took a leisurely drive to north conway, nh, and back thru little towns.  this is naples, maine, a bustling and crowded summer tourist destination partly due to now-disguised long lake.  in other seasons, it is a busy, beautiful, large lake.  as a pre-teen attended summer camp on the shores of long lake where i once again flunked swimming lessons and fine-tuned popsicle stick crafting and lanyard weaving.  if you find yourself in the area, worth a trip to see its unfrozen state.  ***  not much sewing going on in my neck of the woods.  aside from the hawaiian that seemingly has no end in sight and a few star blocks, the old viking is resting.  nearly all the stash is in boxes, and each day more things get unearthed that need to be packed.  would like to pack up the car but it's a bit early for that with just over 2 weeks to go before departure date.  in the meantime, basking in emerging spring and delicious sunshiny days....

spring tease

revisiting a springy wallhanging made a couple of years ago....so apropos for a day like today with temps in the mid-40s and tomorrow up to 50 even...how good is that?  busy here in lobsterville packing for the move in about 3 weeks.  today pulled trudy out of her cabinet and she will ride shotgun with me for the trip.  she is tucked away in my LL Bean canvas bag and should arrive no worse for wear.  most everything is packed now except the old viking and the barest of necessities--dishes and the like.  made one last marden's run for some stash that i'll show another day.  making plans for one more fried clam dinner and some lobster too before arriving in crab country.  so delighted this has finally come about and looking forward to some southern friends and fun. 

stars update....

thanks for your patience during my brief hiatus.  most of what i needed to do is done, so have some breathing room AND blogging time.  did manage to keep up with my stars sew-along....bottom row madders and top row indigos.  see the top left blue star?  the background fabric with the yellow roses is one of my very faves.  i bought 3 yards, unheard of for me, back before 2000 or so at the old fabric place in woburn, massachusetts.  they were a lovely fabric store meaning FABRIC....no crafty crap like you-know-who.  one could buy very nice garment fabrics of all types, drapery and slipcover fabrics and plenty of cottons.  they had delish remnant bins that were often large pieces, hence the 3 yards of this lovely print.  this was eons before the repro bug bit me, but i just loved the fabric and have used it in several things....so happy to have some left for this project.  *** while i was gone coping with various things, not the least of which was a horrific february, winter finally gave up the ghost.  the feeling and smell of spring is everywhere and though it'll be a while before the snow all melts, it is inevitable.  we know it's spring when dairy queen opens for the season....lol!

new header photo and taking a break

new header photo is a collection of swap siggie squares from online group called "real women quilt" from a few years ago.  my block is not included but i did make the letters in the lower right corner to identify the wallhanging.  aside from working on the hawaiian, busy packing.  it is now necessary for me to take a bit of a blogging break until things are less chaotic.  i'll continue to take photos of my work (fun?) and post at a later date and will, of course, try and keep up with my little stars sew-along.  aside from the repros, most all other fabric is packed up....i won't tell you how many boxes are fabric, will just say it's more than some and less than others...LOL!    see you in the spring!

double pinks done

first thing this morning after the usual stuff, sat down at the old viking  and got my double pink stars done to add to the growing pile.  this time tried to be less matchy matchy and think they turned our ok....loving this sew along, so do-able and lets me play in my gorgeous stash of civil war fabrics....and if you see this pinup gal, be sure and wish her happy birthday....my dear mom...can easily see why my dad was attracted to her...and she has grown in beauty that radiates even to this day....happy birthday mom!

home stretch....sort of

thanks to our winter, the quilting on the hawaiian is over half done.  the orange part is all quilted and now starting on the white background.  thinking this will definitely be finished by end of march or maybe sooner (snow again this weekend....LOL).   unashamedly bragging about how gorgeous this is...not worth 10k maybe like one in a hawaiian shop, but priceless to me.  as for machine work, still working on scrappy solid project but this weekend must make my double pink stars for the brackman sew along....otherwise we are enjoying hint of coming spring with longer days of more sunshine and a definite change in the air.  i even changed the desktop photo on my computer to lovely narcissus! 

more snowy day sewing....

remember this?  it's a block made some time ago from an issue of quiltmaker's 100 favorite blocks...thought it would be a fun project to use up some small solid pieces...worked on it some at retreat last year and decided to try and get this flimsy done.  have no illusions about using all my scraps....that would be pure folly....but hoping to at least make a dent.  purposely didn't pack the solids hoping there would be less to pack after it's done.  it's a good way to celebrate being over the february hump, cruising toward march and spring.  st. patty's day is just around the corner!  and look what arrived on valentine's day....a surprise kaffe charm pack!

now that is what i call spring!

a snowy sewing sunday

these are my lady of the lake swap blocks all sewn into a flimsy.  yes, a few of them were sewn a bit different but they will be left as is....when i was figuring size on this allowed for 12" blocks, but in fact these are 8" finished so it's a bit smaller than anticipated but no biggie, will add a border and call it done.  will make a very nice throw size.  aren't these batiks gorgeous?  *** and after going back and looking at my red/cheddar, decided i did not like the light strips so as much as i hate to, will cut more dark strips and replace them.  i think the very light ones detract from the overall effect of the quilt.  it's a later some time project.  and next?  have a scrappy solid project in the works so think that'll be next in hopes of busting more solids.  that should keep me busy until winter's almost over....that and the hawaiian of course.  ***  it's a bright and sunny albeit bitter cold day here.  the lengthening days are a sure sign spring is coming, only about a month away.  ahhhh it'll be wonderful!

two for one....

my red/cheddar antique reproduction flimsy is now done....i love it and you should imagine it brighter than this photo depicts....it really wows the room.  the photo from which i took this pattern was in black and white so i have no idea what colors were used originally.....since it came from the 1840s midwest, i doubt they were as bright but you know that i go for colors, even in muted/grayed reproduction and solid fabrics.  it is the cheddar, of course, that kicks this up several notches.   and as a bonus, the leftover strippy squares yielded this....

a mini repro quilt...and my version of math didn't fail me as there was plenty of red fabric to make the top and plenty of cheddar left to use as binding.  this will go in the flimsy pile for now while my quilting concentrates on the hawaiian....and my next flimsy?  the lady of the lake swap blocks.  *** yes, it's snowing and blowing and freezing cold here in lobsterville but no matter....the old viking is smokin'....now off to change the thread color and sew on!
 

more stars

first thing this morning with no other demands got these little blocks all done.  start to finish they take about 1.5 hours so work up quickly.  had a darker poison green in my stash but not enough to make all 3 so went with this one instead.  so nice to have gorgeous fabrics to work with, most of which so far have been from my jo morton tote.  no longer just fondling and refolding, have pulled out several to use.  they are all very nice and soon will have a few more.  squirreled a bit of cash from my tax refund to get some from her new "hollyhocks" line.  otherwise, i am on a strict no-buy fabric diet....not a big hardship as plenty on hand for loads of quilty and sewing fun.  *** enjoying the sun on an otherwise frigid day.  the piles of white snow reflect the sun making it very bright and cheerful....stay warm and sew on!

today's blocks....

brought to you from the whiteout metropolis in southern maine, first igloo on the left.  while sitting around waiting for mother earth to tilt just a bit, sewed up these chrome and cheddar blocks for the sew along.  they are stacking up quickly and so quick to make as well.  while cutting out pieces for these blocks, have also been cutting tumblers for another UFO in progress.  as for the red/cheddar hourglass repro, i'm over the midpoint hump now, with only 8 rows left to do to get this to the flimsy stage.  as for the hawaiian, just about to start the last quarter of the orange applique and once that is done, can start quilting the background.  my estimate is there is less white area than orange design, so an early spring finish is probable.  ***  and spring?  only about  6 weeks away, so the end of snowmageddon is a reality.  but this being another stormy and cold day, it's clam chowder for lunch again....delish!