national sewing machine day!

thanks to those inventive minds who put ideas to paper to manufacturing and perfected the sewing machine! in honor of this momentous day, i've collected the girls so they can strut their stuff!

trudy treadle is the dowager countess of the group, claiming 1926 as her year....followed by phoebe featherweight, 1954, and our "cora"..petite and practical.  next comes the old viking from 1978...the stoic edith of the group and my personal favorite....last is betty bernina from 1992, the mary, meaning somewhat rigid and very particular!  i love and use them all.....and yesterday was no exception!  no quilting or actual piecing was done but first thing early morning finally got this chair seat covered....on my to-do list since late winter, so glad to see it finished....someone donated this lovely waverly scrap to the senior center...

then, since summer is here and vacation is coming, another pair of shorts got sewn up quickly....again, fabric a donation from the senior center....there's more if you want to make a pair! 

and lastly, a little project that has been languishing on the sewing table....from a recent magazine....someone gave me a zipper so it begged for a pouch...and some of those bright batik scraps got used!

this was easy peasy and very likely will make a few more.....so join in the celebration and fire up the machine and sew something!

just in time

with flag day arriving later this week, finished this little flag wall quilt designed by deb gehringer and appearing in the latest issue of  'quiltmaker' that arrived just last week! another totally scrap project from the stash.....this week hoping to get more sewing done with less items on the to-do list....the weather is supposed to cooperate with temps in the high 70s, which is a bit cool for us mid-june....and the vacation countdown is on!  can't believe it's been a whole year since i spent time with my family....

two down....

and 16 more to make....

this will be another charity donation for the guild...and per size specs, only 18 of these 12" blocks need to be made.   hoping it will reduce the overflow of the 1.5" strip tote but we all know how THAT goes, right?  this was a freebie pattern on the 'net...*** not as much sewing this week as hoped due to busy-ness, some travel and summer weather  (aka hot/humid!); also exploring ways to extricate myself from this unpleasant housing situation and an environment that is sidetracking my recovery efforts. just this week had another prescription added to my repertoire due to the air quality in the building...trying to eliminate some of them, not add more....grrrr!   with a busy weekend, looks like only snippets of time to sew until monday....and this is retirement????  

am i blue?

faster than Grant took Richmond--and can I even SAY that here in the not-so-deep south--this month's rainbow scrap challenge blocks were DONE!.....and challenge you say?

with a small mountain of  blue fabrics and even more already cut up scraps, it was no challenge at all....easy peasy!  along with sewing up these, worked on the cabana daydreams and got the patriotic wall quilt basted and ready to quilt....aside from a quickie, unplanned cardio visit, it's been a great week thus far with more to come....and the cardio blip?   let's just say even at senior age level, some people STILL cannot respect rules or their neighbors.....3+ years here and it's been a constant harangue and conflict....so much for the golden years, eh?  thankful i'm still alive and doing as well as i am in spite of my rotten neighbors.....

a smattering of sewing

just because i haven't posted recently doesn't mean i've been idle...on the contrary!  remember these?

this week have cut up nearly all the rest needed for this project....it'll be 54" square when done, large enough for a shortie like me....anticipate if the weekend stays calm, should be a flimsy by monday....

and cleared out a UFO drawer by getting this to a flimsy that'll be tied and donated to the guild's second community service project this year...and another will get crossed off!

with that one ready to finish, started on a second....pulled out the 1.5" strip tote--jam packed of course--to get the first block done...there will be 18 blocks in all, 6x3, per specifications of the charity....

and then the new 'quiltmaker' magazine arrived the other day and this little wall quilt caught my eye...with patriotic holidays ahead wanted to get it done by flag day, which would have been my dad's 96th birthday....oh, we still miss him and think of all the family changes since he moved on....

and finally, quilting continues on 'cabana daydreams' that is now about 3/4ths finished....thinking about binding color, but it'll have to be something in the stash....

wasn't certain about using the variegated thread but find that it is just perfect for this....so much so that my orange mod scrappy will be quilted using only the variegated (not green obviously)!  the box of aurifil variegated 12wt was a lucky door prize at one of their presentations at a local quilt shop....the 365 is now basted and ready for quilting once 'cabana' is done.....really delighted that i've made up for the detour of 2018.  the stash is reorganized and healthy, the UFOs are getting done, doing some new things and just plain old having quilty fun to the max!  feel so very blessed....life is VERY good indeed....

celebrate freedom!

regardless of who temporarily lives in the White House, our freedoms can never be taken away without ourselves allowing it to be done....presidents come and go and yet America lives on and, with our determination, will continue to do so.....and on this solemn day, thoughts are filled with names of many and thousands more whose names i'll never know for courageously stepping up and defending OUR America that cannot be erased by one man or one ideology.....

update....

a roving detective has provided the name AND correct location of the pattern....it's "chop suey" by scott flanagan in the 2015 may/june issue of 'quiltmaker'.....thanks! 

thursday's flimsy

recently a friend gifted me some batik scraps....such rich and vibrant colors!  i washed them and put them away....sorta....but kept thinking about them....and then came across this pattern...eureka!

this came from the may/june 2014 issue of Quiltmaker....if you can tell me the designer's name, i'd be grateful....i gave away the pattern without taking note!   the colors are much brighter and sharper in person....a great little project that shouldn't take long to finish.....

outta here!

today was the last DAR meeting until september and our annual picnic luncheon.  dora's quilt was raffled off and garnered a healthy sum for our historic preservation fund....here is the lucky winner with me....

happy to know it will be loved and well cared for and enjoyed....and for the opportunity to pay it forward for those who have been generous to me with fabric and quilty stuff.....thank you!   ***  summer is here it seems with temps hovering around the 90 degree mark....so have exchanged snow days for sweltering, equally suitable for sewing!

friday update

it was a day chock full of quilty and sewing fun....the plan was to get two things basted, which got done...first was the antebellum album sew along top.....

next unearthed this flimsy and got it basted as well...the blue and white.....

but before these, was up early and cutting up more solids for the mod black stripe project....a throw size is 81 blocks and when these are sewn up, will be just over halfway there...

and what's this?  more black and some batik strips...hmmm....another new project?  yes indeed...but a small one and should be able to show the flimsy in a day or two...

well the black fabric was already out and found a pattern while searching for something else....alas, the civil war diary blocks are delayed yet again but not by much....and at monthly bee yesterday got another stack of bow ties sewn up....May might just be a super month for busting stash!

same old story

was clearing the decks...the sewing table...to tackle more civil war blocks and came across some black strips cut for project in progress....got tired of moving them around soooo, sat down and made more blocks...sidetracked bigtime!

i'll need a total of 81 so just over half to make, but they work up quick....and with May nearly half over, sewed up my rainbow scrap challenge blocks today also....

pretty good progress considering in slow mo after a day of celebrating with my daughter and son-in-law....so nice just being with them but a beautiful gift and yummy dinner made it extra special! 

bit o' basting...

on the weekend to-do list was getting some things basted and ready for hand quilting.....these 2 wall pieces are now ready plus prepped backing for the "antebellum album" top...this is the newest sew along from barbara brackman, "stars in her crown"....will look great on my beige walls...

and this one from just leftover scraps....might be put in the "to sell" pile, not sure....also cut a new small stencil for the solid squares to use....solid turquoise binding is ready and waiting!

the "antebellum album" is bigger than these 2 so will hold on basting until the senior center is open next week...our work room there has about 7 large banquet-size tables with plenty of room to lay out quilts....once the "cabana daydreams" is done, then will baste the 365 quilt for a 2019 finish and gift to my daughter and SIL....tons of quilty fun ahead!

a friday finish

last year one of the guild's projects was a round robin....happy to say mine is finished and ready to hang on the wall...

the colors are brighter and more intense than you see.  the feathered star is paper pieced.  used some of that fabric i was "saving" ...i keep referring to it as "red robin"....juicy, mile-high hamburgers on the brain no doubt...LOL!  ****  and if you see this little guy today, wish him a happy 66th!   it's brother #1 and he is no doubt the brainiest person in our family.  a tough but tender yankee, sometime foil, sometime comedy routine partner, sometime adversary but always resilient and much loved.   he missed the whitney hair genes and he has ignored common sense sometimes (i.e. choice of females) but we adore him anyway! 

well it's friday and since i only sew on days that end with Y, the studio is calling!

mayday! mayday!

after finally cleaning my stove this morning, sat down at the machine to tackle my may list....all was going well until went looking for a particular scrap.....

bad idea....realized the scrap basket was once again overflowing--toweringly so--and cannot be ignored much longer.  ok, will start by pulling the solids....which still leaves a monumental (think WASHINGTON MONUMENT) pile of scraps.  the May list will get adjusted to now include cutting up at least half of these to prevent collapse....and is it really the 7th already?  so 3+ weeks to june....it goes faster and faster! 

you asked....

about my "cabana daydreams" quilt.....well, after some net surfing, found the pattern (may/june 2014 Quiltmaker) AND the designer....

this is called hex-a-doodle designed by shayla wolf, sassafras lane designs....this particular pattern name is NOT on her website but she has "wynkoop court" which looks the same and is for sale....and this is my version....

called "cabana daydreams"....mystery solved!  this was a breeze to sew up and the hand quilting is going pretty fast too....big pieces you know!

more blocks

as mentioned, more civil war diary blocks got sewn this week....the finish on this project is nowhere in sight but nevertheless will continue....the paper piecing is giving my vacuum a serious workout. no sooner than one session is tidy, a few more blocks and the floor is covered again with bits of paper and snippets of fabric....i do suffer for my art!  i haven't vacuumed this much in....well, never!

even though april is gone, figured might as well continue on making these blocks, fitting in other tasks plus quilting a couple of things.  a wall quilt is nearly finished quilting and the bed size is about half done.  with hot weather already starting to arrive, there'll be more days to sew with a/c cranked up.  ***  it's been a week of challenges and some minor stresses but those got offset with a nice concert at the local college and some sewing time with peeps.  my next goal is to make pals with that jeopardy champion....my car needs more work....LOL!

a merry month!

blogging has taken a back seat to sewing this past week with the construction of several more civil war diary blocks, lots of hand quilting.....plenty of pix to follow on another day.  but yesterday in the mail came an adorable little doll quilt from susan in TN....

simple but very nicely done and pretty fabrics.....this will hang on my antique sled along with a couple of others that get changed around periodically....summer is arriving this week with temps in the 80s for a couple of days...soon it'll be that warm and more every day...meaning my vacation is getting closer....lobster rolls on the horizon!

reluctant windfall

package received yesterday contained these oh-so beautiful kaffe fassett light fabrics....wasn't exactly thrilled altho they are gorgeous and experienced serious drool....

they were bought by someone specifically for a class that could not be attended so they came to me...a thoughtful but bittersweet gift.....and in the hit and miss department, 2 more blocks done but whoa....one is not like the photo as i neglected to piece right side up...huh?  gotta keep that in mind as i move along in this project....can see now why the war was so long...LOL!

and while visiting a neighboring guild today, found yet another super book on the free table....after depositing all the ugly fabrics had pulled from my own stash last week....it's a beauty too....lots of hand quilting, beautiful medallions with scads of border ideas and a pretty solids quilt too!

and the ugly fabrics?  most got taken to be loved by someone else....so there's room on my shelves for the new kaffes.....a win/win day all around!  *** even after quilting 40 years, find that my style preferences are in constant change, attracted by new and old patterns.  life is so brief and each day is precious....but excited about where my muse will take me in the next 40!

monday design wall

spent Easter sunday afternoon playing with betty and making headway on the civil war blocks....got these 4 done plus another is almost....

and let me tell you, "death penalty" is aptly named!  happy with the result tho.... also on sunday went thru the remainder of the shelf stash and also the reds/greens/tans that were in shoeboxes and culled a few more weird 'will never use' prints....am quite happy with the result now that it is better suited for my likes.  once the stove is cleaned will be ready for long summer days of sewing.  again this year will be taking a maine vacation to fill my mom hugs tank, visit with my siblings and scarf down as much seafood as possible.  we are both counting the days already and with may almost here, vacation isn't far beyond.  now off to spend this day!

a blessed Easter!

once again, the Easter bunny has bypassed my new location...faulty GPS maybe?  made a pre-emptive choice and procured my own jelly beans....after all, it isn't Easter without them, right?  hmmmm not many left, either...and dug up this photo of an Easter gone by....me and brother #1 circa 1956-57...taken on the church lawn.  i know it was Easter because of the dress and the brown maine lawn...had to be shortly before we moved to Massachusetts...

and with all my household chores done (except the stove) it'll be a laid-back sewing day for me and a delicious dinner of the un-ham....chicken of course!  **** my swappee received her doll quilt yesterday...another UFO done and gone!

this is sajou, a sew along thru lori's blog that got finished and gifted....it was difficult to let go but i am sure it'll be enjoyed as much by someone else....and since betty bernina is patiently waiting, must go and play!

coincidence?

last week visited a nearby guild and on the free table was this little book of geometric quilts in lovely solids.....

back in my formative quilting days, was never a devotee of gwen marston's simply because i was too rigid and cautious, aka no confidence at all in being "liberated"....and now this week she has passed on...joining so many others who inspired novice quilters like me in the 1970s and 1980s, people like mary ellen hopkins, virginia avery, jeff gutcheon, yvonne porcella, jean ray laury, monica calvert, sally palmer field....thus this little but powerful book is now more important as a testament to gwen's liberating style.  flip thru old quilt mags and you'll find gwen giving advice and encouragement to many who yearned to earn the title of quilter....another empty seat at the frame.....