acityquilter

for some unexplained reason, wordpress is not permitting me to post photos, so i am heading back over to the previous blog site…..www.citymousequilter.blogspot.com.   come on over and meet me there….for who knows how long.  i just hate it when technology kicks you in the teeth.   at some point i will fine tune it with all my lists etc.  but today is for sewing!

christmas?  instead of the year being half over, it’s only half started and end of the year means christmas.  this past spring i picked up these 2 pretty christmasy half yards.  red/white combos are always soo pretty.  still working on the JTT binding, which might be done by the end of the week, especially if hurricane arthur heads our way.  and if you notice, i added a new button to my blog, lower right side….so that means i’ll be putting together a nice swap package for some lucky gal with (perhaps) some maine goodies included?  could be.  *** our summery weather is here in full force and today is my friday before a holiday, so planning on some sewing, relaxing and celebrating.  soapbox moment here:  give honor to our brave revolutionary patriots, male/female, young/old, by avoiding retail venues and make this a real remembrance holiday, setting aside time to recall their sacrifices and pray our country would find new patriots to restore America and uphold our Constitution–your grandchildren will thank you.

so here is half of cabana daydreams…i love it…the colors are soooo bright and cheery!  despite spending most of my sewing time on quilting, have managed to get this far on this flimsy.  and the just takes 2?  well a few more hours should get me to binding, which is good news indeed.  i am so anxious to have this project off my quilty plate and just in time too as real summer weather approaches.  **** got some beach time in yesterday; it was so beautiful there with warm sun and a gentle onshore breeze…..hoping you are finding some play time today!

june is whizzing by and trying valiantly to get this project finished, so up early this morning and sat right down at the hoop to see how much could be done.  with 6 days to go, don’t think it’ll be a finish–just my normal schedule will interfere–but whatever gets done gets me closer to finishing.  so far we haven’t had any HHH weather (hazy/hot/humid), but it is on the horizon.  the binding is at the ready and itching to start sewing it on.  getting it done will knock off some stash which, as of right now, has me in the negative to a whopping 60 yards, meaning i have used up 28.5 and added 98.5.  if you say it fast, doesn’t sound so bad.  LOL!  *** another sunny, summery day albeit still a tad on the coolish side, meaning mid 70s….a beach day?  perhaps…..

living near the coast as we do, there are signs everywhere for bait, boat and beach stuff.  but when i saw the sign “stripers are in” i wasn’t thinking of striped bass but rather my new stash of kaffe fassett striped fabrics.  i worked some extra hours this month and right away the funds went to these, which have been on my list for quite a while.  the colors are much brighter and intense in person, but you have probably seen them yourself.  my kaffe books are packed away right now, but they are chock full of ideas, not to mention a few of my own, that will be ideal for these.  it’s true, it was a purchase without a definite project, but not a speck of guilt at all.  **** enjoying some wonderful early summer weather here, albeit on the cool side due to breezes that  have not modulated much at all.  it’s mid 70s and sunny which is darn near perfect!  ****  quilting continues furiously on the JTT project (that’s just takes 2); nearly every spare quarter hour is utilized to get this done but there is still a lot to go–it’s a big quilt–and may only be ready to bind by the end of june.  afraid the UFO list will not show much progress at the end of the year at all (sigh), a real downer since there are so many more i want to make.  next year thinking of focusing on using up stash and making mostly tops–it’s an idea anyway.  today, tho, off to play!

monday was a beach day–grabbed some rays for a couple of hours before work–and what quilty project to take?  the cabana daydreams triangles of course, plus the scissors, to finishing cutting out so they can be sewn back together…that’s quilting, right?  i do have a couple other projects in reserve for days when there isn’t a breeze like yesterday.  while good weather brings so many outdoor pursuits, it’s important–no, vital–to be able to continue the fabric frolic in between fun in the sun.  and now that the layer cakes are all cut up (busted 6 yards here), can go back to assembling the flimsy.  i so love these colors….so cheery don’t you think?  **** not much else new here in coastal maine, summer progresses and gearing up for july 4th.  the days just fly by and trying to squeeze some enjoyment out of every minute.  still hoping to move and have more space for quilting, sewing and playing!

it isn’t just flag day today, it would have been my dad’s 91st birthday.  while the 12 years since his death have flown by, there have been many changes in our family i’d like to tell him about.  people who have come–a daughter-in-law, twin grandsons, a great-grandson, a grandson-in-law–and too many who have left–sisters, a brother-in-law, a cousin, nieces and a nephew.  there’s another child–the last–in college, 2 sons who have become professional musicians, and all four children now of AARP age, a daughter just about on Medicare, a son who raises sheep, a son with his own business, a red sox championship.  not to mention the changes to the little town where he lived; he would hardly recognize it now.  i’d tell him that mom is well and cared for, that strawberries are late this year, so no shortcake today, that wars continue and young men and now women continue to die on the battlefield.  i’d tell him of the hardy few who returned to normandy this year, to omaha and utah beach, where he himself landed in july of ’44.  i’d take him for fried clams and a piece of pie, but he’d have to choose between one of his two favorites–hot or cold.  i’d tell him there is still the empty chair at family celebrations, that our family isn’t the same, that we are steeling ourselves for who might be next.  but most of all, i’d tell him i love him, i miss him, i still dream of him now and then, that we aren’t “grave groupies” but rather visit occasionally to remember and to make sure others know we remember, and that the landscape of his resting place that was bare is now nothing but monuments as far as the eye can see, comrades who have fallen by one means or another for the flag we show so proudly today.  god bless america!

this is the 2nd day of gloomy skies, so to cheer myself up, pulled some wild kaffe prints and made this summer bag.  i tweaked the pattern a bit by making it one square’s width longer and also increasing the strap length….i love it!  just sew on the button and a few snaps and it’ll be ready to tote around.  next project?  that would be summer shortie pjs.  after i finish those, it’ll be back to JTT and cabana daydream projects i guess.   ***  in addition to gray skies, the temps are on the cool side so there’s yummy chowder simmering on the stove for lunch.  making the most of my time off playing with fabric and relaxing….

spent some quality time with trudy today….and over the past few days….treadlin’ more units for “cabana daydreams”…coming along…got my little IKEA light set up which works perfectly for these aging eyes…isn’t she just adorable?  also ventured to joann’s for a couple of things and found a red tag flannel that will make some warm but strange winter lounge pants…what do you think about peace signs and skulls…in purple no less?  it was the price that made the decision….i could have gotten something a little more apropos but at 50 cents more a yard i just wasn’t going to spring.  only me and the laundress will see them and they will be cozy.  ****  a cool east wind today, right after the a/c is put in the window for the summer.  who knew?   **** working on a summer bag…got the pattern last friday.   the one i am using is too big and too christmas-y, needed something smaller and brighter.  hoping to get it done this week some time.  **** and june plods along with more quilting on JTT, meaning just takes 2 years!  except now it’s up to 2.5 years….gotta absolutely get ‘er done this month! 

before work saturday had a few moments to sit down at phoebe and put these 3 blocks together.  still a long way to go on this project but it is a fun process.  all my keepsake scraps are washed and ironed and put away, even got some strips cut for an antique repro quilt in progress.  also this morning pulled out the new england sampler project and did some glue basting of little flower blocks.  i hate to use fusibles or glue but these pieces are so very small even the applique pins are too big to hold all the pieces. i just love having a few things in process as i love to swap off and usually they all get done around the same time. *** it’s been a lazy morning here but it is definitely a beach day.  yesterday i prepped more basket blocks to take along to applique.  there is a bit of laundry but it’ll keep.  hope the sun is shining where you are and some relaxing is on your to-do list.   *** and last but definitely not the least, on this day my life changed for the better in a gazillion ways when a little miss came to me on loan. it’s been an awesome ride so far with so many more good times ahead for both of us.  she has had not a few struggles, but has come shining through with her fortitude, joy of life, strong faith and yankee perseverance.  we were a solid team for so many years and now she has a new partner—just as it should be.  i hope all her dreams come true and God continues to bless her as He always has, though like most, she isn’t always aware.   she knows i am always here for her and that suits me just fine……