Saturday, November 26, 2011

Works in progress...

Do you remember these blocks I started over the summer? I made 100 of them, total, and have finally started to sew them together.



This is 1/4 of the finished quilt. I'm crazy--the finished quilt will be something like 100" square. See? Crazy. (Speaking of crazy, let's not point out the heaps of blocks and unfinished tops littering the top of the bookcase on the right side of the photo, shall we? Thanks.)

Of course, I got this far and then put it aside so I could work on Xmas gifts! That said, I work much better with a deadline.

Other blocks (partly pictured above) that I also started over the summer using some charm packs of Wiscasset and Clermont Farms along with Bella Cream Solid, finally made it back to the design wall.


And even got borders...


It's now basted and set aside with a couple of other tops for this weekend--Thanksgiving is over and I'm giving thanks to have my dining room table back! It's my favorite place to quilt and sew on bindings!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Angel blocks...

As you know, I'm kind of a sucker for sewing bees over on flickr. At one point, I was part of 5, though I'm down to 3 at the moment. I was a caretaker over at the 3x6 bee last quarter, and one of my bees unfortunately had to withdraw at the last minute due to health issues. (Hope you're feeling much better, Cleo!!) So I decided that, once I got my power back, I'd make the group a round of angel blocks. They were quick, but fun, and I'm thinking maybe someday I'll get around to making a churn dash quilt of my own... >.>

In any case, here are the finished blocks, which should be arriving in their new homes any day now.










Sunday, November 20, 2011

What the snow was actually like...

It's funny. I had a lot of friends (many in warmer climes) comment to me during and after the virtual blackout here in CT at the beginning of the month, "But Meg, you guys got like 7 or 8 feet of snow last winter. Why was this storm so bad?"

True, this past January was snowy as a mofo--one of the snowiest I remember, and I've lived in CT for most of my 34 years.

But we've never (to my recollection) gotten 8" of very heavy, wet snow while all the trees still had their leaves. Think of it this way--hold your hand up, fingers splayed, and pour sand into your hand. Your palm will hold some, but most will trickle between your fingers, right? Now close your fingers and pour the same amount of sand, only have that sand be wet.

Different story, yes?

Three weeks after the storm, we're still clearing branches. Everyone finally has power back. But there are few things more miserable than going to bed fully clothed (leggings, socks (i hate sleeping in socks--hate it!), long sleeved shirt, hoodie with the hood pulled up) with every blanket in the house on the bed, and still shivering yourself to sleep. A few mornings, we could see our breath when we got up, and it hovered right around the freezing mark INSIDE. I have never been so thankful as the moment we got power back--the madman and I were actually rather damp-eyed with relief. Eight days was a long and very frustrating stretch--it's no surprise to anyone in the area that the CEO of the power company resigned/was forced out this past week.

So thank you for your patience! I've been 8 days behind in my general life here, and am slowly gaining on it. All of the last giveaway prizes were mailed a week ago, so they should be showing up in their new homes shortly. And I've been working like a fool with every spare second to get caught up on my to-do list (not to mention I'm feeding 13 people for Thanksgiving this week, and um, let's just say I'm much more laid-back this time around.).

Photos and posts of all my sewing shenanigans will be forthcoming!

And so I leave you with some pictures of what life looked like the day of/morning after the storm.

During:


And after (please note that the flattened bush to the left of the driveway is normally a 10" tall tree...):


Stay warm!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Grand Finale giveaway winners!

Many thanks to everyone who has been participating in my month-long run of giveaways! I know it's been a bit quiet outside of giveaway posts lately. Here in CT, we got socked with an early freak Nor'easter last Saturday, and I've been without power at home since Saturday afternoon. It's been very cold and frustrating! Thankfully, my folks live right near the library and have been generous with their showers and coffee in the mornings! Hoping to get power back soon (maybe tonight??), but in the meantime, obviously there hasn't been any sewing going on and it's making me crazy! So bear with me--there will be actual content soon, with a little luck (and power!).

And without further ado... Here are your winners for the final giveaways!

For the assorted red and green scraps, the winner is:

erin, who said...

With Christmas quickly approaching, I'd choose the holidays fabric- thanks for the chance :)



For the Quilting Line + Color book, the winner is:


Holly, who said...

Great give away Meg! I would pick the book Quilting Line + Color. I love the look of the cover and I have never managed to get my hands on a copy to look through. Hope life is returning to normal for you!



The two winners of the copies of Block Party are:


robin, who said...

Nice giveaway! I'd choose Block Party. :)


and


Megan, who said...

If you made me pick, I'd have to choose the Modern Block Party book - I looked through it at the bookstore awhile back, and I mentally flagged a good number of those blocks.



And finally, the Heather Ross fat quarters, which were the most popular of the prizes, go to:


Jo, who said...

Oh boy, decisions, decisions, Ok then, all are wonderful prizes but I would really like to win the Heather Ross fabric as I have never actually owned any of it. I have drooled over it often but I have yet to have the extra cash to spend on it. Thank you for holding the giveaways for all of us.


Many thanks to everyone who has participated over the weeks, and congratulations to all of the winners!