Sewing Swiftly

Just minutes after I posted on Wednesday the doorbell rang, and my safety pins arrived! I've been working on the Sea Marquee quilt, but am not yet satisfied with the results. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I've been working on a smaller quilt with the scraps from my mom's snowball quilt. It's a simple four-patch with the yellow polka dot that was her binding (thanks to Britt!) playing a central role. I hope to start quilting that tomorrow!

My cousin posted today about her love for antique shops, yard sales, and auctions. She's not alone in this addiction (but she's good company!). It's a rainy day here today, so a friend and I went off to explore the Red Cross shop and an antique shop. My greatest find was a slightly rickety, but fully functional, swift. I've already wound up a skein of Peace Fleece (in Baltic Blue) to test it out. (My friend found a second swift, as well!) I also found some dishes... Always my weakness, but the prices were too good to pass up! The green plates are Swedish - they'd look great with a little Asian-inspired side dish, wouldn't they? The 70s mustard plates are fondue themed, and the two blue Rörstrand Christmas plates match one I already have. The final purchases were some postcard-sized souvenir plastic trays from Bergen, Norway. They're always great to use for pins, buttons, etc. while working on projects! The cars and clothes in the photos on the trays make them look pretty retro!

Waiting for the Mail

I've been basting a UFO (Sea Marquee, started in the summer of 2006!), but am out of the safety pins I like to use. I mailed some to myself from the US last week, so hopefully they'll come today! This quilt is bigger than I remember, for sure, and twice I had to start again with the basting. Hopefully the third time's a charm!

On top of the quilt is the only knitting project I had going this summer in the US (basic socks made with Tico Tico yarn from Novita I received as a gift). Below, another pair of socks I've started - the color scheme has received mixed reviews, but the pattern is a feather and fan pattern from Patons.

Yarn

Today I'm trying to make some order of my sewing room - and to make room for the yarn and fabric I brought back in my extra bag from the US!

I stopped over in Helsinki on my way home and found a little knitted graffiti in Kaivopuisto/Brunnsparken:

I also thought I'd post about the Maine yarns I bought on my travels:

The last remaining Shakers live at the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake in New Gloucester, Maine. I hadn't visited for a few years and had never noticed the yarn before. I'm planning to make some lovikka-style mittens with this lovely pink.

I'm a big fan of Peace Fleece and of Halcyon Yarn in Bath, Maine. Here is some of my Peace Fleece haul in Galooboy Blue, Georgia Rose, and Chickie Masla (a few other colors purchased for gifts). Their story is worth a quick read.

I found this next yarn from Done Roving (in Charlotte, Maine) at my local quilt/yarn shop, Quilt Essentials in Auburn, Maine. I was eying some sock yarn my mom had used (cotton with a little elastic - Cascade Fixation, maybe?), and the ever-helpful proprietor, Betsy, suggested this yarn instead. She even wound it for me - mesmerizing - maybe I need a swift and winder myself?!?

This was my final purchase, at Purl Diva in Brunswick. I just couldn't resist the story of the Nash Island yarn. The yarn is so delicate - and so is the color, larch - I think it will become a shawl for me.

Manon's Summer Snowballs

My mom finished her quilt! Well, we finished our quilt! It really was a team effort: she chose the fabrics and the pattern inspiration; I did the cutting; she did most of the piecing; I did most of the quilting; we sewed the binding on together! It's washed, dried, labeled, and photographed, too!

Baggage Allowance

I've been making some more reusable shopping bags and wonder if it's worth making a quick tutorial here. Thoughts? They take approximately 2 half yards of fabric and are completely reversible (same five bags in the photos). I've been trying to use up a little of what I've bought at Marden's so that I can get all my luggage on the plane next week!

Visiting Maine?

If you find yourself in the Mid-coast region of Maine, here are two recommendations:

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor are fantastic, especially the Children's Gardens, which just opened July 8th, including Pole Bean Olympics, refreshing spray from the blowholes of 'whale rocks,' a sculpture inspired by Robert McCloskey's Blueberry's for Sal, and lots more!

Just 15 miles to the northeast of the gardens is a quilt shop I hadn't visited before, Alewives (beautiful website, eh?) in Damariscotta Mills - lots of bright, fresh fabric from Kaffe Fassett, Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, Julie Paschkis, and more. I'll definitely have to visit again! (The fish ladder restoration project in Damariscotta Mills is also worth a look.)

Susan's Summer Quilt

I'm still in Maine, but getting ready to return to Finland soon. While it's been a great summer here, I'm ready to get back to my quilting room in Vaasa (among other things!). I've been doing some non-quilting sewing projects (more posts to come) and have been helping my mom with a quilt (the first bed-sized quilt she'll finish - thanks to my 'help'). The fabrics she chose are really pretty - many of them are Kaffe Fassett. So is the inspiration for the pattern (sans medallion) - it's from Country Garden Quilts. Hopefully there will be a photo shoot of the finish quilt before my Monday flight!

Along the Ausable

... is the name of my cousin's great blog - and is also where I am as I write this post!

It's been too long since I've posted, but here are a just a few quilty photos to tide my remaining one or two readers over until I can post something more substantial...

The quilt on my bed at my cousin's (made by her other grandmother, maybe?):

Two quilts I made for their cats a couple years ago for Christmas (filled with a little catnip to be sure they'd be a hit):

Some shopping bags (the small ones are for two soon-to-be three-year-olds):

Hope everyone's having a great summer!