First quilt top for September 2026................

Even though I have an ironing table 30" x 60", I was dreading pressing this 72" x 88" quilt top.  It wasn't as bad as I expected but I'm sure glad it is done.  It was hard to get a good straight on photo because my longarm bar is in the way.  This was the best of the 3 that I took.  I haven't looked for a backing yet but I still have 2 (of 3) that I pulled when I was making the Snail's Trail quilt with many of these same fabrics.  They are on this post (scroll down).  I think there is enough yardage of both of them.  I also thought maybe I should put flannel on the back so I'll check and see if I have a large enough piece.

When I went out to get my mail I noticed how pretty the Sedum flowers are. There are 2 different varieties here.

There were lots of bees visiting them.  I tried to get a photo with several of them and this was the best I could do.  They were very busy bees and didn't stay in one place very long.

Here is the bad news in the same flower bed.  The Zinfin Doll Hydrangea blooms totally dried up and never turned raspberry color.  Even though we had a lot more rain this summer, it was followed by long stretches of no rain and high temperatures with strong sun.  I should have watered it and I hope I don't lose the whole bush.  I haven't been able to do much gardening this year. 

Top sewn, not pressed.................

 

I wasn't sure I could get the last 10 rows sewn yesterday but I stuck with it and finished at 10:15 p.m.  I hope it will feel cool in the basement today when I go down to turn on the iron.

I planted Marigold seeds in the pots with the tomato plants.  Some pots only had 2 come up but this one has about 6 Marigolds in there.  I have a 6' tall stake in the middle of the pot to keep the tomato plant more upright this year.

I got a few Marigolds to grow in the raised bed too and they are too weak to stand up.  I was surprised it took 3 months for blooming.  They were planted the 3rd week of May.

Sewing 72" long seams..................

There were 10 seams the first direction, 72" long, and I got 8 of them sewn by bedtime last night.

This was the pile on the sewing cabinet when I quit for the night. There are storms predicted this morning and I hope we get some of the rain.  If it fizzles out I will have to be out watering the tomatoes and cucumbers today.

 

99 blocks on the wall.....................

After 2 hours at the design wall, this is the final layout for this 16 patch quilt.  There are 2 alike of each block except one and 18 of the alternate fabric blocks.

After lunch I went back down to the basement and took the blocks down in stacks and numbered them, ready for piecing the quilt top.

In the main floor studio I took the 71 extra strips and pulled out all of the duplicates and then paired them for a future quilt.  The 3 strips on top need a partner.  I need to cut a few more strips and they might be all greens and blues.  I had to get these stacked up and moved since they are on my sewing cabinet and I want to sew today.

First finish for September 2026................

The Snail's Trail block is easy to cut with a die and fun to piece.  This color scheme worked out well too.  The quilt finished at 58" x 83".

The backing fabric has tools in the print: hammer, wrenches, saw, and others.

In case you want to enlarge it and find the tools, this view is better.  Just click to enlarge the photo.

A lot of the fabrics in this quilt are from the 1990s and early 2000s.  I still had a good discount at a couple quilt shops during that time.

The camera has a hard time showing beige and gold correctly.  The third one down that looks like it has a blue background actually has a beige background.

There are 2 blocks alike in most most of the fabric combinations.

I have always loved the rich browns and golds, and the rust prints give it a bright touch.

The temperature and humidity are at comfortable levels now for 2 days.  I plan on opening all of the windows today.

 

Busy day......................

I started out the day making the backing for the Kaffe Zipper quilt.  I had 4 yards and had to do some creative cutting and sewing to piece the back.  There were 4 seams altogether.  I had one piece 1" x 3.75" left over.

Then I pressed the binding fabric and cut the needed 7 strips.  I got the binding sewn to the back and started the machine topstitching to finish it.  I decided to finish it today instead of pushing ahead while I was tired.

Today is supposed to be 78 degrees.  What a relief that is after all of those 90 degree days with tropical humidity.  The humidity will get down in the comfortable range by afternoon.

Snail's Trail..................

The Snail's Trail quilt was back from my longarm quilter so it was time to trim it and find a binding fabric.

I'm sure I bought this brown and black stripe with bindings in mind.  I think it looks great with the front of the quilt.

It's okay with the backing fabric too.  I need to press out the creases and cut 7 strips and get busy.

It is disappointing that Google Blogger has messed up leaving comments.  Several people emailed me yesterday when they could see the comments weren't going through.  I hope it is fixed today, but if not, my email address is on the right sidebar if you care to comment that way.  You may also have my comcast email address if I have answered your comment previously.