July 2026 monthly recap.........................

 Two favorites were finished in July.  The "Other 16 Patch" was made with Marcia Derse fabrics, front, back, and binding.  On this one I staggered the blocks by using half blocks at top and bottom in every other column.  I think I like it better than the first few I made with the blocks in rows both horizontally and vertically.  This one is 61" x 79.5".

The floral stars was in a time out for a year and half and then I made final decisions to get the top sewn together.  A large percentage of the prints are from the 1990s and I have a huge collection of them in my stash.  This is the third quilt this year from that bin.  I even had a backing fabric from the same time period.  This quilt measures 66" x 78".  Both of these quilts were longarm quilted by Robin Diaz.

The Snail's Trail quilt top was fun to make.  It is an easy block, in this case cut with a GO die.  The blocks are 12" for a top that finished at 60" x 84".  I have a backing chosen so it will be next in line to be quilted.

On the right is my Trip Around the World top made with William Morris prints.  It is 63" x 77".  I have the backing chosen for this one too so it may get finished in August.

I was playing around a bit with my knitting.  I used lots of ends of balls of yarn for the 3 coaster size pieces.  I decided to use a straight knitting pattern for the pink one instead of the diagonal knit that I usually do.  That makes 30 regular size dishcloths for the year so far.

Just under the wire for July................

Top finished at 4:30 p.m. July 31.  Seven weeks procrastinating to cut and sew the border on, 1.5 hours to cut, sew, press and photograph it.

Monthly recap tomorrow.

 

A little cutting....................

I had to turn on the iron yesterday to press the Aboriginal Dot fabric.  All 15 strips are cut now so I can start sewing on this project.  While the iron was on, the 13 little 9 patches got pressed too.

The Zinfin Doll Hydrangea blooms are just starting to turn pink.  I hope we get the rain they are predicting for this afternoon through tomorrow.  Otherwise I will have to start watering this bush.

There is one tiny Tiger Lily in the front flower bed.  I'll have to dig it out because it is right next to the sidewalk and keeps falling in that direction.

I have one more day (today) to get the borders cut and sewn on the William Morris TAW if I want it included in my July recap.  It will probably just take me an hour; I just need to do it.

Miscellaneous............

Yesterday was mostly household tasks but I did manage to get 5 more of the 3" nine patches sewn.  I have 13 to press when I turn on the iron today.

I went out the check the garden and found a few more flowers on the Weigela bush.

Just past that bush, this sunflower in the cucumber pot is in full bloom.  I don't know if it came from a seed planted a couple years ago or if a squirrel planted it.  However it got there, I am enjoying it.

I didn't have a clear shot but there is a cucumber in there.  This plant produces 6-8" cucumbers.  I picked 2 others and gave them to the neighbor girls.

Rain is predicted Friday and Saturday but each day they keep dropping the amount of rain expected.  I have to decide whether to water again or wait and see if we do get any rain.  It has been 25 days since we had rain other than a light shower.  I have 2 days to get another top finished by the end of the month.  Maybe I can get it done today. 

A visitor...................

For those of you who read Nann's blog With Strings Attached, you know that her power was off yesterday from the big storm on Monday.  She contacted me to see if she could visit...we had been planning to do this some day.  We had lunch and a tour of my studios.  It's always fun to meet a blog friend in person.

She brought me a gift.  She goes to estate sales, etc, and gets the best bargains on fabric.  This batch has an African theme.  A couple pieces are long enough to use in a pieced backing.

This group is all Nancy Crow designs.  I have some of the same prints but there were different colorways here that I didn't have.  Oh, what fun I will have with these!

I made a few more of the 3" nine patches last night and have a few more ready to sew tonight.

What a great day!

Turned on the iron...................

The basement had cooled off with those few cool days we had so I had a pressing session yesterday morning.  All 20 little 3" nine patches are pressed and trying their layouts.  Edge to edge always makes an interesting design.

I also thought about adding 4 plain squares (a floral print) for 9" blocks.  I'll make many more before I decide.

I knew I had a little drawer full of strips so I pulled it out and went through them.  I'll cut some squares from them for variety for the project.

While the iron was hot I pressed the 15 fabrics for the Kaffe zipper quilt and cut a 10" strip off each.

I wanted to use the brown Kaffe Aboriginal Dot instead of black for the zipper teeth.  I think it will work.

I didn't get the borders cut for the William Morris quilt...maybe today.

There were fierce thunderstorms east of us yesterday with strong winds and as much as 3" of rain in some places.  We didn't get a drop.  I had to water my tomato and cucumber plants.  I planted Marigold seeds in the 3rd week of May in the pots with the tomatoes and I just have my first bloom now.  Next year I will pick up small plants instead.  9 weeks to bloom is too long to wait.

The Oxeye Daisy plants are in full bloom in several places in the back gardens.  It is also called False Sunflower.

It was cloudy for a large part of the afternoon so the temperature and humidity dropped a little.  I decided to do my grocery run and leave today's calendar clear.

Hot and steamy.....................

We went from 3 days of pleasant weather to tropical humidity and 88 degrees yesterday.  My energy level was low so I decided to start sewing 9 patches out of the 1.5" squares.  There are 20 nine patches and it doesn't look like I have used any squares yet.

I didn't want to turn on the iron so the little blocks are curling.  I started out with all of the fabrics that had at least 5 dark squares and 4 light squares alike.  Now I'll be switching to random groups to make more blocks.

There are lots of fabrics with black backgrounds and not as many with a definable color so I might have to cut a few to spice up the remaining stash of squares. 

Today is supposed to be even hotter and more humid so I'm sure I'll be inside most of the day.  I hope I can get the borders cut for the William Morris Trip Around the World top.