Binding chosen and cut.....................

I had so many household things to take care of yesterday that I only got the binding chosen and cut for this table runner.  I did work on finding a group of fabric that my granddaughter wants but no photo on that.

I was looking back at some flannel quilts I have made since 2007, hoping to decide on some patterns for this year.  This collage is missing all of the ones I have made with the tumbler block.  That is usually my default shape when I need to cut up a lot of scraps.

It was 47 yesterday morning but it got up to 70 with sunshine part of the day.  Tomatoes are ripening a little slower with several days in the 60s but there are lots of green ones left on the plants.  I hope we make it to the end of October before we get a heavy frost or freeze.

Breakfast first.............

It was cold enough in the house yesterday morning to bake something for breakfast.  Yes, I ate two of them before I thought about taking a photo.

The box mix was dated September last year but I knew it would still be good.  There were several ways to mix these and I chose the one with heavy cream.  Yum!!

I was clearing off a table in the basement and found this table runner top and backing already cut, ready to find a piece of batting.  I got it layered and quilted last night.  Trimming is next and then finding a binding.

I used 10" squares when die cutting the pieces for the blocks, but I had a larger piece of one of the prints.  It was actually a cut off strip from a previous quilt backing.

Today is a special day.  It is a granddaughter's 33rd birthday, a grandson's first wedding anniversary, and my 2nd pacemaker's second birthday.

 

Second quilt top for September 2026...............

I'm showing the close up shot first for the true color.

The greens don't jump out at you like the blues, but there are several of them in the quilt top too.  I'm happy the two alternate fabrics worked well together.  The leafy one had dark areas and light areas so it changed dramatically with the 6.5" cuts.

This top is so beautiful and peaceful looking, much better in real life than in a photo.  It is 60" x 72", the smallest of the 3 tops made with the same selection of browns.  More blues and greens were added into the 16 patch and this 9 patch.  It is definitely nature's colors.

With this series (Snail's Trail, 16 patch, and 9 patch) I was happy to use so many brown, gold, and rust color fabrics, and I was really happy to use up 3 large prints in the last 2.

 

Top half sewn, bottom half designed................

After I sewed the top half together, I folded it in half so only the bottom 3 rows are showing and pinned it back up on the wall.  Then I designed the bottom half, making sure I didn't get the same fabric near itself.  There are 3 blocks alike of each combination plus some strips were duplicated.  I started sewing the bottom section together last night.

The sixth pink Bear Paw block was sewn.

I put all six of the blocks up on the design wall while part of the wall wasn't covered with the 9 patch top.  These are 14" blocks and I'm not sure where this project is headed.  Hopefully I will know by tomorrow so I can continue working on it.

 

Half way point................

The top 6 rows (of 12) are ready to sew now.  Then I can move the blocks up and design the bottom half.

I cut two more Bear Paw blocks and sewed one of them.  This one has the least contrast between the 2 fabrics in it.  After I sew the other one I can take the pink thread off the machine and change back to brown.

Marcia Derse has flannel fabric now and the prints are from a couple of her previous lines.  I didn't buy all of them, but just my favorites.  I'll mix these in with other flannels in my stash.  I'm hoping to make at least 4 flannel quilts this winter.  I may add to that when I cut up all of the scraps and make baby quilts with them.  

The chickens won............

The chickens will be the backing on this 16 patch quilt.  It's unlikely that I would make another quilt in the future that could use this fabric.  Now I have 2 ready for my longarm quilter.

I realized as I got more blocks on the design wall that there needs to be a double row of the spotted fabric all around the perimeter.

This is so much prettier than the camera wants to show you.  I still need 2 more rows at the bottom and I will start filling in the 9 patches today.

Here is yesterday's pink Bear Paw block.  I love the light fabric in this one.  I hope I can get two blocks cut today.

Fall has arrived here. It was only in the mid 60s yesterday and will be in the 60s for the next few days.  Unfortunately it will be partly cloudy all week too.

 

Layout preview................

I wanted to see how the layout was going to look, so I took one 9 patch block of each fabric combination and previewed them with the 2 alternate fabrics.  I figured out that I need to do 2 columns on each side with the spotted fabric plus one row top and bottom.  Then the floral fabric will fill in all of the center spaces.  I think it will be interesting close up.  I'm not sure about a distance view.

Downstairs I cut the batting for the 16 patch quilt and looked for backings.  From top to bottom they are 

Spider mums

Random dots

Chickens.

Do I want it serious and use the Spider Mums or fun and funky and use Random Dots or Chickens?

While I was down there I cut one more pink Bear Paw and sewed it last night.

Rain report:  from Thursday through Sunday we got 6.6" of rain.  This is the third time this summer we have gone almost a month with an inch or less of rain and then got caught in the ring of fire thunderstorms as the hot dome moved and got from 6" - 8" of rain.