Machine fixed, cutting and sewing...............

These are the blocks I was trying to sew when my machine had no tension.  When I worked at the sewing machine store, the boss showed all of the employees how to take the top off of our Pfaff machines so we could find errant threads.  I did that 2 nights ago and couldn't find any thread but cleaned out some lint.  I did some flossing of the tension discs with a folded strip of fabric and kept testing the sewing but nothing was working.

Yesterday morning I opened the top of the machine again and finally the thread that was causing the problem was visible.

I got the other combinations sewn last night too.

I got all of the rest of the strips ready to cut the final batch of 4.5" squares.  This is a total of 40 blocks, so not enough for a throw size quilt.

All of them are cut now so I have one more evening of mindless sewing ready.

Yesterday the weather people were saying we could have a wintry mix falling and making slippery roads so I did my grocery shopping in the afternoon.  Maybe today I'll get the binding cut for Purple Rosy too while I stay inside for the day.

Trimmed.....................

Purple Rosy has had been trimmed so I will have another binding to do.  I want to finish this one by hand.

That will be good because my main Pfaff machine is having problems.  It has no tension and I have checked everything that I can get to.  I'll bring one of my other machines upstairs.

I looked for binding choices but haven't explored all of the choices yet.  These 2 are possibilities but I need to lay them at the edge of the quilt and see just 3/8" to decide.

Yesterday a friend came over to have me help her with fabric choices for some of her projects.  She brought Subway sandwiches.

Sewing was interrupted..................

Someone is going to the far side of a neighboring state to see my great-grandchildren.  That means baking treats for them.  The chocolate chip cookies are delicious.

I also made shortbread and peanut butter cookies.  I had to test them too.  I need to know I'm sending them good treats.  That's my story..............

I did get started cutting the 4.5" squares for the double 4 patch blocks.

We have had 18 days in a row below 32 degrees, the average temperature for this date.  Thursday may get up to 32, but Friday is slated for high 30s.  Next week is all 30s and 40s.  I'll probably see someone in shorts and flip flops at the grocery store.  Yes, this is normal near Chicago.....   

My oldest child turns 65 today.  He has his Medicare card.....  This hardly seems possible.

Mindless sewing.....again...................

Yesterday was a PT day so I have to be watching the clock.

One thing I did get done during the day was to layer several stratas, staggered by 1" and cut 2.5" segments from them.  I had sewn the 2 strips together and did the pressing last week.

Last night's mindless sewing was making the 80 four patches which will be used in 40 double 4 patch blocks.  I need to cut the 4.5" squares now from the 4.5" strips.

Part of the reason I didn't get much done yesterday was because of this morning entertainment.  A few months ago I showed how the city had cut the top of this tree off and left this huge trunk standing.  They had actually cut off part of it before I realized what that noise outside was.

At this point they have a rope tied around the top of the trunk, the rope then went around a big branch in the tree in the neighbor's yard, and then tied to to the front loader. He is cutting around the base of it now and they pounded in wedges on the right side and pulled it over to the left, with a big thud.

Bye, bye, tree.  They cut the stump down lower and it looks to be maybe 12" tall, spray painted orange with and orange cone sitting on top of it.  I guess that is to remind the neighbors not to back over that way.  It was overcast so they didn't need to worry about the sun getting in the eyes of the man with the chainsaw.

 

A new month, unlimited possibilities.....................

As usual at the beginning of a new month, I'm looking ahead to what I want to work on.  The last 18 months have been devoted to emptying storage boxes with partial projects in them.  9 of the quilts last year came from these empty boxes. The bottom supports on my drafting table are a great place to store lots of the boxes.

As I go through more boxes, I'm finding more pieces leftover from previous projects.  These 180 four and a half inch squares are left from the Double 9 patch quilt I made in 2008.  

These 72 green four and a half inch squares are left from a blue and green Double 4 Patch quilt also made in 2008.  I used a lot of the blue leftovers in 2 Bear Paw quilts.  In this post I was trying out layouts of the blocks.

In another box are these 204 batik four and a half inch squares.  A lot of them are leftover from a kit I sold to a friend for a Double 4 patch quilt, maybe from 2 kits.  Now that I have a record of these on my blog, I can refer back to this post if I find a pattern that I want to make that will take this size square.  I also have the 35 purple and green leftover potion of the 4.5" strips to cut into 4 squares of each.

I'll keep looking through things today.  I know I want to press the flannel scraps and cut more tumblers and squares from them.  If I can just get the pain in my back and leg to stop I'll get more done.  I have an appointment this month for a treatment that will possibly work.

January 2026 monthly recap....................

I worked on several things in January and a few of them made it to the finish line.  The floral quilt is mostly fabrics from the 1990s.  It is 52.5" x 71" and the squares are 6".  The pink and gray baby quilt is made of flannel and is 32" x 40".  I'm going to concentrate on lots of baby quilts this year.

The 2 small tops were easy ones with the one on the right only needing its side borders.  I started it in 1991 in a workshop.  I think it will be a nice baby quilt at 30" x 38".  The one in the center was made from blocks that were remains of strata from some previous project paired with a large print of the same colors.  It is 32" x 36".  I have backs already chosen for these 2.  The large top was started on January 21 and finished yesterday.  It is 56" x 80".  Most of the strips were cut somewhere near 2009 when I was teaching a class with that pattern.  I have lots more strips so you will be seeing another Double 4 Patch in a different color range.

There were a few small items.  The table runner is made of Marcia Derse scraps and it is 14.75" x 40".  The back is the same fabric as the binding, the same print as the white borders in the black/gray version of it.  The 2 small mats are close to 8.5" x 11".  They were both already quilted and just needed the stitching around the edges to finish them.  They have a layer of stiff interfacing in them so they lay nice and flat.

I decided I'll show the dishcloths for the month instead of daily when I finish them.  I got 6 done.  Three of them have another yarn added on the corner.  The green tweed one has red tweed added and then I needed a little more so I used the leftover red from the red/green ball.  It looks like I dipped the corner in cranberry juice.

It's hard to get a photo with all three of the blooms in it so this is the best one I got.

There is another flower stalk growing so I have hopes of more blooms later in the month.

The sky was clear last night and the moon was beautiful.  My calendar says the full moon is today and maybe that meant early this morning.

Finished..........(second post today)..........

The binding was cut and sewn on by 4 p.m. today so I had time to go down and photograph it.

This quilt is made of floral fabrics that are mostly from the 1990s, with a few newer ones added in for variety.  They are 6" squares and really show off the beauty of the florals.

This is the binding fabric, black, brown and green.  I picked it because it went best with the back.  I had other choices that I liked with the front but not the back.

The back is one of my favorite floral fabrics and I had been saving it for borders or a back since I had a large piece of it.

I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and it was longarm quilted by Robin Diaz. 

It is 52.5" x 71".

Of all of the photos I have shown of this purple and green double 4 patch, I think this is the truest color.  I did end up taking out the dark block that was in the wrong place and replaced it with a light one.  It is 56" x 80".