Thinking ahead......................

I am thinking about making some more of the little still life projects with the 1.5" squares.  I'm wondering if I want to add some triangle squares to add a few angles instead of all square pixels.  It's never a loss to have pieces cut because they can easily make a different project if I don't want them in this project.  Those little stacks are 4 alike of about 12 different fabrics times 6 stacks.  That should give me a good variety to work from.  Do any of you use a program to pixelate a photo?  I did a search and there were so many sites I have never heard of and I was hesitant to open them.

Yesterday morning was spent going through the brown, rust, beige and green batiks and pulling some that I will be cutting this week (squares, triangles and rectangles).  It takes a long time to prep for a project. 

Mother's Day is cooler this year.  Yesterday was very windy so low 70s didn't feel that warm.

More prep work...........................

I have been cutting more 1.5" batik squares since there wasn't a good variety left on the trays.

One of these trays was miscellaneous and the reds aren't spread out on the other tray. I can switch them over to the pink tray and just stack the miscellaneous pieces that rarely get used.

I cut 15 more stacks of 6 layers and each piece yields 4 squares so this pile will be 360 little squares when cut.

It was a beautiful day in the mid 60s yesterday.  My company and I went to my son's house for pizza and saw the 2 smallest great-grandchildren.  I wish I had their energy.

 

Subtle changes depending on lighting..........

 The photo on the left was taken at night with the overhead lighting in my studio with one extra light shining across the bottom of the quilt top.

The one on the right was taken in full daylight from the west and north windows in the morning.  At first glance they don't look a lot different but the one on the right is warmer tones and more like the top actually looks.  If you look at the beige vertical strip that is to the left of the 5 octagon blocks and compare it in both photos, you can see the difference.

The design wall in my main floor studio doesn't allow me enough distance to photograph large quilts so I take them to the basement to a double design wall where I have more room to work in.  It is overhead lighting there too with the extra light shining on the lower edge of the quilts.  Sometimes the color seems true, other times it has a blue (Canon camera) or green (Cellphone) cast which makes the colors look dull.  It's frustrating that I can't get a true representation of the colors with some of the combinations of color that I use.

First quilt top for May 2026

The stripe bottom border was removed and a replacement fabric sewn in.  Then the borders were added and it is finished.  I don't think it needs anything else.  It will be wall art rather than a cuddle quilt.  It is 48" wide and 53" tall.  The light fabrics aren't as bright of a contrast as they look in the photo.

I have company staying with me for a few days and we went plant shopping for my pots.  I didn't remember to get a photo of all of the plants so we brought this one in for a photo shoot.  There was a brisk breeze yesterday and lots of sunshine.

 

Creative play...................

I used a lot of the leftover 1.5" squares from the colorwash trays and tried a still life.  In the photo below you can see the scale.

I worked on the Kaffe medallion top yesterday.  I pinned up a border all around and have covered the purple stripe near the bottom with 2 options that I'll look at again this morning.

This is what it used to look like.

First finish for May 2026...........................

 

It didn't take long to finish the binding on this batik Double 4 Patch quilt yesterday.

It has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it and was longarm quilted by Robin Diaz.

I used a lot of 16 patch blocks from the orphan block box as the border around the center.

I used a full width of the turquoise/brown print and a strip of stripe fabric leftover from another backing for the back of this quilt.

It is 63" x 70".

Here is a closer look at the batik backing fabrics and the batik binding.

I hang it sideways on the double design wall for its photo and then rotate the photos for my blog.

I had company yesterday and they picked a bouquet of Lily of the Valley and a few Violets.  The Lily of the Valley is a touch beyond its prime but still fragrant and nice in this little vase.

Last evening just before sundown there was a brief shower and then this rainbow over my neighbor's house.  The sun was shining across the treetops and looked like the golden hour and the sky above the rainbow was dark, just as it appears here.

This end of the rainbow was so intense you could see each band of color clearly.  I couldn't capture the intensity with my cellphone camera.

Working on the binding...............

The binding is 3/4 done so I should be able to finish it today.

I took a few more photos in the backyard gardens.  I think this is a Jonquil.  There are always lots of leaves and only a few blooms.  The previous owner planted them over 50 years ago.

This corner outside my dining room picture window has Hardy Geranium, Annabelle Hydrangea, Coral Bell, and Hosta.  Also to the left there are Stella d'Oro lilies, not in bloom yet.

Here is a closer look at the Hardy Geranium with lavender flowers.  Down in the lower part of the photo is a Coral Bell plant. 

The pale pink and yellow Columbine is just starting to bloom.  The tallest Hosta plants are near it.

Then there is the Lily of the Valley which is choking out everything else.  I don't have the patience (or ability) to get down to the ground and pick a bouquet.

Today will be warm in the 70s and then we go right back to the 50s again.  It looks like it will be too cold to plant tomatoes on Mother's Day weekend.  I hope I'm wrong and that it will warm up.