Vertical seams, bindings, mug rugs.....

All 20 vertical seams are sewn on the new colorwash.  Now I need to sew the horizontal seams.  Using this method to sew it together has all the decisions made once and then all the rows are attached to each other and you don't have to decide a second time which way they fit in.

The binding is sewn onto both of the older colorwash pieces, and the hand sewing finished on this one.  This binding is black with shots of purple through it.  There are lots of good TV programs this week so I should get the hand sewing done on the other one too.

I quilted the 3 mug rugs last week but didn't look for binding until yesterday.

I was pretty sure the Amaryllis would only have 2 flowers on each of the stalks because the bud pod was so small.  I'm still not sure of the color but I think this is the white with red accents.  The other one hasn't opened yet.

Finished quilting, chose binding......

I finished quilting the colorwash on the bottom in this photo yesterday.  I chose binding for both of them, the top one for the batik colorwash and the bottom one for the regular fabric colorwash.  I was just plain tired though so I didn't get either of them cut.  I sewed more rows on my current batik colorwash, up to row 12 of 20.

I worked hard to get this flower bed filled in.  I finally just resorted to lots of different hostas, sedum and cranesbill.  The bush in the upper right is a hydrangea.  It struggled for 3 years before it took off and started to grow.  There are some lilies, evening primrose and purple coneflowers in this bed too.  It is a real mix and is right outside my dining room picture window so I get to enjoy it close up all the time.

Crooked Cobblestones 10

I needed to find a binding for this cobblestone quilt and I decided to go a little darker than I had on previous ones.  I'm hoping by doing a variety of binding colors/values that I will be able to determine what really worked best with all of the multicolor.  I still have #6 to quilt and then the whole series will be done and ready to travel to NC.  This one is 12" x 18" so it is the smallest of them all.

It is time to start sewing the colorwash that I made this week.  I start by sewing vertical rows 1 and 2 together.  Batiks are easy to fingernail press so before I add row 3 on, I press the seams on the odd rows to the left and even rows to the right, about 3-4 rows at a time.

I am using my new clear plastic 1/4" foot and sewing slow so I can keep every seam straight.

I brought several more rows to the machine so I can sew for quite awhile before having to collect the rest of the rows.  I will continue to add one vertical row at a time, pressing seams with my fingernail as I go.  I will not have to use an iron before sewing the cross rows.  Fingernail pressing is sufficient on batiks.

My one lonely columbine plant with blue flowers is in full bloom now.  They re-seed themselves but the new plants are always near a rock or a sidewalk.  I guess that is because the seeds are more protected there.  I will be watching to see if I can find some new plants this year.

I have only seen one plant with the pale pink flowers too.  My medium pink plant didn't come up last year so all the rest of mine are a deep rose, seeds that I got from my sister-in-law.  I have about 6 of those growing in various places, one in the crack of the sidewalk.

frog layout, mug rugs.....

I finally got the last 4 blocks of the frog Stack and Slash sewn.  I have been walking by the bag from Saturday's class and ignoring it.  It's time to empty the bag and put everything away.  This will be 42" x 56" when sewn together so it really doesn't need a border if it is for a baby, just a green binding.

I cut the backing fabric for the next colorwash quilt and sewed the seam and pressed it.  I didn't feel like making binding choices yesterday so I just finished some more mug rugs.

I missed the episode of "Missing" last Thursday so I watched it with Comcast ON DEMAND.  I finished that episode just in time to watch the new one.  I finished 3 more mug rugs while sitting there.  I love the top green one.  I think I need to use those fabrics in a quilt.

Mug rugs, quilting.........

I had the grand idea of having 100 mug rugs to sell at my show in NC.  The show will be there for 4 weeks and I hoped some people would want to buy a small piece if they weren't in the market for a large piece.  Like I said a grand idea but maybe not practical.  I have 30 finished now.

Here are 12 more waiting to be finished.  I'm trying to finish 2 a day.

I finally got the courage to quilt the colorwash that I pieced in 2007.  Here is the post where I showed it in progress.  Now I think I can quilt the other one from the same time period.  I started taking down the rows of the new colorwash so I can start sewing it together. I also quilted Crooked Cobblestones 6, the smallest of the series.  Now I need to find 2 bindings.

Ready to sew....

This is the photo from Monday on the left and then one I took yesterday afternoon when I decided it is ready to sew.  I smoothed out the light center and then removed one row on the right side and reconfigured the remaining last row.  It was 20 rows tall and 21 rows wide and I wanted this one to be square.  I also worked over the area just below the light area where it is light blue and pink.  I decided it is ready to sew and then I changed 2 more pieces last night but didn't take another photo.

On the way to the backyard I pass the weigela bushes.  This deep pink one is just starting to bloom.

The bush with pale pink blossoms isn't as full of buds but it will be in full bloom in a few days too.  My red one blooms later.

The striped Jack in the Pulpit is shorter than normal but starting to bloom.  I had the camera almost at ground level to get this shot.

I haven't mentioned my 98 yr. old dad lately so here is what is going on.  He fell twice in the bathroom 2 weeks ago.  The first time he just hit his hand but didn't get hurt otherwise.  The second time he scraped the top of his head and bumped his hand again and it swelled up but he said it didn't hurt.  Then Monday morning they called and said he had a restless night and they thought he had a TIA at the breakfast table.  When I visited him yesterday he knew who I was but he was rambling about all kinds of things and rhyming, toes and nose, and all kinds of other things.  He usually bounces back so it is a wait and see thing all the time.  There are only 2 other residents at the assisted living house right now so he gets a lot of attention.

New foot, oops clip, amaryllis....

I'll start with my oops of the day.  I was still tired from last week, went to church sewing circle in the afternoon and then decided to do some bindings on mug rugs while I watched TV.  I was happy to find I had three ready to bind that could use the same purple binding.

But....as I said I was tired.  I was clipping a thread in this corner and clipped the tiniest little hole in the binding fabric (the little dark spot near the miter).  I won't be able to sell that one now so I'll use it as a gift for someone who understands a little oops now and then.

Here is my new clear plastic quarter inch foot for my Pfaff to replace the one that flew into a still undiscovered place in my studio.  This little diagram didn't come with the first one I got and I was pleased to see the 1/8" and 3/8" parts to the foot too.  I didn't know the back part of the foot was 3/8" wide.  I suspected the inside of the toe was 1/8" and now I know it is.

The amaryllis has shot up; even the second stalk is growing.  I wonder what color this one will be as I had bulbs for many different colors over the years.

Here is another group of Jack in the Pulpits.  They are in three places in the backyard and don't seem to mind the sun.  They were always in the shade before the trees were cut down.

The group of striped Jack in the Pulpit is shooting up, about a foot tall now, but the flowers haven't unfolded yet.  Even though we have had a lot of sunshine, the temperatures have been cool, with close to a frost again 2 nights ago.  The forecast has scattered showers for today and tomorrow so I hope we get some of it.

Colorwash progress.....

I'm starting out with the last picture on Saturday's post so you can see what I changed, or maybe you won't be able to detect the changes.  Mostly it is in the light area.

I tried to make the light area a little smoother.

I continued to work on it since I had a load of laundry in the washer to take care of.

I have all of the holes filled in and have just a couple places that I need to change a piece.  I'll work on it after I get home from church sewing circle this afternoon.

Class photos......

Today I'll just share the fabric combinations that everyone brought to class yesterday.  I am worn out after this busy week and didn't even finish answering comments yesterday.

My niece's squares before stacking and slashing.....

Here are 3 sets out of 5 after slashing and sewing back together.

I had my camera with me when we laid out all of these blocks and then I forgot to take the picture while we were talking.

This lady dyed all of her fabrics.  She is going to be opening a quilt shop about 10 miles from here in a few months.  This was her first quilt class and about her third quilt. She is an accomplished seamstress as in clothing sewing, something most of us have given up as we got into quilting.

I hope the tilt on this photo doesn't make you seasick.  This one is all batiks.

Another star student who finished her top in class.  She has a border fabric in mind that sounds perfect.

The camera liked the yellows in this quilt but they aren't quite that predominant in person.  This is an example of low contrast vs. the high contrast in the one above.  This pattern works well with most combinations of fabrics.

It has been a busy week and I'm dragging but I hope to work on my colorwash a little today.  I'll try to document the changes I make and show them tomorrow.

My turn......

I started a colorwash on a small design board to use for demo purposes at the class.

Last night I decided to transfer the pieces to a large design wall and continue working on it.  I can see a lot of changes I need to make now that I see it on the computer monitor.

Today is the Stack and Slash workshop for the guild so I'm expecting another fun day.

Colorwash class....

Yesterday I taught a class on colorwash.  I'm going to show you my friend Sarah's progress on her piece throughout the day.  I think it looks great!  It is an intense class, a project a lot harder than it looks but so satisfying when done.  Now I have to switch gears and get ready for the Stack and Slash workshop for the guild tomorrow.