Last night I finished cutting the Marcia Derse scraps into Drunkard's Path pieces. Then I paired the pieces and piled them to go to the sewing machine. I now have plenty of mindless sewing parts between this project and the plaid/Kaffe triangle project. I will turn on Netflix and sew, sew, sew. Then there will some fun design wall time later in the week.
I went shopping with my granddaughter for lunch fixings and then stayed at her house for a few hours. I grabbed a screwdriver and put most of the outlet covers and switch-plate covers on. I couldn't get to a few of them because of all of the boxes that need to be unpacked. The guys were working on the fence for the backyard. There are 2 large dogs and a 2 year old that need boundaries.
This afternoon is a baby shower so I won't have any finishes this month. It has been so hot and humid that all of my good intentions for last week didn't materialize. I will do a recap tomorrow of the quilt tops that I finished in July.
I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow so I made 2 kinds of burp cloths as part of my gift. I got the free patterns off the internet when my great grandson was born. They are 2 layers of flannel and backed with PUL, a waterproof fabric.
The Rudbeckia are in bloom in the back garden now. I had one bag of wood chips left from 3 years ago so I spread them on my path around the tree. I love this wild and tangled garden.
Last night I decided to start cutting the Drunkard's patch blocks from the Marcia Derse scraps. The larger scraps are this shape and I can get 3 parts out of them.
This is the other shaped scrap and I can get one of the small templates in addition to the convex large piece. On half of them I will cut the small concave piece and from the other half I will cut the small convex piece.
This is what I have cut so far. I'm probably about half done. The pile of scraps in the bottom center will but put in the dog bed scrap bag. The pile on the right might turn into something interesting.
I spent some time looking for the pattern for the butterfly blocks I showed yesterday. It was just under a few other things and not visible until I moved the pile. It is published by the same lady that did the Bento Box pattern.
I have 23 more bodies made and other background pieces cut for 6 blocks. Maybe next week I can get some wings cut.
Today is the day my granddaughter's family arrives to move into the house they purchased. They haven't seen it yet, just photos on the Internet plus photos the family has sent to them. The interior has all been cleaned and painted so it is ready for them to move in. I delivered 2 batches of cookies to be there when they arrive.
pbj fiber marietta....do you know you are a NO REPLY? You need to enable your email addess so I can reply to you.
I started making these Kaffe collective butterflies about 3 months ago. I had to clean up everything in the basement twice since then and I haven't found my pattern or the pieces I had already cut. I didn't intend to make all of the butterflies right away. It was going to be a project to work on whenever I felt like it. Now I need to find the pieces so I can continue.
Meanwhile I'm still sewing the triangle pairs together. I have 112 done, 80 to go. I might cut more triangles. I just have to decide how big I want the quilt to be.
I had little bits of time here and there throughout the day yesterday so I did my mindless triangle pairing and sewing.
I took my flat tire to the tire store where I bought it and left it for evaluation/repair. I got a phone call about 2 hours later that there was a gash in the sidewall and it wasn't repairable. I had pulled onto the shoulder for an ambulance to pass at the beginning of my trip home from shopping and that is likely where it got gashed. It went flat about 1.5 miles from that spot. This is a 2 year old Michelin tire with only 9000 miles on it. I was shocked.....thought it would be a simple repair job. The guy said he would check with the company and see if he could get any reduction in price of a new tire for me. I went to lunch with a friend and then had a 2:30 appointment for them to put the new tire on. Shock #2 - the tire was free....road hazard warranty credit. I just had to pay for the tire disposal and technician's time on the job.
That gave me the energy to go out and mow my backyard in 86 degree weather. The energy was soon gone after 25 minutes of mowing.
The art quilters came and we had a fun day. Early in the evening I decided to go to W*l-M*rt to get a few things. On the way home I got a flat tire. I always wondered what it would feel like to blow a tire while driving and now I know. I sat on the edge of the highway for a half hour waiting for the AAA road assistance. My van is 12 years old and the spare is under the front seats. I never imagined that they would be able to get it out after all of the years of road dirt, salt, snow, etc. The guy did get it out and put it on so now I'll be going the tire shop for a repair today.
When I got home I started looking for the triangles in the photo. After spending an hour searching I found the box they were in but I was too tired to start sewing them.
I sewed the final seam at almost 10 p.m. last night. Since this one turned out to be 71" x 94" it could be used on a twin bed so the layout doesn't matter very much if part of it is hanging down and not viewed with the rest. I see one more block I wish I had moved but I'm sure the bed won't care. As a review, I have a tutorial for the 16 patch which assures all seams going in opposing directions at intersections. The back of this looks almost as good as the front.
Hopefully the hot steamy weather is gone today although the predicted 89 degrees with lower humidity still sounds hot. The art quilters are coming and we will be in the basement eating cookies so we won't know what the weather is until mid afternoon.
My favorite double design wall was empty yesterday so I put the 6 rows that were stacked back up and then added the other 6 rows, changing a few pieces in the first half for variety. I thought I was done, that this was the final layout. Then in the photo I could see 3 darks in a row, vertical rows 7, 8, and 9 piece 6 going across. I sewed 7 vertical seams last night and flip flopped pieces 6 and 7 in row 8. I'll sew the last 4 rows on today and see how it looks.
This quilt top is sewn, all Marcia Derse fabrics from many years of her lines. It is 72" x 91.5". It is so much prettier than this photo.
The close up shots capture the intensity of the colors better than the full view.
I have enough of the purple print with red bullseye circles to make the backing for the quilt.
I was vacuuming and cleaning the clutter in the basement yesterday. When I came to the rail of the longarm machine, I found the parts of this quilt still waiting for me to sew in the contrasting strips. I got them sewn in and pieced the bottom border which is just laying there on the floor. I need to cut 2 narrow strips for the top border and then I'll sew them on too.
The Weatherbug app said it was 85 degrees last night at 7 and would feel like 94 with the high humidity. I didn't think it felt that bad so I mowed the front and side yard. I didn't do the back because it is shady and the grass grows slower back there. It is going to be hot for the next 2 days and the grass was getting too long to ignore in the front yard.
I finished sewing the cross seams on Colorburst 2. It is 34" square. I turned it one quarter turn from the way I designed it.
My friend Sharon thinks I should join them together (along with any others that i make) into one large piece. Colorburst 1 on the left is 30" square. I could add 2 rows to the bottom of it and sew these 2 together. It would end up 34" x 64". That would make a nice wallhanging above the head of a queen size bed (which is 60" wide).
I now have to switch gears and work on cleaning the basement for my art quilters group that is coming on Monday. I may get a chance to put the pink 16 patch blocks up on the design wall when i get tired of cleaning.
I finished sewing the vertical seams and got 5 of the horizontal seams sewn. It will shrink 5.5" more in length when all of the seams are sewn. I changed some of the yellow pieces to a softer golden yellow instead of the bright pieces I had in there in previous photos.
Here is my little bouquet of zinnias along with some more tomatoes ripening on the windowsill.
I love the centers of the zinnias. It is like a ring of little flowers circling that center.
I love the view from my kitchen window. There are more flowers back there this year than ever before. I have kept it cleaned up this year keeping out the weeds that grow tall. There a Creeping Charlie carpet in many areas. I tear it out by the armload but it grows back in. I also have Virginia Creeper and wild strawberries as well as hundreds of violet plants. The hostas are doing great this year too.
I wanted to finish making my pink blocks yesterday....there are 38 blocks in these piles. Now I can arrange the blocks of the second half of the quilt and get them sewn together.
I have been picking the tomatoes as soon as they start turning color so I can keep ahead of the squirrels.
When I was out pulling weeds and cutting volunteer trees I had to cut down one group of sneezeweed that was in an awkward place. I cut off the flowers and brought them inside. I also cut some zinnias but didn't take a photo of them yet.
It was hot yesterday but is supposed to be even hotter by the end of the week. The humidity is supposed to rise starting tomorrow. I'm probably done with yard work until next week so that means more sewing time.
I finished filling in pieces on Colorburst 2. I have changed a couple pieces since I took this photo. I have also sewn the first 6 vertical rows together. I have mixed feelings about whether it is done but I'm going to go ahead and sew it. I plan on making a series of 5 or 6 of these.
This is the progression collage.
I still have colorburst 1 on the wall and I turned it 180 degrees from yesterday's photo on my blog.
My zinnias are so happy. The Japanese beetles have gone on to other plants.
The tiger lilies have started blooming. This is the front flower bed.
This is the wild backyard garden, just filled with purple coneflowers and Tiger lilies across the back.
I helped paint the living/dining/kitchen and hallway at my granddaughter's new house. A couple other people did the high sections.
When I got home I sewed the cross seams on this colorburst wallhanging. I didn't measure it but it should be about 30" squares. I turned it sideways so hopefully it doesn't look like Africa or a dog face any more. I'm not sure which side is up at this point.
This is the whole double design wall with the two pieces. The second one is going to be a little larger than the first one.
I was gone for several hours yesterday so when I got home I decided to sew some more pieces on the first colorburst piece. I now have all of the rows sewn in one direction. Since this is all batik I can fingernail press the seams as I go, one row one direction, the next row the other direction and I'm ready to sew the cross seams.
I added some pieces to colorburst 2. I still have no idea where I'm going with this one. It is just an experiment. If it works, fine, if it doesn't, well it was fun trying.
Yesterday morning when I was watering my outside pots I saw this butterfly on the hosta.
It was folding and unfolding its wings and I took about 10 photos to get two that were good.
My zinnias are blooming. There are 2 kinds planted here but the second group is about 2 weeks behind the first group. I had Japanese Beetles on them but I went out with a bowl of soapy water and flicked a bunch into their death and none have been back since then.
Next I mowed the lawn and then did laundry. I ended up the day by baking cookies. My granddaughter's family is moving back here and there will be a crew of family and friends cleaning the house they just bought yesterday. This is my contribution for the workers.
I started sewing the colorburst piece. There are 15 rows so I am one third of the way done.
I added some more pieces to the second colorburst that I am designing. At this point anything could be changed because I have no idea what the rest of it is going to look like.
My raised bed with the tomato plants is right next to my studio window. A cardinal landed on one of the cages right by the sunflower. First he laid his head in one direction for awhile and then turned it the other way like he was suntanning and trying to get his tan even. Then he straightened up and I got this shot through the screen. My green tomatoes are on the left. I have had 3 Early Girl tomatoes ripen so far as well as a handful of grape tomatoes. The rest however are taking their time ripening.
Something was still bothering me about the colorburst piece so I left it on the wall one more day and yesterday I decided that it needed the blue at the top left edge instead of the red and orange going all the way out to the edge. I left the pieces I removed so you can see what was changed.
Here is the whole transformation: top left - the beginning, next row left -first reveal, center - one more row added top and left sides, right - top left edge changed to blue, purple area changed a little, final design. Now I can sew it.
When that was done I sliced the stratas for 32 more 16 patch blocks.
I needed to clean up the Farm Girl Vintage fabrics so I finished cutting the sunflower blocks and last leaf section. Now I will put those in a container for the next time my 2 friends come over to sew.
In the back garden my blackberry and lemon lilies are blooming.
These pretties are right outside my bedroom window. I have to dig out some of these lilies (again) so I can get to my outside spigot hiding back there.
I like to work on my the Farm Girl quilt blocks when my 2 friends come to sew. The blocks take so long to make and it is great to have conversation while doing them. I got the two sunflower blocks done. They are 6" x 12". I also modified the pattern slightly and made a double tall stem and leaves for which I still need to make the flower block. I have one more set of the short leaf block all cut and ready to sew. I will do the next 2 flowers when they come next time.
Here is a closer view of the block. Those little connector corners on the leaves are tiny little 1" squares sewn diagonally. I want to make at least one 12" sunflower block and maybe won't need the stem and leaves if I position it above the small flowers like it is in the background behind them.
I sewed a bunch more of the pink strip sets on Sunday and got them pressed yesterday. I'll start slicing them soon so I can make more blocks. I have one more batch of strip sets to make.
