Finish #3 for January 2021.............

Luckily the batik I chose for backing and binding was easy to hand stitch through and I got the binding finished last night.  This Jewel tone batik 16 patch ended up at 55" x 70".

I'm glad I checked the box with the larger yardage pieces of batiks and found this perfect piece for backing.  I also used it for the binding.

Another detail shot with a better view of the binding.

I will post my monthly recap tomorrow.  Today I will probably work on my Kaffe Trip Around the World quilt.  

A huge snowstorm was predicted for our area but we were near the southern edge of the storm and got a much slower start to the snowfall than Chicago and its close suburbs.  I measured 4" on my porch this morning.  We were originally in the 5" - 8" prediction area. 

Heading for the deadline............

Yesterday was the day...I finally turned on the longarm and got the jewel batik 16 patch quilted.

Meandering seemed fine for this quilt with a medium multicolor variegated thread.

The backing is one of those wonderful batiks that didn't sell well because nobody knew what to do with it.  That's OK, I like a good bargain price on them.

I'm using the backing fabric for binding too.  I have one long side hand finished, 3 to go.

After lunch I sewed 2 more Crossed Canoe blocks.  The red and orange are the leftovers from the fabrics I used for setting triangles on the warm color Kaffe 16 patch quilt.
 

A quilt top completed...................

I finally cut the triangles for the 4 corners and got them sewn onto the warm color Kaffe collective 16 patch yesterday.  It is about 58" x 80".  I have enjoyed having these warm colors on the design wall in my main floor studio but I'm ready to start something else on that wall now.

I sewed 2 more Crossed Canoe blocks after lunch (die cut pieces, 9" block).

The second Amaryllis bud stalk is almost as tall as the first one which is 25" tall now.  After I took this photo I set this grape vine basket into another larger basket.  The bottom of the grape vines wasn't very flat and I was afraid it would tip over.  The new basket it is a fairly close fit and is about an inch taller and has a very flat bottom.

The top bud is starting to get fat so it shouldn't be long before it opens.

Last night's full moon is called a Wolf Moon.  I rarely see the moon just coming up over the trees but it was so bright and yellow last night just as I was closing the blinds so I grabbed my camera.
 

Finish #2 for 2021.......

I finished another table runner.  This one is made from die cut pieces that I had a friend cut before I had a die cutter.  It is about 14" x 41" and it is ditch quilted and has a hand finished binding.

I don't normally choose a light color for binding but I needed something that went well with the backing fabric (also a Kaffe Fassett fabric) because I thought it might be used with either side up.  The light blue Aboriginal dots was the only thing I had that went well with it.  There are blues in the prints on the front too so it goes well with both sides.

Also yesterday I got the backing and batting for this quilt loaded on the longarm.

And I cut triangles for the corners of the warm color Kaffe collective 16 patch so I will sew them on today and get it photographed.

A few more strips were unpicked for the bottom of the Kaffe TAW.

Two more Crossed Canoe blocks were added to the pile.

And the day ended yesterday with a beautiful pink sunset.  Sunset is after 5 p.m. once again and that feels so good.
 

First finish for 2021............

 16.25" x 31.5" batik Double 4 Patch table runner.

I like to put a batik with a large pattern on the back of the table runners.  A nice batik stripe binding finished it off.  It took about 2.5 hours to hand stitch the binding.  I always think it is going to go faster because it is a small item but the perimeter is equal to 1/3 of the perimeter of a good size throw quilt and that usually takes about 7 hours to stitch.

I got a few strips for the bottom half of the TAW unpicked and put up on the design wall.

I found time to stitch two more Crossed Canoe blocks (cut with my die cutter, 9" finished blocks).

We woke up to heavy wet snow piled on all of the trees and bushes yesterday morning.  We got about 4" and had lots of sunshine afterwards.  My son stopped by and shoveled the sidewalk and porch so I got to enjoy the pristine whiteness from my warm studio.

Starting small............

It is the last week of the month so I have to finish some things.  I'm going to cut myself some slack and allow myself to count small finishes along with my larger finishes.  Previously I just listed the small pieces separately like an afterthought.  I'm not sure why I did that.  I started out with one of the tablerunners.  I think I have 4 of them to quilt.  I did ditch quilting on this one and it is ready to trim.  I plan on sewing on the binding to be ready to hand finish tonight if the 3 shows I watch are NEW episodes.  I also have 6 Crossed Canoe blocks I can sew tonight.  I plan on unpicking more loops for the Kaffe Trip Around the World top today also.

We are supposed to get our largest snowfall of this winter last night into this afternoon.  We are on the southern edge of the storm so I'm not sure if we will even get 5".  They had been predicting over 6". 

Continuing projects...................

I made some wild blue combination blocks yesterday.  It is always a surprise how they turn out.

The last 2 are lower contrast than some of the others.  I also cut some more light fabrics to go with the last 3 dark fabrics I cut on Saturday.  I have 21 blocks finished and they are 9" finished size so there is a long way to go on this project.

I also unpicked the seams for the other half of the top of the Kaffe Trip Around the World.  I need to slice the last 2 stratas into loops before I can continue.

I started out yesterday morning baking scones.  The best by date on this one was last August so I figured it was time.  They were really good.

 

More fun making blocks............

 I did more cutting than sewing yesterday but did get 4 blocks sewn.  I don't have them all turned the same way and that gives me another idea for a layout.

I have pieces sorted for 8 more blocks.  A reminder here for my once a week readers, I am cutting these blocks with my die cutter and the block is Crossed Canoes.

While I had the iron on yesterday morning I pressed the 12 blocks that were already sewn and put them up on the design wall.  If they get sewn edge to edge there will be a lot of bulk where 4 blocks come together.

Then I tried them offset by half on every other row which might be interesting.  I could find an alternate block to put between them too or a narrow sashing between blocks.

Meanwhile my mind is going 100 mph planning what will be finished, what backings and battings need to be cut, etc.

Crossed Canoes....................

For my TV sewing I decided to make more Crossed Canoe blocks that I cut with my die cutter.

I'm doing them in batches of 3 blocks because 2 passes through the cutter with 6 layers on each cuts the number of pieces I need for 3 blocks, 3 light fabrics, 3 dark fabrics 2 layers of each print.

Since Friday night is a 3 hour TV session I got 3 sets of three sewn.

I don't have any idea what I'm making at this point.  I'm just enjoying sewing blocks.

 

Need to cut corner triangles..........

All of the rows are sewn together in this warm color Kaffe collective 16 patch quilt top.  I need to cut the corner triangles now.  I think I have figured out what size they should be.  It measures about 59" x 80".  I think I will cut all 4 corners from the red Cactus Flower print.  It's hard to tell I used 2 different fabrics for the setting triangles.

I looked up the Amaryllis to see how tall it is supposed to get.  It says 18+" and the one bud stalk is 21" now.  The other one is just reaching the support loop now.  It is called Fantasy and supposed to bloom Jan-Feb so it is right on time.  The wax coated has the last bud blooming now.

 

Long rows.............

The top left 4 rows and the bottom right 4 rows are sewn together.  All that is left is the 3 longest rows.  The rows are already sewn.  I just need to add the triangles and sew the rows together.

When you add oversize setting triangles there are large points that need to be trimmed carefully before the rows are sewn together.

I lay the row along a line of the cutting mat so that it stays straight and then lay the ruler on and make sure it is parallel to the left edge and trim.

When you cut setting triangles to the exact size needed you won't have this step.

I needed a break from sewing those long rows so I die cut some Crossed Canoe blocks and sewed them.  

Batik Pineapple Log Cabin quilt top sewn.............

One of the 3 quilt tops is sewn together.  I usually cut my setting triangles oversized so the center design floats.  It is 45" x 58.5".  I thought it was going to be narrower than 45" so I could use just one width for backing.  Now I'll have to get creative.  I have several long narrow pieces of batiks cut away from other backings so I'll look there first.  This one won't get quilted this month because I have 6 planned ahead of it. 

Multi-tasking again..............

I cut the setting triangles from both orange Shaggy and red Cactus flower.  I need to cut a few more but I needed to see some on the design wall to decide which fabric to cut the rest from.  It is so much prettier in person.  Be sure to click on the photo to see the setting triangle fabrics closer.

On to the batik pineapple log cabin quilt top: I sewed the setting triangles onto the rows and added a strip on 2 of the corners to compensate for the size of the corner triangles.  The spots run in rows so they are running in a different direction than the rest of the fabric.  I could cut some on the bias so they would match but I kind of like the change of direction.  I have 2 more strips to add before I can sew rows together.

This is a close up of the setting triangle fabric.  It is a muddy dusty blue with cream spots.

And because that wasn't enough to think about I put the first 20 strips of the throw size Kaffe Trip Around the World up on the design wall.  Either top left or bottom right corner could be the center.

I thought my multi-tasking skills were gone but I was thinking about all 3 quilts all day and making decisions on each.  I can't say I work as fast as I used to but I can still multi-task.
 

The other setting triangles...........

While I was in the basement pressing the setting triangle fabric for the 16 patch quilt I glanced over at my design wall which has had these pineapple blocks on it for a couple months.  I had been trying several neutral light prints for the setting triangles and then I saw this batik fabric and thought it might be fun.  The color is off in this photo since it is a dusty blue with beige spots.  I only had a yard of it and I cut all of the side triangles I needed.  This did not leave me a large enough piece to cut the corner triangles (look at the top corners).  I do have enough to add a straight strip to the corner blocks before I add the smaller triangles which were end cuts from cutting the big triangles. I think this fabric gives it a little whimsical vibe.

The wax coated Amaryllis has just one flower left plus that last bud to bloom.  On the other Amaryllis one bud stalk is quite tall and the other stalk hasn't grown much.