Trimming and binding..............

I did straight line quilting on this quarter log cabin quilt.  I took it off the frame and trimmed the edges, chose a binding and cut the strips.

My thread was Superior So Fine in a medium value beige/tan.  The only place it shows much is on the black fabric.

I started the hand sewing on the binding of the pineapple log cabin small quilt.

The weather has turned pleasant once again and the whole week looks great.  Once I get my end of the month quilts finished I will need to get outside and pull weeds in the back garden.

Today is my pacemaker's 4th birthday and my second great-grandson's 5th birthday.  

 

Another quilted..................

It only took 8 years to get this one to the finish line.  I finished quilting at 11 last night so I will remove it from the longarm today.  Here is the post when the top was finished.

I also chose the binding for this one and cut the strips.

And of course I need a photo of something in my garden.  This zinnia was the prettiest of the ones in full bloom and it is slightly beyond its prime.  

 

Almost finished.............

I quilted the small log cabin pineapple quilt yesterday afternoon.  The dusty peach print for the back wasn't quite wide enough so I added a strip of a coral colored batik to it.  I think the binding needs to be a dark cream color like the spots in the setting triangles.

After I got I got it off the longarm and trimmed I cut the backing for the next to be quilted and trimmed the batting to the right size.  It is ready to load today after I press the creases out of the backing.

I finally remembered to check on the Four o'clocks in the daylight.  They are red in some light and more fuchsia in other lights.  I guess I would call them a soft red here.

I am so excited to have a new to me plant blooming in this late part of the summer.

This low growing Stonecrop Sedum is called Dazzleberry.  It is a little brighter than it looks here.  The tag says to divide it every 3 years if you want it to stay a small size.  It was only about 6-8" tall before the flowers appeared.  It is already leaning onto the pavers so I probably need to either move it farther in or divide it next spring.

This Coral Bell is on the other side of the front porch and is part of a plant I dug up to save.  This piece of the plant has mostly green leaves.  Other parts of the plant had purple and green leaves and I planted them over in the divided flower beds.  I have one more section in a pot on the north side of my house that I have to decide whether to plant before winter or leave in the pot for the winter.

 

A quilt top!.................

I accomplished 1 1/2 of 3 things on my list for today.  I did get the borders sewn onto the Matrix quilt top (pattern by SpringLeaf Studios)--no more procrastination.  It measures 53" x 73".  I really like this Animal print by Brandon Mably for the border.

I also got the small quilt layers loaded on the longarm and it is ready to quilt.

I went out to fill the birdbath with water last night at 8 and the Four o'clocks were blooming.  It is getting dark by that time so that is why the photo is dark.  All 3 of the larger plants are blooming.  It took so long for them to grow that I was wondering if I would have any flowers before fall.

Two more hot high humidity days and then the cold front comes through.  Then our high temperatures will be in the low to mid 80s--not my idea of a cold front but a relief from high humidity.

Quarter square triangles..........

I managed to procrastinate one more day for sewing on the Matrix borders.  Yesterday turned out to be grocery shopping day, 2 places.  I went early to one, then a zoom call, and then the second place.  With the lack of rain I spent some time watering plants and bushes.

I have been cutting quarter square triangles from scraps and sorted all of the pink/red/orange ones.

I will use some in the Kaffe orphan block quilt I started to plan here.  Everything has blue, lavender, red and pink in it and I will stay with that theme.

This is one way I can use the little blocks as a strip for fill in.

I can also use them this way in a strip.  Another option is making Ohio Star blocks.  I have taken all of those blocks so far off my design wall so I may resurrect it on a design wall in another part of my basement where I can leave it up.

Goal today: quilt a small quilt on the longarm.  Get a backing sewn for a larger quilt that is next to go on the longarm and get those borders sewn onto the Matrix quilt top.  That might be today and tomorrow to accomplish all of that.

 

Still sorting and cleaning..............

I'm still wandering into my studio and trying to sort, straighten up and clean the room.  What do I find?  Piles of pieces and parts that have no project in sight.  There are enough 9 patches for 4 blocks and strip pieced units for 5 blocks.  This will all go into a box with a label for later consideration.  It looks like a winter project when the TV show fall season starts.

These are machine embroideries on a black print batik.  I have several more of the Mola type designs and I was planning on doing a quilt with them at one point.  I would say they are probably 10 years old. The embroideries are about 6" square.  I'm sure I'm going to find a few more 'started without a plan' items before I'm done.  I had fun making them though so there is no regret for time spent on them.

Now I really must get that border sewn on the Matrix quilt.  The end off the month is creeping up.

We got in on a little rain last night, about 2 tenths of an inch.  The day before we got one tenth of an inch, a little over a quarter inch total.  Our grass is going to stay half brown at that rate.

Clean up time...............

I needed to clean off my sewing table now that the Matrix blocks are all sewn.  Then I had a dr. visit for a yearly check up on my pacemaker right in the middle of the day.  By the time I got home I needed a nap and then never really got started on anything.

Here are my Four o'clocks at 5:30 yesterday afternoon.  I read that the reason they open at 4 p.m. is because the day is cooling off.  Well it was 91 with a feel like 102, so much for cooling off at 4.

Christiane said in her comment yesterday that she thought the yellow and orange flowers in the pot were Cosmos.  I did plant Cosmo seeds in my little seed patch too.  I had only seen tall Cosmos with feathery leaves before so I looked up online and found a variety like the ones I have. The leaves look just like Marigolds which I also planted there and they have stayed pretty short.  Now I know they aren't Marigolds and there is more than one variety of Cosmos.

This is one of my favorite plants in the front flowerbeds.  It is hard to get a good photo because the color is even prettier in person. This is a Peachberry Ice Coral Bell.

Today I hope to be in the studio and get something done.

Borders chosen............

I made the decision on the borders for the Matrix quilt top (SpringLeaf Studios pattern) but I had some other pressing matters to take care of so no sewing took place.  I have enough of this Brandon Mably "Animal" fabric for the back too if I decide to use it there.

The Four o'clocks and the single petal Marigolds are making me happy.  Even though very little came up from seed I'm going to call it a success.

I dug up one Marigold plant and put it in a pot....or did I get 2 plants?  It's fun to look at by my hose in the front garden.

The pot by my garage is at its peak right now.  It never wilted all summer even though I forgot to water it sometimes.  I have a wide overhang so it gets very little rain unless the wind is blowing from the right direction.

 

Time to choose borders............

I got the blocks all sewn into a top but lacked the get up and go to find the borders yesterday.  I guess it is that 'rest on Sunday' thing that keeps me from working too hard.  It measures about 40" x 60" right now.  (Pattern: Matrix by SpringLeaf Studios) I will add a 2" finished border of the background gray print (or maybe a different gray Kaffe print) first and then a 5" border of a larger print so it will finish at 54" x 74", which is a nice throw quilt size.  

It is going to be extremely humid this week so I should get a lot of cutting and sewing done.

My largest Coral Bell is in bloom now with fluffy flower stalks.  The bees really love these.

And then there are the dainty Coral Bell blooms in bright pink.

The cone shaped Hydrangea blooms are turning darker pink now.  The description of them on the tag makes it sound like they will get even deeper pink so we shall wait and see.

The Old Timey Yellow plant has produced a few tomatoes and they are really good.  The first one to ripen was 2 that grew together and it was huge.  I don't see any new tomatoes on the plant so I don't know if it is done or just resting because it has been so hot. 

24 blocks and moving on..........................

I have 24 blocks sewn and am ready to move on to another project.  I will probably sew the blocks into a top today.  This will get a border of the background fabric and then probably a wider border of some Kaffe collective fabric.  

I might make more blocks from this SpringLeaf Studios Matrix pattern with a different selection of fabric and maybe multiple background fabrics.

We still have a lack of rain here.  Showers are spotty and just 25 miles away will get 1.5" and we get nothing.  It is looking like fall early in the back gardens because it is so dry.  Even the plants in pots have some brown leaves even though I water them.  I have to decide if these are going in the ground or staying in pots all winter.

This Sedum is a different shade of green than the 2 varieties I have in the front garden and I have another piece from this plant in another pot.

The flowers are starting to open on the Postman's Pride Sedum.  It is the prettiest this year than it has been since I bought it about 7 years ago.  I have another piece of this plant in a pot too.

The bees are loving the Sedum and Coral Bell blooms and especially this small low growing Stonecrop Sedum.

 

20 blocks..............

I have 20 blocks sewn now and I think I have them all turned the right way now.  I have 2 more cut and ready to sew and then it is back to cutting again.

Here is a reminder of the pattern I am using.  I'm ready to cut some more bright colored strips.  I have repeats of 2 or 4 cut from each fabric right now.  I need more variety.

My grandson came back home for a friend's wedding and he came over yesterday and cut up the big fallen branches for me.  Then he bought lunch and brought it back here.  I set up a table and chairs outside on the north side of my house, the only place there was shade and we ate and talked for a couple hours.  It's hard to believe that I have grandchildren in their 20s and 30s.

More outdoors..........

I cut 12 more blocks but did my sewing after I wrote my post so I'll show them tomorrow.

I had enough Canna bulbs to plant in 2 pots and this one on the front driveway is doing great.  I rarely get flowers on them because I don't get them planted early enough.

Here's an 8 p.m photo. Whatever was breaking off the leaves on this one in the backyard finally left it alone and it has gotten a lot taller.  

There was another new Marigold and it is quite orange so my question yesterday whether they would all be yellow has been answered.  I love the ruffly petals on this one.

Here is a small view of the Zinnias and Marigolds in the tomato jungle.  The Zinnias are actually laying on the ground as they reach for the light at the front of the raised bed and then they curve up and grow tall.  I put all new MiracleGro vegetable garden soil in the raised bed and the tomato plants are doing so much better than the last 2 years.

I forgot to go out and check on the Four o'clocks late in the afternoon so here is an 8 p.m. photo of one of the ones I dug up and put in a pot.  The ones in the ground aren't quite ready to bloom yet.

 

10 blocks...................

I have 10 blocks done now.  I need to analyze what colors and values to put into this quilt.  What I liked about this pattern is the interruptions in the strip lengths  instead of having a connected plaid look.  Next step is cutting more of one of the shapes out of the background fabric so I can continue.

I had a couple different packs of Marigold seeds plus one mixed pack that had Marigolds in it.  These are the shortest ones and I planted them between some of the tomato plants that are along my driveway.

This is one of tall plants between the tomato plants in my raised bed in the backyard.

This is another of the tall ones in the back.  I'm wondering if they will all be yellow.

I'm not sure if I had ever seen the single Marigolds before.  They were in the pack of mixed seeds and several of them came up.

A couple of my readers have told me that Four o'clocks self seed so I might have a whole bed of them some day.  I forgot to go out and see if they were blooming yesterday.  I have 3 that I dug up and put in pots (one is ready to bloom) because this bed is in the area where the tree cutting guy was going to be walking.  In the end he only smashed one plant in that bed and one Brown Eyed Susan.

The largest parts of the limbs that fell by my kitchen window are waiting for someone with a saw to cut them up for my neighbor's campfires.  I push them up by the bushes when I need to mow the grass. 

First 4 blocks...............

I cut more pieces and then pieced the first 4 blocks of Matrix, pattern by SpringLeaf Studios.  I think it is going to work well with the Kaffe Collective fabrics.  I hope I don't get bored with the same background fabric all the way through.

My Brown Eyed Susans are in full bloom now.  They were a gift from a friend named Susan.

The Black Eyed Susans are doing well also.  There are only 2 plants in the patch instead of a whole bunch like I used to have.  I hope it will fill back in next year.

There is one little renegade plant.  When I dug up this Hosta early this summer I could see there was a Black Eyed Susan nestled in but I couldn't get it all out so I went ahead and planted the Hosta.  I'll probably dig it up this fall and try once more to separate the plants.

You know fall is near when my largest and latest blooming Hosta is producing flowers.  They are sweet smelling a look more like lilies that the other varieties.  These were just starting to open yesterday.

The Zinnias in the tomato patch are doing well.  They are really stretching up to try to get to the sunlight.

Pbj Fiber M, you leave me the nicest comments but I can't respond to you since you are a no reply commenter.  It's OK if you don't want to enable your email in your settings but I just wanted you to know I appreciate all of the comments.