July 2024 Monthly Recap................

It was obvious I wasn't going to have any more finishes today so my monthly recap is a day earlier than usual.  I had two finishes, both quilted by my longarm friend Robin.  The Red Kaffe Squares is 66" x 84.5" and has at least 77 different Kaffe collective fabrics in it.  Hole in the Barn Door/ Churn Dash with 4 different size blocks is 63.5" x 82.5" and also is Kaffe collective fabrics.  This one might have closer to 100 different fabrics.

I didn't expect to have a quilt top finish for July but this one just came together so fast.  It is 40" square and is all Marcia Derse fabric, triangles cut from scraps, rectangles cut from scraps.

Before I put away the trays with the leftovers I took all of the triangles that were singles or doubles and paired them dark/light and sewed them.  Now I have all of the leftovers on 2 trays.

I spent a lot of time cleaning up the gardens in July.  Luckily the whole month wasn't extremely hot like it can be some years.  I also had 2 successful de-stash sales and with the combination of June and July I sent 266 yards of fabric and lots of miscellaneous to new owners.  Lots of scraps left my house so now I can go directly to yardage with no guilt.

It's a finished quilt top!.............................

Surprised?  I am!  I sewed the rest of the triangle blocks and cut a few more spacer blocks yesterday.  All Marcia Derse fabric. When I started arranging them on the design wall I had exactly enough pieces to make a  40" x 40" quilt top.  I took that as a sign that I was ready to sew it together.  I finished it in time to take a daylight photo.  It could be a wall hanging or baby quilt.

Did I use all of the triangles?  No.  Most of the ones left are 1, 2 or 3 alike with just a few prints that have more than that.  So I didn't clear out 3 trays.................so they will go back on the shelf.

We were lucky enough to get in on the rain Sunday and Monday mornings and got a total of 1.1".

Finally a peek at what I'm doing............

These pieces are up on the design wall in no particular order right now.  I just wanted to get a feel for what I have been planning to do and see if it is going to work.  I have a lot more triangles to sew together but now I feel like I know where I'm headed with this.

So far I'm only using scraps; I have lots of yardage I could dip into.

At this point I think I will have enough pieces to made a baby quilt.  When I give someone a choice between 3 - 5 baby quilts, they often choose a dark one like this.

 

Sewn and pressed.......................

Finally I have a few more of the triangle blocks sewn.  There are more to sew, little by little.

I spent part of the day yesterday going through everything in a big desk.  I found some things I can take to the thrift store, some I need to shred, more that I need to find a place for.  Not an exciting day but necessary.
 

Pressing.............

 I pressed all of the squares that were already sewn and intended to sew blocks last night.  My daughter-in-law decided to cook some corned beef that was in her freezer and invited all of the family over for the meal.  My 2 little great-grandsons were the center of attention of course.  We went outside after eating and the weather was perfect and no mosquitoes.  Their lot backs up to a farm field so I don't know if that has anything to do with the lack of the little pests.  Today I intend to sew some blocks and cut some spacer pieces.  I'm still not sure if this is a quilt or a table runner.  Time will tell.

Little plants................

I noticed my cute little yellow Coneflower was blooming yesterday.  It's about 10" tall now.  I have a wide overhang on my house so it really doesn't get much rain unless there is wind with the storm.

Yesterday was the first full day for the Begonias in the pot so I expect them to look better in about a week.  I have to admit I didn't plant them until 10 days after I bought them so they were very root bound.

I got the last 2 packages mailed out from my 6th destash sale.  There are still 3 packs of Cherrywood fabric left (#2, 12, and 13) and a Karen Stone paper piecing pattern, An Unusual Feathered Star.  I'll be moving the photos of the sold items over to my third blog, You Missed It: Already Sold, this weekend.

My slump month?..............

Usually every summer I have a couple months where I have few or no quilt tops or finishes to show.  The last 2 years have been the exception with something to show every month.  Last year I had 11 finishes in the first 6 months and this year I had 20.  I think this is more of a time of contemplation, what I really want to make, what fabrics I really want to use.  While I contemplate I go out and pull weeds and talk to my tomato plants. I also planted some little Begonias in a pot yesterday.  I forgot to take a photo.

Yesterday I opened the box of Marcia Derse scraps that had the larger pieces in it.  I wanted to check what was in there before I start cutting off of yardage.  Today is supposed to be a beautiful day so I may be outside again.  I'm making good headway on the weeds in the back shade garden.

Preliminary sewing................

 Since I don't have a solid plan for this quilt, I'm just sewing some blocks to play with.  First I went through the trays and chose all of the fabrics of which there were at least 12 triangles.  I sewed several batches of them last night.

This is the rest of the sets of 12 triangles paired and ready to sew.

This one is upside down and I didn't notice that until I was typing this post.  This one has stripes and 6 are horizontal, 6 are vertical.  I had to lay this one out to see if I want to use the rest of the stripe fabrics.

The other 2 kinds of blocks are the same height, just less columns.  I need to press the squares today so I can sew blocks together and then go to the second stage of the design, whatever that may be.

I was outside for 2 sessions yesterday.  It was humid.  The first time I pulled out Creeping Bellflowers and Creeping Charlie from an area in the garden.  The second session was trimming the third Weigela bush.  I found a couple more volunteer trees growing in the bush so they had to go too.  So now I have trimmed all 3 Weigela bushes and 2 Lilac bushes and I don't have plans to trim any more.

What's next..................

I don't have any definite plans for a new project (3 in cutting stage right now) so I pulled out the trays of Marcia Derse triangles that I cut from scraps a couple years ago.  I have more scraps that I could cut up too.

There is a fairly good variety cut already so I can go ahead and start sewing and cut as I need more variety.  They are 2" finished triangles.

3 trays full of triangles, probably enough for a baby quilt, maybe a small one.

My destash sale this week has been very successful so I spent a couple hours preparing packages for mailing yesterday.  There are still 3 packages of Cherrywood hand dyed fabrics left as I type this, also 1 Karen Stone paper piecing patterns with papers.  Everything else, including the 4 items from last week have been sold.  I have a huge empty blanket box now.  I might resume in August to destash more but will take a couple weeks off now and do some sewing.  I have missed the hum of the machine.

Short sleeves..................

I like short sleeves in the summer and I don't wear knit shirts so it has been hard to find what I need.  I finally decided to buy long sleeve shirts and cut the sleeves to the length I like. 

Yesterday I mowed half of the lawn in the morning and the other half at 7 p.m.  The rest of the day was spent sorting through the Cherrywood hand dyed fabric and grouping it  for my second destash sale this month at Wandaful Quilts.  I also moved the remaining 4 items from the #1 sale to the new post.  This will be the last sale this month.

End of a busy week....................

This past week was so busy, no time to think about much except being on time for appointments and getting my Internet company issues resolved.  I guess I did get a binding done too.  My Grandson got both new Comcast units hooked up, put in the 2 eight foot bulbs in my studio and assembled a 4 step ladder with side grab bars for the few times I need to use one.   I was wiped out by last night.

I went out with my camera to see what has happened in the gardens.  The Zinfin Doll Hydrangea blooms are just starting to turn pink.

The bush has grown so much.  This is its 3rd year in this garden.  There are a few blooms at the bottom that are still green.

The Annabelle blooms start out lime green, then turn white and now are going back to lime green.

The little Flare Hydrangea, that I got for $8 at the end of the season last year, has 3 blooms. When I bought it, it was past blooming so I never saw what the blooms will look like.

This is as far as it has bloomed so far.

The tiny Yellow Coneflower near the Hydrangea is the tallest it has been since the first year it was planted.  It has 3 buds.

The tomato plants have stated growing faster now.  The tall one in the back is the Sun Gold cherry tomato.  The 2 in front are Early Girl and 4th of July.  I have had tomatoes off all three.

The 4 plants in pots are doing well.  I put cardboard down to make a flatter spot for the pots but I think the drainage isn't as good.  We had almost 4" of rain from Saturday through Tuesday and some of the leaves are turning yellow on the plants. That is a sign of being too wet.  All of the plants have lots of green tomatoes on them.  In the pink pot is a volunteer Azalea bush that I will give to a neighbor.

I'll finish my tour with a view across the back garden.  A few of the tall Tiger Lilies got broken off in the storm either Monday or Tuesday night.  Closest to the camera is Oxeye Daisy and Purple Coneflower.  Beyond the bird feeders are Black Eyed Susan, Tiger Lilies and Purple Coneflowers.  There are some Brown Eyed Susan plants that will bloom soon.

Small bits of time..............................

I don't like days with an appointment in the middle, breaking up time to work on anything.  In the morning before I had to leave I was looking through this bin of Cherrywood hand dyed fabric.  It is all from broken up packages of gradations, usually 8 quarter yard pieces.  I plan on grouping some of this for my destash next week.  The back story of why I have so much of it: Dawn Hall, the inventor of the process of Cherrywood dyeing, was the niece of my friend who owned Quilting Books Unlimited.  I went to Houston in the late 1980s to the big show to help my friend selling books and Dawn's fabric was introduced to the world of quilters at our booth.  I bought almost every pack that Dawn dyed in those early days. I used some of it in this quilt.

Then I left for another town and stopped at a big box retailer for 2 eight foot fluorescent bulbs because 2 are burnt out in my main floor studio.  Then on to my appointment and finally home 2 hours later.

Later in the afternoon I started looking through my larger pieces of batik fabrics for possible backings for 3 throw size batik tops.  I see some possibilities and will do some measuring today.

I went out and pulled more of the creeping Bellflowers that are past their prime, more to do yet.

Today my grandson is going to stop by and hook up some new equipment that Comcast sent to me.  For what I pay every month I would think the company could come hook it up.  Oh, they will, for $100 a visit.  Oh, and a little more rant.  As I'm carrying the 8 foot bulbs to the front of the store to check out I find the only lanes open are self check.  I stopped in front of the "pick up" desk where 2 people were working.  Finally one of them looked up and asked if she could help.  I told her I couldn't self check while holding 8 foot bulbs.  She very graciously offered to help then.  I told her 83 year old ladies should be waited on from the time they walk in the door.  Then she said you don't look like 83.  Well that made my day.  Rant over.

Another backing chosen..............

I spent more time outside than in the studio yesterday.  The weather is so beautiful now and it looks like it is going to stay for about 10 days.

While I was doing 2 loads of laundry I did spend some time looking through possible backing choices and only made one final decision.  I think this one will keep this quilt looking summery.  I just made the pink and green triangle quilt top in May but it will go to my longarmer soon because it is 84" long, one of the last of the large quilt tops. 

 

Backing choices...................

The Folk Art Kaffe fabric on the left has never been a favorite of mine.  I got 4 yards of this red/green on sale at a very good price and I think I finally have a quilt that can use it for a backing.  This was my Sunday Only quilt project from 2022.

When Robin was here last I had her help me decide which of 3 fabrics would be the best choice for Fonthill, a recreation of a Kaffe quilt in an older book.  This is the one that we both liked best.

Now I need to cut batting for these 2.

The heat wave is over and the dew point has dropped from 81 to 57, from tropical to comfortable and temperature down into the 60s last night.

Finish #2 for July 2024............

Now that I have my 2 finishes for the month I can sit back and do nothing for the rest of the month.... wait...I don't know how to do that.  I need to be busy.

I made the quilt top in November 2023 so this one didn't wait too long to be quilted (by longarm friend Robin).  I did the binding all by machine which speeded up the finish.

Looking back at previous posts when I was making the top, there are at least 77 different Kaffe collective fabric in it, and 2 squares of most of the prints.  It has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it and it is 66" x 84.5".  The backing and binding are also Kaffe fabrics.

Yesterday was my pacemaker check up.  I only have a few months left in the battery so I'll be getting a replacement in a couple months.

Binding in progress..................

I made the decision to do the binding on this second quilt all by machine. I'm sewing it on the back and will topstitch it on the front.

I took a photo of my computer screen, so I'm sorry it's not very clear.  This earthquake was 3 miles from my town.  I usually sleep through them but I woke up at 2:30 yesterday morning and was having trouble getting back to sleep.  The earthquake was at 2:53 a.m.  I thought a tree had fallen in my backyard. Big thump and ground shaking.  I knew my motion sensor lights (and my south neighbor's lights) would come on if that had happened.  It was totally dark, no lights.  In the morning when I didn't see any trees down anywhere I had an idea it might be an earthquake so I did a search and there it was.  My rain gauge had 2.1" in it from the storms that started late Sunday night.

There were lots of tornado warnings last night as a strong storm system moved through from Iowa to Indiana with us west of Chicago getting in on it.  I didn't lose power and I think our area was pretty much spared but the storm reports will start coming in with daylight today.

Garden yield and destash details.....................

This is my Saturday and Sunday pickings from my garden.  The tomato on the left has a scar on one side but I think I can salvage the rest of it.  I ate 4 of the little Sun Gold tomatoes before I grabbed my camera.

I thought I would get a second binding sewn on a quilt yesterday but I spent the whole day doing photography and writing my destash post for the Wandaful Quilts blog.  I didn't get a lot of fabric pulled but there is a bunch of miscellaneous items that I'm hoping I can find a home for.  This is an orange week.

 

Sorting through stash.................

I'm still sorting through stash for things to destash and post on my other blog.  I'm hoping for a post tomorrow morning.

It was hot and sticky as forecasted yesterday.  We got a nice little surprise shower in the afternoon and got about a tenth of an inch of rain.  It would be nice if we could get a little more rain.  They are saying a dew point of 78 tomorrow...that is tropical humidity.  I'm glad I have plenty to do inside.  

First finish for July 2024..............

I love making quilts with several different size blocks.  This one has 4 sizes.  All of the fabrics are Kaffe Fassett collective.  

This quilt is 63.5" x 82.5".  The longarm quilting was done by my friend Robin.

The camera once again is emphasizing the dark and light and I don't feel that the dark blocks are as dark as they look in these photos.

This is an angle photo that I took when I finished the top and the colors seem much more accurate here.  Every straight on photo I take of it is value distorted.

The backing fabric, also a Kaffe fabric, was a gift from a friend.  The binding is an older Kaffe print.  The quilt has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it.

I started making the blocks for this quilt on June 17, 2020 and finished the top in August 2020.  4 years in the waiting room before it would be finished.

Yesterday turned out to be partially cloudy and the humidity wasn't too bad so I finished the mowing in 2 sessions.  Now the temperature is going to be 90 or above for 4 days with high humidity.

 

Yes, it is done...................

There was one short side and a little left on a long side when I started stitching yesterday so I stuck with it until it was done..  Full photo tomorrow.

It is going to be in the 90s and high humidity starting with Saturday so I thought I had better get the rest of the mulch spread.  This is the same red mulch but in the shade it looks brown.  The bushes are my Compact Burning Bushes planted in 2021.

Every year I show this tiny yellow Coneflower.  I think it is about 8" tall already which beats last year's 6".  It has more leaves this year so I'm hopeful it will grow more.

I waited until 8 p.m. to mow the grass in the backyard.  It was down to 72 with a dewpoint of 65.  The front yard may have to wait until the middle of next week when it cools off a little.  The front yard is in the hot sun almost all day so it doesn't grow as fast.

 

Playing with birds......................

I really didn't accomplish much yesterday.  Mostly I looked through the Charley Harper bird fabric and decided which size some of them will be cut.  I'm not sure if I'll use the stylized print on the top left.

Some of the prints are spread out and might need to be 8.5" squares.

Maybe I'll get some more cutting done today.

I'm still working on the hand stitching on a binding too.

 

Garden refresh............

I have always had a mulch path through my shade garden but the last couple years I couldn't find a mulch that was small pieces.  I hate the big chunks because they aren't fun to walk on.  I found this nice mulch, soft and small pieces so I bought several bags of it.  I had 2 choices, dark brown or red.  I thought the brown would just look like dirt so I went with red.

These 2 photos show each end of path that goes around a redbud tree.  This is a shade garden with lots of Hosta plants.  The section with the orange Tiger Lilies and Purple Coneflowers gets a little more sun in the late afternoon.  It has been several years since I have refreshed the mulch on this path.  I finished this job before the light rain started, the residue from hurricane Beryl coming all the way up through IL.

I'm still working on the hand stitching on the binding of this Churn Dash/Hole in the Barn Door quilt.  I have 2 sides done and about 12" on the third side.