First finish in June 2026...................

It didn't take long to finish the binding (by machine) yesterday.  We had some hefty storms again so my machine was unplugged most of the afternoon. There were tornadoes north and south of me.  This was one time I was happy the storm split and didn't touch us. 

 The rain didn't finish until 8 p.m. so I don't know the total for yesterday.  The dew point started dropping (from 73) after 8 and was down to 60 by bedtime.  Now we will have some cooler and drier weather for a while.

This quilt finished at 45" x 62.5".  All of it is Marcia Derse fabric, including the back and binding.  A friend who realized she wasn't going to use this backing fabric, sent it to me and it was the right amount for this quilt.

I die cut all of the pieces for the quilt top.

Now it is time to figure out what is next.  I'm waffling on the border fabric for the William Morris TAW quilt, wondering if it should be a lighter color than the red I already have.  I can always use it on the back.

 

Binding started................

I didn't get started on anything early in the day and my machine was unplugged for a few hours in the afternoon while storms rolled through.  Another .9" of rain.  A second round came through in the evening so the machine was unplugged again.  Finally later in the evening there was just light rain so I got busy on this binding.  Since the binding is black and the background of the backing is black, I decided it was best to do it all by machine.  I should be able to finish it today.

I'm glad I got a photo of the mounds of Cranesbill a few days ago because they are laying down after the rain.  More storms are predicted for today and then the high humidity should leave tomorrow.

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

Monday I got two quilts back from my longarmer and the one made with Marcia Derse fabric was trimmed yesterday. 

I chose one of Marcia Derse's Marble Run fabrics for the binding.  It is cut and ready to sew onto the quilt.

I had company most of the day yesterday and we went through a lot of old photographs.  We were joined by more family for pizza in the evening.

It was 88 yesterday with a dew point of 73 which is considered tropical humidity.  Hopefully a front coming through with some rain late today and into tomorrow will drop the humidity for the rest of the week.

The error is fixed on the Wm. Morris TAW so now I need to decide how wide the border should be.

Ooops!!!...............

I didn't see my mistake until I sat down at 5:15 to watch the weather report last night.  I was staring at the quilt and I saw a light square where it shouldn't have been.  I finally figured out I sewed in the bottom half strip wrong end up.  I didn't notice it in the photo yesterday.

Here is yesterday's photo and the mistake is at the bottom right, 3rd strip in.  I wasn't in any hurry to get the unpicking done, so maybe it will happen today.

I have 2 rain gauges, one on the east side of my house which I check most often.  The other is on the west side and most storms come in from the west.  I had 1.6" in the front gauge from Sunday plus another quarter inch yesterday morning for 1.85",  and 2.5" in the back gauge, which I think is more accurate.  That's the most rain we've had in 2 days for a long, long time.  We only had 1.6" of rain for the whole month of May.

Top sewn, waiting for border.................

The vertical seams are all sewn now and it needs its final pressing.  I fingernail pressed seams to the left in each of the 4 vertical sections as I was constructing this William Morris fabric Trip Around the World.

I started the day by walking to the end of the driveway to pick up the newspaper.  On my way back to the house I saw something was starting to bloom so I got my camera and came back outside.  I think we decided this variation of Rudbeckia is Gloriosa Daisy.  Several plants have come up from seed this year.

I think this might be the first Black-eyed Susan blooms.  

The birthday party for my 5 year old neighbor girl got started late Saturday night so I came home before they served the cake.  The girls brought me a piece last evening.  I added some ice cream after I took this photo.

I was out trimming low branches off the tomato plants yesterday afternoon and I noticed how dry they were.  Rain was predicted but we got so little from the Fri. and Sat. storms that I wasn't sure we would get any.  I decided to wait and water late in the afternoon.  Well, l didn't need to....we got a heavy rain mid-afternoon, 1.3" and then some more storms rolled through before 7:30 and there was a grand total of 1.6".  I won't need to water for a week.  The grass was starting to have brown spots so this rain should green things up again.  High humidity predicted for the whole week so we might get some more rain. 

Almost done.......................

The third section of 7 columns is sewn and I only need to unpick 4 more loops for the last section of 6 columns.  On the left is one of the red fabrics used in the quilt.  I plan on using it for a border, size to be determined.

The William Morris fabrics are so pretty.

I have a 3 yard piece of the light fabric to the right of the red fabric and I'll use it on the back.

Yesterday was a neighborhood day.  To the south was a graduation party which I was invited to.  I just went over for a short time and met the graduate.  To the north was a birthday party for a 5 year old.  I was out talking to several of their guests.  I delivered some tomato plants to the neighbor behind me and saw her little chicken coop.  She's not ready for the chickens quite yet.  It got up into the 90s with high humidity in the afternoon.

We got a tenth of an inch of rain yesterday early morning and the forecast looks like only spotty showers today. There is still hope for rain on Monday and Tuesday.

Half sewn.................

Two sections of 7 columns are sewn together now and that is half of the quilt top.  I unpicked the rest of the cut loops, and now I need to cut loops from the next strata.

I was in the basement doing a load of laundry and decided I should check the top shelf in the bathroom to see if I had any other older irons I can use.  Surprise!!  There was a new iron in a box.  I think I must have used my expiring Kohl's cash for it when there wasn't anything else I needed.  I'm guessing it has been on that shelf over a year.

I mentioned the new pots in my back garden line up and here they are.  Starting at the far right there are 2 black containers that I planted cucumber seeds in.  The square pot between them is a tomato plant.  Next left from the middle black container is the new tomato plant with 10 tomatoes on it.  The next photo will show the whole line up.

Starting at the far left is the dilapidated raised bed with 3 tomato plants + 3 tiny volunteers from last year's tomatoes.  Next are the 4 big pots with tomato plants.  Continuing on are the pots shown in the photo above.  My neighbor who mows my grass should be able to get fairly close to the pots and I'll just keep hand cutting whatever grows close to the pots and between them.  My son came over with his weed whacker last Saturday and cleaned up the area pretty well.

Rain was predicted for yesterday but we only got a trace, barely enough to wet the bottom of the rain gauge.  Once again, areas around us got a half inch or more.  More rain is predicted for 3 or 4 days so I hope some of it materializes.  In the middle of next week they are predicting three 90 degree days.  I'm not ready for that.

TAW progress and nature walk................

I had 2 choices: move all of the pieces farther to the left on this design wall, or start unpicking bottom half pieces.  I will be sewing the top and bottom half of each strip together and then start sewing them into sections of 7 long strips.  I can then just hang the sections farther left on the wall to make space to do the rest of the unpicking.

Now lots of the Evening Primrose plants are blooming.  They look great mixed in with the Hosta plants.

In another flower bed they are blooming near the first Stella D'oro Lily.  There should be more lily blooms if we get the rain that is predicted.  We are headed back into a drought with very little rain since the end of April.

The Petunias in the porch pots are filling out.  The self watering pots are working out pretty well.  I got 2 new little Begonia plants for 2 of the pots on the bottom shelf and got them planted yesterday.

When I was shopping for the little Begonias, I saw this tomato plant with 10 tomatoes on it and it was half price.  It had to come home with me.  I had just given away the last 4 extra tomato plants because I didn't have room for them. but...I made room for this one.

This was one of the special brand plants so half price was a deal.  I know the friends I gave 2  of the plants to read my blog, so they should get a chuckle out of this.

While I was at it I added 2 more pots to plant cucumber seeds in.  I'll have to get a photo of my garden row soon.

I planted the two red pots yesterday.  One has Coleus and the other has 3 different plants.  The pot in front with Coleus was a gift from the same friends I gave the 2 tomato plants too.  Coleus plants grow pretty fast so they should be filled in and growing taller soon.

Unpicking.......................

I cut one strata of the William Morris Trip Around the World project and got 16 loops.  I need 14 to have one complete sequence (because I have 14 fabrics).  I unpicked a different seam on each loop to see what one quarter plus center row at right and bottom will look like.

As I explained in my tutorial last week (label is Trip Around the World tutorial on my label list and also at the bottom of this post), I could now move strips from the left one at a time to see what each fabric looks like at the center (bottom right corner).  In this photo I have moved 3 strips and already I know this is what I want.  There are 2 things to consider here, the center and the breakpoint - the fabric that will make the complete diamond touching at the center of all 4 sides.  I like a larger print for the breakpoint.

I took the remaining 2 loops and pinned them to the wall to show the center better.  I sewed the last seam in the other three stratas and after pressing I will be cutting loops from them.

 

One off the wall, another up......................

I needed one last photo of this group of blocks because I needed to take them off the design wall.  I can continue to cut more squares and when I have enough, I will put all of them up on the design wall again, and then it can be sewn.

I got the seam sewn in a backing for a flannel quilt and got the fold line and seam pressed.  Then I had 3 errands to take care of.

I took the 4 stratas for the William Morris Trip Around the World to my ironing table (30" x 60") in the basement and started the pressing sequence.  In the middle of the second strata, my iron died.  I bought that iron at least 15 years ago.  When I was teaching quilt classes in my home, I had 2 irons in the basement and one in my main floor studio.  I never cared for this particular iron but I started using it again about 11 years ago.  I use steam and this iron has always been a good steamer and has never leaked.  I have a fairly new iron to use now and it has to be coaxed to steam.

I flipped the above photo to make a point about the order of the fabrics.  In a TAW quilt I tend to like the fabrics to blend up from light to dark as in this photo rather than blending down as in the above photo.  This is a decision I make before I start unpicking a seam in the loops.  I have the seam sewn in one strata so I'll be cutting loops and unpicking today.

Out in the garden................

This is the view of my front garden, viewed from the porch.  You can't even see the pavers that divide the areas.  There are Black-eyed Susans growing in the crack between 2 pavers for most of the width of the garden as well as a couple Coral Bells at one end.  There are many of the Susans coming up in other areas too.  If I don't clean it up, it is going to be a mass of blooms.

The first Evening Primrose blooms are in the back garden.  The original plant came from my mother-in-law's house back in the 1980's.  They spread easily so I have patches of them here and there.

These remind me of the buttercups I used to pick when I was a little girl.

At the beginning of May I bought one pot with two Cucumber plants in it.  I got it planted in a big pot when I was planting tomatoes.  The 2 plants are looking pretty good so far.

I was out close to sunset last night to talk to my tomato plants and encourage some fruit on them.  This branch of the Weigela bush is near the raised bed.

I did my grocery shopping yesterday and today I hope to be sewing. 

May 2026 monthly recap...........................

There was one finish early in the month of May.  I used strips that were cut many years ago to make the Double 4 Patch blocks and many orphan blocks in brown/beige/gold joined them for a nice throw quilt.  It is 63" x 70".

I completed 2 quilt tops in May.  The Kaffe Medallion has been a slow project for several months, and when I finally decided it didn't want any more borders, it was done.  It is a wall hanging and measures 48" x 53".  When I get to the edge finish, I'm planning on doing a facing instead of binding.  The small still life top is not in proportion to the Kaffe top.  It is only 1/4 as tall as the medallion top but I left it larger for this collage.  It's only 10" x 13".

So what else did I do in May?  I had company staying with me for 8 days and then planted my tomato plants, 3 to the raised bed and 5 in pots.

I also planted all of my new porch pots.  They are starting to fill out.  I think I lost at least one little Begonia on the bottom shelf so I might be out looking for a new one or two.

I also wrote a 4 part tutorial for Trip Around the World.  During the time I was composing that I got steroid shots in my SI joints and am finally getting relief from my pain that started 10 months ago.  I'm just hoping that the relief lasts a long time.

And lastly, I knitted three dishcloths, the best stress reliever, the most calming thing I do all month.

Trip Around the World tutorial 4....................

 As you read the following paragraph, you may start wondering what you are going to do with the piece you just removed from a loop.  It is just a scrap to be used in another project, or it can be used to create a full sequence of the fabrics into a strip to be used on the back or to replace a problem unpicked loop.  Now that you don't need to worry about that, here are the final directions for the Trip Around the World quilt.

For the bottom half of the quilt, you don’t want duplicate pieces at the center of the quilt (the horizontal center row).  Look at the bottom color of the first, left hand strip.  Unpick this color totally out of one tube segment.  This has created a strip for the bottom half of the first row which you now sew to the top half strip with the fabrics in mirror image and re-hang it on the design wall.  Do this for all strips.

In this post, 4th photo, shows where to unpick.

This post shows progress unpicking bottom half strips.

Here is another post with all loops unpicked and top partially sewn.

One more partially unpicked bottom half.

When all of the top half and bottom half of strips are sewn together you will now sew seams from top to bottom to complete your top.  Take your time and make the intersections match.  If you followed the pressing technique, seams should be going opposite directions at every intersection.  Ease or stretch as necessary to make them match.  You may want to sew groups of 5 -10 long columns together several times and then join them to have less bulk at once at your machine.  All seams are now pressed one direction across the quilt.  Staystitch outside edge before adding border.

The only thing I didn't explain in this tutorial is how to choose the fabrics, and what order to put them in.  I will probably have a post called Trip Around the World tutorial 1 A.  I think I will be able to make it post in order between 1 and 2 or before 1.

I'm happy to answer emails with questions you might have.  My email address is on the right sidebar.

Trip Around the World Tutorial 3

Before you read the next paragraph I want to explain the 'breakpoint position' is the fabric that touches the outside edge at the center of all 4 sides.  In other words, it is the fabric that makes the largest diamond shape in the quilt.

Second, you don't have to decide what fabric is going to be in the center of the quilt at this time.  You will be able to audition a lot (or all) of the fabrics after you have unpicked a full sequence of loops.

I have previously posted photos for what is described in the first few sentences below  Check it out here.

Unpick one seam on one of your loops and place it up on your design wall at the left hand edge (or lay it on your sheet if you are working on the floor).  Unpick the next loop at the seam between the top 2 colors of that first strip.  Place it to the right of the first strip.  Unpick the next one at the seam between the top 2 colors of the second tube segment.   Place it to the right of the second strip.  Continue doing this until you have as many loops opened up as you have fabrics (16 for twin, 20 for double/queen, 22 for king).  If you unpick one at the wrong place, it can be used somewhere else so don't re-sew it.  Now you can move the strips from the left edge to the right edge one at a time until you see every fabric in the breakpoint position.  If you take photos and use 2 mirrors at a right angle you can create the look of the whole center.  The mirrors you can purchase that have a hinge holding them together are small, but you can still hold them up to your actual fabric section that you are auditioning to get an idea of what the center will look like.

Here is a post where I was auditioning colors for the center by moving the strips one at a time from the right edge to the left edge.  (Backwards to what I just described above.)

(At this point what you have unpicked is the left top quarter plus the center row.  You don't want to duplicate the center row so that is why you will unpick one less tube for the rest of the top of the quilt.)

Once you have chosen the order you like, you are ready to unpick the seams for the pieces for the rest of the top half of the quilt.   Unpick the second half of tubes (to the right of these original strips) at the seam between the bottom 2 colors of the previous strip.  This will make your fabric move down one step each time.  You know you are done when the first strip on the left and the last strip on the right are identical.

Here is a post where I talk about that.

Now DO NOT sew the top half of the quilt together.  You will have all vertical seams if you continue with my tutorial, BUT if you sew the top together (vertical seams) and then sew the bottom together (vertical seams), and then sew the 2 halves togehter, you will have one horizontal seam across the quilt.  This may stretch the center and possibly always be visible as a seam going the other way.

Tutorial 4 will continue tomorrow with bottom half designing and sewing the quilt top together.

Trip Around the World tutorial 2

A few facts before I go into the next step of the tutorial.

Don't cut off selvages before you make the stratas.  The first clean-up cut from the strata tube will trim them off....and you may need 1/8" of the selvage area to get the number of loops you need from a strata tube.

I don't pre-wash regular printed cotton fabrics so I will get more loops per tube than those of you who prewash.

Batiks don't have the wide unusable selvages so you can always get more loops from a batik tube.

You are at the trickiest part of the assembly as we tackle this next step.

Sew the last seam to make your strata into a tube, making sure you do not have a twist in it.  The ends of the fabric will not necessarily match at this point.  Move the fabric back and forth until it hangs straight (see below).  Your ends may mismatch by an inch or so.

The way I check for a twist is to fold the strata right sides together as if I'm going to sew the last seam.  I hold it out in front of me (the strips of fabric are running horizontally) and look to see if there is a twist at the fold.  If there is, I slide one of the layers to the left or right to make it hang straight. This is the new match for the end that I will start sewing.  (I'll try to add a photo here when I get to that point on my project.)

You now have tubes to work with.  For larger quilts you will need to fold the tube to fit on your cutting mat and you will want to avoid stacking seams on top of seams.  Re-cut the tubes of fabric into loops by trimming the even end with a clean up cut, and then using the countercut measurement for your quilt, cut as many loops as you need.  If your cut is 2-1/2” you need to get 16 from each tube for the twin and the double/queen size*. (double/queen 2.5", king 3”)  These measurements are here to remind you that not every size quilt has the same size cut.  Refer to the yardage chart for the width of your countercut for the size quilt you are making.

Photos of some of the above are on this previous post.

*If you can't get 16 loops from a strata, you may have to piece an extra half strata.

I mark my ruler with tape for the width of cut I need to make.  Then I cut as many loops as I can out of a strata.  You may not need all of the cuts from the last strata so you might want to save the part you don't need and use it on the back of the quilt.  (To figure out how many loops you need, multiply the number of fabrics you are using by 4 and subtract 2.)

In #3 of the tutorial we will be designing the layout.

Trip Around the World tutorial 1

 Trip Around the World tutorial 1

I will be using parts of my hand out sheets when I taught this class over 100 times, to do this tutorial.

Back in the 1990s, before mattresses were 11" - 15" thick, my measurements were good.  Now if you are actually making a bed quilt, you might have to add 2 or 3 borders to these sizes.  The chart is at the end of this post. To use my directions you need to have an even number of fabrics.

After you decide on the order of your fabrics, take a photo to refer back to before sewing.

Cut the required number of strips for the size quilt you are making.  Try cutting 2 to 4 fabrics at the same time with the lightest color on top.

Referring to your photo of the fabrics in order, sew the number of strata required for your quilt.  If you have a walking foot, you can sew from the same end each time.  Without a walking foot, you might want to sew from opposite ends each time to prevent a curve in the strata. Always keep one end of the strata as even and lined up as you can.  Let the mismatched lengths all be at the other end.

 Press the seams one up, one down all through the strata.  Make sure each strata is pressed identically (with the same fabrics going in the same direction as the first strata).

You can just do a quick press from the wrong side to set the seams in the right direction and do the heavier pressing from the right side to make sure you don't have any pleats at the seam lines.

(Now, before I add a yardage chart, the pieces in my rectangular TAW quilts are rectangular, not square.  It isn't obvious when you first look at it.  Rectangular pieces make it possible to have the same fabric touching the center of all 4 sides. If you use squares on a rectangular quilt, you will end up making extra rows for the top and bottom of the quilt and the top and bottom of the main diamond created won't touch top and bottom edges.)

 All yardages are generous so there is enough to recut a strip if you have a miscut.

Wall quilt  34 ½” square before borders

          12 fabrics, ¼ yard of each,

cut 3 strips 2” wide from each fabric ( across the 44”width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2”

 

Baby quilt  34 ½”x 46” without borders – border optional

          12 fabrics, 1/3  yard  of each

          cut 3 strips 2 ½” wide from each fabric (across the 44”width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2”

 

Couch/Lap quilt  54” x 67.5” - borders optional

          14 fabrics, 1/2 yard of each

          cut 4 strips 3” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

Twin size quilt  62” x 93” without  borders

          16 fabrics, ½ yard of each

          cut 4 strips 3½” wide from each fabric (across the 44”width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

Optional twin size quilt 70” x 96 ¼”

          18 fabrics, 5/8 yard of each

          Cut 5 strips 3 ¼” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          Crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

Double/Queen quilt  78” x 97 ½” before borders

          20 fabrics, 5/8 yd. of each

          cut 5 strips 3” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 2 ½”

 

King size quilt          107 ½” square before borders

          22 fabrics, 3/4 yd. of each

          cut 7 strips 3” wide from each fabric (across the 44” width)

          crosscuts in sewn strata will be 3”

If you have questions (and don't have a link to your email address in your blogger account), my email address is on my right side bar (on a phone I think you can click on the title of the blog post to see the right side bar, or scroll down and click on see web version).

 My guest bed quilt.

Coming in Tutorial 2, sewing the stratas into tubes.