Choosing a binding...................

The quilting was finished yesterday, the quilt trimmed and now it was time to choose a binding.  At first I thought a multicolor stripe, but then I decided black and white might be better.

Here are my three choices.  There were many more to choose from but I settled on these.

This stripe has the most white in it and the black lines are curvy.

The black lines are straight and closer together on this one.

It's always fun to find a diagonal stripe in the stash.  This one is darker than the other two.  I'll make a choice today and get the quilt finished for my monthly recap.  Any opinions?  I think they all work. 

Quilting started...........

The basting was done before noon and quilting started last night.  I finally found the quilt that these bright leftovers are from.  Here is a post that shows the quilt top.  It's no wonder I couldn't remember it because it was 13 1/2 years ago.

I decided on straight line quilting and got it over half quilted.  The lines aren't perfectly straight but I challenge any baby to complain about it.

It's supposed to reach 60 degrees today and then snow predicted both weekend days.

Second finish for February 2026.................

This isn't a typical baby quilt design, but because this quilt is only 29.5" x 37", the size makes it appropriate.  It was started in a workshop in 1991 when we were to design several blocks, choose one, and repeat the block for an original design.  I used one of the very earliest packages of Cherrywood hand dyed fabric by Dawn Hall, the originator of the Cherrywood dyeing technique.  She was the niece of my employer at a quilt shop.  The other fabrics were from my stash.

I still had enough of the white, gray, beige print in the quilt for the backing.  I guess I knew I would finish this one some day and might need it.  I decided on a gray print for the binding rather than emphasize any color from the quilt.

I'm basting one more baby quilt that I hope to finish this month. 

Quilting......................

I got this little baby quilt quilted last night.  I wasn't sure how I was going to quilt it but ended up ditch quilting the center and wavy lines in the border.  I'll get it trimmed today and cut the binding.  Hopefully I'll get the binding sewn on too and get stared basting another baby quilt.

I pulled out my #48 Flower Basket Kaffe fabric to see if it will work with the 16 patch blocks.  I need to do some measuring to see if it can be cut to a size that will work.

It's close to the end of the month so I think I'll concentrate on finishing things for the next few days.  All the while I'll be thinking about what my next new project will be and maybe pull some fabrics for it.

 

Social time...........................

My grandson and his wife brought lunch yesterday and then stayed long enough to help me with a couple heavy duty tasks.  Afterwards I did some grocery shopping.

Last night I cut the last stratas into sections and made some more Kaffe 16 patch blocks.  I love busy quilts, and I'm sure a few of you wonder why I'm not using white as every other square to "calm" it down.  I love all of the patterns in the fabric running together.  There are 2 of each of these blocks, so 18 total.

This group of leftover blocks has been hanging around my studio too long and I'm tired of moving them from place to place.  I need to do something with them or put them in a box in the basement.  They are leftovers from making this quilt which hangs on the wall at my grandson's house in NC.

I have organizing and clean up to do in my main floor studio today so I'm not sure what I will work on tonight.

 

Catch up day......................

There were lots of little jobs I needed to do to clean up the sewing studio.  First was the staystitching around this quilt.  Now it can be put on a hanger on the rack in the basement, waiting for its backing to be sewn.

While I had a load of laundry in the washer I looked for some leftover pastel 16 patch blocks in the Kaffe orphan box.  If you enlarge this photo you will see the block on the left has selvage showing.  I colored in the part that will show with permanent markers but I'm not sure if I will use it.  The one on the right is a keeper.

I might add in some plain blocks to make a quick baby quilt.

Then it was time to sew the right and left columns onto the medallion quilt.  I made a half block for the bottom of the right strip.

After sewing it on, I will have this little bit to trim off the top of the column.  I will wait until I have pressed it before I trim, for better accuracy.

On the left side column I started sewing it one with a full block matched at the bottom and this is how much will be trimmed on the top edge.  As soon as I press the 2 seams and trim, this top will get moved to the side on my design wall while I contemplate what I need to add on the top and bottom edges.

I found a few more sewn stratas to cut for 16 patch blocks so that will be done today.  Now I can concentrate on what is next with all of those loose ends taken care of.  I also finished basting a baby quilt so I can start quilting it tonight.

Something easy.................

I sewed the right edge column of blocks together for the medallion quilt and made the half blocks to finish the length of both columns and now I need to just think about what is next for that project.  Meanwhile I looked for an easy project to sew last night.  I had some stratas sewn and prepared to cut 16 patch blocks, maybe made last year or the year before.  This group of 10 blocks would be suitable for a baby quilt.  I'll look in the Kaffe orphan block box and see if there are any more in there.  If not, I need to cut some more strips.

This is the 12 blocks from the rest of the stratas, maybe for a different quilt.  I remember at the time I was sewing them I was down to a low variety of strips left in a box that used to be full.  There weren't a lot of good choices left to pair.  They will all work though in some quilt in the future and they are no longer a pile of sewn stratas.

We didn't even reach 30 degrees yesterday and today and tomorrow don't look much better.  We won't get above freezing until Tuesday.

4 blocks sewn, pressed and added to right column...........

I turned on my little mini iron and pressed the parts for the 4 new blocks and then sewed them and pressed them.  In the right column starting at the top, they are the 2nd, 5th, and bottom 2 blocks.  These aren't sewn into a column yet.  I need a partial block in the left column and might need a partial one on the right column too after they are sewn together.

Since I have had so few second round blooms on the cacti I need to capture the beauty of the ones I did get.  This champagne one is large and beautiful.  The second but is in the upper right corner of the photo.

Last night I needed some calm time.  I had an 11:15 arrival time for a procedure at the hospital and they called at 6:50 to say they had 2 cancellations and that I could come in early.  I got there at 7:30 for my radiowave ablation with steroids for the painful nerve roots in my back.  I hope I never have to repeat it as it wasn't very pleasant.  I was home by 10:30, 45 minutes before my scheduled arrival.  This treatment can have results within days or may take weeks.  I think you know which group I would like to be in.  It was 4 1/2 weeks since my first visit to the pain clinic because of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years holiday cutting into scheduling time.  I had to stay healthy so I wouldn't have to cancel so there was a lot of alone time the last 2 weeks.

Cutting...............

I decided I needed a little more variety in the triangle blocks for the medallion quilt.  It took me an hour to find my cutting die.  I need to do some cleaning and organizing.

I sewed some of the triangles into squares but didn't turn the iron on last night.

These blocks will go in the column on the right when I get them sewn.

The last 2 flowers on the Amaryllis have opened up.  The red edge on the petals is so delicate it hardly shows up in the photo.

Our warm weather is history now, snow flurries predicted for this morning and 28 degrees on one of the weekend days.

 

Playing with the medallion............

I found a better strip for the left side of this medallion project.  I also added three more strips to the bottom.  I like it a lot just as it is and could just quilt it and bind it now, but it is only 37" x 49".  The bottom borders are purple but they just show up as dark unless you click on the photo for a closer look.  I need to remember to turn on my extra light shining on the bottom of the design wall when I am taking photos.

So, I'm back to the idea I showed yesterday with the hourglass blocks on the left.  I used 3" finished blocks there and that strip is sewn together but not sewn onto the top.  On the right the blocks are 4" finished.  I don't have enough of them to make the whole strip so spacers could be used or plain strips at the top and bottom.

Here is the full sequence, on the left, the photo I showed yesterday, middle after left and bottom borders sewn on, and right, the beginning of a new round of borders.

I wanted to document the differences between the green and purple Rosy quilts here in my online quilt diary.  The green one has 2" finished squares and the purple has 3" finished squares (the size that was in one of Kaffe's books).

This is how the quilts compare in size.  The green one has more blocks in the center area and 2 rows of border squares around the perimeter.  It is 51" x 69".  The purple one has less blocks in the center and 3 rows of squares around the perimeter.  It is 65" x 82".  If I make another one in a different color, I think I would be inclined to use the 2" squares with more blocks.

#2 Quilt top for February 2026................

This top ended up at 48" x 72", much better than the 42" x 60" that it was before adding extra columns and rows.  This Wishwell Weather Report fabric is hard to photograph, the darkest fabrics a little darker than they look in person. This cell phone photo is better than the Canon camera photo.

I looked through my larger yardage pieces and it looks like I'll have enough of these 2 for the backing.  The one on the left is more apricot color than it looks here.

I put my Kaffe medallion center back up on the design wall and got the 4" parts department box out to play with the next border.

I had a left over strip of the binding fabric from Purple Rosy but I think it may be too dark.  I added some hourglass blocks to the left of the strip.  More playing needed.

I took several photos of the 2 current cacti blooms and they all seemed slightly blurry, more of a soft impressionist look.  There is another bud on the champagne color that should open soon.

One more day to finish............

All eight of the diamonds for the top edge are designed.  All blocks of 2 triangles are sewn.  Now I need to sew these into two rows and attach to the quilt top for a finish.  I think I can do that today.

These are the leftover triangles, facing right and facing left. There are 34 of one and 43 of the other.  They will probably go into a ziploc bag for now.  I will search through the yardage I have left and see what I can do for a backing for this one.

We had another 61 degree day.  I was able to open windows on the south side of the house while the sun was shining and let in some warm fresh air. 

Progress..............

I designed and sewed the 2 side columns for this quilt (that I wanted to make larger).  Here they are ready to sew onto the small top.

Next I have sewn the 2 side columns on and returned it to the design wall, lower so I can design the 2 rows above it.  I had to pin up the bottom so the heat can get into the room.  Even though it got to 61 yesterday, it still goes down into the 30s at night.

The first 2 diamonds are designed and each pair of triangles are sewn together.  I won't sew these together until the whole top is designed and then I can sew it as 2 rows.

I also got a backing pieced for the flannel quilt top.  I cut one full length and then took the remaining 34" of fabric and cut it into two 17" strips and sewed them end to end.  Then this side panel was sewn to the full panel.  It is a heavier super soft flannel.

 

It's a quilt top......................

The last 3 seams were sewn yesterday and it's a finished quilt top, including the staystitching around the perimeter.  It is 64" x 72".  I really didn't think I was going to like it very much, but after it is sewn, yes, I do like it.  This is a bonus quilt, one not planned to be made.  It used 2.5" and 4.5" strips cut around 2009 and 26 sixteen patch blocks from the batik orphan block box.  That's a win!

Now I need to get back to cutting half rectangle triangles and get another quilt top finished.  Also on the agenda is basting a baby quilt to be quilted on my Pfaff.

They are predicting 60 degrees for Chicago but Weatherbug on my phone says 57 for us out in the boonies (60 miles west of Chicago).

Sewing long rows...............

These are the 2 new blocks I made yesterday, actually 2 of each of them.  I didn't take a photo of the final layout.

I had 3 sewing sessions and this photo is after the rows were webbed in one direction.

This shows a portion of the top after some seams the other direction were sewn.  There are three more long seams to sew.

Finally a couple of my cactus plants are setting buds for a new blooming season.  I love this white with pink edging.  I have another like this that has one bud on it too.  Also one champagne color has 2 buds.

I walked by the kitchen window at just the right time to see the pink/blue sky.  A minute later it was almost gone.

In honor of Valentine's Day I'm reposting my favorite red quilt, finished in 2019.  This one is a keeper.  I never show it to anyone when they are here to choose a quilt.