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.
 

Some changes................

I decided to shorten the length by one row and took out the blues and brighter greens. That made it an even number of blocks across but not lengthwise....so I changed the layout to a zig zag.  Now the length is only 8" longer than the width, an awkward rectangular shape, but since this is a bonus quilt and will be gifted, it's going to stay this way.  I still need to make 3 more 16 patch blocks to finish the layout.

I first searched my box of 2.5" batik strips and was surprised there were hardly any brown strips in there.

This is the total yield of anything remotely resembling brown.

Next I searched the box of quarter yard or less pieces of batik.

This is the collection I will choose four from and make 2 blocks from each combination of 2 fabrics.  

It got up to 45 yesterday and today is predicted to be 50.  This is such a relief after the long cold spell we had.

 

First finish for February 2026.............

Purple Rosy is finished and I am so happy with the binding and backing as well as the top.  It is 65" x 82" and has Hobbs 80/20 batting.  It was quilted by Robin Diaz.

All of the fabrics are from the Kaffe Fassett Collective, the trio of designers.

The photo above was taken with my Canon camera and this photo was taken with my cellphone.  I think this one is truer color, but something halfway between is probably the closest true color.

This backing fabric has a lavender background.

I cut batting for these two quilts, the next to be quilted.  The top one in flannel and was started last year.

I used these 3 fabrics for the back of this quilt.  They are all leftovers from previous backings.

I will work on the back of the flannel quilt today.

I wanted to try the barn raising layout with the double 4 patch blocks.  I can't say I think this is pretty, other than pretty bright.  It will be okay for a quilt to gift.

I am trying the 16 patches as a border.  I will be short 3 blocks if I use them like this.  Since the center is an even number of blocks both ways I could do the layout where 4 squares make a diamond design, like I did on the purple/green one.

 

Binding finished.................

The binding was finished last night, too late to take it's final photo.

I still can't believe there were so many purples in the Kaffe collective fabrics.  Seeing all of the fabrics on my shelves, stored by number, there didn't seem to be that many.  I sometimes think I should store them by color, but so many of the collective fabrics are multicolor without one clear color standing out.

I love the fabric on the back and I was lucky enough to find it on sale.  It is also from the Kaffe collective group.

While in the basement I decided to check the batik orphan block box for leftover double 4 patch blocks.  These 4 are possibilities to use with the new batch I have been making. The one with 3 different fabrics might stand out.

There were 3 blue and one green block that could possibly fit in too.  I could make a few more with brown and blue and brown and green if I wanted to cut some more strips.

Also in that box were 27 sixteen patch blocks in brown tones.

There are duplicates of some of them.

These blocks are the same size as the double 4 patches and maybe they could all be used together in a quilt top that would measure 64" x 72" or if I added a few more (from newly cut strips) it could be 64" x 80".