September 2026 monthly recap.......................

I had one finish and I decided to show the back also.  A few months ago I went through my two big bins of brown, rust and gold fabrics.  I pulled some that I knew I didn't want to keep, some matched other collections better and were removed, and I pulled the fabrics for this Snail's Trail quilt and got the 2 bins down to one.  The pieces for the 12" blocks were die cut.  The quilt ended up at 58" x 83".  It was longarm quilted by Robin Diaz.

I finished two quilt tops.  While I was cutting for the Snail's Trail above, I cut 2.5" strips from the fabrics and then added some blues and greens.  I had enough strips for these 2 tops and a bunch left over.  On the left is a 16 patch with a large print used as an alternate block. It is 72" x 88".  On the right is a 9 patch with 2 large prints used as alternate blocks.  It is 60" x 72".  The alternate fabric in the center isn't quite as light as it looks in this photo, it is more blendy in person.  I like both of these tops but what makes me the happiest is the fact that I used all of the 3 large prints used in them.  I own lots of large prints and they are a challenge to use.

I finished one small piece, 12.25" x 35.5".

I also knitted 4 dish cloths.  The one one the right is a little smaller and it is for me.  That is the size I prefer.

 

Busy day...................

Grocery shopping and bill paying was the morning yesterday.  In the afternoon I went out to clean up the tomato plants.  There were lots of dead leaves to trim to give more air flow to the living parts of the plants.  Now I'm waiting for these to ripen.  This is the last 4 days pickings.

I finished hand stitching the binding on this table runner.  It is 12.25" x 35.5".

I sewed 6 of these blocks together for a long table runner for my daughter-in-law.  She wants it as long as her table.  I'll be looking for batting and backing today but I won't finish it this month.

I checked out my boxes of cut pieces of flannel.  There are 3", 4" and 6" tumbler shapes with the most being 4".  I'll start pressing my flannel scraps and do more cutting this week.

 

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

Since a table runner can be used with either side up, and people at the table would have a close view of the binding, I decided I needed to hand finish it.  I'm about 2/3 done.

I think the green looks nice with the back too.

I decided I needed a collage of the rest of the flannel quilts I have made since 2007.  This group is 2017 - 2026.  At least 7 of them are baby quilts.  I wanted both collages in the same post so below is the same collage I showed yesterday and it is flannel quilts from 2007 - 2016.

Binding chosen and cut.....................

I had so many household things to take care of yesterday that I only got the binding chosen and cut for this table runner.  I did work on finding a group of fabric that my granddaughter wants but no photo on that.

I was looking back at some flannel quilts I have made since 2007, hoping to decide on some patterns for this year.  This collage is missing all of the ones I have made with the tumbler block.  That is usually my default shape when I need to cut up a lot of scraps.

It was 47 yesterday morning but it got up to 70 with sunshine part of the day.  Tomatoes are ripening a little slower with several days in the 60s but there are lots of green ones left on the plants.  I hope we make it to the end of October before we get a heavy frost or freeze.

Breakfast first.............

It was cold enough in the house yesterday morning to bake something for breakfast.  Yes, I ate two of them before I thought about taking a photo.

The box mix was dated September last year but I knew it would still be good.  There were several ways to mix these and I chose the one with heavy cream.  Yum!!

I was clearing off a table in the basement and found this table runner top and backing already cut, ready to find a piece of batting.  I got it layered and quilted last night.  Trimming is next and then finding a binding.

I used 10" squares when die cutting the pieces for the blocks, but I had a larger piece of one of the prints.  It was actually a cut off strip from a previous quilt backing.

Today is a special day.  It is a granddaughter's 33rd birthday, a grandson's first wedding anniversary, and my 2nd pacemaker's second birthday.

 

Second quilt top for September 2026...............

I'm showing the close up shot first for the true color.

The greens don't jump out at you like the blues, but there are several of them in the quilt top too.  I'm happy the two alternate fabrics worked well together.  The leafy one had dark areas and light areas so it changed dramatically with the 6.5" cuts.

This top is so beautiful and peaceful looking, much better in real life than in a photo.  It is 60" x 72", the smallest of the 3 tops made with the same selection of browns.  More blues and greens were added into the 16 patch and this 9 patch.  It is definitely nature's colors.

With this series (Snail's Trail, 16 patch, and 9 patch) I was happy to use so many brown, gold, and rust color fabrics, and I was really happy to use up 3 large prints in the last 2.

 

Top half sewn, bottom half designed................

After I sewed the top half together, I folded it in half so only the bottom 3 rows are showing and pinned it back up on the wall.  Then I designed the bottom half, making sure I didn't get the same fabric near itself.  There are 3 blocks alike of each combination plus some strips were duplicated.  I started sewing the bottom section together last night.

The sixth pink Bear Paw block was sewn.

I put all six of the blocks up on the design wall while part of the wall wasn't covered with the 9 patch top.  These are 14" blocks and I'm not sure where this project is headed.  Hopefully I will know by tomorrow so I can continue working on it.

 

Half way point................

The top 6 rows (of 12) are ready to sew now.  Then I can move the blocks up and design the bottom half.

I cut two more Bear Paw blocks and sewed one of them.  This one has the least contrast between the 2 fabrics in it.  After I sew the other one I can take the pink thread off the machine and change back to brown.

Marcia Derse has flannel fabric now and the prints are from a couple of her previous lines.  I didn't buy all of them, but just my favorites.  I'll mix these in with other flannels in my stash.  I'm hoping to make at least 4 flannel quilts this winter.  I may add to that when I cut up all of the scraps and make baby quilts with them.  

The chickens won............

The chickens will be the backing on this 16 patch quilt.  It's unlikely that I would make another quilt in the future that could use this fabric.  Now I have 2 ready for my longarm quilter.

I realized as I got more blocks on the design wall that there needs to be a double row of the spotted fabric all around the perimeter.

This is so much prettier than the camera wants to show you.  I still need 2 more rows at the bottom and I will start filling in the 9 patches today.

Here is yesterday's pink Bear Paw block.  I love the light fabric in this one.  I hope I can get two blocks cut today.

Fall has arrived here. It was only in the mid 60s yesterday and will be in the 60s for the next few days.  Unfortunately it will be partly cloudy all week too.

 

Layout preview................

I wanted to see how the layout was going to look, so I took one 9 patch block of each fabric combination and previewed them with the 2 alternate fabrics.  I figured out that I need to do 2 columns on each side with the spotted fabric plus one row top and bottom.  Then the floral fabric will fill in all of the center spaces.  I think it will be interesting close up.  I'm not sure about a distance view.

Downstairs I cut the batting for the 16 patch quilt and looked for backings.  From top to bottom they are 

Spider mums

Random dots

Chickens.

Do I want it serious and use the Spider Mums or fun and funky and use Random Dots or Chickens?

While I was down there I cut one more pink Bear Paw and sewed it last night.

Rain report:  from Thursday through Sunday we got 6.6" of rain.  This is the third time this summer we have gone almost a month with an inch or less of rain and then got caught in the ring of fire thunderstorms as the hot dome moved and got from 6" - 8" of rain.

Rainy Saturday..................

It rained most of the day yesterday.  I checked the rain gauge about 5 p.m. and it had 1.5" in it.  I didn't empty it so I'll have a 2 day total including today's rain.  We got 2.5" on Thursday after a month with less than an inch of rain.  Three miles west of us got 4.25" on Thursday.

I turned on the iron and pressed Friday's blocks and the last 3 stratas.  Then I made the 9 blocks from the stratas.  I have 63 six inch 9 patches made now.  If I use 60 of them and 60 of the two alternate fabrics I can make a quilt 60" x 72".  I didn't end up looking for fabrics to pair with the last 5 strips that I showed yesterday.

I cut one more pink block and sewed the first two.  I'm not sure what I'm making here.  There may be more than one size block or maybe just 6 of these 14" blocks.  I am making a small quilt.

I can't believe how fast September is speeding by.  I need to get focused on what I want to finish this month.

 

Trying the layout.......................

Trying out the 2 favorite choices together: I think they work pretty well.  I was able to get 36 squares from the spotted fabric. I haven't cut the other one yet, but if I don't make any mis-cuts I think I will get 24 squares.

The busy print has rust color in it with brown in the spotted fabric. Even though they don't match exactly they coordinate pretty well.

I looked back through the brown bin and found another piece and this one is brown.  The problem though is the light color leaves; they are so much lighter than the ones in the rust color.  I could probably just fussy cut some squares from the darker areas if I need a few more pieces.

I got 15 more 9 patch blocks sewn and 2 of the 3 stratas.  When I ran out of bobbin thread I quit for the night.

I also pressed some of the pink fabrics and got one block cut out.  Maybe I'll get that sewn today.

 

9 patch progress..................

I didn't get as much done yesterday as I hoped but I had some other things to take care of.

In the afternoon I stitched 18 more blocks.

Later in the day I got 5 more sets ready to be pressed and then cut into sections for 15 more 9 patches.

Three more sets were paired but not sewn yet.

I still need to find 5  more fabrics to pair with these.

Two of my little great-grands are going to visit this morning.  I made some Chex mix for their mom.  She is pregnant and is craving it.

Sewing some 9 patches....................

 24 nine patches are sewn so far, lots more to go.  I had pulled some fabrics to try as alternate blocks so here are three of them.  This one of cheetahs isn't too great. I think it is too light.

This is my favorite but I only have enough to cut 24 alternate blocks.  That would only make a quilt 36" x 48".

I have two pieces of this fabric so it is a strong contender if I do this layout.

I decided to turn the camera to simulate an on point setting.  That is nice too.

I also chose some pink fabrics for a future quilt.  What a change from the fall colors I have been working on for the last couple weeks.

A day to slow down..................

I spent my time in the studio last night cutting strip lengths for 9 patches.  

All of my 9 patches will be 5 dark and 4 light squares.  I need to cut the dark strip into two 16" pieces and one 8" piece.  The light strip needs to have one 16" strip and two 8" pieces.  This will make three 9 patches.  I got 7 cut last night and had done 5 previously.  That will be 36 blocks.  I will be experimenting with some ideas of how to use these 9 patches.

I had letters to mail and then went on to the hardware store where I purchased a product that will keep weed seeds from growing.  I spread it on all of the area of dirt in the front garden and hosed it down per instructions.  Hopefully this will keep most weeds from growing all the way into winter.  I will be spreading it again in the spring.

Other than that I just relaxed and dreamed of new projects.