Working on two...............

I had errands to run in the morning before the heat became oppressive yesterday.  When I got to work this backing was the first project.  I have cut the pieces so maybe I'll get them sewn together today.

Next I cut 19 squares from the alternate block fabric.  I will have to design this quilt sideways on my double design wall in the basement.  It will have 99 blocks to make a top 72" x 88".

I braved the heat late in the afternoon and filled the birdfeeders and picked tomatoes.  Most of the tomatoes are up high on the plants now so the squirrels haven't bothered them lately but the birds are pecking holes in a few of them.

I have 71 extra strips that I cut when cutting for the 16 patch blocks in photo above.  There are duplicates of some that I cut when there was only a little fabric left and I could get another strip out of it.  I might add more blues and greens and make "the other 16 patch" quilt from them. It would be a smaller quilt and would be my mindless sewing while between planned projects. 

Decision................

All of the blocks were finished and pressed yesterday morning so I had to make a decision on the layout.  I needed to clean off my work table.  I decided it will be sashing, but wider than I originally tried.  I was thinking 1" finished when I first showed the fabrics, but I decided yesterday that the blocks need a little more space between them.  Now I'm planning on 1.5" finished sashing.  I haven't decided if there will be cornerstones yet.  I'm putting this aside now and will work on something else, plus I'm still cleaning and organizing the basement.  I can't stand on the cement floor for too long so it has been a slow process.

I pulled a box off a shelf to look through it and found these diamonds in there.  I had to put diamond in the search box at the top left of this post to go back and see what quilt the scraps were from  This post tells all about it.

Last night I decided to try them next to each other.  I love busy quilts that make me look to see what the pattern is.  This would become a table runner if I decide on it.  I need to find the diamond template so I can cut half diamonds to fill in the edges.  If i continue with this as the project, I need to move a few around first.

I started another dishcloth last night with this 4 color yarn, white, lt. peach, coral, and brown.  I was glad I still had a couple balls of it  because they don't seem to be making any more of it.  I have enough of all of the variegated yarns to last my lifetime making dishcloths but I still search the internet occasionally to see if there are any new colors.  I don't find more than a couple shops carrying it; most is through resellers on Etsy and eBay and most of that is solid colors.

The rain all missed us yesterday so we had a dry out day before more hits this morning.  It looks like the heaviest will go south of us.

First quilt top for August 2026................

I finished sewing and pressing this top by early afternoon yesterday.  As a comparison with the pattern photo, I'm not completely happy with my fabric selection.  Not comparing, it's OK.  I wish I could have found a lighter orange fabric for next to the yellows.  It is 60.5" x 81".

I knew I had some 6.5" squares of floral prints left from a previous quilt that I could use for a mock-up.  I cut one strip of quarter square triangles and laid them on the floral square and then laid the 9 patches on top of them.  This is the idea I had in mind when I found that charcoal and white stripe fabric.  I did like it with the stripe as as the alternating squares with the 9 patches on yesterday's post too.  I'll have to think about this one for a few days.

Two more seams.................

I finished sewing all of the B blocks and then sewed 2 blocks together for 7 long rows.  In the afternoon I started sewing rows together and continued later in the evening and got 4 out of 6 sewn.

While I was in the basement in the morning I was looking for one particular stripe which I didn't find.  I saw this charcoal and white stripe and thought it might work as quarter square triangles around the little 3" nine patches as the first found in Economy blocks.  I think it would also look good just as alternate squares with them.

This is what the stripe would look like as the quarter square triangles.  The final round of the block would be 3" half square triangles of floral fabrics.  This idea is just in the early stages and I may keep looking for the stripe I have in mind.

I got sidetracked for a couple hours reorganizing the  rack that houses my flannel fabrics.  I have one huge blanket box of just scraps and large chunks.  Maybe when the basement cools off in the fall I can spend a day pressing the scraps and do some die cutting.  Flannel quilts are a favorite here in northern Illinois.

Good progress...............

I finished piecing all 8 of the Block A and 2 of the Block B.  I pinned 4 of them up on the design wall to get an idea whether my fabric choices worked.

A couple pinks could have been a little lighter, but overall I'm happy with it.  I'll finish sewing the last 4 B blocks today and get the 2 sections of each row sewn together.  Then I can press all of the seams before I add the rows to each other.  With a little luck I may be able to finish it today,

The rain fizzled out yesterday.  I haven't checked the rain gauges but I don't expect to find much in them.  

Decision made........................

I decided to go with the wildcard fabric staggered.  I stacked all of the pieces for 8 block A and layered them on a cover of a plastic bin so I could carry them up the stairs.

I did the same for 6 block B.  Now I have some sewing set up for a couple days.

Since I was not using fat quarters, but instead cut a 10" strip selvage to selvage, I had room to cut 2 more stacks of each group.  These are stacks of 5 pieces in the order they would be sewn.  Maybe I can use them on the back of the quilt.

Last night's sewing, this far on 8 blocks, about 1/3 of the total piecing of the 14 blocks.

In the afternoon I tackled the big project, cutting batting off the roll and trimming it to the correct length, and cutting 2 lengths of backing fabric for each of these quilts.  I still need to sew the seam in the backings.

Every year I think I'm going to make a Christmas quilt in July.  I had planned to make one with the die cut large half hexagons and had cut strips off many fabrics.  For the ones that have a one way design I cut a strip tall enough to cut the pieces in the other direction.  I even have a large enough piece of that red and green paisley for the back of the quilt.  I know I cut these strips before the big shut down in 2020 in March.  I was cutting one day when my 2 friends were over here sewing.  So, for one more year I have missed the Christmas in July project.  One part of me says still make it, the other part says what's the point when I don't know anyone who needs a Christmas quilt (however it would look good draped across the bench in front of my fireplace).  Pros and cons, I would like to see what it looks like, and I think it will be pretty, but my life is different since I injured my leg 2 years ago with the off and on pain.  This is definitely a design wall project.  Who would have thought I still have many quilts I want to make and I'm in my mid-80s.  I don't think I ever thought that far ahead to how long I would still be quiltmaking.

Pieces cut....................

All of the strips were pressed and cut into segments yesterday.  There are 2 blocks in the Kaffe zipper quilt so I laid out 1 of each.  My wild card fabric is at the exact center and this is how they would be sewn together.  That would made a stripe of it from top to bottom 2 places in the quilt.

I wasn't sure I wanted that so I rearranged 3 of the fabrics to stagger it.  I'm leaning toward this version but haven't made the final decision.  I think this way it might cause more attention to that fabric than the version above.  I have to continue looking at the photos.

Meanwhile I started sewing some sections that won't be affected by that decision.  I can sew more today while I contemplate it.

I had letters to mail so I went grocery shopping while I was out.  It was 82 degrees with moderate humidity.  Today more humidity predicted.  Rain expected tomorrow into Thursday.  

 

More sorting fun....................

Here is the whole rack that I showed a portion of in yesterday's post.  Yesterday I sorted the reds, what fun, and there weren't any I wanted to get rid of.  To the right of them is the overflow of Brandon fabrics (which you can see the edge of on the right) and a couple Kaffe yarn dyed wovens.  There is a pile of fat quarters in front of the stack.  So  the second shelf from the top was sorted Saturday and the reds on Sunday.  The 2 unsorted shelves are the Philip Jacobs prints.  On the bottom shelf is Laurel Burch fabric on the left and in the 2 storage boxes are black and white batiks and red and black batiks.  The very top shelf has 2 groups of Robin Pickins fabric and 3 boxes of scraps sorted loosely by color.  Also up there in a plastic bag is the remainder of the Wishwell Weather Report fabric.

Last night I got the rest of the dark brown strips sewn on the 15 ten inch strips for the Kaffe zipper quilt.  Then I knitted for awhile while I watched a cute movie on Prime.  It was called Sheep Detectives.

We ended up with 2" of rain on Saturday, much needed to turn the grass green again.

 

Keeping busy..................

While I was waiting for clothes in the dryer I took down all of the fabric on the top shelf and reorganized it.  I found a few more pieces in other places that belong on that shelf too.  It is a miscellaneous group.  The 2 lower shelves are mostly Philip Jacobs fabrics.  I started organizing it by color a few months ago and never finished.

We finally got some rain yesterday.  I checked it around 9 a.m. and there was 1.75" in the rain gauge.  It rained a little more after that so I'll check the gauge again this morning.  It stayed in the 60s most of the day so it was a perfect day to bake ginger cookies.

Last night I got started on the Kaffe zipper quilt.  I have the brown strip sewn on 7 of the 15 pieces so far.

  

 

A little cutting....................

I had to turn on the iron yesterday to press the Aboriginal Dot fabric.  All 15 strips are cut now so I can start sewing on this project.  While the iron was on, the 13 little 9 patches got pressed too.

The Zinfin Doll Hydrangea blooms are just starting to turn pink.  I hope we get the rain they are predicting for this afternoon through tomorrow.  Otherwise I will have to start watering this bush.

There is one tiny Tiger Lily in the front flower bed.  I'll have to dig it out because it is right next to the sidewalk and keeps falling in that direction.

I have one more day (today) to get the borders cut and sewn on the William Morris TAW if I want it included in my July recap.  It will probably just take me an hour; I just need to do it.

Turned on the iron...................

The basement had cooled off with those few cool days we had so I had a pressing session yesterday morning.  All 20 little 3" nine patches are pressed and trying their layouts.  Edge to edge always makes an interesting design.

I also thought about adding 4 plain squares (a floral print) for 9" blocks.  I'll make many more before I decide.

I knew I had a little drawer full of strips so I pulled it out and went through them.  I'll cut some squares from them for variety for the project.

While the iron was hot I pressed the 15 fabrics for the Kaffe zipper quilt and cut a 10" strip off each.

I wanted to use the brown Kaffe Aboriginal Dot instead of black for the zipper teeth.  I think it will work.

I didn't get the borders cut for the William Morris quilt...maybe today.

There were fierce thunderstorms east of us yesterday with strong winds and as much as 3" of rain in some places.  We didn't get a drop.  I had to water my tomato and cucumber plants.  I planted Marigold seeds in the 3rd week of May in the pots with the tomatoes and I just have my first bloom now.  Next year I will pick up small plants instead.  9 weeks to bloom is too long to wait.

The Oxeye Daisy plants are in full bloom in several places in the back gardens.  It is also called False Sunflower.

It was cloudy for a large part of the afternoon so the temperature and humidity dropped a little.  I decided to do my grocery run and leave today's calendar clear.

The great yellow takeover..............

Two years ago there were 2 Black-eyed Susan plants that somehow migrated from the back garden to the front.  This year they have multiplied and have taken over the front garden.  It's colorful, I will say that.

After an hour or so of playing with this group of fabric, this is the final batch.  I removed one purple and like that end much better.  Now I have to read the directions and decide if I will follow them or devise my own directions.  I know the directions are for fat quarters and I'm not sure I want to cut my half yards down the middle. I like full width fabrics and I would rather just cut a strip all the way across.

While I was waiting for the dryer to stop I trimmed the floral stars quilt.

I knew I wanted a fairly light binding on this one and I think the backing fabric looks great.  I have plenty of it.

Outside I filled the bird feeders and watered all of my plants.  Our rain on Monday was barely enough to wet the bottom of the rain gauge.  We have had about 1/10" measurable rain since July 4th.

I don't like to pick the tomatoes when they are just starting to turn orange, but the squirrels have already picked 5 and took 2 bites out of them.  The big one is a Rutgers and there are several more that large getting ready to turn color.  Most of the small ones are golf ball size (for comparison).

Changes.....................

All of the photos yesterday have the fabrics overlapped so you only see 2" of them, which is the width of the finished strip in the quilt.  Here is a full view of the wild card.

In this photo are 3 new pink prints and a purple to replace the 3rd from the left.

In this one the wild card is removed and another pink is in the center.  Still not quite right.

In this group one of the pinks has been removed and the orange swirly added, and then I switched the dotted and the large plaid with each other.  I'll have to look at these photos again today since I was tired last night when I got them all cropped and into the post.

I'm not sure.....................

I thought it might take between a half hour and an hour to find the fabrics to make this Zipper quilt.  It took me an hour to get from 12 fabrics to the 15 I needed and I'm still not sure I'm done.  This was the first group of 15 and I thought I might be done but when I saw the photo I didn't like the 3rd piece in from the left.  I think it is too dark.

 I had another purple to try and it is a little better, but I kept looking.

I changed several pieces for the third group.  I swapped positions of the second and fifth from the left and I like that much better.  I brought back in the first purple for the 3rd from left.  In the center I added a wild card and to the right of it I put in a different red.  What do you think of the wild card?  Do you think it will work or ruin the look?

This is the original group of Kaffe Collective fabrics used in the pattern.  I put in 2 yellows where they have one.  I think I ended up choosing only 3 of the originals.  I recognized most of the prints but didn't have them in these colors.