Looking for backings............

I spent a couple hours looking through my larger yardage pieces for a batik mottled fabric to use for borders and back of the latest quilt top.  There is only one piece that is large enough and it is either navy or charcoal, not sure which.

Then I switched to going through things in my main floor studio and found a box with these die cut pieces from 2010 before I had my die cutter.  Another person cut the pieces for me with her die cutter.  I have made one small quilt top with the blocks and now I have to decide if I really want to sew any more of these and add to the top.  It looks like there are pieces for another 16 blocks and I have at least one leftover block in the basement.

Here is a photo of the piece that is sewn together.  It is about 40" x 47".  It would look nice larger but I'm not sure I want to sew any more of those blocks.  I'll think about it.

 

The other Winding Ways quilt top.............

 The friend who cut the hand dyed fabrics for me with her die cutter also cut batik fabrics.  There were enough pieces to do 2 quilt tops but I just made one and a friend took the others.   I made this top in 2011 and a friend bought it from me to finish for her daughter.

This is my preferred pattern to get the circular look.  I have made more than these 3 but the others were before digital cameras and I don't think I have a photo of them.  These are all strip pieced Kaleidoscope quilts made before 2010.  Click on the photo for a closer look.  The one in the center is all floral fabrics.

My Sedums have turned a really deep rosy red.  They don't always get to that stage before the first frost.

Digging deep...........

Since my other finish this month was from 12 years ago I decided to dig deep into the box of works in progress for another oldie.  This one is from 10 years ago.  I planned the layout back then and had had the rows clipped together and numbered so all I had to do was sew it together.  It still needs pressing and that is a pain with the bulk where the points meet from block to block.  It's going to be pretty chilly here tomorrow and I haven't turned the heat on yet so pressing might be a joy after all.  

If you like to search the history, here is where I posted about this last.  I see I had more blocks in that post than in this quilt so I guess I'll look for the rest of them.  

The block is Winding Ways and a friend cut the pieces for me on her die cutter the year before I bought my Studio die cutter.  

The hand dyed fabrics are a combination of all of the ones I had purchased from 1993 to 2010.

Here is a nature photo to match the quilt top.  The asters are in full bloom in two colors.

Last 2 seams....

Remember this one?  I just had 2 seams left to sew so I finally did it yesterday.  Now I have the big job of pressing the seams with all of the bumps and lumps caused by the ends of the seams in the blocks. 

The Comcast guy was here yesterday at 10:07 a.m. and gone by 10:35 and I have a new modem.  I think my Internet is faster now, but maybe it's just my imagination.  My desktop computer is the same age as the old modem, almost 8 years old but I have a newer laptop and router so I should be set for a few years.

Happy Thanksgiving! and pictures today!

Here is the latest batch of blocks that I made Tuesday night.
Blogger is cooperating today and letting me put my pictures in.

First I took all of the blocks I have made and put them in one big layout.  I'm not sure it looks so great.

Next I pulled all of the blocks that are made of the same 2 fabrics plus a couple others.  The circles realy show up in this.

The last layout was all of the darker blocks, the most intense of colors and lower contrast between the 2 fabrics in each block.  I was surprised the circles showed so much with the low contrast in the blocks.

I have at least 16 more blocks to sew, so I have awhile before I have to decide how to finish them.

I will have 8 or 9 at my dining table this afternoon to give thanks for all good things.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of my USA friends.

Saturday sewing..............

While cleaning off the kitchen table I found 5 more sets of 4 fabrics ready to cut for the quilt I showed yesterday.  I guess it is going to be a row wider and a row longer (64" x 80").

I also sewed 4 more Winding Ways blocks while I watched "Til debt do us part" on CNBC.  I like watching the lady get tough with people who are over spending.  That show makes you want to draw up a budget and stick to it.

We're supposed to get 2 days in the mid 60's today and Monday.  Maybe that means everything will get done outside before winter.

Lots of sewing.........

The sun was shining yesterday morning so I got my dusting done in the living/dining room.  I only like to do it when it is bright in there.  Then I went down to the basement and removed the batik Winding Ways from the design wall.  I started sewing the rows together.  Nobody told me that making the blocks was the only fun part of this.  I took out the seam between the first 2 blocks twice and finally got the points to match.  It got a little easier as I worked on it and I have 3 rows sewn together so far.  I did take out a few more places where the points weren't meeting to my satisfaction.

Then I sewed 16 more of the hand dyed blocks and put them up on a design wall to see how they look.  There is a lot more variety yet to sew.  I don't know if they will all go in the same quilt or be 2 smaller ones.

The centers on some of the blocks are off by about a 16th of an inch and I haven't decided whether to take them out and try again or just leave them.  I'll have plenty of time to think about it because I have a lot more sewing to do on other projects.

Several times this week I sewed a few blocks for this quilt so I put them up on the double wall that I had taken the Winding Ways off of.  Right now it would sew up at 56" x 72" so I may be done with it.  I don't think it would look too bad with a narrow border and then a wider one if I decide it needs to be larger.

Mostly cleaning, a little fun..........

I was a good girl and spent the major portion of the day cleaning house.  Then last night I wanted to watch a movie so I pulled out the box of hand dyed Winding Ways blocks that my friend cut for me on her Studio cutter.  There is a lot more variety in the box.  This was just the top 4 layers.

Thank you to all of my readers............

Thank you so much for all of the happy birthday wishes and other kind comments.  I appreciate the time you take to comment on my blog.  I had a wonderful day with family and got to see where my college age granddaughter lives.

Last night I took the last Winding Ways blocks that I created down to the design wall and mixed them into the other blocks.  I think this is the final layout but I'll look at it a few more times before I make the final decision.

I had more of the blocks cut for this quilt (scroll down to second quilt) so I sewed them too while I watched CSI Miami.  As soon as Winding Ways comes off the big wall this quilt will be put up there.



Today I have another birthday lunch with my friend who is 10 days older than me.  Then I think I'm done birthday lunching.

The photo says it all................

Yes it is that time of the year again.  I have decided that my age is "ageless" in case anyone asks.  I am going to lunch with my son's family and because it is Sunday, the regular routine of taking supper to my Dad is on the schedule.  He doesn't deal well with a break in his routine.  He gets confused easily.

I finished the last batch of blocks for the Winding Ways quilt.  I didn't put them up on the design wall yet.  The one on the bottom right is the lowest contrast in values of all of the blocks.  I wanted some with high constrast and some with low contrast.  That way there will be a lot of movement to the design in addition to the circles.

Almost...........just 8 more blocks

This is the latest batch of blocks that I made last night.

I have mixed them into the group but I'll have to do a little more shuffling when I get the last 8 done because they can't all go in the bottom corner.  The circles will be more prominent when the blocks are sewn together. 

There are 72 that will go in this quilt and then I'll take all of the identical pieces and mix them up and make another 72 scrappy blocks for another quilt.  I wonder how well the circles show if the quilt is laying flat (as in bed quilt) or if it needs to be a wallhanging where you always look across at it.

Tuesday......Winding Ways day

I spent a portion of the day yesterday with friends, fellow mid-arm and long-arm quilters for show and tell and lunch.  On the way home I needed a battery for my watch which I had been without for 2 days.  It's amazing how many times I looked at my empty wrist.  Last night I made 12 more Winding Ways blocks.  I just have 16 to go for the first batch of 72.

It was over 70 degrees yesterday and is supposed to be warm today too.  I really need to get my bushes trimmed today.

Winding Ways and new quilt.........

I probably won't sew any more of these blocks until Tuesday again since I have made them more than one day this week already.  They are on the double wall now so I can continue when I sew the new ones.

I started these blocks while my students sewed in the finishing class on Thursday.  There are 4 blocks with the same fabrics in them.  If you zero in on one fabric you will see it twice in the smaller size and twice in the larger size so there are 2 distinctly different blocks within one group of fabrics.  This takes a lot of concentration when putting them up on the wall but I find that to be fun where some people would find it frustrating.  I showed the pattern for this one here.

More Winding Ways, Finishing class......

I finished the 2 half blocks and made a bunch more. 

The last 6 that I made last night.  I now have 44 blocks made so I will be switching them over to a double design wall now.

At the finishing class Student C finished her quilt that she worked on last month.  I had cut the kits for this quilt when I was still working.  The batik line had a brochure that came with it with the directions and I had made the store sample.  I realized I don't have a photo of the one I made so I need to take my camera back down there some day and take one.

Student S finished the one she was working on last time too.  She had purchased a kit somewhere when she first got into quilting and this isn't her color and fabric preference any more.  It is going to be either a baby quilt or a table cover. 

I worked on a new quilt but I haven't pressed the blocks yet so maybe tomorrow I'll have a photo.

More Winding Ways.......

Tuesday night is my designated time for making Winding Ways blocks, mainly because there are 3 TV shows in a row that I watch.  Last night however was all reruns and election news.  I was tired too so I only got 4 blocks completed and 2 more half blocks made.

Today I have to take my Dad to the clinic for his monthly blood test.  Home health care ended the first Mon. in Oct. and they had been doing the blood draw right there in his apartment.  He is not very steady on his feet even with his walker but he doesn't want me to use the wheelchair for him.  His birthday is this month and he will be 97.  For his age he is doing pretty well, still living in independent living where his meals are provided.

Winding Ways update

I made this batch of blocks on Sunday night but didn't get the photo taken until last night.

Here is the whole group.  I didn't spend a lot of time rearranging because they need to all come down from the wall before I add another batch to them.  I can see multiple circles now so I know my fabric choices are working.  After I finish the 72 two color blocks I will use all of the rest of the pieces and make 72 scrappy blocks.

I spent the entire day yesterday prepping for the QOV sew in which is today in Batavia, IL.  We had a lot of strips sewn that needed to be cut into squares and then I had to sort and package kits.  I also cut some fabrics into larger squares to use with the pieced squares.  Then I sorted all of the strips that someone else cuts on their GO cutter into matching lengths.  We never know how many people will show up to sew so we need lots of supplies ready.

Windy day.............

This is what the trees looked like all day yesterday.  The prediction is for one more day of high wind.  There were gusts over 50 mph and even higher in some areas near us.  We missed the tornado and heavy rain part though.

Tuesday is Winding Ways day and I got 6 more blocks sewn.  I may have to take out the centers of 2 of them but for now they are just going up on the design wall.

Here are the 18 blocks that I have sewn so far.  They are going faster now that I know what I am doing.  I think I'll work on them 2 evenings a week and see if I can get them all sewn before the end of the year. 

I have another batch of hand dyed fabric pieces that were cut for me too.  That will be a separate quilt.

2 busy days, one tired body.............

After standing most of the day at work yesterday I decided to sit and sew last night instead of working on the yellow quilt.  I made 8 more Winding Ways blocks.  I think I need to make it my Tuesday night project every week because I watch 3 hours of TV that night.  If I get into a routine I may actually have a quilt some day.

A few Winding Ways, a few triangles

The Winding Ways blocks are getting easier but they are still a little crooked on the edges.  As long as they all come out the same size, they will work together.

I did sew the other 2 triangle blocks too.  I have several other pairs of fabrics ready to cut for this quilt so I won't put the blocks back up on the wall until I get more sewn.







I have a funeral to go to today.  My best friend from 5th grade through high school called me a week ago to say her son was found dead in his apartment.  He lived a few states away to complicate matters.  She had called me the end of May to tell me she has cancer but is doing well on the chemo.  We were both at the classmates birthday party last month so we have some good times memories to mix with this heartbreaking event.

Block 1, 143 to go.............

My art quilters are coming today so I wanted to have one block of Winding Ways sewn together.  My assessment?  The block is a little wavy, not very square, and the center is off by a smidge (after ripping and trying again).  I may regret having the blocks cut in batik.  Of course I didn't make this block until 10 p.m. so I'll blame it on being tired.

I appreciate all of the comments on yesterday's post.  I realize not everyone is working with strips so my second suggestion is to cut a strip 5" or 8" or whatever size will accomodate the largest piece you need to cut for your chosen block.  I have cut a 9" strip off most of my Kaffe fabrics instead of dragging out yardage every time I want to cut for a quilt.  I keep the 9" strips in a storage box separate from the yardage.  I can easily cut triangles or diamonds or whatever shape I need from that strip.

I'll do a post on values later this week.  I want to pull some fabrics to illustrate my point about value.  I have a scrap quilt class to teach tomorrow so I'll need a couple days to prepare.