First finish for September 2026................

The Snail's Trail block is easy to cut with a die and fun to piece.  This color scheme worked out well too.  The quilt finished at 58" x 83".

The backing fabric has tools in the print: hammer, wrenches, saw, and others.

In case you want to enlarge it and find the tools, this view is better.  Just click to enlarge the photo.

A lot of the fabrics in this quilt are from the 1990s and early 2000s.  I still had a good discount at a couple quilt shops during that time.

The camera has a hard time showing beige and gold correctly.  The third one down that looks like it has a blue background actually has a beige background.

There are 2 blocks alike in most most of the fabric combinations.

I have always loved the rich browns and golds, and the rust prints give it a bright touch.

The temperature and humidity are at comfortable levels now for 2 days.  I plan on opening all of the windows today.

 

July 2026 monthly recap.........................

 Two favorites were finished in July.  The "Other 16 Patch" was made with Marcia Derse fabrics, front, back, and binding.  On this one I staggered the blocks by using half blocks at top and bottom in every other column.  I think I like it better than the first few I made with the blocks in rows both horizontally and vertically.  This one is 61" x 79.5".

The floral stars was in a time out for a year and half and then I made final decisions to get the top sewn together.  A large percentage of the prints are from the 1990s and I have a huge collection of them in my stash.  This is the third quilt this year from that bin.  I even had a backing fabric from the same time period.  This quilt measures 66" x 78".  Both of these quilts were longarm quilted by Robin Diaz.

The Snail's Trail quilt top was fun to make.  It is an easy block, in this case cut with a GO die.  The blocks are 12" for a top that finished at 60" x 84".  I have a backing chosen so it will be next in line to be quilted.

On the right is my Trip Around the World top made with William Morris prints.  It is 63" x 77".  I have the backing chosen for this one too so it may get finished in August.

I was playing around a bit with my knitting.  I used lots of ends of balls of yarn for the 3 coaster size pieces.  I decided to use a straight knitting pattern for the pink one instead of the diagonal knit that I usually do.  That makes 30 regular size dishcloths for the year so far.

First finish in June 2026...................

It didn't take long to finish the binding (by machine) yesterday.  We had some hefty storms again so my machine was unplugged most of the afternoon. There were tornadoes north and south of me.  This was one time I was happy the storm split and didn't touch us. 

 The rain didn't finish until 8 p.m. so I don't know the total for yesterday.  The dew point started dropping (from 73) after 8 and was down to 60 by bedtime.  Now we will have some cooler and drier weather for a while.

This quilt finished at 45" x 62.5".  All of it is Marcia Derse fabric, including the back and binding.  A friend who realized she wasn't going to use this backing fabric, sent it to me and it was the right amount for this quilt.

I die cut all of the pieces for the quilt top.

Now it is time to figure out what is next.  I'm waffling on the border fabric for the William Morris TAW quilt, wondering if it should be a lighter color than the red I already have.  I can always use it on the back.

 

Backing and binding chosen.................

 

I didn't even have this top on my list of ones to finish because I thought I was going to add a border.  I made the decision yesterday to just finish it as is.  I chose a gray leaf print for the back and there is a pebble or mosaic type fabric on the left edge that I'm thinking will be the binding.  I need to carefully ditch quilt this one because I don't want quilting all over the top.  This batik top was made 5 years ago using the Hattie's Choice die from Accuquilt.  I have another top that also wasn't on the list and have chosen backing for it too.  I have 4 now lined up to quilt on my Pfaff.  The total number of tops waiting to be quilted is 17 and I'll be sending 2 to my longarm quilter this week.

One decision made................

After a little prodding by a friend I realized I didn't want to find separator strips like I used on the original quilt I made 10 years ago.  Last night I sewed the three sections together.  After trimming the side points it will be about 46" x 62".  I'm thinking about adding a border, but we shall see how long that takes.

 I also cut 1.5" purple squares yesterday and added them to the few that were cut previously.  

It was warm enough to open all of the windows yesterday and low humidity.  We had a 1 minute thunder and rain drops in the middle of the afternoon, and then it was sunny again.

Slow day................

I didn't have anything lined up to sew, so I sorted the 1.5" batik squares by color and value so I could check on my inventory.  Red, orange and yellow filled one tray.

Another tray was all blue and turquoise, and it looks like it is mostly turquoise.

This assortment was pulled from one box of batik scraps to do more cutting today.

Here are the remaining squares waiting to be sorted.  It looks like I need to cut some more purple and green.

It was chilly and breezy yesterday so I spent the day inside relaxing.  The overnight into this morning was predicted to get down to the high 20s.  Later this week we will be in high 60s and 70s for a few days.

 

Doing some cutting..................

A lot of small pieces of batik fabric are now cut into 2" squares.  Most of these are from previous cutting sessions but new ones were added.

I also added to the 1.5" squares.  I made a lot of 9 patches from this collection over a year ago.  I mostly used the ones that aren't good for colorwash.  I will continue with some cutting while I make decisions on some other projects in progress.

We got 3/4" of rain from the storm Friday night.  My rain gauge collections for the month total 4.25".  Now we have a few dry days in a row, although some of them will be in the 40s and low 50s.

 

First finish for April 2026..............

I finally stopped avoiding the last 54" of hand stitching and finished the binding on this quilt last night.

It's hard to see the beauty of this quilt in a photo.  I think the colors are prettier in person.  The fabric is Wishwell's Weather Report, a line from several years ago.

The quilt ended up at 47" x 71" and I think it will be my recliner quilt.

I only had a couple pieces long enough to use for the back, also from the same line of fabric.

Storms rolled through around 10 last night.  Chicago had over 5" of rain already in April but some of the storms missed us and I have had a total of  3.1" so far in my rain gauge.  It sounded like fairly heavy rain for a little while so I'll check this morning and see how much more we got.  

Sewing and garden.....................

I made the third block (not pressed) and added it to the other two for a table runner top.

I changed to 60 weight 2 ply thread and put the single hole plate on my machine to make a couple of the tiny bowties.  I didn't turn on the iron yesterday.

I will need to cut some more pieces to make some more blocks.  I was happy they really came out to the right size.  Sometimes with tiny pieces the blocks come out a bit smaller than they are supposed to.

After 3 days near or above 80, everything is growing fast.  This is the Columbine in the back garden.  I have 2 in the front garden that are good sized also.

There are a lot of Lungwort plants here and there all over the back garden.

Three days ago I didn't see any Hosta plants when looking out my kitchen window.  Now they are about 5" tall.

The three Lenten Rose plants have grown a lot in the last few days too.  All of those other plants are the invasive Bellflowers.  Between them and the million Lily of the Valley, they are choking out a lot of other plants.

The Redbud trees might bloom quicker than normal too because we have a couple more warm days coming up.  I'm still getting used to the white fence backdrop to my nature photos.

 

More about the new die..................

I made several test blocks, using a layer cake 10" squares.  On the first two I didn't keep the small pieces in the right place a couple times.  If they were right, there wouldn't have been bias on the edge in a couple places.  Once I realized that, the next 2 blocks were better....except the center pinwheel is spinning the opposite direction (2 blocks on the right).  I should have known better but somehow it slipped past me.    Look at the 2 blue blocks, darks shouldn't be touching darks when the 2 blocks are next to each other.  The 5th and 6th blocks went together really well.

I have one more block ready to sew and I'll have the pinwheel center matching the 2 that are wrong and those 3 can become a table runner.

Now I need to decide what fabric I will use to make a quilt with this block.

Some die cutting...............

I took my pile of small batik scraps and cut some pieces for the 2" bowtie blocks.  I have pieces laying out for one block but I haven't sewn any yet.  I need to change to a lighter weight thread on my machine.

I have always been intrigued with this traditional block and the die was 57% off and free shipping so I bought it. It is a 12" block so the largest pieces will work nicely with larger prints.

I sewed a sample block but haven't pressed it yet so I'll have more to show tomorrow.

Sewing yesterday was the hand stitching on the binding of the diamond quilt.  I have about 54" left to stitch. 

Not much............

 My mind yesterday was busy with new project ideas and thoughts of what I should be finishing but all I accomplished was a little more stitching on the diamond quilt.  I have about 2 1/4 sides finished now.

I was looking at the dies for my tiniest bow tie blocks.  This one is the little corners that sew onto the pieces in the next photo.

There are 4 pieces on the die on the left.  After I took this photo I marked them with a black permanent pen.  This bow tie will finish at 2".  I have some tiny batik scraps to make my test blocks with.

Cutting and third layout...................

All three sets needed more pieces.  I actually cut a few more than I needed so if I need to make a substitute block I'm all set.  I ended up finishing the 2 partial blocks and made 6 new blocks last night.  I haven't pressed them yet so they haven't made it to the design wall.

This is the assortment of new pieces plus the leftovers from the day before.  I had a strip of fabric that I had previously die cut 6 triangles of each fabric from and I put the ends of the strips back on the die to cut 4 more of each of each fabric.

I came up with one more layout and it reminds me of the hungry caterpillar story.  I first thought earthworms when I made it.  I think the diagonal shown yesterday is still my favorite.

6 more blocks.................

I had to cut some more triangle corners before I could make any more blocks.  That is 60 triangles in the stack, one pass through the Studio die cutter with a Studio die, 10 layers at a time.  That is enough triangles for 15 blocks.  There is very little waste when cutting with the triangle dies.

After that I cut 30 tall triangles in one pass through the cutter, enough for 15 blocks.

I also cut 6 of each of these Marcia Derse prints so I would have some more variety to choose from for both quilts.

While I was in the basement I pressed the first 6 blocks.

I added some more pieces to the quilt at the top and the layout is subject to change as I keep working on it.  The 6 new Kaleidoscope blocks are at the bottom and they will get their final pressing today.  The blocks will be 10" finished so I need a minimum of 35 for a quilt 50" x 70".  That means I'm 1/3 of the way there.

It was 48 degrees for a high yesterday and may get up to the 60s today.  I need to trim my Zinfin Doll Hydrangea.  It says to do it in late March before it has buds.  My Annabelle Hydrangeas can be trimmed in the fall or spring.  I'll check both of them and see if they need any more cut off.

Die cutting...............

I went through the small pieces of Wishwell Weather Report fabric to cut some half rectangle triangles for enlarging a quilt top.  There are 44 pieces in these piles.

I will need 20 of them to add one column of blocks on a side, and I'm doing both sides, needing 40 of them.  I have a little bag of leftover triangles from when I made the top, but it was in the basement when I was writing this post and I didn't want to go down there to get it.  I don't think there are more than a dozen pieces in the bag.  I still have a layer cake of this fabric line so I can pull out all of the light fabrics from it.  I want to add a double row across the top which will take 64 pieces.  This top is only 41" x 59.5" right now and adding these planned columns and rows will increase it to 47" x 71.5".  That is close to the 50" x 70" size that I like to make.  I could increase it to 50" with one more column.  I'll just do more cutting and then decide.

It was -2 yesterday morning and it got up 7 degrees by 1:45 p.m. when I had to leave to go to PT.  Wednesday will be our heat wave at 30 degrees and then back to the deep freeze. 

Sample block...................

Another thing I want to do this year is make a test block for all of my dies and hopefully one a week.  I started yesterday with this Pine Burr die.  I remember a friend of mine made a quilt with this pattern back in the late 1990s and I liked the quilt.

I decided to use some small chunks of Cherrywood fabric for this one.  I didn't have the gold fabric lined up quite right for the cut so it is short on 2 of the outside edges.  I think I may be able to trim it  into a square in spite of that mis-cut and I could make a mug rug with it.  Mainly I want to see if the die is accurate and how long it takes to make a block.  This will help me decide how large of a project I would want to make with the die.  This one is a 10" finished block.  I might test all 10" blocks first and they could be used in a sampler type quilt if I stick with the same kind of fabric.

We're in the midst of a heat wave....it will get up to 44 today and in the 50s by Thursday.  No icy pavement on my walk into the PT building. They did mention snow later in the week but rain to follow it.  

October 2025 Monthly Recap........................

 October was a good month with 4 finishes.  Top left with 3 sizes of 16 patch blocks and a paper pieced star was started in 2017, the star pieced in 2008, and finally a finish.  It is 38.5" x 51".  Bottom left was started in 2011, the border added in 2022, and finally finished last month.  I cut pieces with my new Bear Paw die and played with them for this layout.  It is 47.5" x 58.5".  In the center is a quilt that surprised me.  It is simple piecing with 2 sizes of strips of Kaffe collective fabrics.  I love how it turned out.  The top was finished in February this year and it is finished at 47" x 67".  At the right, the last finish for the month is the green, black and white zig zag.  It was an attempt to use up leftover green triangles from a previous quilt.  The top was finished last month and it is 53" x 67.5".  All of these were quilted by my longarm friend, Robin.

There were also 4 new quilt tops in October.  Three of them were either cut, pieced blocks, or just needing a border.  The fourth one was started and finished in October.  Top left, Pinwheels was made from blocks made several years ago and it will make a nice baby quilt.  It is 34" square.  Bottom left, the flannel tumblers were cut last year so I just needed to come up with a layout for them and sew the top.  It is 40" square and will also be a baby quilt.  In the center, the medallion center was made a few years ago and I just needed to make a decision on borders to make it rectangular.  I kept thinking they needed to be pieced borders, but simple strips added looks great.  It is 61" x 81" now.  On the right, a 16 patch quilt made from fabric designed by Nancy Crow.  There are 2 blocks of each combination of fabrics.  It is 64" x 80".  It has been quilted and is waiting to be trimmed and bound for a first finish this month.

Now, for my own records, here are the official photos and stats on this quilt.  I made this quilt top in September 2025, in an attempt to use a lot of leftover Kaffe collective green triangles.  I am happy I added the black and green plaid to the mix.  The binding is the same dotted fabric that is in the top.

The back is made from long lengthwise grain strips that are cutoffs from other backings, all Kaffe collective prints.  I was fortunate to find 4 that look good with the front of the quilt and with each other.  I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and it was quilted by Robin Diaz.  It ended up at 53" x 67.5".

I had a lot of small pieces ready to finish but just couldn't make myself work on them.  There should be a bunch of them finished this month, along with a couple baby quilts.  I have the purple Rosy quilt top in progress as well as a small medallion quilt so there is plenty to do.