Prepping for quilting.............

It was time to prep two more quilts to be sent out for quilting.  This quilt top is only 53.5" wide so this 58" black and white fabric is sufficient for the back.  It was nice to not have to piece a backing.

I had already searched through the Wishwell Weather Report fabric and found 2 pieces that would work for the back.  The apricot is full width and the green is about 14" wide for this backing.  Batting was cut for both quilts and then I turned on the iron and pressed the 2 backings.

I knew I had already cut the black strips that will border all of the placemats.  It didn't take long to find it and I think I have enough cut for all of the projects.  Now I just need to get busy.

 

First quilt top for March 2026..................

I love it when I can take a bunch of parts laying around and make a quilt top.  For this one I just needed to make 2 more flannel 16 patch blocks.  There was a box of squares and rectangles that make up the scrappy border.  It is 47" x 71.5", close to the 50" x 70" size I like for throw quilts.  Most of these flannels are from the 1990s when the browns were very popular.

I decided to put these blocks and sewn panels up on the design wall.  The last time I had them out was 6 1/2 years ago.  I have totally lost interest in making these into a quilt.  My daughter-in-law wants a table runner the length of her table and I need to measure it to see if a column of this quilt will work.  I can see making placemats out of the loose blocks, 3 to a placemat.  They would end up about 14" x 20".

This is a picture of the pattern.  It was fun making the blocks in 2013 but once the assembly started, I lost interest in it.  I have other things planned, fun things, so I want to salvage these blocks in other projects and move on.

I pulled out a ball of cotton yarn a few days ago and started this dishcloth.  I couldn't tell from looking at the ball what the colors were.  It is a very subtle change between the 4 colors.  This was a newer ball of yarn, and I had been reading the reviews online by previous buyers.  Several of them mentioned the yarn wasn't soft any more.  I had to agree with them on this one, but in reality, a little stiffer yarn is perfect for washing dishes.

Proof of finish.........

I'm publishing a second post today to get these finishes in at the end of the year.

Finish #19 for 2020

 Yardbirds Circling the Cat wallhanging finished before midnight Dec. 31, 2020.  It is approximately 32" square.  Hand finished binding.

The back is a mottled batik.

Finish #20 for 2020
You might remember this mini colorwash I made while I was teaching my Colorwash360 class.  The little squares finish at 1"

On the back I added the folded squares at the corners so a rod can be put in on any side for hanging.  I don't normally count my small pieces in my yearly count but since this one is art and not a serviceable item like placemat or table mat I am going to count it this year.   It took many hours to find all of the fabrics to make it and arrange and rearrange many times unlike a table mat that I could make in an hour.  I'm only justifying this for myself since I'm pretty structured in my expectations of what I make.

Still going through piles..............

In one of the piles I went through yesterday I found this project started too many years ago to remember.  I love the look of the quilt (click on photo for a closer look) and I have all of 2 blocks made.  There are more photocopied patterns so there really is no excuse.

This is the magazine that it was in and even though it is from 2006 I didn't start this that long ago.  The odds of continuing this project into anything large is 0.  Maybe I'll do enough pieces for a table runner....maybe not.

The roofing begins............

This was the scene out my back windows yesterday.  About 2/3 of the roofing job is done and they will be back at 7 this morning to finish.

I went to the basement and basted another third of the African fabric quilt.

Then I decided to pull out this old Stepping Stones project and put it on the design wall so I could see where I am with it.  I tore out some papers and only have a few left to do.  I have the narrow black strips cut, just have to get them to the right lengths for different areas.

I finished up the day sewing the postage stamp seams in one direction.  They are just waiting to be pressed so I can sew the seams the other way.

Another oldie...............

Here is another one that was probably started at least 15 years ago.  It is a paper pieced pattern by Karen K Stone called Yardbirds Circling the Cat.  The center block was done and the strips of piecing in the border were done and there it stalled for years.  Since the pieced border strips were not long enough I had to figure out what to do.  I found the light blue batik to go with it and it has been folded with it all these years.  Finally when my friends were here Friday I started working on it and finished it last night.  It is about 32.5" square.

I spent most of the day yesterday straightening up the basement, clearing off tables, cleaning my machines, etc. because the art quilter group is coming today.  I haven't seen them since March 18.  I baked cookies too.

In the backyard the red Weigela bush is blooming.

After it finishes blooming I need to trim back the length of some of the branches.

Some sashing sewn......

I have some of the sashing strips sewn on but the blocks aren't sewn together in rows yet.  I did a little rearranging of the butterflies and think this is the final layout but just in case I change my mind I'll wait to sew the rows.  The corner squares will be a little smaller once the rows are sewn together.

I'm looking through boxes in the basement again and I found this project that was started over 15 years ago.

It is paper pieced and here is the pattern.  All of the printed papers came in the package.  I was making my star points with 9 pieces instead of the 16 on the pattern.  

Since I started it so long ago the batik collection I was using is also older and the newer batiks might be hard to mix in without being obvious.  I counted the pieces I have sewn and I can make 8 points with just 4 pieces per point.  If I want to make a larger star later with newer fabrics I have the printed pieces there in the package.   I think the odds of me ever wanting to make another one are pretty slim though.

A surprise block...........

I went down to the basement to look for something and found this paper pieced block that goes perfectly with the colors in my 16 patch quilt.  Since it is a 12" finished block it will work with the 4" and 8" blocks.

I have parts ready for two more 8" blocks.

I finished adding the row to the right and one across the bottom for a 17 x 17 wallhanging.  That will finish at 34" square.  This is the orientation on the design wall.

This will most likely be the finished orientation though.  I still have to tweak it.  I can see a few pieces already that need to be moved or exchanged for a different fabric.  I will work on it while my 2 students are working on their design walls today.

I pulled out my 53 trays of 2.5" squares to find the final fabrics.  Each stack is a color range.  In the front are pink to red and next to it is yellow to orange.  There is one stack of multi-color.  I think I have the most trays of green and purple.  Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

All 53 trays nest and fit into this blanket box.  I buy the reusable aluminum cookie sheets.  The ones that are 2 for $1.98 are sturdier than the 2 for $1 from the dollar store.

Progress on two............

The Hunter Star quilt top is finally sewn together.  I put the last 4 blocks up on the wall and then spent a half hour moving blocks around until they were pleasing to my eye.  It ended up 47" x 71".

When 4 blocks come together it makes multicolor stars.

This also shows the true colors in the quilt better than the whole quilt photo.

Our twice monthly sewing group met yesterday and I paper pieced flannel arcs to use in the next flannel quilt.

I had only printed 6 arcs so I need to decide how I am going to place them so I know how many more I need.  I was thinking of maybe a half circle on both sides and a full one in the center.  Then it will be filled in with more squares around these blocks and maybe 3 more rows of squares at the top.  Right now it is 56" wide and I want the length to be at least 72".

This and that.........

The crunchy ice melted off the driveway by 10:30 yesterday morning.  I figured it was better to be safe than sorry and reschedule the class.   
I rearranged the blocks on the Hunter Star and thought it might be the final layout.  Then I got an email that I had won a giveaway and I'm wondering if some of those fabrics might look good with this so I'll wait until I get them before I sew it together.

I made new curtains for my 1953 pink bathroom.  It is a flesh pink so the curtain leans toward pale coral.  2 1/2 years procrastination, 55 minutes pressing, cutting and sewing them.

Two of last year's Amaryllis bulbs have buds on them.  I didn't even put them outside last summer.  They were in the garage the whole time.  I brought them in and started watering them about 6 weeks ago.  I have 3 others from last year or previous years and they are just leaves so far.

I didn't have anything ready to sew last night so I tore papers out of these pieces.  I know you are supposed to sew the pieces together first and then tear the paper out but I have success this way.  Here is a photo of all of the blocks.  I was happy to see I had taken a picture of the whole layout since I didn't know how any of these pieces go back up on the wall.


 

Another quilt almost done......

One more flannel quilt quilted this winter....yes it is still winter here, snow predicted tomorrow night.  Now we are into the damp cold time period which feels colder than it did earlier this winter.

If you remember when I was making this last year, it is a Karen Stone paper piecing pattern named Rattlesnake.  I have renamed mine Bear Trap.  It was a bear to quilt too.  I knew those intersections were bulky when I made it.  I got it trimmed and will choose the binding today and hopefully get it completed.

While I was in the basement I cut 2 more pairs of fabric for the wedges in Vintage Spin.   Below is one last photo of the Philip Jacobs fabrics before I put them away.  They are in order by number now but that won't last long.

A super sweet day.......

Two friends came over to play yesterday and one brought rhubarb crisp which we ate for brunch.  The other has a broken oven so she brought a strawberry rhubarb pie to bake in my oven which we had as a mid afternoon snack, both with ice cream of course.  Oh, and we ordered pizza for lunch.  In case you are wondering, we did find time to sew too.

 

 

 I made one more star block, 3 to go to finish the quilt top.  I also picked out a square with a hole in it in my Boston Commons top and replaced with a good square.  Then I continued tearing papers out of the stepping stones blocks.  I have all of the first column done and half of the second column.  It was a lot more fun to tear out with company to talk to.

I had baked a double batch of shortbread cookies the night before so I sent a bunch home with them.  Now I have 3 desserts to choose from today.....yum!

Sashing progress.........

The progress is slow on this quilt.  I have been tearing out some of the paper after I get sections sewn together.  I need to get the pieced border started but I haven't even chosen the fabrics yet.  The art quilters group is coming next week so I will start cleaning the basement too.  This quilt needs to be off the wall by then so I'll have to do a few blocks a day.

Sashing fabric, hand dyed fabric giveaway............

The sashing fabric for my Stepping Stones quilt is a custom hand dyed fabric by Vicki Welsh.  I have her gray to black gradation and described the area that I thought would work and it came out perfect.  Grouting in stepping stones wouldn't be jet black, it would be softer like a charcoal so that is what I wanted.  I hope you can see the mottled look.  It really is hard to photograph it. 

I got a few strips sewn in last night and it is perfect.  The top right block has both strips sewn in.  In this quilt I used batiks, Kaffe Fassett prints and hand dyed fabric.  They all work well together.

My other project with the triangles has hand dyes left over from the Streak of Lightning zig zag quilt that I made last year along with Kaffe fabric, and maybe I'll add the black and white prints.

I might do alternate blocks.  This is a Brandon Mably fabric. 

Maybe I'll use the umbrella fabric.  I like busy quilts........the hand dyes look great with the Kaffe prints.  They are from Vicki's Stash Packs where you get a great variety.

Now for the giveaway: I don't like long drawn out productions so the drawing will be closed 10 p.m. Central Standard time on Friday May 10 so I can announce the winner Saturday morning May 11.  If you are a no reply commenter include your email in your comment using the word 'at' instead of the symbol and the word 'dot' instead of a period for safety reasons.  I probably won't reply to any comments.  The giveaway...

 

Vicki has generously offered a Stash Pack AND a 2.5 yard pack of black Mistyfuse to one of my readers.  Good luck!  I will use the Random Number Generator to pick the winner.Giveaway closed!!

 

If you decide to purchase some fabric while you are there she is offering free shipping on domestic US orders over $40 and the coupon code is WANDAFUL. International customers can add the code to the comments and she will refund $5 to their order. It expires on the 18th of May.