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

Some cutting was done in the morning to prepare for evening sewing.  Then at night it started thundering as another storm rolled through so I unplugged  my machine.  I did get the stripe triangles sewn on the last 4 nine patches.  At the left are the 2 new colors of floral triangles to surround all of the rest of the blocks.  Once they are all done I need to made the decision of the layout and size of quilt.

It was dark and dreary for much of the day with one rainstorm earlier in the afternoon.

Even my choice of yarn for a dishcloth is dark and dreary.  I think I need to start a second one in brighter colors.

Storms are predicted to continue through Sunday and then finally a dry day on Monday.  Chicago weather records have been broken again.  This is the wettest summer in the history of the records and summer isn't over yet.  Those of us in the farmland 60 miles west of Chicago have been in the abnormally dry or drought for 3 years and I think we're back to normal now.

 

Still thinking...................

 As I navigated the day's adventures, I was continually thinking about the project.  I have mentioned more than once that I have a short attention span, which means I get bored if I work too long on something.  So here is where I am now: top left is 20 finished 6" blocks, all pressed, top right 12 more finished blocks not pressed, bottom left 4 more waiting for floral corners (need to cut more) and 4 nine patches that I may or may not use in this project.

Here are my options.  If I used sashing with the 36 blocks I could make a baby quilt 42" square.  If I use alternate squares I'll have 72 blocks. 8 rows x 9 rows would not be a good proportion of a rectangular quilt at 48" x 54".  If I used 63 of the blocks (7 x 9) it would be 42" x 54".  If I use the extra 4 nine patches I would have 80 blocks, 48" x 60".  Since so many of my fabric options would work, I think the final decision will come down to what size I want the quilt to finish.

Now, how yesterday went.  We had a big severe storm going through around 9 a.m. and when I heard the weather person mention the next town over for radar detected rotation that could turn into a tornado, I headed for the basement.  Luckily it didn't turn into one and continued on its way.  We got 1.1" of rain, added to .75" a day and a half earlier.  More storms predicted for the next few days as we are in the "ring of fire" which sets up north of a heat dome and south of a cold front.

My longarm quilter came an hour later than we originally planned.  I did some more sorting and organizing in the basement and then sewed the floral triangles on the 12 blocks.

That was fun!.........................

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with an opinion on the auditioning yesterday  I especially enjoyed reading the explanations why the commenter liked the fabric.  Every fabric got some votes with the random line fabric getting the most.  I think it was pretty evenly divided between sashing and alternate blocks.  I didn't make any decision yet and just finished sewing round one on 8 more blocks last night.  One of the biggest surprises to me in my choices was the first one, the dotted ombre fabric.  Even if I don't use that in this quilt, I can see its possibilities now, especially using the darker edge as the border.  Who knows, it might end up on this quilt!  I need to press all of these centers and then sew on the floral corner triangles today.

This might be easier to look at than the first photo.

I already had plans to work on an area in the basement yesterday, you know I love cleaning.....  I have about 3/4 of it organized but still have some sorting to do.

I got the long seams sewn on the 2 backings and will meet with my longarm quilter today.  I hope it won't be raining when she comes.  The severe storm missed us yesterday by a few miles but we got 3/4" of much needed rain.  The overnight storm has a large hail prediction and I hope that missed us too (written at 11:30 last night).

One thing I have a hard time pitching is the old Hancock's catalogs that I have covering 2008 to early 2018.  They are really the history of what was available every year in that time period.  I'm usually trying to date an older fabric and especially the Kaffe Fassett collective fabrics. 

This is one two page spread of Kaffe Collective in the earliest 2008 catalog.  I plan on looking through all of them, little by little, to refresh my memory on some of the fabric lines. 

Sewing and auditioning................

I cut some more 3" triangles and sewed the floral triangles onto a few blocks and cut more quarter square triangles.  I got some of them sewn on but a few more to go.

Now the auditioning.  I was looking through my stash for white with black dots.  I have several yards of this one. This is the 22" width of it as it is folded like it comes off the bolt.  I have plenty to just cut the center lightest area for sashing strips.  Maybe the darker area could be used as borders.

I found a half yard of this multi-size dots on white.

I have a couple yards of this one with random lines.

I also tried that one for alternate blocks.

Then of course I had to try it with a zebra print.

Any opinions?

 

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.

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.

First quilt top for April 2026...................

Kaleidoscope 1 top is sewn.  I'm thinking of 2 and 3 so this could be a series.  I won't use Marcia Derse fabric for the next 2.  This one is 51.5" x 72".  I ended up with the 35 blocks like I originally planned.  I usually don't use the same background fabrics all through a quilt but this time I had 2 nice light ones, also Marcia Derse fabric.  There are over 70 different fabrics in this quilt top.

Here are 2 of the worst matches of points.  They are both about 1/16" off and I'm not going to fix them.  Once it is quilted and washed, they won't be noticeable.

I noticed yesterday the start of the pink buds on the Redbud trees.  It will take a couple weeks for full blooms.

  

Final layout, time to sew...................

This is the final layout for this quilt top.  I could move pieces forever trying to not have the same fabrics near each other, but I decided this is good enough.

I started webbing it last night and got the 4 long seams top to bottom sewn and am now sewing cross rows.  Three done, 3 to go.  I need to finish this top today so I can get back to the other one and get the last 3 fabrics chosen for it.

Most points are matching well but there are a few to go back and take in a tiny bit. 

Another warm day yesterday with windows open to air out the house.  Today and tomorrow are going to be a little cooler, in the mid 50s. 

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.

Lots of progress..............................

I took the three sections to the basement and gave all of them a final pressing.  There are different lights down there so the color looks a little different from previous photos.

Then I started working on the Kaleidoscope blocks using the same triangles of Marcia Derse fabrics.

I got 6 blocks completed before I ran out of corner pieces but got 2 more blocks partially made before I also ran out of variety of the tall triangles.

This is all that was left when I finished sewing last night.  Today I'll be cutting more pieces of both shaped triangles.

I pressed the 5 blocks I made a few days ago and added them to the 12 that were on the design wall.  I brought them all up to the main floor studio and when starting to put them on the design wall, I found another layout for the blocks.  With this arrangement I could have an uneven number of blocks in both directions.

Here are the 2 layouts.  Now I'm thinking I need to make one quilt of each layout.  Maybe the second quilt will be with a different group of fabrics.

The last 3 rows...................

I had great ambitions when I got up but it took me most of the day to get started on the last 3 rows of this quilt.  I finally got the triangles up on the design wall.

I continued working on them and got all three rows sewn and then the first two sewn together.  

Now I can make some more of the Kaleidoscope blocks from the same triangle selection.  I have 17 blocks already made.  I need to decide if I'm going to make it with 24 blocks (40" x 60") or 48 blocks (60" x 80").  If I make the smaller size I could add a couple borders to increase it to 52" x 72".

Last night was predicted to be high 20s or low 30s and today they are saying 41 degrees.  I don't have anything growing that can be affected by a frost.  Then 60s are back and 70s by Sunday.  This is typical April weather in northern IL.

9 rows...............

After lots of family fun yesterday I sewed the top three rows and sewed them together.  Now I need to design the bottom 3 rows and choose the fabrics that will be the separator strips and top and bottom border, if I'm still going to make it like the previous quilt.

I did a little hand stitching on the binding of the other quilt but no photo.

 

Making progress.............

The 6 row section is sewn together now.  I didn't get any farther on it because I was making 2 batches of Chex Mix to use up all of the ingredients left from the Christmas marathon.  Later in the evening I made frosted creams since I have company coming today.

I haven't done the final pressing yet but my points are matching up pretty well.

I started the hand stitching about 6" before a corner and made it down one short side and around the next corner.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it!  It's going to be sunny here but chilly.

6 rows..................

Two more rows were sewn last night but I didn't get them attached to the section of 4 rows yet.  When I get that done I'll sew the top 3 rows and then be ready to design the bottom 3 rows.  I need 69 pieces for the 3 rows and I have one piece each of 70 fabrics set aside for that section.

Earlier in the day I trimmed this diamond quilt and cut the binding for it.  I got the binding sewn on the front last night and I will hand finish this one.

Last year a Lungwort/ Pulmonaria plant migrated from the back yard to the front garden. I was going to dig it out last year and never got around to it.  When I went out to get my mail I saw it was blooming.  It is ahead of the plants in the back garden in size and blooming.  I checked it out online and it says it is rarely damaged by deer, so my readers with visiting deer might want to try it.  After it blooms, the spotted leaves get very large.  It spreads to other parts of the garden but can be easily dug up and planted where you want it.  I  love the spotted leaves as contrast with the other plants in the garden.  It is one the earliest bee loving plants.

Sewing two rows....................

I had little ones visiting early last evening so I spent a lot of the day straightening, cleaning and putting all sharp objects up high.  After they all left I started sewing 2 more rows together.  I like the combination of colors in this beginning of a row.

By 10 p.m. I had two rows sewn but was too tired to sew them together.

We had lots of storms roll through yesterday morning and again in the evening.  I had 1.5" of rain in the gauge from the morning rain.  I'll check it again today to see how much we got in the evening.  There were several severe storm warnings for the area and a couple tornado watches north of us so we lucked out and didn't get the severe weather.
 

Assembly started....................

I needed to start sewing this quilt together before pieces start fluttering off the design wall.  I had the window open a couple days ago and found 2 pieces on the floor when I returned to the room.  I can sew 2 rows at a time because the triangles are pointing in opposite directions from one row to the other as I work my way across the rows. While sewing I have the 2 piles in the position they are in, in this photo.  When I start the first row I have a little flag attached that reminds me that is the top row.  These triangles don't have nipped corners so I have to figure out the matching point.

Here is how much the rows will shrink after stitching.

All Marcia Derse fabrics in this one, at least 70 different fabrics.

I forgot to take the photo of the March dishcloths for yesterday's monthly recap, so here they are today.

Third finished quilt in March 2026........

This is another quilt made with mostly 1990s floral fabrics, with a few newer ones worked in.  I also added Kaffe Fassett Spot fabric. It is made of Hourglass blocks with rectangles used as the border.

It is 53" x 64.5".

I bought the 59" wide black and white fabric many years ago.  It was nice to not have to piece a backing.  The quilt has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it.  It was quilted by Robin Diaz.

This finished quilt top is made with all Marcia Derse fabric, from many years of her collections.  There are 70 different fabrics in the quilt top.

After pressing and photographing, I did the staystitching around the perimeter.

It is 63.5" x 80".