I think this is my final arrangement but I'll give it a couple days before I sew it together.
The temperature got all the way up to -11 degrees by evening yesterday. We're supposed to get above 0 today. I sewed all day yesterday finishing the final 24 log cabin blocks. I had to cut some more dark strips to finish them. Each block by itself isn't very pretty but when they get together in a layout, the all over design is wonderful. See this post for the first group of blocks on the design wall.
The sun was shining yesterday so now you can see the true color of the orange cactus bloom.
The white one bloomed too.
I finished the last two blocks last night and I have them all on a design wall but I have to move a table before I can take a photo of them all together.
The first orange cactus flower has bloomed. There was low natural light this morning with the snow storm so I'll get a better photo of later blooms.
I think we got 9 or 10 inches of snow on top of what was already on the ground. The birds were busy at the feeders all day.
The squirrel hopped from spot to spot in the deep snow and he wasn't about to let the birds have all of the bird seed. Usually there are 2 or 3 squirrels chasing each other around but not yesterday, just one.
I shoveled at 7 a.m. and again around 3:30 p.m. The flower bed will have plenty of moisture this winter.
The squirrel baffles have done two jobs, kept the squirrels away and protect the feeders from getting filled with snow. Today is supposed to be around -14 so I think I'll be inside most of the day.
I made one block yesterday and laid out the orange one so I can sew it today. I'm still cutting on the pink one. I also sewed 5 strips on 24 more log cabin blocks.
I needed to go to the local drug store yesterday afternoon and knew the Christmas items would be on sale but didn't figure there would be any of this left. I lucked out and at 75% off.
Yesterday I sewed purple and blue blocks. I'm still cutting for the orange and pink blocks.
For those who have inquired but don't have their email enabled, this is the book that the pattern is in. It is the same book that had the Fractured quilt (see my label list on right side bar for my Fractured quilts).
My blocks are more intense colors than the ones in the book's quilt. I like the low contrast of that one too.
The sky was pretty last night. I can't seem to capture the intensity of the color. It still makes a pretty picture though.
I was asked about my statement about making an effort to throw away 14 items a day. First of all it is 2014 so that is where the 14 came from. I guess I alarmed a few people into thinking I was throwing away perfectly good things. For example, when company is coming and I'm down to the last hour, I throw the remainder of what is sitting around into a box and put it in a closet. After doing that for several years, I have many piles to go through, most of which can be pitched. I am not throwing away anything sewing related, just that other 'stuff'. I recycle, give to charity and have garage sales for usable items. I'm sure I can keep up the 14 item project for many months. My kids will thank me for doing this.
Two more blocks are finished and I cut more background fabrics.
All four blocks.
I haven't mentioned the cacti lately so here is an update. The orange one should be in bloom within the next week.
There is one lonely red flower, the last of all three red plants.
The pale pink which bloomed in September and then again in November has buds again.
The white one is going to bloom again.
The garden, north end along an east window.
The garden looking south. I have another Amaryllis ready to bloom. The second stalk on the red one is almost ready to bloom too. I love this indoor garden. It makes me forget about winter just a little. There was a prediction of -14 degrees last night and another below zero wave coming that will last a couple days early next week.
I didn't get this one started on New Year's Eve like I thought I would but it was started on New Year's Day instead. Good grief, these blocks are big!
I had to lay out the whole block (actually 4 blocks according to the book) to make sure I had values distributed well.
Each color block is 28" x 24" so maybe I will just stay with the 9 colors like the book.
I need to cut the rest of the green pieces and definitely need a lot of different values as these are all too much alike.
In my effort to throw away 14 items a day, I came across this, an envelope with plastic templates and 2 hexie flowers from around 1975-77. I was one of the first quilting teachers in my area during the revival of quilting at the bicentennial (1976). There were very few quilt shops at that time and most just used a small corner for classes. I made these for a demonstration of English Paper Piecing (EPP). They are ugly, outdated, but part of the history of my teaching career. I gave my first quilt class in 1975 and my first program and workshops for a quilt guild in 1987. No, I didn't throw them away.
I paid bills, did laundry, and made pea soup on the last day of the year. I have 8 bowls of soup to put in the freezer for this cold winter.
I have to make a decision of how many more plaid/stripe log cabin blocks I need to make. The blocks are 11" so the 2 sizes of quilts I'm considering are 55" x 77" and 66" x 88". If I do a symmetrical layout I need 17 more blocks. If I do the zig zag or diagonal stripe (straight furrows) I can have an uneven number of rows in both directions (4 more blocks). No decision made yet.
I started cutting the leftover plaids and stripes into 4.5" squares, 2.5" squares and 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles with my Bear Paw die. The plastic bag is full of scraps too small or irregular shaped to cut a 2.5" square.
Here are four mock ups of blocks that I can make with those pieces. I could use a combination of all four and it would just look like a scrap quilt without a pattern. Again, no decision made.
I was cleaning out a drawer and found 4 tweezers. Usually when I am looking for one I can't find it and I end up borrowing the tweezers out of the serger tool box. I think I have put these in a logical place where I can find them now. Maybe I need to leave a clue on my blog in case I can't find that "logical" place.
