Slow progress............

 I'm starting off today with the same photo I showed yesterday and next is the inspiration quilt so you can see the look I am working toward.

This quilt was made by Liza Pryor Lucy and is in the 1997 Glorious Patchwork.  This caught my eye when I first bought this book but I never made it because it looked like I would have to use solid color fabric to reproduce it.  Then over the years I accumulated the Marcia Derse lines which are perfect for it.  I am making mine one row longer and I'm contemplating using 2 rows of the squares around the perimeter.

I found two more blues to work into the project.  I sewed some more rows of 6 squares for the 36 patch blocks but didn't get the blocks sewn.

While I'm staring at the design wall contemplating my next move I work on the hand sewing on the binding of the colorwash quilted earlier this month.  I have 3 sides done now.

Happy Birthday to me!  81, can you believe it??

Slowly.....a few more blocks..........

I made a few more blocks and turned the blocks sideways on the design wall.  This is the view from my sewing machine cabinet.

I turned the photo 90 degrees and cropped it to show it how it will look.  I need to add one more row at the top, 3 more blocks with a square center and 7 (and a part) more 36 patch blocks to go.  The bottom three 36 patch blocks aren't sewn together yet.

I'm wondering if my 36 patch blocks are too colorful.  

This is the next fabric to cut for a block.

A little snow on the leaves a couple times yesterday was the extent of the accumulation.  More expected.......  
 

Auditioning blocks...........

I audition my blocks by cutting a 4.5" strip of the 2 fabrics that will be top and bottom and then cut them at 12.5".  Next I lay narrow strips across them until I find one I like and then cut the wide strip at a random spot and sew in the narrow strip. Then it is trimmed to 4.5" wide.  The strip that I trim off might be used in another block.  These directions are not in the books, they are how I work.  I might find 3-4 strips I can sew together to be at least 4.5" wide too.  All auditioning is done on my cutting mat.

All of these narrow strips are just laying on top of the 4.5" wide strips.  I haven't made the final decisions yet.

Snow is predicted for this afternoon and some areas will get "raining snow" according to one weather forecaster.  Some people may get none.  I don't know whether to be excited or depressed.

 

36 patches sewn............

My goal yesterday was to get most of the 36 patches sewn.  The 2 on the right aren't sewn yet because I'm not happy with them.  I can't continue the designing until I turn the quilt blocks sideways and finish it with the length of the quilt horizontal on the design wall.  Since almost all of the 36 blocks were just strips of 6 squares it wouldn't have been easy to turn them.  I will be adding 2 more rows of blocks for a finished length around 92".

I looked out my kitchen window and realized the Redbud tree in front of my Maple tree has lost most of its leaves so now I can see all of the beautiful color.

The pretty Viburnum bush is outside the same window.

I walked over to my neighbor's yard to take a picture of the pretty tree from the other side.  It always waits until the first freeze to turn color.  Now the leaves will probably drop rather quickly.

 

2 more blocks................

This is one of my favorite blocks so far.  Yellow is my favorite color so that might have something to do with it.

I only have the smallest little bit of the purple dotted fabric.  I'm glad there was enough to use in a block.

I made more pieces for the 36 patch blocks as well as the 2 new blocks.  I'm running out of space on this design wall. I can just build the next 2 rows of blocks on the left side (where I have plenty of room) and turn all of the blocks sideways.  I need to make some decisions on the 36 patch blocks and get them sewn together first.

Parts for 36 patch blocks.............

I needed to find some more light Marcia Derse fabrics for the 36 patch blocks.  The top 3 are from her palette line of almost solids.  The one that looks like a line plaid is a lighter beige print than it looks like here.

I worked  on the 36 patch blocks yesterday.  None of them are sewn together yet.  They are pieced rows, either a single row or a double row depending on whether I was sewing individual squares or strip piecing.  They are taking a lot longer to make trying to make the block interesting instead of all the same 2 fabrics in a block.  I'm sure I'll move the rows around more as I make more strips of 6 squares.

Outside time was spent cutting down a roaming Gooseberry bush that has come over from my neighbor's property.  They have wicked thorns.  I remember as a child that my mother sent my brother and me out with a bowl to pick Gooseberries.  I'm wondering now it if was punishment for something.  I'm cutting all of the branches into little pieces that go into a box that will be burned.  

Working on Gridlock.............

I sewed three Gridlock blocks last night.  It took me awhile to find fabrics for this one.

I decided the fabrics in this block were graphic enough that I didn't need to insert any strips.  I can always go back and add strips into the long pieces if I change my mind.

I like this green block.  It was fun to use 2 stripes in the strips next to each other.

I think I need to change the center square in the top right block.  It won't take long to pick out the square and replace it.  I still need to make a gold block and a purple block and then decide if it will be 6 rows or 7 rows long.  I have plenty of fabric cut to make it 7 rows.  That would make it come out around 68" x 92".  The blocks are 12" and there is a row of 4" squares around the perimeter.  6 rows would come out 68" x 80".

I pulled out all 13 tomato plants and stacked the cages.  I have never had so many green tomatoes left on the plants this late and I brought in a couple dozen of them last Sunday before the freeze.  I also emptied a few of my pots.  Today I will empty more pots.