Thursday, March 28, 2024

Another finish...............


This is my version of "Sunlight in the Forest", a quilt in Kaffe Fassett's "Quilts in Sweden" book.  I used my own choice of fabrics but used the same inner border fabric as the original quilt.

I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and it was quilted by longarmer Robin Diaz.

It is 67.5" x 87".


Here is a photo from a 2018 post showing the quilt in the book.  (click on the photo for a closer view.) I finished making the quilt top in June 2018.  





I used 2 fabrics on the back because I didn't have enough of either one of them for the whole back.  I mentioned I would show the whole back when it was done but it is large and was a struggle to get up on the design wall.  I didn't have the energy to take it down, turn it over and hang it back up again.  The second photo on this post shows the Hydrangea fabric the best.


After I filled the birdfeeders I checked to see if anything was growing in the back garden.  I found this one Peony peeking out of the ground.  Only one other was up and not as high as this one.



This Lungwort/Pumonaria plant is snugged up next to the rocks along the edge of the path through the garden.






This is the first bloom open on the third Lenten Rose plant.  Most of the buds look pink but it is on the outside of these petals and around the edges.  This one was barely open so the center of the flower isn't fully formed yet.






I need to keep documenting the progress on these plants.  This is their third blooming year in my garden.  At the left behind them are pots filled with Hostas that I dug out of my front garden.  I hope they survived the winter tucked up next to the house in double pots.


This is the third plant.  I haven't trimmed off the dead leaves from last year yet.  I think I'll be out doing some clean up next week.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Working on two................


I made some more blocks for the Spa Quads quilt. I have one more set of 4 quarters cut and need to cut enough pieces for 3 more large blocks (12 quarter blocks).






I have fat quarters of these 2 eBond fabrics that might get used.  I only get 2 quarter blocks out of a fat quarter of fabric so I need to go through the stack one more time and see if I can see another couple pieces that will work.


I had 3 hours of TV last night so I did a lot of hand stitching on this binding.  It sure is easier and faster than a batik binding.  I have about 50" left to stitch.  Maybe I'll get the other quilt trimmed and cut binding for it.  It is a Marcia Derse fabric quilt so it will also be easy to stitch.


I was a little worried about the binding next to the pink roses on the back but there is enough pink in the binding print to make it look okay.

We got an inch and a half of rain from Monday through Tuesday morning.  We need the rain after a fairly dry winter.  My Sedum plants are getting big and I haven't been out there to break off last years dry stalks.  Maybe one day this week will be good.  It has been so windy on most of the warmer days so I'm hoping for a calm warm day.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Binding choice...........


The binding choice ended up being the same one I used on another Kaffe quilt this year.





I'm really glad I decided to go with red instead of a black background print.  It's easier on the eyes and I think the better choice of color.






This is the other print used for the back of the quilt.  I'll show the whole back when I get done with the binding.  Large prints like this one work well for borders and backings but don't cut up well in small shapes.
  




 

Monday, March 25, 2024

A lot accomplished.............


One of the two quilts back from my longarm quilter has been trimmed.  I used 2 fabrics on the back.  This is my Sunlight in the Forest quilt, one of Kaffe's designs but my choices of fabrics.  I did use the same first border that he did.  Colors are more accurate in the next photo.  As I trimmed it I was thinking I would have to use a black background binding and the back is dark....so that wasn't sounding like much fun.


Then I came to my senses and realized tat a red would be nice.  I made a trip to my stash and pulled 4 to try.  No decision made yet.



I sewed the leftover scraps together to cut some more skinny strips for the Spa Quads blocks.  I had enough for 4 and now I need to find another fabric for the rest of the blocks.  I also got 28 nine patch blocks sewn.


One of my white Cactus plants has a bloom and 3 more buds.  2 of them are small so I don't know if they will bloom.  I also have one bud on my pale pink plant.  In previous years I have had blooms all the way into April so I won't give up yet.  

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Progress on 2 plus something new.............


The last flannel16 patch blocks that I made yesterday are now added to the previous ones for a total of 38.  I haven't come up with a final plan for them.





I sewed the blocks from the Friday strip sets and sewed 3 more new strip sets for the batik 9 patch project.






I added 5 new blocks to the design wall and rearranged a bit.  I made it one block wider and need to have 12 rows top to bottom.  This first quilt will have all different blocks, one of each of the 4 alike of each combination.  The other 3 blocks go into a project box for a larger quilt with duplicates in it.  I'm not quite half way there so this will continue for a month or so.


I downloaded this free pattern and printed it a few years ago.  I knew I wanted to use large prints for it and finally decided to make it.











These fabrics are from 2 lines by one designer, eBond.  The dark skinny strip is a deep teal color and I only had a fat quarter of it so I need to find something else so I can make the rest of the blocks.  I might use a Marcia Derse fabric or two because they go well with these fabrics.


Last night when I was closing the blinds on my front windows the moon was shining through the huge maple tree across the street.  It was too striking to let it pass without taking a photo.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

A better day..............


I did more organizing with the flannel fabrics but am not done yet.  I found a light fabric to match with 3 strips that were cut for 16 patches.  I'll have to count how many 16 patches I have now.  These need to be pressed before I go any farther with them.  I have a huge box of flannel scraps.  The last time I sorted them was early 2017 and I cut lots of tumbler shapes and tossed all of the small pieces.


I selected 11 more pairs for 9 patches last night and sewed 3 of them.





This is the stack ready to go to the ironing table today.





9 more blocks were added to the design wall.  The other 3 of each of those went into a project box for the next quilt.  The blocks will finish at 4.5".







This is all of the snow we got yesterday.  About 60 miles north of us got 4-6".  It may not be the last blast of winter.  We have had snow the first week of April many times.

 

Friday, March 22, 2024

Planning, cleaning, and a lot of other uninteresting things to post about......


Very little sewing, just one of each of the combinations of the 9 patches.

Thursday mornings are drop off times at our local thrift shop so that was yesterday morning's task.

Then I decided to look through my flannel stash and make a decision on my storage of it.  It is a bit of a mess after pulling pieces for 4 quilts.  I made some decisions but didn't get it all straightened out so I'll be back down there today.  

I spent time with my many notebooks full of notes and don't have a clue if I made any progress there.  It's a good thing I have these 9 patches lined up to sew.

I have 2 quilts to trim and binding to cut today.  Maybe I'll get some other cutting done too.