Trying out some blocks

      While I love Bonnie Hunter's Appalachian Autumn quilt enough to purchase the pattern, all the neutral backgound colors seem to not hold as much excitement as fall colors. I did see someone on her blog that used blues, so I tried light blues and dark blues. I have to decide whether to continue on. I would have to make the quilt rectangular as the square shape doesn't work as a cover. I also thought of combining green strings to make the leaves and have a transition from greens to oranges. Lots of thoughts, not so much action. I found the process making the blocks fun. 

     There are so many interruptions around here supervising the grandkids' remote learning.

Some Pumpkin Fun amid Blogger Confusion

      I finally reached the end of the line and Blogger is forcing me to use the new one. Not happy and have no idea how this post will turn out. Any other better alternatives out there? Things aren't stressful enough? Hmm? Why is it putting extra spaces between paragraphs, how can I save the post as a draft? Can you no longer write multiple posts at a time and decide when they will go out? Is there a decent help file anywhere?

    I needed to work on something fun, so I grabbed my Bonnie Hunter String Frenzy book and  made some of the pumpkins. I don't do table runners because the cat of the house thinks it means permission to sit on the dining table which is not allowed. I made 8 of the pumpkins and played with four of them as a center block and then added borders around. I love many kinds of greys, so I used all different ones for the backgrounds.

     I found some yellow and orange shaded fabric that I could use with some postage marked black and made strip sets for the next border- 1 1/2" strips that finish at 1". Then I added a bright green batik that had some interesting marks on it and then a gray that I had been saving as a fun outer border. I don't think it will get quilted by the 31st, so it is just on my design wall now.

     Now, I still have to do something with the other 4 pumpkins or make more of them for the whole quilt in the book. I did buy Bonnie's Applachian Autumn pattern and was thinking of doing the string piecing on that.

Pushing on

     A few posts ago, I blogged about finding a new leader-ender project. I got some excellent suggestions. I also threw the Snail Trail blocks on the wall to see if I could make something small with them instead of burying them in my extra block bin. I had to make some more blocks to get the 4 x 4 design. That was ok because I still had not chosen a leader-ender quilt. I tried a sashing idea with cornerstones, but the dark blue or green did not work.

     Then I remembered the failed sashing from the Wonky Stars. I took off the color squares, trimmed the 2" to 1 1/2" and added the yellow squares to give things a spark. Liked that a lot. Then, I tried the same size 4 patches as the centers for a border. Like that, too.

Tugger holds the sashing strips thinking it is playtime.

A bit of a break

     My painting teacher holds a paint out every September on Chautauqua Lake at the Chautauqua Institution. I went for a couple of days. Demo in the morning, paint the rest of the day, critique at 4:00. My husband went with me and just walked and walked and read on the little porch of The Maple Inn. Normally, the Institution is very pricey, but the season ends in August. The quaint houses are outrageously expensive and all closed up now. The season is from June-August. It has all kinds of music, arts, theater, lectures, etc. during that time. This year, all cancelled. I have mixed feelings about the place. Only the very rich have access unless you are one of the presenters/entertainment (who have to rent elsewhere). These gorgeous houses sit empty most of the year, many zippered up in huge canvas protectors. It is gated and you have to have a pass (bar coded) to enter and exit. I won't get any more political than that and bite my tongue. 

    My daugher-in-law's cousin was the head landscaper until her tragic death due to hospital error about 5 years ago. The Institute finished the garden she designed and it has grown up to be a lovely place.

RWB Chevron quilted

     This quilt top has been done for a long time. I used a wide back for it to make it easier to get going. It is a Missouri Star pattern using a layer cake that was donated to me. I had to wash the layer cake due to basement funk smell from the donor. I set the squares outside on a sheet to dry and came back 15 minutes later to find them blown all over my backyard and front. I had to retrieve squares from under bushes and all over. It was kind of funny.
     Finally, it was loaded and I quilted a different pattern every white area, but straight lines on the print fabric. I used Glide Military Gold top and bottom. Used stripe fabric for the binding. It actually was very fun to quilt. 
     I am saving it for a veteran quilt donation. It isn't washed yet and I am sure the quilting will look even better then.

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Late Summer bold and beautiful blooms

     I love the late blooms of Summer. The colors are so bold and bright. I found a great sunflower stand on my daughter's street in PA. We visited a sunflower farm near me and my garden has some fun flowers. I grew the zinnias, Mexican torch sunflower, four o'clocks, and nasturtiums from seeds I bought from Select Seed.

Sunflower group at the corner of my daughter's street in Saegertown, PA

Variegated nasturiums

Buying a whole raft of these next year

Snapdragons and pink coreopsis

4 o'clocks

Zinnias

Petite zinnias

Small section of the sunflower farm

The farm had many mixed varieties to view and a whole other huge field to cut

Binding on, glamour shots

     I did finish the binding on Square Value. I used black postage marked fabric that I bought from Connecting Threads. I bought every shade of that postage mark fabric. I love it for everything- borders, backs and bindings. Wish I had bought more. It also is a great weight and weave, so it folds great. My neighbor let me use her fence to shoot the full shots, and my front garden was happy to host the quilt. Outside light makes the quilt so much better to see the tones.