Chipping away

      I have lots of projects. I have a whole notebook of them that I track. First, an older one- finally quilted this week. I have to add the binding I made yesterday and then I can post the whole quilt.

     I have a new project. Maureen sent me a bag of triangle and pieces of Tilda fabric- I had never heard of it, but, oh my, I really like it. I found a Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern called Kindred Pinwheels and I thought it was perfect for these triangles. I adapted and used the whole size of the triangles. I am using off white on white background pieces to keep the softness of the colors in the fabrics. The darker colors are in sets of 4 and the lighter ones are another 4. I have to cut a lot of triangles and 2 1/2 x 7" strips to sew all the triangles Maureen sent. I think instead of laying out a block at a time, I am going to sew all the dark triangles to white, then all the white strips to the light triangles and then lay out the blocks. It might save time and effort.

Roses are glorious flowers

      I admit, I was always afraid of growing roses. However, with some advice and help, I am robustly planting them. I stick to shrub roses. I have a tiny yard, but there is always room for another rose. I love the David Austin roses and I have also been buying some from Heirloom roses- own root roses, not grafted. They have big sales and they have great how to videos. I do have to do titanic battles with Japanese beetles at times, althought right now, they are absent. I have had to fence them in because the insane rabbits ate canes last year.

Hot Cocoa- given to me by a friend who did not have enough sun. This rose has the most beautiful shiny dark green foliage and such a beautiful color flower

      This is a new Heirloom rose I bought on sale- aptly named "Take it Easy". It is growing well so far. First planted.

Today

Fabric enhancements

      Over time, I have made my comfort quilts bigger so that they cover a person and can be tucked under the feet and chin. This means I need more backing fabric. You all know what the price of fabric has done. So, on a recent May trip to Berlin, Ohio- Amish country- I made stopping at Zinck's a priority. Over the winter, they had big wind and storm damage and redid a lot of the store in a good way. The day I was there, they had their considerable flat folds a dollar off a yard if you bought the whole piece. Ok then, if I must, I must. I was able to get a lot of 5-6 yard pieces for between $3-$5 a yard. I made sure I washed all of it when I got home because when longarming, if the back is washed, it goes a lot better. I do not wash the front fabrics as a lot of them are scraps. Julie from Pink Doxies recommended I wash backing fabric a long time ago, and it has really helped in quilting.

5 yd pieces for $3 a yard- $15 for a back!

Some smaller yardage

     I also found some great animal fabrics for my I Spy quilt, some black and white prints to replenish my collection, more white on white pieces, and some stripes for bindings. A very good haul of fabrics to use. I also bought clearance fabric from Millers Dry Goods in Charm.

Scrap Jar Stars sewn

      I have no idea how much time has flown by. I was sewing and moving fabric around, but somehow writing and posting eluded me. Scrap Jar Stars is now sewn, it is 72 x85. I added a 3" white border to contain it and to stabilize the edges. More and more, I do not like enclosing so many seams in the binding. I like the snap and brighness of it as well as so many different fabrics. I used lots of different white on whites for the background so the colors were not in a boring flat white sea.
     Once again, I did all the components- the center 16 patches, the corners, the HSTs, as leader enders. Then I laid out each block on freezer paper and stacked them and sewed them as a web block. I also sewed the sashing on each block, and then sewed the blocks together web fashion. I do not like the technical difficulties of sewing long thin strips of fabric between rows of blocks. I have better control and results this way.