MAKING THE MARK

I applied the binding and tossed this in the laundry

 for the final touch!  Perfection!  55" x 60"

I loaded the 2024 FL Shop Hop quilt onto the frame.

I almost finished it but another 20 minutes should see it done

 but it wasn't going to happen today!

 

OFF THE FRAME THEY FLY

The quilting was finished on this quilt 

and then I spent a lot of time making bindings yesterday.  

I hope to apply them for some finishes is my goal today!  

ONE DONE AND A NEW HAS BEGUN

Sea Haven by Jennifer Shiels Toland sweater #3 is finished 

and just laid out after wet blocking. 

And #4 has begun with some new texture designs 

charted out by me again!

IT'S BLOOMING!

Getting near the end of this quilt.  That's a good thing because the panto I picked for this one is getting boring! lol

Look!!!!  Two blooms are open!  This is the Starfish Cactus--the flower is about 10" across!

They are hanging down at the end of the long branch so I tried to take a photo like a selfie--the skin of the flower is translucent! It is in the family Stapella and related to the lifesaver cactus which has 1" bloom.  Some call it the Carrion Cactus because of the terrible smell of rotting flesh which attracts flies, etc. 

 So far, I didn't smell such an aroma, to my relief.

 

FOR THE DOWN TIME

 Since I enjoy the watercoloring books, I thought I would give the acrylic paint-by-number trend a try. And I am thoroughly enjoying it!  Who knew?!  There are 4 already-framed canvases in this set

 so I will enjoy hanging them together when finished.  

A QOV FINISH!

This top was finished last summer but with health being an issue, it has taken almost a year to say, "It is finished!" 

 I will turn it in for a label soon.  It has been a trip.

 

A FINISH

I cut and applied the binding onto the table runner finally. 

 I bought enough fabric to bind this and the latest QOV quilt which I will bind today!  This runner is 23" x 54".

I'm still enjoying the two color dishcloths;  I am making the Center Double Decrease Square or the Mitered Square in the orange and blue variegated, carrying the yarn at the right side. 

 

PLEASURABLE STITCHING

All the blocks are sewn together and I decided to use the grey fabric for sashing to give the bright spots some room!

The close of my day looked like this--Feather and Fan dishcloths with matching M & M's!

 

KEEP THE ASSEMBLY LINE MOVING!

The Nordic Nights quilt is completely finished!

It's nice to have Lena in the studio with me again (she finally believes the dog is gone!) I am happy with the back of this quilt, too, because it adds a bit of whimsy to this quilt!

Lena likes to burrow under blankets so I consider it her stamp of approval.  The quilt is 48" x 56".

And I forced myself to get another quilt right on the frame and not to slack off! Yes, this means the first QOV is done with the quilting but I need to get some fabric for the binding before I show it off.

 

A NEW PROJECT ON THE DESIGN WALL

I cut up all of the latest Fat Quarter Club fabrics paired with some of my own solids for these 9 patches.

It was fun to dig through the solids bin and match them up with each of the fun prints this month.  

Many of the prints were cut up like this for some fussy cut blocks so I wouldn't have birds cut in half, etc! lol  (I did this for the turtle and one of the flower ones)

 

JUST A WALK TO THE MAILBOX

On my way to the mailbox, I took a few photos of the colorful plants that caught my eye;  Beauty bush berries

Date Palm fruit

Magnolia tree cones

cone close-up

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly in the Lantana bush

a Bromeliad flower

 my Ixora in bloom!

 

MY NOD TO SPORTS

 I had an idea to use two colors to make a sports fans' dishcloth!  This will work for either the FL Gators or the Syracuse Univ Orange, the team we cheered on when living near there!  There are a bit more ends to weave in but it is worth it;  I think this is rather fun!

SOCKS ON SUNDAY

The second sock seemed to fly off the needles! 

 The stripes make the knitting go faster, I think! lol

Stats:  KnitPicks Static in Evergreen Terrace, size 2 needles,

 over 64 stitches, toe-up with a 3 x 1 rib on the leg.

 

PROJECT PLANS

The blocks are sewn together and I played with several border ideas and these are the three I will add.

I also played with some setting for the latest FatQuarterClub fabric.  I started out with smaller squares but so many of the fabrics will be shown off better with larger blocks so I am going with a 9 patch of 4" blocks.

And I made the binding for this quilt and then ran out of gas!

LOCKED AND LOADED!

 A new top is loaded on the frame and I did two rows of a panto, at least.  The local QOV needed a panel quilt so this prompted me to get going!  This top has been finished for a long time but my frame time has been absent!  I need to stop procrastinating!  

I hope to make some good progress today 

while Bill is off playing golf with a friend!

STARS AND STRIPES

All of the blocks are finished 

so now I will stitch them together and decide on a  border! 

 I have several different choices which I will audition today.

 

ONE OF MANY

It took way longer than it should have done

 but sometimes there are unavoidable obstacles! lol  

But it is finished and trimmed and ready for a binding. 

 I have added it to the growing pile of unfinished quilts and tops!  Eventually, I will knock it down to nothing!  I feel it coming. 

Today, I am meeting a few other quilters for lunch.  

It will be great to catch up on how they are 

and what they have been doing!

 

ANOTHER YOKE

I drew a chart to blend the two sweaters by Jennifer Shiels Toland called Sea Haven and Seashore Stroll.  It went very smoothly!  I love a chart that includes, stitches, increase rows and stitch counts so I added that info myself!  I am ready now to separate for the sleeves/body.  I will be making the sleeves before I move on to the body because it was so much easier to make the sleeves without the added bulk of the body!

I tried to show you my successful German short rows this time-- but Lena photo-bombed it!

This is the first time that I had the stitches completely disappear and not stand out as goofs!

 

BOTTLED UP!

It started me up again--I saw someone carrying a blue bottle of Sparkling Water!  Would you save that for me when it's empty?  Sure no problem--and so I received two bottles when I saw them a week later!  (The glass is still wet in this photo.)

I smashed it in a heavy clear bag to get the size pieces I like.  I haven't done any Tumbling in a year but glass is easy and only takes a week!  And this is how it ended up--the light blue glass at the bottom of the strainer;  the glass at the top are odd bits of glass I added to make it a full barrel. The glass is completely dry here for its final frosty beauty!  How cool is that?!

When I break the glass bottles, I try to save the  bottoms intact; it doesn't always happen but it's great when it does because they make great wind chimes!  I also try to save the neck and this one turned out perfectly!  The turquoise glass at the top is a piece I found in our yard--after heavy rains, we often find pieces of glass that have worked their way up to the surface once again!  (we have found many garbage pits buried here, which was a very common way to dispose of 'trash'!) 

PROGRESSING

I sewed the outer two borders on this year’s All FL Shop Hop Quilt; now it’s added to the ‘get a backing’ pile!

 

I loaded this quilt onto the frame but when I added the top layers, I realized the backing was too narrow!  I took it all off so I could add a strip to widen the backing!

Thankfully, I had some fabric in the stash that met this need!

And then I did a row to anchor it in place! This will be a priority to complete today!

DIAMONDS!

I loaded up the this table runner and then trimmed it up;  

I couldn't find right fabric for the binding, unfortunately.

Look at that texture and it hasn't even been washed yet!