Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Lazy day.............

This Hugs and Kisses flannel quilt was unpinned from the longarm frame and trimmed and that was it.  No ambition to do any more.  Some days are like that.




I pressed the 9 patches from yesterday and put one from each set of 4 up on the design wall.  I sewed 3 more strips sets and pressed them too and cut the segments for 9 patches.  I need to get busy today and cut some more batting to match with tops since I didn't get it done last week.  Then I can get the roll of batting off my tables to makes space for something I am working on.
 

Monday, March 18, 2024

Another quilted.......................

The flannel Hugs and Kisses is quilted, not without a few problems which I won't bore you with.  I'll get it trimmed today and cut the binding, which will probably be the same as the backing fabric.



I sewed 9 patches while I watched TV last night.  I laid all 4 of the orange ones out separately so you can see the variety that a mottled fabric creates.





My largest Columbine which is pink is getting big.  I'll have to check and see if the Columbines in the front have come up yet.  We're in for some cold nights so I'll wait to rake the leaves.



I'm seeing more of the Lungwort/Pulmonaria now.  I think the Brunnera is growing too.  It is another early bloomer with tiny blue flowers.
 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Third finish for March 2024


A lightweight flannel print was my final choice for the binding.  This flannel Pinwheel quilt ended up at 58" x 70".

It has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it.




The back is one of Robert Kaufman's mammoth flannels.  They are a heavier weight than most and very soft.

I got the Hugs and Kisses flannel quilt parts loaded on the longarm yesterday afternoon.



When I was out filling the birdfeeders I noticed the Scilla was up and blooming.






I have shown closeup photos of the Lenten Rose blooms and thought I should take some photos of the whole plants.  This one on the left bloomed for the first time last year.  I have had these plants for 3 years now.



The plant in the middle has a lot of blooms too.








This plant on the right is the only one that bloomed the first year and it has the least buds and only a couple of them are open so far.  It didn't bloom at all last year.  I'm really happy with the growth on all 3 plants.

 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Quilted and trimmed.............


I went down to the longarm before noon and quilted this flannel pinwheel quilt.






I did 6 big wavy lines in each 12" block from top to bottom.  I wanted loose quilting to keep the quilt really soft.





I got it trimmed right away too.  The plaid on the back is one of the Robert Kaufman mammoth flannels.  It is heavier weight than any of the flannels on the front of the quilt.  This quilt is so soft!  I need to find a binding fabric today.



Last night I got caught up on sewing all of the rest of the 9 patches that were cut.




After that I chose more pairs to sew whenever.  I get Peacock free with Comcast and I think there is a new movie on there that I can watch tonight while I sew.

Friday, March 15, 2024

More blocks................


 I sewed one of each of the 13 new combinations and saved the other 3 of each to sew later.  I wanted to see the yellows and oranges on the design wall.

It was cool enough yesterday morning that the heat came on and I should have gone to the basement then and started quilting the flannel quilt.  I waited until afternoon and by that time it was warm out and cold in the basement.  Today it should be warm down there so I hope the quilting happens.

That left my "in between things" project as the only thing to work on because my cutting area is in the basement too.  Well, that's not totally true; I have a cutting table on the main level too, but it is a catch all spot....so I could fix that.  Anyway, I sewed more strip sets for 9 patches last night.

I have fabric all pressed and ready to cut for a project so maybe I can do that today too.


Here is the only branch on my Forsythia that has blooms.  The bush is old, was trimmed back many years but not for the last 3 years.  It is 6 feet tall and this is the extent of its beauty.  The only reason I haven't dug it out is that it is a safe haven for the little birds.  They go back and forth between the feeders and the bushes.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Lots of background work in the basement............


First thing yesterday morning I baked the chocolate chip cookies.  I had a question from someone in another country about my recipe so I thought I would show the package, not knowing if this is available in their area.



I just noticed something that I had not seen before.  At the bottom it says if omitting nuts to add 1 - 2 TBS of flour.  I will try that next time because most of my family prefers no nuts in cookies.



Here is the rest of the recipe for my reader who inquired about it.  Click on the photo for  a larger view.

Another reader thought I should have a label for recipes.  I do have a label for FOOD which should include posts with recipes.  A quicker way though if you read my blog on a computer is to go to the top left corner of the blog and there is a search box where you can type in RECIPE and it should take you to any post with that word in it.


Now for the background stuff: the basement is cold in spring and fall when the heat doesn't come on when it is warm outside (69-70 the last 2 days) so I really didn't want to be down there quilting the flannel quilt.  I decided it was a good day to turn on the iron.  I pressed the backing for the Hugs and Kisses flannel quilt and all of the batik 9 patch strip sets.  While I was at it I pressed all of the 9 patches that I had sewn so far.  Then I sub-cut all of the 9 patch strip sets that were sewn earlier this week.  I was lazy last night and didn't get any sewing done.


There are 4 nine patches alike from every strip set.  I took one of each of the ones that were sewn previously and put them on the design wall to get an idea of the variety I have so far.  In the stack ready to sew there are a lot of light combinations so this will change a lot.  Here is the last quilt top I made with 9 patches like these.  They are made with commercial prints whereas this new group of blocks is all batiks.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

More baking.....................

I had 3 sessions in the kitchen yesterday.  I baked the Kringlas in the morning, peanut butter cookies after lunch and mixed chocolate chip dough in intermissions during my TV time.  I'll finish the baking this morning.


I sewed some more strip sets to make 9 patches.

I only got one batting trimmed to length yesterday.  It is on the backing on the longarm now.



I found two Lungwort/Pulmonaria plants with blooms.  I thought about raking the leaves off the bed but there is possible snow predicted next Monday which means cold weather.  Yesterday I checked the temperature once in the afternoon and it was 69 degrees.