Good morning, my friends. It was another hot day yesterday. We're expecting these hot temperatures to last through Wednesday when we'll get back to what's expected for our area at this time of year. I had a couple of house-worky things to do yesterday morning, but I was able to get to my sewing pretty early in the day.
Of course, every morning starts with a little slow stitching. I took the first stitches on July's Joy in the Ordinary block. Mainly, I was using leftover bits from my floss bobbins.
There, I used an Irish chain to set the blocks. But mainly I was thinking of the distribution of the doors vs. the "filler" blocks. I could do the same thing with this panel. And then, I realized I could make all the scenes the same size, and then intersperse them with pieced blocks in the places where the Irish Chain blocks appear above. That would mean 13 pieced blocks to go with the 12 scenes from the panel.
Okay...so that was pretty well settled in my mind. The first step was to figure out how big the panel blocks were. Turns out they're about 9-1/2 inches wide
and 9-1/4 inches tall.
I decided to make all the blocks 12-1/2 inches (unfinished). At that size, it would give me a good selection of pieced blocks to choose from. From there, I went onto the QuiltersCache website and took a look at the 12-inch (finished) blocks. I selected and printed some of the easiest ones. I'm keeping this project simple, and so I rejected anything with a bazillion half square triangles. These are the ones I decided on.
The panel scene blocks were all trimmed to nine inches.
Smitty just wanted to know when we were going to start sewing. All this cutting and measuring is boring.
So I cut strips 2-1/4 inches wide to bring the scene blocks to 12-1/2 inches. I started with the sides.
And then I measured, not trusting my old brain to be able to add properly. Perfect. 12-1/2 inches.
And then I sewed the top and bottom strips. Now they're ready to be sewn into a quilt top.
It was getting late in the day, but I wanted to sew at least one pieced block. This one is called Amish Diamond.
It was getting too late to start another, and so I finished off my sewing day searching through my fat quarter bins for any solid fabrics. I'm only using true solids...nothing mottled, at least for now. These are the colors I found. I'll be picking from my scrap bins first, but these are available to supplement.
And that's where I'll pick it up today. One pieced block down, twelve to go. I think this is going to turn out cute. It should end up at about 60 x 60 inches square without borders. I'll probably sew at least one border because I'll want to finish off the raw edges of the pieced blocks on the sides of the quilt. I'm thinking I'll give it one narrow black border, and then something wider with color. I'll thread that needle when I come to it.
Okay, so I have a busy day lined up for myself. I need to do one housekeeping chore, and I'll need to water the annuals. Also, this is the day I've chosen to get back into exercising. If it wasn't so hot, I'd go for a walk. But it is hot, and so I'll do some time on the treadmill this morning. I was in the middle of watching two documentaries when we left on our trip back in February, and I've never finished them. I can watch TV while I do my treadmill time. If I'm feeling very energetic tomorrow, I'll add in some time on the Bowflex. We were both doing a good job of getting in some exercise when we left on our trip, and I was glad of it when we did some of the more strenuous hikes while traveling. Now that we're home, it's time to get back at it.
How are things at your end? Are you keeping cool? And I'm watching Hurricane Beryl make its rounds. You folks in Texas stay safe, okay?
8 comments:
Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them. ~ Lee Haney
I love your plan for the Amish quilt, the black really sets off the scenes. Sounds like a plan! We are in Longview, Northeast Texas. Had some good rain and thunderstorms yesterday and under a tornado watch now. 100% chance of rain today just hoping no flooding. Sewing group an hour away tomorrow and there are some low lying areas to cross. We are working on string blocks for project Linus. Houston had 80 mph winds 🙀
Funny how those quilt inspirations hit us when we least expect it, and I think you have come up with a great idea for those little panels. It is hot here today, so I'll be on the treadmill too, if I can work up the mojo. LOL
Gotta love it when a plan comes together ... and you get started sewing it into reality!! Look forward to following your progress.
My step-daughter and family live in Spring, TX (a Houston suburb). She texted this morning that the power was out, but they have a generator, so her husband can work remotely. No video games for the teen-age grandsons, though. Fortunately they live in an area not prone to flooding. Meanwhile here in western NY, we're hot and dry.
Pat
I think the almost Amish is going to be really cute. Love you Doors of Dublin quilt. I loved that story about the doors from our visit. My dad was or Irish decent and always was a rebel when I heard the story it explained so much of our family history of not conforming or submitting to authorities. Not wonder he didn’t get upset with my Vietnam protesting in the 60’s.
I like what you have come up with to augment the Amish blocks and that you're giving a 'nod' to their colour choices in their designs.
Hot here today too and we're expecting some rain backlash from the hurricane here as well. Hopefully it won't be the deluge that they're predicting because the farmers won't be liking it.
You've got a great plan for the Amish blocks. You've got some fun pieced blocks selected as well. Looking forward to seeing this one come together.
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