All in a Sewing Day

Good morning, my friends. All of my to-do's were ta-done before 10:00 a.m. yesterday morning, and that gave me the whole live-long day to sew. A lot was accomplished. It was a hot day too. The kitties were soaking up the sun, but they chose a place where they could lie in the filtered sunlight.

Knowing the day was going to be hot, I was out early to water the annuals. While I was out, I noticed the blueberries are finally beginning to turn purple. It has taken them a long, long time. Hopefully, the deer won't eat all of them before they ripen. They've pretty well cleaned two of our four bushes.

Back inside, I finished the second embroidered block for the Girls' Getaway quilt. This one is called "Clawfoot Tub."

Here are the embroidered and pieced blocks I have for this quilt so far. Still a long way to go.

It was time to take my sewing self downstairs by then. Happily, Smitty was already on the job keeping my fabrics under control.

Sadie was standing by in case Smitty needed a break.

This is one of those projects I wish I'd never started, but with one block to go, I was determined to finish. And how could I go wrong with such excellent feline facilitators.

It went together faster than expected. The sections were lettered A through Y, but there were only a few pieces in each section. When I stopped for lunch, I had it this far.

After lunch, I had a nap to fortify myself. And then I went back to work and surprised myself by finishing it off.

Oh, but it isn't really finished until all the paper is removed from the back.

Tweezers are helpful for this.

And there it is trimmed and pressed. This one is called "Fondling Fabric."

Finishing this block was my goal for July's

and so I'll link up there when the party starts at the end of the month. Here are all nine blocks for this quilt. They're all different sizes, and so it'll take some creative piecing to sew them into a quilt top. I'll start by giving each one a black stop border. After that...I'm not sure. I'll thread that needle when I come to it.

You may know that Ruth McDowell created this method of piecing, and she passed away last month. You can read the memoriam to her right here. I never met her, but I learned her method when I took several classes from Ann Shaw. Some of my favorite quilts were created using her method. This was my first one. I call it "Seating for Two."

Also, this one I call "Flamingles."

This next one of my brother when he was a little boy (before I was born) is among my favorite quilts. I call this one "Snips & Snails."

This is the first one I tried without the input of an instructor. I call it "Working for Peanuts."

Finally, this one I call "Sonora Sparkle." Ruth's technique isn't really intended for landscape quilts, but I tried it anyway.

With as much as Ruth's method has influenced my own quilting, I decided to honor her by changing the name of "When Quilter's Gather," (the book title) to "Ruth's Legacy."

It was late in the day by the time I'd finished that last block. Upstairs, I checked the temp. I know some of you are laboring under triple digit temps. Nevertheless, this is pretty hot for the Three Cats Ranch.

We're expecting another hot day today. I have one housekeeping chore, but then I'll be hanging out in my cool basement sewing room. 

I've reached the "Quilter's Choice" section of my whiteboard, and I'm choosing to make a quilt top from this panel I picked up some time ago. It was printed by RJR Fabrics. I've been trying to determine the name of the panel. It's either "Simple Life," or "Almost Amish." But I'm going with the latter and calling my quilt "Almost Amish."

I'll probably sew this together in the Amish tradition, using all solid colors. I have a couple of nice dark reds and purples. I might also dig into my greens. And since I haven't been able to think of anything more creative, I'll probably just sew the blocks together with sashings and cornerstones. Maybe I'll find something more inspirational as I go, but for now, I'm keeping it simple...like the Amish people.

Right now, I'm heading to the kitchen to make Sunday morning pancakes. Keep cool out there, Everybody!