Still More...

Here is the beginning of using up some of those 4 patches from the purple fabric.  I didn't have any more of the purple I used in the previous quilt so decided to go with white on which I will quilt purple motifs of some kind.  Will probably quilt in white on the green squares.

All done!  I found this random purple print which turned out to be a great choice for the border.  This quilt is about 42 x 55 finished.

This and the next are snippets of a Christmas fabric which has a 24 inch repeat.  I forgot to take a picture of the whole repeat.  I ended up making 144 sets of posie blocks.  I had 8 repeats of the fabric but it was from two different bolts obviously as they didn't line up.  I was really  unsure about how these blocks would look as 4 patches but was really pleased.  I cut the strips into 3 1/2 width as there is a lot of black background in this print as well as very large flowers.  

This and the next picture are some of the blocks that I have made.  I am very happy with how they are looking.  Am currently thinking I will surround each block with a red border.  There are some that I think will need a green border so we shall see how they all come together.  There is enough to make quilt a few quilt tops - 6 reasonable sized quilt tops.

I found this fabric in my stash, again in two pieces.  It is an Alexander Henry from many years ago which I got for $2.50/yd from a now defunct variety store.  I have 12 repeats, 4 on one piece and 8 on the other.  The repeat is a huge 24 inches too.  I couldn't help myself and had to try out a few blocks.

These are the first 24 blocks I made from the sets.  There are 72 sets altogether.  They are bright!!  I cut the strips 3 1/2 inches wide like the Christmas blocks.  This way, 5 across with borders and sashing makes a quilt top that is about 40 inches wide by 60 inches long and good for a charity quilt.  I may hold off on giving away a few of these quilts as there is a quilt show next year (I hope).

I decided that I would surround each of these blocks with black and then I will do white sashing with some sort of cornerstones -- to be determined.  I think they float on the black and I may re-think using black on the Christmas blocks instead of the red. Hmmm...

 

Finishing Up

This and the next three are pairs of posie blocks.  I had cut 8 repetitions and then rearrange the resulting pairs of four to get two very different looking blocks!

Here all the posies are done and the octagons are started.  I have arranged the posies in their pairs.  You can see one duplicate pair.

Here are all the octagons finished.  At this point I was going to do the same set as the last quilt I finished, putting posies between each of the octagons.  I auditioned up on the wall and decided for some reason, it was just too busy with this fabric so abandoned this idea.  The green fabric that had inspired me to use this fabric I decided would look good between each of the octagons -- just a square.  However, it was just too jarring so I searched through my stash and found a purple hiding in a bag that was supposed to go with some other fabrics for a jacket -- guess not!!

I alternated the purple and the green and then repeated them in the border and called it a day.

Closeup.

The top is finally done and I even found a nice fabric for the back which incorporates a lot of the same colors.  I may hold onto this one!
 

The Stack and Whack Queen or So They Say...

Well I finished the mixed kaleidoscope block and posie block top and am quite pleased.  Still have enough left to make several more quilts this size or one bigger one with a smaller one.  Haven't decided yet what to do.

Finished the top with the Christmas fabric as well.  It is okay and thankfully I used up all the fabric!!  It is not as boring as I thought it would be so that is the good news!

This is the second and final quilt top not all the way put together made with the flower blocks.  The green is a little strong but the yellow instead of the white used in the other quilt tones it down a bit.

Trying borders here.  First is the green, then the yellow and haven't decided whether to use the lavender again or not.  I am going to search and see if I have any of the pink as I think that would be a better choice.

I had a two yard piece of this fabric which I liked but the repeat was only 8 inches.  However, I persevered and cut out pieces for  42 posies and I think 48 octagons.  The fun part is that I cut out two posies from the same stack of 8 and see how different I can make the 2 blocks.  Even I can't identify the pairs sometimes after they are done!! 

 Even though I haven't finished the flower quilt top, I just had to try out some of the posie blocks!  These were kind of boring ones I pulled out but think I am going to like a lot.  I was inspired to cut up this fabric by the green fabric in the flower quilt which was a perfect match for the green in this fabric.  I cut out 3 strips of 2 1/2 inches wide for the posies and 2 strips 3 3/4 inches wide for the octagons.  It was a close call and there was just fuzz left in the fabric where I had torn it!  The bottom two blocks are a pair made from the same four pieces.

I am getting around better all the time and have had two sessions of physical therapy now and I can finally see some progress although I continue to call them torture sessions!  I am religious about doing my exercises though and I have given up wearing any ankle brace.  By the end of the day I feel it though!

Finishing a Top or Two for a Change

Auditioning the green to surround the hexagons.

After looking at some of my previous quilts using this set, decided to surround the center hexagons with white instead of the green.

Finished the center of the top.  Had forgotten how I filled in the sides but remembered a template I had and realized it was for the half hexagons at the sides!  So that is what fills in the rows of three hexagons.

Top is all finished now with more green, a 1 inch white border and a 3 inch lavender border.  The quilt ends up about 44 x 65 which is a decent size.  I have enough to make a second quilt from the blocks although will have to use different background and borders.

This is the next one in process.  I will use a 1 inch border around the 4 patches and white corners on the kaleidoscopes and the set will be on the diagonal.  I have enough to make at least two quilts, maybe three!  

 

Oh No, Not More Stack and Whacks!

This is the first half of the blocks made from the flower fabric which I did find and is pictured below.  

The repeat is about 12 inches.  It surprised me how well the blocks turned out as I really thought there wasn't enough variation and difference in value.  It is more subtle and I really like it!

This is the very boring Christmas fabric I had.  I think I have a bunch more but am not sure I will do more hexies as I do think they are more repetitive than I like.  They are not as bad as I thought they would be though.

This is the fabric used in the above hexies.

 This is the same fabric but in a different colorway than the blocks in the last post.  I do like these better and have enough to make one heck of a lot of blocks!!  I may not give this one to charity although I may have enough to make a couple of big ones as well as some smaller ones.  this was the really cheap fabric I got at Joanns so bought what was left on the bolt as I thought it would make good stack and whacks.

I started doing these kaleidoscopic blocks many years ago at the suggestion of an email pen pal who discovered them.  I got completely hooked and swore them off for years.  I had one heck of a lot of fabric that I bought to do these and have been trying to use up this fabric.  My favorite fabric for these blocks is fabric that is not pretty but has lots of contrast and a fairly large repeat.  I found some gorgeous fabric that I probably intended for these blocks but have decided to keep it whole and use it for backs as you  usually have to buy quite a bit of fabric for stack and whacks.  My only exception recently was the Birds of Paradise fabric that I made into blocks.

I am getting around these days with a big black heavy boot and a cane.  I am back in my sewing room for a couple of hours a day.  My daughter hoped I was cleaning -- but not!  At least I am sleeping in my own bed again which is a great relief!  I have put my walker and my scooter in the basement for now.

Back to My Sewing Room and Stack and Whack!

I have already made three or four quilts from this fabric and still had a bunch more so back at it again.  Think only two more will be done with this colorway but have 6 yds of another colorway which I like even better and have already cut up some pieces for some made with that!  For your future viewing.  We have no printer right now and are having a really hard time finding one in stock so any fancier art quilts are out for now as I make extensive use of the printer.  Same problem with finding a dishwasher which is on order but poor husband is doing dishes in the interim as they don't know when it will be in.

This is the fabric for the following blocks.  I have a whole bunch more of this fabric but the repeat is only 8 inches.  Haven't decided whether I will do kaleidoscope blocks or not to go along with these four patches.

This was another fabric that had a fairly small repeat and i wasn't sure it would even work but seems to.  I don't have a picture of the original fabric as it was a relatively small piece ad i used the whole thing.  I think it will make a nice springlike quilt for charity.  

This is the beginning of another made from a really boring Christmas fabric.  I am afraid all the blocks are going to be pretty much alike!

This new Blogger interface is terrible so my posts look a little wierd.  I think they decided that everyone would use their phones and designed it for that.  All my pictures are on my computer.  I sent a comment in but am sure they are just ignoring it.  Very frustrating -- if i hadn't been using it for 12 years, I would seriously consider switching to another platform.

Wouldn't be complete without some nature  pictures.  This is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

This is of course the Monarch.  They were both visiting my neighbor's Butterfly Bush.

 

Birds and Butterflies

Having been housebound for two many months, I asked my daughter to take me to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge so I could see some of my birds.  It was a gorgeous day although there were not a great many birds.  We did see several of these beautiful goldfinches feasting on the Scottish Thistle.

This is an Eastern Kingbird and I don't think I have seen one of those before so that was a nice find and he posed for us as well!

This is a female Wood Duck (forward) and a juvenile Wood Duck in the back.  I have seen male adult Wood Ducks before but this was a first for a juvenile and a female!  There were lots!

This was a juvenile Pied Billed Grebe.  There were quite a few of these as well as lots of juvenile mallards.  So it was a baby day for sure.  We also saw our fair share of Great Blue Herons, Crows and Vultures.  Daughter was disappointed that we didn't spot any Bald Eagles though.

This and the following pictures were taken in my driveway of one of a pair of Hummingbirds that were constantly on the Butterfly Bush.  I called them the hummingbirds that think they are butterflies.  I had to use impossible settings on my camera and many many pictures to even get 3 or 4 decent ones as their wings go soooo fast.

This is a Cabbage White butterfly.  We have a lot of these this time of year.

This is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  In previous years, I have seen more of this Swallowtail than any other but this is the first I have seen one this year.  Still haven't seen a Spicebush Swallowtail, the other one that is frequently here.

I have still been sewing away sitting in bed and I think finished enough of these for at least one baby quilt.

This is another version of the kaleidoscope block.  Again I have enough to make a baby quilt.