Day of the week quilts..........
I made my decisions that I mentioned yesterday, which quilts belong to which days.
Monday is the basket quilt, known by several other names I know, but it is still a basket quilt to me. Remember the indecision about which color setting triangles (link in yesterday's post)? I decided on the rosey one. To me the quilt blended right into this color and the blue looked like an add on. I know I am in the minority here because most of you liked the blue, but I tend to make my quilts blendy so this one worked for me. The top is all sewn together (successful day).
As a bonus I got the binding sewn on this little (28" x 32") cradle quilt.

The backing is a baby print batik.

Now onto the other days of the week:

Tuesday will be the Kaffe Fassett inspired beaded curtain quilt. Here is a link to the design wall the last time I played with it in June last year. Yesterday I showed the strips sewn to make more 4 patches. I also need to cut more batik squares. I will show a picture tomorrow of the quilt that inspired me but I am doing it a little different. I am teaching until 2:30 so I may not get a lot done.

Wednesday will be the vanilla 9 patch quilt, pieces pictured below, all sorted ready to sew when a friend comes over to baste a quilt on my big tables. I decided I needed company to be able to stick to this one.

Thursday I will baste 2 more of the many wallhanging tops I have hanging on hangers in the basement.

Friday I will work on finishing the 2 Strips and Curves small pieces that I used for samples for the class. Friday is the last day of the class so I won't be able to get to it until late afternoon or evening.

Saturday I will work on the Rosebud pink and green batik blocks I showed yesterday.

Sunday will be a free day to start something new or work on whatever I want (or to rest). Monday will start over again with the same projects on the same days until they are finished.

I think I see some finished projects in my future.

Voting time!
I opened up the 2 final contenders and put them under the edges of the blocks. I like them both.
Here it is with just the blue.

and here it is with just the rosy one.

Which one do you prefer?

Down to two.
I tried about 15 different fabrics and the only thing that seems to work is a mottled batik.
Now I just need to decide between warm and cool colors.

I will be posting again in a few minutes since I forgot to load all of the pictures in this one. I don't like to move them because then they aren't clickable for a closer view.

Only 8 more lines to stitch
and I'll be done with the quilting. I took this picture in low light to show the texture.
I was busy all morning giving a private computer class and then last night I decided it was time to change my studio around for my summer set up where I will be sitting next to the double window while I sew. I took a few minutes last night to try 3 fabrics for the setting triangles. If you click on the pictures for a closer view you will be able to see the fabrics better.

I'm not sure how dark I want them to be but I am leaning toward the one on top in this picture. I will try some other color ranges yet though.

I think this next one is too dark.

Here is another close up shot of the pulmonaria flowers.

I don't know how many of you read Kornelia's comment

when I mentioned that the flowers were 2 different colors on the same stem. She is a molecular biologist and she said that the color of the flower changes after pollination. She said that once it changes color that is an signal for the pollinator that it doesn't need to visit the flower any more. Isn't that neat? Thanks Kornelia.

A Productive Day

I was so tired Tuesday that I didn't do much. Yesterday though I had my pep back and I decided to get some more quilting done on this one. You can see I have tables for support behind the main table as well as to the left side. This supports the quilt so it can't ever fall over an edge while I am quilting.
A couple weeks ago I mentioned that my ditch quilting along the parts of the blocks wasn't straight as it traveled through the next block where there wasn't a seam to follow.

I decided to do the wavy lines that I have been using for years between the rows of stitching. The 2 rows are kind of parallel and sometimes even cross over to the other side. Here are the rows just sewn in one direction.

I got a few rows done in the other direction. Now I have to decide if I am going to put a row down the center between the 2 ditch lines.

I finished the last 2 blocks for the basket quilt. I was going to pick a fabric just a little darker than the outside blocks for the setting triangles but now I am considering one even darker.

I like the block patterns in this quilt but I'm not happy with the colors. They just aren't MY colors. I will probably have to make another one that is in all creams, yellows, golds, pinks, reds, and purples. It won't be anytime soon though. I have a couple other ideas brewing first.

More double 4 patches

Yesterday was cleaning the basement day. My art quilters are coming tomorrow. I took a break though and pieced 4 more double 4 patch blocks. I still need to make 5 more for the top and 2 for the bottom corners. As I look at the photo I can see one that can be moved to the outside edge and I'll make a new lighter one for its place. The Christmas cactus has its first official bloom of the year. I think they are so beautiful.

The sun is shining and 60 degrees predicted for today and tomorrow. I will open some windows today and enjoy the fresh air.

Progress

I made a few more double 4 patch blocks, some for the edge and 2 for the center. I have 11 more to make. I had all of the leftover 2.5" and 4.5" strips on a tray and there aren't enough combinations left so I have to do some more cutting. I did get the 2 side borders on the Turning Twenty Again top and cut the 2 pieces for the back so now it will get finished.

The sun is shining but it is still below freezing as it has been the last 2 days. I'm ready for a warm day!

I feel like finishing something

I have several new things I want to start but I feel like finishing something. I started this one awhile ago and I had both dark and light double 4 patch blocks to put between the baskets. click here to see it then. I decided I only wanted the light blocks so I still have to make more to fill in. I am contemplating the darker shades of the light blocks around the edge. I may still take them out, indecision there.

The other one I am trying to finish you can see here. It is long enough for a twin size bed but isn't wide enough so I am cutting rectangles and squares of some of the same fabrics and I will piece on a 5" border on both sides. It won't read as a border and will just look like part of the main design. I have to cut a few more fabrics yet but hope to finish it today.

Finished!

The borders are on! I originally planned to make this piece small, the second in the series. It ended up 31" x 33.5". The main reason was to decide how I wanted to quilt it so I would have ideas for the larger first piece (my current favorite at the top right on my blog). Even after 51years of machine quilting, I still just KNOW that I will ruin it with the quilting.

I am going to use the idea in my second picture yesterday for the next larger piece. Thanks everyone for your votes and the reasons behind them. I enjoyed every single comment.

Remember when I showed the batik basket blocks and didn't know where I had gotten the name Cake Stand for my samples? I finally found it while moving a stack of books (and having to peek through them while doing it). This is the book......

and here is the reference to the name.
I'm helping out at a store again today so no sewing until tonight.

The next quilt?

Julie mentioned on her blog that she had some fabrics pulled for a scrappy basket quilt and that reminded me again that I have always wanted to make a basket quilt. I have seen several in the past few weeks on other blogs and I finally started looking for "the" basket pattern I want to do.

I went to this 1980 book of patterns to search.
I knew I didn't want a basket with an appliqued handle. I just wanted simple triangles and squares or rectangles.

After looking at all of the basket patterns in the book, I glanced up at my design wall at the block I made a few years ago, and it isn't even in the book. I wonder what its name is? It is more of a flower pot look than a basket. Maybe I want a flower pot quilt instead, LOL.
I have all of these little drawers of triangles and squares left from a color study project a few years ago. That would make it really scrappy if I used them.
I think I want to pull yardage off the shelves and cut specifically for this project. I just need to figure out what size the largest piece is and cut a strip that size off all of the fabric that I want to use. Then I can fold and replace all of the yardage that I am not needing on the shelves . Does that sound like a lot of work? Yes, but it lets me pet my fabrics, and sometimes find one that is hiding between others that I have forgotten about. I love refolding and restacking my fabrics.

Thank you for all of the good wishes for my mother. I hope she will listen to the Dr. this time and start drinking more liquids, and hopefully partially solve her kidney problems.