Day 336 of 2025

While the painter works downstairs,

 I'm upstairs dreaming up quilts, 

specifically chevron quilts.

 

Day 188 of 2025

This is something I made a long time ago. 

It has come back into my possession and attention recently. 

I'll give you more information and my thoughts on it soon.

 

Day 78 of 2025

Here's a sneak peek of my good start on the snowman quilt today. 

 

Day 77 of 2025

I've oiled and run the machine. 

I've attached the clamps to the sides

 and took the slack out of the exposed quilting area. 

I've placed a piece of scrap fabric on the extra side batting 

and done my practice designs and checked the tension. 

I'm ready to start quilting.

 

Day 72 of 2025

I finished a quilt top today that has been languishing in a UFO bin

 in a closet in my studio for years. 

I'll pick a backing from my stash 

and put them together in the queue for quilting.

 

Day 51 of 2025

Last month I wanted to follow along with a QAL (quilt along) 

because I already had the pattern and a fabric pull done. 

I had set it aside when I couldn't participate the first time around. 

Recently I rearranged where and how my WIPs (works in progress) are stored. 

The project in question got moved. 

Most of these WIPs got put in the Big Room but I couldn't find it there. 

Today I spent some time looking again as I have been every couple days 

and there was a neat stack of containers sitting right there on a chair 

in my studio which I had overlooked. 

In the second one from the bottom is my "lost" project. 

The QAL is over now but maybe this will become a priority 

and thus become an early finish for the next time this holiday rolls around.

 

Day 50 of 2025

I have an idea for a new quilt. 

I made a test block to try it out. 

It came out to the correct size- always a good sign. 

I plan to use scraps and stash fabrics so each block will be an adventure. 

It will be fun to see how this develops.

 

Day 42 of 2025

I am working on looking through my bins of WIPs. (Works in Progress)

Some projects will not be finished and are getting dismantled. 

The fabrics I still like will get put back on the fabric shelves. 

Things I do not intend to keep are headed for a designated donation spot. 

This is a set of blocks that I do intend to finish. 

At the time I put it away I had decided to split the blocks up 

and make two smaller quilts. 

The original pattern called for small borders around each block

 before sewing them together. 

The blocks on the left were going to be my "yellow" quilt 

and the blocks on the right were going to be my "pink/aqua" quilt. 

I've decided to put them back into just one quilt. 

I did a bunch of rearranging today 

and have an idea where I am headed with this one 

but probably won't show you until the top is sewn together.

 

Day 207 of 2024

I've pinned paper triangles over my low temperatures 

for most of February and March to see how a couple options might look. 

I may try a couple other options too.

I'll live with these for a while before making a decision.

 

Day 206 of 2024

Well, I finished my March house and connected the first row

 of the 2024 temperature quilt. 

I have to tell you that I'm not crazy about it so far. 

Because I decided I wanted to represent both the high

 and low temperatures each day, 

the houses are looking too busy for my taste. 

Or maybe it's just because I'm not liking the color combinations 

in the March house in particular. 

Maybe if I keep going I will like it better 

as the colors change in the warmer months. 

I'll be giving this some serious thought for a while 

because at this point in the process 

I would still be willing to remake the main portions of the houses, 

but if I go much further on this path, I may not.

 

Day 205 of 2024

I'm finally sewing my pieces 

for the March house of my temperature quilt.

 

Day 152 of 2024

I really love heart and house quilts. 

I found this new-to-me quilt book (©2016) at Half Price Books tonight 

that includes one of each and several more quilts that appeal to me 

for less than the cost of one pattern. 

I consider this quite a bargain.

 

Day 66 of 2024

My temperature quilt blocks are coming along. 

The left is January and the right is February. 

If you go back to my other "temperature" posts, 

you can compare the January blocks  

and see that I did replace one of the fabrics. 

I am happy with this decision. 

Here is a little more information about the set up of the blocks. 

The house facades depict 30 days of the specific month. 

If the month has 31 days, that house gets a tree in the yard. 

Since my quilt will have both high and low temperature blocks, 

I have split the tree in the same manner as the house blocks. 

Since February has only 29 days, 

I have added something special in the empty spot. 

 

Day 61 of 2024

My brain is all over the place today. 

I wanted to go upstairs and cut the new pieces I need to swap a color in my temperature quilt 

and also look for an appropriate fabric to fussy cut for the February window. 

But wait, first I need to clean up the dishes from dinner. Ok, done. 

But wait, I forgot I have fabric in the washer that needs to be put in the dryer

 and fabric that needs to go into the washer. 

Fabric? Oh, yeah. I bought a cute kit for a Halloween table runner

 that I'd like to be ready to make so I'm preparing the fabric. 

Oh, yeah, the pattern was missing a page and I contacted the maker

 to see if I could get the missing page.

 Let me check my email to see if she wrote me back. 

I finally got upstairs and remembered 

that I wanted to look for the knitting needles that I need

 to start a Halloween hat for which I bought a kit last weekend. 

I found four of the one size I need and none of the other. 

I weigh the pros and cons of just using the one size that I found. 

I read through the pattern again and am very confused by the sizing and gauge. 

I do some math to see if I can make it work anyway. 

My conclusion is to cast on and see what happens. 

I pick the shiniest of the needles as the yarn will slide best on it. 

I begin the cast on and the first round with the black yarn provided 

and realize I will need my light to see. 

I set up my neck light and now I have a terrible glare 

from the light hitting the shiny needle. 

I will stop for the night and knit the next round onto one of the other three needles

 which will hopefully not create a glare. 

Now it's very late and I just remembered that I need to go switch the laundry again.

How did I start my evening? Oh, yeah, I need to cut out new fabric. 

Maybe tomorrow.

 

Day 60 of 2024

I went to a quilt show today and this was one of my favorites on display. 

Below is the maker information and the quilt description. 

What a fun mystery quilt this must have been to make.

 

Day 59 of 2024

I've made my February temperature squares 

with the exception of the 28th and the 29th. 

I'm also considering swapping out one of the fabrics I picked

 for a certain temperature range. 

I think it contrasts too much with the other colors around it 

and gives the wrong impression of what temperature it might indicate.

 

Day 51 of 2024

I hope I don't sound like a broken record, 

but here is my completed January block for the temperature quilt. 

Each square of the house facade represents one day in the specified month. 

The original pattern calls for only the high temperature for the day 

paired with a common background fabric. 

I have decided that I'd like to document

 both the high and low temperatures for each day; 

therefore, I am placing the fabric for the daily high in the upper spot

 and the low in the bottom spot in each square. 

I am excited to see how the colors change 

in the upcoming months as the temperatures gradually increase.

 

Day 49 of 2024

I had hoped to have a picture of this entire block done 

but that was not to be. 

I did get the tree section complete 

and all the house rows done before I stopped for the day. 

I ended up attaching two rows together with one of them upside down. 

I have since taken them apart, pinned them together correctly

 and pinned the next two rows together. 

I'm now set up for success the next time I sit down at my machine. 

I learned a long time ago that once I start making mistakes,

 it's usually time to stop for the night.

 

Day 48 of 2024

The temperature quilt is going well. 

Although I don't have the January days pieced yet, 

I have managed to get all twelve roof segments 

and seven tree trunks put together.

 

Day 46 of 2024

I've started on my temperature quilt roofs. 

Does this look like a chimney?