Is it me or has the world started the next season earlier and earlier? This is the last day of the dog days of summer and we are into halloween – there are 83 more days until 10/31. There are 44 more days of summer, and I want to enjoy every one, before I am inundated with pumpkin spice. That being said, I have four more tops ready for quilting of the spooky season variety. Two were very easy and two had a bit of piecing, but I think it will take longer to quilt them than it did to construct them. I have a bunch of scraps to add to the orange and black bin. I may make a few door banners, one of the kits came with a border print (left over now) that I saw used as such. I think I’ll be ready to sell a few by September.

Remember how I wrote that I wasn’t going to buy anymore fabric? Yeah, not even a week has gone by and I have ordered three more packages. One has already arrived, a new line of Gathered Lollies -Trentham prints to make another Lollipops and Licorice quilt top. The last one I made only stayed in the shop for a day. This version is a little more earthy with greens, tans and a shot of purple and red. I ordered a kit from Robin Pickens called Visitor Among the Roses that I want to make for myself. I may make one for the shop too, I’ll see how complex it is and if I can make a profit on it. I also got a few yards of Halloween fabric to make the banner and possibly a scrappy throw with all the leftovers. The Winnie the Pooh Christmas kit has arrived, but that doesn’t really count, as I bought it last month. I think once I get these Halloween quilts done and posted I’ll take a break and work on the Mariners compass quilts I bought the rulers for. I did preorder another kit that uses the rulers too. It’s called Multi Shooting Stars, I think I will make it for myself too. Like I have so much extra time to do so. The kit ships at the end of November, so maybe I’ll have some time.

I got the binding and hanging sleeve attached on to the Starry Signs quilt. I wanted to hang it in the spot over the stair well in my house. After trying for about ten minutes – precariously perched on the stair rail, I figured out it was too big for the hanging system there. I put it on the guest room bed, and it covers the full size mattress nicely. The EQ8 class is going well, I have two new quilt patterns to add to my files. More importantly my skills are getting a dusting off. Enough true confessions for now, going to work on the Be Colorful quilt now.

Be Kind.

WordPress has this thing where they remind you of the post(s) you made on previous August 2nds. Last year I was making book and a quilt for my granddaughter, working on the Starry Signs blocks and Consider the Lillies. The post is titled An Hour. All of those projects are finished now. I am happy to say that the Starry signs quilt just needs a binding. I think I am going to add a hanging sleeve, so I can display it. I’m really happy with how it turned out, I ended up quilting echo lines in the mountains and points in the peaks, then separating the two with small bubbles. I have been looking back every day, seems like I post a lot in July and August, I usually try for once a week, but sometimes it’s more.

I finished the two tops I started this week too. The red, white and charcoal lacrosse quilt and the Teresa Kogurt Spooky Kitty kit. I need to embroider some personalization words on the RWC top. Maybe tomorrow, as it requires getting the sewing room set up for embroidery, which may require some straightening and putting things away. I need to work on the part C pieces for the Be Colorful Quilt top. I have them all cut and grouped, I did get two new pink Add a Quarter Plus rulers which should make it a little easier. My current ones are a bit worn down and ready to retire.

I have three more Halloween kits to make and get into the store this month. I already sold one of the quilts I posted a few days ago – a Winnie the Pooh panel. I still have enough scraps to make another, but no panels. Maybe I should fussy cut the large print and make stars, it’s a start. I received two more kits and I am awaiting the final one, I think it’ll be here Tuesday. I also managed to put in a wholesale order, I have been wanting a wool pressing bar and a few other notions. Of course there is the minimum order requirement, so I got a roll of Warm and Natural poly and a bolt of gray with black bats for backings. I REALLY have to stop buying fabric (and Kits), and start using more of my stash.

I signed up for a EQ8 class that starts Monday. It’s for creating three D looking, optical illusion quilt designs. I could use a refresher course on using the software, I watched the trailer and I “remembered” about five different functions I could be using to be more efficient. Kari Schell – On Point Quilter, Tech Know Quilters, is a very good teacher and makes it easy to follow along while she shows you step by step. Short ten minute classes and a nice community to share and ask questions.

Be Kind.

I have stars in my eyes, and on my quilt. I spent my morning yesterday quilting the Starry Signs quilt. Everything worked out as planned, I was able to edit the panto to go around the moon and mountain range. I am still deciding what to quilt in the mountains, straight lines and maybe some pebbles in their icy tops. The moon I might do pebbles, or Swiss cheese – large and small random pebbles. I could try to copy the real thing from a photo or lunar map. I want to keep it all the same density as the sky parts. I am also need to find a panto for the coneflower quilt. I have been looking through all my saved ones and libraries. I know I have one saved around here, I don’t want to buy any new ones.

I got another commission for a baby quilt, a red white and black version of the OPQuilt pattern called Sun and Sea block. The client wants to use the school colors of the father and a lacrosse themed print. I’ll be using the print in place of half of the block centers. I cut all the pieces, sewed all the regular blocks and border blocks, just waiting for the print. Need to find a stags head panto for it, not having much luck.

I worked for a while yesterday photographing the seven finished quilts I have for the Etsy shop. The light was perfect at around 2pm in my usual photo spot. I quickly set up the hanging frame and got to work. I have three or four pictures of each quilt, enough to get the listings started. Later, I worked on getting the basic listings posted to the drafts section of the store listings. There was a lot of cut and pasting, but it went pretty smoothly. I even got ChatGPT to help with the key words and flowery descriptions. I have a formulaic question that I post to the chat with a picture and it comes up with a useable description that doesn’t need a lot of tweaking . Technology put to good use, rather than trying to fool people into spending money on defective or unrealistic things.

I worked a little more on the mermaid this week, the hair is looking more wavy. I just can’t seem to find the enthusiasm for this project that I once had.

Be Kind.

This week I worked on the green pieced borders for the cone flower quilt top. I had finished the flowers and the dragonflies earlier in the week. It’s on the design wall now, I put the blocks up to make sure no two that looked alike were touching. I would like to get this together today, but it may take a few days.

I preordered two more kits yesterday, a Winnie the Pooh Christmas and a Halloween one. I was charged the reserve fee of ten dollars and then charged the rest of the cost because the kits were shipping in July. So I am assuming I will have them with in a week.

The quilting on the pawsitivley quilt went quickly, I finished it in two sessions. Paw prints and loops with the “perfect” omni variegated thread. I made three bindings yesterday, maybe I’ll get them applied today. One of them is for the cone flower quilt, so it’s really only two that need to be sewn on. The finished quilt pile has grown to a size of which tells me a photo shoot should be done. Get these quilts in the store and off my shelves before October.

I looked all over my sewing room, through my stash, and invoices for the backing I thought I had for the Starry Nights quilt. I couldn’t find anything that I had that would work size or color-wise. I ordered another backing from Backside. It should be here today, hopefully, and I also got (free shipping) a backing for the Thameside Ramble. I am thinking of doing a star panto for the sky portion and editing/cutting it to end at the mountains. Then doing some ruler work in the mountains to give them more texture. I am also trying to decide if I should do this quilt before updating the Q-matic. There are a bunch of new things added to the software, but I am not sure if those specific editing tools are affected. I’d rather test them out on a different quilt, and not get frustrated trying to re-learn.

I actually have a little stitching to show on the Mermaid today. I picked up the needle a few times in the past few days. I have been debating in my head as to whether to start another small stitchery. I have a few single color embroidery projects I could do, but I feel like I should stay committed to this one. The dog days of summer are getting shorter, thankfully not hotter around here.

Be Kind.

I am getting a bit more done on a few things this week. Finally seeing the coneflowers emerging from the hundreds of little pieces. I haven’t done a batik fabric quilt in a while, I had forgotten how nice and crisp the fabric is to work with. Not having to worry about right/wrong side is good too, just have to worry about left and right facing angles.

I got three quilts bound and done, the Winnie the Pooh panel, the Happy’s place and the Postcards from Sweden. Finished quilting the Peter Rabbit panel quilt and I’m about 3/4’s done with the Pretty Scary quilt. Next up on the frame is the Pawsitively top, then Starry nights. I have this nagging feeling that I had purchased a backing for Starry nights, but I don’t know where I put it. Or did I just think I found a good one and didn’t buy it? I need to go through the backings I have on hand. The problem is that I worked on the top for over a year, so too much time to lose a backing in the sewing area. I did go through the TBQ basket and made a list on the white board. I also put backings with each quilt that I knew went with them. Lately, when I get a backing specifically for a quilt I write on the bag or a piece of paper which quilt it goes with. It’s a start, but there are still some backings with no tops and vice a versa.

I really like the “Everyday Tote” bag I made with this butterfly moth print. It was sold as canvas, but I think it has some rayon or poly in it, it frays a bit on the cut edges. The lining is Essex Linen, I think it is reversible, yeah, but I did add two pockets to the inside. I reinforced all the seams with top stitching to make them stronger. I like that it has two handle lengths, you can just tuck one set in that you aren’t using. Next one I make, the shoulder straps will be a bit shorter. relatively simple PDF pattern from an Etsy seller Motif Studio Patterns

Got section B of Enchanting stars put together and cut out the bucket hats. The Pellon interfacing for the brims and also for the Thameside Ramble quilt came in the mail. The pattern calls for appliqué using light weight sew-in interfacing. I’ll try it, but I might just resort back to hand appliqué if it’s too much of a pita. The Ramble is going to be my next quilt after I finish the Coneflowers. Although I do have a few more easy kits for Halloween to throw together. I like to have one technique intensive top and a simple chain pieced one going at the same time. So having the Enchanting stars and the Ramble quilts going at the same time may be taxing on my brain cells and sewing space. I have commandeered most of the dining table for cutting ES, all 26 fabrics live there right now. I’ll need to use a similar sized space for Ramble cutting, due to the ruler/template cutting I’ll be doing.

So many projects to keep me interested. I did finish the Berries cross stitch, I think I am going to use a left over sashing from a red and white sampler quilt I made a long time ago, what was the name of that? Diamonds and something — google search to the rescue. It was “Rubies, Diamonds and Garnets too” by Bernadette Kent. Wow, I did it as a BOM in 2015. I can’t believe I forgot about sewing all those 1 ½ inch HSTS. Probably why I didn’t chuck this extra one.

Be Kind.