It has been a hot summer so far and I am so very thankful for AC. Nothing beats fresh air though, so the windows are opened in any weather 70 degrees or below. Today, that was only until 9:30am before it began to heat up. But it is a good day for washing the bedding and hanging them out to dry. I love the smell of sheets that have been drying in the sun, don't you?
Our bees love the sunshine and warm weather too. They have been busy building comb so we recently had to add another super to give them more room. We planted the area surrounding the hive with wildflowers and they are now blooming. Hopefully the bees are happy with that.
Another area that we planned with the bees in mind is the corner garden in front of the hive. It is now blooming with daylillies, cosmos, zinnias, calendulas, and marigolds. I love this little area and enjoy its beauty daily from my kitchen window. The marigolds and calendulas are also grown for the chickens. I pick the blooms off the plants, pull the petals off and lay them in their nesting boxes. Their seem to enjoy that, and they reward us with such pretty eggs!
I have been making some progress in the sewing room during this heat wave. I fell in love with Bonnie Hunter's new pattern, Maymont. I bought it immediately and now have 52 blocks completed. I sorted through all my 2" strips and pulled out any that were bright or pretty colors. No browns allowed in this one.
Sure, I could have drafted out this pattern, but why reverse engineer something, plus the pressing directions are worth the price of the pattern too!
Another new start is a vintage quilt that I saw posted on Jo's Country Junction. I have one block completed to make it an official start, and have numerous 4 patches sewn and ready. I am now trying to plan the pressing directions. (see note above) Again, this bit of info of pressing for success makes the piecing so much easier. Being simple squares and four-patches, this should not be too complicated.
I found some yardage of Thimbleberries fabric that will work for the diagonal Irish Chain patches.
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My Scrappy Bricks recently came home from my long-arm quilter. This was made using up some old (and ugly) scraps I had saved. The remainders are now gone as I recirculated them to a group who does charity quilts. Time to rotate in some fresh scraps so my scrappy quilts do not all look alike.
My Scrappy Bricks finished size is 86" x 87" and I used up 14 yds of stash. It will make a nice utilitarian quilt that will keep us warm this winter without adding a lot weight on the bed.
I found an orphan Dear Jane block that I used for framing a quilt label on the back. It complemented the brick theme, I think.
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Another finish is my Tumbling Triangles. I designed this pattern myself using leftover half square triangles from another project made years ago. I found them in my "Procrastination Box". You know the box? The one that holds remnants, bit and pieces, and unused sewn units from previous quilts that would make nice table toppers, wall-hangings, or small gift items. I dig that box out occasionally when I want to get the creative juices flowing. It always guarantees some fun, and surprises.
Unfortunately, this is not too original, because I have since seen this setting in other quilts online. Nothing new under the sun, I guess. Well, mine does have the alternating black blocks so it is a bit different. Anyway, this was a fun project and I have the binding on and it is labeled. It measures 69" x 69" which is a nice throw size and I used up 11 yards of stash.
So this should put my total fabric used so far this year at 95.25 yards. Looks like I will make my 100 yard dash! Can I get to 150 yards? That would be a first.
Happy stitching!
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