Spring Binding and a Little Rhubarb

Diamond Dust is back from Roberta and ready to be trimmed and bound. I'm thinking that I'll use the same mauve as that gorgeous floral border.

It's quilted with Pergola again and the texture of this panto is to die for...

the perfect foil against all those tiny squares. A little bit of hand stitching is a relaxing way to enjoy the weekend.

It's the May long weekend and, just like clockwork, my rhubarb is ready, so I've been taking full advantage of this seasonal treat. We enjoyed a visit with a cousin that I haven't seen for more years than I care to admit, so it seemed only fitting to make that the reason for the season's first Rhubarb Torte.

There weren't any leftovers so the next day I whipped up a Lemon Rhubarb Bundt Cake, which I haven't made in a while, and we have been savouring that for the last few days. There's still a  Rhubarb Scone recipe that I'd like to try. Who am I kidding? It's a bumper crop this year so there's a looong list of treats to be tested. It's a rough life 😉....M

The End of the Procrastination Trail

Everything finally came together this week and I was able to get the borders onto Diamond Dust and drop it off for Roberta to quilt. Another one off the big chair!

This quilt has had its share of stops and starts. It took a while to land on the right border, but I'd been saving this mauve floral for just the right quilt and I finally found it. I really like the softness of the flowers contrasted with the precise little squares. 

And I'm still really loving those tiny little blocks; they finish off at half an inch. It was a great way to dig into my 1" strips, but by no means a quick way to use up your stash.

At the beginning of the year I thought that this was going to be a quick finish but then I got distracted by my Quilts for Survivors squirrels, like this star...

and Harlequin.

There's a third in the works too, which I haven't shown you yet. All of which is to say that Diamond Dust continued to sit and steep until I was ready for it.

When I finally pulled it out in earnest I toyed with adding a very narrow green border between the blocks and the floral border...

but at the end of the day it just didn't seem to need it.

The backing has been a story all its own. I was all set to use a pink gingham but obviously somewhere along the line I neglected to measure it (!) because there just wasn't going to be enough to get it done. Then the search was on for something else.

With online purchases it's always tough confirming that you have a good colour match, but eventually the backing gods shone on me and I found this lovely pink and white polka dot. The pink is almost mauve and is a lovely match to the floral....M

The Dust is Settling

Despite my little dust up with Diamond Dust, the two missing blocks are now together and so is the flimsy. It's amazing how things come together when you just buckle down and get on with it 😉.

I'm quite taken with all of the half-inch squares dancing across the quilt - lots and lots of variety to move the eye around. This was a great way to use some of my one-inch strips. Soon I'll need to give some thought to the quilting pattern - something that can really take advantage of those white nine-inch blocks.

The quilt is very white and needs a little something to ground it so I'm going to add a border, as wide as I can get, out of this mauve floral. I think that there is more than a metre of it. I'm thinking that a little pink gingham backing and binding might work; we'll see what's in the stash.

The red in the blossoms was a pleasant surprise that is saving my bacon a bit. There are a few deep red squares  in the blocks (you can see on in the bottom left) that looked like they might be a little too intense when I laid everything out but they tie in nicely to the blooms. Happy, happy.....M

Blue Smoke in Every Direction

I was all gung ho to move a couple of quilts along over the weekend but it seems as though the quilting gods and I were out of sync. 

I had pulled a mauve floral for the Diamond Dust border and decided that it was time to see if everything worked together.

So I laid out the blocks in the hopes of getting them sewn together. Not so fast. I am two blocks short! How did that happen??? 

Miffed, I packed them all back into a pile and decided that I would focus on the Yellow Houses instead. 

Guess it just wasn't my day because I was short three blocks for this one! Whaaaat??!

I have made at least six extra white houses and not enough yellow. No combination of layouts was going to get me to where I needed to be without making more yellow houses. The blue smoke in the room got decidedly thicker.

I'm not keen on cutting more but I might have to. I was so steamed that these blocks got packed up again too but I may lay them out one more time to see if, after I add the borders, it will be large enough for a throw. The extra blocks could be made into a baby quilt with an alternating block of some sort, possibly an Irish Chain. 

So, now I'm desperately trying to put on my big girl pants, one leg at a time, to figure out what to do. The easiest is probably to start by making two more Diamond Dust blocks but I'm still not in the mood for that. Hope it doesn't mean that there's a squirrel lurking somewhere....M

The Dust is Beginning to Settle

With all of the Diamond Dust blocks together now it was time to turn my thoughts to the setting blocks and triangles. 

The blocks will be on point and alternate with white blocks. My go-to white is Kona Snow and I keep a bolt of it on hand, but I wasn't sure that I had enough so I ordered a new bolt from Mad About Patchwork (they have bolts of it on sale regularly and I lucked out with my timing). I wanted to ensure that all of the blocks are from the same dye lot.

I also indulged in a few bits of fabric. I really should look more closely when I order online because that 'Meow' print with paw prints was a real surprise - I was more focused on the colour. Ah well, it will get used. The green pin dot is for my Little Trees but I don't really have a plan for the others.

What I really loved in the bundle is this neutral - it has lots of potential! I think that I used it in black for God's Green Earth.

I had a good laugh when my parcel arrived because somehow the postman had fit it into our Community Mailbox. Must have needed a shoehorn!

For the past year I've been kept very busy with a contract which will wind down now at the end of May. I'm so looking forward to having the dust settle on that work and having more time open up for my quilting - the list in my head is growing and growing....M

The Final Four

It's not all been hand sewing of late. Over the weekend I spent some time with my 1" strips again, putting together more Diamond Dust blocks. Only four more to go!

As is usually the case for me, I've taken the long way home. If I had selected several prints to work with at the get-go instead of my scraps, I could have sewn long strip sets and moved things along much faster. 

Working with my scraps means that I'm usually working with two or four-inch strips sets, occasionally something a little longer, which is more time-consuming. 

That's okay. I love being able to use up every bit of fabric that I have and it will end up with a wonderfully scrappy feel.

And before long there's another pile of nine patch blocks ready to be made into a larger square.

Soon it will be time to start thinking borders and binding.....M

Squirrel!

I don't know, maybe I've just been spending a little too much time watching the squirrels trying to attack the birdfeeders lately. Or maybe it's a sign that I need to spend some time sorting through what is on my sewing table. Either way, I dug under a pile looking for something or other and came across a wee stack of tiny blocks that were started way back when. It didn't take long before I was ignoring my yellow houses and playing with those tiny pieces again.

And I do mean tiny. This was a project to help use up some of my 1" strips that just seem to multiply like rabbits so those little corners finish off at half an inch square.

Hardly the fastest way to burn through a stash, but what the heck, they're fun.

The blocks finish at 3" and then become part of a larger nine-inch Nine-Patch block which will be set on point. My inspiration came from seeing Lella Boutique's Diamond Dust pattern. I like the pinstripe border but am thinking that I might be tempted to use the cherry fabric that I used a while ago for backing and binding Lena's Hugs & Kisses. Not sure how big this one will be, but with only seven nine-patch blocks made to date I'm a ways from having to make that decision.....M