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I’ve been slacking for a few days. I took off work Friday, Monday and had a holiday today. So I’ve been resting and recreating for a few days. And it’s been wonderful.

Thanks to those of you who reached out to see if I was ok.

So, what did I do during those five days off? Mostly I played with my boys and played pickleball! In five days I played Pickleball five times! I’m actually taking some lessons in an effort to get better. A guy I met and had a lot of fun playing with in one of the clubs I joined offered to give me some coaching. It’s been really fun to concentrate on things that will help me get better and he’s a really good teacher. I’m already seeing my play improve. He’s working on becoming a certified pickleball coach so we can both get something out of this.

This photo was from a class I took last week with one of the clubs I belong to. I’m in the very center with a Kelly green t-shirt… standing next to the net,

In those five days off I didn’t spend one moment in my sewing room. I think I had been pretty frenzied for the last month or so ago and I just needed a break. Luckily, the break wasn’t needed because I’m feeling a creative dry spell. I just needed to take some time off. I’m feeling ready to get back in there and am anxious to start something new.

So, over the last week or so I’ve seen a good number of people on social media and on blogs posting all their quilting/sewing finishes in the first six months of 2023. Amazingly, these people actually FINISH pieces… they don’t just finish one stage of them.

So I thought I’d share my finished pieces for 2023. Except that I’m going so share things where I’ve finished significant stages, and not a finished, quilted and bound item. Although there are a couple of those thrown in.

The first half of the year has proven to be a good one for finally wrapping up some unfinished projects, with a couple new things thrown in.

January started out with finishing my Jewel Frames quilt top. The blocks for that top had been languishing for a few years in a box. It was time to get this done.

This will be a second quilt for my bedroom. I still need to make the backing and get it to my long armer quilter. There is really no hurry on this one.

I had a bit of a Frankenbag kick in January, making one for a friend of mine who was going on a cruise in February, and an extra made from the same scraps left over from my Jewel Frames quilt.

The biggest finish in February was the starburst quarter log cabin quilt that I’m making for my brother. This is another one that had been sitting in a box for quite some time. All I had to do was sew the rows together and add the setting triangles and borders. My friend helped me finish it all up when she visited in February.

This is ready to go to my long arm quilter.

The next February finish was my friend’s Aboriginal Fabric 16 patch that we made while she was visiting. I forced her to make a 16 patch and she didn’t love it when we started. But by the time we were done she had fallen in love with it.

This really makes me want to make one for myself! It would be perfect in my living room.

The only thing I finished in March was my Jumble Quarter Log Cabin quilt top made from left over blocks from the quilt for my brother. I feel like I spent every waking moment in March on this thing!

This is currently in the hands of my long arm friend who is trading quilting for some quilt tops. It will be fun to see it done.

The only thing I finished in May was something that was truly finished. I sewed the binding on my NY Beauty wall hanging. This had been sitting unfinished for such a long time!

Sewing on that binding was a bit of a break for me since I worked on Wensleydale blocks all throughout May. I finished sewing the quilt top together in early June.

I thoroughly enjoyed making these blocks and am really happy with how it turned out. I do plan to make another one, but it will be out of Australian Aboriginal fabrics. I’m still formulating that idea before I start cutting and sewing.

And finally, in June I finished sewing the blocks together for my Japanese X & + Quilt. This is another project that had been sitting unfinished for far too long.

It still needs borders but I’m calling it for June.

I’m happy to have a short work week coming up. I have pickleball to play!!!

Luckily, my boys are pretty easy and are happy to get some cookies and an occasional walk.

I headed out this morning to play pickleball and had a fantastic time! I played from around 11:30 until a little after 3:00. And tonight I feel great!

I didn’t get much done after I got home. I sat out in the back yard in the shade and replied to comments on this blog, tossed the toy for the dogs over and over and over and over again. I think I was out in the back yard with the boys for several hours. Then at around 7 pm I fed all three of us and then hunkered down in my sewing room.

I had a bit of a conversation with myself… “You know, Anne. You could just go in there and sew one row of that quilt together and then call it quits.” I responded, “Get your ass in that sewing room and finish that top!” And I did!

All I had to do is square up and sew the blocks of the last two rows together.

Here’s the two finished sections waiting to be pinned together.

Then I carefully pinned that final seam and then folded it all up to get ready to sew.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I always fold up my quilt tops to sew those final seams. this helps me manage all that bulk. I really hate trying to manipulate all that fabric, spread out all over the place, through my machine.

I made a quick video tonight showing how I do this. After pinning I fold up the quilt pieces onto itself, leaving about four inches of the pinned edge above the folded fabric. Take a look at this video to get an idea of how I do this.

Then a final pressing and it all went back up on the design wall for a photo.

And a little bit of eye candy…

I was just going to walk away at this stage but decided to get it onto the bed in my guest room to see how big it is.

Hmmm. I’m liking the way it looks in that room!

Although the blocks are all sewn together, this top is not yet done. I still have to add borders. It looks like I’ll need another 7 or 8 inches of borders on each side. I’ll look more closely in the coming days, take some measurements, and decide on thickness of borders.

This picture shows the size compared with the quilt that’s already on that bed.

I’ll enjoy walking past that room and seeing this on the bed for a few days.

Once I got that done I realized that my design wall was free so I tossed the batik disappearing four patch blocks up to see how they look.

I still don’t love that this is square. I might add some borders to the top and bottom to make it rectangular. I’ll think about this for a few days. It will sew together really fast once I decide what to do.

Bender, ever faithful, waited for me to finish sewing.

I was supposed to meet a friend to do some pickleball drills tonight but the courts were all busy so we had to cancel. So instead I played with the doggos and dug in on my X & + quilt. I didn’t finish it, but I’m getting closer!

I trimmed and sewed together row 5 out of 7 rows. Then I sewed that row to the row I finished a few night ago.

Once that was sewn and pressed I sewed that section to the three other rows that are done. Then I got it all pressed and back up on my design wall.

So just two more rows to go. I should get it done this weekend. And this time I really mean it!

I’m ready to be done with this. In the mean time, here’s some eye candy.

While I was out in the back yard with Bender and Rico this evening I took a look at my roses. They’ve really been gorgeous this year. I think this might be the most spectacular bloom I’ve ever seen on this pink tea rose. It’s just covered with blooms.

Each bloom is only about two inches across. These roses are hardy. I basically ignore them and they flourish! Here’s a closer look.

This next one is another bush with delicate pink blooms. The aroma of this one is so gorgeous. The blooms on this one are about four inches across.

I also noticed that my apples are getting pretty big. These are actually ready for picking in July each year.

There’s only a few branches of this tree that have any apples. And that’s just fine with me. I had so many a few years ago I had my yard guy haul away garbage cans full! If you don’t get them picked up they attract rats! I just don’t need that many apples. These aren’t great for eating, but they dry well and make good apple sauce. I’m not sure what kind of apples they are. The tree is pretty old.

Rico has a sheep herding lesson tomorrow down in Molalla. I’m going to try to find a strawberry stand on the way home. I haven’t had any fresh Oregon strawberries yet this summer and I need some!

I haven’t gotten much sewing done this week. And I’m ok with that. I had hoped to finish my X & + top over the weekend and that just didn’t happen.

What have I done instead? Well, I played pickleball Monday night and again Wednesday night. I don’t remember what I did on Tuesday night.

Tonight I met some friends at another friend’s house to do some dog agility training. These are friends I haven’t seen for some months. One is my friend who gave me her mom’s Featherweight last summer.

I didn’t feel very motivated to get out and run agility, but I’m really glad I went. Rico had a blast and was so happy to be out there. And it was great to see my friends. Here’s few photos from our evening.

This is Sandy and her dog Trip. This is Sandy’s place. It’s way on the other side of Portland from me but was worth the drive tonight.

This is Stacy and Boon on the teeter totter. He’s a big dog and really sweet too. He’s waiting until the teeter hits the ground to get off of it.

This is Barb and Bruce Lee. Barb is the one who gave me her mom’s Featherweight.

When we were done and hanging round talking, Sandy’s husband came out with some home made Margaritas! A perfect way to end the evening.

When we were done Bender and Rico got a nice session of fetch in one of Sandy’s fields.

So, here’s what I’ve been working on. I think I’m looking for distractions from finishing that X &+ quilt. A sure sign I’m not loving finishing a project!

So, I remembered that a friend of mine had said she was interested in a purple and teal Frankenbag. So when I made the panels for one from the fabrics left over from the disappearing four patch I made last week, I thought of her. I sent her photos and she loves it. So I’ll be finishing it for her.

And because several people will ask, you can find my tutorial for making your own Frankenbag here.

I dug into my batik stash to find some purple fabric for the lining and remembered that most of my batik stash was purchased before I started buying half yards. So most of the batiks are third yards. I need a half yard for a lining.

I did find this fabric combo in a bin of full yards I bought on sale last year. And I really like it. It’s bold! And I love a bold lining. And it brings a darker purple to this, which I think it needs, and it brings in more teal.

I like how it looks with this bag. The divided slip pocket and zipper pocket will be made from the lighter green and teal fabric.

So now I just have to finish it. Luckily my friend isn’t in a hurry and is, in fact, in Europe right now.

Quite often people ask me where I buy my bag handles. I actually make them. I use faux leather (vinyl) and cut it into 3 inches by 24 inches. Then fold it in thirds and clip.

Then I top stitch along each side.

My machine sews through this vinyl like it’s butter! and in no time I have some really nice handles. I like the vinyl because it makes the bag feel more high end. I prefer it to a fabric handle for my bags.

I like the vinyl because it makes the bag feel more high end. I prefer it to a fabric handle for my bags.

Bender developed the funny habit last summer of sleeping underneath a suspended dog bed on the patio. He’s under there every day. He makes quite a commotion when he comes out!

Yesterday was the summer solstice and it was a perfect day here in Portland. It is probably my favorite day of the year. I just love the long light on summer evenings. It does make me sad to know that the sun is now retreating to the Southern Hemisphere.

After the rain we had over the weekend, it’s cleared up and we have some lovely weather on the way.

This picture is taken right in front of my house looking due north at the start of our evening walk a few days ago. The skies here are so amazing!

I had planned to go and play pickleball this afternoon but it rained off and on all day. So no pickleball for me. But it was nice to have some decent rain. I almost thought I was going to have to turn my furnace on again it was so cool today. It’s so hard to do that in June!

Since I was stuck in the house I decided I’d dig in and finish the two blocks I needed for the batik disappearing four patch quilt. That didn’t take very long.

Then I tossed them up on the wall with a few other blocks to see how they look.

I think they’re going to be okie dokie.

Once I had that done I decided to go ahead and make some Frankenbag panels from the block I cut wrong and some of the other scraps. The panel from the incorrect block was quick to put together. The other panel was really a mishmash of scraps.

It’s nice to use up those scraps.

When I had that done I decided to sew together one of the rows of my X & + quilt. So that means I only have three more rows to sew together.

Once that was done I decided to go ahead and make the quilt sandwiches for the bag panels and get them quilted. I knew that if I didn’t get them done I’d put the panels away somewhere and they’d sit there forever. I have a friend who wants a purple and turquoise bag, so if she likes this one, win win!

It’s been a long time since I made a bag. I hope I can remember how to do it!

I love the quilting!

Somewhere between moments of sewing I actually went and did some serious grocery shopping.

These boys are pretty tired tonight after a day of doing pretty much nothing.

They’ll get more activity tomorrow.

Rico was brilliant at his sheep herding lesson this morning. We worked on getting the sheep into the pen. In order to do this well we have to work together as a team. Ideally, Rico will give the sheep plenty of space on his flanks (directions to move clockwise [come by] or counter clockwise [away to me].) Rico has been a little tight on his flanks so we worked on them today and he did such a good job! It was a wonderful improvement over last week!

After Rico’s lesson we stopped by the field with the creek so they could get in a nice run and a dip before we headed home. After a lot of running I was able to get them to sit still and pose for a photo.

And after 30 seconds, they were off again!

They were pretty winded when I got them loaded in the car

It was just two weeks ago that we stopped by this field and the flowers right now are completely different from what was there at that time.

First was this gorgeous pop of color on this red-berried elder.

These delicate little stocks of blooms were all over the place. It’s moth mullein.

And this ocean spray was so pretty and lacy.

Look at these lovely little blooms.

And these tiny little snow berry blooms were so sweet.

To give you an idea of how small they are.

Traffic was terrible on the way home so we took city streets most of the way. So rather that the drive being sitting still on the interstate it was a leisurely meander through city streets.

When I got home I hit my sewing room with the intent of cutting and sewing the final 8 disappearing four patch blocks. And I got them all done in no time…. except…

I CUT THE LAST BLOCK WRONG!!!!! You can see how the two fabrics in the center piece are different widths. Dammit!!!

There is no fixing this block. I’ll have to sew it into a bag eventually. So I dug into my batik stash again and pulled out four fabrics that will work with these blocks. I didn’t sew the final block because I figured my screw up might have been a sign that it was time to stop.

I’ll make a couple blocks with the new fabrics from my stash tomorrow then I’ll put these aside and finish sewing together the X & + quilt top.

I tossed a few more blocks up on my portable design wall just to see how it all looks.

After dinner I took a quick trip to Costco. It’s been a month or so since I’ve been there and I needed to stock up on a few things. My big freezer is starting to look a little empty. I’m planning on going to the grocery store tomorrow.

I’ve been planning on playing pickleball tomorrow but it looks like it may be raining at the planned time. I’ll have to play it by ear. I’m hoping to finish up the X & + top tomorrow.

This is so totally me. I start with an idea, then I need to test it out so I tell myself I’ll make one block. And before you know it, more than half the quilt is done.

I can get into a groove and just focus in and get a lot done in a short amount of time. and I did that today.

During my lunch break today I sewed together 8 four patches on the disappearing four patch I started last night…. just so I could figure out how big to make it. Yeah right.

I tossed these up on my portable design wall with the block I made last night.

After work I sat down and sewed the remaining eight four patches. I think I had them all sewn and pressed in less than 20 minutes. These things go really fast!

I really need to do grocery shopping this weekend so I didn’t have much to make dinner. I ordered some take out rockfish tacos from a favorite restaurant not far from my house. After a satisfying meal we headed out for a walk at around 8:30. We got home around 9:30.

I hit my sewing room again and cut, reassembled and finished seven more of the blocks. So that’s half the blocks I’m planning for this quilt that are done. Not bad for a couple hours work.

These blocks are so quick and fun to make. They are not near as complicated as they look.

I’ve always loved quilts where you make a simple block, cut it to pieces, then reassemble it to make something really cool!

What did we ever do without rotary cutters and cutting mats?

I might just go ahead and finish the remaining eight blocks tomorrow then put these away until I get my X & + blocks off my design wall. This one will go together really fast! I’m still going to have to decide if this will be big enough or if I will need to add borders.

I made a quick diversion this evening from my X & + blocks. I’ve been thinking about the batik layer cake being made into disappearing four patch blocks and I couldn’t figure out how many to make for a good throw size quilt. I wasn’t sure how large the block would turn out, but I knew it would be big.

So I took a few minutes and whipped up one of these big boys so I could firm up my plans for this quilt top.

I had to press the layer cake and then I dug into my bins of batiks and selected a pile of fabrics that would work with this layer cake. I landed on four additional fabrics out of this pile, but I might have to select a couple more to get the blocks I need.

Here’s the layer cake all pressed with the four additional fabrics from my stash.

The four fabrics from my stash are the four on top.

I selected four of the layer cake pieces and sewed them together into a great big four patch.

I have to say that it feels very odd to be sewing on batiks. After sewing on KFC fabrics for a few months, the batiks make me feel like I’m sewing on cardboard.

Next I cut a four inch strip out of the center of the block, going both vertically and horizontally.

Then I rotated each of the rectangular pieces.

Once I had the pieces arranged I sewed them into a block and pressed.

I figured out the arrangement of the pieces in this block after watching a video tutorial for these blocks and after looking at the quilt I saw in a local quilt store.

My arrangement is the same as in this quilt. There are lots of different ways you can arrange the pieces in the disappearing four patch. and there are lots of tutorials available on YouTube.

This block measures right at 18 – 1/4 inches square. So I’ll have enough to square them up to 18 inches.

So now I just have to decide how big I want it to be. Since the blocks are so big, it’s hard to increase a few inches horizontally or vertically. So I have some choices to make.

If I made this 3 blocks by 4 blocks it would finish at about 52 x 70 inches. That’s a little small for me for a throw quilt. I like them to be generous enough to cover my shoulders and my feet without having to choose between the two. I could add some borders to make it bigger.

If I made it bigger, say 4 blocks by 5 blocks, It would measure about 70 x 90. Seventy inches isn’t a bad width, but 90 inches is way too long. I could make it 4 blocks by 4 blocks, but I’m not a big fan of square quilts.

Maybe I’ll just make it square with 4 blocks by 4 blocks like the store sample.

Maybe I’ll go with the 52 x 70 inches. I’ve never made a quilt that size. Maybe I’ll do that and add some borders. that’s an option.

I’ll be back at my X & + quilt tomorrow evening. I hope to get a couple rows done tomorrow night.

It was a gorgeous day here today. I had my sliding glass door open all day as I worked with a lovely breeze blowing and the sun coming in and out from behind fluffy clouds. My boys were content to be outside all day long. Even they enjoyed the weather.

I was supposed to meet a friend last night to do some pickleball practice and she pooped out on me at the last minute. I had been looking forward to it all day so rather than sitting at home I decided to head to the park where I usually play to see if anyone was playing. And there were two courts of club members playing. One guy was just leaving so I stepped in and played non stop for over 1.5 hours. And I had so much fun!!! We had a good group of people. The play was good with competitive games and everyone was light hearted and fun. It was a great night.

I didn’t get a walk during the day today but did manage a three mile walk after dinner. I had to put on a long sleeve shirt since it was so lovely and cool.

Once we got home I hit my sewing room and put together another row of my X & + blocks. Then I sewed that row to the two rows that I finished the other night.

This means that three of seven rows are done. I should have this ready to put borders on sometime this weekend.

And again… I’m just loving looking at this as it comes together. It’s time for eye candy!

And another one!

This photo of these three rows on the ironing board really shows the patterns emerging.

The squares made from the arms of the pluses feel so strong in this photo.

I took a quick break to step away from my desk this afternoon and dug into a drawer to find some batik pre-cuts that I remembered I had, for some reason. I was thinking I’d see if I could come up with a quilt idea for each one.

One is a five inch design roll.

It’s kind of a drab collection of colors. I don’t really know why I ever bought this. I think it was before I had developed much of a stash and thought it was a good way to get a variety of fabrics without spending a fortune.

I was thinking I might cut these into 2.5 inch strips, combine it with some of my left over indigo batiks, and make another one of these.

The other is this layer cake of green, blue and purple batiks.

I kind of have a vague memory of why I bought this package. But my desire for that idea is long gone.

I’m thinking I might strike out with the layer cake first and do a really quick but fun disappearing four patch. I’ve been wanting to make one out of big squares of Kaffe fabrics after seeing one in a local quilt store recently.., Boersma’s in McMinnville, Oregon.

This one was made with 10 inch squares. It would whip up really quickly and I think it’s a great way to use up this layer cake.

I haven’t purchased pre-cut fabrics in years. I just don’t love working with them. Unless I have a really specific reason for buying precuts, I’d rather use fabrics in my stash.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email for a sale on batik fabrics so went to see if I could find something that would work with my Wensleydale quilt. I found a pretty medium slate blue fabric that I like. It arrived today.

I haven’t had a chance to see it next to that quilt top yet as it’s on the design wall behind the wall that my X & + quilt is on. So I won’t be able to see how this looks with It until I get this current project off the design wall.

It’s a little drab compared to backings I usually gravitate to. I thought about using a KFC fabric for the back of the Wensleydale quilt, but I didn’t find anything that felt right. And it’s confession time. I don’t spend full price for fabric for a quilt back. In fact, I think I’ve only ever purchased a full price fabric for a backing once… and it was the pink spiral shells fabric that is with my trade long armer as I type.

The Wensleydale quilt doesn’t have as much color on the front as I envisioned. So I don’t want the back to compete with that. Besides… I got this on a good sale, which makes me happy.

My honeysuckle is pretty magnificent right now. I have two plants in two large pots on my patio. They are growing on the fence around my smaller dog yard.

It smells just lovely in the evenings. It’s a wonderful thing to have on the patio.

I think my dogs were awake most of the day today, enjoying the lovely weather. They are out cold tonight. They usually sleep a good portion of the day while I work.

Two more days of work then a nice long weekend. Yay!

I’m glad it’s Friday. It’s been a tough week and I’m happy to see the tail end of it.

It was a rainy day today and it was wonderful. During our walk last night I felt a few rain drops here and there. By the time I went to bed there was a very light rain falling and it fell pretty much all day. And it was wonderful. I think it’s been at least a month since we’ve and rain and we need it.

After our evening walk tonight I finally hit my sewing room and started trimming some of my X & + blocks in anticipation of getting this top finished.

I’ve been thinking about trimming these blocks for a few days. I wanted to be really careful so I would be able to sew them together and have the arms of the pluses match on all four sides of each block. So I pulled out y 12.5 inch square ruler and marked all four sides for lining up with the plus arms.

I used some transparent and easily removed tape that is made specifically for this purpose. The one I have comes in a package of three different colors. The package has lasted me many years.

I place the ruler on top of the block and line up, as closely as I can, the marks on all four sides of the ruler and then start cutting off the excess fabric.

Since I have two extra blocks I practiced on those first. I’m not having to cut very much off these blocks to get them squared up, but it will make a big difference in how easily the top sews up.

I actually really like squaring up blocks. This surprises even me! I just love taking a somewhat wonky and uneven block to near perfection. Look how gorgeous this is when it’s all squared up!

And there’s something so pretty and cheerful about this…

It would have been more convenient and efficient to square up all the blocks before I tossed them up on the design wall, but since I was indecisive on whether or not I was even going to square them up, I am where I am. So I started with one row, squared up each block and put it back not the design wall. Once I had a row of six blocks done, I started sewing them together.

The first seam didn’t match as closely as I would have liked

After this first block didn’t turn out as nicely as I’d like, I used a pin through the seam of each block to match up the seams.

The next blocks turned out much nicer! I’ll be sticking with this method on the remaining blocks.

So I managed to get one full row trimmed and sewn together. And it looks pretty nice!

I’m just loving looking at each block as I square them up. The fabrics are really gorgeous!

I received photos of another finished quilt from my long arm quilter a couple days ago.

the quilting design combines horizontal bars and swirls. I love it for this pattern with all those horizontal bricks. Here’s the back where you can really see the quilting design.

I’m loving that quilting design! I’m pretty sure I’ve never used a quilting design that has straight lines like this.

The roses are in all their glory right now in Portland. I ran across this beauty tonight on our walk. This must have been nearly six inches across!

Rico has his regular sheep herding lesson tomorrow morning, then we’ll high tail it home to drop off the dogs so I can meet friends for lunch at a new restaurant one friend’s husband manages.

Sunday I have a pickleball class on how to add spin to your shots. I’m looking forward to it.