Alternating tasks

 

Today I alternated between tatting and hand sewing. By doing this I was actually able to tat more pattern repeats than I did the day before, and my hands did not get tired.

It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to hand stitch one side  of these quilt blocks, and about the same amount of time to tat a pattern repeat on the doily.

I won't be able to do this tomorrow, because I don't have another quilt block ready. Maybe I'll alternate piecing with tatting tomorrow. Whatever I choose to do, I'm sure I'll have fun!

1/4 round 19

 

I'm just past the 1/4 mark on round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I know I won't finish before school is out next Wednesday, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to finish before daughter Joanne visits this summer. 

I think I need to spread my tatting time out. Tatting for an hour and a half straight seems to be a bit too much. If I break my tatting time down into shorter increments, I think I'll be able to accomplish more in a day. I'll give it a try tomorrow!

Five repeats

 

I tatted for about an hour and a half this morning and managed to complete five pattern repeats on round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. The pattern for this round was easy to memorize, so I guess I just need to have a little more time for tatting.

After school, I finished a block that I started yesterday. I kind of like the lopsided look!

I really like the way the quilting looks on the back!

Slow start

 

I'm off to a slow start with round 19 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. Still, three pattern repeats is better than no pattern repeats!

Round 18

 

Yay! I finished round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026! I used size 20 Lizbeth #622 Pink Med. Which color should I use next?

I had another nice sized piece left over from my nine patch block. This block seems kind of pale to me. Maybe I should have used something darker in the block. It will be okay. After all, every block is an experiment.

I'm trying to imagine what the back of this quilt will look like once it's put together. It should be interesting!

Nine more

Yesterday was high school graduation, and today the girls in our family went plant shopping. We had lots of fun, but it did interfere with crafting time.

I have nine pattern repeats left to do on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I think I should be able to finish this round tomorrow.

Blue has always been my favorite color, so putting together this nine patch block was right up my alley.

The quilting patters are still intriguing me. I haven't had to think much about what I want to do with each block.

I wasn't very careful about how much fabric I used for the nine patch, so I had some nice sized pieces left over. Why not make them into another block?

I don't think I've repeated any quilting designs. So, I'll just keep on going!

Less than 1/4

 

It looks like I have less than 1/4 of the way left to tat on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I definitely will finish this round this weekend.

I made a mistake with this block. It's 10" square instead of 9.5".

The quilting sure looks cool.

I also made this one 10" square. I guess that means I have two quilts in progress.

I like the quilting on this one, too. I'm having fun looking at different patchwork designs. I'm also enjoying choosing how to quilt each block!

Almost

 

I had some good tatting time this morning, and I'm really pleased with how far I got. I carefully folded my doily in half and then in quarters. I'm a few pattern repeats short of the 3/4 mark. I'm sure I'll finish this round by the weekend. The real questions is, will I finish by the time school is out? Probably not, but I'll give it my best try!

Follow the pattern!

 

I managed to get to the halfway point of round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I could have tatted more if I had only followed the pattern line by line. I thought I knew what I was doing, so I tatted without referring to the pattern. Luckily, I only tatted two pattern repeats incorrectly. You know that it took me three times as long to undo those two repeats. Still, I'm happy with the progress I made.

I finished binding another block after dinner. I love the colors in this one.

So far, my quilting designs have been different for each block. This will be a true sampler quilt!

Zip, zero, zilch

 

I accomplished absolutely nothing in the realm of crafting today. I received a last minute call to sub in the middle school, which I was happy to do. However, middle school students have unbelievable energy. I was exhausted when I returned home.

I only had two chapters left to read in Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini, so I unwound by reading. It was time well spent!

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a wonderful Mother's Day. My brother surprised Mom by coming to visit several weeks earlier than expected. I knew he was coming, but Mom was completely surprised. It was the best Mother's Day gift he could have given her.

Another block is finished for my next pot holder quilt.

It's fun coming up with different quilting patterns. I find myself looking at the backs of each block as I decide how I'm going to quilt the next block. I wonder how many quilting designs I can come up with?

This afternoon was tatting time. I worked until I ran out of thread on one of my shuttles. Once again, I chose the wrong time of day to take the picture. Still, I've noted my progress, and I guess that's what really counts.

Tonight I will wind more thread onto my shuttle so that I'm ready to tat in the morning!

Another quilting day

 I really planned on getting some tatting done today, but I got distracted with sorting fabrics and working on quilt blocks.

I had fun playing with fabrics for this block.

I really enjoying checking out the back of each block as I finish quilting it.

I had one block left from my Hidden Wells project, so I decided to bind it in purple. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. I may be able to incorporate it in another quilt.

I like the idea of having a decorative fabric on the reverse side, but I also like the solid. Which do you like?

Two hours

 

I had two hours of tatting time this morning, and that meant I made really good progress on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026.

This was a fun quilt block to create. The instructions popped up in my Facebook feed. I think I might make this one again and try to get a bit more contrast. I think it looks better in person than in the picture.

I'm glad I checked the back side of this block before attaching the binding. I added a few more quilting lines, and I think it looks better on both sides. 

This is going to be a busy weekend, but I'm sure I'll fit in some crafting time!

Two repeats

We had a wonderful celebration of Luis at school this morning. He's an impressive young man, who has been declared cancer free. 

Since I attended the celebration, I didn't have as much time as I had hoped to work on tatting. However, I did finish two pattern repeats and my shuttles are fully loaded.

This afternoon I finished up another pot holder quilt block that I had started last night. Mom and I really like the way this one looks.

I checked the back to make sure I liked the quilting pattern before adding the binding. I think I have a plan for my next quilt!

Movin' along

 

I only managed two pattern repeats today. Round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026 is not difficult, but I do have to follow the instructions row by row. I really don't want to mess up this round.

I've started a new pot holder quilt. I'm using jelly rolls and 5" squares that I have recently purchased. These are surprise packs for me. Even though I can see the mix online, it always looks different to me when I receive it. I'm okay with that. It makes it easier for me to experiment.

I'm going to check the backs of my squares before binding. I wish I had done a little more quilting on this block. It looks perfect from the front, but the back looks a little too open for me. I may hand quilt a little motif in each of the little squares so that there isn't so much space between quilting lines.

We're having a celebration at school tomorrow morning for Luis, who was diagnosed with abdominal cancer a year ago at Christmas. He was pronounced cancer free about two weeks ago, which is definitely something to celebrate!

Another finished project

 

I had some squares left over from my wall hanging project, so I decided to try some techniques I've been learning about while finishing a table topper.

I joined the squares following a technique described by Georgia Bonesteel, a quilter I followed in the 1980s. The joining technique worked great, but since I didn't do a very good job piecing the squares, the piece looks pretty messy. If I use this method in the future, I will need to make sure that my quilting stops at least 5/8" of an inch from the edge so that I can join the blocks more easily.

I also tried putting the seam binding on completely by machine. The technique was okay, but I think I really prefer sewing the back side by hand.

Looking at the machine quilting, I've decided that I need to be a bit more careful with my back stitching so that it looks neater. Although I'm not thrilled with the final piece, I am keeping in mind that this was a practice piece for learning techniques new to me. As far as that goes, the project was a success!

I got a good start on round 18 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026. I've chosen size 20 Lizbeth #622 Pink Med for this round.

Tomorrow I'm proctoring the AP Lit exam at school. The exam is from 8 -12. I'll take along a good book to read and my knitting. Knitting is a little quieter than tatting. Once the exam is over, I will supervise the two high school lunches, and then I will be ready to rest at home. I think I'll take it easy tonight!

Round 17

 

I'm very happy that I completed round 17 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026 today. It's in size 20 Lizbeth #649 Baby Blue. It's time to choose the next color!

Back to tatting

It feels like I haven't tatted in forever, but it's only been about a week and a half. It's nice to be well past the halfway point of round 17 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026.

We had a lovely visit with my sister this weekend. On Saturday, we went to a garden center and then went to lunch. Daughter Carol joined us. Janet and Carol each found something for their gardens. I saw many things that I really liked, but I've learned to not purchase plants without Dave along. I always seem to choose something that won't grow well in our yard.

I did spend some time exploring quilting techniques today, but I don't really have anything to show for it. I will keep working on quilt blocks, but my focus is going to be on my doily. I feel like I'm so close to finishing it!

Patriotic pot holder quilt

 

I just finished my patriotic pot holder quilt! My sister Janet is visiting, so she helped me hold it up so that Mom could take pictures for me.

I love the way the machine quilting looks on the back, and I like that binding each block gives a stained glass appearance.

The quilt is larger than I originally planned. It just covers the top of my queen sized bed. It would be easy enough to add to this quilt if I wanted it to fit my bed as more than a topper.

For now, I think I'll keep it on the back of my love seat. It certainly brightens up the room!