Busy day

 

I accomplished a lot today. First, I finished tatting another bookmark, "Curds & Whey" from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. This was the last of "Harvest Moon" hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker.

The glue basting dried for more than 24 hours, and the five blocks that I quilted went very smoothly. The only negative is that on the purple color on the left, the glue shows through. Out of all the squares in these blocks, that color is the only one that showed this. Since the glue is supposed to wash out, I think all will be fine.

Late this afternoon, I finished sewing the two sets of strips together. I only have three strips to go. I really like the way this looks!

Rail fence

 

I finished quilting and trimming the rail fence blocks for my next quilt. Tomorrow I will square up the single blocks, and then Joanne and I will decide on the layout.

We have already chosen the fabric for the binding, so I will probably cut that out tomorrow as well. This is so much fun!

Vineyard

 

Today's bookmark is "Vineyard" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. This one took quite a while to tat, but it certainly was worth the time invested!

My stack of rail fence blocks is growing. I only have six left to finish. After that, I will trim all of my blocks and decide how I want to border them. 

Daughter Joanne and family arrive tomorrow. We talk almost every day, but since they live a two day drive away, we don't get to see them very often. I can hardly wait!

Inversion

 

I love this bookmark! The pattern is "Inversion" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. I had to follow the instructions step-by-step, but it was well worth it for me. The thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed "Granny Delicious" from LadyShuttleMaker. I'm really glad I've decided to use my hand-dyed threads. What took me so long?

I now have four rail fence blocks quilted. I had hoped to finish six today, but I ran out of steam. I don't have a deadline, so there's really no rush.

I finished adding the fourth strip to my new wall hanging. I only have one strip left to add!

Curds & Whey

 

There was just enough of LadyShuttleMaker's "Autumn Medley" left to tat a Curds & Whey bookmark, pattern from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior. On to the next color!

I finished quilting the last of my 10" squares for my new patriotic quilt. This afternoon I laid out the strips for the rail fence blocks. Once I have those finished, I will decide on the layout and the method of finishing the blocks.

It was a rainy afternoon here, and it looks like it will be rainy again tomorrow... perfect crafting weather!

Asymmetry

 

Today's bookmark is "Asymmetry" from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. This one took me all morning, about four hours. I feel like I get slower every time I pick up my shuttles!

This afternoon I worked on quilting five more blocks. I have five more to go, and then I will start working on my rail fence blocks. I have an idea for joining these blocks, which I will try out with some fabric left over from other projects. If my idea works, I'll be sure to share it!

Wedding weekend

We head a busy weekend with a family wedding. My brother came to stay with Mom. Dave and I left for the wedding on Friday and returned home Sunday. With all of the activity, there was no crafting!

Today I was able to get back to crafting, and I succeeded in reaching all of my goals. First I sewed two strips of my wall hanging together.

I emptied two shuttles in preparation for my next tatted bookmark. I often wonder if I'm wasting my time tatting up small bits of thread, but I keep on doing it!

I have ten squares quilted for my next pot holder quilt. This one will be another patriotic quilt. There will be 25 one block squares. I decided to do these blocks first since there's not much to do other than quilting. These blocks will alternate with rail fence blocks. 

I haven't decided which fabric I will use to bind the blocks. I think I will wait until all of the blocks are quilted. I'm excited to see how this one will turn out!

The final strip

I finished the final strip for my wall hanging today. The next step is to sew the strips together. That probably won't happen until after the weekend.

Today, I took the plunge and cleaned out my closet. It's not finished. I need Dave's help in getting down the items on the top shelf, and we need to go through his clothes. Still, going through my things was a major accomplishment, and the closet is much cleaner!

One more strip

 

I finished the next strip for my wall hanging today. There are two more strips that I hope to finish tomorrow.

Today, Dave took me to a quilt shop in Morris, IL, about an hour west of us. I didn't need a thing, but I did find a few fabrics that called to me. 

We're expecting hot and humid conditions tomorrow, so I don't expect to be outside much. I do have to get a few things done in preparation for a family wedding this weekend. Luckily, they don't require going out into the heat!

Two rows

 

Today I sewed two strips of quilt blocks together for my wall hanging. I have three more strips to complete, and then I can sew the strips together.

I'm eager to see how this turns out!

Braid: Four Ring, no decorative picots

 

Today I tatted another Braid: Four Rings from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. This one was tatted without the decorative picots. Again, the thread is size 20 Hakelgarn, hand-dyed thread from LadyShuttleMaker, "Patriotic".

I finally finished the final quilt block for my wall hanging project.

I just finished it a few minutes ago. Tomorrow I will decide on the layout and begin sewing the blocks together. By the end of the week, I should have a new wall hanging!

One done, one to go!

 

I didn't spend much time crafting today, but I did manage to finish one more quilt block.

I only need one more for my project, and I plan on finishing that tomorrow morning. After that, I will decide on the layout, and then I can begin joining blocks.

I did start another bookmark today, but I didn't get very far.

So, what did I do with my day? I did a lot of walking and enjoying the beautiful weather. I bought a gently used sewing machine so that I can give sewing lessons to local kids. 

The best part of the day was preparing dinner with my brother. David tried a new recipe for ribs, and I made roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions. Dinner was delicious!

Unfinished forever...

It's true. I started tatting the final round of Renulek's Spring Doily 2026 this morning. It took me about an hour and a half to complete one pattern repeat... not a problem. I knew that as I moved on I would get faster.

However, something looked off. I counted to see how many pattern repeats I had left... 23... and a half! How could that be? Four rows back, I missed tatting a ring and chain.

This doily is for daughter Joanne, so I contacted her on FaceTime to show her what has happening. She likes it just the way it is, so I'm just stopping here. Right now it's 24" in diameter.

I love this doily, so I will probably tat it again. I will pay much closer attention to how many repeats are on each round. It's too bad the final round can't be worked into this properly, because it is really beautiful. Next time!

After my doily disaster, I decided to work on a quilt block. This truly is a scrappy quilt block. I used up bits and pieces from previous blocks. It's not my favorite, but it will do.

The quilting pattern looks kind of funky on the back, but the look on the back is always a surprise to me.

I did try starting a tatted bookmark today. As I finished the second ring, I realized that I had missed a section of the first ring. I cut the thread and decided that tatting will have to wait for tomorrow!

Another quilt day

 

I was feeling really lazy today, but I did manage to finish two quilt blocks.

I was working on a disappearing nine patch block, but it was way too big for the quilt I'm working on.

So, I took two of the four sections and created these two blocks.

I have an idea for the remaining two blocks, which I will try sometime in the next couple of days.

School is winding down. I'll be in for lunch supervision Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I'll be off for the summer. We have family coming to visit this weekend, I guess I'd better spend some time getting the house ready for company!

Just one

I really meant to accomplish more today, but I only managed to make one quilt block.

 At least it's pretty!

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!

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!

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!