Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening, inside, still a little breezy. It was not a bad day, I managed to get most of the plants into something. Either the ground, a planter or a pot. Now they just need to grow. Time will tell. This dragon fly was just waiting for me to get them planted. 

Here are some just planted pictures. 

I found a mess in the shed yesterday. I saw some wood dust and wondered where it came from, climbed up next to the roof and when I separated two pieces of plywood all I saw was scurrying feet. I'll save you the viewing of the picture. I came to the house and got ant spray and sprayed between the sheets and then removed the plywood. There were hundreds of the now dead ants on the plywood. I checked in the shed today and saw no signs of more ants. Time will tell.

In the studio I finished #16 for 2025. I was really pleased with the results. I ultimately decided on using two columns of 4” blocks and three columns each of both 8” and 9” finished blocks. There is much to see if magnified, many fussy cuts and small blocks. It was a fun quilt. 

2025-16

#17 is underway. It will center around 12” blocks although the blocks may be harder to locate. I need to use up a bunch of 3” and 1-1/2” units that may or may not match anything. Most of the last quilts I made needed either four or more identical blocks for the patterns being created. This one will not be as structured as those were. 

#16 used up a lot of scraps and showed me how many of the strips in the 2-1/2” strip bins were not full width of fabric. A great many of them have learned to identify as 3” four-patch units. They seem to adapt quite well. The only problem is, I doubt one quilt will make a dent in the two bins of 3” units. 

One bin is mostly four-patch units the other is half square triangles and other units. These other units could be square squared units, V-blocks, Corner beams…. You get my point, lots of units to use up. I have been finding it is easier to decide on the direction for the next project when I am looking at ready to go bins of units versus looking at bins of squares and strips. 

That is why between tops I clean up and turn more parts and pieces from the scraps on my work space and from the bins of squares and strips into ready to go units. There seems to always be loads of pieces that have come off as trimmings as the quilts are trimmed after Carol and Lena get done quilting them. They are often blended right into the current scrap project already in progress. It looks like this grey will be what I get next, as this is the current project on Lena. 

Hopefully I’m not the bearer of bad news but it looks like at least we are destined to another wet weekend. I hope we get out of this wet weather pattern before too long. I’m not a lover of the heat but I like sunshine. 

Stay safe and enjoy whatever you get for weather this weekend. I’ll get back to work on #17 for 2025.