Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~


Apparently it’s Thursday again. Not a great deal has been happening around here. The weather is too cold to hold much interest for me to go outside to just “find” something to do. I did think about going out on Green Pond today. I looked out at the still virgin snow on the pond. No tracks of animals or anything. The neighbor up the pond has not been back since the storm that left about a foot of new whiteness on what he had previously cleared off for skating. I have only had fleeting thoughts of clearing off a portion of the pond. I wouldn’t be skating on it afterwards, so really, what is the point. Mud Pond is covered with snowmobile tracks. I thought of going out on Green Pond with snowshoes and making some tracks, maybe spelling something or drawing a picture or something. I then checked the temperature and the wind and looked out across the pond and was amazed at how wonderful it looked with no tracks all over it.

In the studio I finished #8 for 2026, same size as the rest. I went with some color framing this time. I started with my 4” blocks then framed them with one of three different light fabrics to get to a 10” block. I then broke up the top into sections by color and my corner pops etc. Pops were made with Corner Pop II, popping at 2-1/2. With my 2-1/2” sashing that put the V in the center right where I wanted it. 

2026-8

In #9 I went with a common fabric for a light frame around my four block grouping of 4” blocks. This brought my block size up to 10. Thirty blocks needed so still lots of sashing strips and corner stones to place. Using a darker sashing my lime green first pop jumps right out of the quilt. These were accomplished with my Corner Pop III popping at 7 and replacing with that lime green. Then popping again at 4-1/2 and replacing with the dark green. The Square squared units were made at 2-1/2” and made with the Square Squared 1/2” tool. I thought the secondary dimension of the dark green added to the effect. 

2026-9

In #10 I used four 5” blocks, then framed with a light gray to arrive at a 12” main block. This reduced the number of sashing strips and cornerstones I needed. It gave me a new pattern. Someone on a Facebook page suggested I use a jewel tone for sashing instead of the tans I had used on a couple. I thought that the purple with the yellow and the red pops worked well for this top. 

2026-10

The pops were made with Corner Pop III at first 8-1/2 then again at 5 after first replacing the yellow and then the red. The Square in square blocks were made with the Corner Pop since the sashing was 2-3/4”. Weird size, I know,  but it worked for my size requirement/limitations.

I looked out the window a bit ago and saw there are now prints in the snow on the pond. The maker of the tracks was still out there walking around. Carol had gotten up out of bed and she saw it as well. Best guess I have is a fisher. With the tail it was a good 3-1/2’ long. Lousy picture, best I could get. 

We watched it rolling in the snow on it’s back like a cat. Fun to see. I guess my eyes were open.

I think the weather is heading us back into the deep freeze so I’ll keep using up fabric and staying warm in the studio. Enjoy your weekend, stay warm.