Candy Corn - the Quilt

The gift quilt for Young Man's house is done and it even has a tiny label.

Quilted with Glide thread in Raven (supersize to see the purple stitching) using my liberated all-over nested spiral fans.

Candy Corn measures 51" x 70" for the month of October on their living room ottoman.

(details on design and fabrics are here)

The binding is a Paula Nadlestern print with tiny dots and scattered stars in green and shades of orange.  It plays well with the colors in the quilt and adds a bit of sparkle around the edges.

I found the high contrast colors had not always been true in some of my photos so here is the quilt against our backyard grass which is still green but will start moving towards khaki before long.

Backed with spiderwebs on soft black that pre-washed with no bleeding at all.

To be gifted sometime this week. 

* * *

Candy Corn was a mid-September squirrel project that was, amazingly enough, completed three days before the end of September.

Next up is a pair of pillowcases for younger son's bed.  They're cut out and ready for me to sit and sew.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos."

Saul Bellow

Rastrophiliopustrocity aka Rastro - the Quilt

This is Rastro crumpled on the sewing table just after I finished sewing down the binding.

I can't tell you how much I ADORE everything about this quilt!

Rastro (for short) is the second of the Macnas series bonus quilts designed to use up more leftover rectangles from earlier quilts in the series.

(Rastrophiliopustrocity - noun meaning a spontaneous combustion of creative spark followed by action in order to manifest and bring into existence)

In case you didn't notice them in the photo above, do supersize these photos and check out the amazing early morning clouds in that beautiful light blue sky.

(I took quite a few more photos of those clouds to save for drearier days)

I couldn't resist this shot with the flamingo picnic tablecloth clip and the flamingo fabric beneath it.

(and yes, I did sew the binding on using hot pink thread)

I am thrilled with how the Philip Jacobs Peony and Chrysanthemum backing originally intended for Motley suits Rastro.

(Motley's top was donated to Many Hands and Many Hearts)

Quilted using Glide thread in Graphite and my liberated free motion nested spirals.

51" x 71" 

* * *

After Sunday's family dinner, as he was lighting the candles on my birthday cake, Young Man asked how old I was. 

"MeeMah!  The two numbers in your age equal my ten!"  

Gotta love how he looks at things.

Quiltdivajulie

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"The artist is the one who recaptures that child-like fascination with the world."

Rick Rubin

Holus Bolus - the Quilt

In her comment on the previous post  Charlotta mentioned being disappointed that there was no photo of a finished quilt.  There was a good reason:  the quilting was done but the quilt wasn't finished, hence the absent reveal photos.

The quilt sandwich has been trimmed, binding applied, and NOW Holus Bolus is truly finished.

The story behind this one - after each of the Macnas series quilts were finished, I set aside any leftover rectangles for a bonus quilt that would have blocks representing each of the quilts.  

Hence this quilt's name - Holus Bolus - which means all at once or altogether.

When Yutori joined the party, the top for Holus Bolus was already designed and the blocks made.  So I used Yutori's leftover rectangles as an insert strip in the backing.  

After taking photos outdoors, I spread the quilt out on the living room floor.  

Here's a list if you want to click back and see each of the finished Macnas series quilt reveal posts:

Macnas (the inspiration quilt) 2024 

Reverie 2025

Tuxie-Tude 2025

Rubricate 2025

Vellichor 2025

Wallaroo 2025

Fandango 2026

Grandiose 2026

Enchanted 2026

Hanabi 2026

Morning Fog 2026

Paint Party 2026

Yutori 2026

Finally, here's a flat-on-the-floor view of the back and its insert.  

Quilted with my nested all over free motion nested spirals using Glide thread in Robin Egg

Backing - Petra from Satin Moon Designs for Blank Quilting

Binding - Michael Miller's Bellflower

* * *

There are three more bonus quilt tops to be quilted before year-end (sooner if I can manage it).

But there will be no sewing or quilting over the weekend as Young Man will be here for a two-night sleepover (the last one was before the previous school year ended).  

Looking forward to sorting Pokemon cards into his new binder, building Lego, catching up on his summer stories and tales from fourth grade, etc., etc. etc.

Quiltdivajulie

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"When the work has no soul it's an empty thing.  It needs the human smudge.  Fingerprints all over it that say, "This thing lives because there I am - in it."

Joel Uili  

Three Finishes to Share

Like my fabrics, I've been working over the past month or so to USE a lot of the accumulated paper stash.  Finished journals take up much less space than their array of raw materials.

This first project involved a purchased accordion (concertina) journal, items harvested from two different magazines, a few postage stamps, and woodcut images from my favorite next-to-the-computer calendar.

This is the front cover.

You can see here how I used vintage rice paper book pages to cover each of the accordion's pages.

This is a sample of the way I finished out the interior.  

One set of "sides" feature winter images from the calendar and compatible magazine cut outs.  

The other "sides" feature non-winter calendar images and magazine cut outs.

Making this was quietly satisfying and the end result is very restful to flip through.

The next finish has been a long time in process.  A thrifted book had its pages removed so I could insert new pages using vintage ledger papers.

The first pages acknowledge the inspiration for the genesis of SQUIRREL!

The rest of the pages contain all manner of squirrely items.  Text from a North American animal handbook, greeting cards, stickers, drawings, comic strips, and so much more.

This spread shows the squirrel/nut-themed washi tape I found and some old squirrel postage stamps.

I used pages from a thrifted kid book for the front and back interior covers and facing pages.  I cut more images from that book and another to use throughout the altered book.

I deliberately left open spaces and lots of envelopes so I can tuck in additional items as they are found; but for now I'm calling it done.

The third small finish (literally) was to add my bits to a Bricolage Factory "tiny journal".

This photo shows the scale and one cover.

I worked my way through one set of pages before turning the journal over and working back through the pages with text, etc. facing the opposite direction; much like viewing an accordion journal.

A scrap of painted piano roll and a snippet from a larger design . . . it was fun to work on such a small scale.

This is the other cover featuring a bit of washi tape saved from an envelope that came in the mail.

* * *

I've decided that Nimiety and its scrappy pieced backing are going to Many Hands Many Hearts organized by Cynthia Brunz of Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  I had fun making Nimiety and used up a lot of strips and leftovers in the process, but I think it has a better life ahead as a comfort quilt (or two should they decide the back would make a good top).  

Holus Bolus and its back have been rolled on to pool noodles.  I'll get the batting cut and rolled onto the third noodle so pin basting can happen in this week.

One stitch, one scrap, one thing at a time.

Quiltdivajulie

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"You can do it like it's a great weight on you, or you can do it like it's part of the dance."

Ram Dass

July Recap

Last month I spent time sorting and restacking the yardage in my stash.

There was also considerable editing done, along with culling scraps in the resource boxes.

This photo shows just how much space was cleared as a result.  The right half of the third shelf down is no longer filled with fabric.  

That same right half on the bottom four shelves no longer houses fabrics but a few magazines waiting to be harvested for my journal making adventures.

(the stacked drawer unit and Raskog cart were also cleaned up/out since the paper stuff accumulates even faster than fabric does)

I pulled out these fabrics to make a set of six reversible placemats for September.  

These fabrics were set aside to make a set of five utility mats for our December living room.

And these greens from the stash/resource boxes will become a set of six placemats for use next March.  The reverse side will be made using blocks Lynne sent after finishing her Field of Dreams quilt.

Ruska, a gift quilt, was quilted and finished.

Paint Party, no. 12 of 13 in the Macnas series, was quilted and finished.

And Yutori, no. 13 of 13 quilts in the Macnas series was quilted and finished.

There was also a squirrel invasion in July that led to this quilt top named Nimiety.

I also created Nimiety's scrappy pieced backing.  Both the top and backing are currently rolled onto pool noodles to be pin basted and quilted sometime this month.

No photos for this but I also emptied and sorting the overflowing box of leftover quilt backings and assorted other bits and pieces into six different project boxes for future quilts inspired by designs/patterns I've stashed but never used.   I don't plan to dig into any of these until next year aside from some cutting of pieces and parts as time permits.  But after staying so focused on finishing, it felt good to make plans for new scrappy adventures.

I also moved the two studio plants outdoors for the summer and changed the lower curtain fabric (the other yardage had faded over its 3 year life in that window).

The nearly 5-week month and lots of hot steamy weather that kept us indoors clearly made for more studio time than usual.

* * *

And because today is August 1, here's the monthly photo of our back yard.  The grass is the greenest it will get this summer, the neighbor's crape myrtle adds a big pop of color, our black eyed Susans are at their peak, the azalea bush has grown and filled in so much in the last month, the coleus in the large pot are thriving, but the in-ground hostas as struggling with the intense heat and hot sun but they'll recover later in the year when the weather moderates.   

(The temporary fence is there because we've had the grand-dog for the last two weeks.  Keeping her out of the dirt makes life much easier, especially when the dirt turns to mud.) 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Clutter is the enemy of clarity."

Julie Cameron

Yutori - the Quilt

Yutori, number 13 in the baker's dozen series of Macnas quilts, is finished.

(Yutori - Japanese word meaning intentionally slowing down to simply be, breathe, listen, and appreciate)

The rectangles for this quilt were cut out in April 2026 and final binding stitches were taken July 28, making it the quickest start to finish of the thirteen quilts.

The alternate fabric is Sweet Stripe by Loralei Harris.

The Kaffe Fassett rose backing was part of the February 2026 release as was the binding named Echo Stripe.

Quilted in my liberated all-over free motion nested spiral fans using Glide thread in Peacock (top) and Willow (bottom).  It took three tries to find the right green for the back, but thankfully I found Willow in the back of my thread drawer.

* * *

I need to take some time to contemplate the making of this series of quilts before I write any kind of wrap-up post.  And besides, there are four bonus quilts from the series that are still in the waiting-to-be-quilted closet, although I don't have as much sense of urgency to finish those aside from my stated goal for end-of-the-year.

I'll be back on August 1 with July's wrap up post.  

Quiltdivajulie

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"After nourishment, shelter, and companionship; stories are the thing we need most in the world."

Phillip Pullman

Ruska - the Quilt

Ruska is now a finished quilt.

(Ruska - a Finnish noun for the time of fall foliage)

Young Man created his ottoman-topper layout for this one in February during one of his Camp Sefton adventures.

You can read about that HERE.

I pulled more stashed pieces to create a scrappy backing.  I failed, however, to note the information of the selvages - none of these are "new" fabrics so they might be online but more likely are not.

This is a view of the entire scrappy back.  The filmstrip fabric along the sides is by Mars Auslander for Ink & Arrow by QT Fabrics, 30434-X (another older fabric).

One corner flipped . . . 

. . . and the opposite corner flipped.

Quilted using my liberated all-over nested spiral fans with Glide thread in Dijon (top) and a mix of warm browns in the bobbin.

52" x 68" 

* * *

Now it is time to pin baste Yutori if I'm going to meet my goal of three finished quilts in July.

Quiltdivajulie

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"The act of creating for children is about the process, not the outcome.  Children need to explore, take risks, make their own choices.  This is the richness of creativity.  This is the groundwork for future problem solvers."

Meri Cherry