March Recap and Looking Ahead

During March, I quilted and finished Incandescent - a soon to be gifted quilt.

I also finished Daydreams (formerly known as Tropical Canyon) - another soon to be gifted quilt.

There was one completed quilt top - Morning Fog, Macnas series no. 11.

I also made two new pillowcases for Young Man reflecting his love of Lego, math, and science.

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Looking ahead, Razzle Dazzle is next up for quilting.

Grandiose, Macnas series no. 8, will then become next in line for quilting.

And at the sewing machine, the rows are being assembled for Paint Party, Macnas series no. 12.

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Charlotta asked a question that I want to answer here.  

"Am I right that you have been speeding up your work on them [the Macnas quilts] lately? If so, is there a reason for that? And one additional question: how many of them do you still have? It would be fantastic, I think, to do a show of all of them together when you’re finished!"

Yes, I have been more focused on the remaining Macnas series quilts - because I'm determined to get the series finished before year end (I want to use the twelve quilts for my 2027 annual wall calendar).  

As to the finished quilts - I have all of them and plan to keep them here until the series, including the bonus quilts, is completed; just in case I need to take additional photos.  Down the road there are a few that I plan to set aside for different gifting opportunities but the rest I plan to keep.  

Once the finish line is crossed, I do plan to do a retrospective post (or two) for the entire series; but in the meantime you are welcome to visit My Macnas Quilts page here on the blog.  

Finally, this is the April first photo of our backyard.  The above-ground pots that are not home to hostas have been planted with annuals, and the first few blossoms have started to appear on the azalea despite the many yellowed leaves from the late freeze of a week or so ago.

You can see the earlier monthly photos by clicking on the monthly recap label below.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Where flowers bloom so does hope."

Lady Bird Johnson

Daydreams - the Quilt

 

This was the quilt crumpled on my sewing table just after I finished stitching the binding.

And this is the finished quilt - Daydreams (formerly known as Tropical Canyon).

Created with scraps from the stash, leftover backing trimmed from at least a dozen quilts (if not more), plus strips of Wanda's 2023 fabric-swapped strata; the quilt top was completed in August 2024.

The binding had been in the stash so long, there were no selvages left to ID the maker.  (added later - Bubble Up, Rainbow Dots Black by Wilmington Fabrics)

Backing - Daydreams (PWSP091) from the Skylights line by Sue Penn for Free Spirit (thank you, Lynne for not wanting to use this at your house).

Quilted using Glide thread in Hawaiian Blue and my liberated all-over free motion nested spiral fans, Daydreams finished at 61" wide x 73" long.

It will be shipped/gifted in late April to a couple celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. 

Quiltdivajulie

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Thoughtful note - I can't help but think about how all these un-related fabrics came together to create a wonderful whole, much like the unpredictable things that happen to us along the way combine into the shared journey of marriage and parenthood.

Incandescent - the Quilt

The seeds for this quilt arrived in September 2023 when Wanda and I shared a fabric swap.   

I got serious about the project in January 2025 when I cut lots of additional 2" strips from my stash.

Inspired by my Hoppipolla quilt, I adjusted the math from 1.5" strips to 2" and started with my original plan - light outer strips and a warm-toned color in the center - you can see the test blocks HERE.

Even though we initially liked those test blocks, by April I realized I was avoiding the project because that "like" had disappeared.  

I unpinned all of the sets and re-did them into the blocks you see in the finished quilt.

By August I was stitching the blocks as leader-enders while I pieced the rows and top for Grandiose.

The flimsy (quilt top) was finished in October 2025, as were the backing and binding.

And then other things took priority and the quilting had to wait.  

The quilt sandwich was pin basted at the very end of February 2026 . 

And now, at last, Incandescent is finished.

It measures 51" x 70" and was quilted using Glide thread in Coral and my liberated all-over free motion spiral fans.

Backing - Benartex Fabrics Flower Festival - Pansy Display - in Crocus

Binding - Kaffe Fassett's Shiraz PWGP194

Gifting will take place in mid-April but I can enjoy it until then.

* * *

Next up for pin basting and quilting will be Daydreams (formerly known as Tropical Canyon), the second of the three gift quilts. 

A while ago, Lynne bought yardage to back one of her quilts and wasn't entirely thrilled with how it "fit" upon its arrival.  

She offered it to me and I knew it was perfect for this quilt top but the original name no longer fit, hence the change.

Quiltdivajulie

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Thought for today:  Why the push for quilters to use up their stash?  No one asks stamp collectors to mail letters . . . 

Tropical Canyon - the "Flimsy"

Remember I mentioned "visual shrinkage" in the last post?

Before the vertical strip sets were sewn together, the entire width of the design wall was completely covered.

Now there are roughly eleven uncovered inches on the left side.

The top currently measures 64" wide and more or less 78" long.

I will gently trim the very uneven bottom edge before quilting, but all other trimming/straightening will happen after the quilting is completed.

Here's a closer-up flat photo . . . 

And here's a crumpled view taken while finishing up the last long seam.

Oh, YES!

Quiltdivajulie

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"Color has got me.  I no longer need to chase after it.  It has got me forever. That is the meaning of this happy hour."

Paul Klee

Only Ten Long Seams to Go

Tropical Canyon is moving right along.

Once I press these eleven sets of strips, only ten more long seams remain before flimsy status is achieved.

I've been using the pinned pairs for Tuxie-Tude as leader enders - very happy to see how many are now sewn and finger pressed.

Today is the first day of school for Young Man so it seems right to share some of our August back-to-school decor.

(several local school systems started last week - the rest start this week)

One end of our mantel - the crayons are gone, replaced with freshly sharpened colored pencils and multiplication flash cards. 

On the kitchen table, a large jar of Scrabble letters are available for spelling out different words and phrases.

(the kitchen table quilt this month is Shift Happens)

And Young Man managed to check off one last square on his summer reading bingo card by "reading a book on a bench" while he was here for his birthday dinner. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"Honor the space between no longer and not yet."

Nancy Levin

Tropical Canyon - Moving Right Along

The first order of business was to trim the mash-mash of pieces to their most reasonably-possible widths.

These are some of the 1.5" and 2.5" strips (not shown are the dumpster diving strips).

There was one strip trimmed to 3" and two trimmed to 4"

Strips of even width were then sewn together in very long lengths before being trimmed into 80" lengths.

Second order of business was to pin the strips (by width) on the design wall so I could count how many of each I had to work with.

Next I decided the best way forward was to stitch each of the 1.5" strips to a 2.5" strip.

And when I studied this photo, I decided the 4" strip on the right just didn't work the way I thought it might.

Finally I trimmed the 3" to 2.5", unstitched two 80" pairs involving a too-dominant-and-demanding yellow, then created seven more 80" pairs as shown here looking from my pressing table towards the door.

Here I am standing at the door side of the design wall looking towards my sewing machine.

Next step will be to see if any rearranging of pairs is needed (like the same length orange and turquoise near the center) before I start sewing the pairs to each other.  I'll also add a 2.5" strip on the left edge so it echoes the one on the right.

And with 18-ish vertical seams to be sewn, there's a lot of visual shrinkage ahead.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Creating should set you free and not tie you up in rules."

Karoline Dahrling Hughes

Tropical Canyon - the Beginnings

Let's start off with the backing fabric - after all, that is where I got the name for this future quilt.

(Tropical Canyon by Carolyn Steele for Robert Kaufman Fabrics)

The binding (left) was made for another quilt (eons ago) but set aside.  Now it would appear this might be its intended quilt.

Moving on to what will become the front of the quilt - just look at all this glorious scrappy goodness.

Strata from Wanda's stash, strata from my own stash, trimmings from the backs of previous quilts, nearly 1,000" of leftover sewn-together Dumpster Diving segments, and so much more.

There are pieces in here from Moxie, Fire and Ice, Dumpster Diving 12-Confetti, La Colcha de Muchos Colores, Gone Dotty, Blossom, Caim, and B.O.B., not to mention several leftover lengths of binding.

Speaking of B.O.B.,  Tropical Canyon's top will be created much like B.O.B.'s scrappy backing.

Here's a closer look at some of the many fabric strips layered on the design wall.  

(can you find the abandoned sashing strips from DD 12?)

And here's a closer look at another part of the design wall.

* * *

THIS is going to be fun!

(and while I'm assembling TC's top, I'll used the paired rectangles for Tuxie-Tude as my leader enders)

Quiltdivajulie

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"You sing on the canvas.  You improvise -- you find the rhythm and catch it good -- and structure as you go along -- then the song is YOU."

Romare Bearden