snail's trail

First finish for September 2026................ from Exuberant Color

The Snail's Trail block is easy to cut with a die and fun to piece. This color scheme worked out well too. The quilt finished at 58" x 83".

The backing fabric has tools in the print: hammer, wrenches, saw, and others.

In case you want to enlarge it and find the tools, this view is better. Just click to enlarge the photo.

A lot of the fabrics in this quilt are from the 1990s and early 2000s. I still had a good discount at a couple quilt shops during that time.

The camera has a hard time showing ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 6 days, 1 hour ago. under accuquilt die cutter , snail's trail

Busy day...................... from Exuberant Color

I started out the day making the backing for the Kaffe Zipper quilt. I had 4 yards and had to do some creative cutting and sewing to piece the back. There were 4 seams altogether. I had one piece 1" x 3.75" left over.

Then I pressed the binding fabric and cut the needed 7 strips. I got the binding sewn to the back and started the machine topstitching to finish it. I decided to finish it today instead of pushing ahead while I was tired.

Today is supposed to be 78 degrees. What a relief that is after ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 week ago. under binding , snail's trail

Second finish for July 2026.................. from Exuberant Color

I'm so happy to have this quilt finished because I love it. I have always loved floral fabrics and this group, mostly from the 1990s and early 2000s are favorites.

The blocks were finished a year and a half ago so cutting the border pieces was my most recent sewing on it. It is 66" x 78".

I didn't know if I had anything in my stash from that era for the back but found this green leafy print that goes so well with it. I love my stash! This quilt has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under binding , snail's trail , star quilts

First quilt top completed in July 2026 from Exuberant Color

Snail's trail is a finished top now, just 10 days from the first blocks being cut to finished sewing. I will be looking for a backing today. It is 60" x 84". All regular printed cotton fabrics, no batik. 6.25 yards out of my brown/rust/gold stash. While I was cutting for this one I also cut a 2.5" strip for a future quilt from the larger pieces.

I went out to check on the tomato plants and found this big Rutgers tomato with 2 bites ouf of it, in the grass. I put it back ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under nature , snail's trail

Snail's Trail progress.................. from Exuberant Color

I ended up only moving one block from the layout on the design wall and then I sewed those 4 rows together.

Late in the afternoon I designed the bottom 3 rows. I had to stop and use the dust mop before I could lay the final row on the floor.

Last evening I decided to start sewing the bottom 3 rows together and this is how far I got. Just one more seam and pressing it and it can have its portrait taken.

In the garden, finally some color. They are still orange so they have a few days ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under food , snail's trail

All blocks finished for 5 x 7 layout............................ from Exuberant Color

The last 4 blocks are sewn now for the Snail's Trail quilt. The dark fabric I originally chose for this block was too small to cover the die so I went back to the stash and found this one which I like better than my first choice.

There are two blocks of each of these combinations.

This is one block each of the 18 fabric combinations. It isn't the final layout of them. I got started too late in the day to spend a lot of time moving them around.

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under snail's trail

Last blocks..................... from Exuberant Color

While I was in the basement doing laundry I decided to press the last eight fabrics for the Snail's Trail quilt. There are enough pieces cut for 8 blocks.

Last night I sewed four of the blocks. There are two like this.

The other two are this combination. I hope to sew the last 4 blocks today and figure out a layout with one of each of the combinations (half of the quilt). I'm at the point of wondering if this quilt will be too boring with just these colors....or should I add greens and blues and ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under snail's trail

Four of eight new blocks....................... from Exuberant Color

Eight new blocks were sewn yesterday, these 4 and their duplicates. I went down to press more fabric but ended up trying to put the basement back in order after the water seepage a week ago. I still don't have the design walls up because I need to put clean flannel on them and it takes me a long time to get it done.

This is the assortment of fabrics so far. The duplicates are in a stack on my sewing table. I now have 28 of 36 blocks made. I will need 35 for a 5 x 7 ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under nature , snail's trail

Two new blocks................. from Exuberant Color

I got 8 more blocks cut and 4 of them are sewn. Here is one of each of the new ones.

10 of the 20 sewn blocks with the duplicate blocks in a pile on my sewing cabinet.

Here are the combinations for the next 2 blocks. I thought I might get more sewn but I did some gardening instead. I cut off lower leaves on the tomato plants and some dead leaves on the cucumber plants. Then I put some fertilizer spikes around the plants. Last I turned on the hose and gave them all a good drink. I ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under snail's trail

8 of 16 Snail's Trail blocks......................... from Exuberant Color

All of the blocks have been pressed now and this is one of each fabric combination. There are 10 more combinations of 2 fabrics left to cut and sew.

This is the previously posted photo of all 18 combinations. I didn't have much energy yesterday so I didn't get any more pressed to prepare for cutting. I plan on cutting 4 more pairs today.

This collage shows the previous Snail's Trail quilts that I have made. The one on the left was made in 2017 and I experimented with alternate plain blocks in 2 different fabrics. The ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under snail's trail

6 blocks times 2.................... from Exuberant Color

Eight more fabrics got pressed yesterday and four new blocks were sewn. Since there are two alike of every combination, I'll just show one of each from now on. I will be able to design one half of the quilt and then repeat the same fabrics for each row for the second half, usually in a different order than the first rows. The basement is warming up since we haven't had a cool spell so ironing the fabrics has to be done in short sessions, in this case 8 fabrics at a time.

As I go around the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under nature , snail's trail

Done but no formal portrait.................. from Exuberant Color

I finished the binding yesterday morning but my design walls in the basement are still on their sides, leaning against a table. The design wall on the main level isn't quite large enough to display it. Rain is forecast for today so I'm waiting to see if more water seeps into the basement before I put the walls back in place.

I cut 8 of the blocks for the Snail's Trail quilt and got 6 of them sewn yesterday. Most of these print fabrics are from the 1990s.

I noticed the first bud has bloomed on the ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 2 months ago. under binding , food , nature , snail's trail

Happy New Year ... 1934 from The Chester County Criswell Quilt

Hurray for a New Year and a New Focus for the blog. It's 2024, and the plan is to turn the calendar back ninety years to 1934.

Why 1934? Because there is so much material to explore and collect with hundreds of patchwork patterns printed daily in the newspapers and quilt competitions across the country (including Australia.)

So let's get started! The first block for the new year is ....

Snail's Trail

added by Sharon~Two Bits Patches 2 years, 8 months ago. under 1934 , new year , snail's trail

Second finish for July......... from Exuberant Color

This fabric has a slight sheen to it and it's so much prettier in person.

This Snail's Trail quilt made with Wishwell's Weather Report fabric is 58" x 83".

I used Glide thread in very pale gray on top and lt. blue Superior Bottom Line in the bobbin. It has Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Glide is a very shiny thread and when I used it on another quilt I decided I didn't like the shiny look. On this quilt however the fabric has a little sheen so the thread looks ok on it.

On the back ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 years, 2 months ago. under binding , snail's trail

Two quilt tops........... from Exuberant Color

Pink Hearts is sewn together and measures 60" x 77". When I made the 3 pink quilts 2 years ago I thought I was low on pink fabric. Only about 5 of these fabrics are new. I used batiks and Kaffe fabrics in with my other pink quilting fabrics so I would have a good variety. I think there are 44 different fabrics in this one.

Weather Report Snail's Trail is 60" x 84". I have a large piece of the lighter blue fabric for the back of the quilt.

I need to do the staystitching around the edge ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 years, 6 months ago. under 4 patch , one color quilt , snail's trail , triangles

Both tops are sewn....................... from Exuberant Color

Both quilt tops are sewn but not pressed yet. I'll get them up on the design wall in the basement today and take their photos. I'll have to hang them sideways and then rotate the photos because one is 78" long and the other is 84" long. The design wall is about 83-84" tall and 96" wide. My longarm is in the way to get a good photo when I hang them the other way when they are that long.

I was looking at what remained in the neutral fabrics box after I finished that quilt top last ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 years, 6 months ago. under accuquilt die cutter , batiks , one color quilt , snail's trail

Layouts confirmed........... from Exuberant Color

This Snail's Trail ended up with a scrappy multicolor look. I put up all of the blocks and only changed 3 of them before taking down the rows and clipping them for sewing today or tomorrow.

I didn't take a final photo of the heart quilt and just took it down column by column as I was ready to add them for webbing the top. I have all of the seams sewn in one direction and 2 seams sewn the other direction. 9 more seams to sew.

If you read my post yesterday I mentioned making another scrappy ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 years, 6 months ago. under 4 patch , batiks , one color quilt , snail's trail , stash

Progress on 9 blocks from Exuberant Color

I die cut 9 blocks with my Snail's Trail die yesterday and got 3 totally sewn and the centers of the other 6 sewn. I still need to cut 2 more blocks and they will be the darker blue. Another day or 2 and I'll have them all up on a design wall.

We were south of the snow area most of the day yesterday but had some icy rain. There were little ice drops on all of the branches in the back yard. The snow started late in the day. I wanted to check my rain gauge ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 years, 6 months ago. under accuquilt die cutter , nature , snail's trail

Working on 2............ from Exuberant Color

There was a plumber working at my house yesterday so I kept busy cutting while he was there. I got 9 Snail's Trail blocks die cut and then sewed them last night. I was able to find the top rosy color fabric for $6.99 last week and I didn't have any of it. I made 6 of the new blocks with that fabric. I had 15 blocks sewn previously so I'm up to 24 blocks now. I think I need at least 35 so I'll continue cutting.

I also cut strips for 2 more batches ...

added by Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson 3 years, 7 months ago. under accuquilt die cutter , one color quilt , snail's trail

Catastrophe averted from The Academic Quilter

Hi everyone! Spring is busting out all over around here, and I have the watery eyes and itchy nose to prove it. I don't mind though! It's nice to be back outside. I even dug in the dirt for a little bit this week. It was to bury a drainpipe, but hey-- it counts as working outside!

So, I have a rescue of sorts to show off today. I know you'll remember this and the tragedy that it almost was:

Yes! The Snail's Trail quilt, all finished and cuddly! Honestly, I didn't think it would ...

added by Mari 4 years, 5 months ago. under blue , scraps , snail's trail

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Snail's Trail