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September 7, 2025
Some progress............... from Exuberant Color


I got a few of the blocks sewn on the zig zag quilt.  The blocks for the bottom row are sewn too but I didn't put them back up on the wall yet.








I also went through the batik orphan block box again and found enough 16 patches that went well together for another table runner.  This one will be 16" x 40".


I think this batik with zebras looks good for the backing.

I also finished basting the Kaffe double four patch small quilt so I have a couple things to finish to alternate with sewing zig zag ...

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September 6, 2025
The start................. from Exuberant Color


The top and bottom row are the easiest to sew because every square is the same.  The other rows will have the variety of green sprinkled through them so I'll have to pay attention to get them back up on the design wall in the right place after I sew the 2 triangles together.




Meanwhile in spare moments here and there I have started 3 dishcloths.  They are all at the same stage now, ready to do decreases on every row.  I can pick up whichever color I feel like working on.



It only got up to 65 yesterday ...

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September 5, 2025
Fun day........................... from Exuberant Color


I made a decision on the green triangles quilt.  This layout is 9 across by 10 down, too close to square so I think it will get a strip of the white dotted fabric at the top and bottom to increase the length.  I will cut the last 6 dotted triangles today.  Now I need to take down triangles and sew them into squares and then into rows and a top.




I have 32 green 6 inch finished triangles left over.  They will join all of the leftover blue and pink triangles in the project box.





I got two packages ...

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August 10, 2025
A quilt top.......................... from Exuberant Color


I got the 2 halves of this Marcia Derse fabric 16 patch quilt top pressed and sewed the final seam.  After pressing that seam I struggled to get it up on the double design wall.  I reached as high as I could but the last few inches still ended up on the floor.  I had to hang it sideways and rotated the photo.  The part on the floor is on the right edge.  It is 80" x 96", large enough for an oversize twin quilt.  With the deep mattresses on the new beds we need to make bed quilts larger ...

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July 5, 2025
Still hot.................. from Exuberant Color


It's been too hot for me to think about a new project so I'll just continue sewing these squares for Broken Dishes blocks.





With all that I sewed yesterday and Thursday, I have plenty to start sewing into blocks.  I pressed all of them so I would be ready for assembly last night and today.  I sewed 32 blocks last night and added them to the 39 already sewn.  They are 6" blocks.



I watered the tomato plants and then went to the front garden and watered the bushes.  This is the Zinfin Doll Hydrangea finally starting to ...

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July 4, 2025
Miscellany.................. from Exuberant Color


I quilted another tiny table mat (left) yesterday.  It's the same size as the one from the day before.  The piecing was done a few years ago, now layered, quilted and ready for edge finish.



 A few Broken Dishes blocks were sewn, not pressed yet.






I cut several more light fabrics and sewed some more squares for Broken Dishes blocks.






This is the second batch that were sewn.  I'm going to have to turn on the iron today.





I think this is one of the ugliest variegated yarns, a sick green in few values.  It's kind of ...

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June 26, 2025
White facets: an inverse - finished from Fabric Engineer

Another finish!  They're slow as I'm not quilting as much lately, but they're still coming.  



This was gifted to my friend.  She had originally chosen a similar one as a gift for her husband, but this one was a surprise.


It isn't an inverse, per se, because there are three colors.  But it is a rotation.  This is based off Christa Watson's Facets...you know it's a good one when you're willing to do it twice.

Really, it turns out that I like making large blocks from fabric crumbs.  I've done it ...

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June 2, 2025
Triangles.........again.............. from Exuberant Color


Saturday night I cut the fabric for the third Tilda quilt into 4" triangles.  I know you can't see the thread, but these are all sewn, more sewing after I write this post.  This will be a small quilt, all triangles.



I cut one of the pink peonies with the yellow shaggy center and have it in a bud vase in my bathroom.  I have 2 plants of this variety but only one has bloomed so far.  That means I can have one new bloom in a bud vase for over a week, maybe 2 weeks.  I'll probably ...

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May 30, 2025
Mindless sewing again........... from Exuberant Color

Since yesterday was errand day and I didn't have anything lined up to sew, I just went to the 3" Kaffe collective fabric component bin and continued sewing some Broken Dishes blocks, like I was making in April.  




I have lots of dark triangles that were cut over a couple years but didn't have any more light ones.  I looked through my Kaffe 'large scrap' box and found a few more light ones to cut.  This is the next batch I will sew.  I have a table runner I may quilt and finish today.




My cousin and his ...

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May 17, 2025
Searching the stash..................... from Exuberant Color


Yesterday I was searching for Philip Jacobs fabrics for the triangles I need for my current project.  Here are four that I'm pretty sure will work but I think I want to find at least four more that will work too.


While I was in the basement I finished pressing all of the small floral triangle squares.  I had a pile of larger squares too that were added to the same storage box.  I also pressed a pile of fabrics that are waiting to be cut.


I pulled out three books to look through after seeing them on Maureen ...

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May 6, 2025
Sewing with triangles................... from Exuberant Color


Last night's sewing session was finishing up the 2" finished floral triangle squares.  I added 5 more piles of four after I took this photo so I could make 41 pinwheel blocks.






One idea for them would be like this quilt in a Kaffe Fassett book.  I would just have to find a fabric for the alternate squares.

Another idea would be to save them for a border on a floral print quilt.  I always hate having to make a lot of little blocks for a border after I get a center made.  I could do it the opposite ...

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April 29, 2025
Triangles...................... from Exuberant Color


 Early in the day yesterday I sorted all of the floral triangles by how many of each there were.  There were 26 sets of 4 dark and light.

Six of the sets have 8 dark and light triangles.




During the 2 hours I watched TV I sewed 20 sets of four, 80 total.  I don't know what I'll work on today and how I want to end the month for my recap.

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April 28, 2025
Tilda 2 finished...................... from Exuberant Color


The Tilda Whimsey quilt is finished, pattern on Tilda's website.  It's so hard to get a good photo of these soft color quilts.  It is prettier than this photo shows.

This quilt is 56" x 74" and has Hobbs 80/20 batting in it.

It was longarm quilted by Robin Diaz.




I love the bicycle print on the back of the quilt.  It isn't a Tilda fabric but I thought it was a good choice for this quilt.











I found a pile of light value floral prints so I cut more 2" triangles to match up with ...

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April 24, 2025
Little things..................... from Exuberant Color


I spent time outside doing more garden clean up and didn't get a lot done in the studio.  I found a little pile of batik triangle squares and since there were 4 matching of each, I made 20 little Broken Dishes blocks.  Sewn together these would make a placemat size piece.  I could just save them in the batik orphan block box and use them as filler blocks.  I'll press them and then decide what to do with them.


I also cut all of the Kaffe sewn strips into segments for 4 patches and sewed them together.  Another ...

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April 20, 2025
Making progress................ from Exuberant Color


I needed to clean off the top of my sewing cabinet so 11 Broken Dishes blocks got sewn and the rest of the triangles went back into the 3" Kaffe fabric parts box.  I will probably put these blocks in the Kaffe orphan block box for now.




Next up was trimming the Tilda 16 patch quilt and cutting the binding strips.






The backing fabric was a purchase around 1975-6.  It was 38" wide.  I always liked the woodblock type prints and the color of this one went well with the Tilda fabrics.








I always start my hand sewing a few ...

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April 19, 2025
Spring taking its time............... from Exuberant Color


I checked my post from a year ago today and we were way ahead of this year's growth in the garden.  I still have bare ground in some backyard gardens and last year it was almost half filled in with large plants.  The Redbuds show progress but it will still be a week or more before full bloom.  That is really the normal time for them to bloom so I think last year we had an early spring.


The earliest peonies are about a foot tall and I can see lots of the other ones starting to grow too ...

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April 16, 2025
Sorting......mindless work........... from Exuberant Color


Last night I decided to sort the triangles in the box of 3" Kaffe collective fabrics.  Since I cut them with my die cutter, and there are either 6 layers or 10 layers, depending on which cutter I used, there was a variety of fabrics in each pile.


Then I decided to divide them by stacks with less than 8 triangles and stacks of more than 8 triangles.  This photo is all of the ones with 8 or more triangles.  A sawtooth star would take 8 alike.

Next I paired all of the ones with less than 8 triangles and ...

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February 26, 2025
Progress as I look at it........................ from Exuberant Color


The color is way off in this photo, but it is showing the progress from yesterday.

The top 8 rows are all sewn together, trimmed at the left edge but not on the right side.

Below that is 2 more rows sewn together.  The next row is at the sewing machine, and  the bottom 4 rows are waiting to be sewn.  I decided to just lay the bottom row on the floor instead of pinning it to the design wall.  I think this one will end up around 47" x 67" and I'm thinking about putting flannel on the ...

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February 7, 2025
First quilt top for February 2025........... from Exuberant Color


The first thing I'll say is that it is a lot prettier in person than I have been able to capture in a photo.  This little quilt top is all Kaffe Fassett collective fabrics.  I was able to use a pile of scraps and just a few pieces cut from yardage.  I would never have made this quilt if I didn't have a die to use for the cutting.  Its a Bow Tie die, with a wonderful secondary pattern.




I bought this cute piece of flannel on sale a couple months ago and I think it is perfect ...

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February 6, 2025
Sewing it all together.... from Exuberant Color


I couldn't figure out a good pressing plan if I sewed the blocks into strips or 4 patches, to get the seams going in opposite directions for matching in the construction of the top.  I decided I would just wing it and sew top together, webbing it.  First I laid out the 4 different corners fabrics in rows on my cabinet.


Then I started sewing it together alternating positions of the 4 different triangle fabrics.









I got all of the seams sewn in one direction and have 3 seams sewn in the other direction in this photo.  The rest ...

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