Whew, it's been a week hasn't it?

However, I did get one thing done last Sunday.

 The core board insulation came upstairs and got cut into 2 pieces.

 80/20 cotton batting was folded over each edge, opposites first, and stapled snugly.

 These metal hanger whoie-whatzies can be found at Lowe's in the build-a-deck section.  I really have no idea what they're called.  But they work and that's what matters.

 3 extra large silver thumb tacks hold the bottom secure to the core board.  The top of the plate extends out a bit.

 Push pins through the top 2 holes secure each board to the wall.

 And wallah.  The back board to "save a wall from demolition spray starch" is complete.

I've set my big ironing board on top of the new cabinet with newly washed cover and we're good to go.

And just FYI, my "big board" is actually fiber board framed on bottom with 1x2's.  The top is painted with wall paint after which I applied 2 coats of sealant.  Something I had on hand.  You know how fiber board can absorb moisture.  Thus the sealant.

Instead of batting, I use 2 large pieces of knit fabric under the custom made ironing board cover.  Again, it was something I had on hand.  Spray starch goes everywhere when I prep fabric and it does eat the paint off the walls, but now I believe I'm ready for anything.

 You could say I'm expanding my repertoire.  The big box store had these at a very reasonable price, so I bought some half yards to add extra wattage to the fabric cupboard.  I have big plans, yup, sure do.

Yeah, finally this morning was 2-quilt chilly.  And there are some leaves turning already.  Of course it could be that we need rain.  I think this year we're all looking forward to being snowbound.

As my good buddy, CC says, "how many months of August are we having?"

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Ahhhh progress.

 First, I got busy and combined small blocks into bigger ones.  Then I started lining them up on the design wall.

At which time I discovered it would be easiest to combine one vertical half section of the top at a time.

To do this, I'm combining units as I go.  See the 2 thin horizontal sections on the right?  They will be elongated, then combined with the section on the left, to match the section above it.  I'll probably end up adding a string of pieces in the middle of the thin units on the right to get the length I need for the block unit on the left.  But that's okay.

Let's talk about scale.  It comes in 2 varieties.

And include these teeny tiny pieces to the right of the embroidery scissors.  Those tiny pieces were already assembled from a project done in 1995.  No piece is too small.

But . . .

They should be combined with bigger pieces.  By using lights, creams of varying print scale it gives the eye a nice place to rest . . . and in this case, read.  Even though it's upside down.

Also, there's a wide, very wide, variety of scale within the prints themselves.  This too is important, as it proves I've collected a nice variety of prints for the stash.  LOL.  You know what I'm referring to don't you?

 Sometimes I goofed and increased the scale too quickly.  This red bar unit won't work for me.  Too abrupt.  It stops the eye.

 It's important to add in "single blocks" of triangle units,

 Flying geese,

 Hourglass block, etc..

Single units again, give the eye a place to pause and reflect.  Multiple units together would create a bulls eye.  Which is what I'm trying to avoid.

 Fun prints are good.  The light background allows this piece to stay.

 I've REALLY had trouble balancing darks and lights.  Notice the darks on the right and top are softened by the area of lights and brights on the bottom left.

Because my stash is saturated with darks, especially small pre-cut pieces, leftovers, it's been a constant battle to find the balance.

If you have a stash full of brights, you won't have this difficulty.

There's still a huge variety of scraps to use up.  But for now, I must finish my vortex top, set it aside and CLEAN UP.  The chaos is making me bonkers.

I've learned a lot from this process.  It's been fun and actually quite relaxing.  Not as good as a spa vacation in Switzerland, but much, much cheaper.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Is green your favorite color?

 Then you have several to choose from.  Here we have the "soon to be overrun with pumpkins" kitchen garden.  Thus named, as it can be viewed from the kitchen.  Clever huh?

This caption should read, "invasion of the south 40!"

Some pumpkin leaves have deep white veins.  I've no idea why.

 Perhaps there will be a lot of creamy pumpkins.

Do you remember the original vine in the south 40 garden?  This pumpkin is from that vine, so it's ahead of everyone else.

Today's heat index was 96 so I finally got outside to start the sprinkler, making everything green and growing very happy.

Meanwhile, Dolly and I have been hiding out in the A/C room, thinking cool thoughts.

Wherever you are in this summer's heat wave, please be sure to leave plenty of fresh water outside for your furry and feathered friends.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

It's turtle time.

 The assembly process is very slow going.

Mainly because I've decided to work from the center out, creating units as I go along.  None of which are the same size.  They will of course be the same width or the same length as the previous section.

I have managed to make a lot more blocks this weekend, still barely making a dent in the string bin.

In case you've forgotten, Connecting Threads is having their once a year thread sale.  Hurry up and order now, so you can get back to sewing.

My local library holds a craft sale to sponsor the spelling bee program.  A quilting friend moved, donating 30 boxes of fabric to the sale.

At $1.00 per yard, I decided to support the program and collect some brights.  Everything is now washed, dried until damp, had the ends torn to get straight of grain, and finally I'm getting it ironed.  There's a lot of very old fabric here, but nothing that won't work well for the new quilt.

 Quilter's can always use scraps right?

Until then, keep stitchin'  . . . .

Diving in.

Inspiration comes in all forms, but thank goodness for fellow bloggers who are so colorfully creative, it makes our hearts sing.

AmandaJean of Crazy Mom Quilts fame created a delightful scrap challenge entitled Vortex.  An apt name to be sure.  I simply had to jump in on the fun.

 My scrap bin encompasses 25 years and includes not only end pieces from cutting 2", 2-1/2", 3" strips, but also leftover units sewn together.

One challenge I'm facing is being sure to include enough lights. 

 So I'm making a conscious effort to find and incorporate large chunks of whites, lights and pastels.

 No piece is too small; however, larger pieces are needed to give the eye a place to rest.

Thank you AmandaJean for such a wonderful idea.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .