october DIY month

Now that temperatures have dropped down to the upper 80s, as opposed to upper 90s, there's a narrow window of time until cold weather sets in. People from out-of-state often say that Texas doesn't have four seasons, maybe because we don't get a lot of colorful leaves as summer melts into fall, but fall in Texas is my favorite time. Spider lillies are popping up and pecans and bur acorns are crunching under my shoes when I walk. It's also outside chore time, and lately when it's cooler and dry I've been prepping my garage door and the eaves around the house for painting. Right now that's repairs, sanding and washing with TSP. My arms get tired so fast!

In between outside chores I've been cutting fabric for my next quilting project. Above are a few selections from the Creekside collection, by Sherri & Chelsea for Moda Fabrics. I fell in love with this collection months ago when it was a "coming attraction", and I finally got my grubby little hands on it. I opted for a fat-quarter bundle instead of 5" or 10" precuts so I could practice my cutting skills and so I would have some leftovers for future projects. It's a lot more work working this way. For instance the fabric quarters came folded neatly in a tight bundle, leaving creases on every piece of fabric. I'm learning to starch and press everything as I go. I never thought I would enjoy ironing, but it's strangely relaxing.


It was a bit daunting at first when I thought about how many pieces I was going to be cutting: 120 for this, 144 for that,  and 288 for another part. Instead of doing everything at once I did small batches of cutting between my more rigorous chores. I placed the squares on my design wall (a worn out flannel backed tablecloth) and watched it fill up with color.

I now have most of the colored blocks cut although they won't all fit on my wall. Now I'm working on the batches of 144 & 288 I'll need to fill the spaces between some of these colored squares.

I also continue to edit this layout. My first layout was made as I cut different colors of fabric and the colors weren't well placed. This layout was made by alternating random light and dark fabrics, but I think I'm too much of a control freak to allow it to remain this way.