Steady Progress!

Sunflowers at last!!

We've had to beat off the rabbits and the deer, but we were finally able to harvest a small bouquet for the dining room table!!

Since finishing my Smorgasblocks Sampler last weekend, I've been focused on painting woodwork (boring but necessary) while listening to a new book on Hoopla -- Jane of Austin by Hillary Manton Lodge -- it's the plot from Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility set in modern times.

Harry (the indoor black cat) has been my companion.

This lump is Harry -- I did not realize that he was so fond of burrowing into the perfect napping spot?

My rewards for making painting progress have been slipping away to bird a nearby park (can't miss fall migration) or spending time in the studio working on assembling these two quilts for my grandchildren.

I decided on sashing these blocks with the background fabric to set each of them off.

I thought I would share how I handle sashing -- not sure why I started taking this approach?

Did someone teach me this? 

Mary Ellen Hopkins perhaps? 

Or one of my It's Okay teaching pals?

I add the sashing to blocks before doing any assembly of rows -- it makes for much less matching!

After being sure all the blocks are uniform in size, I add a plain sashing strip to one side of all the blocks in the quilt.  Doesn't matter which side, but must be the same for all the blocks.

Here I've added it to the right side.

I pressed the seams towards the sashing.

Then I add a cornerstone to one end of another batch of the sashing strips.

You can see one of the pineapple blocks at the back of the picture -- they are my current "sew-offs" as I need just three more blocks to finish another top.

I pressed these seams towards the sashing.

Those sashing/cornerstone pairs are now added to all the blocks -- once again, which edge doesn't matter except that it's the same side for all the blocks.

I pressed the seams for the  two outside vertical rows of blocks towards the sashing and the center row towards the blocks.

(The paper in the center of her forehead reminds me where she belongs in the layout.)

The final step to preparing the blocks is to add sashing and cornerstones around two of the outer edges.  One of them will have a cornerstone on each end.

For this layout, the left edge and the upper edge blocks will get one more pair so they are sashed on three sides.

The upper left corner is the only block that will be sashed on all four sides.

Here are all the blocks with sashing and cornerstones attached ready to be assembled into rows and the completed quilt top -- my task for this weekend!

The tops will be 44" by 58" and the verdict is still out on borders.  Borders will frame the tops nicely but may also make the quilts larger than I intended.

Auditioning will yield a verdict.

Harry emerged from his cocoon in time for supper but is back down for a long afternoon nap!

Perhaps we all need a bit of a nap this weekend!

Mary

The blocks are from Lorna's most recent sew along at sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com