February and March Quilts 2025

When I looked through photos I was surprised to see only two tops.  These are both from my Running Doe top-a-long with Villa Rosa patterns.

February’s entry is Lanterns

March’s entry was Transport.

I really thought back and wondered why I hadn’t produced more.  But when you see the upcoming finishes know that I was probably piecing those a good bit in these months!

i hope everyone that celebrates had a good thanksgiving holiday.  No one went away hungry!

Quilts from January 2025

I haven’t gotten any further on my quilting other than figuring out what not to do.  So I e decided to share what I HAVE been doing.

Here are my quilts from January.

This quilt is called Amelia and is a Running Doe pattern for Villa Rosa.  Catherine, the owner of the shop, hosts a top-a-long for 6 months.  This was the first for the first half of the year.

An io group that I’m on had a sew a long of half log cabin blocks.  This was one of the tops I made.  I love the secondary pattern and my quilt model Chip.

This is my second top for the HLC sew a long.  I wanted to use up that cow print and had the denim blue.  I got the red bandana fabric from my friend.  This one is smaller than the first but still a good throw size.

This is a flannel quilt kit I was gifted in September but intended as my Christmas Gift,  I was in town and it was easier for her to hand me the kit to carry home.  The pattern is Ride ‘‘em Cowboy by Marti Mitchell.

For the Running Doe top-a-long I decided to make them red, white and blue and bring them as close to 60x80 so they could be donated as a QOV.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  We have lost two good friends this week.  Mend any broken fences.  Hold your loved ones close.

The Big Sort and Quilting

Part of my big sort was purging.  Those things that I could not throw away, give away or return to their owner are things that I deemed as a keeper, a project (it needs deeper attention.  Think photos) or things that I made a commitment to do something with before returning it.  The one item I have a lot of are charity tops.  There are those that I accepted to complete and those that others accepted but asked me to finish.  I also have lots of tops intended as gifts for family and friends.

This bounty has led me back to using my longarm.  It frustrates me because I tend to have tension issues.  I do silly things like trying different types and weights of threads.  I recently tried a bigger needle in anticipation of quilting through some heavy stabilizer.  I even lost my mind and over adjusted my upper tension after knowing my tension was near perfect.  I got halfway through quilting a quilt to find I had thread nests all across the back.  I realize that I need to not change so many factors with each quilt and just find what works and stick with it.  The other thing is to resist the urge to try a new design on every quilt.  Just get it done!  I went to a quilt show recently and guess what quilt design they used.  Wavy lines!

Here are some charity quilts I’ve done recently.

I Never Would Have Guessed!

Almost two years since I posted.  I was trying to find some balance between sewing and reading or writing about sewing.  Then I got hooked on purging.  I really dug in and touched almost everything in every room.  Exhausting and exhilarating at the same time!  That’s how it turned into a big break.

We went on a big vacation to Alaska.  We flew into Anchorage via Seattle.  We rented a car and proceeded to drive 2000 miles.  We had a list of things we were interested in doing and then flew by the seat of our pants.  We’d choose a destination and on several occasions drive up to the lodging and decided if we wanted to stay there or drive on.  We managed well on finding decent places.  Unfortunately on the way back I started up with a cough and felt blah for over three weeks.  Ray decided to join the party and is still working through it.  A lot of my coworkers reported being away for long vacations and also got sick.  Are we just burning the candle at both ends?

I’ve continued sewing in some way on a regular basis.  I joined the Running Doe Topalong.  It’s a six month program.  They offer 1 digital pattern a month x 6 for $10.  You finish the top in the month it is announced and you get entered into a prize drawing.  If you finish all 6 there is a grand prize.  There is a Facebook group and I’ve really enjoyed seeing all the inspiration.  There are a few I’d like to make again in an inspiring color way.

I’ll come back with more posts and pictures!  Watch this space.

Life Happenings

I didn’t mean to be away from the blog for so long.  I came to say I haven’t been sewing much.  But when I scrolled photos I discovered I was a fibber.  In addition to cleaning up bags of scraps by making bindings I’ve had three new starts!  Plus, I’ve made in excess of 15 bings.  I need to get busy quilting apparently.

I was sorting through kits and saw this one.  Got bit by a bug and decided to make it.  I still have to miter the borders.  I wanted to add another yellow and miscue a green so went to my newly organized stash and found exactly what I needed!

While sorting fabric I came across panels and coordinating yardage that I was not interested in using.  One set was hunting dogs.  My brother loved his Labrador.  I also wanted to make him a 60th birthday quilt.  Here it is!  To be quilted.

 

When I got these to this point I needed a piecing project for away from home.  Out came a FQ bundle I was gifted.  I’m short a few blocks but here’s a trial layout.  About half the needed blocks.  Cathedral Beads.

Time ran out on me before vacation.  We headed for Tennessee.  Duchess and Chip.  All the sites to see.  All the new smells!

Vacation without an issue wouldn’t be vacation for us.

Homemade water sprinkler!

When backing the trike out of the toy hauler someone buried a tail pipe.  It stalled immediately.  Luckily three gentlemen came to our rescue and it’s running fine!

Will share more vacation adventures soon.

Stay quilty my friends.

Cobbler’s Children

You know the story how the cobblers children don’t have shoes?  He was so busy making shoes for his customers he didn’t have time to make shoes for his family.

I found myself tightly ensconced in the role of a cobbler’s child.  I have time to repair quilts for others but not repair my own.  The very first quilt I made was given to my mother.  When it started to wear she put it away.  I inherited that quilt back when she passed away.  I always had intentions of fixing it but never seemed to get around to the task.

This past weekend I bundled it up and took it to the church.  I picked out all the quilting and hung it up to find the spots needing repair.  When you look at the picture you can see blue painters tape in two spots.  There are 5 spots in all.  Three need the seam resewn and the other two need a strip replaced.

Now that I have it to this point it will be a lot easier to work on it.  I made all the rookie mistakes.  Sewed with a 5/8” seam, not enough quilting for the batting.  Maybe not all but I hope I’ve improved.  In the process of my ongoing stash organization I came across the matching fabric!  Serendipity.

What are you putting off doing for yourself that you readily do for others?  Time to make yourself a priority!

Happy quilting.

Swooze

Folding Frenzy

I’m still at it.  I’ve been folding in color categories until now but have slipped into categories.  This will make it easier for me to find what I want.  I have decided what my space limitations are and when those areas are full I’m going to become very generous with my friends.  It’s been easy to run across pieces and say “I don’t want to work with this anymore.”  Out they went! There are a few groupings that I’ve decided once I make a quilt or three then out it goes.  That will take longer than just giving it away but I may do some kitting to get the bulk of it out.

Above I have batiks, Christmas, winter, fall and orientals.  I have an empty shelf and believe me I will fill it.  I’m going to do some shuffling in and out of my color racks and this space will allow for expansion.

Here I have novelties with animals and novelties without.  My holiday fabrics landed here.  I have florals, patristics and solids.  Time will tell if this arrangement works.

Remember my goal is to not have a quilt house.  I’m still a few weeks away but I can see the goal is possible!

How are things going in your sewing world?

Swooze

Still Folding and Sorting

When I was folding my yardage I was also sorting out FQs and other small cuts.  I have a dresser and have been color sorting them there.  

I showed my racks of fabric but what wasn’t shown were the cabinets in my sewing room.  Here is where I will keep my categories that I want to keep separate from the general stash.  Shown here are batiks, Christmas, fall, oriental and winter.  

I’m currently folding novelties.  Three types, juvenile, rainbow and wildlife (bugs).  Next will be florals.  Once those are done I’ll be going back to the general stash and pulling out things that need to go in these categories to make room for what’s left.

I am doing a general tidy in the rooms of scraps, kits, notions and patterns.  I have been pulling things that I no longer have an interest in working with.  I’ve identified a few projects I want to make right now.  I will seriously destash once I am done folding and see what fits.  This is my reality check.  No new fabric purchases.

What’s happening in your sewing world?

Getting Organized

I have been diligently folding fabric.

Here are the reds through greens.  There is wiggle room for any foundlings.  I have large pieces for backings stacked on top.  Those a future folding endeavor.

Then there are the blues through the grays.  Stacked on top are my creams and whites intended for backgrounds.

Then we have the inevitable Dammit pile.  As on dammit I already folded that color.  Thank goodness for wiggle room.  There’s more beyond what’s shown.

I have also been making bindings as I encounter small caches of fabric that were intended for that very thing.  My goal was one a week and I’ve exceeded that.  I have mynext few sets ready to be processed.  I have liberated so many project totes that I may get rid of some of them but that will be after I finish my quest.  

My quest is to not have fabric in every part of the house.  I have three designated spots.  Stash room, sewing room and my longarm space.  It’s improving with each passing day.

What’s happening in your sewing world?

Where Did May Go?

I’m still here.  Getting things finished to the top stage.  I even have a few cut kits that were someone else’s UFO, a new start and some organizing!

This is called Now and Later.  Purchased kit from an estate sale.  It’s a freebie that was tucked in with a magazine subscription.  There were enough pieces to make one big quilt.  I opted to make two.  The smaller one ghastly a whir border.  The larger No border but if a recipient is identified and I need it larger I can easily add that.  This one was more color planned where the other was random.  I did try to break up color and/or print.  What’s your preference?

While going through things I ran across these blocks that I had made from some kits I had won for being a quilt angel at the Dallas Quilt Show.  I only received 11 of the 12 but was able to figure out the pattern.  After making one block I realized I’d have lots of extra fabric and managed to cut out the extra block as well only having to piece one piece.  I put the blocks up on the board and remembered a green I thought might work.  Brought both together and was happy with the result.

Here is my tiny treasure.  This little top is made up of 1.5” HSTs.  I love the broken dishes block and was inspired by Pam Avara’s quilts and borrowed her chaining idea.  I love the secondary pattern.  32”square.I have to figure out a matching binding as I foolishly cut all my yardage into 1.5” strips.

A new start!  I got to a point where I find he’d the work I brought with me so worked on this at the end of the day.  It came together quickly and is intended as a 60th birthday gift.  A freebie called Tumble.  I think it’s from the Fat Quarter Shop.

If you look at my previous post you’ll see Bright Hopes blocks set with gray.  I inherited those blocks.  The ones below I made myself.  I was going to make two jelly rolls worth but stopped after one.  I knew I needed a different setting so started playing with a 4 patch layout.  I chose to sash them and then set with this blue.  I wanted to bind the quilt in the blue but was left with lots of shorter pieces.  I think I had 3 WOF strips.  While pondering my options I dug through a bag of fabric a friend had gifted me.  Guess what was in there!??  The blue fabric!

This is my Bonnie Hunter Garden Party.  I was fortunate to take the class from her as a NYE mystery.  I just had to add borders.

So where have I been?  Sewing obviously.  In addition I have been decluttering.  I’m a little over halfway through getting rid of 2023 things.  I’ve shifted focus to changing my quilt house into a quilt studio and stash repository.  My first focus was going through the room I sew in and moving out piles of fabric that are not on my current target lists.  I got the majority out but it quickly became obvious I needed to work on my repository.  I’ve gotten rid of a few things.  I tell people I am bailing the Titanic with a teaspoon.  The amount I’m getting rid of is not making the difference.

I did have a friend come over and we folded part of one shelf.it let me see how things would look.  Last week I started grabbing fabric and ruler folding.  I had it stacked on my bed and my recliner in my room.  I grabbed the stacks from the shelf that was previously folded and sorted that into my color plan.  When I got just a little past this point I changed my approach.  Starting yesterday I went through my other racks, bins and piles and started pulling out reds, pinks, oranges, yellows greens and blues.  I’m going to concentrate on folding the first four and keep checking for more.  I’m contemplating leaving one empty stack/spot for wiggle room on each of my two racks.

I would love to hear any organizing tips you may have for me.  I am pulling out the sleeve and what was I thinking as I go.  What’s happening in your sewing room?

I’m Here!

There has been a lot going on.  I’ve been sewing but also decluttering.  The bug has really hit me to get rid of stuff.  I joined a challenge to get rid of 2023 things in 2023.  You would not think checking off a box on a piece of paper would be so motivating but it has really captured my attention.  

I’ve been trying to keep a balance in everything by not being all or nothing.  I had to pull out the timer to keep me moving along.  I’m going through papers from my parents house that are of the memories variety.  I’ve made some decent headway but also find I have to stop after a time so that I don’t get overwhelmed.

At the beginning of the year I made 4 lists of the quilting variety.  Two are lists of flimsies that need quilting.  I have not made good progress here.  I have quilted one and started loading the next.  I need to find motivation in this area.  I made two other lists.  One is new things I’d like to start.  One started there and brought to flimsy.  The list I’ve really made progress on are the list of UFOs that are in pieces.  So far I’ve gotten 7 to the flimsy stage.  Here is some eye candy.

You saw Linda’s Irish Chain in black, red and white.  

Pfeffernusse.  I added borders.

Double 9 Patch.  This required a lot of sewing.

Bug Rail Fence.  I was going to make two but decided I want a different pattern for the remaining fabric.

Double Irish Chain.  I added borders.

The following two were gifted blocks.  I set them on point.

Split Decision.  I assemble the top and added borders.

This one is sort of a UFO sort of a new start.  I had lots of leftovers from my commission quilts.  I turned it into this Chiclets quilt.

I only have 4 left from my list.  I’m working on adding borders to one%. The other is very intense piecing of 1.5” HSTs.  The final project will be around 35”.  Here is a sneak peek.

I know if I root around I will find other in progress items.  I did pull one out last night.

Hope all is well in your world!