Mad Mad March

Back in the middle of March, I was prepared to name this Post March Badness because I was distracted and avoiding what I needed to sew in order to have some Finally Finished quilts. Fortunately, I finally came to my sewsenses and finished these five quilts during this past six days while having a Cold. Nothing like waiting to the last week of the month and am thankful March has 31 days. All five of these quilts were flimsies made either almost twelve to eighteen months ago, this past January or this month. Can you guess which one was the oldest?

Before I provide the details on the above quilts, I like to briefly mention the numerous distractions which may have been prompted by my telling the Hubby that I get stressed whenever a computer is involved right before we were purchasing new tax software and a printer in order to file our taxes. Downloading new software on our ancient CPU is always stressful since it seems to take forever and the only time we use this computer is for taxes. Afterwards, things seem to mushroom with having to change passwords, updating subscriptions and accounts, a credit card being compromised, etc., Happily, the pressure and stress of tax filing which always dampens the quilting spirit is over since the taxes were filed in mid March. Another distraction but most important was the celebration of  the darling Granddaughter’s 9th birthday which involved hosting her birthday party at the trampoline park. Also, there was much time spent with  Hubby as his Emotional  Support Wife by accompanying him on four band gigs and numerous doctor and dental visits which I’ll provide more details later in this Post. Of course, there was some mischief making which you will see the big one later.

My usual focus for the month is to finally finish my UFO listed on my 2026 Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge and #6 was pulled. I was not in the mood to work on this project which I will explain later and chose to work on my #6 in my Machine Quilting list. It’s a good thing I’d compiled several lists since the decision to quilt my Heather Ross Hexie quilt was rather serendipitous because I always celebrate the darling Granddaughter’s birthday with a new quilt.

I was inspired to make this quilt almost two years ago when my Downunder torMentor, Susan of PatchworknPlay posted her quilt https://patchworknplay.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-travelling-quilt.html?m=1.

I love. It when I am inspired to make a quilt especially when I have the same fabric sitting in my stash for way too long and I also can use my die-cutter to make the patches. I had cut the patches in 2024 but did not sew the flimsy until almost a year ago. As mentioned previously, I’m glad I put this flimsy on my machine quilting list and it was #6 because it was perfect for the darling Granddaughter’s 9th Birthday quilt.

Machine quilting with a CT Essential Thread in medium brown went surprisingly well with straight lines along the hexie center and edges and did not realize this would create a diamond crosshatch which complemented this quilt. I was planning on using the brown check for the binding but did not have any yardage left, so I thought, and used the multi-color diamond print which worked well. I ended up finding the brown check yardage in the backing vault yesterday, but oh well, I’m happy with this quilt. I’m sure the darling Granddaughter won’t mind when I hang this quilt up in her bedroom at the GP House.

Last month, I made this flimsy (right) with the leftover blocks from my Ricochet Quilt and thought it would be fine as a small lap quilt. On March 1st while I was disappointed with the CT UFO number 6, I decided I add borders to this quilt, since I had the fabric, rather than working on my UFO Project. I temporarily named it Macaroni and Cheese but have now changed it to Jack Cheese.

Since my new bolt of Pellon Cotton/Soy batting arrived, I decided it would be a nice finish since it was tied to my Ricochet Quilt which was #4 on the CT UFO list last month and maybe feeling guilty for not working on the #6. I machine quilted with straight and wavey vertical lines spaced 1.5” apart in the same CT blue thread as the Richochet quilt. As mentioned in the Richochet Post, I had yardage of two blue plaid prints which I had offer to my quilt peep who declined them and I am still thankful I was able to use them in my Ricochet and Jack Cheese quilts. I thought it was worth mentioning how well I matched the plaid lines on the backing. Jack Cheese measure 60’x72” and now sitting well in the Family Room where Ricochet is also residing.

I made the Washi Tape Salute flimsy in the middle of March right after filing the tax returns and was another distraction and avoidance since this wasn’t in my plans to make this.

I die-cut 5” squares from each of the fabrics in Rashida Coleman Hale Washi Tape and Salutation fabric lines. I was planning on making a version of Villa Rosa’s Clover pattern but decided to make a square quilt with 4” and 8” four patches and 4-1/2” which meant trimming the already die-cut 5” squares. Don’t worry, I’m not over the Clover pattern. Initially the yellow squares were going to be scattered throughout with the blues and pinks but decided to layout them together around the 8” four patch center as a focal point.

Washi Tape Salute was machine quilted with #2105 Yellow Aurifil thread with diagonal and crosshatch lines. I used a Ruby Star print for the backing and the binding was the only print not from any Ruby Star fabric line but a gold check print from Connecting Threads. Washi Tape Salute measures 32” square which is a nice size for a quick make and finish.

Would you believe this was my oldest flimsy from this group of five and was made eighteen months ago from leftover strips from the Farmhouse Baby Boomer Blankie. I’m pretty sure I was inspired by a pattern I saw on Pinterest, This was made shortly after the blankie was made and should have been a quick finally finish since the binding and backing was ready but for some reason I must have been distracted. The straight and wavey line quilting using a CT Essential Thread in Apple Green took less than an hour and hand sewing the binding took longer. This table runner measures 22”x40”.

When the Farmhouse Baby Boomer Blankie was first finished, my plan was to give it to one of Hubby’s sister who lives on a farm but glad I didn’t. I had an epiphany when I was binding the table runner that the GP House has farmhouse decor and the two would be perfect there. I then decided that the table runner is now a chair runner and will look quite pretty on my high back chair.

I decided to end March with a high five finish with the Alphabet Four Patch flimsy made in January when I was having a moment with my some of my quilts made with my stash of Children prints. The fabrics were from a fat quarter. Bundle of Windham’s A is for… and may have been purchased when Craftsy sold fabrics. Alphabet Four Patch measures 32” square and made with 16”, 8” and 4” four patches. Straight line Crosshatch machine quilting with a CT Essential Thread in pale peach or Fawn was quick and easy. Again, I am loving 32” square quilts.

I thought this would be a good place to mention the big mischief making involving more time than the finishing of the five flimsies which is a project I’m calling Simple Smitten. Hubby and I watch TV together in the evening after dinner which is a good time for knitting and hand sewing. I was tired of knitting and wanted a new hand sewing project and thought of resuming EPPing with the leftovers from my Smitten Quilt finished over eight years ago. My intention was to made a small wall quilt with the lone block leftover but somehow it has morphed into making 30 blocks now, the same size as the Smitten Quilt. I calling it Simple Smitten since most of the blocks would be made using large diamonds and hexies paper pieces. By making it much larger, it meant days of hunting fabrics from the original quilt, finding new fabrics and of course die-cutting way more than needed. I did this during the first weeks of March and still not focused on finishing anything. This project should keep me busy for awhile and I already had some late night sewing with the six blocks made. During the scavenging and rummaging through the scrap bins, I found the once lost National Park fabrics which I don’t know why it was there. I once blamed Demando for taking it but now think maybe he put it back. I’m just joking but it’s a possibility.

And here is a pic of the #6 UFO project which I was not in a mood to finally finish it which involves sewing a few filler patches highlighted in yellow and adding a border. These blocks were made from an almost twenty year old BOM, Peace and Plenty by Fat Quarter Shop and features blocks from Moda Fabrics designers. Good Quilt Peep Carol and I have named this quilt as the Block of the Month from Hell. I have good reasons for not wanting to finish this, mainly because of the size, twin size even after excluding the three blocks never made, where would I hang it since there is no way I would lay this on a bed and if I want to devote the time to finish it. I’m starting to get picky, believe it or not. I still like the blocks but not sewn together and my plan now is to separate the blocks by colorway, appliqued or pieced, and maybe making several wall hangings, large and small. 

Speaking of knitting and being tired of it after knitting the two shawls on the left, and putting the Simple Smitten project together, I am knitting the Sophie Scarf which is a very popular pattern. Sadly, I am finding time to knit this because my dear Hubby is having a bad month with dental and health issues. We had several visits to the dentist because his new crown is creating problems which we first thought was caused by a head cold but now may lead to a root canal. Last year, he had two Kyphoplasty surgery to repair fractures in his spine and now, almost the same time as last year, he has to have hernia surgery next week. The Sophie Scarf so far has been knitted mostly during the dental and doctor visits and there is a strong possibility that it will be finished by next week. Hubby is a real trooper and still plans on doing a band gig this week.

Just for laughs I thought I included an edited photo of the Darling Granddaughter surprised at having received another quilt from Grandmin. I tell her she can never have too many quilts as I tell myself you can never make too many quilts, right?

Sorry for this long Post, but it has been a mad, mad March. Before we leave for the GP House this week, I have a big mess to clean up in the Studio. Also, I’m really hoping Mary pulls a good number for April’s Dirty Dozen UFO challenge.

Wishing you a blessed Easter Holiday!

February Frenzy

 

I surprised myself with my February Finish for the Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. Number 4 was pulled and my project on my list was to make a quilt using almost seven year old scraps. It would be doable if February wasn’t filled with appointments for lab, annual physical exams with both my regular doctor and endocrinologist, a much needed haircut, two trips to the GP House and Hubby having five gigs (love hearing his rendition of Dreamlover) but worse of all my bridge from my very recent dental implant fell out. Of course, this happened right before our first GP visit and upon our return meant another visit which involved four Novocain shots and removing some gum tissues which had rapidly grown over the screws. The pain was excruciating when the bridge was reinserted and it took over two weeks for the pain and swelling to go away—thank you ice packs. Anyhoot, I was resigned to thinking that I was lucky if I had a flimsy finish since my #4 wasn’t a fast project.

My Spunky Americana Quilt was made almost seven years ago which seems like only yesterday to me and it was a fun make. This quilt measured 54”x72” and has been gracing the family room quilt rack since then.

As with most of my quilt projects, there were lots of patches and scraps left and I kept them in a bin where it reminded me that I needed to make something. Since the Funky Americana quilt was all 6” and 3” HSTs and I didn’’t want to sew any connecting corners, a simple Broken Dish block would be a fast and simple make. I was sort of right. First, I had to die cut more HSTs using additional fabrics which went well with the scraps and then over 150 6” and 66 3” HSTs were sewn. After that,  fifty-three 12” Broken Dish blocks were sewn in various fabric and patch combinations. You will see them later in the close up pics. 

Thankfully, I had a great audiobook to listened during this tedious sewing. Sadly though, there was no way I was going to make a quilt that large in order to use up all of the blocks. Before we left for the second GP visit, I decided that only forty-two blocks would be used after any blocks containing the cheddar/orange were eliminated and this would make a 72”x84” quilt.

I know I just mentioned in recent Posts that I planned on only making smaller quilts but I’ve amended it to if the large quilt would be used and not sitting on a shelf, then sew for it and Hello new couch quilt! Upon our return from the GP House this past Tuesday, the blocks were up on the design wall and the flimsy was finished on Wednesday. It was then I realized that with three days left in February, I could have a Finally Finish rather than just a flimsy.

I have to mention this was made possible by earlier pulling out from a seldom-visited bin, a seven yard piece of a brush Navy plaid which I offered to Quilt Peep Mary who politely passed on it and I am now very thankful she did. I machine quilted using a CT Essential Thread in variegated blues on top and a medium dark blue for the bottom, straight lines every 6” and wavy lines every 3” which created an interesting grid. The binding is a dark blue Aged Muslin which went well with both the top and back of the quilt. I’ve been hand sewing the binding with my last few quilts but this time since the plan is to use this quilt a lot, it was machine sewn this time.

My Quilt Fairy Godmother was definitely present when I was pin basting this quilt every 3”and much to my horror after I moved the quilt sandwich to pin baste the final edge, disaster involving very loud screaming was avoided. Usually, I am very careful to center my batting but not this time. It took me around three hours to pin baste and I would have been so unhappy if I had to remove it because of this mistake. I have to mention that I used Pellon Cotton/ Soy Batting again and I just love it. I machine quilted horizontally first which the pins were all removed which made it slow but then the vertical machine quilting went fast and I understand why some of us spray baste. My fingers were so sore from opening and closing almost 1000 pins.

Here’s a side by side of the two quilts and I think Spunky Americana  looks more bluer and the reds in the second one look more dominant. I’ve named this quilt Ricochet since looking at it my eyes bounced all over the quilt.

There were sixteen blocks leftover and I was determined not to let them sit for another seven years, so I quickly made a lap size quilt measuring 48”x60”. I’ve temporarily named this quilt Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Hopefully, once my new roll of soy batting arrives, I can finish it since I already have the backing. As for the leftover block and still beaucoup scraps, I’m planning on making placemats.

Yesterday it was sunny and in the sixties, so it would have been nice to take an outside glam shot but it was finished too late to take advantage of the light. So this morning with much cooler weather and snowflakes in the air, I settled for an inside pic with Ricochet on the family room couch where it will reside. I am so looking forward to snuggling with it while watching TV or a movie. The way the weather has been I’m pretty sure I’ll have several days to do this. Also, I am looking forward to a new number to be drawn for the UFO Challenge and whatever number it is, it’s going to be just a flimsy needing to be machine quilted.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Wonderland Double Whammy

I’ve never named any of my previous “dual” finishes before as a Double Whammy and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity since it went so well with Wonderland plus my liking to use alliteration in my Post titles. The Wonderland comes from the name of both of the prints used; Wonderland designed by MoMo for Moda fabrics (right)  and Wonderland designed by Rifle Paper Company for Cotton+Steel/RJR fabrics (left). Coincidentally, I think both of these fabrics were released around the same time (2016/17). Neither of these quilts were on my list to finish this year but have been on my mind since I found the MoMo Wonderland fabric while rummaging through one of the bins last October. I made a flimsy then but  thought this would be something I would post about but wanted to wait until I had time to make a quilt with the Rifle Paper Wonderland fabric since I do like my “duo” finishes. Well, this was the week which I had time to sew the Rifle Paper flimsy and then machine quilt both of the flimsy.

Both of these quilts are 40” wide because I had yardage in both fabric lines which I wanted to use as backing. I bet you can guess which backing went with which quilt.

I had a layer cake of the MoMo Wonderland fabric which I forgot to take a pic but I found an advert on line of the many lovely prints in this collection. I also purchased additional yardage and used the focus prints and multi-color check for this quilt.

Although I had drawn up a pattern for these prints years ago, I ended up using another pattern which I called Wonderbar since it involves cutting the layer cake squares in half or into four 2.5” strips depending upon the print. I made the 2.5” strip set rows using prints from the layer cake and the multi-color check which this idea came from my favorite Villa Rosa Clover pattern.

I machine quilted with both straight and wavy lines in CT Essential Thread #21166  Green. Wonderland One measures 40”x54”.

I usually don’t show a full pic of the backing but could resist because I love how the machine quilting looks. I’m tempted to hang up the quilt with the backing side showing.

BTW,  MoMo has a sister, Sanae, who also designed Moda fabric and I used her OZ fabric line for my Dear Tula With A Twist Quilt made in 2021. Her beautiful focus print was used fir the backing. Both of the sisters designed beautiful fabrics. MoMo is still designing fabrics for Moda and Sanae is designing for Kokka fabrics now. I still have a stash of Oh Deer fabric designed by MoMo which may be another quilt for another year.

I do have a story about the Wonderland fabrics designed by Rifle Paper Company in 2017.  I received a fat eighth roll of 20 fabrics in a Fat Quarter Shop Blue Sampler box and remembered not being too excited about it and was planning on giving it away. But good Blog Buddy, Dee, beat me too it, by sending me her fat eighth roll. I ended up purchasing a charm pack and yardage of this collection to have more print variety since my plan was to make a quilt similar to my Slinky Quilt but never got around to cutting up the squares. This quilt had been on my mind longer since this stash of fabric was always in my view whenever I’m in the studio.

I ended up designing another pattern for these fabrics to better use up the charm squares and 8.5” squares cut from the fat eighth roll. I also used the same two fabrics for the 2.5” strip sets made with the stripe and small check fabrics. I’m calling this quilt Wonderland Two or should I name it Alice instead?

I machine quilted Wonderland Two also with straight and wavey lines using CT Essential Thread in Parchment.  I have to mention that machine quilting was done under two hours for each of the Wonderland quilt and way faster than hand sewing the binding.

Wonderland Two measures 40” x 60” so I had to add 4.5” strips of a Cotton+Steel print in off white to the top and bottom. If there is anything I learned from making the two Wonderland quilts is to never buy just a 1.5 yard cut of a focus print. You are much safer with a two yard cut in case you decide to use it for a backing.

Here’s a close-up of the backing print. I’m only familiar with the Alice in Wonderland through Disney and never read the book written by Lewis Carroll. Some of these characters are pretty funny, especially the one  who reminds me of Michael Jackson and wondering about the lobster, turtle and funny bird. And yes to Alice wearing cowboy boots. It’s funny that I really did not care for this fabric until Wonderland Two quilt was finally made. I think this would make a lovely floor mat for the darling Granddaughter since it’s time to put away the one she used during the holidays.

Sarah Watts of Ruby Star Society (formerly Cotton+Steel) just released her Hello Alice fabric. I’m tempted to purchased a charm pack of it, and if you remember I still have a fat eighth bundle left of the Wonderland fabric sent from Dee, and should send this back to her. I think the two combined fabric collection would  make an interesting quilt.

My next project for the rest of February is my #4 Project for the Country Threads Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge. I’ll be sewing lots of 6” and 3” HST which were leftover from my Spunky Americana Quilt but then I ended up die-cutting more. I am hoping I can have a flimsy made by the end of the month. Super Bowl Weekend which is a good time to sew but we will be at the GP House and sadly my Janome Jem doesn’t sew a scant 1/4” line. I’ll have to keep busy with some other sewing projects.

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Sewing and Growing Vintage: January Final Four Finishes

January with the cold and snow is my least favorite month of the year and it’s the month I would choose to hibernate but we were still busy. Besides the semi-weekly visits to the GP House, dental appointments and hubby’s gigs, I was feeling my age this month with catching my first Cold of the season. I have been doing some reminiscing lately and this may be the reason for this theme with these four finishes—quilts made with vintage children prints which have been sitting in my stash for maybe ten to twenty years and just “bugging” me for the past years to finally use them. 

Although I Ike to start the new year with a quilt with bright colors, I decided that I would finally make a quilt with with a group of fabrics I’ve been collecting for over twenty years which included the 26 Letters designed by Chloe’s Closet, several Thimbleberries prints along with miscellaneous prints from Moda and Lakehouse. Can you guess which print was the inspiration for putting these fabrics together?

It was this blue floral print which reminded me of the curtains my late mother made and I loved the vintage look. You can see on the ticket that I purchased this fabric in 2001 and it was only $2 per yard.

I designed a pattern which I call Crazy Eights which are blocks in increments of 8” or eight patches and came up with six different blocks made using the same fabrics. Not pictured is the 8”x16” plain block of the blue floral print.

Coincidentally, while I was planning this quilt,  Mary, Country Threads, restarted the Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge for 2026 and #12 was pulled. I decided that since this was an UFO it would be my #12.

Here’s a pic of the 26 Letters fabric and the adorable vintage illustrations which I remember seeing in my childhood books and the reason why I named this quilt Vintage Alphabet.

I decided to machine quilt with just soft horizontal meandering curves with Mother Goose Star Thread.

Here’s a collage showing the backing which is the blue floral I definitely had enough yardage to use. Can you see the Quilt illustration? The binding is the brown dot which I thought accented nicely with all of the fabrics. Vintage Alphabet measures 56”x72” and I could have added another row of 8” blocks but decided not to since this is the year I wanted to focus on making smaller quilts.

Sacre Bleu or should I say Sacre Pink! While I was sewing Vintage Alphabet, I found yardage of the floral print in Pink while I was in the backing vault. I don’t remember purchasing it and I don’t think I want to make another quilt with it. I do think it would make lovely curtains though.

While I was working on the Vintage Alphabet quilt and within my view, was a bundle of another vintage children print which I had plans to make a wall hanging for several years. I decided to quickly make this after the Vintage Alphabet Quilt was finished since I like dual finishes. The focus prints with the children are from Windham Fabrics. This wall hanging measures 24” square and definitely was a quick and easy make. I should mention that the focus fabrics in this quilt and the blue floral print in the Vintage Alphabet quilt were purchased on one of the many shopping trips, locally and Shipshewana, made with my Peeps.

Since arriving home on Tuesday from the GP House, I thought I would machine quilt these two flimsies made in 2024 and I had on my Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge List and they were fitting for the children theme I’m on. Both of these were made from my American Jane stash which included charm packs. The table runner is a modified Villa Rosa Clover pattern and measures 18”x 43”.

This small lap quilt was made with charm squares and rectangles and I can’t remember if this was a pattern or something I came up with because I didn’t want to make another Fat Quarter Shop Charm Pack Cherry. This measures 45”x54” I have a love/hate relationship with this quilt because I decided to try a new batting I purchased and it’s a little too poofy for me. I definitely will have no problems with laying this on the floor or grass. Fortunately, I still have lots of American Jane stash to make more quilts. Also, I do have a lot of Mary Engelbreit fabrics and I could make a lovely wall hanging with her adorable prints.

Thanks to the cold and snow, I definitely had good SewJo in January with six finishes. As mentioned earlier, I had two major dental visits for the final fitting of my implants and for a crown replacement. This pic is definitely something I did while laying  in the chair for over an hour during each visit. Boy, I ddid I have some aches and cramps afterwards. Thankfully, my dental visits are over but yearly physicals are scheduled for February. It’s looks like cold and snow and growing old or vintage will continue this week and I definitely will be in the studio. Tomorrow a new number will be drawn for the Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge and I am ready. I have a lot of projects I would like to make from this list.