A Nada Tada January

With just a few hours left in January, I’m finally writing a Post. This is the first January since I started blogging in 2016 that I do not have a Finally Finished, Nada, no Tada, but I was busy. The three projects in the above collage were all inspired by Kate/The Last Homely House which I will provide some details.

I was thinking that Jinny Janome, my sewing machine, would not be turned on in January but today, the last day, I decided that I would finally sew the side borders to my Kaffe Fassett Tumbling Blocks so that I could have at least a flimsy finish. I started the EPP quilt in late November after seeing the Tumbling Block quilt Kate was making with Liberty fabrics but mine was going to be made with Kaffe Fassett and larger EPP blocks. I’m pretty proud that I finished this flimsy in less than three months. I also sewed the backing today and plan on basting it this weekend so I can start hand quilting which I am pretty sure it is going to take longer than three months since it measures 58”x72”. 

It took me awhile to finally wrap my head around making the Terry Rowland 3” scrap blocks but once I started, they are addicting to sew. Normally 3” blocks are just too small but I am finding these to be rather sweet. The first batch of blocks I made were first rotary cut which definitely is not my favorite thing to do and my second batch of strips were die-cut, much faster. I sewed these blocks when I’m at the GP House and have sewn 250 of the 650 blocks needed to make a 75” square quilt.

When I was looking through my 2025 The Last Homely House Calendar in December, the photo for November caught my eye which had a mat for a teapot. Even though Kate is offering a tutorial, I couldn’t wait until November, so I went through a rabbit hole trying to find out what these mats were called and found my answers on YouTube and Pinterest. These are called standing wool mats or quillies and was just a project I needed to fulfill one of my 2025 goals to use up some of my wool stash. Last week, the Peeps and I spent a lovely day making these with 1/2” or 1” strips cut. I have to mention that most of my wool stash was gifted to me from my Peeps. The quillies are also addicting to make and I am so glad I’m finally using my wool; I’ve been checking out rug hooking on YouTube and Pinterest.

I am pretty proud that during January, I did not purchase any new fabric and hope to continue doing this, especially this is one of my 2025 goals. Also, I decided to limit my social media presence by only viewing FB and IG posts and also making my Blog private. I have a core group of twenty-five readers and have created a custom group so they can continue to read my Posts. By doing this, I am finding that I have less pressure and feeling more freer to sew whatever and not focus too much on finishes this year.