Happy Endings and Great Beginnings

I’m a little late with my Post to recap my 2025 projects and my 2026 plans but then this is the year I don’t want to be stressed or restricted with schedules and deadlines. In the past, on New Years Day, I sat in front of the TV to watch the Rose Bowl Parade and compiled my lists of completions and plans but somehow the last few years I forgot about this ritual, especially forgetting about the parade. I did watch the parade on New Year’s Day but was disappointed since it rained and the floats and marchers didn’t look as pretty and the next day I finally compiled my lists.

In 2025, I finished 29 quilts and 10 flimsies which I am pleased since I thought my production was down from previous year but then I did finished some pretty big projects. The photo above represents the five quilts which received the most views, three were made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics and the bottom two quilts were made with fabrics which did not sit on my shelf for more than five years. Seventeen quilts were lap size or larger and 12 were wall or table runners. Six were UFOs, Seven were made from newer fabrics, Nine were made from stash over five years old and seven were made from scraps. To bore you with more details, five were made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics and four with Marcia Derse and Ruby Star fabrics. Most of the quilts were on the colorful side with four made with my next favorite color combinations of black, brown and tan. You can view my wonderful makes Here. I do have to mention again that my most challenging quilt finished is the one I can’t show until later this year, sorry.

As for my 2026 plans, I have five lists: Flimsies to be machine quilted (I have 16), UFOs (12 projects), Scraps by Designers (8), Stash (12 Designers) and Patterns (10). I compile these list so I can review what needs to be finished which calms Eunice, my Studio Tormentor and what the Studio Squirrels can throw at me. Happily after my UFO list was compiled, I later learned that Mary Etherington, Country Threads, has resumed her annual Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge starting as of January 1st (it used to be July 1st) and I have been a happy participant in the past. What’s so funny and coincidental about this is that I had already planned to sew a UFO as my first project to start the year. Mary pulled #12 for January so I decided this project as my #12. The Master Quilt Holder had the honor of randomly numbering my UFO list which he took quite seriously.

Would you believe I have a flimsy finish for #12. One of these fabrics shown is one I purchased 20 years ago, can you guess which one. I am pretty sure this will be a finally finish by the end of January and will then post more pics and details.

I already have my first Finally Finish for 2026 which was not on any lists. I made this fleece throw on January 2nd with Chicago Bear fleece purchased again twenty years ago. I came across this fleece while rummaging through one of my bins and pulled it out several months ago. I thought this would be a good time now to make a simple throw since the Chicago Bears are the NFL Central Division Champs. I’m gifting this to Demando, who is a Paramedic/Fire Fighter in the town which may be the new home if the team relocates. I felt so good after I made this, it was a sew/soul cleansing.

During the first few days of the new year, I’ve already “lost” fabric; my National Park stash which I have been promising my niece a quilt. After spending an hour trying to find it, I decided that I was not going to get stressed and  have accepted the idea that my niece got tired of waiting and contacted her cousin Demando who gave her the fabric. I’ll be giving him some side eye when he picks up his Chicago Bear throw.

We’re experiencing some crazy weather right now, first the normal cold Wintery weather and by next week there will be warm weather in the fifties and sixties depending upon which house I’ll be at. I prefer the traditional Winter weather which is great for staying home and sewing because I have some great projects lined up.

P.S. The new year is definitely starting out great because I remembered how to add the 2026 Quilts and Projects Tab on my Blog. Sometimes I amaze myself.

Up To Sew Good In December

Even though there there is more than a week left in December, I am ready to call it a month since we will be leaving for the GP House to spend Christmas the darling Granddaughter and her father whose birthday is the day after. In my last Post,  I mentioned that the only goal I had for December was  to finish my secret sewing project which I did. I also finished the two wall quilts, which were an unexpected make, plus a BFF (Big Flimsy Finish).

First up are the two wall quilts made using MMMquilts Arabesque Pattern which Sandra recently released. Back in mid November, Sandra had asked if I would like to test this pattern but I was unable to with the upcoming holidays plus needing to finish my secret sewing project, so I said I would be available to sew it in January. She did find other Testers so she could release the Arabesque patttern and sent it to me in early December. What caught my eye was she mentioned that a smaller version could be made with fewer rounds which I knew I could make if I had the right fabrics. Several days later,  I made the two wall quilts with fabric found in the Holiday stash. At first I was tempted to use traditional prints, Robyn Pandolph’s Cottage Rose Christmas but I already had a quilt made with these fabrics and wanted to use more modern prints with the Arabeque pattern

The first quilt I made, not surprisingly, was with Halloween prints. I already had made two Halloween quilts in October and would have made more if I didn’t need to make Christmas quilts. When I was putting away the Halloween fabrics, I found two Ruby Star Society Halloween prints which I wished I had used and remember them and thought they would work well with the Arabesque pattern.

I will mention that I did make a few changes with the pattern by using strips of a colorful print instead of making pieced rows. I based the colors used for this quilt on the Lil Monsters print by Melody Miller. I do love the Pumpkin print from the Spooky Darling fabric lines designed by Alexa Abregg and used it twice by adding a border. I named this quilt Happy FAlloweenGiving since I thought this could be hung up until after Thanksgiving and I wouldn’t mind seeing these little monsters around my dinner table. The only fabric which isn’t a Ruby Star Society print is the black and white stripe used for the binding. I machine quilted with my favorite quadrant straight lines using #2600 Aurifil Silver thread. Happy FWG quilt measures 34” square and was a very fast make.

I enjoyed making the Happy FWG quilt so much that I made another one using mostly Basic Grey Christmas prints.  I named this one Wild Winter and is more seasonal than just Christmas and could hang on the wall until the Valentine quilts are hung. It’s already has a place in the Family Room wall.

I found two prints, the red deer and black stripe multi color dots from the Jovial fabric line, which I now wish I purchased more than the 1/2 yardage, since I love the other prints from this line. I thought these would work along with other Grunge prints plus the multi-color Hoffman Zoo Keeper print. I made it the same way as the Happy FWG quilt but machine quilted it differently with diagonal lines in two different directions and in the ditch. I used #6001 Aurifil Yellow/Gold thread. (On a side note, when I was in my black fabric bin looking for a backing, right underneath the metallic gold/black fabric I chose, was the black print I was searching for mentioned a few post ago—spooky and no salty language used) Winter also measures 34” square. I really like the Arabesque pattern and planning on making more seasonal wall quilts. It’s nice to be able to have a finished quilt in one or two days; definitely easier to machine quilt a 34” square quilt.

As mentioned before in the Post, my secret sewing project is finished but the quilt won’t be revealed until next year. It definitely is one of my Top Three Challenges for 2025.

In my September Post, I mentioned my Messy Hexies project which I have been working on and off for over eight years. I wanted to have a flimsy made by the end of the year and I am excited that I met this goal. I really love it now and I wasn’t planning on making this 75”x85”. This definitely will be machine quilted with straight and diagonal lines since I don’t want to add another eight years by hand quilting it.

I am looking forward to spending the last days of December celebrating the holidays with family and friends. If I do write another Post before the end of the year, it will probably be a recap of my quilt projects and my future plans for 2026. I know I have plenty of projects to keep me busy and hoping my studio squirrels wont find any new ones. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

A Sew Nice November

It was a very productive November with four Finally Finishes and one Flimsy made. Surprisingly, only one was planned and the other ones were inspired by the scraps and leftover blocks found in their respective bins. At the beginning of November, I was still under the influence of the Dear Tula #2 Scrap Vortex Quilt and kept finding more projects in the brown/tan/black scrap box. I made a wall quilt and a twin size flimsy which I would have quilted if I didn’t realized that it was the middle of the month and I had to start making a Christmas table runner needed for the living room. I like to start decorating by December 1st and it was arriving quickly in my head. It turned out that even more inspirations were found in the Christmas stash to make two additional quilts with the leftover blocks and scraps from previous projects.

The first project completed and unplanned was the Taupe Baskets wallhanging/table runner. While I was preparing the fabrics for the Dear Tula II Scrap Vortex quilt, I came upon leftovers or block remains from past projects and a fat quarter of the basket print which I don’t remember purchasing. 

I had set aside these fabrics several years ago not knowing what I was going to make with them. I knew that I did not want to cut up the basket print and thought now to use a 16”x18” cut as the main focus for a table runner. I ended up eliminating some of the lighter prints on the left and found some replacements stashed in other bins. A story for another day is I was needing one more dark print, preferably a Japanese Homespun, and remembered that had received some unexpectedly from Mary Etherington six years ago. I made my Scrappy Sixpatch Quilt from the scraps Mary had sent and still had some left. I now have much more which as I mentioned before will be a project for next year.

Here’s a close-up of the basket print which is from the Taupeism fabric line. I did do a search online to find out more about the print but nothing was found. Really, I was hoping to purchase additional prints but in the end I was happy with what I had. Initially, Taupe Baskets was going to be a table runner but is now a wallhanging in my hallway where it is hanging around the other wall quilts made with similar fabrics and colors. It measures 28” x 50” and was a quick and easy make with the meandering machine quilting.

Also found alongside the Taupe Basket fabrics were leftover blocks from the Disappearing 9 patch quilt I made for a Grandniece eleven years ago. I decided to make a number of patches needed to make 35 blocks  or a 65”x91” twin size quilt. Fortunately, most of the scraps in the brown/tan/black bin are from this quilt. I would have finished this quilt if I hadn’t realized that I needed to start on some Merry Makings.

I am pretty pleased with myself for having completed these three during the last half of November which involved a lot of non-quilting busyness. Can you guess which one was machine quilted and bound several days while the darling Granddaughter was staying at our house, a wallhanging made from a block which was at least seven years old and a table runner made from a fabric collection purchased last year?

I won’t keep you in suspense. This table runner was made with Dashwood Studio Candy Cane line along with Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics using a modified version of Villa Rose Designs Clover pattern. I mentioned in previous posts how much I love this pattern and how easy it is to modify it in order to use the fabrics you already have. The table runner measures 22”x38” and is needed for the living room which during Christmas, all the quilts were made from Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star fabrics. The only holdout was the table runner on the coffee table and last year I made plans to finally make a new one this year.

Of course, while combing through the Christmas stash, I came across the 12” Tree block made in 2017 and was designed by April Adam, Janda Bend Quilts for that year’s I Wish You a Merry Quilt Along. This was one of the few blocks I made from this quilt along and had planned to use it with some other orphan Christmas block which I never got along to sewing. Divine inspiration to make it a wall hanging finally struck and I just needed a few strips and squares from other projects to make it a 23” square. April named this block Christmas Tree Farm, which is appropriate since she owns one and I did play Taylor Swift’s Christmas Tree Farm while hand quilting. I just love how this turned out and this will be hanging up in the hallway at the GP House.

Last, but not the very least, is the Reindeer Lane made possible with a past Christmas quilt and fabric purchases.

I was surprised when I realized that this Hoot and Loot Quilt was made five years ago. My original plan to make this with only the eight patch rail blocks and the Hoot and Loot fabric but decided to add the pinwheel blocks which meant 24 rail blocks were not needed. Most of these were made from Me and My Sister Red Dot and Dash fabric line and I thought if I ordered additional yardage from their fabric line this year, Reindeer Games, I could make just a Christmas bed quilt of rail blocks for the darling Granddaughter.

Normally, I like to include a pic of all of the fabrics gathered for the making of a quilt, but in my haste to finish it before the month ends, I forgot to take one. These photos show the new Reindeer Game fabrics purchased, the red ribbon weave, green diagonal stripe, red and green plus, and the Reindeer dot. In order to make this a 56”x72” quilt, I needed to use additional fat quarters of Kate Spain’s Merry, Merry fabric line along with a Robert Kaufman Sloth Christmas print, a Basic Grey text print and some other red and green prints found in the stash. I wanted to include some plain 8” blocks with the rail blocks but decided a pieced block of two coordinating 4”x8”(f) rectangles would worked. Rather than a random layout, I thought a controlled layout with two rows of the Reindeer block, top and bottom,and one row of the rectangle blocks with the Kate Spain houses in the center would work with the fabric I had. Rather than alternate the  red and green rail blocks individually, they are set in vertical rows, creating a lane effect which is why I names this quilt Reindeer Lane. I thought it was also a nice address name for the row of houses in the Kate Spain Print.

Since the Kate Spain and Sloth prints had some gray in it, backing it with a light gray chenille plush was perfect. This is a thin plush, not so luscious, which the Pellon soy batting was used to add some weight. The flimsy was finished right before we left for the GP House to bring back the darling Granddaughter to spend Thanksgiving with us. I didn’t think I would be able to machine quilt it while she was here, but wonders happen during the night when she is sleeping. I usually don’t sew at night while at the GP House but maybe I will now. Machine quilting and binding went well, no problems, the darling Granddaughter should come to our house more often.

I thought I would close this Post with the darling Granddaughter, the Novice Quilt Holder holding up Christmas Tree Farm. It did not go well. Thanks to three photo app and along with the experience of creating graphics of Sandra, mmmquilts, I was able to photo edit this pic. Maybe I should learn AI.

I only have one project to complete in December which is to machine quilt my secret project. Once that’s done, I’m sure I can find other projects which are always popping up in the studio. Now that Thanksgiving have been enjoyed and now over, we will be traveling back with the darling Granddaughter and her father to the GP House tomorrow. Unfortunately, we will be driving after our area has been under a Winter Storm Watch and hopefully the roads will be cleared. I am so not ready for Winter weather and the only way to enjoy the cold and snow is to be inside and happily making quilts.

October SewFest

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If you can see from this collage, I had a very productive October with six Finally Finishes; three large quilts and three small quilts. It seems that I still wasn’t done sew-lebrating Halloween with one large and three small quilts made. Also, I machine quilted two recently made large flimsies. Out of the six, only one was made with very recently purchased fabric less than a week old which is something I don’t do very often. One was an UFO, well over ten years old and the others made from simmering stash and scraps. Even though there are several days left in October, I decided I had enough for a Post and will try to be brief in explaining these howling makes.

In my last Post, I had mentioned the darling Granddaughter did not have a Halloween quilt for her bed at the GP House and was contemplating if I should bring the Minnick & Simpson Scary Cat twin sized quilt. But I remembered that she loves her bed quilts backed with plush and decided to make her another Eerie Unruly Quilt, made over four years ago and used in the living room at the GP House during Halloween. Since I had enough scraps from this quilt as well as other fun prints from the stash which would go well, the bed quilt was quickly made. I think I’ve mentioned in the past, My Quilt Infatuation Unruly Pattern is one of my favorite patterns for fun fabrics as well as a fast and easy make.

Here as some close-ups of Eerie Unruly II and my favorite plush was used. Sadly, I only have a few small pieces of this wonderful gray plush left which I will definitely use for future Baby Boomer Blankies. Eerie Unruly II measures 56”x 75”.

Here’s some pics of the Darling Granddaughter snuggling with her new bed quilt and a photo of the two Eerie Unruly Quilts together on the front porch. I have to mention that the three nights she spent at the GP House, the darling Granddaughter slept an average of 10+ hours each night.

I purchased a fat quarter bundle, during the beginning of October, of Ruby Star Society Good Spirits. I had to make a modified version of Villa Rosa Design’s Clover pattern which is wonderful for either a wall hanging or table runner. This measures 22”X 33” and is hanging in the hallway.

While doing some tidying up in the Studio and being in the Halloween mood, I remembered I made a Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) wall hanging flimsy maybe fifteen years ago while I was still working at the local community college. I had planned to give it to the Latinas Unitas group but sadly never finished it. I was lucky to find just enough strips of the purple swirl fabrics for the binding. This quilt measures 29” square and hanging up at the GP House.

While looking in my Halloween stash for the Eerie Unruly II quilt, I happened upon this cute Indygo Junction Trick or Treat Vintage Workshop print which I had forever and other fabrics which I thought I would use to make four quilt as you go table mats. I came to my senses quickly when I realized I didn’t want to use these fabrics for table mats and decided instead to make a quick 20” square wall hanging. I am very proud that I made bias binding, although way too much and finally glad to have finally made something with ths cute Halloween print.

Back in August when I had an awesome month of making flimsies from stash sitting too long on my shelf,  I made the Birds and the Bees from a collection of yellow, gold,, black and gray prints inspired by the Joel Dewberry Aviary 2 prints.

A simple rail quilt was made from twelve fabrics and the bars were cut 6” x 20”.

I would have loved to have used a plush fabric for the backing but didn’t because I had yardage of an Anna Griffin gold and gray print which was saved together with the other fabrics for the backing. Since this quilt will be given to a good friend of the youngest son, the binding was finished by hand. The Birds and the Bees quilt measures 60” x 80” (approx.). I still have some fabric left to make a small wall/door hanging, Clover style, for me.

In August, I started making a Scrap Vortex quilt which was an easy project to sew while at the GP House. It was still in the panel stage when I brought it home so I could hang it up on my design wall since there isn’t one in the GP House.

The panels were hung on the window blinds which worked in the beginning. When the last panel, the bottom center was ready to be made, I needed to take it home  so the panels could be laid out properly to determine the size and fabric scraps to use.

All of the fabrics for this Scrap Vortex quilt was made from these six quilts, especially the Dear Tula Pink Quilt (top right) made over eight years ago. I had made forty-one duplicate blocks and used them in this quilt which I now named Dear Tula #2. 

The first quilt measures 54” x 70” (approx.) and Dear Tula #2 60” x 80”. For this quilt, I finally used my roll of Pellon Soy Batting purchased several years and avoided using since it looked like soy sauce sprayed on it instead of the clean batting I’m usually use. But I am now fond of this batting, it was just the right light weight (similar to Quilter’s Dream) and the machine quilting was smooth. I did have a few puckers but was caused by late night heavy pedal speeding and not paying attention. I did wavy lines in a CT Variegated Brown Thread on the front and Sandstone for the back. Would you believe after sewing hundred of patches together, I was really procrastinating on the backing. I really wanted to use yardage but I channeled my Kelly Young, My Quilt Infatuation, Perfectly Pieced Quilt Back energy and made my pieced backing I call Iron and Lace. It does feel good to finally use fabric from the stash which otherwise might not ever be used.

Here are some pics o the Two Dear Tulas together. I still love these fabrics and still have lots of scraps left. I do have blocks left from the other quilts made above so another quilt could be made. Also, I’m thinking another Terry Rowland scrap quilt would be nice in these colors. It looks like I can bring back the brown bin back to the GP House but maybe after a little break since this second quilt made this year with these colors. I have some Christmas runners/wall hangings planned—can you guess the pattern?

If you’re wondering which one is my favorite make for the month, it might be the one I had the perfect song to sing while making it. Afterwards, I mentioned to The Master Quilt Holder, he should sing it with his band mate when performing at the retirement homes. I think the kazoos are a wonderful accompaniment to The Birds and the Bees song.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Linking up with: My Quilt Infatuation/NTT

Sew Sew September

Most of September was spent on my secret sewing project for the upcoming Holiday and I was able to have a flimsy finish by the last week. This gave me a few days to finish two UFOs started last year which was needed since I was falling behind my goal of having two finishes each month.

The first Finally Finish was a patchwork blankie for the darling Granddaughter which I thought would be needed at her main house. She really enjoys sleeping under the one at the GP House and I made plans to make her one last year but only got as far as cutting and laying out the 4.5” patches. I wanted to make sure this would be finished this year before the cold weather begins. This patchwork blankie measures 56”x72” and was backed with a wonderful pink plush with a tiny rose texture. Wavy lines were machine quilted along the seam lines with a bumble gum pink polyester thread. The pink mini gingham check was found in the binding drawer. This really was a quick make and finish and just what I needed to sew after the secret flimsy was finished.

The second Finally Finish was this Halloween table runner made with mostly Minnick & Simpson’s Scary Cat fabric lines which has been in my stash for at least ten years. The pattern is a modified Villa Rosa Designs Clover pattern and is one of my favorite patterns to make when a table runner or wall hanging is needed. Machine quilting was quick with straight and cross-hatch quilting with black Aurifil thread 40wt. The citronickle dot binding was already made and I must have scrounged up whatever I had left in the stash since most of the strips were only 10” - 18” long. Hand sewing the binding was just finished this afternoon. This table runner measures approximately 24” x 44” and just the right size to cover the ottoman in the family room.

Here’s a pic of the twin sized quilt made over ten years ago from the same fabric collection except for the border which is now gracing the quilting rack in the family room. I’ve forgotten how big this quilt was and a fat quarter bundle of this fabric line must have been purchased. I still have enough scraps and chunks left to make another table runner and I have to say these fabrics still are fun to look at. Maybe I should bring this to the GP House so the darling granddaughter could have a Halloween quilt on her bed for once.

While at the GP House during September, I’ve been sewing a lap size Scrap Vortex quilt with scraps and leftover blocks from several quilts made with brown, black, tan, gold, taupe and light fabrics. I just need to make a middle panel for the bottom and will still have plenty of scraps left. I should plan to make a scrappy backing with the yardage.

I’ve been needing a hand sewing project to do during the evening while watching TV and once again have started working on what I call the messy hexie project which was started before the darling granddaughter was born. Several years ago I realized that I may have sewn the hexies together wrong by sewing flowers together and after watching Kate/The Last Homely House videos, the hexies should have been sewn together by rows. I’ve been taking apart flowers and laid them into rows so I finally have an a rectangle. I’m thinking and hoping that the flimsy will be finished by the end of the year.

Here’s a pic of my fabric fun for September. My Quilt Peep Mary vacationed in the Northwest and brought back requested bundles of fabrics from the Stitching Post in Sisters, Oregon. The bottom fat quarters are Valeri Wells Findings collection and I’m thinking would make either a door hanging or table runner. The fabrics on the left is Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Washi Tape II which I am so excited because I’ve been forever wanting her to reissue her Washi Tape print. This is one of the two prints on my list that I’d wished I had bought when it was first released and every time when I communicated with her I would mention this. Unbeknownst to me I did not know this fabric was being released so I made sure to buy a fat quarter bundle and yardage of this collection. And yes, I did send Rashida a comment thanking her and I already have a pattern in mind; maybe another Clover pattern?

Or maybe I will find a project from her latest book I received before knowing her Washi Tape II fabric was being released. BTW,  none of the products mentioned in this Post are affiliate links.

Next week after we return from the GP house, I will be prepping the secret flimsy for machine quilting. I will need to first sew the backing which the fabric was found in the backing vault. Once this is finished, it will definitely be one of my Top 3 finishes for 2025 but I can’t reveal it until next Spring. I will say that Fear of Jen Kingwell or Faint of Elizabeth Hartman patterns are no more.

One last thing, I almost wasn’t going to have a September Post because Blogger once again was  acting weird. Prior to my last Post, I re-added my subscribing box which I had inadvertently removed and thought I must have done something wrong since the traffic/views were too heavy. Normally, I have at least 100 views but in the past four weeks there has been over 4,500 views. According to Google, nothing to worry about,  it may be something to do with increasing blog traffic  and YouTube.

It’s time to end this Post now because my iPad is acting up. I’m still waiting for Demando to help me purchase a new one.