Goals for 2025 - First Quarter

Don't you just love fresh starts? A new year is like a Mulligan for another, well, another new year! I always feel disappointed when I ask someone if they have made any resolutions. They too often reply with a no.

I often do not meet my goals either but find it great motivation to list them and shoot for achievement. So listed are a few goals I have for my efforts with needle and thread. 

These are my Top Fab Four goals for the first quarter in 2025. Reasonable goals I think that can surely be met. And I like narrowing these down to yearly quarters. I find it keeps me focused.

1. Hidden Log Cabin. This was a sew along with the online Stashbusters io group. This took place during the week between Christmas (Dec 25th) and New Years (Jan 1). The pattern was presented by Moonkin Stitchery on YouTube and is made using random strips, a jelly roll, or layer cake. I am presently working on this to get it to a flimsey stage so it is ready for my long-arm quilter. I am just a few hours (and seams) away! 

2. T-Shirt Quilt. Oh yes, this is numero uno as it is for my darling grand daughter who is graduating in May. I must have this top completed at least by March so it can go to my long-arm quilter and be done Done by May. ♥ Yep, they are still in the bin but not for long! I have an idea in my head and anxious to get started.

 

3. Strip it Earth. Love this Garlic Knot type pattern all done in earth-tone solids. I am adding a few solids of my own to expand this quilt into a queen size top. 

 

 

4. Jay Bird BOM with Olive Grace. I enjoy working on this in the evenings as it is hand embroidery. Once I catch up on that It will move up into getting pieced and quilted. Stay tuned. This one is a beauty!!

I "sew" miss the Finish-Alongs with SewCanShe. They were popular back in the early 2010s. And such great motivators and sources of inspiration! I think Linky parties have replaced them today. Am I wrong? Please let me know if you are aware of any. 

Happy stitching!

2024 Finishes

Sauerkraut and pork roast is in the oven and now is a  good time to list my finishes for 2024. It was a fairly good year for finishing UFOs. Not as many as previous years but that is how they sometimes fall. I had one new start (Betty) which was also finished. Aren't I just the disciplined quilter - finishing new projects so they don't carry over into another year? Ha! Should I mention the ones that I started but didn't finish??

2024 = a total of 8 finishes, and I busted through 89 yards of stash. In no particular order: 

 

1. Merry Mayhem's New Year Mystery - Twist and Shout, 52"x63"  8 yards

2. Merry Mayhem's Mystery Expanded - started in 2016, 85"x85"  12.81 yards

3. Scrappy Quilted Forest Block - a new start, 72"x88" 14 yards

 

4. Betty, Takes 2 Charm Packs QAL, 52"x64"  8 yards

5. Dear Jane Siggies Quilt, Handquilted, 71"x78"  11.2 yards

6. Wee Wonderland, 76"x76", 13 yards

7. Vortex, 74"x79" 11 yards

8. Traffic Jam 71"x71" 11 yards

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A heads up on a few Quilt and Sew-Alongs coming up this new year. Links for these may not work as they come down a few weeks after posting but are available for purchase.

1. Merry Mayhem's Square Dance. Two clues have already been posted and with the prep work out of the way, it is straight sewing during new year's day as each clue is revealed hourly.

2. Scrapdash New Year's Day Mystery. Likewise, fabric requirements and cutting directions have been posted so you can be ready to sew during the first day of 2025.

3. Olde Town, Bonnie Hunter's famous yearly mystery is ongoing with the big reveal expected soon. As of today, her 8th step has been posted on her quips and snips blog.

4.Border Creek Station will soon be posting their 2025 Stashbuster Challenge block pattern.

5. Charming Spirals at Rona the Ribbiter is hosting a winter sew along from January 22 through February 6 using nearly all precuts. Register on her site for free patterns emailed to you weekly.

6.Hidden Log Cabins is a sew along with the Stashbusters online group. I am trying to wrap mine up before the midnight hour...

 

Happy stitching and Happy New Year!!

 

Vortex Finish - a happy surprise

This quilt project goes back a few years. Not sure of the exact date. The idea came about from Crazy Mom Quilts.  Sadly she does not blog anymore and has since moved on with her life. Of course that is not really sad, but I miss reading her blog and her fresh ideas. So that is where this quilt idea came from. 

I initially was not very pleased with its end result as a quilt top. It has been hanging for a few years waiting to be quilted. I even considered tearing some units apart and framing/sashing them with a solid color to give the eye a place to rest. After having it quilted and the binding is now on, I have fell in love with it. ♥ 

So many fabrics that bring back memories of previous quilts and sewing projects. Some of which I no longer have possession of because they have been given away. Little crumb pieces, some larger pieces, leftover scraps both big and small - yes they all went into it. What is not to love, right?

 

So now she is ready for snuggling under and reminiscing on old quilt projects. I always say I'll have to make another, but this one I would REALLY like to make another. Karen Brown from Get It Done Quilts has an excellent project using crumb pieces. How about a million zillion scrap pieces? This may be my next work in progress as those crumbs just seem to accumulate. (I can't throw scrap fabrics away) I'm imagining this quilt would weigh a ton!

More close ups of my Vortex:

Can you find any familiar fabrics that are may be in your stash?

 

So my Vortex Quilt is my 8th finish this year (most likely my last for 2024) and I busted through 11 yards of stash bringing my total for 2024 to 89 yards! Actually, I have no idea how many yards went into this quilt but comparing it to my last finish, Traffic Jam - which used 11 yards - it is a good guess. This Vortex quilt is larger than Traffic Jam and has so many more pieces, so it surely has more but that is where I am settling with it.

As every quilter can attest, I also have future projects to work on and dream about. Are you making plans for your new year in your sewing room too? I have already began my list and the year is not over so I may be adding to it.  (Merry Mayhem just posted her New Year's Day Mystery). My UFOs are gradually decreasing, so that is a good thing. I am trying to keep up with what I start and pick off those old unfinished ones. At present, my count of UFOs are at number 21 and that does not include the 8 that are hanging up ready to be quilted. I'm saving those to be hand quilted.

I'm presently hand quilting my Partridge in a Pear Tree wall-hanging. It was a project featured in the Quilter's Newsletter Magazine many years ago. I purchased this half finished project at a quilter's "garage sale". Yeah, imagine buying a UFO when you have a closet full of them! It was so pretty though. And challenging. So why not? Besides, its previous owner, Mary Huey is a quilter I follow and adore. She inspires me! And is an excellent teacher. I hope she is happy with my work.

My Partridge in a Pear Tree is all assembled (after much whining and hissy fits because those dang paper pieced pear blocks were "The Challenge!") and it is being hand quilted now. Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas but if not, it will be for next year's. I am not stressing over such things anymore. It is the joy in the journey that we work, right? 

 

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate our Lord's birth. So thankful that He came to teach us how to live (love), and died to free us from the slavery of sin. Immanuel. God is with us!

Happy stitching!

Traffic Jam in Mid-Fall

Are you ready for the cold days of winter? It gets pretty frigid here in NE Ohio with lake effect snow off Lake Erie. We are pretty much caught up on our outdoor chores and are somewhat ready. I am actually looking forward to some cold snowy days because that means Sew Days at my house!

 

I just finished my scrappy Traffic Jam quilt that was a quilt-along with Pat Sloan several years ago. This was a fun and easy project that will eat up scraps. Mine finished at 71" x 71" and it used up 11 yards of stash.

I found this stray block in the orphan pile so I decided it would make a nice eye-catching label for the back.

This makes my 7th finish this year and I have busted through a total of 78 yards of fabric. Not sure if I will make 100 yards but I'll try.

 

Another finish I made is with a panel I purchased at last summer's All Ohio Shop Hop.  It is called Origins, designed by Jamie Kalvestran, but I like to call mine Elijah's Ravens. Do you remember the story of Elijah and how he was sustained in the wilderness by ravens bringing him bread and meat in the mornings and evenings? It really was a miracle when you realize that ravens are very independent and would not ordinarily bring food to anyone. They are known to neglect  their own young but they did take care of God's prophet, Elijah.

This is a pretty fabric line. You can find Jamie's fabrics and patterns here. And hey, how do you like that blue painters tape holding up the wall-hanging? Haa! It is on my hubster's list to hang a quilt rack made for me by my darling son-in-law. That wall should work well since it doesn't get too much direct sunlight.

So that is two finishes this month. Bumping up that total yardage used to 81 yards and 8 finishes for 2024. (Elijah's Ravens used only 3 yards of fabric.)

Not much else to report in the way of quilting this month. Its been kind of a slow season in the sewing room. But it might get busy soon. Bonnie Hunter is teasing us with her Old Town Winter Mystery.  Expect the first clue the day after Thanksgiving. And aren't we thankful for Bonnie's free gift?

Happy stitching!

A Finish in the Middle of a Busy Season

It is apple season! So thrilled to have so many apples but they come with a lot of work as we harvest them. Too bad I did not record how many bushels we have already picked but a conservative guess would be at least 20 bushels. And there are so many more on the trees yet.

Our Cortland and Liberty apples make great pies, applesauce, and (my favorite) jelly! But washing, sorting, and chopping is a lot of work! And I'd hate to see them go to waste.

Here they are ready to put in the stock pot to cook down and strain, once cooled, for apple jelly juice. Because there is so much pectin in apples, you really do not need to add sure-gel, but I have not mastered the skill of knowing exactly when it reaches the jell stage.

A reliable candy thermometer would be helpful. My mother was an awesome jelly maker. Her jellies were perfect. They were jelled, but yet so soft. And melted once it was spooned on toast. Mmmm.

Fall is coming upon us quickly and there is much more to do:  putting the gardens to bed, and preparing for cold weather. I'll be happy when it is finished and I can get back in the sewing room guilt free! Yay!

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I have had this quilt finished for a couple of weeks now but have been unable to get a post up to report it. The pattern is called Wee Wonderland and is a super easy pattern to use up a layer cake with.

Basically you just cut a layer cake and a 10" square of a background fabric into a nine patch. Use varying widths each time and you get - not wonky - but irregular shaped 9-patches. Can you spot the "negative" matches? By rotating the blocks you can mix it up even more.

I loved how it turned out and will keep this technique in mind for a future quick project using up my layer cakes I have stored in the pre-cut drawer.

The fabric line was Moda's Bee My Honey and I got lucky to find a yard remnant on ebay for the borders. 

It measures 76" x 76" and I used up 13 yards of stash. This makes my 6th finish this year and a grand total of 67 yards busted out of my stash.

I still have a binding pile upstairs to attack. And my Strip in Earth is all cut and ready to sew together. Isn't it fun knowing you have something cut and ready by the machine so you can sit down and make some serious progress? My motivation is to get it to a flimsy so I can begin Christmas sewing and a challenge project from my quilt guild. But those apples...

Happy stitching!

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Did you know?

Did you know that for every weed you pull in the fall - you have killed 7 weeds in the spring? How is that for incentive? It helps when you have chickens with fluffy butts that love scratching and picking through a bucket of pulled weeds that are tossed into their yard. They just purr and cluck in contentment.

Meadow Mist SAL Finish

Cheryl Bickey from Meadow Mist Designs featured a sew-a-long last spring using her book, Just Two Charm Packs. I participated in that sew along, but did not get mine finished by her deadline. Nonetheless, it is finished today and I love the result.

The pattern is called Betty. It is a granny square type design and the Moda charm packs I used were Field Notes, by Blackbird Designs. A Kona banana solid was used for the sashings and the borders. I was lucky to find a yard of the large floral print in the same design line on ebay to frame the quilt nicely. The backing is a bird toile type fabric that I sewed the two lengths together to make it doubly wide enough to cover the entire quilt. The label is sewn in the corner and now it is done.

Its finished size is 52" x 64" which is a nice throw size. And I used a total of 8 yards of stash to make it.

There are plenty more ideas for using up charm packs in Cheryl's book, Just Two Charm Packs.  I may have to revisit that book since I have plenty more charm packs in sets of 2, 3, and even 4. Most of which were purchased during quilt shop closing sales.

 

Although we tend to think that charm packs are a quick and cheap purchase (ranging between 9$-12$) they are actually premium priced when you figure what you are actually getting with those 42 5" squares. They layout to about 25" of a regular width of fabric. That is slightly over a half yard. But we do get an entire line of fabrics that all coordinate with one another. And they are fun to work with because of that. 

This Betty quilt makes my 5th finish this year bumping my total of stash used to 54 yards.

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The garden is beginning to give us fresh produce. It is always fun to go out and see what is ready for picking and plan our evening meal around what is available. We often eat just veggies for supper during the growing season. Just add some crusty bread and its a meal! Do you eat likewise in the summer?

Right now we are picking green beans (long tender filets), zucchini, and cucumbers. This year our "try something new" was Armenian Cucumbers. 

 

Armenian cucumbers are the long light green ones you see above. They are from the melon family but tastes like cucumbers and grow in hot weather.  I just found a recipe for cucumber bread that I want to try. 

Stay safe. Enjoy your summer and garden. And happy stitching!

Siggie Finish in Hot July

It has been a long journey getting this quilt done but I am so happy to announce its finish today! I still have a large box of siggies (Signature blocks) from the years 2004, 2005 and 2007 but that is a story for another day. A lot of people exchanged blocks those years and there are enough for another two quilts at least.

But for this one, I gathered up the blocks I had for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 siggie block exchange to make this quilt. Participation sure dropped off during those years. I sashed each square block with colors separating the years: A soft yellow borders the 2010 year; A teal borders the 2011's; and a light pink borders the 2012s. 

It is 12 blocks wide and 13 blocks long making its total of 156 unique and different blocks, all signed and embellished by their makers.

 

Because of those embellishments, I had to make the decision to hand quilt it. There is no way a machine quilter would attempt quilting this with the various buttons and tidbits sewn on.

But that is what made this quilt so much fun to work on. All those embellishments would spark creative ideas for the quilting. Each block lent itself to individual quilting designs according to the theme or fabric design. 

I found I was looking forward to my evenings quilting this lovely quilt project. It was never boring and it was always thought provoking. I often wondered about each block maker and where she is today. Is she still quilting? Where is she on her Dear Jane journey? Has she assembled her "siggie" quilt? How did she lay out its design?

I also found that I really, really, LOVE  hand quilting!! I am not the best at the art. My stitches are not tiny and often they are not consistent in length, but the whole quilt drapes so nicely. It is so soft and it is so cozy!! I often ran my hands over the stitches enjoying the feel of this quilt. I am already thinking about which quilt to hand quilt next.

The borders were quilted in simple triangles with echo quilting between each one. All and all, stitching was no further than an inch apart. 

The batting I used was pieced from various cotton battings I had leftover from other quilts. It will be interesting to see how it looks once it is washed and dried. Probably softer? I hope!

Does anyone have suggestions for removing pencil lines? I tried to keep my lines light and I used a hard lead .5 mechanical pencil for thin lines but I still can see some of them and so it will get a soak and washing soon during these hot summer days. I hope they all come out!

It measures 71" x 78". I used up 11.2 yards of stash. This is my 4th finish this year so now I have used up 46 yards of fabrics. 

There are 4 large quilts on the spare bed upstairs waiting for their binding to be attached. I am aiming for the 100 yard goal again this year so these will help leap to that end. 

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Meanwhile, I have not been keeping up with Bernina's sew along. In fact, I have not been getting much sewing done at all since completing my siggie quilt. Instead, I have been destashing and weeding out fabrics in the sewing room.

I am so tired of seeing stacks and fretting over them that I don't enjoy the projects I am working on. It is kind of a catch 22 thing...

1. put them away and out of sight where they are forgotten.

or

2. leave them out to worry you, and fret over the need to get them sewed up.

I opted for the tidy, put-them-away choice. My mind likes it tidy and neat without distractions. And now that there are less fabrics laying about, I can concentrate on what I need to do next. And enjoy the process. That is why we do this quilting thing, right?

 

This job has taken sooooo much mental energy though! I am close to burn out. I think I have touched every piece of fabric I own! So far I have removed:

60 - 1 yard pieces

40 - 1/2 yard pieces

82 - fat quarters

144 - yardage pieces (from 2 to 10 yds. some on bolts) 

That totals 244 yards of fabric!!

Then there are 11 kits looking for new homes, bundles of miscellaneous craft fabrics, strips and strings and cut squares. All are leaving the premises! It feels so good, honestly!

Oh yes, there are several tools that are duplicates (counted 7 rotary cutters in my drawer. I only have TWO hands!). And magazines, and a 10 ream paper box packed with books, and a stack of patterns. 

And then there is a plastic bin full of quilt tops. Some with their backings attached. All flinging out the door into the yard sale.

I am praying for good weather and lots of people looking for bargains because I am feeling generous. And half of the proceeds I make I will be donating to CMA's Great Commission Fund.  Everyone wins!

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Why the push for Stitchers to use up their stash? Nobody asks stamp collectors to mail letters!

 

Happy stitching everyone. And have a safe and happy summer. Please remember to pray for those in Hurricane Beryl's path.