What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

We are half way through the year already. Are you happy with your fabric usage to date?

I’m pleased with how much went out this year. I haven’t added fabric since August 2024. I’ve made an effort to buy less this year, and I feel a lot better about creating in general because of it. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me.

I finished the Laundry Day Tee last Sunday.

I’m happy with how it turned out. It fits well through the shoulders and bust, which is usually a problem area for ...

No change in the numbers.

I’m close to finishing the Laundry Day Tee. I still need to hem everything and add the neck band. I expect to finish it this weekend.

The only other thing I worked on was Northern Bluebird by Crossed Wing Collection. It measures about 3 inches.

It’s coming along, likely a July finish.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

Net Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

It was one of those weeks. For my own sanity I retreated to the sewing room. A lot. That led me to start a small test project before the larger quilt project I had planned.

I’ve seen comments by artists that it’s a good idea to make small studies when trying new ideas or techniques, or using new materials. It makes sense. I figure they ought to know.

Here’s the beginning of the next collage project, which I intend to stich like I did the boro bag.

I’m not sure I ...

No change in the numbers.

I’d hoped to post a Short List this week, but that didn’t happen. Work continues to be all consuming, something I expect to last through the year.

I moved on to the next clothing project. I decided to sew a knit t-shirt, and then found I didn’t have a pattern. It was the first of what I’m sure will be many at a loss without Joann’s moments. I ended up catching a sale on the Love Notions site and bought the Laundry Day Tee and got the Classic T-shirt pattern ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished the shirt for fabric out.

The pattern is McCall’s M8042. I lengthened the sleeves and shortened the body.

It fits, but I won’t make it again. The construction is unusual, which made it very difficult to adjust while sewing.

McCall’s patterns tend to be out of proportion with my arms and shoulders. They just never sit quite right on me. I’ll chalk it up to experience and move on.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

Net Fabric Out: 18.375 yards

How did you do this week ...

No change in the numbers. A lot of life and no sewing happened this week.

Thanks to everyone who participates in Sunday Stash. I enjoy reading your posts, although I am blocked from commenting on half of them. Even WordPress blocks me, and I’m on WordPress. Some of you have used an amazing amount of fabric this year. You rock!

I made a final trip to Joann’s Friday thinking I could score some batting. I kinda wish I hadn’t gone. There was almost nothing left, and people were buying carts of shelving. It made me sad to ...

No fabric in this week, a miracle since my Guild had their annual fabric sale. The fabric just wasn’t speaking to me. I bought this stitching frame instead.

I’m not sure how that ended up in the sale, but I’m grateful to have it.

At the thrift store later, I found this Hinzeit pattern with the charms. DH is an avid fisherman, and the charms made it too cute to pass up.

In the sewing room, work on the shirt continues. I’d really like to finish it this month.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 17.25 ...

Happy Mothers Day! I hope you do something nice for yourself today.

No change in the numbers.

I’m working on lots of projects. The afghan is close to a finish. Sorry about the weird sun spot in the photo.

Fairy Tales Live on Roofs is moving forward, slowly.

This shirt is in progress using this fabric.

And just because I wanted to, I started something new. Look at me stitching on 28 count lugana instead of aida.

All those projects and not a quilt in site. I may go back to a UFO once I finish the shirt. It ...

I saw some progress on sewing projects this week. I finished the boro bag.

I used fusible fleece instead of interfacing because I wanted the bag to have enough structure to protect the project inside. It added a lot of bulk, the trade off for getting what I wanted.

I also cut out a shirt. I must have washed that fabric a couple months ago. Let’s hope the sewing goes faster.

I didn’t add any fabric, but did make a final trip to Joann’s. My usual store is one that got a truckload of yarn. That took ...

No change in the numbers.

I returned to stitching this week because it was too warm to work on the afghan. I started crocheting the next to last afghan section, which means the end is in sight. It’s huge, about twin size, and impossible to work on without a pile of it in my lap.

I’m also making a project bag out of the boro piece. Everything is cut, fused and ready for assembly. A finish this week would change next week’s numbers.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 16.75 yards

Net Fabric Out: 16.75 yards ...

No change in the numbers.

I finished stitching the boro piece.

I used both #12 pearl cotton and DMC embroidery floss for the stitching. I found I preferred the pearl cotton for the look and texture. Although I don’t mind raw edges, I didn’t like the really frayed ones. In hindsight, I wish I’d trimmed them before layering. I also found the hand basting a distraction when stitching. Next time I’ll do something else, either glue or misty fuse.

I see more projects like this in my future.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 16.75 yards ...

No change in the numbers.

Same two projects on the go, the afghan and the boro piece. Neither one looks much different than the last time I posted pictures.

I recently pulled out a UFO that I would like to move forward and arranged the blocks the way I want to set them. This was a free BOM from way too many years ago. I didn’t get any further than that, although I keep thinking about it.

The setting is more involved than the blocks. I could do something else, but I really like the pattern as is. I ...

No change in the numbers.

We took a quick trip last weekend for a change of scenery and to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The only project I worked on was the afghan because it was the easiest to manage on the road. I turned the third corner, which sounds weird, but it’s a corner to corner pattern.

It’s so big it’s hard to photograph.

I didn’t make much progress on anything else. The day job continues to take up most of my time.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 16.75 yards

Net Fabric Out: 16.75 ...

No change in the numbers.

At my Art Quilt Group this week, one of the members showed us how to do boro stitching. She was lucky enough to take a class in Japan when she was visting family there several years ago. Here is the beginning of my seven inch square.

I really enjoyed this! The combo of stitching and scraps greatly appeals to me. I’m not sure what I’ll do with this piece, but I plan to finish it sooner rather than later.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 16.75 yards

Net Fabric Out: 16.75 yards ...

No change in the numbers.

A lot of progress happened this week. I finished as much as I plan to do on the sewing room declutter.

I replaced the binding on a second blanket.

I finished a Craftsy class, 20 Things to Know Before You Sew. I’m taking a break on classes for now.

I turned the corner on the afghan. That puts me close to the halfway point.

I chose the next sewing project, washed the fabric, and made all the pattern choices.

I have a nice little rotation going with my three projects. We’ll see if ...

No fabric in this week.

I made two potholders for a little fabric out.

Next I replaced the binding on a blanket. The old binding exceeded its useful life. There is a definite trick to working with the packaged blanket binding. I have one more blanket to re-bind before I move on to other sewing.

Fabric In: 0

Fabric Out: 16.75 yards

Net Fabric Out: 16.75 yards

How did you do this week?

No fabric in this week.

I finished sorting through fabric as part of the Declutter Challenge, but still need to organize it a bit better. A little fabric went out this week.

I don’t have a OMG for March. Little happens creatively with so much work and life going on. I decided to update the Short List because it helps me focus. I did shorten it to stay more realistic.

Project 1 (Crochet): Marled Crochet Moss Stitch Stripes Blanket. It’s too big to photograph easily. I’m almost done with the third section (out of seven).

Project 2 ...

No fabric in this week, and more fabric out from the declutter. I still have fabric to sort through.

The heart block went into time out. I tried Plan A for the motif under the hearts and didn’t like it. Ripped it out and went to Plan B, and didn’t like that either. Came up with a different approach and didn’t have the patience to deal with it. I wrote some notes and put them with the project. I’ll revisit it another time.

The afghan got the most attention this week because it requires no thought ...

Is it just me, or is this month flying?

No fabric in this week. The fabric declutter resulted in several yards going into donation bags. I still have a lot of fabric to sort through.

I finished the applique on the heart block. I’m auditioning colors for the motif under the hearts and deciding if I want to add beads or not.

I used Sulky 12 wt cotton floss on two of the hearts and Weeks Dye Works floss on the third. The pink fabrics came from the scrap bins. The heart blocks will all come from stash.

Fabric ...

No fabric in this week.

The sewing room declutter continues. Last year I let go of lots of fabric scraps, but this year I’m ready to part with some yardage. I’ve only gone through one drawer so far. There are several more drawers to go.

I spent most of this week working on a second heart block. The three hearts are an adaption of a motif in a book. It isn’t clear in the picture, but there is a design under the hearts that I plan to embroider.

Here’s a picture of the first block.

I ...