What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

No change in the numbers.

I finally reframed Pumpkin Seeds this week.

A lot of dirt came out when I soaked it, along with some of the staining. The fabric wouldn’t tolerate a lot of scrubbing. When I switch it out for a Christmas piece, I’ll adjust the slack on the left side. Sometimes you do what you can.

I also finished sewing and pressing the pieced strips for Verticals, a free pattern on the Fat quarter Shop website.

Next step is to cut all the background pieces.

Fabric In: 8.625

Fabric Out: 24 yards

Net Fabric ...

No change in the numbers.

I made decent progress on Verticals this week. Six strips are finished.

Three more are in process.

I also made good progress on a project I intend to gift. Because the recipient sometimes reads the blog, I can’t show that one.

I’d like to have 20 net yards out this year. Finishing Verticals will get me a lot closer.

Fabric In: 8.625

Fabric Out: 24 yards

Net Fabric Out: 15.375 yards

How did you do this week?

No fabric out this week. I won a fat quarter at a local quilt show because my program had a sticker.

I decided this week that I need to keep my projects simple. Although work has improved some, I still put in long hours. I don’t have the mental bandwidth by evening to do a lot of thinking. With that in mind, I started a new charity quilt with the jelly roll from the Donation Sale. The pattern is Verticals, free on the Fat Quarter Shop website.

Lucky there is extra fabric because I cut several pieces wrong and ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished the 12 Days of Christmas wall hanging for fabric out. I love Nancy Halverson’s designs.

I had the binding fabric left over from the border on a different Christmas panel. I didn’t have enough fabric to do the diagonal join. I had to overlap it, and even that was a challenge with less than an inch extra.

Fabric In: 8.375

Fabric Out: 24 yards

Net Fabric Out: 15.625 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

I finished a small stitch project called Chickadee.

A friend of a friend was destashing, and my friend gave me several items. I think this kit came from Big Lots. The floss was actually crochet thread, something I’ve never used for stitching. It worked fine, but I switched it out for DMC for the backstitch.

I also made a few wonky house blocks because the idea wouldn’t go away.

The inspiration came from a broken bathroom floor tile at work, which shows that inspiration can come from anywhere. There is no pattern. The ...

No change in the numbers.

I took the mystery fabric to my Art Quilt group, but no one could identify it. No one would take any either. I still haven’t decided what to do with it, but will decide before the end of September.

I started the next quilt project, a 12 Days of Christmas panel by Nancy Halverson I bought at the Donation Sale in 2024.

It’s basted and you can see all the threads I chose to do the quilting. This project will keep me at the sewing machine while I plan the next boro test ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished the test piece, named Fields, for a litttle fabric out. It measures 9” x 12”.

There is hand stitching in the sky, and the motifs at the bottom are embroidered. The fusible did not cause problems with hand stitching, but the cotton batting made it harder to embroider.

I plan to try different battings until I find one I like better. I’m not fan of polyester but will try 80/20 and wool. I have a some bamboo batting I can also try. The AQS show this week should have all the ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished Simply Charming for a few yards out. It measures about 33” x 33”.

I picked up the partial charm pack at a quilter’s garage sale type event. I was short a few squares for this layout and added a couple fabrics from my stash. I chose straight line quilting because every free motion design I auditioned clashed with the prints. Sometimes simple is better.

Fabric In: 4.625

Fabric Out: 22.125 yards

Net Fabric Out: 17.5 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

I worked mostly on Simply Charming this week, quilting it and making binding. I also worked on the test piece (Fields).

I did a bit of research this week because the process used for Fields didn’t check all the boxes for me. I watched videos by The Collage Quilter, Susan Carlson and Art Fiber Stitch. Susan Carlson uses fabric more effectively than anyone I’ve ever seen. Amazing. Art Fiber Stitch exclusively hand stitches. As much as I like hand work, I do enjoy sewing by machine too. I stopped watching after that and ...

No change in the numbers, but I made some progress.

I finished stitching Northern Bluebird by Crossed Wing Collection.

It’s stitched on 28 count Wheat Lugana using the called for DMC. The design is 4.5 inches tall.

I also finished the Simply Charming top. No pattern, just me playing with a partial charm pack I bought at the Donation Sale last August.

I added a few fabrics to fill out the blocks, plus sashing fabric. I basted it yesterday but haven’t decided how to quilt it.

I hope to finish it before the next Donation Sale.

Fabric ...

Yesterday was my Guild’s garage sale. There were more books and patterns than anything else. I bought a free motion quilting book not pictured.

The fat quarter came from the thrift store. It was too cute to pass up. The stencil kit came from the garage sale. I may try the stencils, but what I really wanted was the Paintstiks. The stencil kit included a small piece of fabric which I didn’t notice until I got to the car.

I also pulled fabric for donation and took scraps in for recycling. The net change was more fabric out ...

No change in the numbers.

I fully finished the Brazilian embroidery piece this week. I stitched it a while ago……more than three and less than five years? Something like that. It was an EGA mini project from back when I belonged to the Guild.

I fussed with it a long time, but I couldn’t get it to look any better. It was stitched on very stiff fabric, plus I interfaced it to hold the rayon floss in place. When I tried wetting it, the floss bled. Sometimes it’s better to accept what is and move on.

I ...

Apologies for the delay in last week’s link up. WordPress had a moment and took the blog down Sunday morning. Once real people looked it over on Monday, they restored it.

Not enough fabric out last week to count.

I fell off the no buy wagon yesterday. It was a good run while it lasted. I was thrifting with a friend and this piece of silk was $2. Leaving it on the shelf was not an option.

I also made a small piece to test a round mattress finish for embroidery. I couldn’t find a tutorial online and ...

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 ...