What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

No change in the numbers.

I finished the BOM feathered star blocks. Unfortunately, I count fabric out when the quilt is finished.

There were two of them, both 18 inches.

Sewing them was much easier than it looks. I opted to press almost all the seams open to manage the bulk. I’ve recently started pressing open, and I’m sorry I didn’t start doing it years ago. It’s a game changer.

Fabric In: 22.125 yards

Fabric Out: 8.125 yards

Net Fabric In: 14 yards

How did you do this week?

It’s list time again! I finished two projects in October, Waugh Street Christmas and the BOM blocks. Once again I’m without a piecing project. When the list opens up I find it hard to pick what to work on next. Too many choices!

The Short List categories are UFO, garment, original design, hand work, finishing, classes and other. I’ve used this system for 8 years to keep me focused. The categories change as my goals and interests change. Categories with nothing in process will not be listed, only active categories.

Original Design – I need to start sketching ...

After the ultra-colorful and bright Glass Candies, I wanted to pick a quilt top with more subdued colors for my next finish. I decided on Paper Chain, which is a block-of-the-month quilt that I made last year.

No change in the numbers.

I’m working on the feathered star blocks for the BOM quilt. You can see last week’s addition in the star point sections at the top right of the picture.

In 20-something years of quilting I have never made a feathered star block. These are also 18 inch blocks. That’s another first for me.

Fabric In: 7.625 yards

Fabric Out: 8.125 yards

Net Fabric Out: .5 yards

How did you do this week?

Cheery
September 2021

Cheery
September 2021

I took some much needed time off work this week and had a girls’ day out in Shipshewana, Indiana on Friday. My last visit to the Amish community was over ten years ago. It looked different enough that almost nothing seemed familiar.

I did buy a small cut of fabric for the block of the month project. I didn’t have enough of the fabric I wanted to use. I was able to match it pretty close.

I also finished Waugh Street Christmas with usage for the binding. I’ll post a picture of that when the One Monthly Goal ...

I finished two projects in September, the Winter Pines runner and Noel, and had one stitched piece framed. Other projects moved forward, making it a good month

The Short List categories are UFO, garment, original design, hand work, finishing, classes and other. I’ve used this system for 8 years to keep me focused. The categories change as my goals and interests change. Categories with nothing in process will not be listed, only active categories.

Original Design – Open Dialogue may get attention in October. If not, November for sure.

Other – Waugh Street Christmas is almost quilted. This will be my ...

No change in the numbers. Maybe next week.

I finished the November blocks for Stars In The Night. I have five of the twelve months done now.

I pressed the seams open to help the blocks lay flat. There are seven seams coming together at the center. Open seemed like the way to go

I plan to work on the January blocks next.

Fabric In: 7.125 yards

Fabric Out: 4.125 yards

Net Fabric In: 3 yards

How did you do this week?

I finished two items in August, the circle challenge and the November BOM blocks. I just realized the BOM wasn’t on last month’s list. Sneaky how it cut to the front of the line.

The Short List categories are UFO, garment, original design, hand work, finishing, classes and other. I’ve used this system for 7 years to keep me focused. The categories change as my goals and interests change. Categories with nothing in process will not be listed, only active categories.

Original Design – I think about Open Dialogue often, but it probably won’t see the light ...

No change in the numbers. It should really go without saying.

I sewed and trimmed all the HSTs this week for the Stars In The Night blocks.

I need to pick another name for this quilt. The original had a dark background, mine not so much. You definitely won’t be thinking night when you look at my quilt.

Maybe this week I can sew the blocks. Anything more complicated than sewing squares together seems to take me forever.

Fabric In: 7.125 yards

Fabric Out: 4.125 yards

Net Fabric In: 3 yards

How did you do this week ...

On Monday we enjoyed revisiting Lyons Woods for the 2021 Hike Lake County Challenge.  Tuesday was too hot and humid to do more than run errands -- 95 temp and heat index of 105.  When I sat out on the shady patio later in the afternoon a front came through with clouds and wind gusts. Quite dramatic!  I came inside before it began to rain.  We got about an inch -- so badly needed.

Rose hips, gray dogwood, a burl. 

Joe Pye weed, sawtooth sunflower, evening primrose.   Hedge bindweed, rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan), field thistle.  Woodland sunflower, whole-leaf rosinweed, another woodland sunflower.

No change in the numbers.

After much debating, I decided to resume piecing the Stars In The Night BOM. I wanted something I could work on 20 minutes at a time on week nights. With no such project I spend my nights stitching. That’s done wonders for my stitching wish list, but it doesn’t use fabric or reduce the long list of quilts either in process or planned.

Having ignored it for years, I spent a good while figuring out where I left off and how I wanted to approach it going forward. If I hadn’t scaled ...

While I usually blog about quilting and crafting, I also give updates on what’s happening in my community and my family. Most of the time it’s good news and fun stuff (which I do have some of that to share in a bit), but my top story today is about the wildfires in California.

Wildfires

I have lived in Northern California my whole life, and I have never experienced such terrible wildfires as we have seen in the past several years. The Dixie fire has been challenging fire fighters for one month now while it continues to burn ...

After finished the Modern HST sampler, I didn't want it to sit there for ever. So we got the quilting frame out about a week ago and I duly quilted it over the weekend. 

I want for an easy all over pattern and added a few personnal notes for the recipient. 

For the back I used a floral I had in my stash and that was just big enough!

It is all squared up ready for binding now. And I've cut the binding this weekend for the leftover fabric I had so hopefully it should be finished before ...

Color is king when Kaffe Fassett comes to town! In 2019, we were thrilled to host the world-renowned color guru himself at a workshop and a lecture highlighting his latest projects. It was a feast for the eyes to see the Kaffe Fassett Collective’s designs up close and personal and our fabulous social media manager took a moment to sit down with Kaffe and Brandon Mably to chat about the sources of their inspiration and how they are able to collaborate so seamlessly together. These ...

May your bobbins always be full,

Happy Friday! I have some updates to share (including a fun new quilt along) but first, I wanted to thank you for your kind messages from my recent Mother’s Day blog post. I always hesitate to share much about my personal life on the blog. Before I hit “publish”, I wonder if they (you) won’t be interested or you might think I’m “fluffing my feathers” with too many pictures of me and my family. But you always amaze me with your generous and supportive comments. So thank you for that!

On to the new stuff! I just ...