Catching up

I'll have more quilting updates tomorrow, but today I'm sharing some of the "catch up" tasks that needed to happen when returning home after 5 days away.  This post is very photo heavy, with very little quilting news so feel free to skip to the end.  LOL

Photo borrowed from Facebook.

First of all - the Jackrabbit women won the conference championship for the 3rd straight year!  This team has been so much fun to watch the past few years.  They actually haven't lost a conference game in nearly 4 years - and only lost 1 conference game in those 4 seasons.  Sadly, the Jackrabbit men lost in the first round.

The Summit League tournament has become a bit of an annual family reunion and we have a rule - any family attending must take group photos or selfies, and share in the group texts.  A few of the regulars were missing this year but we still had a good turnout.  Four of our 5 grandkids attended various games.  Olivia doesn't care for basketball, so she opted out.  That's OK because we enjoy attending her swim meets and music events.  Her twin Jonah proved he's on the verge of passing me up in height like the 2 oldest grandkids have.  They're in 5th grade. And I'm still the same height that I was in 5th grade.  Hmmmm . . . or maybe I've shrunk about an inch. 

My girls really enjoy the cousin time.  My niece is on the right side.  Her two sisters missed this year because they were on other trips.  Imagine thinking Portugal and Niagara Falls could be more fun than college basketball.  LOL 

The guys got a couple of funny selfies with my sister-in-law.  My niece's husband, the hubby's youngest brother, and one of my sons-in-law are in back.  My other son-in-law with my husband's sister is in front.  These guys are all well over 6' tall so they were hard to get into one picture with her as she was sitting in her electric wheel chair.

Grandpa was in charge of 3 of the grandkids during one session of games. Sophia was doing her "wrestling" face.  Grrrr!  And the 2 boys were actually smiling.

While getting the laundry taken care of on Monday, I decided to do a bit more decluttering in my side of our closet.  I focused on belts and bags this time.  Plus I added another white shirt I just never wear.  Notice the numbers on the left?  Yes - I'm keeping a spreadsheet of everything I get rid of again this year.  I started the process late this year, but have a great start.  And I counted those 6 belts as just 1 item.  Two bags of clothes plus those bags, belts will be dropped off this afternoon for donation. 

On the quilting front, I cut out the pieces for the March Circle of Friends block. This one doesn't have nearly as many small pieces as some months, so I'm hoping to get the block sewn sometime today.  This is block 8 of 12 total.  Carol Doak is the designer, and the blocks are actually free via her Facebook group.  I think my paper piecing skills have greatly improved while working on these blocks each month. 

The accumulated mail required it's own chunk of the day.  There was a package containing 30 neutral small print fat quarters I had ordered on sale awhile back.  I had totally forgotten about those fat quarters.  A fat quarter bundle of batiks that I won during a blog hop also arrived, along with a small kit I had ordered.  But those deserve their own post this week.  Stay tuned!

Design Wall Monday - March 10

This month is racing by so quickly!  And so far it hasn't been especially productive.  

Irish Spring is the 7th block for the 2025 Riley Blake Design challenge.  It was designed by Vicki McCarty of Calico Patch Designs.  I'm not overly pleased with my color choices for this block, but it will blend nicely with the rest of them so it's going to be OK.  I got this block made Wednesday morning last week - right before we left home.

I've been gone for 5 days for college basketball, so today will be my Catch-up day in every way - laundry and mail and sewing and decluttering.  I could be pretty limited with the amount of actual sewing time once I deal with the laundry and mail from being gone.

On my To Do list for today is to at least cut out the pieces for this month's Circle of Friends block.  But there are plenty of other things I want to work on this week.  I just don't have much of a plan for the week quite yet. 

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

 

  

RSC25 - Week #10

 How is it even possible to be 10 weeks into this new year?

The Buckeye Beauty blocks in bright colors with black and white 4-patches are adding up quickly.  I made 3 new ones in yellow this week. Aren't they cheerful?  During "blue" February I managed to finish the red/white/blue Buckeye blocks for a Quilt of Valor.  Now I can get back to the bright colors again.

The bench pillow for Easter has a lot of yellow in it, and this should be done in the next day or so, as I just need to hand stitch the binding down. I have it with me while we're at the tournament.  It's college basketball tournament time you know.  

 I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge today.

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Hunter's Star is a flimsy

Another set of blocks has become a flimsy, ready to quilt.

This is the Hunter's Star using all batiks in bright colors, along with a black musical note print with those same bright colors.  I am so glad I found more of that black print because I think the border is just what this one needed.

There were a few blocks left over, and they will make an awesome big floor pillow, wall hanging, or table topper.  

Both are hanging in the sewing room closet until I find a good backing for them, hopefully in one or more of those bright colors.  

Declutter challenge 2025

 I've decided to join in with Joy for the 100 Day Declutter Challenge again this year.  I did really well with the challenge in 2024.  I set up a spreadsheet, and by the end of the year I had over 400 individual items on that spreadsheet that were either donated, given away, put onto a rummage sale, or just trashed.  I'm getting a late start for 2025 but am confident I can make a significant dent in the "stuff" around here. 

Joy and I can help keep the other accountable for this challenge.  So, I have a rummage sale box started next to the door in my sewing room.  There are only a few items in it so far, but there is room for plenty more.  There is a large box in my office with donation items - again with plenty of room for more.  And there is a big shopping bag in my closet with a good start on donation clothing items.  Of course I have my spreadsheet going again too because I'm that kind of nerd.  LOL  Besides, it is so satisfying to see the list of things that I've gotten rid of grow and grow. 

I began the clothing sort this week with my lingerie drawer, and threw away several questionable undergarment items.  TMI - right?  I also cleaned out and organized one drawer in my sewing room.  It's a tiny but good beginning!! 

I'll try to post an update near the end of each month.  You can check out Joy's blog for her decluttering start. 
https://thejoyfulquilter.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-100-day-project-2025.html

Wednesday check-in

Some random thoughts this morning . . . very few of them fabric related. 

Monday's highlight was watching our 7th grade grandson play basketball.  He's on the B team at his middle school, and they hadn't won a game yet this season.  But Monday they had a big win, and Mason even scored.  I'm always impressed with the murals painted onto gym walls - this one has the paw prints extending around 3 walls. 

Tuesday morning was spent shredding paperwork again.  This is the pile remaining yet.  My husband is cleaning out old business files again.  After so much time, we don't need to keep paper copies of completed contracts and projects.  I'm almost afraid to look into that box.  And the spiral bound books all need to be taken apart before shredding. There are also 7 big binders on the shelf yet that need "un-assembling" and sorting out what needs shredding.  Maybe once I've tamed that shredding stack I can do a deep clean of my office space.  

By noon on Tuesday the rain had changed to snow.  We need the moisture so badly that I won't complain.  Besides - it's basketball tournament time so of course there will be winter weather causing travel issues.  I did venture out after lunch to get a manicure.  The streets were getting slick.  

As for sewing, I do have 4 of the rows assembled for the Quilt of Valor.  Rows 1 and 2 are sewn together, and ready for adding row 3 and 4.  There is a total of 9 rows of 7 blocks across.  I'm excited to get this one to flimsy stage, and then can focus on the same block set that I have going in bright colors with black and white 4-patches.    

And because the next 5 days will involve a LOT of college basketball conference tournament fun, I'm taking some hand stitching for whatever downtime happens.  So there are 7 mug rugs ready for binding finishes.  The bench pillow also needs binding so that might be the first one I work on as time allows. 

Next project?

On Sunday afternoon I trimmed 3 Quilts of Valor that had already been quilted.  On Monday I pulled out binding for  them.  And I dropped off 2 more to be quilted.  It's that time of year to be making sure we have quilts ready to award around Memorial Day.

One of our members loves to bind so I'll try to drop one or two of them off with her this week.  There is one more still needing trimming and binding. 

Design Wall Monday - March 3

 Hmmm . . . contemplating my goals for March and searching my sewing room for UFOs and PIGs can be a dangerous thing to do.  I never know what surprises I'll find.  Or squirrels that might cross my path.

I have my normal BOM types of goals, but I've also been trying the past few months to pull out kits and things that need some attention.  There are too many kits - both purchased and "put together" myself.  This time I was looking for something with lots of yellow that will also meet the March color of yellow for RSC.  

The first kit I pulled is an Easter themed bench pillow.  On Friday I got it all cut out.  Let me tell you, there are a TON of tiny pieces in this one.  Each of the 3 flower units has 21 pieces and the yellow chicks have 15 pieces each, not counting the sashing/spacers added to them.  There is an Easter basket and eggs yet to make before I can put the pillow top together.  One of my chicks was supposed to face the opposite direction, but it was too late when I realized it.  So all 3 are going the same direction.  Oh well. 

That brought me to another kit with lots of yellow - the Tiger Lily wall hanging project that I had kitted up last year.  The fabric is all there along with the pattern I had in mind.  So, this is going onto my March goal list too, although it remains to be seen if I actually get to it.  

**  Saturday Sampler row #2
**  Circle of Friends block for March
**  Riley Blake challenge blocks
**  Easter bench pillow
**  progress on SAHRR 
**  add borders onto batik Hunter's Star quilt
**  March door hanger kit
**  Tiger Lily wall hanging
**  RSC blocks with yellow
**  bind 1 UFO
**  quilt and bind 1 doll quilt
**  assemble QOV Buckeye Beauties into flimsy
**  assemble Churn Dash blocks into flimsy

**  AND whatever else pops up!!

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog

Standing in line

I'm not sure I can remember the last time I actually stood in line for anything for an hour.  But I did it on Thursday afternoon at Joann Fabrics.  Just to buy a couple of pillow forms.  Yikes!

We were in Sioux Falls - on our way to Brookings for a Jackrabbit game - because we wanted to pick up some tickets for an upcoming event and because Dave had a golf club he wanted to drop off at Austad's to be regripped.  After picking up our tickets at the event center, I asked if we would have time to stop at Joann's briefly.  He said sure - big mistake!!

I wasn't really expecting the crazy Going Out of Business crowd already - boy was I wrong!  When I walked in there were 3 cashiers up front and just a few ladies in line to check out.  By the time I found the pillow forms I wanted and got in line - that line was halfway to the back of the store.  After about 10 minutes I texted Dave (waiting in the truck) to be patient because the line was long, but that was just the beginning.  Over 30 minutes later I finally turned the corner with the line, and realized they were down to only 2 cashiers.  And  ahead of me, almost to the cashier counter was my oldest daughter with a big box of yarn. How funny!!

We chatted a bit until it was her turn, and then she went out and visited with her dad in the parking lot while I was still in line. When I was within 4 people of finally getting checked out - one of the 2 cashiers left, and now there was only 1 poor gal handling all these people.  By this time the line was nearly to the back of the store.  But I was amazed that no one was rude or disrespectful.  Most everyone in line was talking to the people around them.  

Needless to say, we didn't get to Austad's with the golf club, but we did get to Brookings in time for the basketball game.  We'll be back in Sioux Falls next week so he can drop off his golf club, and I will avoid getting anywhere near Joann's unless I have a couple of hours to spend standing in line. 

RSC25 - Week #9

This project actually meets 2 month's worth of color challenges - blue and yellow. And it was on my UFO list for 2025, which is a bonus!

Last weekend, I pulled out the pattern and fabrics I had gathered about 2 years ago for this Hummingbird project, and decided it was time.  Well, this one really only took a couple of days to put together once I finished the cutting.  Using a panel and all big pieces makes for a quick project.  This was fun!

EDIT:  I've added a link to the free pattern download for this quilt. It's called Chillingsworth Bicycle Race, by Andover Fabrics.
 https://www.needleinahayesstack.biz/shop/c/p/Chillingsworths-Bicycle-Race-x5292681.htm

All 8 of the coin purses that were cut out last weekend are now finished.  These all use scraps and leftover charm squares. 

The red/white/blue blocks for the Quilt of Valor are all made too.  Maybe I'll even get a couple of rows sewn together tomorrow.  Today will be too busy with other activities.

It was time for some string piecing as Leaders/Enders this week.  Two of the 9.5" string blocks happened in yellow for March.  Ironically the yellow scrap bin is my least full one. 

 

And a couple more blue String Triangles were added to the small stack I already had.  There is a plan for these, involving vertical columns.  They utilize the Tri Recs rulers so are very easy to make out of the smaller scraps.  

But I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

What is next?

It's time to pull out the next UFO to work on.  The list is too long, but several of them have been so close to being done that I need to buckle down and just do it. I've been trying to get more UFOs at least to the flimsy stage this year.   

There is now a finishing plan for this one - the batik Hunter's Star.  Originally I had planned to make more blocks to make it bigger.  But since I tracked down more of that black print used in all of the stars, I'm thinking simple borders.  There will be a few orphan blocks to deal with, but that's better than a whole unfinished quilt.  Maybe the extras can become a pillow.

This is probably the last project on the UFO list that could be an "easy" finish.  I did take 2 UFOs to be quilted this month, so when they come back they'll be ready to trim and bind.  But there are a couple of UFOs on that list that are barely started.  Those will require a LOT more effort to be able to finally check them off the list. 

Another project that needed to be tackled is cleaning out and organizing the big dresser in my sewing room.  I began with the top drawer yesterday, mainly because I was looking for something I thought was buried in there.  What a mess of random stuff!  I did find what I was looking for.  But I also threw away some random old craft supplies such as dried up bottles of glue.  The remaining craft supplies and zippers are all organized in baskets, as are the odds and ends of orphan blocks and fabrics.  

There are 3 more big drawers in this dresser to organize, along with clutter on top of it.  Maybe I will dig into the second drawer today.  

Progress, progress, progress

The red/white/blue Buckeye Beauty blocks are adding up.

I need a lot of these blocks for a Quilt of Valor, and I'm getting close.  Today I'll get them layed out and see how I'm doing.  I do know I don't have exactly the same number of each version, and that will need to happen I think.

Yesterday I also made a dent in my project list.  First off came borders - including the border on that hummingbird panel quilt.  I'll show that on Saturday's post.  But I also put borders onto 2 more doll quilts.  The center sections - boots and soccer balls - had been set aside along with border fabric.  These will be the next ones to quilt, maybe in March.

And I got the zippers into all of the little coin purses that were cut out and laying on my big design board.  Finishing them shouldn't take long now. 

Blue and yellow

 Don't we all have favorite color combinations?  For example, I sew with bright saturated color a lot, mixing them with black or white usually.  And I sew a lot with red/white/blue because I do a lot of Quilt of Valor projects.

But there is another color combo I love, but haven't used in a quilt before. Blue and yellow look great together.  And those colors are my college alma matter colors, so I wear that royal blue quite often.  And now I have another reason to combine those colors because of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  February's color was blue, and the March color was just announced - and it's yellow!!  Yay!!

Yesterday morning I showed this project box with a UFO in it.  The pattern was tucked in under all the fabric so it was ready to cut and start sewing.  I jumped in and got a start on the Hummingbird project.  It uses a panel and large pieces so I expected it to go together pretty quickly.  But it was even quicker than I imagined.

Monday afternoon I cut most of the pieces, and Tuesday morning I cut the rest and started sewing.  By noon it looked like this.  The pattern has 3 borders, but I'm considering only using 1 border.  The pieces are cut for that first border so once it's on I'll decide if I want to go ahead with the other 2 borders or stop at just 1.

To Do list grows

I'm working my way through a long list of things I want to see progress on, and am pleased to be checking some things off the list.

These Entwined Star blocks have been one of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge block sets from last year.  I've added a blue version this week.

 

That makes 9 blocks total, some with white backgrounds and some with beige backgrounds.  But all of them have a floral in the block.  I need to remember to make the last 3 of them with beige or cream backgrounds to balance these better.

The biggest list contains UFOs and PIGs, and I pulled out a couple of the smaller projects from that list.  This next one even has a lot of blue, so it will work nicely into the February RSC color - blue.  

One project from the UFO is the Hummingbird panel quilt.  I bought this panel 2 years ago at a shop in Kansas, on the way to Arizona.  I've gathered the blue and yellow fabrics I want to use with it and the pattern, but all has been just waiting in the project box ever since.  So this will be one of the next UFOs I plan to start working on.

A couple of the larger UFO projects on the list are now in the hands of a long arm quilter, so hopefully they will be finishes yet this spring.  

Design Wall Monday - February 24

It was a weekend of swim meets, basketball games, and an evening fundraiser event.  But I did get about 90 minutes yesterday to get some cutting done, and some things organized for this week in the sewing room.

There are 7 more red/white/blue Buckeye Beauty blocks cut out for the QOV I'm working on.  And I pulled out a few blue strings for another string triangle block.

There is one Entwined Star block to finish from last week.  It has royal blue and lime green to go with the floral.  All of these blocks have something floral in them so far.

And you can see the parts for a few more of the coin purses.  I have a couple of patriotic charm packs that I've used for some of the Buckeye blocks.  But some of the prints just don't seem to work as well for those.  However, they will work nicely for the coin purses.  My daughter mentioned taking some to the VA where she works.  So, another good use of those charm squares.

The first task today is to sew a label onto a Quilt of Valor that will be awarded to a local veteran this evening.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog

RSC25 - Week #8

 There was a lot of stitching this week partly because it was so bitter cold that I had little interest in getting out and going anywhere. 

A few more of the red/white/blue Buckeye Beauties have been made.  I have 58 of them so far.  And there will be more needed for a Quilt of Valor. I have more cut and waiting to be sewn.  So, it's an on-going project all month. 

Pulling out the bin of the Travel Star parts and pieces revealed several blue squares.  These are the squares shared at guild by members who travel.  We share 6.5" blocks of fabric representing our destinations.  I've made at least 3 quilts with those squares over the years but the bin is still pretty full.  These blue Travel Star blocks used up 3 of those squares. 

The focus was on the royal blues for a new Night Vision block.  The bonus pinwheels are done too.  I didn't count these blocks but I must be getting close to having enough for a child sized quilt. 

Two of the Brighten blocks happened, one royal blue and the other in a pale baby blue. 

The piano key border is done on 2 opposite sides of this scrappy project.  This is the Make Your Point pattern, using 1.5" squares and 2/5" HSTs. So it was a great use of 16-patche units and pinwheels already made.  I'll need to make a lot more of the "keys" before I can do the other 2 longer sides.  I'm thinking of doing 4-patch blocks in the corners, or maybe pinwheels.  Those little keys are good as Leaders/Enders. 

A scrappy doll quilt was also finished this week.  There was a whole bag of these 4-patch blocks, and now that bag is empty.  Yay!!

No sewing is likely to happen this weekend, as a granddaughter is arriving Friday afternoon, and swimming in the State A swim meet just down the street.  And this evening we're attending a Dualling Pianos show with friends that is a fundraiser for the local fire department in the small town we used to live in. 

But I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Weekly progress and 2 finishes

Last weekend I had made a list of projects I wanted to move forward, and there has definitely been some good progress made on most.

This week's block for the Riley Blake challenge is done.  Block #6 is Starburst by Amber Elliot.  Those purple star points could have been more easily made using a tri recs ruler than with the technique in the pattern.  However, not everyone would have that ruler - I do - so the pattern used oversize rectangles resulting in a lot of fabric waste.  But I followed the directions just as the pattern called for.

On the Stay At Home Round Robin I've been stuck with absolutely no ideas for Rounds 3-5.  But this week I had a thought on how to do Round 4, so I'm skipping Round 3 for now and may add it later.  Round 4 was to use "slashed" blocks.  I did long strips with random slashes added for 3 of the sides.  Round 5 is a Quarter Log Cabin.  My plan is to do a row of colorful versions across the bottom. I'll need to do some math to figure out how many and what size to make those Quarter Log Cabin units.

*  a backing to piece for a big UFO - Done & dropped off to be quilted

*  lots of RSC blocks using blue scraps - a few blue blocks made

*  the 4-patch doll quilt to be quilted and bound - DONE

*  some progress on the SAHRR project that has stalled - 1 round 
*  some cleaning/organizing in sewing room - very little cleaning

*  new block for this week in RBD challenge - DONE
*  work on applique pillow top (yes - it is a squirrel) - DONE

*  AND - whatever else pops up!!

The binding was completed on 2 baby quilts in the last week.

It was quilted with a bright variegated thread that really shows up nicely.

This is a Villa Rosa pattern called October Sky, and a Laurel Burch panel with a fun jungle theme.  This one is going to be a baby gift for a coworker of my daughter.

The other baby quilt that is finished is a Quick Strippie, using 1 yard of 3 different fabrics. It has the cutest little birds wearing hats, carrying umbrellas, and flying around in the sunshine.  It's a free pattern you can download from Mary Quilts.

 https://maryquilts.com/quick-strippie/    

One last bitter cold day yesterday, and hopefully we won't see those below zero temperatures again this winter.  We even stayed home from the Jackrabbit basketball game on Wednesday night rather than be out on the road when the wind chill in negative 30 or worse.