Design Wall Monday - December 15

There are 2 small Christmas gifts I want to work on this week, especially since I'm facing a deadline.  No photos to share until after Christmas. Shhhh . . . it's a secret.

The pieces are all cut for one of those secret gifts.

There is one Christmas gift that I can show - at least the fabric.  This adorable cat fabric is destined to be 2 projects.  The first project is a table runner to be gifted by my daughter to her neighbor.  The top is done and it shouldn't take me long to quilt and bind it.  The second project will probably wait for the new year and is for ME - a tote bag.  

Progress continues on the snowman themed 3-yard quilt.  More rows are ready to add, and I can FEEL the finish coming soon.

Plugging along on the Bonnie Hunter mystery . . . clue #4 is easier than I thought it would be.  Half rectangles can be tricky, but she had some really excellent cutting instructions for these, and they came out perfectly even without using her specialty ruler.  A few more Clue #2 units are cut as well.  There are also some additional string blocks in the works.  These will all make great Leaders/Enders as I work on those Christmas gift projects. 

Two new kits for mini quilts are coming up on my To Do list. This one is going to be my reward for checking some things off my list this week.  The temptation to just dive in is great  however!  But I'm trying to hold off until the gift items are finished.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog

RSC25 - Week #50

Week 50 - I just can't believe 2025 is almost over!!  It was painful to write that 5-0 for this week, as time is flying way too fast.  

The 4-Patch Fun project is coming along.  When I left this last week it was 3 blocks wide by 4 long.  Now it's 4 x 5.  Forward progress!  The zig zag layout is working out nicely, and as I add more blocks in lots of colors it will get better and better I think.  This will continue to be an RSC project well into 2026 most likely because the blocks are only 6" finished.  As is it's only 27" wide, which means it needs to grow much bigger to be useful. 

The red, white, blue set of 4-Patch Fun blocks are sewn into 4-sies so far.  That set also needs a lot more blocks to make a Quilt of Valor.  

In between other projects this week, these half neutral string blocks have been accumulating quickly.  Once trimmed and the phone book foundation paper removed, my plan is beginning to take shape. 
 

String Stars - this is another idea I had saved to Pinterest and forgotten about until now.  I think I'll just use cool colors for this one - purples, blues, greens. The string block basket has a lot of those colors already sewn, and almost no warm colors.  Mostly I'll need to add more of the half neutral ones to the mix for star points.  These are also 6" finished blocks - so it will continue into the new year in order to have enough.  

This afternoon is the Christmas party for our Sew Vintage group.  We have winter weather again today, so hopefully everyone can make it.    

Let's go see what else is happening with scraps this week . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

Finished (or NOT) Friday

Today I have ONE thing finished, and ONE thing not finished.

The 5th and final pillowcase for the grandkids is finished.  It's tucked into Jack's Christmas stocking now.  Each grandchild gets a new pillowcase every year in their stocking.  Can't fight tradition, right!! 

The Not finished item does have forward progress.  This is the snowman themed 3-yard quilt I've been working on.  It doesn't have a deadline, so hasn't been a high priority.  The blocks were all made and sashing cut, so now that the pillowcases are finished I can get back to working on it again.

This morning the 4th clue will be released for the Lupines and Laugher mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter.  I've made some units for each of the first 3 clues and plan to spend a little time today playing with Clue #4, whatever it might be. 

I've been plugging along with some binding this week.  So maybe by next Friday there will be another finish to show.   

Check out more finishes at
https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

One more pillowcase

 

The solar system pillowcase is finished and in a Christmas stocking.  Now I just have one left to finish for the grandkids. 

Tomorrow morning, the 4th clue will be posted for Bonnie Hunter's mystery.  I've been using her first clues to use up a lot of scraps of light blue, pink, purple and neutrals.  Wonder which of those colors we'll play with next. 

Keeping busy

One more pillowcase is finished, and tucked into a Christmas stocking.

The other 2 pillowcases for grandsons are pinned and ready to sew.  Today may not yield much sewing time, if any at all.  But I should be able to finish them by the end of the week.

I've had the scraps out for neutrals, light blue, pink and purple this past couple of weeks, so that I could pull some options for the Bonnie Hunter mystery as the clues are posted.  A few more units for Clues #1-3 were added yesterday.  But there were a lot of purple scraps too small for the mystery units.  So I used some of the skinnier purple strips to make some string blocks, to add to the stack that I worked on at various times for RSC during the year.  These string blocks are only 6.5" square, with some being all purple and others being half purple with the other half neutral.  I think I have a plan for some of these.  

Lots of progress

Both of the pillowcases for the granddaughters are done, and tucked into their Christmas stockings.  The swimmer print used on the cuffs was something I ordered from Spoonflower.  The rose colored fabric for the main part of the pillowcase was purchased last week to go with that print.  It really picks up on the rosy pink in the print.  

The pillowcases for the 3 boys are all cut and kitted up.  One is even pinned into the "sausage roll" and ready for that first seam.  I love this technique because there are zero raw edges anywhere in the pillowcase.  

A few more units for the mystery quilt have been added.  These are units for Clues 2 and 3.  I really enjoy working on these in between other projects, and don't feel any pressure to "keep up" with the mystery.  There is no rush, so I'll just keep adding a few here and there.  

One more Christmas "goody" has been made - Rosemary Spiced Nuts.  It's a recipe I found on Pinterest years ago, and I only make them around the holiday season.  Our Sew Vintage group has our Christmas party next Saturday, so these are all ready to take to the party.  

It's a good thing that we went to see Olivia's orchestra concert last week, because she broke her right wrist in 2 places on Sunday while sledding with friends.  That will put a damper on both swim team and orchestra while it heals.  I feel so bad for her.    
 

I wonder if the orthopedic clinic offers a group rate for families.  Her twin brother isn't quite healed up from his broken ankle yet.  He's now in a walking boot after several weeks in a cast and one of those knee scooters.  

Design Wall Monday - December 8

What a difference a week makes!  We've had lots more snow.  Snow days are perfect for sewing.  The guild Christmas party was Saturday morning, and we broke up early because several inches of snow had fallen in 2 hours.  We got about 5" total here.  Plus a little more came on Sunday afternoon. I'm pretty sure we've already had more snow than we saw all of last winter.  

The Countdown to Christmas box from Missouri Star has yielded some fun and interesting things so far.  There is a charm pack with a pattern for cat and dog shaped mug rugs, and the acrylic templates were included  There is a coffee mug - already added to the 3 I've already collected.  A small binder with storage sleeves inside will hold charm packs and applique temples.  

There is a pillow pattern along with the plastic alphabet templates needed to applique the WELCOME or any other word onto the pillow.  There is even a package of fusible to use.  The charm pack from earlier in the week could be used for the pillow too.  So that covers the first week of surprises.

All of the blocks for the snowman 3-yard quilt are finally sewn, pressed, and trimmed.  Now I can just focus on getting them into rows - and in the correct order.  The goal is for this to be a flimsy by the end of the month.  

I'm getting a late start on the grandkids' pillowcases this year.  The math/science print has been in the stash for awhile.  The NASA prints are newly purchased.  These will be good for 2 of the boys I think.  

The solar system fabric has also been in the stash for a couple of years.  It's time to use it up.  The black print and the tan one are some options for cuff colors.  I haven't decided yet which one I'm going to use.  

The swimmer print will work for cuffs for both of the girls because both are swimmers. 

One other plan for the week is to continue working on the clues for the Bonnie Hunter mystery.  We've seen 3 clues so far, and I have a good start on them.  The colors really make me think spring.  And it's a nice change up from red, white, blue or some of the darker colors I've been sewing with lately.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog