Lots of prep work

Monday morning in the sewing room was mostly prep work on several projects that I want to see progress on this week.

The first month's task for the new Saturday Sampler is to make a pieced background for a large section of the quilt.  We'll make 8 blocks using 6 different backgrounds - or however many we want.  I have strips cut in these 8 pale colors, so that my blocks won't be exactly identical.  One block is done so far. 

There were 4 placemats all sandwiched on my ironing board.  They are now quilted and have binding cut. 

Vintage Spools are another Rainbow Scrap Challenge patterns on my 2026 list.  I actually began making these last fall in random colors.  But this month each of the 2 different blocks will have blue in them somewhere.  Lots of cutting has blocks prepped.  These are 6" finished, so I'll need a lot of them. 

Also for RSC I'm doing 12" Snail Trail blocks this year.  Up until now there were only 2 brown (from 2025) and 2 blue (2026) Snail Trail blocks finished.  My plan is to do 3-4 of each color. 

Two more of the brown and blue are cut out now and layed out on a design board.  The thing I really love about the design boards is that I can lay out the parts and pieces for a block or project in the right order or direction to be used.  It cuts down on sewing something wrong - doesn't eliminate it, but cuts down on it.  And I can just move the design board around from my cutting space to the ironing board or next to my sewing machine. 

I only sewed one more of the BH mystery blocks, but I do have the units all paired up so that the various fabrics don't end up repeated in the blocks. 

Having all of this prep work done ahead will make for some very quick sewing this week.  And hopefully getting some of these blocks done and off the design boards will make my sewing room a bit neater.  

Design Wall Monday - January 12

This weekend was the kick off to a brand new Saturday Sampler program at The Pin Cushion (local shop) and it is always fun to start something new.  Our program this year is Anthologie (by Southern Charm Quilts) and the ladies talked about what that word means, and how it applies to our quilting.  An anthology is a collection and this pattern pulls together a collection of traditional blocks (flying geese, Dresden, strip piecing, etc.) and different techniques, but pushes us to interpret them in a new way. 

After the intro, I began to rethink my background choice. This first month is working on a pieced background for the applique section of the quilt, and instead of one single pale grey fabric (my original choice) I am adding a bit more color variety. I realized quickly that using just 1 color in a pieced background was kind of a wasted opportunity.  So, I bought a 1/2 yard each of 5 other pale colors for that variety which should provide much more depth and interest. 

There will be more RSC and QOV sewing this week. I prepped some blue RSC blocks over the weekend to refill those design boards that I had emptied last week.  And there are a few QOV blocks already waiting on the design board.

And I hope to make progress on the Bonnie Hunter mystery since the reveal was posted on Friday.  The colors are so pretty this year, and I actually am using her colors. So far I have 1 of each block made.  But lots of the units making up these blocks are ready to go.

  The Pin Cushion is doing the PHD (Projects Half Done) challenge again this year.  It has been a good incentive for me to finish those UFOs, WIPs, and PIGs that are abundant in my sewing space.  Each year a prize is offered to anyone finishing all 12 items on the list kept at the store.  I've done that 3 years in a row now.  Can I make it 4 years?

I already have a UFO list that I keep each year, based off the old APQ UFO Challenge.  They no longer draw a number for the month however.  It works for me anyway - but with 3 items listed each month.  I have the PHD list priority project listed with an asterisk to remind me where my priority is each month.  Then there is a secondary UFO or WIP to try to make progress on.  And last there is a PIG each month, which I select at the beginning of the month based more on the season or the RSC color. The PIG spot leaves room for those squirrels/new projects that just pop up through the weeks.  

One UFO I added to this year's PHD list is the Farm Girl Vintage quilt.  This project box has been sitting for several years full of 12" blocks from both of Lori Holt's Farm Girl books.  Our Sew Vintage group worked our way through both books when they first came out.  I got crazy and made every single block in both 6" and 12" (finished) sizes, using my 30s reproduction stash.  I used all of the small blocks right away in a quilt that was finished at the time.  Then I pulled out the barn block and farm animal blocks and made another quilt - also done.  But - there are still 45 blocks in that project box - enough for a big quilt or 2 small ones.  Time to empty that box, so it's on my PHD list to finish before the end of the year. 

So - here is my PHD list for 2026 . . . containing a mix of flimsies, block sets, kits, and things with only the fabric gathered. 

• Jackrabbit Stars - fabric gathered
• Cactus in the Cabin - flimsy
• Kisses From Heaven - kit
• Beach Bums - kit
• Blockheads 6 QOV - blocks are made
• Farm Girl - blocks are made
• Brown Contessa - flimsy
• Triple Triangle - flimsy
• Snowdrift - kit
• Windy Day- fabric gathered
• Shadow Stars QOV - blocks are cut out
• Zipper - flimsy

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog

RSC26 - Week #2

Last fall I was going through some old patterns and came across the Snail Trail.  Years ago I made a big quilt as a wedding gift using these blocks. It's time to revisit this one because it's a wonderful option for scrappy.  So I made 2 brown blocks during the month last fall with dark neutrals for RSC. 

I'm currently thinking 2-4 blocks in each color will make a nice big quilt.  I'll need a couple more blue ones, maybe in lighter shades. And maybe more browns. These finish at 11.5" and that one on the left is touch smaller than it should be, as my ruler moved while trimming.  Oops!  But it will work out OK in the end.  

It's easy to get lots of blocks made quickly when I already have them cut out and layed out on one of my design boards.  That is how things went this week.  Two blue Give It a Whirl blocks have been added to the stack of these. I think just a couple in each color this year will take me to a large enough quilt since there are a lot of them already from 2025.

A couple of design boards held parts and pieces for various Quilt of Valor blocks.  Those 2 design boards are now almost empty, and produced one block for each of these 3 block sets that have been on-going for months.  Left to right: 4-Patch Fun, Gleam, and Twin Star.  

Also from those design boards these 6" Churn Dash blocks joined the 5 red ones I already had.  That top red block came from Nann in a box of goodies last month.  My thought is to mix the 6" blocks with 12" Churn Dash blocks in a future QOV.

And finally, there is the Echoes block for QOV.  This 10" block is the 2026 block drive pattern, free to download from the Quilts of Valor web site.  I shared this pattern with our QOV group last weekend, and I think we'll use them around a panel as the pattern suggests.  The blocks for QOV will be scrappy, which of course made me think they would look great in any scrappy color combo.  It's almost identical to one of the Fabric Cafe 3-yard quilts too.  

One new RSC block for my 2026 plan is the Lori Holt block Honey Bee from her book Farm Girl Vintage 2.  Our guild made the 6" version of this block for our past president this fall and those blocks were really adorable.  My assigned color for the bee body was red for the president's block.

I decided to make the 12" version this year for RSC, and turn them into a baby quilt.  The block on the left is my first attempt. I'll readily admit that I was quite underwhelmed by my fabric choices. The pattern shows grey or maybe black wings.  I should have paid attention.  It took me about 20 minutes to make 2 grey wing units, pick out the seams around the blue ones, and sew the grey ones into the block.  Huge improvement in my humble opinion.  The pieces are cut to make another blue Bee, in lighter blue - with grey wings. 

Let's go see what everyone else is playing with already for 2026 . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

Finished (or NOT) Friday

These name banners for my girls were not on my To Do list for this week, because the little metal hangers I had ordered for them had been delayed so I had no idea if they would actually arrive this week.  But they did arrive on Monday. 

Once those hangers were here it only took about 5 minutes each to hand stitch the hanger to the top of each banner. An unexpected finish to report!!  Yay!!

Another small finish this week - the winter snowman mini banner.  It's so cute!!!  This is another of the Shabby Fabrics kits, and ALL paper pieced blocks.  I did add a little pearl button in the center of both snowflakes to hide the spot where those points all meet in the center.  I really love this one and it's hanging right behind me in my office where I can enjoy it every day.

Check out more Finishes (or Not) today . . .
https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

This and that

This coming Saturday morning The Pin Cushion will begin the new session of Saturday Sampler.  Some years it's a mystery, and some years we see the finished product at the beginning.  Some years we get the fabric and the monthly pattern when we come each month.  Some years we shop our stash.  And EVERY YEAR the Show and Tell at the session is so inspirational. 
 

This year we know our pattern - "Anthology" from Southern Charm Quilts.  Each month we'll do parts of this quilt.  There are so many different possibilities for this one.  I'm going with batiks because I have so many in the stash, and keeping the colors on the cool side.  Do you see the snowflake templates in my project box in that first picture?  Well, since this quilt offers a mix of mostly piecing with some applique my plan involves snowflakes for applique.  Now that I have my fabrics gathered, I can't wait to get started!!

I just had to show the new kitchen towel I bought myself for Christmas.  This was a purchase at a holiday arts and crafts show.  This should be my theme song!  I plan to track fabrics In and Out this year again, after not doing it for a few years.  But I really want to use up more of what I already have, so maybe tracking it will help hold me accountable.  Have I made any purchases in 2026?  Yes - a wide back for a UFO, and a half yard of a color I "needed" for an on-going project.  

Midweek already?

This week is already flying by!  On Monday I had 2 visits to the clinic - labs and PA appointment to renew prescriptions.  There were so many sick people wearing masks in that waiting room that I was afraid to touch anything or breath deeply.  Yikes!!  Then I met 3 friends at a 4:00 movie.  We saw Song Sung Blue, and I'm so impressed with the musical talents of Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.  Wow!!  After that early movie we went to a restaurant for an adult beverage and supper.  I should have taken a picture of my burger - Sweet Heat.  The restaurants here in town are doing a Burger Showdown during January.  This one had pepper jack cheese, pepper jelly, and pepper jelly glazed bacon.  It had heat and sweet - delicious!!

Yesterday morning I had lots of sewing time because I was awake way too early - again.  Finally got my snowman banner quilted.  I ended up doing a stitch in the ditch but with a decorative stitch.  There were a couple of times the thread broke, but eventually I finished that decorative stitch just around the blocks.  Now I can get that binding stitched down, add a couple of embellishments, and hang it up.  

I change needles fairly often because I put a lot of hours on my machines.  How do you dispose of used needles?  I have an old prescription bottle that holds a lot of used needles.  I also have a "chubby" prescription bottle that holds used rotary cutter blades. 

Lots of blue scraps have been on my cutting board all week, so there should be plenty to share on Saturday's RSC post.  All of the string blocks, BH mystery blocks, Quilt of Valor blocks, and other Rainbow Scrap blocks that were cut out and started - are now done.  More cutting has been happening however.  These are the parts for a brand new RSC block that I think I'm going to play with this year.  A couple of additional QOV blocks are also cut out and ready to sew.   

Today I have a DAR meeting late morning, and am getting my new crown attached at the dentist in the afternoon.  Those things may keep me out of the sewing room today. 

Cutting & binding

 

The binding is done on 2 placemats, the first 2 of 2026.  The other 5 still need quilting, but a little at a time will get them done.

Some cutting and sewing happened for both Rainbow Scrap Challenge and the BH mystery.  I cut 5 more sets of Clue #7 but only got 2 sets sewn.  And on the right is the beginning of a new Give It a Whirl block.  The HSTs are sewn and ready for the white corners.

I had to go to the clinic yesterday morning for a blood draw, and then return mid-afternoon for an appointment to get my prescriptions all renewed.  Our family doctor retired in December and the PA I'll be seeing now requires a face to face appointment every 6 months in order to renew meds.  I hated walking into the clinic as there are so many influenza cases right now.  It was a busy busy place.

The other task for yesterday was taking Christmas decorations back to storage in the basement.  I made a lot of trips up and down those steps yesterday.