Design Wall Monday - December 23

The amaryllis has begun to bloom. 

On the tallest stack there are 2 really big red flowers, and 2 smaller buds that appear to be variegated red and white.  The bud on the second stalk is getting bigger every day too.  It has been fun to watch this grow.

There was no sewing at all on Saturday as we enjoyed the day at a girls' wrestling tournament, watching our granddaughter.  She placed 3rd in her bracket, so we were very proud of her.  She's a 7th grader, but had never tried wrestling before this year.  But Sunday I spent part of the afternoon at my sewing machine working on the snowman door hanger.

The snowman's body remains to be pieced (today??), and then the sections sewn together.  Finally there will be a border all around the outside.  I'm optimistic that it will be a flimsy by the end of the day.    

And my reward for getting the door hanger to the flimsy stage is this mini quilt.  This one is a paper pieced snowflake that will finish 12" square.  I hope to have this completely done to display for the month of January.  We'll see if I reach that goal.

I may take a bit of a break over Christmas and just do a little handwork.  We aren't doing our family get-together until next Saturday, but there is still plenty to do.

I'm linking up with:
https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog/monday-musings-12-23-24/

RSC24 - Week #51

EDIT: I'm headed to watch my granddaughter wrestle, so as soon as I post this I'll be in the car headed east.  It will be a "no sew" day.  And that's OK.

There is a really big closet in my sewing room, not a walk-in but it's about 8' long.  That makes for lots and lots of room for fabric storage.  And hanging on the rod above are all of the block sets and flimsies that are part of on-going projects.

I went through the block sets this week.  Each set is clipped to a skirt hanger along with any instructions for making the block.  Some sets are getting close to having enough for a quilt top, and other sets have only a few blocks.  This isn't ALL of the blocks hanging in there, but it does represent some of the ones I want to work on in 2025. 

Photo (L to R, by row): 
* Night Vision - nearing enough for a small quilt

* Brighten - almost enough for a baby quilt

* Buckeye Beauty - just getting a good start on these

* Entwined Star - only about 5 or 6 of these so far

* Make Your Point - tiny blocks, but growing

* String Beads - lots of these

* Facets - there are only 4 of these

* Stashbuster - about 10

* Morning Glory - paper pieced Bonnie Hunter (only 4)

So, these are just SOME of the blocks you might see revisited in 2025.  In some cases, those blocks may become something small like a table runner or wall hanging.  In other cases I plan to make a quilt, but whether large or small remains to be seen. 

 These Diamond Tile blocks (another Bonnie Hunter pattern) have been hanging in the closet for a long time.  The plan had been using them to make a baby or child size quilt.  Looking back in my records, 2020 was the last time I made any.  It's definitely time to use these in SOMETHING.

Ditto with these - called Plaid.  I think these came from one of the Lori Holt books.  There is a pretty good sized stack of these blocks, almost all made with novelty prints for the bigger squares.  

And speaking of novelty prints - there are lots of them in the stash that certainly could provide enough blocks to make a baby quilt. Our guild did baby quilts a couple of years ago using solids plus novelty prints in Churn Dash blocks.  Of course that means I collected solids and novelties.  And I love Churn Dash blocks.  So many possibilities!!!!

Plus - I'm already "on the hunt" for some amazing NEW scrappy blocks to add to the mix for the new year.  I have a couple of things in mind, such as more string blocks.  I tested out a couple of string triangles using my tri-recs rulers.  These are 5" square unfinished, and really could be a mix of "crumbs" and strings.  Any new ways to reduce the small scraps in my world would help, right?

Check out more RSC fun today:
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Tranquility is a flimsy

 Yikes!  This is the biggest quilt I've made in recent memory.  It's 92" square, and I didn't have any good spots in the upstairs to lay it out for a picture.  The wind is howling outside, and I was too lazy to hobble downstairs to look for a spot.  At least now I know the approximate dimensions of my entryway.

Tranquility was a 7 month mystery quilt from Bear Creek Quilting.  The first of each month we got an email with that month's clue.  When we signed up, the fabric requirements were sent out - 1 print, and a light/dark of 2 colors.  I already had the print in the stash, and then bought the 2 golds and 2 teals to go with it.  The number of blocks made each month varied from 4 to 12 of one block pattern.  These are NOT my normal color choices, but I do love the design.  I've cut enough of the leftover dark gold for binding.

For the first time ever, I bought an amaryllis.  And the first blossom is beginning to open up.  I can not believe how fast these things grow.  

The Nantucket bag

One of the small project kits that was on my To Do list for this month was a bag. 

The kit included a mini charm pack, the lining fabric (pink with daisies), the fusible batting, and a zipper.  I bought it at The Pin Cushion locally.  The pattern is a free one to download from Moda called Nantucket Summer.  
https://modafabrics.com/webfiles/fp_NantucketSummer-ZipperPouch.pdf

My goal yesterday had been to get the mini charms sewn together, sandwiched with the batting and lining, and quilted.  Those steps didn't take nearly as long as expected, so I just kept going and finished the bag - all in one sitting.  It took me only a couple of hours total. 

It's an easy pattern and one that I might make again.  It's about the right size for travel size toiletries or maybe all the cords for my devices when traveling.  I'm thinking of making another from a really cute fat quarter rather than piecing the outside.  And it would be easy to adjust the size.  

Tranquility border #2

Seems like my sewing time so far this week has come in small increments.

Tranquility (mystery quilt) has 3 borders to finish it.  The first was a 2.5" strip of the dark teal, and it's all attached.  The second border has the light teal plus those pieced units.  I have managed to sew 3 sides onto the top so far, and the last side is pinned on.  So maybe I'll get that side done today and start on the final border, which is another 2.5" dark teal.

The colors in this photo are not even close to reality.  I took the picture late yesterday afternoon, and it was snowing so the light was pretty dismal.  

A little of this and that

Saturday was a really good day!!  In the morning I attended Saturday Sampler, where we got the instructions for the final 4 corner blocks.  And the Show n Tell was even more amazing than ever.  There were so many projects in the Show n Tell pile that it took over an hour to show them.

At noon the Sew Vintage group met for a Christmas party held in the classroom at The Pin Cushion quilt shop.  This is just the best group of ladies with ages ranging from 30s to 80s.  One gal was unable to attend, and we really missed her.  But we did Facetime with one former member who moved away about a year ago.  It was so good to chat with her and catch up a little.

We always do a potluck lunch, and a small gift exchange.  You know how potluck goes - everything was delicious!!!  And more food than we could possibly get through even sharing with the quilt shop staff.  Our gift exchange was slightly different this year.  We got the pattern last month for the little stockings.  So everyone made one, and stuffed a small gift inside.  We drew numbers to exchange them.  The one I received is that navy blue one in the center.  Inside were some lovely lavender lotion, a purse sized notepad, and a Pieced Tree pattern card for a really cute scrappy quilt.  There were so many laughs that the ladies working up front in the shop wondered what was in our coffee!  

Design Wall Monday - December 16

 I managed to finish up the 6th paper pieced block in Circle of Friends.  It's really nice that there is just one block each month.  I've kept up with this one easily.

My design wall this week has one big project that I hope to push to flimsy stage, and a couple of small projects that I want to begin.

 Tranquility is a mystery quilt that just needs the outer borders.  There are 3 of them, with a wide 6" border in between 2 narrow ones.  I have the first narrow border partially attached.  All of the pieces are cut and ready, so maybe I'll get them done before Christmas.

There are 2 small winter projects that I really want to work on this week too.  The snowman door hanger looks fairly easy.  And the paper pieced snowflake mini quilt is destined for one of the little metal hangers on my fireplace hearth.  

I'll also have the final Saturday Sampler blocks to make, but have until early January to get them done.  And there is a kit for a small bag laying on my ironing board.  I think I have more than enough to keep me occupied.  Now I just need a blizzard to keep me home to sew.

What's new on your design wall?

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/