Design Wall Monday - October 13

On my design wall this week are some on-going projects . . . continuing my efforts this year of decreasing the number of UFO/WIP and PIGs hanging around.  

** Cactus in the Cabin blocks. 

One test block is completely done to make sure I understood the instructions correctly.  The first 2 green strips have been added to the other 19 center units, and the corners are on some of them. 

** Bad Kitty pillow cover for Halloween

I need to do some applique stitching on this pillow, and then find something to use for the backing.  It's about 18" square.  

** Add borders to 2025 Saturday Sampler

On Saturday morning I attended the reveal party for this year's Saturday Sampler.  There were 27 finished quilts and flimsies shown that morning.  Mine is OK but there were some absolutely stunning versions there!  And a lost of ladies added borders, which made me decide to do the same.  Sometime this week I'll show some of the photos I took of the other quilts that caught my eye.  

** Sew another set of blocks into rows

These are scrappy Potato Chip blocks (Mount Scrapmore pattern) and I only needed one more block, which I made this weekend.  This will be a donation quilt.  I have a small bin FULL of pieces cut for more blocks, and there is a skirt hanger in the closet with a few more blocks with the colors arranged differently.  Seed for another scrappy quilt, right?

As for hand stitching this week I have plenty of brown binding to work on - 2 placemats and granddaughter Sophia's lap quilt she made.  

This is more than enough to keep me busy this week.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog    

 

Sewcialites 3 is coming in 2026

Do I NEED to get involved in another sew-along?  Of course not.  But I sure WANT to, and PLAN to get involved in a new sew-along in 2026.

https://blog.fatquartershop.com/join-us-for-the-free-sewcialites-3-quilt-along/

I've done the Sewcialites programs #1 and #2 in the past, so of course I'm excited about #3 that is beginning in February 2026.  It's pretty easy to keep up because it's only 1 block per week for 25 weeks, with a catch up week at the end of each month.  Each block has 3 sizes to choose from.  And it's free!!

For Sewcialites 1 (begun in 2020) I just chose a couple of the blocks that I liked the most, but didn't make every block in the series.  For example, I used the Wisdom block in 2021 for Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  And then in 2023 I made ALL of the Sewcialites 2 blocks and did them in all 3 sizes.  The green star quilt used the 9" blocks from Sewcialites 2.  The butterfly used the 6" blocks.  I actually made the 3" blocks in 2 colorways because I was having so much fun making them.  I used most of them in a couple of wall hangings.  There is still a little stack of those red/white 3" blocks to use somewhere.  And that yellow block is Wisdom, from the 1st year.

I have until February to decide what colors/fabrics I want to use for the new Sewcialites program.  Ideas are already floating through my head of course.   

RSC25 - Week #41

Most of the black sewing time from this week involved a non-scrappy project with a solid black background.  I've made some great progress. 

Cactus in the Cabin is a pattern from Bear Creek Quilting.  All of the pieces are organized around the kite shaped center for the next 20 blocks.  All of the cutting took a lot of time for these log cabin variations.  

However, when cutting those kite sections there was a LOT of waste cut off.  All of these odd little orange wedges were trimmed off the 5.5" squares, and they are much too big to just throw away.  And much too pretty to throw away.  So . . . I tested out the Easy Dresden ruler, and find that I could cut 3.5" Dresden blades from those scraps.  No idea what they will become, but they WILL have life beyond the waste basket. 
 

As for RSC projects, there were 4 more of the Vintage Spool blocks added this week.  These are only 6" finished and I have 17 of them made so far.  It's a good beginning for this set of RSC blocks for the future.  These are such cute blocks, especially the tilted ones. 

There is a small stack of placemat flimsies in my sewing room, all made from orphan blocks or strip sets from recent projects.  I got 4 of them sandwiched with batting and backing, and quilted.  One actually got binding this week.  This used up 6 more of the left over Windmill blocks from last week's RSC quilt flimsy.  Totally made from leftovers!!

I began to lay out another set of RSC blocks to see where I'm at with those.  But I'm just not sure how I want to arrange the Give It a Whirl blocks, although I did play with them a bit yesterday.  There are 30 blocks so I could make a kid sized quilt.  But maybe with more of them - or a more creative layout - a bigger quilt could happen.  Any ideas out there?

A blogging friend - you know who you are - reminded me about the Potato Chip blocks this week.  These were all made early in 2025 and have hung forgotten in the closet now for months.  If I make 1 more this could become a finished top.  And to be honest there are a few more hanging in closet with a different color arrangement.  And there's a small bin FULL of the potato chip 2.5 x 4.5 pieces.  

Maybe I can get a couple more RSC tops pieced before the crazy holiday rush begins.  

What other fun projects are happening in the RSC world?

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Winter Bird stocking - Finished!! (or Not) Friday

Yay - I have a finish for this week!!

Tilda's World has a wealth of free patterns to download.  I love finding free patterns, and when I saw the Winter Bird pattern I just had to do something with it.  

She did the Christmas stockings in 3 different color variations.  There are also quilts and wall hangings that are made using this sweet little bird. I had trouble deciding which version I liked better - the white or the dark red.  You know which one I've been making.

I made the stocking in a dark red - from my stash.  Actually it's all from my stash, except for the light red binding, lining and yo-yos.  I'm pretty pleased with the stocking although it is a bit bigger than the rest of the stockings we hang every year.  But that's OK.  This stocking could become a Christmas door hanger, or even as a wall hanging.  

Originally I had a different red chosen for the binding.  And I was going to use red buttons for the berries next to the leave.  But then I was in Walmart last week, and walked through the fabric aisle just for fun.  There was a very cute red/white print in their "1 yard" cut section, and on a whim I tossed it into my cart with the light bulbs and shampoo.

Turned out it was a really good choice for the binding - and I also ended up using it for the lining of the stocking.  And then had a sudden light bulb moment to try it out with yo-yos instead of buttons.  It was meant to be, and actually looks a lot like what the Tilda pattern used for the sample photo.  

And I have an update on our grandson's broken ankle from Monday night's flag football injury.  On Thursday morning they put him in a cast for more stability and protection.  He'll be on crutches for 6-8 weeks.  But at least he is smiling again.  It was hard to see him in pain when it happened. 

I'm checking in with Alycia for Finished!! (or Not) Friday at:

https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Blockheads #19

Wholehearted by Jackie MacDonald is block #19 for Moda Blockheads.

This was a fast block to make.  I really only had a little over an hour to sew yesterday, but got this one made quickly.  And then had a little time to do some cutting for Cactus in the Cabin and for some RSC blocks.

The squares and rectangles were already cut, but I used that new ruler to get the kites and "wings" cut from those pieces.  There will be 20 of those used as the centers of the cactus blocks.  Two are made, 18 to go.  

This n That

 It's been quite a week.

On Saturday we joined a big gathering of family to celebrate my brother-in-law's 80th birthday.  His kids and grandkids flew in or drove in from various parts of the country - including Seattle, Atlanta, and Texas.  9 of the 11 grandkids were there, and both great-grands.  Dave's siblings and spouses were all there too, although his older brother is a county sheriff and got called out to an accident so he missed the hors d'oeuvres but made it back for supper. We had a really good time seeing so many people we love.

Monday evening was the final week of flag football for 2 of our grandsons.  It was championship night for the league.  Usually they play at the same place at 6:30 and 8:15 so we can catch both games by moving our lawn chairs.  But the 4th grade teams played at 7:30 this week at the stadium in Sioux Falls shared by 1 high school and 1 small college.  It was a beautiful chilly night with that full moon.  We could watch the first half of Jack's game, then head to Riverdale Park a few miles away to catch the last half of Jonah's game.

Jack's team beat the #1 team 14-13 to win their bracket championship.  That would be Jack in the back row doing bunny ears over his teammates.  These boys have had a fun season. I stole this photo off my SIL's Facebook page.

Jonah's game started late so we only missed a couple of minutes.  Early in the second half Jonah snagged an interception and turned to run.  The grass was wet and he slipped, immediately grabbing his ankle.  His dad (and coach) carried him off the field, and the league nurse came to check him out.  He has a hairline fracture.  This wasn't how he hoped to end the season.

Some very exciting mail showed up on Tuesday.  My alma mater finally agreed to licensing to produce Jackrabbit themed fabrics.  I received the 2 yards of this print that I had pre-ordered a few months ago.  I'm not sure what it will become, but I'm tickled to have it.

And I finished the 16 Log Cabin blocks for the Cactus in the Cabin quilt.  Next I'll begin working on the 20 cactus blocks.  

Sticking to my goals

 One day into the week and so far I've mostly stuck to the goals I set for myself for this week.  A productive morning was spent in my sewing room.  My happy place.

The binding is on my Challenge project for the guild quilt show.  I can check it off as a finish, but can't show it here until after the quilt show.

The Christmas stocking is one step closer to finished.  Binding and the hanging loop are attached, but it all requires some hand stitching before I can say it's finished.

The Log Cabin blocks are progressing.  One final green strip needs to be sewn onto the blocks, then pressing and squaring up.  

I will admit to being sidetracked for a little while - cleaning up the mess I made of my drawers holding batiks.  There are 4 drawers in this unit, and 2 of them were actually pulled completely out and stacked on top of a box while I was searching for a couple more greens and more orange for the cactus blocks for the next step in this quilt.  I'm happy to say the mess is cleaned up and the drawers are back in and actually close.  

So - the orange will be the cactus "bloom" in each of the next 20 blocks.  I was also sidetracked briefly because that specialty ruler I ordered was delivered and I just HAD to try it out.  I'm not usually a fan of rulers that do only 1 thing, but I'm thinking this might have been a good purchase for making that kite shape.  

The pattern has us cut a square, then fold it in half diagonally and press.  That fold lays along that line on the ruler, then we cut.  Open it up and press - and voila!!  The kite shape is perfect.  The other side of the ruler is marked for cutting the pieces that will attach to the sides of the kite.  And the ruler is even marked to square up that block.  Not bad!