Design Wall Monday - April 7, 2025

Good Morning Quilters!

I just got home from a quilt retreat.  Each time I go, I work on blocks for a Jane Stickle quilt.  I cut the book “Dear Jane” apart, and have each of the book’s block picture by each of my blocks.  I am a little over half way making the 169 blocks for this quilt.  Here are the blocks I completed at the retreat:

The blocks finish at five inches each.  Since I got this UFO out to work on at the retreat, I think I will leave it out and work on it some more.  I am re-inspired.  Yeah!

Several ladies attending the retreat are each making the same quilt, Cousin’s Walk.  I have been struggling to finish mine up.  Here are pictures of some of the ladies and their versions of the quilt.  Each quilt has a charm of its own.

I think I missed a few of the ladies and their quilts, it was an impromptu show out in the hallway.  They are all so interesting.  

What is on your design wall this week?  Mine is empty, but I will be inspired by your pictures.  Thank you so much for participating in our Design Wall Monday Party.  You are a blessing to me.

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Design Wall Monday - January 16, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

There is progress on three quilts this week.

The Cheddar/black UFO quilt is back up on the design wall, and the hsts that were packed away with it didn’t work out as a border.  It made the quilt “busier” than it already is, and I think it’s plenty busy enough.  I changed my mind and am going to add a simple black solid border and be done with it.  As a quilt maker, I have a right to change my mind….several times, in this case.  lol

Here is a picture of my audition of a simple solid black border:

I like it and it follows the “kiss” moto…..”keep it simple sxxxxx”.  The hsts will be used somewhere else.

My redwork quilt has seen great progress this week.  I have attached the vine/flower outer border on all four sides and have drafted a corner “leaves” or “flowers” addition to take the vine/flowers around the corner.  In the original pattern the four borders did not connect in any way.  I now have only one corner left to embroider, and am getting close to creating a join pattern for this final corner.

Here are pictures of the four corners, and how the vine/flowers continue around  the corners.   

Corner top left:

Corner bottom left:

Corner top right:

Corner bottom right that is not finished yet:

I’m close to being finished with this one!

And, I decided on the scalloped edge size for my Jane Stickle quilt, and penciled the scallops onto the edge.  It is now ready for a longarm quilter to quilt it for me.

Here is a picture:

I have enjoyed reading your blog posts this week.  Everyone is really busy and it is exciting to read about your projects.  Thank you so much for joining the Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  Here’s the link for this week’s party:

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Design Wall Monday - January 2, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

2023 is here, and with it comes new hope and encouragement about completing UFOs.  My thoughts on approaching challenges in 2023 is:

Simplify and Innovate  Treat everyone (including self) with kindness.

2022 was a year of finishing so many of my UFOs, and making great progress on others.  It was a great encouagement for me to see some finishes.  Last week, I counted up the remaining boxes of UFO projects, and it is still a daunting list.  But since great progress was made last year, great progress can be made this year too!

 I know, I know, there is always the disclaimer in the investment ads:  “Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results” — a disclosure based on SEC Rule 156.   But I think, with UFOs, an emphasis on finishing them has had great results last year, and I can do it again this year.

Two recent finishes (or almost finishes) are happening right now.  (1)  My version of Jane Stickle’s 1863 quilt is ready to send to my long arm quilter.  I showed you a picture (Here)  When it returns, I will add binding and a label.  It’s one of my oldest UFOs….started when the 9-11-2001 tradegy happened.

(2)  A redwork “penny square” quilt that has 64 squares plus a vine/flower border.  The center 64 squares were trimmed to size, assembled, and the borders were trimmed to final size this last week.  I have decided to add the borders to the quilt before I finish designing the pattern for the border corners.  Something simple is planned.  

This project is maybe my oldest UFO.  My friend Dee and I saw it in a booth in Paducah during the big quilt show there, back when I lived in St. Louis, MO.  I bought the pattern there.   We moved away from St. Louis in 2003, and it was way before that.  When we saw the quilt, Dee said she would embroider some squares to help me and she did.  Thank you Dee!  Dee’s cat “Max”, and my dog at the time “Sally”, each have their own block in the quilt. 

I think Dee and I are like the two friends in these two blocks of little girls.  She is so dear to me; I think of her as an extra sister.

 

One other thing I made this week was a snowman.  We’ve had such deep snow and then the temperature rose to 40 degrees, making the snow just right for building a snowman.  I couldn’t resist, as you know I love snowmen!  

Well, one new goal for me in the new year is to make a written list of what I hope to accomplish each week.  I will be making a small “goals” post on Tuesdays, linking up with the To Do Tuesday linky party.  The host of that linky party is changing to Carol (of QuiltSchmilt.ca) this week, and I will link to her blog when I post on Tuesdays.  I am great at making lists, but being accountable and reporting results each week will be new to me.  

What are your recent finishes or new starts as the new year begins?  I am looking forward to seeing and reading about them.  Please join in our Design Wall Mondays linky party below and show us what’s happening.  Thank you for participating.  Design Wall Mondays is going to be terrific in 2023!  

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Design Wall Monday - December 5, 2022

 Good Morning Quilters!

I played hooky this week from the internet.  Didn’t respond to your comments, didn’t comment on any of your blogs…..I am sorry.  But I have great progress on an ancient UFO so I hope you will forgive me.  The Jane Stickle quilt (in the Bennington, Vermont museum) has been a favorite of mine since I started quilting long ago.  (Info here)

Well, this week I hauled out all of my blocks that have been constructed for some time, and decided it is time to put them together into a quilt top.  I am making great progress in assembling the quilt, and have one more border of triangles, and two corner kites yet to attach.  I have learned so much over the years, by making blocks for this quilt, and when I visited the museum, I just sat next to it, admiring it for the longest time.  I don’t remember seeing anything else in the museum, it was that special to me.

And soon, I will have my own version of her wonderful quilt to look at.   Here is a picture of my design wall today:

Every once in a while something wonderful happens, and getting this quilt moving along to the finish line was wonderful for me.  I hope you are having wonderful happenings this week also.  It is the season for miracles!

We are traveling this week, and I am taking a small crocheting project with me, so I will have no quilting progress to report to you next Monday.  However, with my iPhone in the car, as I sit in the passenger seat, I will have plenty of time to look at all of your blogs and see your progress.  And post some comments.  Thank you for being so faithful with our Design Wall Monday Linky Parties.

Sign up below, and let’s get this week’s party started!

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Design Wall Monday - August 30, 2021

 Good Morning Quilters!  if you recall, two weeks ago I blogged that I had started a baby blanket for a future, unknown Great Grandchild. Picture of the start of it:   Blog post here  I found the matching yarn skein, “Soft White”  to finish the project and took it with us on the drive to the wedding last week.  I worked on it all the way to Delaware and all the way back to Michigan!  Here is the results:

It measures 28 inches square, and I think I will add a little border all around, as I have a little bit of yarn left over.  I think it will finish it off nicely.   It will be stored away for a future blessed event.

The dress alteration that I talked about last week worked out just fine, (making the dress belt into a tie around the neckline) and here is a picture of us taken at the wedding:

Now that I am back in my sewing room, I am going to tackle finishing my Jane Stickle replica quilt.  I tried to make each block in the same way that the original quilt was done, and here are my quilt squares pinned up on my design wall.  The comparison picture on the left is Jane’s original quilt which is in a museum in Vermont.  My design wall is on the right.  The next step is sewing all the blocks together.

What is on your agenda this week?  I hope no hurricane rains are headed your way. We came through a thunderstorm with lots of lightening while driving home from the wedding.  It was pretty intense, but thankfully short.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you are working on.  Join the Design Wall Mondays linky party below and we can go to your blog to read about your quilty journey.  Thanks for participating!

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What's Happening in October

First, here's a little doll quilt I just finished.  It's a project for the retreat that I go to in Shipshewana every fall.  The ladies at our table challenged each of us to make a little quilt using any nine of the Jane Stickle squares in it.  Jane Stickle squares are 4.5 inches, but they wanted the little squares to be 3 inches or smaller.  I made my nine squares to finish at 2 inches, but the quilt looked very small with only nine squares, and I didn't want to make any more - 2 inches is tiny!

So, I used some half-square triangles that I had to enlarge the quilt a little bit, and added pink and brown 1 inch hst's around the edge.  It is machine quilted very simply and last night I put the binding on it.

The quilt measures 12.5 inches by 12.5 inches.  I am looking forward to seeing the other ladies little quilts when we meet in November.

Secondly, I've been keeping up with the 365 Challenge of either 3 inch or 6 inch blocks.  The blocks have been mostly 3 inch blocks, and yesterday's block was one with mitered corners.  Ugh, I always have trouble with mitered corners.  I cheated and used hst's instead, and it went together very easily.  Here's a picture to show you what I mean:

I drew lines through the picture to show me how to convert it from mitered corners block to a simpler block using half square triangles.  I also used a small print fabric so the seams didn't show very much.

After 9 months of making blocks every day, I look for the easiest way to make them.  

Thirdly, I made binding, and am sewing it on a picnic table sized quilt that I made. The quilt is made from left over pieces from an aborted mystery quilt project from two years ago.  I started Bonnie Hunter's "Grand Illusion" and became disillusioned with my quilt.  The pieces and parts were made into four quilts.  This is one of them:

The quilt is about 55 inches square, and I have another one just like it.  I intend to use them as picnic table covers at the cabin.  I enjoy hand binding, and it will be relaxing work in the evenings this week.  What are you working on?

As usual, I'm linking up with Design Wall Mondays (Here)

Maybe I have Spring Fever?

Yesterday I was trying to make some basket blocks from some fabric that I had cut some time ago.  I was trimming a HST to 3.5 inches......only I trimmed it to 3 inches by mistake.  So I hunted out the fabric and made another HST, trimmed it to 3.5 inches, and began to put the block together.  Here is a picture of the trimmed too small block, the replacement block, and the completed basket - which as you see, does not include the replacement block:

Why, you ask?  Well, when I started to sew the basket together, it didn't look quite right!  The colors were off a little.  After studying it a while, and pondering with my little brain, I finally figured out that I must have the dark print fabric in two different colorways.   See below:

So, I hunted again in the stash, made a third HST, with the correct fabric, trimmed it to the correct size, and finished the basket block.......I think I may have Spring Fever.

On another subject, I am working on Dear Jane blocks in a group that meets once a month here in Williamsburg.  The teacher is great, and has re-motivated me to finish my long-ago started Dear Jane quilt, and has motivated me to make new blocks along with the class.  The teacher is Doreen Johnson, and she has a blog called "Aunt Reen's Place".  Aunt Reen because that's what her nieces and nephews call her. She talked about me this past week, and I am still reeling from her remarks.  (Here is her post)   She said some things that are true about me, but also said I'm an extremely talented quilter.
  
As you can see from my post today, I don't think of myself in that way.  I view myself as maybe "determined" and "focused" as a quilter, but would never describe myself as extremely talented.  Do you find it hard to accept compliments?  I am a woman who, when someone compliments my dress, will say "This old thing?"  or something equally banal.  So when I read her blog, I thought - "Who me?"  "Is she talking about me?"

I do know that I love to quilt, and love to look at blogs and see other quilter's work.  Mondays are fun because I can see everyone else's work on Design Wall Mondays over at Judy Liquidara's blog. (Here)

Happy Valentines Day!

Here are four of my very small collection of very small pillows. They are on a doll dresser in the front hallway.

The heart shaped one is covered with white buttons, and is 7 inches in width. All the buttons are sewed on, and it is backed with muslin and is filled very firmly with batting.  It was an ebay purchase.

The felt flowers and beads pillow is filled with rice and is 6" x 6", and is all hand stitched. I don't remember where I got it, but possibly my friend Dee made it for me.

The little "H" cross stitched one is 5.5" square, and is filled with lavender.  I love it so much, because it is backed with blue plaid, and the cross stitching is so tiny, and it smells so lovely.  Again, an ebay purchase.

The embroidered flower basket pillow is 6.5" square, and is a very pale pink, with a lovely small pink print on the back.  Filled with cotton batting.  I bought it at a craft fair years ago, and don't remember the time or place.

This week I've been working on more blocks for my Indigo Dear Jane quilt.

To see what others have on their design walls this morning, go to Patchwork Times, Judy Liquidara's website to see pictures of a lot of quilter's design walls.  (Here)

Moving On from Celtic Solstice for Now

This week I started the Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt, which is a free block of the month for 24 months.  The original quilt was made in 1848, and the patterns are on the internet over the next two years by Gay from Sentimentalstitches.net and Brenda from dearjane.com  There is also a new blog of Benjamin Biggs quilts here:  BenjaminBiggs.Blogspot.com

I made my first block by using freezer paper folded in fourths and cut as I would cut a snowflake pattern:

Each block has a little flower appliqued in each corner, which gives the quilt a light and airy look.  Mine is lacking that element, but it will be added soon.   Here's the complete quilt:

I also am making indigo and shirting blocks in preparation for the monthly Dear Jane meeting here in Williamsburg this coming Tuesday.  Here are four triangle blocks:

Where I am with Celtic Solstice:

Option A uses most of the parts already made

Option B has more of a "floor tile" look

Option C - one of my first layouts

These would look like 4 leaf clovers if the
colors were reversed!

Recently I posted about 18 Ways to Motivate Yourself in Quilting.  (See Post)
and one of the points was "recognize when indecision is causing inertia".  That's where I am with Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice.  I have so many different options that I could make with the pieces, and am still searching for the one that says "this is the one".


So for now, it is tabled.  I would appreciate any thoughts you have on any of the above pictures, and also any Celtic Solstice layouts/colors that you just love.  Thanks!

Celtic Solstice and Decisions

Since the reveal of Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice, I've been playing with the blocks on my design wall.  I looked at other quilter's colors and layouts, and started moving pieces around.  I am not satisfied yet, so am giving it a rest and working on sewing on some other projects.

Here are two possibilities.  I want to get more of the floor tile's that are pinwheels into my quilt, as I love them in the church floor tile pictures that Bonnie posted.  

Could I add black and white pinwheels to the sashing and would that tone it down?

I do like "busy" quilts, but this just seems like a riot, and I need help. Here's some floor tile that I love:

If my design is still not pleasing to me in another week, I will go with Forest Jane Jacobson's design, which I just love:

It has that "floor tile" look to it, and it is more of Bonnie's design, yet with her personal spin on it.  I love it!  She has said over on Facebook that anyone is free to use her design.  

Meanwhile, I am thinking with my little brain, and working on Dear Jane blocks.  I finished this one yesterday:

It was a nice break for my little brain and I will be working on more Dear Jane parts today.  I'm linking up to the usual Monday linkups, at Bonnie Hunter's blog: (Here) and Judy Laquidara's Design Wall Mondays (Here)

Package of Scraps that I Won!

Only quilters get excited about a package of someone else's scraps that are sent to them in the mail.  Lori of Humble Quilts (here) send me some, and 
it made me so happy.  I felt like this:

There were three "shirtings" fabrics in the lot, and I am working on an Indigo and shirting Dear Jane.  Here they are in new blocks:

Isn't this one a pretty fabric?

I'm in a group of ladies from Williamsburg that are all beginning the Dear Jane quilt and we meet together once a month.  I'm so happy to be sharing this journey with all of them. Below are the blocks I have made this month:

There are lots of other beautiful fabrics in Lori's gift, and I am closing with a picture of the whole lot, spread out together.  Thank you, thank you, thank you Lori!

I'm linking up today with Esther Aliu's linkup of Works in Progress on Wednesdays.  She is working on a beautiful red and white piece (here)