Day 261 of 2026

I finished cutting out a new quilt today. 

It has been my nap time cutting project for a couple weeks now. 

The stack in the back will need to be sorted and put away. 

To the right of the fabric stack is my colorful pouf. 

That's where the unusable bits are going.

 

Day 184 of 2026

I tried to pick this little empty storage drawer up

 to remove it from the big room 

and it completely shattered. 

It's a good thing I had already decided

 that I didn't need it anymore.

Just for fun I'm going to leave the blast from the past pictures here. 

This one is from July 2, 2016. 

It was not picture of the day but an outtake 

from the photo shoot of this quilt that did make the blog that day.

Day 135 of 2026

I love this restaurant floor. 

I can see this as a quilt using striped fabrics. 

I can also see some of those stripes coming from my scrap bins.

After eating our dinner here near this floor, 

Fireball and I went to see our eldest perform 

in a production of Kiss Me Kate. 

It was such fun!

 

Day 68 of 2026

This is quilt top number three of the quilt tops I acquired in February. 

This one has some issues, but look at those cute boats.

I couldn't pass it up.

As you can see on the backside, this top is hand stitched. 

Unfortunately, the stitches are fairly large. 

You can tell from the strings and clumps of threads on the back

 that this top has been washed. 

Large stitches and a top that is not quilted but washed

 is usually a disaster as is the case here. 

Some seams are coming apart, the edges are not holding together 

and it appears to not be square. 

I believe this used to be a complete quilt at one point

 because there are crease lines and threads near the edge 

and lots of areas with what appears to be former quilting threads. 

But I will not be deterred.

 

Day 56 of 2026

Here is another quilt top I just acquired. 

This one is very well made although maybe not quite square.

 It doesn't surprise me

 as the quilt is all on the bias before the borders. 

It measures approximately 86 x 90 inches.

Day 55 of 2026

I recently found a few quilt tops. 

This one has 31 different embroidered flowers. 

I can see lines under some of the stitches. 

I can't tell if they were printed on the fabric

 or traced by the maker. 

Either way, this one will be fun to quilt up.

 

Day 47 of 2026

Back before I started this blog, 

I made this quilt for T-bone for his high school graduation. 

I only backed it with flannel because the top was also flannel. 

I did not tie or quilt it.

Through the years it has come apart. 

I guess that's what the actual quilting is for- to keep it together. 

I have washed it gently and hung it over several folding chairs to air dry. 

I'll put it in my queue so I can begin to do repairs and quilt it properly. 

Pictures will surely be posted as work progresses.

 

Day 293 of 2025

I'm figuring out the math and details for something new.

 

Day 188 of 2025

This is something I made a long time ago. 

It has come back into my possession and attention recently. 

I'll give you more information and my thoughts on it soon.

 

Day 105 of 2025

Fireball and I are off on an adventure again. 

The airport after the first leg of our trip

 has a great quilt inspired tile floor.

 

Day 78 of 2025

Here's a sneak peek of my good start on the snowman quilt today. 

 

Day 77 of 2025

I've oiled and run the machine. 

I've attached the clamps to the sides

 and took the slack out of the exposed quilting area. 

I've placed a piece of scrap fabric on the extra side batting 

and done my practice designs and checked the tension. 

I'm ready to start quilting.

 

Day 72 of 2025

I finished a quilt top today that has been languishing in a UFO bin

 in a closet in my studio for years. 

I'll pick a backing from my stash 

and put them together in the queue for quilting.

 

Day 51 of 2025

Last month I wanted to follow along with a QAL (quilt along) 

because I already had the pattern and a fabric pull done. 

I had set it aside when I couldn't participate the first time around. 

Recently I rearranged where and how my WIPs (works in progress) are stored. 

The project in question got moved. 

Most of these WIPs got put in the Big Room but I couldn't find it there. 

Today I spent some time looking again as I have been every couple days 

and there was a neat stack of containers sitting right there on a chair 

in my studio which I had overlooked. 

In the second one from the bottom is my "lost" project. 

The QAL is over now but maybe this will become a priority 

and thus become an early finish for the next time this holiday rolls around.

 

Day 50 of 2025

I have an idea for a new quilt. 

I made a test block to try it out. 

It came out to the correct size- always a good sign. 

I plan to use scraps and stash fabrics so each block will be an adventure. 

It will be fun to see how this develops.

 

Day 42 of 2025

I am working on looking through my bins of WIPs. (Works in Progress)

Some projects will not be finished and are getting dismantled. 

The fabrics I still like will get put back on the fabric shelves. 

Things I do not intend to keep are headed for a designated donation spot. 

This is a set of blocks that I do intend to finish. 

At the time I put it away I had decided to split the blocks up 

and make two smaller quilts. 

The original pattern called for small borders around each block

 before sewing them together. 

The blocks on the left were going to be my "yellow" quilt 

and the blocks on the right were going to be my "pink/aqua" quilt. 

I've decided to put them back into just one quilt. 

I did a bunch of rearranging today 

and have an idea where I am headed with this one 

but probably won't show you until the top is sewn together.

 

Day 41 of 2025

I usually wash all my fabrics before I start a quilting project. 

I have had these squares and the pattern 

selected for this project for a long time. 

Because these squares are part of a charm pack (fabrics precut to 5"),

 I will not be able to prewash

 as the 5" dimension may shrink and the edges may fray. 

So while I was ironing some household items from the laundry today, 

I decided this would make a great small next project

 to get me sewing quilt type items again 

(This is a table runner)

and pressing seemed like the proper prep

 for fabrics that will not be washed.

 

Day 207 of 2024

I've pinned paper triangles over my low temperatures 

for most of February and March to see how a couple options might look. 

I may try a couple other options too.

I'll live with these for a while before making a decision.

 

Day 206 of 2024

Well, I finished my March house and connected the first row

 of the 2024 temperature quilt. 

I have to tell you that I'm not crazy about it so far. 

Because I decided I wanted to represent both the high

 and low temperatures each day, 

the houses are looking too busy for my taste. 

Or maybe it's just because I'm not liking the color combinations 

in the March house in particular. 

Maybe if I keep going I will like it better 

as the colors change in the warmer months. 

I'll be giving this some serious thought for a while 

because at this point in the process 

I would still be willing to remake the main portions of the houses, 

but if I go much further on this path, I may not.

 

Day 205 of 2024

I'm finally sewing my pieces 

for the March house of my temperature quilt.