Month: January 2025

26 Projects 2025 #1

I am changing up the 26 Projects post in 2025. Instead of posting all the projects every month, I am going to post new projects finished in that month. Then the year end roundup will be a true round up. This will also make the posts shorter.

Finished January 2025 Quilt Projects

Finished (for me!) January Donation Quilts

As you know, I don’t quilt much. I really enjoy the collaborative effort of making a top and allowing someone else to quilt it. Thus, the quilts below are mostly tops, but I will include a finished quilt once someone else finishes it for the group.

Finished January Bags and Small Projects

This category covers bags, toys, aprons and knitting as well as other non-quilt projects.

January Projects Ready for Quilting / In the Quilting Process

  • Nothing at the moment

January Projects In the Finishing Process

  • Nothing now

All the WIPs from all Time

WIPs are projects on which I am working. This means that I am past the cutting out of pieces stage,  some sewing has taken place.

  • La Passacaglia – I am working on the border, but need to work more and harder
  • Old Town – several clues finished
  • Superbloom tote using Hindsight fabric –started!

Cut Out & Stopped

  • EPPic
  • Oxbow
  • Rose Petrillo bag – I found the pieces for this bag cut out, but not sewn.

Still UFOs

I still have UFOs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled, it hasn’t been worked on in awhile or it is waiting its turn to be worked on. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.

I am annoyed that some of these are still UFOs. I have to give myself credit for completing some of them last year.

  1. Handbag Sampler – I found the blocks! I found them in a bin I thought I had thoroughly searched! I also found the fabrics carefully stored together. Hooray!!
  2. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. After a brief burst of inspiration, I am stalled on this again. As one of my oldest (I am pretty sure) UFOs, I put it on my blog and out into the Twitterverse and Diane suggested that I not consider this as a self portrait. I think that strategy is a great idea. I am now trying to think of a new persona for her.
  3. Serendipity Lady – I am still planning to take this piece to be framed. It might need a bit of quilting first.
  4. Fabric of the Year 2020
  5. Fabric of the Year 2021 – I may combine 2020 and 2021 into a COVID edition.
  6. Fabric of the Year 2022 – yes, I added this one to the list, but this is the last one I plan to do.
  7. Chain Link – have the pattern, have some squares, but haven’t started sewing yet.

Various & Sundry 2025 #1

Admin

A few days ago I tagged a post as OBE. If you don’t know what that means, you can always look at the glossary.

I joined BlueSky. Find me at: @artquiltmaker.bsky.social I don’t post a lot so far, but am hoping to rekindle some of the quilty goodness that used to be Twitter before all the stuff that shall not be named happened.

The Quilts in Print page has been updated

Projects, Classes, Patterns, Techniques & Tutorials

I saw a couple of ideas for small gifts towards the end of last year. It was too late to make them, but it isn’t too late to make them for next Christmas, if I get started now. First is the Scandinavian Star ornament. I saw quite a few video tutorials:

I like Erica’s tutorial best. She is clear, cheerful and her voice isn’t annoying. YMMV!

Check out Friend Julie’s December Cornucopia, because she has a link to a tutorial for a tree topper. It is large and takes a yard of fabric, but is a great way to relax, make gifts and use fabric.

I have been stalking bags on IG. I saw the Irene Crossbody, which looks like a great and very useful bag. It also looks very much like the Daytrip Wallet (yes, the pattern is part of a bundle) from Sew Sweetness, so I have banned myself from buying the pattern until I make the Daytrip. the Daytrip has been on my list for a long time and I think 2025 is the year.

Coastside Quilt Studio will now be offering rental time on a long arm. You must take a certification class prior to being able to rent the machine. If you have previous long arm experience, please contact Dana so she can determine whether you can skip the class. Registration Opens February 1st! Certification classes begin in March. Check her hours before heading over as they can change during the week.

Want to put a modern spin on your bag straps with little effort? Ribbon Straps are all the rage right now. Check out Sew Sweetness’ free video showing you how to make one!

Quarter Inch Mark shop is open again and I bought the Travel Outbound Bag pattern. I haven’t made it yet, but will soon.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

RockBabyScissors, the bag maker, pointed me to Georgia Girl Stitches as another supplier of zippers and bag hardware. She has a lot of webbing, too. The shop has a few bag patterns as well as some free tutorials and patterns. The free patterns and tutorials include a lot of leather and smaller items. It amazes me how different the bag hardware from different suppliers can be.

I received a Clip ‘n Glide Bodkin for Christmas from Friend Julie.

Do you remember a long time ago when I visited the Fabric Depot in Portland? The shop has since closed, but Gerre turned me on to an online version, The Fabric Depot. It is the same idea, but you don’t have to go to Portland and walk into a grocery store sized store. The prices are really low and not many of the quiltmaking fabrics are marked with the designer’s name, though I did see some Tula and some Violet Craft fabrics. The Tula yardage was $7.92/yard!

Media, Books and Articles

Want some well written quilt stories? Check out QuiltFiction and the Story Guild.

I saw an announcement of the MyQuilts app. The app advertises the ability to keep track of all your quilts as well as tracking the progress on your current or a future project. Adding projects can include as much info, including photos, as you want for each quilt project. Users of the app can experience a social aspect by participating in daily challenges as well. I haven’t tried it, but let me know your thoughts.

Exhibits and Organizations

Join our guild. We’d love to share sewing projects with you.

Jane Sassaman has quilts at the Harvard Diggins Library, Harvard, IL through February. I couldn’t find anything about it on their website, but they do have a lot of craft activities. If you visit, please give a report.

I am pleased to announce that my piece Who Am I? will be in the Women’s View show put on by the San Mateo County Arts Council. I am thrilled that it got in. I read the guidelines and saw that they had instituted a size limit and Who Am I? was over the limit. I was so disappointed, because I finished this piece specifically for this exhibit. It really, truly speaks to the view of women.  I entered anyway and said on the application that I hoped for an exception to the size limitation and why. They granted the exception!! I heard at the end of last week. I am really happy and excited for people to see this piece.

NQR

Philip Jacobs is one of my favorite fabric designers. I love his large flower prints and the inspiration he derives from vintage fabrics and wallpapers. In his spare time, he is fossil hunter. A few years ago, he discovered a pliosaur. He is in the Guiness Book of World Records as the finder and mentioned and shown on the show about the excavation. It was very interesting to watch. Watch on PBS. You may need an account. You can help excavate the rest of the fossil by contributing.

Need art supplies to supplement your quiltmaking? I am giving you a referral link so you can start earning points for free stuff at California Art Supply, 3600 El Camino Real , Suite B – Phone: 650-350-1990. Click the link and register. I know its a pain, but you get points that translate into discounts. I am saving up my points to buy a large set of Emott markers. No, I don’t need them, but the colors are soooo cool!

 

 

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

January 2025 Donation Blocks

I almost didn’t make any donation blocks this month. As mentioned my mom is sick and it is taking up time (time I am glad to have the opportunity to use). I worked on a donation quilt for most of my leaders and enders time. I finished that and did get to a few blocks. Not the 31 I had hoped for, but some is better than none.

Evaluating Gifts

BAM 2020 Retreat Mega Pinnie - finished
BAM 2020 Retreat Mega Pinnie – finished

Periodically, I revisit the gifts I make for people. I know you have seen the posts about gifts I have made for my sister, my mom, Gerre and Julie. I really do like to give gifts that people will use, though I do give gifts, like the Mega Pinnie that are just fun and unique.

My Mom is staying with me while she recovers from major surgery.

She has brought along several bags and pouches I have made for her, such as the Take a Stand, the Poolside Tote, and the Percheron.

The Take a Stand has art supplies in it. She is using the Poolside Tote like a suitcase for random stuff and the Percheron is where she keeps the complicated crochet project I gave her as a kit gift.

Mom's Persimmon Pouch
Mom’s Persimmon Pouch

Still, it is not enough. I will need to make her a pouch for her hand quilting supplies. Right now they are in a plastic zipper bag. I know I made her a Persimmon Dumpling and an Inside Outside Pouch, but she didn’t bring either with her.

A Sew Together Bag is the obvious choice. She has one and I don’t want to make another right now. I am thinking about another Cotton Candy pouch. I am also thinking about a Brumby pouch. I haven’t made one of those yet, but recently received the templates as a gift. We will see. I want to look through my various patterns and see what sticks out.

What pouch or bag do you use for hand sewing supplies and tools?

Orangeade Progress

Orangeade donation top in process
Orangeade donation top in process

I have finished sewing the pairs together and am starting to make four patches.

As usual, I am rearranging squares as I go along. I think the top will be about 40 in x 40 in.

Yes, I added in a few pinks that snuck into the batch of wrongly cut squares.

The last orange top I made was either Orange You Glad or the Orange Improv. I like both of them very much. They are very cheerful. It must be the oranges that I buy – not as much orangey-brown as orangey-sunshine.

Free Spirit Prizes

FreeSpirit prize
FreeSpirit prize

Remember a few weeks ago I said I won a prize from Freespirit? Well, the real prize showed up on the Friday before my birthday and it was good! I feel like the timing was set to coincide with my birthday. The prize came with a lovely note that makes me like FreeSpirit even more than I already did.

FreeSprit prize prints 1
FreeSprit prize prints 1

When I opened the prize, I thought it was a bundle of Tula Untamed, but it was more than that! It looks like they selected fabrics that I like from their current line, because there were also some Kaffes, a couple of Anna Marias, a Brandon Mably, a couple of flower prints from my man, Phil,  and a bring and happy flower print by a designer whose name was cut off. Most of the cuts are fat quarters, but there was one half yard. I am going to share a couple of the FQs with the guild. Share the wealth, right?

FreeSprit prize prints 2
FreeSprit prize prints 2

I’ll definitely use the flower prints somewhere. That Garden party print (above, lower right) is awesome. I have to find some great pattern with which to use it.

I feel so fortunate! This was such an unexpected surprise. Thanks, FreeSpirit!

 

Gift Post: Tim’s Project Bag

Tim's Project Bag
Tim’s Project Bag

I know it seems like Christmas is lasting forever on the blog. I made quite a few gifts, but it is also taking some time to post about them all.

Tim admired all the project bags I made last year, so I decided to make him one from Christmas.

I don’t have a lot of dark greens and thought these bright greens would be too much, but he loved the bag and said that he loves all greens.

I am super happy with the way this came out and will make one for myself next. Well, maybe not the next project, but the next time I make a project bag. 😉

Even More Old Town

Despite taking care of my mom after her surgery, I have been able to get a little sewing in.

Old Town: QSTs
Old Town: QSTs

I finished all of the QSTs, which turned out to be mostly the correct size. I used pink instead of red, as mentioned, and am pretty happy with that choice so far. Some of the pinks in this batch are leaning a little more towards the lavender/purple range. I hope they won’t get mixed up in the final layout.

Since I finished all of these QSTs and the Baby Flying Geese, I decided to sew them together as indicated in one of the clues.

FG & QST units
FG & QST units

I think this is the first assembly I have done beyond individual units. I got interrupted a bunch of times, but I finished them!

I had a moment of stress when I realized I didn’t have enough of the Baby Flying Geese to sew to the second side of the QSTs. They were neatly bundled in the box in which I am storing all of the units and I hadn’t pulled them out. YAY!

This is a great quilt for learning. I highly recommend Bonnie’s projects, especially the mystery quilts, if you want to practice basic piecing. She takes the time to help makers focus on getting the right sized units. Her clues usually have more than one way to make a unit so it works for you.

Product Review: Get a Grip

Get a Grip + foot pedal
Get a Grip + foot pedal

Welcome to the underside of my sewing table.

I wanted to show you the Martelli No Slip Pad for Foot Pedal** in situ. This foot pedal pad really works! The location in which you see it is where it has been since I received it on Christmas. No joke. It has not moved at all as I sew.

The foot pad is made from the same materials as the machine pad. There is something hard and stiff in the middle. There is, then, a layer of some kind of non-slip rubber on the top and bottom, covering the hard surface. Product Dimensions: 9.0 inches L x 0.3 inch H x 9.0 inches W. The size on the Amazon description varies, FYI, so these are my measurements.

This is the first foot pedal pad that has stayed in place for me. Usually the foot pedal creeps towards the wall until I can’t operate the foot pedal. When the foot pedal ends up under those boxes (on the upper left), I can’t wedge my foot on the foot pedal any more. Then I have to haul it out, reposition it and start over. It is a small thing, but it makes me crazy.

Note: I have hardwood floors in my workroom and have not tried it on carpet.

I have the two previous pedal pads under my table ‘just in case’, but will be getting rid of them soon.

This is a Martelli product. I always thought Martelli only sold their rotary cutters at quilt shows. I went to their website and found they have an amazing number of products. Not only do they have their signature rotary cutters, but they have workstations, a subscription box, the Get a Grip mats and many other items. I wonder if COVID forced them to diversify?

Get one of these the Martelli No Slip Pad for Foot Pedal**. They are the best. They really work.

 

 

 

 

 

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Oranges into Orangeade

Orangeade
Orangeade

In working on Old Town, I cut some orange squares the wrong size. It gave me the opportunity to switch to lavender, which I had been considering.

It immediately occurred to me that I could make a simple donation quilt out of the squares. I am working on that now.

I am working slowly. I haven’t had much time to sew recently, but “a seam a day, the quilt gets done that way”, right?

More Old Town Progress

I spent some time over the last couple of weekends getting over whatever hump was preventing me from moving forward.

Old Town: 4 patches
Old Town: 4 patches

First, I finished all the 4 patches, which was a lot! I thought I would never finish and I think that part of what was preventing me from moving forward. Now they are done and I think they look great.

I haven’t incorporated them into any blocks yet, so stay tuned for that.

Old Town: baby Flying Geese
Old Town: baby Flying Geese

 

I also finished some Flying Geese. They are the baby Flying Geese that I made using the replacement Wing Clipper** I got for Christmas. 

This is the first group of lavender I have added to the quilt. In the photo they look nice. We’ll see how they look combined with the other colors. Fingers crossed it will be ok.

I got going on the QSTs. One of the clues said to combine them with another couple of pieces, so it was time to stop avoiding them.

I was really happy using Bonnie Hunter’s Essential Triangle Tool** to make them. It is a ruler I have had for awhile, but haven’t used much. I found it easy to use and helpful. I just followed Bonnie’s instructions on the clue and it worked perfectly. Well, so far, it is has worked perfectly. I liked the way she said where to put the ruler lines. I haven’t finished sewing the QSTs yet, so I’ll have to wait and see how it works out.

Bonnie put the Reveal up and it is a complicated looking quilt, but also cool. I am eager to see how my replacement of coral with lavender will look. If you are working on it, make sure to download your clues.

 

 

 

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Hugs & a Kiss Quilted

Hugs & a Kiss quilted
Hugs & a Kiss quilted

I received Hugs & a Kiss back from Colleen the other day. I am now working hard on binding it.

I want to get it in the mail soon so as to relieve my house of two quilts. This one and the one for the recipient’s brother, the Green & Grey Diagonal 9 Patch.

The quilting looks really nice. The quilt is covered in different sized circles.

It is also really nice to have something to bind.

Thinking about Christmas Pillowcases Again

7 Christmas Pillowcases
7 Christmas Pillowcases

I revisited my Christmas pillowcase gifts after seeing some on SIL#4’s bed on Christmas Eve. It occurred to me that there are a few new spouses/SOs for whom I had not made pillowcases. Nobody will know that they don’t have them, but it is only fair, especially if they see their spouse has one.

My tally was in a post from 2015 and there are a lot of new additions to the family, mostly spouses, but a few kids as well. The original tally was confusing, so I have rewritten it.

  • SIL#1: Total: 4 kids, 4 spouses/SOs, 4 grandchildren
    • Oldest son (3rd oldest nephew) + SO – DONE
      • 2 kids/grandchildren – need 2
      • grandkids Mom – need 1
    • Oldest daughter (Oldest niece + SO) – DONE
        • 2 kids/grandchildren – need 2
    • 2d son (not sure where he falls in the overall family order) + spouse – DONE
    • Youngest niece + SO – 1 DONE, need 1

TOTAL needed for oldest SIL’s family: 6

  • SIL#2: 3 kids, 2 spouses/SO, 2 great niece-phews
    • Oldest son (Oldest nephew) + spouse + 2 kids – DONE
    • 2d oldest son (2d oldest nephew)- DONE
    • 3rd son (middle of the pack nephew) + SO – 1 DONE, need 1

TOTAL needed for 2d oldest SIL’s family: 1

  • BIL #1: Spouse, 1 kid
    • Oldest son (3rd youngest nephew) – DONE

TOTAL needed for oldest BIL’s family: 0

  • SIL#3: 2 kids
    • Oldest daughter (Middle niece) + spouse – 1 DONE, need 1
    • Youngest son (middle of the pack nephew) – DONE

TOTAL needed for youngest SIL’s family: 1

  • BIL #2: 2 kids
    • 2d youngest nephew – DONE
    • Youngest nephew- DONE

TOTAL needed for youngest BIL’s family: 0

Overall total needed: 8

Well, that’s at least 8 yards of fabric I can use up right away in 2025. I need to check to see what Christmas fabric I have in case I need to get some on sale. I hope I have enough.

Gift Post: Cal Atlas Zipper Case

Cal Atlas pouch - closed
Cal Atlas pouch – closed

Another project I finished for the holidays was a second Atlas Zipper Case. This one went to SIL#2. She is a Cal (UC Berkeley) alumna so the fabric was appropriate.

As mentioned, the pattern is from Center Street Quilts. The second one went more quickly and came out really well. This is a really good pattern. I want to make more of them.

I didn’t have quite enough of the Cal fabric. I bought 5 yards several years ago and I am down to scraps after this project. I found some yellows and blues that matched the Cal fabric colors perfectly. I went looking for more of this fabric, but aside from Spoonflower options, this particular print is nowhere to be found.

Cal Atlas pouch - open
Cal Atlas pouch – open

This pattern requires quilting, as do many of the Center Street Quilts bag patterns. I learned a lot by quilting the other Atlas and applied this knowledge to this bag. As you can see, I only quilted it intensely in a few places, not all over the whole piece. That technique made it a lot more doable. I like very dense quilting for bags, as you know, so I really had to restrain myself.

Cal Atlas pouch - right
Cal Atlas pouch – right

I thought about making the privacy pocket (lower right) with vinyl instead, but ended up fussy cutting some of the Cal fabric and keeping it as indicated in the pattern for private items.

The interior fabric on the top vinyl pocket is an older AGF fabric and it is just a little off of the Cal yellow. I like it as an addition so the whole bag too matchy-matchy.

Cal Atlas pouch - left
Cal Atlas pouch – left

I think the most useful pocket will be the large vinyl pocket. It has a lot of space for various items.

There are also slip pockets underneath all the pockets described, so flat items can be safely placed there.

I did shorten the tail of the zipper. I had a longer piece than required and thought it would be fine, but it was really too long.

All in all, this is a great project.