Its a two-fer!

Mere hours after I finished my last quilt top, I started working on another. The blocks for this project has been sitting idle for awhile.

This was a fun project with no worries, no patterns, and no seams to match. The blocks are made up by sewing random leftover scraps of together in no particular order or design.

This makes so much sense, because isn’t that what quilts are and have always been, sewing small pieces of fabric together to make bigger pieces of fabric until it is big enough. This is mindless sewing, therapy at its best because there is no color matching or perfect points to fret over.

I started this scrap-busting exercise more than a year ago and just added finished blocks to the growing pile. I made three just after finishing my last quilt top and was surprised to realize I had enough to make a lap quilt.

It is rather silly that when I watch TV in the evening, I often snuggle under pink blanket. It dawned on me that I have all these quilts hanging around, and yet, I’m cover up with a Dollar Store blanket. That just isn’t right! So, I had been thinking about making a lap quilt. This is it!

 

Satisfaction, finally

  

When I first saw this pattern, way back last January, I fell in love with it, thinking it would be lots of work, but lots of fun as well. I was half right. With more than 200 blocks, precision would be vital. To get all those pieces to fit, these 5 ½” blocks had to be pretty close to the mark. That means the cutting, sewing, and pressing had to be exact, or at least as close as I could make it. 

This was the 2025 Block of the Month (BOM) project hosted by The Quilt Show (TQS). The quilt is called “Laurel Ridge” and was designed by Lynn Wilder. The finished quilt is about 90” square. It is much larger than my design wall, so forgive the display as it flows out onto the floor and looks a little droopy.

BOM quilt patterns are free to members of the Quilt Show, of which I have been for many years. The BOM which comes out on the first day of the year every year is a major perk to joining The Quilt Show, what could loosely be described as an online quilt magazine/television show; but, there is so many more. Everything there is to learn about quilting can be gleaned from this valuable resource. 

With a BOM, a how-to video from the designer is posted each month with directions for the work to be undertaken that month. Some months, there were 20 identical blocks to make. Other months, there were different ‘assignments.’ It all wraps up at the end of the year, as this one has.

My first challenge with this quilt, as with all others, is to pick out the fabric. It comes as a kit, complete with fabric included, but I wanted to use my own fabric, that which I have been collecting over the years. The only fabric I needed to buy was the border print, which is also used throughout the quilt’s design.To give me some clarity on just what I wanted, I spent an afternoon coloring the blank pattern with some of my favorite colors. Then, I simply picked out the fabrics that would match those colors. That made it easy to substitute the colors. I made a grid and added my own swatches to the color code in the quilt pattern.

My biggest challenge was that the year was mapped out differently than I would have done it. I would have started in the middle and worked my way out. And, it was only after I was finished with all the blocks that I understood how Lynn Wilder decided on each month’s assignments based on nine sections that would make up the actual layout.

For example, when I finished all the blocks and was attempting to assemble it, I put one section, shown at right, onto my design wall. This was one of nine sections that had to be sewn together to complete the quilt.

Notice that the block in the lower left corner, the lavender and yellow block is positioned wrong. Further examination indicates that there is another block, the just two blocks above it, is also wrong. 

That was one of my biggest problems. You really had to study the pattern to see if all the blocks were positioned correctly. So many mistakes hid in plain sight. This was actually quite maddening. It required honing my seam-ripping skills, of which I am becoming quite proficient. 

When I was all done, having completed all nine sections and two borders, I went to bed feeling pretty proud of myself. 

But when I woke up I looked at it one more time before taking it off the design wall and putting it into the “to be quilted” pile.

That was when I saw it. The entire section was turned wrong. The pattern was correct, but the entire section was inverted. The diagonals were all going the right way, but the uppermost and lowermost blocks were reversed. It was then that I began to appreciate the pattern, the symmetry, and the care that it took to make it all work. Lynn Wilder became my latest quilting hero. She really was amazing, and made it all look so easy. I realized that the design made such perfect sense. 

I decided that I had no choice but to grab my seam ripper once more and take apart the two borders, and that entire section, turn it around and sew it back together again. I am not sure how many of those mistakes I made and fixed, but I think I found all of them. 

I was finally satisfied as I looked at this quilt from every angle. Only when I didn't see any more mistakes, could I call it done. 

Once this is quilted, I am going to love it like all the others. But there were lots of teaching moments in this one.

I love a completed quilt

It never fails; I get such a thrill from finishing a quilt. A completed quilt is always the culmination of a journey filled with challenges and wonderment. The quilts I decide to make always challenge me. It is an element of the process that I can’t seem to live without. I don’t love all quilts. I’m picky. I have to love it because I know what goes into it. That is my process for now. I may be content someday to just make quilts because it is fun. I may make them to sell someday, but for now I am just content to surround myself with what I love.

My quilting process begins with picking out a pattern. I have to love it. 

I loved this quilt—Sizzle—the 2019 Block of the Month project, free to members of The Quilt Show. It was designed by Becky Goldsmith, who did an awesome job creating and sharing this lovely pattern and providing instructional videos. She also included numerous tips and ideas that were very helpful. 

This project took up most of 2019 for me, even though I got a pretty late start on it. The blocks were paper pieced and the border was appliqued.

The project was billed as a kit, but the pattern was free to members of The Quilt Show, co-hosted by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. There is always so much to learn, which is what I like most about quilting. I like to learn new skills and practice all others. I enjoy successes and persevere through the failures, which are rarely in equal balance. Sometimes, the annoyances from little things, like thread fraying, sewing for a while before I realize my bobbin is empty, and dealing with thread tension errors that hone my unsewing technique as I rip out stitches. All is forgotten though; once I take my finished quilt out of the dryer, realizing the colors didn’t run or fade and seams are all still in-tact. At that point I can finally breathe as I inspect and admire the finished project. Washing a hand-made quilt is tense because you just don’t know what will happen when it gets saturated. But, it is also exciting because during the process, magic happens. The fabric shrinks a little around the stitches, giving it that poufy quilty look. Every time I wash a quilt, I am excited to take it out of the dryer. I have never been disappointed.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to quilt this quilt, but I knew I wanted to use free-motion quilting. That is pretty vague, so I took a picture of each motif. My phone has a stylus, so I decided to try out quilting designs right on the pictures. That worked out great.

For the background, I was so happy with how my last little quilt turned out see here that I decided to quilt it the same way, thanks to the inspiration of Angela Walters, a phenomenal quilter whose work I have been studying. I am pleased with how it turned out.

This quilt reminds me of my dad

This quilt means more to me than some of my others because it reminds me of my dad, who died in 2003. My father was one-of-a-kind. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t do if he set his mind to it. He taught himself everything he ever did.

I recall one Christmas, when I was very young, my dad made a three-dimensional Christmas star out of cardboard, covered in red, green, and silver wrapping paper. As a little girl, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen as we put it atop our Christmas tree. I wonder what ever happened to that star. It had perfect points, was completely symmetrical, and was a flawless example of how mathematical equations could make all the pieces fit together. I did not inherit his love of math; in fact I avoid it whenever I can. But I did inherit his ability to learn whatever I want to know, see things through to the end, and exercise patience, even with the most tedious of tasks. So when I look at this quilt, I can’t help but think of him. This one’s for you Dad!

Hand quilting vs. machine quilting - I love them both

It is such a good feeling to finish a project. I finished this quilt top last summer, but was unable to quilt it, due to my recent heart attack. 

Once I started feeling better, I couldn't wait to get back to my quilting, an activity that screamed normalcy to me. There were times I didn't think I would ever feel normal again, but I knew that getting back to stitching was a big step toward that goal.

This was a special quilt project as evidenced in a previous blog post here. It was my first attempt at a making a Judy Niemeyer quilt, something I longed to do. This quilt kit was given to me by a dear and generous friend who is a fantastic quilter in her own right. 

I thought I might hand quilt it, though I also love machine quilting.

Hand quilting won out because I was anxious to finally use, for the first time, my hand-crafted lap quilt hoop custom-made by Harry Barnett of Barnett's Laptop Hoops. I have had this beautiful laptop hoop, a piece of art in its own right, since 2021. 

Because I really love doing hand work, it felt good to hand quilt the star in this little Lone Star quilt. While contemplating what to do about quilting the background, I started watching You Tube videos by Angela Walters, a phenomenal quilter and instructor who I had known about but never studied. I began watching with a keen interest and soon was inspired to give her method of overall quilting a try. I made a scrap quilt sandwich on which to practice. I liked how it turned out. I was hooked. I couldn't wait to try it on the background of my Lone Star quilt. In about 3 days, I finished the entire project, including the binding.

So basically, this quilt is both hand-quilted and machine quilted. I had such a good time doing both methods. I love the results of both also. I plan to hang this quilt on the wall of my sewing studio. Every time I look at it, I will be reminded of how good it feels to just be normal again. I will think of my friend Jane. And I will simply enjoy the lovely colors and beautiful stitches. 

Have I said lately how much I love quilting? If not, let that be my final thought. I love everything about quilting.

 

Cats and quilts just go together

My little Sally found one of my quilts, neatly folded in the laundry room. I had just washed and dried it. Too bad it had been there for a while so it wasn’t still warm from the dryer. She would have really liked that. As any cat owner knows, cats gravitate to warm places, despite their little bodies seemingly radiating heat as they sleep.

I’ve always been amused at how cats just seem attracted to quilts. I have always had cats in my quilting life, which began nearly 30 years ago. Whenever I finish a quilt and lay it out on the bed or the floor, frankly to admire my handiwork, it is almost impossible to keep a cat from snuggling or writhing around on it. That is fine with me, since I love both cats and quilts and think they just go together.

So many of my quilting pictures have cats in them, like this one at right. I was in the process of machine quilting this quilt and Ryan wanted to help. I have had to stop many times because she wanted to be part of the action. I was never too busy for a little cuddle time with Ryan. I have so many photos of her, who I lost a few years ago. Ryan was THE cat who will always have my heart. She was the first of five kittens born on the front porch almost 18 years ago. Only two of them are still living.

And then there is Sally. She is the most recent of my kitties. And she is nothing like Ryan, or any other cat I’ve ever had now that I think about it. She was abandoned at a friend’s house not long after I had lost Ryan. I couldn’t resist her beautiful face so I was happy to take her in.

But Sally was no Ryan! She had none of the traits that I feel in love with. In fact, she was a mean kitty. She wasn’t very trusting, and certainly wasn’t a cuddler. Anyone who tried to get that close to her often got a face full of claws; ask me how I know. Sally was dumped, maybe abandoned. Who knows what her early childhood was about? Who knows if she had a nurturing mother or if she was weaned way too early and had to fend for herself? She was pretty young when she came to me, so I don’t know her story. I do know that she didn’t get the kind of human attention as Ryan and her siblings. They were adored and held and snuggled, from the moment they took their first breath. Sally has had to learn what love of humans is all about.

The first person she took to was my late husband John. He was definitely her person. She was pretty devastated when he died. She was even meaner to me and to the other cats. But she is coming around. Rather than curling up in a corner somewhere all by herself, she has found the comfort of a folded quilt in the laundry room. I see that as a very good sign. She will be 3 yrs. old in April and is starting to trust again. She is becoming a sweet, loving kitty. Seeing her all comfy and cozy on one of my quilts makes me happy. Love me, love my quilts because we go together and there is always room for kitties.

Finishing this quilt was especially satisfying

I finally finished my version of the Pick-A-Petal quilt, the 2024 Block of the Month (BOM), designed by Jen Kingwell of Australia, brought to us by The Quilt Show. I do love Aussie quilters, and I especially respect Kingwell, since she designs and sews her quilts by hand.

 

Initially, I wanted to do that too, but soon changed my mind. After piecing the middle star in the center by hand, I decided I'd prefer to save my aging, arthritic hands for hand quilting, applique, and now embroidery, all of which I love. So, the rest of this quilt was machine pieced. 

I have already detailed in previous posts what a challenge this was for me. I am surprised that it turned out as well as it did. In fact, I really like it now that it is finished and I am anxious to start on the next project.

This was supposed to be completed at the end of December. There were times that I just wasn't into it. I will admit that it wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it wasn't the quilt at all because in mid-November, I had a near-fatal heart attack, for which I am now trying to recover.

I knew my condition was improving several weeks ago when I decided I wanted to get back to my quilting. For a time, I wasn't interested in anything. And then I knew I was on the mend when I decided to finish this project.

I'm not sure why I was not enamored with this quilt. I love all the colors; love using up scraps of fabric, many of which I picked out for other projects or purchased just because I love them. I even like this design, especially the whimsical applique and embroidery in the light middle squares.

I haven't done embroidery in years. I do love all kinds of hand work. So when I set out to quilt this quilt, that will be enjoyable as well. I'm not sure when that will be though, since my quilt tops are starting to pile up. I hope I might live long enough to finish them, or at least make a dent in them. At any rate, the road to feeling normal again has been rough and isn't over yet. But, hopefully my quilting life will be normal as ever.

As I look at this quilt on my design wall, I am reminded that it almost didn't get done. It may have never gotten done. I was almost no longer here to finish it, or to get one year older, or to enjoy the start of a new year, or so many other things. My friend Nancy always says that every quilt I finish is always my favorite. She is right. This one now holds that place of esteem for me. It is rather symbolic. It will always represent a second chance, one for which I am very grateful.