Last Finish Of 2024

For the past twenty years I've been trying to use up Christmas fabric, so this time I made another quilt. I need another Christmas quilt like I need a new hole in my head. The bin doesn't look like it has any less fabric in it. How can that be? Although, last year I was able to consolidate it all into one large Rubbermaid bin instead of two. The idea for the pattern came from the YouTube channel, "Inspired Quilting by Lea Louise" It starts with ten inch squares that are stacked, cut, shuffled and sewn back together in two steps. People usually use layer cake sets for this kind of thing but I don't buy those, I cut my own squares. The quilting is done with an all-over feather design. I looked back over the year to see how many quilts I finished in 2024. The number is 23. Two table runners are included in that number. They are quilts but just a lot smaller. Of course, that number doesn't count the projects that were started and not finished, haha! Let's see what 2025 brings, hopefully more UFOs will be completed.

Crazy Christmas Trees Table Runner

The pattern for this runner came from Cut Loose Press. I didn't have the Spiderweb ruler that was recommended so I made a template from construction paper. My template wasn't accurate for the white parts of the tree unit, the trees are chopped too narrow at the base. Oh well, as a wise person once said, "Quilters don't make mistakes, only variations". I better stop making table runners, every surface in the house is covered with one. :)

Donation Quilt Completed

My focus this time of year has always been sewing items for gifts. I thought it would be good to make a quilt that somebody in need could use for a Christmas present. It's larger than a baby quilt and suitable for a toddler, a little boy, maybe? Using the simplest design possible, I made the quilt in one day and added the binding the next day. There was a piece of nice quality flannel in my stash that was just the right size for the backing. Hopefully, somebody will be happy to receive this quilt. I just need to find out where I can donate it.

Fourteen Year Old UFO Completed

I'm only guessing that this quilt top was from fourteen years ago. It was a mystery quilt that we worked on with the guild but nobody seems to remember it. Now that's a real mystery! I don't even have the pattern here, it seems to have disappeared into the abyss. Anyway, I found the quilt top in a Rubbermaid bin, fabric for a border was included. I decided against a border because the place where I'm going to donate it doesn't want quilts that are very big. There wasn't enough of one fabric for the backing, so I added a stripe of something else on one side. It's nice to get these old UFOs finished.

Batik Table Runner Completed

I put the last stitches in the binding on this runner this morning. It looked like a good day for some photos to show off our fresh snow. My hands were a little cold but I was only out there for a few minutes.

Making A Table Runner

When we had our last quilting retreat, we played a game that involved swapping batik fabrics. At the end of the game we were intructed to have a project completed by the time the next fall retreat happens. I thought I better do something with my little stack of batiks right away or they would get snowed under in the sewing hole. My stash provided fabric for the rest of this runner. There wasn't a pattern, I came up with the design myself. Using a BlocLoc ruler made the half-square triangle units an accurate size. It still needs to be quilted. When it's finished, the runner will live on the sideboard in my living room.

Continuing With The Sasquatch Quilt

I haven't worked on the Sasquatch Quilt since our quilting retreat a month ago. It's time to get going on it again. I'm not quilting this on the longarm machine because I don't know how to stitch in the ditch and all that fancy stuff yet. This old machine now has a name, I thought of it today- "Babs the Babylock". She is a real workhorse and never lets me down. There are stray threads on the quilt, they will be dealt with later, as well as the threads all over my clothes. :)

The Falling Charms Quilt Is Completed

The Falling Charms quilt is from a video tutorial by Missouri Star Quilts. My friend, Susan Getchell gifted me with a charm pack, this was the perfect pattern to use it. I added some 5" squares of my own to make enough for the quilt. For the backing, I used two different fabrics to make a "zipper join". When there's not enough of one fabric or the other, this is a good method. The free-motion quilting design is called "Finnish Flowers", which I learned from a YouTube video. I learn just about everything I do from watching YouTube videos. I'm thankful to the people who share their knowledge and skills. :)

Throwback Thursday: Quilt From 2019

It was such a beautiful fall day, I thought I would take one of my older quilts outside and throw it on the lawn for a photo shoot. This quilt was completed in 2019, but it sat for 20 years as a UFO before it hit the finish line. The name on the label is, "Kaksikymmentä", which means twenty in Finnish. The quilt was crushed under a stack of other quilts, so I unearthed it and gave it a good steaming to remove the fold marks. Quilts should be refolded now and then so the fold lines don't become permanent. This time when I fold it, I'm going to do it diagonally, which is what is recommended. Folding along the bias doesn't create such sharp creases. Here is a video that explains the folding method. Now I need to get back to cleaning and organizing the sewing hole. :)

Just In Time For Geo's Birthday

Geo has a new quilt for his birthday on October 31. I have officially used up my stash of Halloween fabrics, it might be time to go shopping. For this quilt, I added various borders around a panel. Quick and easy. The backing is made from a nice soft flannel from Connecting Threads. I quilted it with neon yellow thread that Lynda Balas let me try out. Thanks, Lynda! The quilt was a little dull looking before the bright thread was added.

My "Insanity" Project Is Completed

I started this quilt in the spring of 2023. The reason it's an insanity project? Every single piece of fabric is sewn with a partial seam to give it a herringbone look. It took two quilting retreats plus countless hours at home to do the sewing. All the strips of fabric were fraying because they had to be handled so much. It would have been better to use batiks which don't fray and the edges stay crisp. This will be the first and last time I'll make this kind of item. Well, maybe a table runner, that would be a little more managable. The pattern came from the book, Modern Quilt Magic by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. The quilting is done with wiggly lines that follow the chevrons.

Halloween Placemats

Just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! I finished stitching the binding on these placemats last night. Geo's birthday is on October 31, so he likes everything decorated in a Halloween theme for the entire month.