Day One Of The February 28-March 2, 2025 Quilting Retreat

Today we started at 6:00 PM and finished just before 9:00 PM, so we didn't accomplish too much. I'm working on the Stash Buster Challenge from a Facebook group. I've only got 6 blocks done so far, but the sashing is all cut out and I'm assembling some of the sections. Some people in that group have their quilts finished already. The challenge is supposed to go from January until the end of December, those quilters are extremely speedy! I'll just putter away at mine and it'll get done eventually.

A Quilt For Nathan

Our guild is having a UFO completion challenge this year. This one can be crossed off my list. I made these blocks a year ago for a "Beth Dutton" quilt. Many people were jumping on the bandwagon and making a quilt that was in the Yellowstone TV series. I never watched the show, but I saw pictures of the quilt. So of course, I had to be a copycat and join in. Monkey see, monkey do. I'm going to give this quilt to Nathan, a friend of Geo's son. Nathan came from a Hutterite colony in Manitoba. He said he regretted not being given a quilt when he left. Now he will get a quilt. It won't be from his relatives, but it'll have to do. I hope he likes it. I found some large pieces of black batting from twenty years ago in my closet. it has to be the nicest and fluffiest batting ever. I pieced it together to use in this quilt. It's too bad they don't make batting like that anymore. It's quilted with Baptist Fans in a light grey to black variegated thread. The quilt is in the washing machine right now because I spilled pickle juice on it- groan! If anything is going to get spilled, it'll be me that does it. After the laundering, I'll attach a label.

The Star Petals Quilt Is Completed

The pattern, "Star Petals" came from the book, Scrap Basket Bounty by Kim Brackett. I pulled squares from my 5" squares, 4 1/2" squares and 2 1/2" squares that are all sorted into bins to create this project. I added an extra row to the top and bottom so the quilt wasn't square like it was in the instructions. After making the quilt top, the bins were still full. I could probably make ten quilts and not see much reduction in the collection. I found a flat sheet for $2.00 at a thrift shop. After I laundered it and checked for quality, it became the backing for this quilt. With the price of fabric escalating, a person has to look for a bargain somewhere. This will most likely end up being a donation quilt.

Scrappy Crossroads Is Completed

The pattern for Scrappy Crossroads came from the book, "Scrappiness is Happiness" by Lori Holt. It's an old time pattern, otherwise known as "Arkansas Crossroads". I found wide backing fabric that I competely forgot about in a closet, so that became the back of the quilt. Also, in the same closet, I found several large pieces of Warm and White batting that I pieced together. That batting from from about 20 years ago. I noticed how much thicker and more substantial the batting used to be. Batting nowadays is a lot thinner and flimsier. Shrinkflation is everywhere, even in the quilting world! I used light green Onmi thread for the free-motion quilting. This thread didn't work for me the last time I used it, but this time I used the same in the top and bobbin. It worked like a charm. Omni doesn't like Bottom Line thread in the bobbin. I'll keep that in mind. Whenever I finish a quilt, Geo always asks me, "What are you going to do with that one?" I don't usually know, they get put away and the decision comes later. I always have a need to be creative, so I just constantly make things.