2024, How Did It Sew?

I have spent 2024 trying to stick to the list I posted about last January in my first Planning Party report. At times sewing my list and sticking to the plan became very tedious, however I am very glad I persevered when I see all the quilting that was accomplished. A total of 8 quilts were listed. Of those 8 quilts, 6 are completely finished and 3 of those quilts were started and finished this year. However I did have a squirrel sneak in and run around, I'll show you that quilt at the end of the post.

Hearts & Wreaths was finished in June. From start to finish, it took a little under 3 years for this long term project.

The piecing of Dresden Stars was completed in February, sent to the long arm quilter in May then returned to me in August.

The anniversary quilt (listed as gift quilt) was pieced and long arm quilted entirely this year.

The months of June and July were spent binding comforter tops for MCC and machine quilting small quilt projects which I'm not showing in this post. You can read about them here, here, and here.

However, I am going to show you Dots and Dashes, this was the largest of the compassion quilts I quilted and donated. Quilting compassion quilts was on the list.

Most of the blocks for Dots & Dashes were completed, I just needed to piece a couple more blocks then sew the blocks together. The pattern for Dots & Dashes is found here. I may make another quilt from this pattern someday.

Tula Hexies was one of the quilts I quilted. She's staying at my house for me to enjoy. Tula Hexies was a new project I started in November 2023 and she's finished!

Radiant Blues was started and completed in 2024.

Radiant Blues is my favorite quilt of the year. I have been wanting to make a feathered star quilt for years and now I have. I enjoy looking at it displayed on the wall. 

Pineapple Blues was started at the Jane Stickle retreat in April. I innocently thought I could actually piece all 49 blocks needed for this quilt in one long weekend! I managed to complete almost 20. The rest were completed in September. She came home from the long arm quilter in November, another quilt started and finished in the same year.

The outer blue borders have been sewn onto blueberry pie. She won't be going into the quilting frame though. She measures 108" and I won't be able to have the hand quilting finished by spring. I don't like to hand quilt during summer and I feel guilty if I have a quilt the frame and not be quilting.

One of the projects I listed was Garden Party, designed by Bonnie Hunter. Thirty-six blocks were pieced at the November retreat, that quilt is on the list again for next year.

What quilts didn't happen? Fire Island Hosta was the only project on the list to not make it out of the project bag, it is also on the list for next year.

The squirrel quilt is Blessed by Nature which was a kit I purchased at Lolly's during my July birthday outing. Donna and I both pieced our quilts together in October then I sent my quilt to Calico Point to be quilted. Here she is!

Linking to TGIFF!, Favorite Finish December, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Planning Party Update, 3rd Quarter Check-In

It's time for a Planning Party update and I'm posting my summer progress. Here is a link to the list I made in January of my tentative quilting plans for the year.

The Anniversary quilt was finished the first of August. This quilt is an anniversary (obviously) quilt that will be gifted next year. The wife loves purple!

In July, Tula Hexies was finished, machine quilted by me.

Several compassion quilts were also quilted by me. You can find links to them here, here and here.

Here is the largest of the quilts I've machine quilted. She's called Dots & Dashes.

Dresden Stars was also finished in August. Colleen Gall was the long arm quilter.

Dresden Stars and the Anniversary quilts were both started and completed in 2024.

Linking to Planning Party, Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Dots & Dashes

Dots & Dashes is the largest of all the quilts I'm machine quilting. Stitch in the ditch was the easiest way to quilt. After quilting and being laundered, my dots & dashes measures 58" by 72".

I think she looks so pretty. My ditch stitching wasn't always accurate but you don't notice so much since she's been washed. You see the block rows alternate, I stitched along the edge of the white sashing so the quilting alternates in each block.

A friend of a friend, who decided to quit quilting/sewing, donated their fabric stash to me several years ago with the specification that the fabric be used for charity quilts. The green backing fabric came from that stash.

The striped binding fabric has been in my stash for years. I thought it would make good binding since there were so many different colors in the quilt.

In this picture you can see how I stitch in the edge along the long sides of the white sashing.

Dots & Dash, along with 4 smaller quilts, will be donated to the cancer center at Goshen Hospital.

You may have noticed in the large picture that there are 4 patches in the side borders. Do to a lapse of mind in planning (😕), they ended up in the side borders instead of the corners where they were supposed to be. I didn't notice this until I took pictures of the quilt before I quilted it. I just didn't feel like taking the quilt apart. We'll just call it a design feature and let it go at that.

The pattern for Dots & Dashes is found at the Quilted Twins website.

Dots & Dashes is the only quilt in this quilting marathon to NOT have a pieced batting.

Just one more quilt to be quilted in my quilting marathon, Tula Hexies!

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, Free Motion Mavericks, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Patchwork & Quilts

Jewel Box, Embroidered Blocks, Dots & Dashes

I made as many Dots & Dashes blocks as I had cut pieces for. It isn't large enough to be a comforter top for MCC but it's big enough for a cozy quilt for the cancer center at Goshen Hospital.

This is the center of the quilt. It looks bright and colorful in this picture but I thought it looked rather sad on the floor and decided to add borders. Maybe it was because it was laying on gray carpeting?

I pulled black fabric with bright streamers or ribbons to be used for sashing. I thought it would add some zing to the various fabrics in the quilt.

The Dots & Dashes flimsy finishes at 60" by 74". My machine quilting will be basic but it will hold the layers together. It feels good to finish a long time UFQ (unfinished quilt).  

I like the design those 4 squares make in the corners when the blocks are pieced together.

The pattern for Dots & Dashes can be found on the Quilted Twins Free Patterns website.

Here is a close up of the border fabric. Aren't those streamers/ribbons colorful?

I did sew the Jewel Box blocks into a 32.5" by 40" flimsy but I'm not going to quilt it now. I'll add borders someday then quilt it. Perhaps it will be gifted to the oldest granddaughter someday. I wonder if she remembers the quilt I pieced for her  years ago?

The Jewel Box pattern is from the book written by Eleanor Burns. 

A granddaughter embroidered the little blocks several years ago. I like the way the cornerstones were in Radiant Blues so I decided to make them the same way for this quilt.

I didn't have enough of the lavender 30's floral fabric for borders. I'll try to find something similar the next time I'm in Shipshewana.

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Okay, how about one more picture?

This 'N That

I'm working on some odds and ends now since Radiant Stars has been completed.

First are some project bags I've made or partially made. Deanna gave me the pattern when she visited in April for the quilt retreat.

Do you notice that I didn't use blue fabrics, I'm kind of blued out right now. This project bag is the 18" size.

I ran into a problem though with the zipper so bag 1 is at a standstill until I get some help from a friend.

The next bag finishes at 16" and I used the same fabrics, I like the red and aqua colors. 

I used a white zipper I found in a drawer. It worked just fine.

I've also been doing some cleaning, sorting and organizing. I noticed a large tub on the bottom of one of the metal shelves and wondered what was in there. I opened it and discovered fabrics from mother's stash and . . . . some unfinished quilts!

Dots & Dash - 

Jewel Box blocks left from a quilt I made our oldest granddaughter many many years ago.

Also a bunch of uneven 9 patch blocks and embroidered blocks for a crib quilt. No pictures of those projects.

Mother's fabrics are going to be cut into blocks to make comforter tops then passed along to another person to piece the comforters.

I'll try to make the unfinished projects into small quilts, hopefully that won't take too long. I have several small quilts and other projects I want to machine quilt, I'll just add these to the stack when they're pieced.

Several weeks ago, Michelle (From Bolt to Beauty) posted about the scrappy stars quilt she pieced called Quilty Stars. This pattern was designed by Emily Dennis. She decided to gift the pattern to one of the people who commented on her blog that day and the random generator selected me! This looks like a fun pattern, I certainly have plenty of 2.5" squares to use.  Thank you Michelle!

Linking to Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts