I have a plan to finish a stack of quilt tops. There are seven tops in this stack, including a new Potato Chip quilt. The basting rack is in the living room. It will stay there until all seven quilt tops are quilted.

The seven tops have the parts to sew together for backings and battings. The baby Mile a Minute was on the frame first. It has been basted. The next step is to quilt. The batting and backing on the next quilt will be finished and the quilt placed on the frame to be basted. The quilting will be done in the daytime and the basting in the evening.

The Mile a Minute has been quilted. It was quilted with a wavy stitch with the backing at the top. The lines in the backing pattern made perfect spacing. The color of the thread was parchment which hid the quilting and made texture.

The second quilt is almost basted. The third one is ready to replace it. The plan is going slowly as the weather is beautiful and I enjoy sitting on the deck and relaxing. Sewing can be done on rainy days. In the meantime, I have been “organizing” the sewing room again. Patterns are back where they belong. I know where all the ufos are. There are many placemats to finish. There is still a lot more to do, but I do have some empty boxes.

The Temperature Quilt is half done. Six months are finished. This year is going by too fast. I’m making the geese a little different this year. Each day, I send an email to myself with the lowest and highest temperatures of the day. Then, once a week, I make all the flying geese and add them to the row.

More blocks from the Puzzle Quilt are finished.

These two are made from the same pattern.

It’s hard to believe that the one above and the one below are the same [attern.

Now that I’m not making the Cat on the Couch, I have to find a ufo to replace it. It will be a quilt from the same time period. Three quilts are in the running. The Ugly Quilt, the Big Green quilt, and the Village Square. I have to decide soon. It has to be finished by September. My decision will be made by the next blog.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

There are times in your quilting life when you say, “enough is enough.” I’ve been struggling all of June with the third piece that I registered to finish by September. Last night, I decided to throw it away and never think about it again. I’ll be able to finish many more ufos and be happy. This is a nice wall hanging., but the pieces are just too small. .Quilting should be fun.

Between being frustrated, I have made two more blocks for the puzzle quilt.

The Temperature Quilt is up to date. The June row will be finished soon which makes the quilt half pieced. This year is going by fast. Last week I spent a few days in Wells, Maine. While there, my daughter and I naturally had to visit the local quilt shop. Mainely Mimi Quilt Shop is worth the trip. It’s a wonderful shop and I will make the trip to go back sometime. On the wall was a quilt that used large print fabrics. It’s simple and easy. When I got home, I had to make it. The three small blocks are 5 1/2″ square. The larger block is 17 1/2 ” x 12 1/2″. The sashing is cut 1 1/2″ and the border is 5 1/2″. When I quilt it, I can use a set of quilting rulers that I bought years ago and haven’t used.

It will be a community quilt. I pieced the backing and will put it together for quilting soon. While doing that I pulled out five other tops and chose backing for them. I can baste all of them while the basting frame is in the living room. There are so many new ideas rolling around in my head. The Meadow Mist Magnolia Mystery quilt will be coming soon. I like to do their mystery quilts. Angela Walters from Quilting Is My Therapy is having a class in July on Feather quilting. I have blocks that would be perfect for this class. Maybe I will make placemats with them, not a big quilt, so I can practice the lessons. I want to do another sew and flip Potato Chip quilt. I should make a sampler quilt from all the quilt block patterns that I save on Facebook. Today, I am going to enjoy my decision. I’ll throw out the pieces made or put them in the mile a minute bin. The leftover fabric can go in the laundry basket where I keep scraps to be cut into precuts. Then I can work (play) on something that I enjoy.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I had hoped to have Baby Butterflies finished by June 1st, but it is not. The quilting is almost done; the binding is on but not completely tacked down. The sleeve is on but not tacked down. The thread painting is still ahead of me. That will be the fun part. Baby Butterflies is the second of the three registered ufos that should be finished by September. I still have the Cynthia England piece to complete. I have mixed feeling with that piece. I have to finish it because I registered it, but I know that I’m not going to enjoy it. I’ll have to search and find something enjoyable about it. It will be nice when finished. Then I can get on to the many other ufos that seem to show up in the sewing room.

The Temperature Quilt is up to date. It’s fascinating to see the colors change as the weather warms up. If I was planning a quilt, I would not have chosen these colors to go together, but the black sashing seems to control all the fabric. One more month and the quilt will be half finished.

Two more Puzzle Quilt blocks are done. These two are the 54/40 or Fight block. Six blocks are finished. There are fourteen to go. Making these blocks give a break from other quilts. It’s good to have something without a time limit.

The weather is beautiful. My indoor plants are on the deck for their summer vacation. Seeds are planted. Flowers are blooming. The purple Lupine and yellow iris, with the green foliage is an inspiration for colors in another quilt. But, not for now. That’s for a much later date. The tomatoes did not like being transplanted. Hopefully, they will look better in a few days.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I enjoy making mystery quilts, Round Robins and Puzzle Quilts. I’ve made two Puzzle Quilts and am making the third one. A Puzzle Quilt is made of twenty blocks with only ten patterns. To solve the puzzle, you have to find the matching blocks. Another version of the Puzzle Quilt is the Old Maid’s Puzzle. It has an odd number of blocks and you have to find the single block.

While I’ve been working on other quilts, I’ve been auditioning fabric for the Puzzle Quilt. It needs several colors with light, medium and dark tones. The colors that remain are green, red, and blue. There are also several cream-colored background fabrics. As the blocks are made, more fabric may be added. Even more colors. Some of the fabric may not be used. There will be enough fabric left over to make a rail fence border.

The first two blocks

The second two blocks

Would you know that the blocks were the same pattern if they weren’t next to each other?

Fortunately, I have an Amazon box that is the perfect size to keep the blocks until they are all made.

The sashing color hasn’t been decided yet. I’ll make that decision when all the blocks are finished. This quilt is a design as you go.

In the meantime, I’m machine quilting Baby Butterflies. I’ve changed the technique of quilting the butterflies three times already and still haven’t come to a decision. At this point, I’m not going to have as many butterflies as I originally planned.

The Temperature Quilt is almost up to date. I send the daily temperatures to myself in an email, so that I have the information when I decide to make a few flying geese. One flying geese a day doesn’t take long to sew. Each piece of fabric is cut in a 2 1/2-inch strip. Then the sky and the goose are cut from the strips with the Kimberly Einmo Flying Geese ruler. It’s just two short seams to make the goose and one more to add it to the monthly strip .

The weather is beautiful. The plants that wintered inside the house are out on the deck. One garden is cleaned out and seeded. The others are overgrown with perennials. They will stay as they are.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I needed a sample quilt for the Mile A Minute class that I was teaching at the Guild. It wasn’t where I thought it should be. There are four bins of wall hangings that I’ve made in the past, so I thought it might be in one of the bins. Yes, it was, in the last bin. The class was fun. I ended up with fourteen blocks that were made from the progression samples.

Looking through the bins brought back memories of making them.

Years ago, I belonged to a group called the Tuesday Night Quilters. We were making a Round Robin. It was a “what if” moment. What if I made two centers that were alike. Sent one around to the others and made a second one myself. How different could they be? The first quilt is mine. The second one is the Round Robin that traveled for friends to make. The prompts were Triangles, Applique, squares/rectangles, curves, and a label. The two quilts are very different.

This is a little art quilt. Strips were sewn together. Then they were sliced and other strips added. At this time, I only hand quilted. This was one of the first quilts that I machine quilted.

This was made at the first class that I attended. It was making an Amish quilt. My mother and I went together to the class. We had so much fun together. Later on, she gave me her piece so I have both pieces in the collection. I hand quilted both of them.

This wall hanging was made in 2001. At that time, we had two dogs. Scruffy was a Wire Fox Terrier and Max was a Schnauzer. I printed their pictures on fabric. The pictures are faded, but still visible enough to remember our times with the two dogs.

Scruffy never got into the trash, but one day she did and pulled out a picture of food. It was if she was ordering her next meal.

Scruffy left us first. Then Miss Molly came into our life. Their markings were alike, but they were two very different dogs. Miss Molly became my quality control inspector. She personally checked out every quilt and every piece of fabric that came into the house.

Now that the class is over, I’m back to quilting. The applique quilt, which has been named Baby Butterfly, is under my needle now. This quilt is a smaller version of Basket and Butterflies. I’ve been planning how to quilt it for two weeks and then just decided to jump in and do it.

I hope that you enjoyed my trip down memory lane.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I need samples for the mile a minute class that I’m teaching soon. I said that I would not teach again so gave away all my samples. Never say never. Here I am with a class to teach and no samples to show. The easiest and quickest way is to make sample placemats. I’ve also made a baby size quilt top that will be quilted at a later date. Former students are coming and bringing their finished quilts. There will be enough for show and tell.

I need a new set of placemats so I’m all set for that.

It’s May. The April row in the Temperature Quilt is finished. If I were to choose colors and fabrics, I would not choose the ones in in this quilt. But they seem to play well together. Today’s flying geese is sewn. The next row has started.

Now that the samples are ready, the Big Quilt is finished, and the Temperature Quilt is up to date I have to think about what comes next. I reorganized the sewing room again the other day and found more ufos. I have a lot to choose from.

It’s Spring and time to go out and do some yardwork. The grass is green and growing. The trees are budded. The forsythia is beautiful. Even though the weather is beautiful it will be a few weeks before the seeds cam be planted.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I had a plan. I would work on a different project each day for four days. Then, I would choose one of the projects for the remaining three days in the week. Eventually, I would finish them all and when one was finished, add another ufo or new quilt to the mix. It sounded like a good plan. I jokingly told a friend that I would probably keep to the plan for a week. That didn’t happen.

The first day, I quilted on the “Big Quilt.” It was so much fun. The second day, I continued to quilt on that quilt and the third day came around and I was on a roll. The plan didn’t even last a day.

The quilt is called “The Big Quilt” because it is an enlarged version of a table mat. It’s a Mile A Minute quilt.

I had said that I would never teach the Mile A Minute quilt block again, so I gave away most of my samples. Another plan not followed through. I am teaching the class one more time. Maybe.

I’m making new samples. The first one is a baby quilt. I wanted to show a Mile A Minute with a planned center. I had a sample with funky birds and used it in the first row.

This is my favorite bird. It’s not quilted yet but might be before the class.

I made eight squares to show how a different color sashing and border would look.

I will set each one into a different block. Ohio Star, Monkey Wrench, etc. Each setting will be in a different color and end up in a placemat. I’ll have eight new placemats to use when the class is finished.

One of the quilts that I gave away was one of my favorite quilts. I’m making another one like it. The center has four Mile A Minute blocks. It is set on a diagonal. Some of the borders are also Mile A Minute. The colors that look gray are actually green. This will be a tablecloth for my dining room. It may be a little different from the original. I’ll add borders until it fits the table.

In the meantime, I am up to date on the temperature quilt.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I seem to be making easy to piece quilts lately. They go together quickly. The quilt from the Missouri Star Quilt Company Block magazine is pieced. It consists of ten-inch blocks cut twice and sewn back together with the fabric changing in each block. After cutting, I moved 1/3 of the pieces of one stack to the bottom and 2/3 of the pieces of another to the bottom. By doing that, I didn’t have to think about making sure the fabrics were the same. I sewed them together as they came up. It’s a simple quilt, but the quilting will make it come alive.

I haven’t decided if I will make a border to hold it all in or use the binding as the border.

I needed a birthday gift so used some potato chips to make two placemats. Again, quick and easy.

Three months have been finished for the Temperature quilt. Using different fabrics for five-degree temperature changes bring together colors that I would never have thought to put together. By themselves, it wouldn’t work, but within the whole quilt, they are very nice. As I use a fabric, I cut a 2 1/2-inch strip. It can be used for the goose or the sky with no waste. One flying geese is made at a time which is perfect for this quilt. If I don’t have time in the day to make one, I send myself an email with the temperature and the date. Then, when I’m able to sit and sew, the information is there.

The quilting on one quarter of the Big Quilt has been finished. Half of the second quarter also. The blocks are quilted in every quarter. The sashing is the only thing left to do. It is relaxing to free motion quilt.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

It’s a great day when a quilt is finished. Even a better day when three are finished.

The 2015 SAHRR is finally finished and is off the ufo list. This was delayed because plain fabric is the least enjoyable for me to work with. I had finished piecing and didn’t like it, so Mr. Ripper removed two rows. I combined patterns in the rows and like it now. It is a community quilt.

The 2026 SAHRR is also finished. It never made it into the ufo list. I had a baggie of calicos that I received from a friend. I used the fabric in the baggie for this. The baggie is not empty. I can see at least two more community quilts in the baggie. When I have a few minutes to spare, I’m going to cut the leftover fabric into precuts. My new policy for this year is to precut all my leftover scraps. If the fabric is one yard long it can go back into the stash. It it’s smaller, it will be precut. I’ll start with ten-inch square cuts and go down from there. When I get to five-inch cuts, I can make half square triangles with the accordion method. Eventually there will be a lot of “free” quilts. The 2026 SAHRR is another community quilt.

Several years ago, I was the winner of a batch of birdhouse blocks. The blocks were made by the ladies in my Maine Guild. This year’s Maine Guild challenge is to register three ufos and have them finished by September. The Birdhouse is the first to be finished. The blocks are different sizes, so I added log cabin strips on everyone to make the blocks the same size. The quilt grew to be 92 inches by 96 inches. It’s perfect for my bed. There is one block leftover. I will use it on the back for a label.

My second registered ufo is an applique wall-hanging. I made it to go over the sofa. It became a ufo because I couldn’t decide if I should hand quilt or machine quilt. The decision is made. It will be machine quilted. Now to decide how to do it. Ideas have been rolling around in my head when Angela Walters offered a free class that taught exactly what I was planning. The class starts in April, so this ufo will be put aside until after the class is over.

The third registered ufo is a Cynthia English paper pieced project that I started over 25 years ago. I know why it’s a ufo. Some of the pieces are very small. I have done about one quarter of the piecing, so it is doable. I just have to start.

In the meantime, I found an easy pattern in the Missouri Start Quilt Company Block magazine. I wanted a non- thinking quilt. It starts with forty-two 10-inch squares. Each square is a different fabric. I cut the squares from blue fabric and a few yellow fabrics.

A 2 1/2-inch strip is cut off one side of each block.

Then a 2 1/2-inch strip is cut off the end of the larger piece. The remaining square is 7 1/2 inches.

I moved i/3 of one set of strips to the bottom and 2/3 of the other strip to the bottom. That made the pieces different fabrics when I sewed them together.

At this point, all the pieces are sewn. They need to be pressed and trimmed. Then I can lay them out and put them together. I can work on this when I get frustrated with the paper piecing.

I have to think of a new quilt to make along with all of the ufos. I’m thinking about another Puzzle quilt. It uses a lot of different fabrics. I’ve made two Puzzle Quilts already. There are ten blocks in a Puzzle Quilt but only ten patterns. To solve the puzzle, you have to figure out which two are the same pattern. It’s not as easy as you might think. For example, the first block, (red and yellow) and the thirteenth block (green corners with flying geese) are the same.

Making two blocks at a time will be fun and eventually all twenty blocks will be complete. The border is strip pieced from leftover fabric and then cut.

Have a great day and happy quilting.

I’m enjoying the SAHRR this year. Row four is a curved block. I had decided to wait until row five instructions came before making it. I wanted to make four Drunkard Path blocks for the corners but wanted it to coordinate with the next row.

Row five is an easy row. Any block can be used but it has to be two colors. So, I made the Drunkard Square corner blocks using the same two colors.

The two-colored block is an easy four patch using the two colors pink, green and white. The measurement for the center was 37 inches square which is an odd measurement. My four patch squares were two inches finished and would not fit. I strip pieced the four patches.

The back seams were twisted at the corners to make it lay flat. The four-patch strip was centered on the side of the piece, and the rectangle, made of the two colors, was cut to fit the odd size.

It worked out as if I had planned it that way. The best part is that the quilt is already quilted up to this row. It will be quilted by the time the instructions for the next row come. This will not be in my ufo pile.

I haven’t measured the quilt yet. I’m sure it’s an odd size, but whatever the next row will be, it will fit.

It’s winter in New Hampshire. We’ve had a little bit of snow. I took some pictures this morning and was surprised that they had no color.

It’s too cold to hang clothes out. The clothesline can be pretty for a while.

The pines are also beautiful

It’s a good day to stay inside and sew. I have many ufos to choose from.

Have a great day ad happy quilting