Quilting is in my Blood

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

I’m posting two days early because I wanted to share about the online Wavelength workshop on October 24th being done by the super talented Rebecca Bryan. Spaces may be limited, so I wanted to let people know about this awesome opportunity for an incredible price. See the end of this post for details.

To-Do for the week of Oct 13th-Oct 19th:

1. Start working again on my Solstice quilt. √ Done
2. Take another Sashiko class through the Pacific International Quilt Festival. √ Done
3. Write a post about my other secret Christmas quilt. √ Done

To-Do #1

I finished my Solstice Month 7 units which form the inner star in the pic below. The second photo shows a close-up of one of the units (Solstice pattern by Rebecca Bryan). I’ve decided that rather than finishing up the quilt that I would like to make a hexagon table topper (and use the other units in an improv project down the road). I know Roseanne has made a few hexagon table toppers. I’m wondering how difficult it is to bind a hexagon-shaped piece. Hopefully Roseanne and anyone else with experience binding this shape will share a helpful hint or two.

To-Do #2

I really enjoyed the Hitomezashi Sashiko class on Oct 16th with Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby (@shibaguyz on Instagram). Even on Zoom, these guys are very engaging, and the three-hour class flew by. I particularly liked learning the rice stitch. A kit was provided as part of registering for the class which included a few different materials to stitch on. One of them was a 5” square of quilting cotton that has a quarter-inch grid on it. We used it to learn how to do the rice stitch which involves offset running stitches, crosses, and diagonal stitches. Shannon and Jason shared so much valuable information, and they have a Sashiko book coming out in December that I definitely plan to buy. They suggest using a double width of Aurafil 12 wt thread (also provided with the kit). I like the look, though I can see some separation of threads in my practice piece below. Perhaps with more consistent stitching that won’t happen too often (and maybe a little less puckering!) I liked doing this rice stitch so much that I finished this practice piece Saturday morning just to reinforce the learning even though it will just stay in my Sashiko supplies as an example.

To-Do #3

I waited to write the post about the Merrily quilt below until it was delivered to Mary’s sister, Kathy. Please see my Merrily Christmas Quilt Finished and Finally Delivered post for details and all the angst Mary and I went through until Kathy received her quilt. The  second pic below is the quilt back.

To-Do for the week of Oct 20th-Oct 26th:

1. Make a Fiddlesticks block for the Kat & Cat Quilts Covered in Love Sept-Oct block drive. I’ve started making strip sets with leftover batik scraps.
2. Finish my Dahlia Sashiko project.
3. Take Rebecca Bryan’s Wavelength mini-workshop on Oct 24th on Zoom. The workshop is only $37, and participants get a digital version of her Modern Rainbow Quilts which is one of my all-time favorite quilting books. Wavelength is the cover quilt photo. I’ve wanted to make her rainbow version of Wavelength ever since I bought the book from Rebecca at the Stash Books booth at QuiltCon in 2016, but I’m also tempted to make one with an array of blue/green fabrics. I probably won’t even start making this project quite yet, but I definitely want to see some of Rebecca’s tips. You can see a mini version in blue/green fabrics as well as the full-size rainbow version in this Post. If you’re interested, you can sign up for this workshop Here.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #63.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Oct 6th-Oct 12th:

1. Make more Sunflower blocks.  √ Done
2. Write a post about my two secret Christmas quilts. √ Partially Done

To-Do #1

I have finished making my Sunflower blocks. I made 12 that are being made into placemats and four that are being sewn together for a table runner. I will share a pic of all 16 blocks when I write my Oct 2020 OMG Finish post at the end of the month. Below is a pic of one of the 14.5” square blocks in the Sunflower table runner on my new Lori Holt mini design board.

To-Do #2

I decided to blog individually about the Christmas quilts I have recently finished. I shared about the problems I had after washing the quilt pictured below in my Snowy Forest Quilt post.

To-Do for the week of Oct 13th-Oct 19th:

1. Take another Sashiko class through the Pacific International Quilt Festival. I’m taking the Hitomezashi Sashiko class on Oct 16th with Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby which I am really looking forward to.
2. Start working again on my Solstice quilt.
3. Write a post about my other secret Christmas quilt.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #62.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Sept 29th-Oct 5th:

1. Write my October 2020 OMG post and share about a new project.  √ Done
2. Bind my Dachshunds quilt.√ Done

To-Do #1

I’ve started the perfect Fall project. I’m making Sunflower blocks that I will make into placemats and a table runner. I shared a little more about this project in my October 2020 OMG post. Below is a pic of the six Sunflower blocks I’ve made so far along with strips of fabric I’ve been using for the blocks.

To-Do #2

I did finish binding the Dachshunds quilt. I had a hard time getting a good outside shot of it, so I’ve also include a pic of it on my bed that really shows off the Scribble quilting motif.

To-Do for the week of Oct 6th-Oct 12th:

1. Make more Sunflower blocks.
2. Write a post about my two secret Christmas quilts.

Linking up to Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #61.

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Sept 15th-Sept 21st:

1. Make the Walrus block and possibly the Polar Bear block for my North Stars quilt top.  √ Done
2. Finish the big flower on my Dahlia Sashiko project and take a photo of it. √ Done but no photo
3. Take Ebony Love’s Sashiko class at the Fall into Sewing 2020 Retreat.  √ Done

To-Do #1

I got both the Walrus and Polar Bear blocks made for my North Stars quilt this past week. This project has been so much fun to make, and I already want to make two more small quilts next year!

To-Do #2

I did finish the big flower on my Dahlia Sashiko project but have decided to wait to share a photo until I finish this project.

To-Do #3

I enjoyed Ebony’s Sashiko class on the online Fall into Sewing 2020 Retreat. She had some helpful information to share. I especially liked her demonstration on how she ties off thread ends looping through existing stitches on the back in a figure 8 motion.

To-Do for the week of Sept 22nd-Sept 28th:

1. Finish my North Stars quilt top and write my Sept 2020 OMG Finish post.
2. Make more progress on my Dahlia Sashiko project.

Linking up with Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #59 .

I am joining the weekly To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky Party hosted by my friend, Roseanne, at Home Sewn By Us.

To-Do for the week of Sept 8-Sept 14th:

1. Make the Otters block for my North Stars quilt top.  √ Done
2. Work on my Dahlia Sashiko project. √ Done

To-Do #1

I’m having so much fun making the blocks for my North Stars quilt. Unfortunately in my photo below, the otters’ bodies look really brown where in reality they are grey with some  brownish overtones (I can’t even say what color grey it is as I looked at both my Kona and Bella color cards and couldn’t find an exact match—the closest is Kona Coal). I hope to get an outside shot of the quilt top when it is finished.

To-Do #2

I’ve continued to make progress with my Dahlia Sashiko project. I’m really enjoying practicing this ancient Japanese embroidery skill, and I will get a chance to learn more about it when I take Ebony Love’s Sashiko class this weekend through the online Fall into Sewing 2020 through Retreatfromhome.com. What enticed me to sign up for Ebony’s class are these wonderful Modern Sashiko Coasters on her Instagram page.

To-Do for the week of Sept 15th-Sept 21st:

1. I’ve already started sewing the Walrus block for my North Stars quilt top. I’m using green fabrics for this block. If I finish this block this week, I may start on the last block which is a polar bear block in red and white fabrics.
2. Finish the big flower on my Dahlia Sashiko project and take a photo of the progress thus far.
3. Take Ebony’s Sashiko class this weekend and maybe stop by another class or two in the Fall into Sewing 2020 Retreat.

Linking up with Home Sewn By Us: To-Do Tuesday Weekly Progress Update Linky #58.