Sewcialites 2 Quilt Top Finished!

I can't believe it is the last day of March already! I'm cutting things a little close here with a last-chance report on the successful completion of my One Monthly Goal for March. My Sewcialites 2 quilt top is done!

Sewcialites 2 quilt top

27" square

Our quilt guild chose the Sewcialites 2 pattern as our Block of the Month for 2024-25. Actually, we made two blocks each month, and I made one extra block at the end. 

Sewcialites 2 originally ran as a weekly block program at Fat Quarter Shop from October, 2022 until April, 2023. All of the block patterns are still available on the Fat Quarter Shop's website. The pattern includes instructions for blocks that finish at 3", 6" or 9". For some crazy reason, I decided to challenge myself and make the 3" blocks.

The above photo shows all of my blocks after I finished making them back in December of 2024. At that point, I had no idea how I would arrange them in the finished quilt.

In February I auditioned some options for the setting fabric. I had expected to go with a lighter aqua/turquoise, but ended up choosing the darker blue for the dramatic contrast. Below are my blocks on the setting fabric before the top was assembled. Some of them changed position, but this gave me a good idea of where I was headed.

 

I'm very happy to have this quilt top done, and I look forward to getting it quilted and hanging on the wall. Making all those 3" blocks convinced me that I could handle the challenges of very small piecing, which is probably what led to my newest project, a Dear Jane quilt.

I'm joining in with the One Monthly Goal link-up, hosted by Anne-Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room.

I'm also linking up with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 3/30/2025

My Stash Report for the past week shows no changes to the numbers for fabric used or added. I've mostly been obsessed with getting organized and making a start on my Dear Jane quilt, and it is very slow going. I finished up a grand total of three blocks for that project this week. All blocks will finish at 4.5".

Block A13

Partially rotary cut, partially foundation pieced

Block B6

This block has 43 pieces in it!

Block G13

I was able to machine piece the curves in this block

I don't think I will try to calculate the amount of fabric used for each block in this quilt. That's just too many tiny pieces and strange shapes. I will buy an equal amount of each color to use in the quilt, and I can just see how much is left at the end.

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                  0.0 yards

Used year to date:         27.125 yards

Added last week:                 0.0 yards

Added year to date:          20.75 yards

Net used in 2025:         6.375 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. My quilting time took a hit this week after an unfortunate encounter between a rotary cutter and my left index finger. It slowed me down, but didn't keep me from doing something quilt related every day.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

3/23 - 3/29              7 of 7 days

2025 Total            88 of 88 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Starting Something New

A recent trip to Paducah, KY naturally included a stop at Hancock's of Paducah. Actually, I ended up going there twice in the two days we were in town. I didn't have a specific project or plan in mind when I got there, but something about their beautiful lineup of Grunge fabrics really spoke to me, especially the teal and turquoise variations. Here's what I bought.

For some reason, these fabrics sparked the desire to get started on a quilt project that has been on my bucket list for many years. That is the Dear Jane Quilt. For those who aren't familiar with the name, "Dear Jane" refers to a book by Brenda Manges Papadakis, originally published in 1996. The full title is Dear Jane: The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt.

Sampler by Jane A. Blakely Stickle, 1863

80.25" x 80.25"

Brenda was a math teacher and quilt scholar when she became fascinated by the Jane Stickle quilt. She began by drafting the blocks from a photo of the quilt in a book, then later from photos taken by a friend. She was able to see the quilt in person in 1992 and traced the designs for the rest of the blocks.

The Dear Jane quilt consists of 169 square blocks (13 rows of 13 blocks.)  The finished size of each block is 4.5", and there is 1/2" sashing and cornerstones between them. The border has 52 triangular blocks along the sides, and four kite-shaped blocks in the corners, bringing the grand total to 225 blocks, and all of them are different.

Block E7

The first block to be made was #E7. The blocks are numbered in the book by row, then counting across. I started with this aqua fabric to make sure it wasn't too pale. I put it up on the wall along with squares of most of the other colors. I'm glad I tested it first, because it does look too light to me. The solid squares of that color (Pool) are okay, but in lower light, the pale aqua just disappears. I don't want to put all this work into blocks that blend into the background.

The other colors featured in the above photo all made the final cut for the quilt, although they will not line up in the order shown. The colors from top to bottom are Jade, Horizon Blue, Ocean, Cabana, Turquoise and Prussian. My background choice is Cream (or Creme.)

After figuring out my color choices and assigning them to the quilt diagram, I was ready to begin making blocks. I started at the very beginning of the patterns in the book with A1 and have completed enough blocks for about half of the first row so far. 

Top row: A1, A8, A2

Second row: A4, E7, A3

Third row: A6, A5, A13

Some of the blocks are very simple, but most are not. There are quite a few that include applique, and many are easiest to piece on foundations. I have found a few blogs/websites with tips for making the blocks, but I can generally figure it out for myself too. 

This will be a very long-term project, with no deadline for completion. I have only 1/2 yard of each of the Grunge colors that were selected, so I need to figure out how much more of those to buy, plus I will need lots more of the background. I might end up getting a whole bolt of that. I'm sure there will be plenty of frustration at times, but I'm looking forward to the many challenges of this new project. Wish me luck!

Linking up with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report & Stitching Time 3/23/2025

Somehow I missed writing a blog post last week with my Stash Report and 15 Minute Challenge updates. We were getting ready for a family gathering that evening, and preparations for that were the priority. It was quite a surprise that I didn't have any blog posts during the last two weeks. I've certainly been spending time in the sewing room, I just haven't been doing well at documenting my progress.

Flannel baby quilt, 35" square

One recent finish was this cute little baby quilt for our quilt guild. It started as a kit of precut squares, plus one yard each of the two fabrics in the borders (light blue solid and large dots.) All of the fabrics are flannels. I quilted it with wavy diagonal lines in the center of the quilt, plus more wavy lines around the large circles in the outer border. The only fabric from my stash was 1/4 yard for the binding.

In preparation for the family dinner last weekend, I finished off the last four placemats to complete a set that had been started about a dozen years ago. The one at the lower left shows the fabric that is on the backs of all of them. 1-3/4 yards of fabric used for these.

Here's a photo from a 2012 blog post when I originally made six of these placemats and a matching table runner.

Earlier this month we felt the need to get away for a couple days and took a quick road trip to Paducah. It was a huge treat to visit the quilt museum and have the place practically to ourselves. They had the "Option Expedition" series by Victoria Findley Wolfe in one gallery, plus a fantastic display of quilts from their collection in the main gallery. It's so hard to pick a favorite, but I'll try.

From "Option Expedition" by Victoria Findley Wolfe

Seeing the next quilt at the museum was like rediscovering an old friend. I believe the first time I ever saw this quilt was at the Sun Prairie, WI quilt show in 1997, the year before it won for Best Machine Workmanship at the Paducah show in 1998. This is Sweetheart on Parade by Diane Gaudynski.

The colors in my photo are off a little bit. The areas that look brown are actually a very dark olive green. This quilt inspired me so much that I started making a similar design in 2000, but it is still mostly a collection of small half-square triangles. I had the good fortune to take multiple classes with Diane in the late 90's/early 2000's while I was living in Milwaukee, and I still refer back to her lessons on machine quilting.

Naturally, the trip to Paducah also included a visit to Hancock's. I didn't have anything particular that I went in looking for, but for some reason I got a little obsessed with the Grunge fabrics. These are the ones that I'm planning to use in a new quilt, and there were some other purchases too. 10.25 yards total added to the stash.

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last two weeks:             2.0 yards

Used year to date:            27.125 yards

Added last two weeks:         10.25 yards

Added year to date:             20.75 yards

Net used in 2025:            6.375 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. There has been plenty of quilting going on, along with lots of time spent figuring out plans for a new project. 

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

3/9 - 3/22            14 of 14 days

2025 Total            81 of 81 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 3/9/2025

The past week included several appointments and obligations combined with more fun activities like celebrating my sweetie's birthday. One of his birthday gifts was my most recently finished quilt, the Tiny Jewel wall-hanging. I blogged about it in this post.

Tiny Jewel Wall-hanging, 18" x 18"

I've also been working on a quilting project with a deadline, plus I made a placemat for the latest Project Quilting Challenge 16.5: Follow Your Arrow (see it HERE.) That has all kept me plenty busy, and I managed to use 2-3/8 yards of fabric in the process. I did buy some new fabric yesterday, but I haven't calculated the total added yet, so I'll report on that next week.

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                  2.375 yards

Used year to date:            25.125 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:             10.50 yards

Net used in 2025:          14.625 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I have definitely been spending more than 15 minutes each day on quilting, but that's partly because I've been thinking about starting a new long-term quilt project. The design and planning stage of that has been filling up more time than it should right now. I need to buckle down this week and finish my Sewcialites 2 quilt before our guild meeting on the 20th. 

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

3/2 - 3/8                  7 of 7 days

2025 Total            67 of 67 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Project Quilting 16.5: Follow Your Arrow

The theme for the fifth challenge of Season #16 of Project Quilting, hosted by Kim at Persimon Dreams and Trish at Quilt Chicken is "Follow Your Arrow. Here is the description:

16.5 Follow Your Arrow

This week’s challenge invites you to explore arrows.

As a motif or shape in quilting, arrows were there from Day One.

Chevrons can be a very modern, streamlined arrow shape.

You can find lots of patterns for arrowhead-and-feathered-shaft Robin Hood style arrows.

And of course tons of very traditional blocks create dramatic arrow shapes across your quilt

Your “arrow” can be simple and literal or deep and introspective (well, only as deep as a one-week deadline allows!).

Rule One: Your completed project must include an arrow shape.

I decided to feature yellow arrows in my project because that is our new color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. The deep teal background fabric was leftover from another recent project. I made another placemat to add to the collection going to Meals on Wheels.

The backing fabric is quite old, but the colors coordinated perfectly.

Check out all the different projects inspired by this week's Project Quilting theme at Kim's blog, Persimon Dreams. There's only one more challenge left for this season of Project Quilting, to be posted at noon CST on Sunday, March 16th. Come join the fun! I'm also linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Hummingbird Quilt Finished!

My most recent finish was made as a special gift for my husband, Ed, who loves watching the hummingbirds at our feeders in the summer. We are both fascinated by their behavior, but Ed is the one who makes sure the feeders stay filled.

Tiny Jewel, 18" square

The pattern is called Tiny Jewel, and it was designed by Sylvia Schaefer of Flying Parrot Quilts. The hummingbird is foundation pieced, and three different block sizes are included in the pattern (9", 12" and 18" finished sizes.) I made the 12" block, then added the gradation of green solids as a border.

I pieced the top for this little quilt almost two years ago, soon after I bought the pattern, but it hung around my sewing room unquilted until just recently. I found the perfect fabric for the back at Hancock's of Paducah last December, and that helped motivate me to get this finished. It is now hanging next to our back door, waiting for the return of our favorite little flying acrobats.

Linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

One Monthly Goal--March 2025

The beginning of March seemed to come up very quickly, as February just came and went. Maybe it will help if I try to plan ahead a little more, at least as far as my quilting goes. I'm joining in with the One Monthly Goal link-up, hosted by Anne-Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room.

My goal for this month was easy to decide because I have a project with a deadline. The guild that I belong to has been making the Sewcialites 2 quilt as a Block of the Month, and we have reached the end of the challenge. It's time to join the blocks together and finish my quilt. Here are all my blocks together, plus one extra to finish with a total of 25 blocks. By the way, the finished size of my blocks is 3". There are some seriously tiny pieces in these blocks!

Sewcialites 2 originally ran as a weekly block program at Fat Quarter Shop from October, 2022 until April, 2023. All of the block patterns are still available on the Fat Quarter Shop's website. 

I auditioned several options while deciding on a color for my setting fabric. I ended up choosing to go with the darkest option because I liked the drama of the strong contrast.

My One Monthly Goal for March is to get these blocks joined together into a finished top. The bonus goal would be to also get it quilted and bound, but that is not required for the guild challenge.

Linking up with:

One Monthly Goal at Stories from the Sewing Room

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 3/2/2025

After spending a large portion of my quilting time over the second half of February working on using up some very old orphan blocks, it was a relief to finish turning them all into a collection of placemats. You can find more photos and information in my earlier blog post HERE.

This week's stash report shows 5 yards used for all those placemats, a good total for the week. No new fabric was added to the stash.

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                     5.0 yards

Used year to date:              22.75 yards

Added last week:                    0.0 yards

Added year to date:             10.50 yards

Net used in 2025:            12.25 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. After the orphan block placemats were completed, I quilted and bound a small quilt that is going to be a gift very soon. I'm also working on getting a set of sampler blocks joined together into a finished quilt top. There's a lot going on around here, and definitely more than 15 minutes of quilting happened every day last week.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

2/23 - 3/1               7 of 7 days

2025 Total            60 of 60 days

Success rate                100 %   

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. Thanks so much to Donna and Kate for continuing to host these link-ups. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

UFO Sampler Blocks

In my ongoing attempt to work through some of my old unfinished projects this year, I have been going through a box of leftover blocks each month, pulling out anything that matches the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color for January was pink, and for February it was blue. I discovered a very old group of pink/peach and blue blocks, probably made in my first year or two as a quilter, which would date them to the mid-1990's. Here's one of my favorite blocks from the group.

The old pink and blue blocks I'd pulled out appeared to be my early attempt at a sampler quilt. I'd guess that I was working my way through a series of block patterns from a quilting book I took out of the library, my favorite source for quilting information back then. My first attempt to use them now was to put them together into a baby quilt, adding a greyish-blue striped fabric for sashing and border.

That combination just wasn't working for me, so I decided to use each block separately to make placemats. I pulled an assortment of other fabrics to frame and border the blocks, and I even had a couple of those same old fabrics from the 90's still in my stash. The finished size of each placemat is around 12-13" high x 18" wide.

The blocks in the last two placemats were made much later than the sampler blocks. I don't know when the pink star block was made, but the little blue blocks were extras from the recent Project Quilting Challenge: Common Blocks.

Altogether, that's a total of eleven more placemats added to the pile that will be donated to Meals on Wheels through our quilt guild. My goal for the year is to average one placemat each week, and I'm already up to 19 as we near the end of February.

I was looking through some old quilt photos (print photos, not digital) and found a couple pictures of a wallhanging that includes many of the same fabrics. The date on that photo indicated that it was made in 1995-'96. I shared this same photo in a 2015 Throwback Thursday post. I would think that the sampler blocks were made around the same time.

Linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA