Bonus HST Pinwheels Quilt Top

Our guild's UFO challenge ended at the October meeting, and this is the last goal that was completed from my list. This is my Bonus HST Pinwheels quilt top.

Bonus HST Pinwheels quilt top

43.25" x 50.75"

This project originated from a prize I won at the guild's brown bag auction in 2022. My prize was a shoebox-sized bin, plus another container, of triangle cut-offs. They were all neatly matched up in pairs, print and background/muslin. There must have been hundreds, maybe thousands of them!

I kept those bins of triangles next to my sewing machine and stitched triangles as my leaders and enders for many month. After awhile, I began joining matching triangles together into pinwheel blocks. The blocks were trimmed to 3" (2.5" finished size blocks.) Here are the first blocks to have been completed from August of 2023. I blogged about this project for the first time HERE.

After many months of sewing triangle pairs, then making them into pinwheel blocks, I finally ran out of pieces. I ended up with a total of close to 370 blocks. I sorted my pinwheel blocks into color groups, then figured out a layout that would feature rings arranged by color. The layout used 340 blocks, set 17 across and 20 high. The colors in the next photo are very different than the shot at the top of this post because this one was taken indoors.

I never figured out who donated all those triangle pieces to the guild auction, but I sure am glad that they did. It seemed a little crazy when I first started sewing those little triangles into pairs, but I'm so pleased with the final result. 

Linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

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 everyone!

Julie in GA

16-Patch Blocks on the Design Wall

The past weekend turned into a mini quiltathon for me as I tried out the 2.5" strip die for my new AccuQuilt cutter. I got totally carried away with making 16-patch blocks, pulling out all of the brown and blue prints I could find in my stash. After completing the first 15 blocks on Friday (shared in THIS POST,) I made 20 more blocks by the end of Saturday and put them all up on the design wall together.

35 blocks

The blocks will finish at 8" square, so those 35 blocks would have measured 40" x 56" if joined together as shown. However, a slightly larger size would be more useful, requiring another row both across and along one side, 13 more blocks total.

I wasn't happy with the way those lighter and brighter blue blocks jumped out at me in the 35-block layout. The choice was to either get rid of them or make more in similar colors and spread them across the quilt. I decided to go with the second option, and I think it helps keep your eye moving around the quilt.

48 blocks

I took some closer shots to let you get a look at the fabrics in my blocks. Many of the brown/blue prints date back to a project I started in a class back in 2002.

The goal now is to get these blocks joined together into a top by the end of the week. The top should measure 48" x 64", and I'm not planning to add any borders. After that it joins the to-be-quilted collection.

I'm  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 and Stitching Time 10/26/2025

It has been two weeks since my last stash report, mostly due to our recent trip to Wisconsin to visit family. We had a great trip, spending time with my mother and many other family members. We also visited a wonderful new quilt shop in Madison, Sew Much More. They have a very large space with an amazing selection of fabrics, tools, Bernina machines, and maybe the largest variety of threads I've ever seen in one store. Check them out if you are ever in the Madison area. They also have another location in Waukesha, WI, but I haven't been there yet.

The original plan for our trip was to fly to Madison, but the recent challenges with flight delays and cancellations convinced us to drive instead. As usual, our route took us through Paducah, which meant a stop at Hancock's, always a dangerous place for my stash report. I wasn't looking for anything specific, so I chose a few pieces just because I really liked them, but I don't have definite plans for any of them.

One thing that limits my purchases at Hancock's lately is the fact that their minimum cut is now 1 yard on all fabrics. In the past it had been 1/2 yard, except for sale fabric which was 1 yard. The majority of my quilts are scrappy, and I prefer to buy pieces that are 1/2 yard or less.

My husband caught me gazing at this beautiful fat quarter bundle of a full rainbow of colors, and insisted on buying it for me as a birthday gift. The colors are so beautiful, and I love the geometric designs. The line of fabrics is Foundation 2 by Shayla Wolf. You can get a better look at the designs at the Windham Fabrics website. 

The total additions to my stash from that stop at Hancock's came to 12 yards. I don't have any usage to report this week. I need to buckle down and use up some fabric if I'm going to get back to even by the end of the year!

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                  0.0 yards

Used year to date:         54.375 yards

Added last week:               12.0 yards

Added year to date:        74.375 yards

Net added in 2025:        20.0 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 missed one day in the past two weeks, but managed to do some hand work on my Jane Stickle Sampler blocks on the other travel days. I've been working on a new project since we got back (check it out HERE,) and I also have a stack of placemats waiting to be finished.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

10/12 - 10/25       13 of 14 days

2025 Total         294 of 298 days

Success rate               98.7 %   

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

A New Tool and a New Project

Our quilt guild held a fund-raising auction in September, with members donating a wonderful variety of items to be sold. I was the lucky high bidder on an AccuQuilt Go fabric cutter. I'd never used one before, but it seems like a useful tool to have, especially as I get older and rotary cutting becomes a little more difficult. The set I got includes a 2.5" strip die plus a Qube set of dies for 8" blocks.

I tried out the cutter this week, and decided to start with cutting strips, sewing them into strip sets, then cutting up the strip sets to make 16-Patch blocks. I pulled out a very old print to use as the lighter fabric in every block, then added a mix of brown and blue prints from my stash.

I've always liked brown and blue as a color combination, and I have a large selection of fabrics to choose from in my stash. There are many more blocks partially done sitting on my sewing machine. The assigned color for October at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is dark neutral (brown or black,) so these blocks fit right in with that color scheme.

My blocks will finish at 8" square. I think I have enough strip sets started for 20 more blocks, which means I could set them 5 x 7 for a quilt that would measure 40" x 56". I might pull more fabrics and make it even bigger.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday and Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Jane Stickle Progress Report

It has been more than three months since the last update on my Jane Stickle Sampler blocks. I've been prepping applique parts for another trip, and I realized  that the most recent blocks hadn't been shared.

The twenty blocks in this photo were all made since the middle of July. 

Top row: B1, E5, E2, E8, J12

2nd row: E10, C5, E12, E6, C11

3rd row: C6, F2, B9, G4, E7

4th row: L13, F12, D3, E1, G9

It was time once again to put all the blocks up on the design wall together. The current number of finished blocks is 72, out of the 169 blocks needed for the center of the quilt. It has taken me about seven months to make the blocks, averaging almost 2.5 blocks per week. The photo below shows the blocks in the same placement as the original quilt.

I wanted to get a better look at how the colors were working together, so I moved some of the blocks to fill in as many empty spots as possible in the upper part of the layout but keeping the colors in the right places. I'm happy with the placement of the different colors. There are six different colors of Grunge (plus the background.) 

Some weeks I get a lot done on this quilt, and other weeks it doesn't get touched at all. I don't want this project to drag on forever, but I'm trying to enjoy the process and not push too hard to meet any deadlines or block quotas. There's no telling how long it will take.

I'm  linking up with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

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 everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/12/2025

It has been a good week in the quilting room, with progress happening on multiple projects. I've continued to focus on my list of goals for the guild's UFO Challenge, and two more were completed and shared on the blog this week. Up first was the finished Around the Twist quilt. I used almost 2 yards for the backing and binding of this quilt.

Around the Twist, 37" x 42"

Around the Twist back

My other UFO completion for the week was assembling the top of my Hearts Applique quilt. This project was started in 2021, and the fabric used to make blocks in 2021 and 2022 was reported during those years. The current fabric usage includes the last sets of blocks plus the border fabric, 1/2 yard used total.

Hearts Applique quilt top, 38.125" x 45.25"

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:               2.375 yards

Used year to date:         54.375 yards

Added last week:                 0.0 yards

Added year to date:        62.375 yards

Net added in 2025:          8.0 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 looked through my list of projects from the past week and discovered that I had worked on 6 different ones, plus I did some cleaning up in the sewing room and wrote a newsletter for the quilt guild. No wonder I've been feeling so scattered. Maybe next week will be a little more focused.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

10/5 - 10/11             7 of 7 days

2025 Total         281 of 284 days

Success rate               98.9 %   

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

Hearts Applique Quilt Top

My plan this year for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge was to start fewer new projects and concentrate on finishing up the old ones. That has meant fewer blog posts, but this week I'm very happy to share the finished top for my Hearts Applique Quilt.

Hearts Applique quilt top

38.125" x 45.25"

The heart blocks were an on-again, off-again project for several years. They were started sometime in 2021 as part of the RSC. I used to do a lot more hand applique when I was working, getting most of my hand stitching time during my daily train commutes. Since my retirement in 2020, hand applique has mostly become my travel project that I take along when we are going to be away from home.

I had around 100 blocks finished earlier this year and tried out the above layout in February. I decided against it because there was too much background showing, plus it was going to be a rather awkward size. I also didn't have enough of the same background fabric to fill the empty spaces. The blocks went back into a box until last month. 

Hearts, Content by Laundry Basket Quilts

I was inspired by a quilt design by Laundry Basket Quilts with columns that step down by half a block in alternate columns. This quilt has lots more blocks in it (248) than I had, but I knew I could use that layout in a smaller quilt. The other thing I liked about the LBQ quilt was how the hearts really fill the blocks, keeping the emphasis on the wash of colors.

My blocks were stitched on 5" squares of background, then trimmed them down to 4.5" after the applique was done. I ended up trimming them all again, this time to 4" unfinished. That made a big difference in the amount of background showing.

I pulled out a very old Daisy Kingdom stripe with hearts and flowers in it for the border. It finishes off the outer edges nicely, but isn't too dark and heavy.

Finishing this quilt top completes one more of the goals on my list for our guild's UFO Challenge. Maybe getting it quilted and finished will go on my list for next year.

Linking up with:

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

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 everyone!

Julie in GA

Around the Twist Baby Quilt Finished!

I've been doing plenty of quilting lately, but haven't kept up as well with the blogging. I finally managed to get some outdoor photos of a few recent finishes last week, so now is the time to start sharing them. The first is my  Around the Twist baby quilt. 

Around the Twist

37" x 42"

Here's a closer look at the fun fabrics in the quilt top. The animal print at the center of the rings is very old, probably mid-late 1990's. I also used the green print for the binding.

The perfect backing fabric was just waiting in my stash. I'd gotten it at Hancock's of Paducah sometime within the last year or so.

For the quilting, I did something I've wanted to try for many years which was to quilt it from the back following the designs in the backing fabric. Maybe I need to get closer for you to see it. You can click on any of the photos for a larger view.

I used a bright yellow thread for the quilting on both sides of the quilt. It took a little while to get my rhythm and figure out how to move from one area to another, but it was great fun to do. Let's get in there even closer.

This isn't the first time I've made the Around the Twist design. I made a similar baby quilt a couple years ago, and I also made a miniature version back in 1995, my first year as a quilter. That one needs to have the quilting redone. The Around the Twist pattern is from the book Template-Free Quiltimaking by Trudie Hughes, published in 1986. It looks like you might still be able to find the book online.

Linking up with:

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday at Quilted Delights

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stash Report and Stitching Time 10/5/2025

It seems like I should have more to share for the stash report this week, but it just wasn't a very productive week. Maybe next week will be better. I can report 1.75 yards used for the pieces I made in the Drafting Complex Curves class with Audrey Esarey a week ago (read more about that HERE.) No new fabric was added to the stash this week.

Exploring Complex Curves, 24.5" square

I've been looking back at my yearly stash totals from previous years, and I'm not happy to see how far I am lagging behind on usage for this year. I've been finishing more quilts than usual this year, which is a very good thing, but several of them were tops that were already pieced and the fabrics used had been counted in earlier stash reports. Maybe there will be some more finishes before the end of the year that use up a significant amount of yardage. 

2025 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                 1.75 yards

Used year to date:             52.0 yards

Added last week:                 0.0 yards

Added year to date:        62.375 yards

Net added in 2025:    10.375 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 were a couple of days this past week with very little time for quilting, but I did squeeze in at least 15 minutes each day. Next week is looking quieter, and I'm hoping there will be a day or two that I can devote to quilting.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

9/28 - 10/4              7 of 7 days

2025 Total         274 of 277 days

Success rate               98.9 %   

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

Design Wall Monday 9/29/2025

There is a brand new project up on my design wall this week! This is my Exploring Complex Curves quilt top. I think it looks like planets and the moon in the night sky.

Exploring Complex Curves, 24.5" square

I'm not terribly up to date on what's happening in the modern quilt world, but I did go to QuiltCon when it was here in Atlanta in 2023, and that's when I first saw some of Audrey Esarey's works. Let me tell you, they knocked me out! My favorite was her quilt Aura No.1, which took 1st place in the Minimalist Design category. 

Aura No.1, 2022 by Audrey Esarey

The simplicity of this quilt blew my mind. Audrey explained in her presentation to the guild that there are only two seams in this quilt, one on each side of the light blue ring which is pieced, not appliqued, to the purple background. It looks like the background is four squares pieced together, but it is actually a single piece of fabric, and the different colors of her quilting stitching are what make the color change. You can see many more of her amazing quilts on the gallery page of her website Cotton and Bourbon.

I had the very good fortune to get a spot in one of Audrey's workshops over the weekend. Our class was called Drafting Complex Curves. We learned how to draft our own patterns with curves, followed by some piecing of curves. We began by drafting a Drunkard's Path block, and then we pieced that block in fabric. No more need to buy acrylic templates for this kind of block.

Drunkard's Path block, 6.5" square

The next exercise was making a larger piece with curves. We had the choice of doing the Quick Curves exercise... 

Quick Curves exercise, 13" x 17"

or we could start with the larger Exploring Complex Curves piece. Since I already had a fair amount of experience with sewing curves, I dove right into the larger project, which is the piece shown at the top of this post. I made the Quick Curves block the next day, and added borders to get it to the right size for a placemat.

Here are all three of my pieces together.

The workshop was very informative and a lot of fun. Audrey is an excellent teacher who really makes both the drafting and the piecing part of dealing with curves manageable. I hope to be able to take more classes with her in the future. She has a wide variety of quilt patterns available on her website Cotton and Bourbon, and she teaches some of her patterns as virtual classes. I urge you to check out her amazing quilts!

I'm  linking up with:

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Wednesday Wait Loss at Inquiring Quilter 

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA