Sunday Stash and Stitching 3/1/2026

The weeks keep slipping by so quickly, and suddenly here we are at March. How did that happen? I had a very busy week of quilting, but somehow I didn't manage to get photos of most of my projects. I did get a shot of the backing I pieced for my #5 UFO that is part of our guild's UFO challenge. 

The backing fabric is an old favorite flannel from JoAnn's and I wish I had more of it. I used to have several yards, and it has been used to back multiple baby quilts. I had to piece in a chunk at the upper left to make it big enough, and that used up most of my remaining yardage of this fabric.

I'll wait and show you the front of the quilt after I finish the quilting and binding. If you are able to zoom in on the photo, you will see that I've been quilting wavy diagonal lines on this quilt. I'm debating whether I should add more quilting or just call it done and add the binding.

I used 1.625 yards of fabric for this quilt back, and there was no new fabric added this week. That means my stash report is back to showing more fabric used than added for the first time in over a month!

2026 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                 1.625 yards

Used year to date:               18.5 yards

Added last week:                   0.0 yards

Added year to date:              18.0 yards

Net used in 2026:                 .5 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 finished piecing the backing for my 2025 Temperature Quilt, which I hope to share very soon. I also worked on the first block for my 2026 Temperature Quilt, and I'm very excited about that project. There was also one secret project that can't be revealed just yet. Definitely more than 15 minutes of quilting every day!

15 Minute Challenge 2026

2/22 - 2/28              7 of 7 days

2026 Total            59 of 59 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

Sunday Stash and Stitching 2/22/2026

For the first time in over a month, my stash report is very close to being back to even. I have more than 9 yards of fabric on the "used" side this week and no new additions to the stash. 

The outgoing fabric included almost 3 yards for the border, back and binding on my recently finished Herringbone baby quilt.

Herringbone baby quilt, 38.5" x 45"

I also used 1 yard to make a pillowcase from this wild print. This fabric was used for a quilt back several years ago, but the print is so large that it's hard to figure out anything else to do with it.

The largest amount to leave the stash was 5.25 yards donated to the quilt guild as a raffle prize. I bought these fabrics, which are part of the line "On the Sunny Side" by Connecting Threads, last December. There were 21 half-yard pieces, and I cut them all into fat quarters, keeping some for myself and donating the rest. The raffle prize proved to be very popular.

"On the Sunny Side," 21 pieces

It feels good to see some significant movement on the stash report this week, and I am hoping to be back in the black by next Sunday.

2026 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                 9.125 yards

Used year to date:            16.875 yards

Added last week:                   0.0 yards

Added year to date:              18.0 yards

Net added in 2026:         1.125 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 cut kits for two quilts at the beginning of last week, then the majority of my quilting time was spent on the pieced backing for my 2025 Temperature Quilt.

15 Minute Challenge 2026

2/15 - 2/21              7 of 7 days

2026 Total            52 of 52 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

Herringbone Quilt Finished!

It has taken longer than I'd hoped, but I finally have my first finished quilt of 2026! This is my Herringbone baby quilt.

Herringbone baby quilt

38.5" x 45"

For the second year in a row, our quilt guild is having a UFO (UnFinished Object) Challenge. Last year we could work on whichever project(s) we chose each month, but this year we each turned in a numbered list, and a number is assigned as the project to be finished by the next meeting. I was very happy when #8 was pulled at the January meeting, because I've been eager to finish this little quilt.

Herringbone quilt center before borders

The center of my quilt was assembled in July of 2024 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color of the month was aqua, and I decided to pull out all of my scraps in the blue-green family, aqua, teal, and turquoise, plus some accents of lime green. These are my favorite colors for quilting, and my stash reflects that preference. My pattern was inspired by the design on a box of Kleenex!

My UFO goal for this year was to add a border to the quilt center, then get it quilted and bound, and those steps have all been done. I'm happy with the way the border mimics the angles of the quilt center, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the mitered corners turned out.

Making scrappy quilts like this one is always a wonderful trip down memory lane as I revisit my fabric scraps. This quilt has some fabrics that date back to my early days of quilting in the late 1990's, and they look great next to more modern fabrics.

I almost forgot to include a photo of the back. I love these beautiful prints, but wasn't having much luck finding a way to use them in a quilt top. They worked out perfectly for the back of the Herringbone quilt.

The quilting is very simple, with stitch-in-the-ditch in white along the seams of the quilt center. For the border, I decided to practice free-motion quilting straight lines along the seams with a ruler in order to avoid the constant turning that would have been necessary otherwise. They're not all perfectly straight, but I did get much more comfortable with the ruler by the end.

I'll be taking this quilt to share at the guild meeting today, which is also when we will find out the number for our next UFO project. I hope it's another small quilt, because the next month is going to be a busy one.

I'm  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

 Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Sunday Stash and Stitching 2/15/2026

It was an unusual week because I spent three days working in the costume shop at my former theater employer. They needed a little extra help getting a big show ready for dress rehearsals next week. I always enjoy being back there, but it's also a relief when it ends. I'm not used to working/sewing a full eight hours a day anymore.

Despite the time at the theater, I did get some quilting done too. I finished January's Old Italian blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, ending up with 20 for the month. I need to pull out my green 30's fabrics and cut some blocks for February.

I also made three strippy placemats which I am using to try out different quilting designs. You can read more and see them in yesterday's post. Altogether I used 1.75 yards of fabric for the week, and no new fabric was added to the stash.

2026 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                   1.75 yards

Used year to date:               7.75 yards

Added last week:                   0.0 yards

Added year to date:              18.0 yards

Net added in 2026:         10.25 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. I went back to my habit of hand-stitching on the commute to work, and that was the only quilting time I got on those three days. I tried to make up for that on the other days last week and managed some good chunks of time in the sewing room.

15 Minute Challenge 2026

2/8 - 2/14               7 of 7 days

2026 Total            45 of 45 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

Catching Up on Blue

I know that green is the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but I've been finishing up some blue scraps from January. First of all, I made four more Old Italian blocks. I still have more blue blocks cut out, but I will save them for a future RSC month.

Old Italian blocks, 3" finished size

My other scrappy blue project this week is three blue placemats, made from 2.5" strips. I'm making these as my practice pieces for a free online free-motion and ruler quilting class, 99+ Strip Designs by Natalia Bonner of Piece n Quilt. The white dots you see on the placemat to the right side are pins in preparation for stitching in the ditch along the seams

Natalia's class started on February 1st, and each day she demonstrates a different free-motion design that works well in a 2" finished strip. I have one placemat completely quilted, and the second is halfway done. 

Some of the designs are turning out well, and others definitely need more practice. I really want to get better at quilting the Ribbon Candy design in particular. I'm definitely getting more comfortable using rulers for quilting on my sit-down machine. The class is free, and it's definitely not too late to join the fun.

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 Valentine's Day to all! I don't have any chocolates for you, but I can share my Hearts Applique quilt top, which was completed last September.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Sunday Stash and Stitching 2/8/2026

It's hard to believe that we are already one week into February. I missed writing a stash report last Sunday because we our furnace decided to quit working properly (on a Sunday, of course!) Fortunately, our HVAC guy was willing to come out that day and got it working again. By the time it started warming up the house, the temperature inside had dropped to 57 degrees. Brrrrr! I'm ready for some warmer weather.

The stash report has finally made a move in the right direction. I used 2.75 yards to make the top for my Trip Around the World baby quilt. You can read more about it HERE.

2026 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                   2.75 yards

Used year to date:                 6.0 yards

Added last week:                   0.0 yards

Added year to date:              18.0 yards

Net added in 2026:           12.0 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. The last two weeks have been busier than usual, both in the sewing room and just day-to-day. We had a Community Service workday for the guild one day, and I spent lots of time at my computer writing up directions for my version of a twin-size Trip Around the World quilt. I've also been prepping quilts to be long-arm quilted with the goal of entering them into a local quilt show in June. There's never a lack of projects around here!

15 Minute Challenge 2026

1/25 - 2/7            14 of 14 days

2026 Total            38 of 38 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

Baby Trip Around the World

Much of my recent quilting time has been focused on prepping quilt tops and backs to have them long-arm quilted. In between doing that, I've become a little fixated on the Trip Around the World design. I started with a mini quilt top made as a sample for an extra-long twin version that I will be making for our guild's Community Service project. I wanted to try out the pattern one more time before starting the bed-sized quilt, which led to this sweet blue and yellow baby quilt top.

Trip Around the World baby quilt

39.75" x 51.5"

My original fabric pull for this quilt included one different fabric, but it was just too blah with the rest, and I swapped it out for the light blue check.

Original fabrics

Final fabrics

Now I'm ready to get started on the long twin version of this pattern. For our guild workday last week, we concentrated on pulling fabrics and cutting kits from an enormous stash that had been donated to the guild. These are the fabrics I selected for the quilt I will make.

I'm  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

Starting Another Trip Quilt

We woke up yesterday to light freezing rain and a thin glaze of ice forming on surfaces. Fortunately, we never got a lot of ice, and by afternoon it had warmed up above freezing and started raining,  which took care of the ice. No power outages, which meant I could spend most of the day in my sewing room! I hope you were all able to stay safe and warm.

Last week I shared a post about a mini Trip Around the World quilt top that I made as a sample for an upcoming guild project. I spent many hours later in the week writing up the instructions for that quilt, then decided that it would be helpful to other guild members if I had more samples to show the different steps of the process.

Instead of making another miniature or the extra-long twin size that the guild needs, I decided to go with a baby quilt with 3" finished squares. I pulled out a selection of blue and yellow prints and started making strip sets. Here are my fabrics, plus what I had done by the end of the day on Sunday.

It seems a little blah to me, but I don't have any more blue and yellow prints that would work with the rest. Maybe adding a light blue would help? I cut a few squares of two options and added them to the wall.

Of those two blue fabrics, I would definitely go with the lighter one. But now I'm not sure I feel the need to make the switch. I might just keep going with my original fabric pull, especially since I'm not eager to remake everything that's already done. I'll see how it all looks when it gets lighter out and I can get some daylight in here.

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

Sunday Stash and Stitching 1/25/2026

Winter Storm Fern reached our area last night, but hasn't caused any serious problems for us so far. The temperature got down to 29 earlier this morning, but the freezing rain had stopped by then. We are hoping the temps start moving up soon and melting the glaze of ice that's out there now. The rain is expected to start up again this afternoon, then colder weather arrives tonight.

For the first time in 2026, there are some changes showing up in my stash report. Unfortunately, the incoming amount far exceeds the outgoing. I have been prepping some quilt tops to have them long-arm quilted, and I decided to get some new wide-back fabrics for them. Here are the new additions.

I got 6 yards of the bright print, planning to use it for my 2025 Temperature Quilt and also for some other rainbow quilts. The dark speckly fabric will be the back of my Lighthouse Inn quilt, which I'm hoping to enter in an upcoming show. The colors in the new fabric are perfect with the quilt top.

Lighthouse Inn quilt top, 57.5" x 82"

Because the fabrics added to the stash were both wide-back fabrics, I counted the 9 yards purchased as 18 yards added, double the amount of a regular 42" width piece.

Fortunately, I finally have some fabric usage to report as well. I used 3/4 yard for the mini Trip Around the World sample that I made (see it HERE.) I also contributed 10 fat quarters to our guild's UFO Challenge prize collection, for a total of 3.25 yards out for the week.

2026 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                    3.25 yards

Used year to date:                3.25 yards

Added last week:                  18.0 yards

Added year to date:              18.0 yards

Net added in 2026:         14.75 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. Not only did I make the mini Trip Around the World sample, but I've been attempting to write up a set of instructions for making a twin-sized version. That's meant far too much time at the computer, but it does force me to use a very different skill set, which is a good thing.

15 Minute Challenge 2026

1/18 - 1/24              7 of 7 days

2026 Total            24 of 24 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

Blue Old Italian Blocks

There wasn't a lot of time this week to work on my Old Italian blocks in blue for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but I did manage to double the number of finished blocks. I'm up to an even dozen!

Old Italian blocks, 3" finished size

I also cut pieces for more blocks from the rest of my blue 30's fabrics. It was surprising how many different blue fabrics I had in that box, probably another 20 or so blocks in blue. I'm keeping the pieces next to my machine to use as leaders and enders.

I got the instructions for these blocks at Barbara Black's blogpost HERE. She also includes directions for 5" and 6" blocks.

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