Stash Report and Stitching Time 1/5/2025

This week's stash report crosses over from the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025. In my case, there's nothing to report yet for stash usage or additions in 2025, so my stash report will focus on the final totals from 2024.

I've been finishing up some blocks for the guild's BOM challenge. We are using the Sewcialites 2 pattern from Fat Quarter Shop. The pattern includes instructions for three different sizes of blocks, 3", 6" & 9". I started out by making all three sizes, but that didn't last very long. Two recent additions to the collection were blocks #11 & 12 in the 9" size, using 3/8 yard of fabric.

I decided to concentrate on finishing off my set of 3" blocks. I used 5/8 yard of fabric to make blocks #11 - 24 plus an extra block of my own choice. Here are all 25 blocks together, in no particular order.

Soon I'll be working on figuring out how to turn this set of tiny little blocks into a finished quilt. Our deadline for the final reveal is March.

2024 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                      1.0 yards

Used year to date:               137.0 yards

Added last week:                     0.0 yards

Added year to date:           117.25 yards

Net used in 2024:            19.75 yards

My final stash numbers for 2024 fit right in with my annual goals to use, donate or give away at least 100 yards of fabric and to use more fabric than I add to the stash. Maybe I can get up to 150 yards used this year?

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. It has been a very good year for getting in my daily time, with only five days missed all year, and those days were all when we were traveling. I'm looking forward to another year of tracking my days of quilting.

15 Minute Challenge for 2024

12/29 - 12/31           3 of 3 days

2024 Total         361 of 366 days

Success rate               98.6 %   

The new year has gotten off to a good start for quilting time. It's unlikely I will ever have a 100% success rate for a whole year, but I'm very happy with my total for 2024, and I hope to come close to the same this year.

15 Minute Challenge for 2025

1/1 - 1/4                  4 of 4 days

2024 Total                4 of 4 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

2024 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Review

It's the first Saturday of 2025, and I haven't yet figured out a plan for my 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. Before I worry about that, I'm going to look back at my projects for the RSC in 2024. It was my 12th year of participating in the RSC, and I have to start off by thanking Angela for continuing to host the challenge every year. I am also grateful for the encouragement and inspiration every week from the other quilters who participate in the RSC.

My RSC projects for 2024 included new projects plus a couple that carried over from previous years. That combination of new and old will also continue into 2025. For this wrap-up post, I'm going to start with the projects that were new in 2024, then work back through the older ones.

In looking back at my records from last year, I was somewhat surprised to discover that I started three new RSC projects in the very first week of the year. The first was the Birthday Quilt 2024 from Laundry Basket Quilts, a block-of-the-week series of patterns. I made my blocks using the RSC colors and alternating between light and dark backgrounds. After eight months, I decided to stop making more blocks, framed all the ones that were already made, and joined them together into a small quilt top in October.

LBQ Birthday Blocks

40" x 56"

Another sampler quilt was also started that first week of 2024. This one was the Hen & Chicks sampler, designed by our RSC hostess Angela. Each month I made four 6" blocks and four matching 3" blocks. You can see how Angela joined her blocks in this post. I decided to go with a different type of setting, and got all my blocks joined together into a top before the end of the year. 

RSC 2024 Hen & Chicks Sampler

41.5" x 55.5"

The third new project that was started in the first week of the year was Hollow 9-Patch. I used 2.5" squares to make 6" blocks in the RSC color each month. These were great to have as a leader/ender project. I ended up with about 80 blocks by November, and I have been working on getting them joined together. The blocks and sashing on the left half are stitched together, and the rest are joined into columns.

The last new RSC project for 2024 was started in February. That was the "Terry" blocks, inspired by Terry Rowland's colorwash quilts, featured in her series of three YouTube videos. These scrappy little blocks will finish at 3". I have approximately 400 blocks made, and I need to go back and make some in colors I missed, plus add more to a few of the other colors. Here all are of the pink blocks from last May.

One of my 2024 RSC projects was a carry over from 2023. I had been making Rail Fence blocks all that year, and by the end of the year I had two quilt tops (see them in this post), plus an assortment of leftover blocks. I discovered that joining four blocks together made a pinwheel-type design. That led to making many more rail fence blocks, and by the end of the year I had one quilt top and one finished baby quilt.

Rail Fence Spinners #1, quilt top

42.5" x 54.5"

Rail Fence Spinners baby quilt

39.5" x 48"

I have one quilt top from 2024 that features our color of the month from July, which was the aqua/turquoise/teal family. I was inspired by a herringbone design from a Kleenex box, and used that inspiration plus a stack of blue-green fabric scraps to make a little baby quilt. I hoping to revisit the herringbone design this year.

Herringbone quilt top, 33" x 39.5"

One RSC project from 2023 was finished in 2024. I had taken a class in June, 2023, A Maze Zing with Candace Hassen. The original pattern produced blocks that finish at 16" x 24", but I scaled mine down a bit to 13.5" x 19.5". I made blocks using the RSC colors for several months in 2023, then finished them all off as placemats toward the end of 2024.

A Maze Zing blocks (before quilting)

My plans for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2025 are still undecided, although I am determined to finish some of the many rainbow quilt tops hanging in the closet. It feels good to see that most of my 2024 RSC projects are either finished tops or very close to that point. I'll finish up the Hollow 9-Patches soon, and get back to the Terry blocks at some point. I look forward to another year of colorful, scrappy adventures!

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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

30's Pinwheels--First Finish of 2025!

One of my top quilting goals for 2025 is to finish more quilts. Like many other quilters, I am much better at starting quilt projects than finishing. To tell the truth, I don't really enjoy doing the machine quilting, and I certainly can't afford to have everything I make long-armed. That has resulted in a closet full of unquilted quilt tops, and this year is the time to do something about it.

One theory I've read about ways to reduce your number of UFOs is to start with the ones that need the least work to be completed. This little quilt was an easy choice from that perspective. The top had been finished back in May, 2016, and it was quilted later that same year. I even went ahead and made the binding back then too, but for some reason, it never got bound, until now. This is 30's Pinwheels Baby Quilt #2.

30's Pinwheels Baby Quilt #2

39" square

Here's a closer look at some of the fabrics in the current finish. I wish I had more of that diagonal plaid, but it's quite old. Actually, most of my stash of 30's fabrics is at least 20 years old, with the majority of fabrics purchased between 2000 and 2005.

For a bit of style contrast, I used a fun tie-dye swirl print flannel for the backing. That's another fabric I would use again and again if I had more.

This little quilt is a companion to another baby quilt that was finished early in 2016. At the time I made enough pinwheel blocks for both quilts, one of which got finished right away and given to a new great niece (now 8 years old!) I couldn't find any photos of that first quilt finished, but here are all the blocks for it on my design wall. The plaid in the large pinwheels is the same design as the border fabric in the new quilt, but the colors are different (more pastel, pink instead of red.) 

30's Pinwheels baby quilt #1, 2016

When I was checking my box of 30's fabrics to see what I had left of the border/sashing/setting fabrics, I made an amazing find--two Ziploc bags with still more 30's pinwheel blocks. According to a note in with the blocks, there are close to 150 of them! I looked back at past blog posts and discovered that I made them as leaders and enders at various times between 2018 and 2020. What a treasure trove to discover! I am envisioning several more pinwheel baby quilts to come.

Stacks of pinwheel blocks

Linking up with:

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA