Rail Fence Stairsteps is Finished!

Another quilt top from my large collection of rainbow quilts in the to-be-quilted closet has been finished! This is my Rail Fence Stairsteps quilt.

Rail Fence Stairsteps, 38.5" x 46.5"

The blocks for this quilt were made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2022 and 2023. I ended up with over 300 blocks, which were turned into two quilt tops. This quilt top was assembled in November, 2023, and it has been hanging around waiting to be finished ever since. 

Most of the rest of the blocks made in 2022-23 were used in the Rail Fence Zigzag quilt, which was finished in early July of this year.

Rail Fence Zigzag, 37.25" x 38.75"

The quilting is gentle curves that follow each color down the stairs, with tighter curves through the light rectangles.

I used the same tie-dye look flannel fabric as the Rail Fence Zigzag quilt to back this quilt, and finished it off with a bright turquoise binding.

This is my 12th finished quilt for 2026, which ties my record for finishes from 2025, and I still have several months left to go in the year!

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at Rebecca Grace Quilting 

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

Placemat Prep

In anticipation of an upcoming Community Service sewing day for our guild, I spent much of my quilting time last week piecing together some placemat tops. The finished placemats will be donated by the guild to the local chapter of Meals of Wheels for distribution to their clients.

The photo above shows just a few of the placemats I've been making. There are more copies of each design, with a total of 19 placemat tops at this time. My starting point for all of these was my box of orphan/leftover and sample blocks. It's funny to see them up on the wall together and realize that they all feature green and orange as main colors. I guess that's a combination I've always liked. Or maybe it's just the color combo I was in the mood to play with last week.

The Ohio Stars placemats were made from sample blocks for a quilt made in 2002 when I was teaching quilting classes. The Ohio Stars quilt was the third in a series of beginning classes, this one featuring quarter-square triangles and setting blocks on point. It took some serious digging through my closet of quilts to locate it, but here is the finished quilt.

Ohio Stars, 47" x 58.5"

The next set of placemats originated from a Super Bowl Sunday mystery quilt-along in 2021. You can read more about that in this post. It was a late decision on my part to join the mystery, and I pulled fabrics quickly from my stash. I wasn't thrilled with the final result, so the blocks were stashed away until they got pulled out last week. I have twelve placemats with these blocks. I especially like the two with the striped fabric running horizontally in the borders, but most have the stripe running vertically.

Most of the fabrics in the above set of placemats were leftover from a quilt I call Boston Fiesta, one of my all-time favorites. I discovered a few leftover blocks from that quilt, plus extra pieces to make even more blocks. I was able to put together a total of twelve blocks, which were turned into three placemat tops.

The Boston Fiesta quilt was started in 2005, but it wasn't finished until 2022. You can read more about it in this post.

Boston Fiesta, 60" x 74"

Most of these placemat tops have been basted to batting. The next step will be to stitch them to backing fabrics, right sides together, then turn right side out and finish them off with some quilting. I still have plenty of work left to do before they are finished.

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

Another Rainbow UFO Finished!

Our assignment for July in the guild's UFO Challenge was #6. That meant I needed to quilt and bind my Rainbow Rail Fence, and it was another successful month. Here is my finished Rail Fence Zigzag quilt.

Rail Fence Zigzag

37.25" x 38.75" after washing

The blocks for this quilt were made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2022 and 2023. The quilt top was assembled in 2023, then it was deposited in the quilt closet. This UFO Challenge finally motivated me to get it done! 

I got rather carried away with my quilting on this little quilt. I did loops in the light rectangles, waves in the colors, and lots of feathers in the grey border and setting triangles. I love quilting feathers!

The backing fabric is a fun tie-dye looking swirl design. I have a second Rail Fence quilt ready to be quilted with the same backing, and I might try quilting from the back following those swirls.

I'm  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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

2026 Temperature Quilt

It has been a few months since I made any progress on my 2026 Temperature Quilt, but I pulled out the fabrics last week and made my block for March. The little safety pin near the top marks the first of the month. Just 3 more blocks to make, and I'll be caught up!

The design I'm making is Jo Avery's Sea Urchin pattern, which is included in her online Supernova class at The Thread House Academy. The wedges in the outer ring represent the daily high temperatures, and the inner ring is the daily lows. The warmest temperature in March was 83 degrees, and the coolest was 29.

It's fun to see how the colors have changed over the first three months of this year. I'm eager to get more of the blocks made. There should be lots of red and hot pink showing up by the time I get to the June block.

You can find more details about my temperature quilt project for 2026 in THIS POST.

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

Scraptastic Stars is Finished!

2026 has turned into my best year ever for finishing quilts, with a total of 10 quilts completed before the half-way point of the year. The most recent finish is my Scraptastic Stars quilt.

Scraptastic Stars, 40" x 52.5"

The blocks for this quilt were made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge back in 2018. The Scraptastic Stars pattern was designed by Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting. The blocks in my quilt finish at 12". I also made a second set of blocks which finish at 16" each, but they haven't been joined together yet.

Indoor photo

Before the end of 2018, I had the blocks and sashing all joined together into a top and layered with batting and backing. I started the quilting with diagonal lines through the chains of white squares, but then I got stuck on what to do next. The quilt was stashed in the closet, waiting for inspiration to strike.

I've been making a dedicated effort to finish some of the many quilt tops from that closet, and the fact that this quilt was already layered and the quilting started helped it jump to the top of the list for finishing. 

The quilting is all straight lines, a combination of stitch-in-the-ditch and diagonal lines around the stars. I switched thread color for the quilting within each block, probably an unnecessary step, but I like the way it turned out.

The backing fabric is a print of black and white checks alternating with bright clusters of fruit.

I'm  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

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Riding the Waves (aka Blue Onion) Finished!

This was one of those projects that jumped to the front of the line and insisted on being finished right away! This is "Riding the Waves."

Riding the Waves, 39.25" x 49.5"

Just a few short weeks ago, our guild (Common Threads Quilters Guild of Newnan, GA) had a presentation by Mary Ruth Hudson called "Tackling Curves in Quilts". The next day, Mary Ruth taught a workshop with the Blue Onion pattern by Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts.

The workshop was on a Friday, and just a few days later, I shared a post showing the blocks I had made up until that point (you can see that post HERE.) I ended up making a total of 24 blocks, but only 20 of them were used in the quilt.

I played with a few different layout options, and had decided to go with the layout shown above, which is similar to the pattern cover. I even started sewing the blocks together into rows, but the idea of diagonal waves kept nagging at me. Then I discovered the perfect backing fabric in my stash and knew that I had to change my plans.

The diagonal wave design on both the front and the back of the quilt reminds me of the giant slide at the state fair. That's what led to the name "Riding the Waves." I quilted from the back side, following the design of the backing fabric. The quilting adds some fun wavy stitching lines to the front of the quilt.

The four extra blocks were turned into placemats, which will be donated to Meals on Wheels through our quilt guild.

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Quilt Show Results

There have been many times in the past few months when it felt like the only quilt projects I was working on this year were my entries for the Georgia Celebrates Quilt show. Of course, it's not true. I have made other projects this year, but a very large portion of my time has been focused on finishing my quilt show entries. Last week, all of that time and effort was on display at the Georgia Celebrates Quilts show.

Georgia Celebrates Quilts is the largest and most prestigious quilt show in the state, with over 300 quilts on display and more than $4000 in prizes awarded. The show is held every other year, and they always have an incredible display of quilts in a wide range of styles and sizes. 

I was fortunate enough to have three quilts accepted for the show, and I was stunned when all three of them received ribbons. The most exciting of all was the "Best Use of Color" award for my 2025 Temperature Quilt. It was quilted by Kris Townsend Davis.

Rainbow Stairsteps won 2nd Place for Pieced Quilts, 2 Person--Small. It was quilted at Sew Senoia, a local quilt shop.

Sunset at Lighthouse Inn won 2nd Place for Modern Quilts, Large. It was quilted by Kris Townsend Davis.

I am a member of two different local quilt guilds. One is the East Cobb Quilters' Guild, which is the group that presents the quilt show every other year. This guild generally has over 300 members. My other guild is the Common Threads Quilters Guild of Newnan, GA, a much smaller group, usually with 40 - 50 members. There were several quilts in the show made by members of Common Threads. Here are a few of them.

My Texas Neighborhood by Laurie Reissler

What to Do Next by Teresa Smith

Woven Whispers by Sharon Hendrix

Judges' Recognition 

Whimsical Vases by Sharon Hendrix

Honorable Mention, Applique

Sharon also had two other quilts in the show, one of which received a ribbon. It was a very impressive showing for our little guild!

You can see the winning quilts HERE. I'll share more of my favorite quilts from the show another day.

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

 Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Rainbow Stairsteps Finished!

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge, hosted by Angela at So Scrappy, has been a big part of my quilting life ever since 2013. I've been trying to focus on finishing some of the many rainbow quilts that I started in those years, and I'm happy to share my finished Rainbow Stairsteps quilt.

This quilt was one of my RSC projects back in 2019. Here's a photo from my first post about this quilt showing a single block in case you were wondering about the piecing. The finished block size is 6".

The quilt top was completed in November of 2019 and has been hanging in the quilt room closet ever since. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out and look forward to displaying it in our home.

The backing fabric seemed like a good match for the top, with a design of lots of black and white plus scattered bright colors. It's much easier to see the print up close.

The backing fabric inspired my choice of a Baptist fan-type quilting design for this quilt, and I love the texture that it adds to the quilt.

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at Melva Loves Scraps

 Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Curves in Quilts = A New Project

The program for last week's guild meeting was "Tackling Curves in Quilts" presented by Mary Ruth Hudson. She shared a great variety of different designs that all featured curves. The next day, she taught a workshop with the Blue Onion pattern by Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts.

Blue Onion pattern by Karla Alexander of Saginaw Street Quilts

That pattern might look familiar to anyone who has been reading my blog for awhile. I made the Blue Onion pattern back in 2021, renaming my version "Blooming Onion," and it is still a favorite of mine. I really need to get this one quilted and finished!

Blooming Onion quilt top, 60.5" x 80.5"

There were a few reasons that I took the workshop even though I had already made this design before. One was the fun of enjoying a sewing day with guild friends and learning some new tricks from an excellent teacher. Another was the fact that the class fee included the ruler that the Blue Onion pattern was designed to use. (The pattern does include instructions for cutting the pieces without the ruler, and that is how I made my earlier version.

Ovals All Ways ruler by Creative Grids

I didn't choose any fabrics for this project until two days before the class. My plan was to make a smaller version of the pattern, and I knew I could pull enough fabrics from my stash. I started with these three coordinating prints that I've had in my stash since around 1999, then pulled other fabrics to go with them.

We had a great time in class, and most of us got at least six blocks made. As expected, I did learn some new tricks from Mary Ruth, and I continued making more blocks after I got home on Friday and through the weekend. I still have one more set of six blocks to finish piecing. I've started playing with possible layouts. 

This is going to be an extremely bright quilt! My plan is to use 20 blocks for the quilt top, which should finish at 40" x 50". I hope to get the last group of blocks made today, and maybe even get them all joined together into a quilt top too. 

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

Mini Storm at Sea is Finished!

This month's assignment for the guild UFO challenge was #9. On my list, that meant my reversible mini Storm at Sea quilt, which was one of my very oldest projects. It just needed a binding, and now it is finished!

Mini Storm at Sea, dark side

 22.5" square

Mini Storm at Sea, light side

I've been quilting since 1995, and I've always been fascinated by designs that look like curves but are made from straight lines. In 1998, I felt ready to attempt a Storm at Sea quilt. I had been collecting fabrics in a variety of turquoise and teal prints, but I wasn't sure whether I wanted to combine them with a dark background or a light one. To help me make up my mind, I made samples of both, which ended up becoming this reversible quilt.

Making the two different versions definitely helped me decide to go with a light background. The main thing I see on the side with the black is the stars, but on the light side, I can see the diagonal wavy movement of the Storm at Sea pattern more clearly.

The mini Storm at Sea quilt was quilted in the ditch from the dark side. You can get a closer look at some of the fabrics in this shot.

I did end up making a bed-sized Storm at Sea quilt, but it wasn't started until 2001 when I found the perfect background fabric with sea anemones on it.

 That quilt was finished in 2012.

Storm at Sea quilt top, 87" x 96"

May, 2012

Storm at Sea, quilted and bound

October, 2012

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at Slightly Biased Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA