Bingo Update

Just checking in with a Bingo card update! I don't have a bingo YET, but I have completed over half of the experiences I'm hoping to achieve this calendar year.

Here's what I've accomplished so far....

• Gift handmade – Made Pop-Open Pouch for Felicity @felicityquilts on January 4

• Take a class or workshop – Improv for Everyone workshop with Maria Shell @mariashellquilts on January 3

• Make a new-to-me pattern – Made Treasure Pouch pattern by Larisa @stitchingnotes on January 19

• Finished the 2025 BOM – Finished Calendar Cascade BOM quilt on January 27

• Take a photo with one of my quilts and share – Selfie with Calendar Cascade on February 2

• Try a new skill or technique - Used decorative stitches on my Janome on February 23

• Hand-quilt a project - hand-quilted Pillars on February 26

• Participate in a sew-in or retreat - Went on Basket Case Quilters retreat March 19-23

• Make a scrap quilt - Finished Strings on March 18

• Participate in a multi-day creative challenge - IGQuiltFest March 1-31

• Add a new tutorial to the blog – Posted Making a Pieced Quilt Back on April 8

• Organize my fabric stash - Sorted and neatened every cubby on April 8

• Donate a charity quilt – Donated Strings + Full Circle (pieced and quilted by Cordelia @notmadebyrobots then I bound it) to Seattle MQG Giving Committee on April 8

• Donate to the guild free table - Donated fabric, pattern with templates, stencils, and Christmas scraps at meeting on April 8

So it feels pretty good to have accomplished all of those goals already. There are a couple more goals I'll be actively working on over the next several weeks - Enter a quilt show or exhibit and Finish the Dropcloth Floral Series. So I'll be back (in a few months?) with another update - unless I get a Bingo!!

Guild Member Highlight

What a surprise it was to recently get an email from our guild co-presidents: "We've had interest from some guild members in having you as our spotlighted member." Well, how about that?! After responding that I'd be happy to, I was asked to fill out the slide below, and then at our April meeting last night, to tell briefly about myself and three quilts that I'd like to share.

The three quilts I chose to take with me were all what I considered representative of my style (do I have only one? I'm not sure I do.) - all improv, all scrappy, all with pieced quilt backs.

Let It Be - 2020

Side Chairs - 2024

Sundry - 2025

After briefly sharing about the quilts, there was opportunity to ask questions, and I found that fun. I remember one about my quilting style (mostly straight/ish lines in some form) and another asking what kind of quilting machine I use (my current Janome domestic or my JUKI).  Anyway, it was very fun for me to share with my guild, and am so grateful for their interest in me and my work.

Earlier in the week, I realized I'd need a good-sized tote to take the quilts in, and I knew that the Workshop Tote by Jeni Baker @jenib320 would be perfect. I'd made the patchwork version before, but time was short, so I'd need to do the plain version this time. That would mean 3/4 yard cuts for both exterior and lining, and wouldn't you know, for the exterior, I found a perfect 80% cotton/20% linen canvas blend from VESSEL by Alexia Marcelle Abegg @alexiamarcelleabegg in my stash.

For the lining, some Essex Homespun in Natural coordinated nicely. And though the pattern calls for 1" webbing, I had 1 1/2" cotton webbing in Chocolate that would work nicely, and have been very happy with the result. (Random: I'd gotten both the canvas and webbing in a Studio Mystery Box from Anna Graham @noodlehead531 last year. Love that they were both so perfect for this quick make.)

Anyway, the tote sewed up in little more than an hour, finishing at 16” tall x 16” wide x 8” deep, which held three good-sized quilts quite nicely. Pretty perfect.

Making a Pieced Quilt Back

There are so many ways to make a quilt back, and I'm usually inclined to make a pieced quilt back, using up any leftover pieces - both scraps and yardage - from the making of the quilt front. As I make the backing for my Pantone challenge quilt, it seemed a good time to record my progress.

So this is how making a pieced quilt back starts, at least for me. I lay out all the scraps I have left from my quilt front, so I can see what I have. In this case, I have very little left of the yardage I started out with, so I've also grabbed a few smaller coordinating fabrics from stash, in this case, both print and solid. And then I just start piecing the smaller bits together. This time, I started with that small 'checked' print scrap.

Before long, all the little bits had become a piece measuring 18" x 20". Now it was time to start adding some larger pieces to the mix.

I started with my favorite of the 'new' prints, along with the smaller of the fabrics from my original neutral pull. By now, it measured 24" x 25", where my goal was around 50" square.

Up onto the design wall it went, and I began to pin up more pieces of fabric in places they might work, including another coordinating print. You'll notice that I 'build' the quilt back right on top of the quilt front, so it's easy to see how large it needs to be without continually measuring.

When I really like what I'm seeing, I may start actually piecing parts together, before I even know what will go in the other areas. So at this point, I've totally sewn together the middle horizontal section. I just have to figure out the top right corner and the very bottom.

Well that was easily done! I very nearly used the last of my original neutral stash filling in those two final sections, and we have a quilt back!

The finished backing measures 50" x 52", and I'm really pleased with the balance of the colors and shapes. They don't all come together this easily, so I'll take it as a win! Now time to get basting. Let me know if you have any question, ok?

Patterns to Try | Maple Street Pouch

Last fall, I began an infrequent series, Patterns to Try, making small projects from new-to-me patterns from a folder I keep on my desktop. Easter Sunday afternoon, after brunch with the family and the kitchen clean-up, I needed a small palette cleanser of a project to sew. Svetlana's @sotakhandmade newly released Maple Street Pouch was just the ticket. I swear it took me longer to choose fabric and lining than it did to sew it up!

The exterior fabric - from Field Study by Anna Maria Horner (now Perry) - has long been a favorite, and the piece I had left was just perfect for this pouch, which was the medium size of the pattern, finishing at 8" x 3.25" x 2.5". And I thought that new gold gingham I'd purchased on retreat recently was the perfect lining. Though there are instructions for using a metal zipper, the pattern primarily uses zipper-by-the-yard, so that's what I used. And I enjoyed making the first so much, I decided to go ahead and try the larger size before moving on to my scheduled sewing for the week.

 The large measures 9" x 4" x 3" and is a nice size - roomy, but not huge.

I really had fun choosing fabrics for both of these - other than the gingham, they were small pieces of beloved prints that have been in my stash for years.

One thing I should note, is that I did not quilt any of the exterior panels, as the pattern actually suggests. No real reason and they turned out just fine, but I'll consider doing that in the future.

Also, if you're zipper-wary, using the zipper-by-the-foot is really an easy way to go. You do have to get the zipper pull on before you start - this video from Sullivan's Trim @sullivanstrim is really helpful - but from there, there is a distinct advantage. At least on my machine, I don't need to use my zipper foot. I just leave my 1/4" foot on and it works beautifully. I do sew across the ends of the zipper so the pull doesn't accidentally slide off though, but since the zipper teeth are actually nylon, it's easily done.

At any rate, these cute pouches were just the refreshment I needed before diving into a pieced quilt back. I wasn't going to make the small version of the pattern, but I think I've changed my mind....

March Fabric Usage

Well March was a high-intake month, what do I say? Half of it has already been cut up and is on my design wall. The other half was acquired as opportunity struck. First up was Cotton Couture Soft White and Painters Palette Rice Paper, both being used in my Pantone Quilt Challenge project.

Then I saw that FabricBubb had the Kona 2026 COTY Wander available, so I grabbed some along with some Diamond Textiles Top Stitch in White for that aforementioned Pantone Challenge project.

Lastly, while on retreat, us girls visited the local Cotton Gin, and I couldn't help but support buying local and went home with some Fableism Camp Gingham in Sunshine and some Figo Fabrics Space Dye in Green and Navy. I have no doubt I'll be able to put those lovely fabrics to good use.

I have a hunch next month won't be much better as far as fabric intake goes, so meanwhile, I'll just keep sewing.

March Fabric Usage

Used up: 14.25 yards [10.43 projects + 3.82 recycled]
Brought in: 10.47 yards
Net: -3.78 yards

Floral Stitches Year II - Blue Daisy

It's hard to believe that this blue daisy sampler is the next to last in Year II of Dropcloth's @dropcloth Floral Stitches Series. Dare I say that this was one of my favorites to stitch of this round.

Something about that big flower, the ring of greenery, and that gingham background made this one very fun to stitch.

For everything except those little red circles, I used two threads in each color - one solid and one variegated. It's more obvious in some areas than others, but that's been kind of my go-to technique lately, plus using a double strand throughout.

For the red outer ring, I stitched a wrapped chain stitch, which is also a current favorite. It gives a bit heftier look while still going really quickly. At any rate, I love this one - the design and the colors I stitched it in.

2026 Quilting Check In Q1

If you haven't already heard, Melanie Meyer @mellmeyer has taken over the quarterly quilting goal check-in link up party previously posted by Yvonne Fuchs @quiltingjetgirl. I plan to keep checking in quarterly, but in a simpler format than years past. Melanie suggested reflecting on our Q1 2026 quilting progress, so I'll keep it to that.

January – March 2026 Quilts

It's actually been a pretty productive quarter, which is great. For one, I participated in several groups and workshops that resulted in quilts in a variety of sizes.

• Block Studies Collective

Shattered

Pillars

Shift

• Improv for Everyone :: Fat Curves and Skinny Lines workshop with Maria Shell @mariashellquilts

Upended

• Quilt Improv Studio

Configured

• Building an Improv Toolbox workshop with Sarah Goer @sarahgoerquilts

Imp

Happily, I finished the 2025 Seattle MQG BOM with the help of longarm quilter Dionne Hersch @dinglebobbins. That sure felt good!

Calendar Cascade

And I made a wall hanging for our son to (hopefully) hang in his office.

Liturgical Calendar Wall Hanging

Finally, I made a scrappy quilt, my first quilt finish for the 100 Day Project/AKA 100 Days of Scraps.

Strings

Going into Q2 of the year, I'll continue working on my Pantone Quilt Challenge project, and once that's done I have another quilt challenge I want to make a quilt for. There's also the current Seattle MQG BOM to keep up with and I suppose I should start another scrappy quilt for my 100 Days of Scraps. So plenty to keep me going. One day at a time.

Linking up with Melanie and the #2026QuiltingCheckIn Q1.

Patchwork Pop Open Pouch

Over the years, I figure I'm made Aneela Hoey's @aneelahoey Pop Open Pouch at least nine times. The result is always lovely, and though I still need to follow the pattern, the construction is very straight-forward. When I saw that Aneela came out with a patchwork supplement for her pattern, I knew it was time to make a new one for myself. 

So while on retreat recently, I managed to piece the two exterior panels starting with a mini charm pack of Artisan Cotton, along with squares cut from a Cotton Couture charm pack.

As you can see above, I used the fusible grid method to arrange my squares, and then sewed all the seams. 

Before continuing on, I trimmed the panels ever so slightly, and if I make this version again, I'll be more careful about trimming so the panels line up better on the final construction. Oops. But it's super cute, just the same.

After seeing the patchwork exterior pieces made up, I went with the purple zipper, and a black gingham lining. Due to using the fusible grid method for piecing the exteriors, I could omit the fusible fleece usually used in this pouch, so that was nice. 

I went with the leather zipper tab, as I usually do. I find that using a little of my glue pen to adhere the leather to the zipper end keeps things pretty secure while I do the top-stitching. Another trick, thanks to Aneela, is the way the pattern has you align and stitch the boxed ends together, so the lining stays nice and snug during use. It's an optional step, but one I find easy to do and makes for a neat finish. (Not shown, but trust me.)

I used a black 1/8" leather strip for the zipper pull, and ta da! I have a super cute finished pouch, which in my case, will get used for make up. So glad I decided to try this pop open pouch variation. I see that just today, Aneela has put out a pattern supplement to make a scrappy patchwork version of her Zip Up Tray Pouch pattern. I haven't tried that one, so it might be next!

Weave Got This! :: :: Blocks 1 & 2

One project I am hoping to keep up with this year is the Seattle MQG BOM that we're doing, Weave Got This! A mystery quilt design inspired by woven textiles, it's being hosted by our guild-members Nora Bauser @norstar_german and Rachel Singh @liketosew. Last month had us making strip sets, some of which were used to make the blocks in this month's assignment.

Block 1 involved cutting up two strip sets and arranging them into the pieced blocks on the right, above. We made four of those, and also of Block 2, which was done by cutting up another strip into 7.5" widths. So my work on this is done until we get April's assignment. I'm anxious to add in the greens from my palette, but who knows when that will be. So far, so good though.

Imp

I could tell I was feeling better when I had a free hour and started piecing together the improv blocks from the recent workshop I took from Sarah Goer @sarahgoerquilts, Building an Improv Toolbox. And.I.Could.Not.Stop. Before I knew it, I had a 26.5" x 29.5" little quilt top and had named her Imp. 

Happily, I was able to squeeze 28 of the 29 blocks I had made in the workshop together with very few additions.

Then I made a pieced quilt back that included the one block I couldn't fit into the front, adding in all sorts of bits and pieces, though I also needed to pull a couple of pinks from stash to bring it to size.

After enjoying quilting with a variegated thread on Strings recently, I went ahead and chose Aurifil 50wt variegated 4660 [Pink Taffy] for Imp, and quilted a 1" grid. In person, it really makes for some fun color play as the variegated thread moves across the quilt. 

And finally, since I'd used up all the fabrics from the front, I used a small-scale black and white stripe for the binding. Knowing that it was perfect, but wouldn't quite go all the way around the quilt, I pieced in a pink dot that I'd used on the back. I think it's a very fun finishing touch. After trimming, Imp measured just under 26" x 30", and in continuing to build my improv toolbox, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

Linking up with QuiltingJETgirl's Favorite Finish {March 2026}.