Merry Mix Mystery Quilt

I don't think there's been a day since I finished my Merry Mix quilt top that I didn't look forward to quilting and finishing it. And finally, it's done!

A pieced quilt back seemed appropriate, pieced from scraps and yardage from my original fabric pull, including a set of 'tree' blocks I'd made incorrectly back in week one. I knew I could make good use of them!

Knowing ahead of time that I'd be keeping this one with us, a quilt that was cozy and finished was my main goal. So I went with serpentine quilting using Aurifil 50wt 2600 [Light Gray] for quilting, with 50wt 2506 [Medium Gray] in the bobbin. Lines of quilting are 1.5" apart, all vertical. With this quilt and this quilting, no marking was needed. Awesome.

Kona Emerald was used for the binding, as I liked how it brought all the other colors together. Merry Mix finished at 54" x 66", and is my first quilt finish of 2025. Loved finishing a quilt so early in the year!

Many thanks to the Merry Mix qal host Melanie Meyer @mellmeyer! The qal was so well done, and I enjoyed it every step of the way. Plus it resulted in a quilt I really love. Can't beat that! Also, couldn't resist getting a couple of maker photos with the finished quilt. Grateful for a beautiful winder day in the PNW!

Linking up with quilting JETgirl's January Favorite Finish linky.

Uncommon Forest

Throughout last year's Christmas rush, I saw oodles of folks making a Patchwork Forest quilt, and I admired them all. That led to me impulsively starting one of my own, knowing full well I'd be making it for this year. And why not, right?

The unofficial Christmas colors around here focus on green, and in making our tree skirt and lap quilt in year's past, I've added in aqua/teal, gray, and even brown. So of course that's what I did again, which makes it very foresty, in my humble opinion. I pulled quite a variety of fat-eighths and partial fat-quarters from my stash for the blocks, so along the way, this became an effective stash-buster.



I used the Modern Christmas Tree block tutorial by Amy/Diary of a Quilter, which is a larger version of her original Patchwork Forest Quilt tutorial. The trees are cut improvisationally, then trimmed up. For some reason, mine came out slightly smaller than Amy's (7" x 9") - creator error I'm sure - measuring 6 1/2" x 8" finished. Arranged 10 blocks by 10 blocks, the quilt finished at 65" x 80".

For quilting, I chose organic straight-line quilting horizontally across the quilt, hoping it would give a hint of strings of tree lights. I used Aurifil 50wt #4060 (Silver Moon), which is variegated, and #5006 (Light Turquoise), and the combo made quilting fun.



Binding is the subtle but lovely Maze Clarity from Katarina Rocella's Imprint, which was also used in some of my blocks and is one of my very favorite low-volume prints.


So there! I am thrilled to have this one out of the way and ready for Christmas, as we all know it'll be here before we know it. Check out other versions of Patchwork Forest on Instagram, under hashtags #patchworkforest and #holidaypatchworkforest. But be careful, or you'll be making one too!

This project was on my 2017 Finish-A-Long Q1 list, so I'm off to link up just in the nick of time!
Also linking up with Finish It Up Friday!

W.i.P. Wednesday

The highlight of this last sewing week was a happy finish, so of course I had to start some new projects! There's lots swirling around in my head this W.i.P. Wednesday, with Christmas just around the corner, and plenty of projects I'd still like to make!

Completed Projects
Mod Pop - It's done! See here for the full post and oodles of pics. Meanwhile, I thought I'd share a view of it all washed, dried, and crinkly!

Ruby Star Wrapping - I've done separate posts for the Perfect Wine Wrap and Little Snack Sack and mini.

Ongoing projects
Christmas lap quilt - The top is done! Backing is pieced, binding is made, now I just need to start quilting.

 

Modern Crosses quilt - No progress here, but it's next in line, quilt-wise!

Snack Sack minis - A dozen more are cut out and ready to whip up.

Falling Flakes stocking - All the pieces are cut out and I'm looking forward to getting going on this fun pattern by imagine gnats.

Upcoming projects
* Christmas!
* December do.Good Stitches blocks
* more frame purses
* Ruby Star Wrapping
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* scrappy Metrolink - January?
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

It's been a real treat having my sewing machine back in the house! And note to self - and you - if you have a local shop that services your machine, do take advantage of the knowledgeable staff there. When I picked up my machine, I asked my favorite salesperson to sit with me a bit. And in addition to confirming that a few issues with my machine had been taken care of, she also cleared up some confusion I've had with tension while quilting, as well as introducing me to a few stitches I'd never tested out. Very fun. So it's been a good sewing week, and I've got plenty to share this W.i.P. Wednesday.

Finished projects
Sew Lux Design Challenge project - This tutorial wasn't live yet when I posted last week, so do check out my Mod Angles Cushion over at Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts.

Modern Baby Quilt block - This pattern is by Malka Dubrawsky, and is a mass of y-seams. It went together really nicely though, and I love the finished block. Marci of Marci Girl Designs chose this for her month in the Always Bee Learning bee.

 

Scrappy Charity block - This is actually a super-sized x and + block that finishes at 17.5" I used this tutorial  from badskirt, just increasing the size. I've been asked for the dimensions of each piece, so they are listed below.

center cross: 2 - 4" squares, 1 - 4" x 11" rectangle

cross edges: 4 - 4" squares

background: 8 - 4" squares

corners: 1 each of 4 different 7.5" squares

Ongoing projects
Hurricane Sandy Help! blocks - In less than a week, Jennifer of knotted thread "collected" 350 quilt blocks to make quilts for those affected by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. How awesome! I signed up for two scrappy blocks and six black/gray, and I have half my blocks done so far.

Mod Pop Quilt-along - So excited I have FOUR blocks done! That's all the complete blocks I need for the baby size quilt. Now it's on to the rows to fill in around them.

Christmas lap quilt - The two side panels have been added to the center. Now to make the blocks for the top and bottom. The strips are all cut, and I need to piece them to make 20 blocks.

Modern Crosses quilt - I've done quite a bit of piecing on this, but nothing more picture-worthy quite yet.

UR Priceless Blog Hop project - My little frame pouches are done! Come back tomorrow to see how sweet they are!

Upcoming projects
* October & November bee blocks
* scrappy Metrolink
* more frame purses
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* Christmas!
* Dresden project - back on the 'sometime' list, and probably no time soon

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday, which is being hosted by my friend Svetlana from s.o.t.a.k handmade! I hope she has as much fun as I did!

W.i.P. Wednesday

Well my 'good' machine has been in the shop for over a week, but I hope to pick it up tonight! Meanwhile my trusty little Elna has served me well. So W.i.P. Wednesday can go on!

Finished projects
Trick or Treat Tote - I started the embroidery on this little project at Sewing Summit, and finished it up just in time to give to grandgirl for Halloween. The pattern is by The Sometimes Crafter, and finishes at 9" x 11". I cut the size down just a bit to make it more manageable for grandgirl, who is yet a toddler.

The orange dots and interior fabrics (including spider webs on the front lining that you can't see) were perfect, swag from SS shop-hopping.

Sew Lux Design Challenge project - The interview was posted here, and my project should be up very soon. At least I can show you the fabric bundle I got to work with! {Revised to say the tutorial is now available at Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts!}

Ongoing projects
Mod Pop Quilt-along - I have all my curves pieced!

Christmas lap quilt & Modern Crosses quilt - I've gotten plenty of cutting and piecing done, but it all needs a good press before continuing on.

Please call me on it next time I start three quilts at once! I'm making progress on all of them, but don't have much to show for it!

Upcoming projects
* UR Priceless Blog Hop project
* October & November bee blocks
* scrappy Metrolink
* more frame purses
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* Christmas!
* Dresden project - back on the 'sometime' list, and probably no time soon

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

There was a moment or two of sewing room crisis this last week when
1) the needle fell out(!) of my sewing machine while I was quilting an upcoming feature project; and 2) after switching to my back-up machine, the walking foot broke(!). Needless to say, my 'good' machine is in the shop for 10 days, getting an unscheduled checkup. And thankfully, the back-up machine is doing straight stitching just fine. W.i.P. Wednesday waits for no one, so on to what I managed to accomplish . . .

Finished projects
Metal Frame Purse - After my fun first glue-in metal frame purse, I really needed to make another right away. Seriously, I can't wait to make another one!

Sew Lux Challenge project - I did manage to finish this up. Once the tutorial is done, it'll go public.

Ongoing projects
Halloween Stitchery - Almost done, then I'll make a sweet little goodie bag with it.

Mod Pop Quilt-along - TWO blocks done!

Christmas lap quilt - Finally got the center 9 blocks sewn together, and 3 of the next set done!

Modern Crosses quilt & Dresden project - Unfortunately, no progress.

Upcoming projects
* October & November bee blocks - soon!
* scrappy Metrolink - who knows when, but I still really want to!
* more frame purses
* Polaroid block projects
* placemats
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* UR Priceless Blog Hop project - excited to start working on this!
* Christmas!

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

To the Finish Part Quatre

The fourth quarter of Quilter in the Gap's 2012 Finish-A-Long begins soon, and it's pretty obvious by glancing around my sewing room what should be on my list.

Christmas lap quilt - It's simple piecing and construction, I just need to get to it. I have the 9 center blocks done; 16 more outer blocks to go. And I foresee some organic straight line quilting, just like the coordinating tree skirt.

Modern Crosses quilt - Everything's cut out. Again, I just need to get sewing. Even the backing for this one is planned and just waiting to be pieced. I anticipate sending this one to the long-armer due to its size.

Mod Pop - I'm not quite behind on the QAL, but if I don't get busy I will be. At least this one will be baby quilt size, but still. I'm letting those curves intimidate me, and I really need to stop that.

And since it seems I always add one more just in case, I'd really like to pull together the Binary blocks made by my Modern Blocks Bee. Though the mosaic shows just the blocks posted in flickr, I actually have 11 blocks, so it wouldn't take much to whip up the last one and piece the top. I'm not really thinking about too creative of a layout, but we'll see for sure when I get there.

1. Bee blocks, 2. For flickrdeb50 in Modern Blocks Bee, 3. Binary Quilt Block, 4. Block for Debbie, 5. Picture 684, 6. Binary Block

I think this line up will be plenty challenging considering all the littles on my wip list. I better turn my machine on and start sewing!

Linking up with the 2012 FAL Pre-Fourth Quarter Linky Party.

Finish-A-Long Third Quarter Finishes

The Finish-A-Long sponsored by Rhonda at Quilter in the Gap is never far from my mind. Which is good, as it keeps me going on wips in the midst of frequently finding new projects to start! 

This third round, I had 4 projects on my list. A year in the making was the 4x5 modern Quilt Bee quilt. I had blocks from 3 rounds of the bee, and just needed to pull them all together.

After much debate, I ended up framing all the blocks in Kona Tangerine, then finished with a border in Kona Charcoal. In the end, it was a pretty traditional finish for these modern blocks, now known as G.O. Modern. 

There's a pretty photo-heavy post here if you want to read more about this project, and a run-down of my adventure in quilting it here. Major accomplishment for me, this one.

Marmalade "Storytime Squares" baby quilt was up next. I had the piecing of this baby quilt well under way.

So A Taste of Marmalade was a pretty sweet finish.

A QWERTY variation kind of loomed in the background for a while. This "re-do" of the original QWERTY was for my bookkeeper friend, who had given me a focus fabric to work with.

Once I actually faced this stack on my sewing table, Digits came together without much fuss.

What I haven't gotten done is my Christmas lap quilt to coordinate with the non-traditional tree skirt I made last December.

I do have some blocks pieced, and this one is definitely going right back on the list for the fourth quarter!

Stay tuned - those greens and browns in the tree skirt photo will still be making an appearance!

I'll be linking my finished projects up to the Finish-A-Long Third Quarter Linky Party! Also linking up with Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up.

W.i.P. Wednesday

Time in the sewing room have been pretty slim this last week, but that doesn't mean W.i.P. Wednesday doesn't show up right on schedule!

Completed projects
September bee blocks are back in the mail, along with some Snowball blocks for a special charity project.

Polaroid block project - This little bag got its own post, and still makes me smile when I see it on my sewing table. I'm anxious to play with more Polaroid blocks, but it may be a while.

Ongoing projects
Caught by a nasty virus this last week, I honestly didn't have much energy to sew, so what little I did do was flit between projects.

Modern Crosses quilt - Blocks are all cut out now and three more stitched together.

Mod Pop Quiltalong - All my cutting is done(!) and I had great success using my templates and smallest rotary cutter. I couldn't help but piece just enough curves to test a block up on the design wall. Promising!

Christmas quilt - This probably doesn't look like much just yet, but I do have a plan, and these are the 9 center blocks of it, and yes, it's what I had in my mind's eye. More to tell as I get more blocks done.

Dresden project - no progress.

Upcoming projects
* nametag for Sewing Summit
* scrappy Metrolink - who knows when, but I still really want to!
* another frame purse
* use Polaroid blocks
* placemats
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee
* Sew Lux Challenge project NEW
* UR Priceless Blog Hop project NEW

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.

W.i.P. Wednesday

W.i.P. Wednesday seems to find us where we are, doesn't it? And it finds me barely gearing up again with some new projects. 

Completed projects
Zakka Style Sew-Along project #24: Nested Boxes - This project wrapped up the sew along; there's a full post here about them and a farewell to Zakka here.

FAITH Circle Butterfly blocks and Always Bee Learning New York Beauty blocks - one more bee block for September and I'll share about them all together.

Ongoing projects
Modern Crosses quilt - My curio by basicgrey arrived this week, along with the background and backing fabrics. Just to figure things out, I did get one block made. I'm looking forward to seeing this come together.

Mod Pop Quiltalong - Fabric squares are cut, and templates arrived!

Christmas quilt - nothing to share yet, but I did find inspiration for this one finally and have begun cutting fabric.

Dresden project - same as above - inspiration found and some trimming done, but no real progress.

Upcoming projects
* Modern Blocks Bee Stonehenge block NEW
* nametag for Sewing Summit NEW
* scrappy Metrolink
* another frame purse - another sew-in, or shall I tempt fate with a glue-in?
* use Polaroid blocks NEW
* placemats? NEW
* Binary quilt using blocks from Modern Blocks Bee NEW

Linking up with W.i.P. Wednesday.