Legendary complete !! + Other Stuff

I got Legendary back from my longarm quilter (Amy @ Amy’s Beautiful Creations) and it it spectacular !! She used a pantograph called “Wood Grain” which really brings out the trees and Big Foot. Here’s the front and the back of the quilt

I needed something small once this guy was finished so I did some looking for fabric to create new throw pillow coverings plus a nice quilt block titled “Maple Star”. In addition to the coverings, I completed my 16 quilt blocks for the upcoming quilt block swap pictured below the pillow.. You might recall that I agreed to make 16 churn dash blocks, mail 15 blocks to members of my group, and keep one for myself. With luck I’ll receive 15 blocks (1 each from each member) and make one or more quilts from the blocks. . . It was a busy September. . . 😁


WIPs: Legendary + Quilt Block Swap

The Legendary top is complete !!! It’s now in the hands of Amy, the highly accomplished longarm quilter. I expect to get Legendary back around mid-September.

Legendary was a BIG project — maybe the biggest I’ve done so I’m ready for a break. I decided to participate in a quilt block swap that started in mid-ish September on Reddit. The swap will be the Churn Dash block with Moda black as the background, a contrasting color for the “dash” portion and a BOLD center square (emphasis their’s). The participants are sorted into groups of 16 quilters; each quilter will make 16 blocks, keep one and use USPS to send one block to each group participant. The group leaders have deadlines for a variety of finishes with the final deadline being mid-October for mailing the blocks.

Here’s the first group I’ve made. This is a fun project.

WIP: Legendary by Elizabeth Hartman

I’ve been working along on Legendary and here’s a shot of my design wall. Once we’ve satisfied ourselves that this is the best layout, I’ll start sewing the rows together and then sewing the columns (btw I’ve recently read or heard people say a “vertical row” — a “vertical row” is called a column). I have some ideas for the backing, but I’m not sure I’ll be ready to do more with this quilt. . .

Taffy Twirl Complete + Legendary Begins

I finished the Taffy Twirl top on June 15 and Amy at Amy’s Beautiful Creations completed the quilting and quilt finishes (she binds the quilt for me) on June 22. I love the gold thread she used for the quilt pattern.

I’ve begun work on Legendary, a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. I’ve been aware of this pattern for quite some time, but the completed quilts I saw just didn’t inspire me to pull the trigger. Then I ran across this picture and it became my inspiration. The quilter used Tula Pink fabric (!!) and used Minky for the Sasquatch (aka BigFoot). Be still, my heart !!

I decided to use a really great fabric designed by Kaffe Fassett and dark brown/black or possibly Grunge Red for BigFoot. Here’s my design wall as it looks on 7/1/2026. I made two trees from start to finish to see if we really liked the look and yes, we did, so I moved on to BigFoot. I finished sections 1 and 2 and then ran into trouble creating the hands. I made a fumbling mess twice and set it aside and am now returning to the trees. I’ll go back to BigFoot soon and try the hands again.

A Completion + Taffy Twirl + A Look Ahead

I completed the quilt top which you saw in my last update and the completed quilt has been returned to me by Amy at Amy’s Beautiful Creations. Here are two pictures. The first is the front of the quilt and the second has the backing turned up so you can see the quilting (zoom close). I am very pleased with this quilt and I don’t think it will go into the donation pile — at least not right away.

I’ve been working on the blocks for the Taffy Twirl quilt (aka Cheddar & Navy). I’ve completed blocks 1 through 4 and am working on block 5 now (6/4/26). Here’s a reminder of what the quilt will look like. I think the top will be complete around mid June and then it will go off to Amy for quilting.

Two Completions + A look ahead

April was a good month for my quilting. I completed the Crimson Blooms and the mystery quilt. Amy has finished the quilting of Crimson Blooms and she has the mystery quilt in her hands. Maybe two weeks she says.

The Cotton Cuts mystery quilt top was revealed and here’s the finished top. I am very pleased with this quilt !!!

I had thought I’d be working on a Quilt of Valor (red, white and blue quilt) but I’ve changed my mind. Here’s the quilt I’ve decided to work on. It’s a variation on the pinwheel block and the fabric is called Navy and Cheddar. Looking forward to the beginning. . .

WIP: Crimson Blooms + A Look Ahead

It feels like I’ve been working on this quilt forever but I’m finally seeing some appreciable progress. I’ve finished the piecing as you can see below. Next is to apply the inner border and then the outer border. You should note that the outer border has a mitered corner — I’ve only done one project with mitered borders and that was quite a while ago. So I need to refresh my memory, maybe make a small project for practice (just a small block) and then go with this project. We’ll see. . .

I’ve been wanting to make a Quilt of Valor for donation purposes. Here’s the quilt I’ll be making

It's been a while. . .

Here it is the end of February and I haven’t updated this journal. . .No particular reason. . .

My post from January 1 was upbeat and looking ahead to . . . projects that didn’t work out. The Alphabet panel — even with the best advice from my local quilt shop gurus — is a non starter. I gave the project away. The Moda Blockheads quilts were absolutely not a winner for Mike and so I set aside that project and have begun work on a quilt kit using the Crimson Blooms collection. Here’s a picture of the quilt


And here are the many, many blocks that go into it; on the left of the next picture are the red “flying geese” blocks and at the far left is the beginning of yellow “flying geese” blocks. I made 48 of each of these. At the right are the flower blocks — 12 of these.

The full set of 48 yellow flying geese blocks.

Four each of the red and yellow flying geese blocks are used to make the 12” blocks to create the primary star. I’ve made 2 and need to make 12.

Next I’ve created 20 Block 2 blocks which are the first group needed to create the secondary star pattern.

Looking Ahead for a Month or Two . . .

I’ve been looking for an alphabet quilt panel for a long time. I didn’t want the usual “A” with a picture of an apple or “E” for elephant. I wanted something. . . different. Well, here it is:

I love everything about this panel. . . except. . . the alphabet is long-ways and this offends my brain and eyes. It’s fine for a banner but unsuitable for a quilt. In addition the separation between the letter/picture is minuscule — not enough space for a 1/4” seam. So after conferring with a couple of people at the quilt shop we decided the best thing to do is buy a second panel and fudge the seams. So the quilt will have six rows of four pictures each. Row 1 will be A through D from Panel 1; row 2 will be E through H from Panel 2 and so on. I just have to be very careful with the cutting . . .

Somehow or other I stumbled into a Facebook group titled “Moda Blockheads 6” and was blown away with the sampler quilts they were making. Moda is a well-regarded fabric manufacturer who has dozens of fabric and quilt block designers. “Blockheads” is kinda like “Cheeseheads” in football and 6 is their latest series of blocks. Moda has their designers design blocks which are released to the quilters. Each quilter decides on the fabric they want to use — whether from their stash or newly purchased. Around 25 blocks are presented week by week. Each quilter decides what blocks they want to make and then choose the “setting” (how the quilt will look) they prefer.

Here is an Instagram link to pictures of what quilts have been created (some pictures are just of blocks, but others are full size quilts)

#Blockheads6 at Instagram.com

Right now the sampler quilt is a gleam in my eye and I’ve decided on about 54 different color combinations - each of which, in my mind, isn’t quite right. As I solidify my thinking I’ll post a couple of inspiration quilts and give you more information about the project.

One completion and a bunch of other stuff

In early December the on-going mystery quilt Flamingo had its reveal. With Mike’s help I put together the top and dropped it off to Amy the longarm quilter. She was able to finish it for me and here it is (ta-da):

I’m kinda sad to say these colors and fabric style no longer appeals to me as much as it used to. However, it will make a nice quilt for someone. . .

In an earlier post I showed you the beginnings of the LeMoyne Star quilt and I’ve finished the top and a pieced backing for it. I’ll be dropping it off to Amy in early January.

I’ve added two sections to the mystery quilt from Cotton Cuts - Shipwrecked.

Kittens in Cups: Complete + Shipwrecked + LeMoyne Star

The Kittens quilt came back to me much more quickly than I expected. Amy did a wonderful job and I am super pleased with this quilt:

Our next clue #4 dropped in the mystery quilt — the colorway (one of 12 or 13) is “Shipwrecked” under the umbrella of “Under the Sea”.

I am really happy with the LeMoyne Star quilt blocks. While every other block appears to be blank, it’s really an outline of the star. Here’s a closeup of one of the “blank” blocks. It’s subtle but the person using the quilt will notice. . .

And here’s where the quilt stands at the moment.

Flamingo + Kittens in Cups + LeMoyne Star

Our last section of fabric and the next to the last clue for the Flyway mystery quilt is in the books. Early November will be the reveal !!

“Kittens in Cups” top is complete and is at the longarm quilter Amy. I told her to put my quilt at the bottom of her list because this is not a Christmas present and those should get priority. I am totally delighted with this quilt top — it is, in my opinion— the perfect blend of fabric choices and pattern selection — the first time I’ve achieved both.

I’ve begun work on my next project - LeMoyne Star block using Kansas Troubles fabric (isn’t that a great name for a fabric collection!). Here’s a glimpse of the blocks. The star is eight pointed and as you can probably tell hasn’t been sewn together. More in my next post.

Flamingo Section 8 + Shipwrecked Section 3 + Kittens in Cups

Section 8 of the Flamingo puzzle mystery quilt is complete. Only section 9 is left because section 10 is the reveal and shows how to put the quilt top together. I’m really liking the Kaffe Fasset fabric — so bright and cheerful.

Clue 3 dropped in late September and I completed the sewing on 9/28. The colors are rich and I’m delighted with how this is looking.

Kittens in Cups is proceeding; I really like the Tilda fabric — it has a nice “hand” — and I think the choice of fabric and pattern is right-on. Eight of these are done with four more to go. . . .

A Finish + Multiple WIPs

Well, it’s been a while, but I finally have a FINISH !! You’ll recall I bought a panel titled “Hooked on Fish”. I decided to add some borders and send the top off to be quilted by Amy at Amy’s Beautiful Creations. She had a fun fish template for the quilt pattern so we ran with that and here’s the finished quilt.

I’m working on two Cotton Cuts mystery quilts. This is Section 7 of Flamingo and Sections 1A, 1B and 2 of Shipwrecked:

I am now using my selected Tilda fabric for Kittens in Cups and I’m delighted with how this is coming together. Here’s the first kitten on my design wall.

New Mystery Quilt + Kittens in Cups

I was quite excited yesterday when I received the project box for the new mystery quilt from Cotton Cuts. I selected Shipwrecked colorway and practically swooned when I opened the box: I got all the fabrics for each clue (already cut for me) and I also received the backing that I chose two months or so ago. As with all Cotton Cuts mystery quilts, clues will drop once a month by email for nine months; the 10th month is the reveal of how to put the clues together to create the quilt top itself.

I came home from our local quilt shop somewhat obsessed with some fabric. I’ve been aware of the Tilda fabric because our local quilt shop has devoted several rows of the fabric and it is a small-ish shop. It’s not the type of fabric that says my name so I just walked by it. I’ve had a yen to use some brown fabric; I think that’s what caught my eye. You can learn more about Tilda fabric here and here are two pictures of the fabric I’m looking at:

I’ve had my eye on the quilt pattern “Kittens in Cups” for a while and decided to get the pattern and use the Tilda fabric for the cups and a solid fabric for the kittens. I created the following kitten using fabric from my stash so that I could learn the pattern and its twists and turns. “Giraffes in a Row” is a quilt I finished a while ago by the same designer Lorna McMahon of Sew Fresh Quilts. The cup fabric pattern is a little too large for the cup so I think the Tilda fabric pattern will be perfect.

The colors in this quilt are different from my usual “go to” so I have ordered some solid fabrics in neutral brown colors and I’ll be picking the other fabrics at my local quilt shop. More news in my next post.

As of 6/30/2025--Multiple Works in Progress

I’m working along on Mystery Puzzle Quilt from Cotton Cuts. This is a very bright quilt and I’m looking forward to completing it.

I’m also working on a very large quilt Galaxy of Stars. I’ve largely done smaller quilts with relatively few blocks. Somehow I got it into my head that I wanted to make a large quilt with many blocks. So here I am. The first picture below is what the quilt will look like and the second is where I’m at today. I really can’t go forward until I have most of the cutting and block building done.

Looking ahead — I plan to spend one week each month working on a smaller quilt. Up next will be the “Hooked on Fish” quilt. The first picture below is the panel and the second is the inspiration quilt. Somewhere I stumbled onto this second quilt and fell in love. I’ll be heading to my local quilt shop this week to pick up the needed fabrics to complete this one.

Multiple Works in Progress

The current mystery quilt continues; clue #4 had me create four of this section. The title seems true to the fabric: Flamingo using Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

Late last fall I bought a quilt kit titled “Galaxy of Stars” and I’ve begun work on that. Here’s a picture of the quilt as the designer sees it. The second picture is of the blocks I’ve created so far.

I recently stumbled into a picture of a quilted panel and the brain said MINE and I knew I had to buy the panel titled “Hooked on Fish” by Ann Lauer. I think I’m going to use several borders to bring it up to quilt size.

The next mystery quilt by Cotton Cuts will begin in July and we had some wonderful colorways to choose from. You can see the choices here; I selected the one titled “Shipwrecked”.

Mystery Quilt Complete + Mug Rug

I’ve been working on the mystery quilt for nine months and on month ten we all got the “reveal”. I bought the extra border kit so I have a very nice sized quilt. I’ve love the fabric from the beginning and I still think it’s beautiful.

I’ve been wanting to do a quilt with curves but so far I haven’t had any luck settling into a quilt that pleases me. So I decided to try improv curves. Here’s my lame attempt; I can’t imagine doing a whole quilt but Bridges (our cat) needs a new mug rug. I think I’ll give up again on curves (but I suspect the desire will return again. . . )

Complete: Crazier Eights + WIP: Mystery Quilt + Chandelier Quilt

The last time I posted I showed you a picture of my Crazier Eight quilt top. Well, Amy Reilly of Appletree Quilts did her usual great job of selecting the quilt stitch and finishing the quilt. Mike & I are seriously pleased with the results.

We are in month 9 of 10 in the 2024-2025 mystery quilt from CottonCuts.com. Here’s the block I created for this month; aren’t the colors just wonderful? If you want to see all the block go here. Month 10 will be the reveal and how to put the blocks together—I’m lookin’ forward to that.

I bought a collated group of teal fat quarters and I’ve decided to put together a chandelier quilt (also called a tear drop quilt). I’m in the midst of creating the blocks so these blocks are just higgledy-piggledy up on my design wall.