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.

WIP: Crazier Eight + Mystery Quilt + Playful Patchwork

I have three WIPs (Work in Progress) which used to be unusual. However now I have two “block a month” type projects so I work on newly dropped blocks and fill in with a shorter term project.

Crazier Eight is named for a set of templates used to cut the fabric into pieces. Here’s the WIP on my design wall. I stopped working on this because Playful Patchwork dropped the next instructions.

And finally a long running project is Mystic Cactus from Cotton Cuts. This is a mystery quilt so I have no idea what the quilt will look like, but I love the fabric. You can see the other blocks here

Four WIPs: Black & White + Wonky Blocks + Which Witch + Mystery

I’ll be working on four WIPs for a while now. I’ve been working on a black and white quilt for about a week now and it’s ready to go get quilted by Amy my long-suffering longarm quilter. These are a few of the fabrics I used. Quilt picture to come next update.

The “Wonky Blocks” formally known as “Playful Patchwork” is an online course I’m taking created by designer Sheila Christensen. Somehow I stumbled across a picture of this quilt and Mike and I were both delighted with the colors and the look of the quilt. I didn’t realize that the blocks would be dropped on a monthly basis. So for the first month I’ll be working on the middle row - wonky stars; later lessons will be houses and trees, butterflies, churn dash blocks and more. I’ll be sticking close-ish to the colors in the quilt.

The second WIP is the mystery quilt — you seen pictures for the sections as I create them. See here if you need a reminder.

And the third WIP is “Which Witch” — a appliqué block. This will be my first foray into appliqué but I fell in love with the pattern. Each block is rough 8 1/2 x 11 and depending on how well I pick up the technique, I might create a small tote bag or a small quilt. We’ll see.

Completed: Allie Owl in Pink + WIP: Black & White + Mystery Quilt

I’m very pleased (and my arms are very tired) with the quilting on Allie Owl. I quilted this on my domestic machine and it took three days to finish! This is closely quilted on the diagonal which creates the diamond pattern. I have to hold up the hanging edge of the quilt so the fabric runs smoothly under the needle. I have a whole new way of creating arm muscles 😁

My next quilt will be a black & white quilt with bright red rows. I’m going to use the pattern that created this quilt and this quilt. The pattern is a favorite because it’s very forgiving and it showcases fabric beautifully. Below are a couple of pictures of the black and white fabric I’ll be using in the quilt. You’ll see the red fabric next time . . .

We’re in month 3 of the mystery quilt — correctly known as Cotton Cuts 2024 Fall Puzzle Mystery Quilt. They’ve called this project “Wild West” and my colorway is “Mystic Cactus”. I am in love with the colors in this fabric—this quilt might my “forever quilt”.

Completed: Allie Owl in Blue + WIP: Allie Owl in Pink

I finished the WIP Allie Owl in Blue and we’re delighted with the way it turned out !! I spent a couple of days doing the quilting; zoom in to see the echo quilting in the owl and serpentine quilting in the borders.

I’ve finished the top for Allie Owl in pink. I’ll be off to our local quilt shop to get the quilt batting, binding and backing fabrics on Monday. I’m planning on straight line quilting for this one.

WIP as of 09/15/2024

WIP: Allie Owl + Mystery Quilt

Well, I have three nice looking Allie Owls !! Yeah, yeah. In person, these are quite large and almost seem intimidating so I’ve decided to use two of the owls as baby quilts and one (the dark blue) as a wall hanging. Mike fell in love with the dark blue and wants it as a wall hanging. We’ve ordered some fabric that mimics a border pattern and I’m off to the local quilt shop today to get some “background” fabric to finish the other two owls.

I took close looks at lots of owls and decided I like the layout of this one the best. Somehow the offset is very attractive to my eye. And I might try to do the same quilting technique as well.

The second clue to my new mystery quilt is complete. I’m in love with the fabric ❤️

WIP: Allie Owl + Mystery Quilt

Allie Owl is not moving especially well. The pattern relies on exact cutting and exact sewing — two major faults in my quilt vocabulary. At first glance this looks pretty good — but a close inspection will show that the right side of the “wings” has puckers and I think I stretched the bias angle. I’m hoping that this can be “quilted out”. I shall soldier on - I’ve paid particular attention to exact cutting and exact sewing and will continue to do so . . . .

The Fall 2024 Puzzle Mystery Quilt from Cotton Cuts has begun and I am loving the green color and the fabric itself.

Complete: Shining Star + WIP: Allie Owl + Mystery Quilt

The Shining Star quilt is complete and back from the long armer ! Here’s the front of the quilt and (a not very good) picture of the back. Zoom in closer to see pattern.

I’ve begun working on a sample Allie Owl. The beak gave me problems on the pink and now the green. Neither of us liked the pink — too much pink and too many dots. The green will use solids only. I’m not exactly sure what is going on — improper cutting? 1/4” seam(s) too big or small??

My mystery quilt fabric seems to be caught in the maw of the USPS. Cotton Cuts shows the fabric was sent to the Post Office on 7/25 but lots of quilters haven’t received their fabric. Others are reporting they received the fabric, but no reporting about the journey is available. Ahhh well. Hopefully, next update. . .

WIP: Shining Star + Up Next

I’ve been working along on the Shining Star quilt by Suzy Quilts. this was fun for me because I haven’t done a lot of improv work. The improv blocks are a take-off on the Log cabin quilt block. The first picture is an example of a traditional Log Cabin quilt block and the second picture is my quilt top with four different improv quilt blocks (each of which are 20” square).

I’ll be taking my quilt to Amy my go-to longarm quilter. We’ve already picked out the quilting pattern and the thread.

Up Next 1:

My new mystery quilt block of the month will begin late this month (July) and run for 10 months. Here’s what the fabric will look like. I’ve fallen in love with green and I’ll bet this will look great.

Up Next (2)

My next project is Allie Owl by Elizabeth Hartman. I’ve had several of her quilts in my lineup for quite a while and I think I’m ready to tackle it. Here’s her conception of Allie Owl. If you’d like to see how others interpret her design take a look at Instagram #AllieOwl