Month: January 2022

SAHRR 2022: Round 3

/ quiltinggail / 29 Comments

What is a SAHRR?

You may be new here and wondering about it … you can read more about it at the following links:

My Block

This week, Roseanne & Sue @ Home Sewn by Us have chosen Stars. Visit Home Sewn by Us to see how others have made the Stars round.

My stars are little! The HST are 1″ square. When I had them done and put up on the design wall, it seemed too crowded. So, I added more white fabric and made them a square in a square.

Once you have finished your Stars round, make sure you go to Home Sewn by Us and link up to show us your block! (or send me your picture and I’ll post it next week!)

Here are some friend’s progress blocks: Round 2

This is what Stella says, “While rummaging in the pile on my table I found a small diamond ruler( came free with a jelly roll!) so I thought it must be a hint to do my homework! I’m sure there must be an easier way to make diamonds but I just kept plugging along…..and this is what happened….” “I’m calling it “a modern amish”.  Loving the black and brights.”

Here’s Patti’s:

This is Kathy’s:

Darlene”s

Joyce’s

Chere’s

Carol says, “Well after much fiddling, watching you tube,  and using jack,  I finally got some semblance of diamonds in the corners.  Here is the finished corners.  Not perfect but good enough for me!” Way to go, Carol!! They look great!

Mary’s

and Donna’s, with the fussy cut oval in the diamond!

Visit the other co-hosts to see their blocks!

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure that you go to their blogs and follow them so that you don’t miss a single post!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Island Batik Blog Hop … and Studio Happenings!

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Row Row Row your Quilt

The February Island Batik Blog Hop starts on Monday! The theme is Row by Row …

Make sure you visit each of the ambassadors to see what they made … and some of them may have a giveaway and you could have a chance to win some awesome Island Batik fabric!

January 31:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese 

February 1:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts
Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

February 2:

Megan Best, Bestquilter

February 3:

Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine
Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

Did you see?

My Island Batik quilts for the January challenge? These were for the challenge “Step by Step” using 20 gradations of Tantalizing Teal. Of course, Island Batik fabric was used with Hobbs batting and Aurifil Thread.

Here are the pictures, but you can read more about them HERE.

Stitching Stuff

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

Last year I managed to sew 97% of the days. What will this year bring?

  • January 1-30 – 30 / 30
  • Total: 30 /30
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!

I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …

The Teddy Bear quilt took 5.5 yards of fabric. You can see the post HERE.

  • Fabric Used this week      5.0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        6.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  6.5 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

I had 2 weeks to work on my previous To Do list … I’m starting to realize that if I give myself 2 weeks, I can usually accomplish what I want to do in one week. Hmmm … What does that say about my expectations?

The To Do list 2 weeks ago:

  1. Finish Round 3 & start Round 4 of SAHRR √   DONE
  2. Sandwich and Quilt Polar Bear Plunge √   DONE
  3. Work on Tickled Pink project … it’s actually finished! √   DONE
  4. Finish Island Batik January Project and posted HERE √   DONE
  5. Finish Macaron Mystery – January clue √   DONE
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Round 4 of SAHRR and start Round 5
  2. Work on February Island Batik project
  3. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  4. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

There are a few things on my Design Wall and I can only show you little bits of what’s there!

#1 SAHRR is in progress … You can read about it HERE and HERE

#2 … February Island Batik project Row by Row … Here’s a picture of the fabric that I’m using. It’s the Vintage Lace by Kathy Engle and should be shipping to stores in February. Aren’t they soft and lovely?

Quilting:

Nothing is being quilted at the moment!

2 UFOs finished this week! The Polar Bear Blog hop and the Tickled Pink Blog Hop quilts!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Polar Bear Plunge Blog Hop

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When Joan at Moosestash Quilting first announced this blog hop, I just couldn’t resist!

I knew I was going to make a teddy bear quilt for this challenge. The book, Fat Quarter Baby, has the cutest teddy bear quilt! A Christmas gift bundle of Fat Quarters was the perfect choice.

Here is a picture of the quilt – prior to me adding eyes and a mouth. It’s cute, but a teddy must have eyes and a smile – right?

The eyes were appliqued on (gasp!) and the smile was stitched with a fairly tight zigzag stitch. Simple “in the ditch” quilting finished this little guy!

Make sure you visit all of the other bloggers in this hop! There’s a lot of creativity happening!

Monday Jan 24

Tuesday Jan 25

Wednesday Jan 26

Thursday Jan 27

Friday Jan 28

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Island Batik: Step by Step Challenge

/ quiltinggail / 17 Comments

Each ambassador has been given a gradation package containing 20 different shades of fat quarters. The Basics Gradations yardage is available at your local quilt shops.

I am not known for swooning … but I certainly came close when I opened my box and saw the lovely bundle of Tantalizing Teals … Oh my … aren’t they beautiful?

We were challenged to make a lap quilt that shows the 20 gradations … I had to think about what to make.

I started out by putting them on the design wall and then using a black/white filter. I know it was obvious that the 4th from the left on the bottom had to be moved.

I shuffled a few others around … the end result was MUCH better! I then labelled them #1 – #20. Some of the fabrics are so similar in colour, that I needed to keep them organized!

I started by cutting 1 1/2″ strips from each of the 20 colours and sewing them in groups of 4.

Then, I used my 60 degree ruler and cut them all into triangles … and this is what my design wall looked like. Not too bad, but not too great. I was not happy, even though I liked the randomness of the triangles …

Then the Hexies started to form …

And eventually, plain triangles were added in. The hexies go from light on the top to dark on the bottom and the triangles have dark on the top going to light on the bottom.

They were all pieced together and quilted. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting, a Schmetz needle and Aurifil # 2815 Teal … and it is bound with the “Lagoon” fabric that I had received in a previous box (which is part of the Tantalizing Teals).

The weather was not cooperating and there was a breeze … consequently, the quilt looks as though it has a wavy bottom … but it is straight.

Wait … There’s More

This quilt was made … just because I had just enough of some of the fabrics to make it. Once the inspiration hit, I got busy making it and forgot to take pictures of the process. I started out with 5″ squares of white Island Batik solid and 1″ x 5 1/2″ strips of all of the blues. The 5″ squares were randomly cut diagonally and the blue strip was inserted. The blocks were then squared up to 4 3/4″.

This quilt used 13 of the Tantalizing Teals:

  • Aruba
  • Bridgewater
  • Caribbean
  • Cerulean
  • Cool Water
  • Icicle
  • Malibu
  • Mermaid
  • Pool
  • Scuba
  • Sea Glass
  • Surf
  • Teal

I used Hobbs Cotton Bleached batting, a Schmetz needle and Aurifil # 2600 Dove.

Visit the other Ambassadors!

The other Island Batik Ambassadors are busy posting their “Gradation” quilts … make sure you visit each one … they all have beautiful quilts!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread and needles were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik  Aurifil Thread  Hobbs Batting & Schmetz Needles !!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR 2022: Round 2

/ quiltinggail / 20 Comments

What is a SAHRR?

You may be new here and wondering about it … you can read more about it at the following links:

My Block

This week, Emily, from The Darling Dogwood, has chosen Diamonds. Visit her blog to see how others have made the diamond round.

Once you have finished your Diamonds round, make sure you go to The Darling Dogwood and link up to show us your block!

I had to do a bit of fudging to make the diamonds fit … but that’s what little bits of spacing are for, right?

Again, I am using “Flutter Fly” fabric collection and Island Batik Solid white to make the SAHRR.

Curves

For those of you that are still concerned about Curves … Wendy, from Pieceful Thoughts of my Quilting Life has a tutorial HERE.

Here are some of the “curved” borders!

This is Stella’s

This is Donna’s

And this is Patti’s. She says, “Center block is a bunch of blocks leftover from placemats & runner I made years ago.” And she has added a curved round as well!

Visit the other co-hosts to see their blocks!

Here’s a list of the other co-hosts. Make sure that you go to their blogs and follow them so that you don’t miss a single post!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Boundary Bay’s Fall Mystery Quilts

/ quiltinggail / 16 Comments

This fall, I supplied numerous members of our guild with weekly clues for the fall mystery.

Some of the quilters sent pictures … Enjoy!

This is Alice C’s. She said, “It was great to finally use the fall fabric I had for years.” Isn’t it a beautiful fall quilt?

Here are Fran’s … both are the baby quilt size and are still in progress. I love how the fabric makes each one very different from the other, yet the pattern is exactly the same!

This is Heather’s! … she says “I love the pattern. I’m going to do a quilt for my grandson And I love this!  It’s simple but looks complicated!!!!”

This one is Bonnie K’s, she made the baby sized quilt. What a wonderful soft quilt. Some baby is going to love it!

Here’s Patricia’s: she calls it a “floppy.” The purple is so vibrant!

Here is Dawn’s: along with a picture of the beautiful feature fabric she used! It’s a great way to use that fabric that you really don’t want to cut into!

This is Kathy S’s. I love the bold blue and grey against the light background / focus fabric!

Here’s Patti’s. Isn’t that dark burgundy border just perfect?

This one is from Dawn W. It’s a super cute baby quilt!

This is Carol R’s … with no borders, yet! Of course, I LOVE the Blues!!!

I love how Jill used stripes!!! People are often afraid to use stripes, but this is proof that you can use them and be successful!!

Here’s Heidi’s. I love the solids amongst the busy print!

These are the ones that I made:

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

You could win!

/ quiltinggail / 12 Comments

This quilt is in Fort St. James, hanging in the insurance office. It got it’s label on … “Jordan Marshall Memorial Society” for mental health in Fort St. James. In support with Hub international. It will be raffled off. The tickets are $5 and if you would like a chance to win this beautiful quilt – you can email < Jackie.marshall@hubinternational.com >

I made this quilt last February for the Island Batik challenge “Create for a Cause.” It was originally destined to be a comfort quilt, but in December, when I could finally take donation quilts in, this got overlooked. Now I know why. It was meant to go north!

For those of you that don’t know, we lived in Fort St. James for 17 years. It’s a small community literally at the end of the pavement in central British Columbia. I worked at the hospital for many years and as the public health nurse for short stints. Once the kids were born, I was a stay-at-home mom and was active in the Evangelical Free Church. Several relatives still live there – many (like us) have moved away. If you’ve never been there, it’s a truly gorgeous place to visit! There is a beautiful lake, an awesome ski hill and a bounty of friendly people!

Anyhow – email < Jackie.marshall@hubinternational.com > to purchase your raffle tickets! Or, if you live in “The Fort” you know where to find Jackie!

Thank you to Island Batik, Hobbs Batting and Aurifil thread for providing me with the materials to make this quilt!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Inktense Pencil Fun

/ quiltinggail / 17 Comments

On Monday and Tuesday, a bunch of us met at Essem Textiles to play and explore Inktense Pencils. If you’ve never used Inktense – it’s worth giving it a try. They are like pencil crayons with water soluble ink in them. You can colour on fabric and use water, aloe vera or a textile medium to bring out the vibrant colours.

Below is what I worked on. It’s a free drawing from Helen Godden and is the Christmas 2019 project. My plan is to finish “painting” it and then follow Helen’s Youtube videos for the zen-doodling quilting.

While we were at Essem, a bunch of ladies from the Chilliwack guild stopped in the store. You’ve seen a lot of their SAHRR center blocks HERE … and it was fun to meet them in person!

Stitching Stuff

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

  • January 1-16 – 16 / 16
  • Total: 16 / 16
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash.

This meme is still true! No fabric has been bought … at least not yet! No change in what I’ve used!

  • Fabric Used this week      0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        1.5 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  1.5 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

The To Do list last week:

  1. SAHRR: Finish Round 2 & work on Round 3 √   DONE
  2. Work on Polar Bear Plunge: get the top done √   DONE
  3. Work on Tickled Pink √   DONE
  4. Work on Island Batik January Project √   DONE
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes √   DONE

This week’s list:

  1. Finish Round 3 & start Round 4 of SAHRR
  2. Sandwich and Quilt Polar Bear Plunge
  3. Work on Tickled Pink
  4. Finish Island Batik January Project
  5. Finish Macaron Mystery – January clue
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

There are a few things on my Design Wall and there is a couple of things I can show you …

#1 SAHRR is in progress … You can read about it HERE.

But I can show you my center block with Round 1 added.

#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!

#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!

#4 … Macaron Mystery Quilt

I’ve got some of January’s clue done … still have more to do …

Quilting:

Island Batik, January challenge is being quilted.

One New Start … no finishes. I did pull the fabrics for the February Island Batik challenge – does that count as a new start? And I started the Christmas wall hanging.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

SAHRR 2022: Round 1

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If you are participating in the SAHRR 2022, this week, Anja has chosen curves. There are lots of options for doing curves … but I opted for a simple organic wavy curve to frame my center block. I started with lengths, 2″ wide and did an easy free-style curve. Then I pieced the curves together without using pins. There are NO quilt police, right? So, I don’t need to use pins!

If I had my time back, I would have started with 3″ strips. You can see on the right hand border – close to the top where there is not much of the print fabric showing and using 3″ strips would have given me a an option to trim it. And yes, I am using Island Batik fabric from the “Flutter Fly” collection!

Now I hope this round does not scare you away! Curves are simple – if you take your time.

My block was squared up to 9 1/4″ x 15″ …

When you have your round added, go to  Anja Quilts and link up to show us YOUR round!

My Block

I have pictures from 2 Boundary Bay Guild members … Brenda W is using the flower block and Stella is using the pretty block she found in her stash.

Some of the gals from the Chilliwack Quilter’s Guild are also following along. Here are their center blocks:

 Claudette made here block from a book and Darlene is going to make a large quilt, using the Paris panel.

Charlene wanted to try paper piecing. (This is the same block I used last year for my center) and Carol loves Kaffe!

Donna can’t decide on a colour way and she might have to make 2!! I just LOVE the elephants!

I think there are going to be a LOT of wonderful quilts made with this SAHRR!!

Visit the other co-hosts to see their blocks

If you haven’t done so yet, make sure that you go to their blogs and follow them so that you don’t miss a single post!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

2022: First Island Batik Unboxing Video

/ quiltinggail / 27 Comments

I am so HONOURED to be chosen again as an Island Batik Ambassador!! It truly is an honour to have all the wonderful support of the Island Batik team and to work alongside so many talented quilters!

On Wednesday night, I did a trunk show for the Chilliwack Piecemakers Guild and they were asking about “What came in the boxes?” So here’s a chance for them to see!

Oh – and apparently there is more coming later this month … I will show you what comes in that package after it arrives!

Here is the video of me opening the boxes.

Here’s pictures and details of what came in my boxes:

6 yards of “Linen.” This is a basic that is available any time.

Aurifil Thread: 40 weight # 6724 (Moonshine), #2375 (Antique Blush), #6731 (Tiramisu)

Foundations Bundle: These fabrics are available all the time.

  • Solid: Yellow, Green, Fuchsia, Turquoise
  • Blenders: Dandelion Crumbs, Dandelion – Bubblegum, Bubble Hole-Tin, Large Netting – Brownie
  • Roast (Breathtaking Brown), Magenta (Precious Pinks), Pebble (Bodecious Blacks), Jute (Breathtaking Browns)

Fat Quarter Bundle: Tantalizing Teals. These fabrics are available in yardage from your local quilt store. There are 20 fabrics in this bundle and I will show you what I’ve made in the next week!

Vintage Lace Fabric Collection: 1/2 yard bundle of 20 fabrics PLUS 2 yards of Snow & 2 Yards of Hunter! These gorgeous fabrics will be available in February.

4 yard cuts of Solid Black, White & Grey. Totally fantastic neutrals! I love these solids!

2 1/2″ strips of Citified along with 2 yards each of “Lavender” and “Blackberry.” Can’t you just imagine something awesome being made with these?

Stash-builder bundles. These bundles are 5″wide by width of fabric and there are 4 fabrics in each roll. Each package of 5 rolls contains 2.8 yards of fabric!

A Surprise Package! This is for the May blog hop. As I am writing this, I have no idea what is inside!

Batting – Lots of Batting!

Thank you very much!

Island Batik Aurifil Thread Hobbs Batting

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

SAHRR 2022: Getting Started: Center Block

/ quiltinggail / 28 Comments

If you are participating int the SAHRR 2022, then your work this week is to choose your Centre block. It can be square or rectangle … even a circle if you want a difficult challenge!

My Centre Block

Yes, it is applique!!! Surprise, surprise!!! Applique? Can you believe that I chose to do an applique for the centre block? It is a pattern from Angie Padilla. She has a ton of applique patterns and you can see them HERE. This is from a 2021 BOM called “Lady Bug Hugs.”

This block, once it is trimmed, will measure 7 1/2″ x 13″.

For this SAHRR, I am using Island Batik fabrics from the “Flutter-fly” collection.

I chose to do a rectangle because I want a rectangle quilt in the end!

Show us your center blocks!

Show us your Center Block for SAHRR 2022!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=a8b40ada7693d64e5923

Visit the other co-hosts to see their blocks!

Here’s a list of the other co-hosts. Make sure that you go to their blogs and follow them so that you don’t miss a single post!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

A Wintery Finish!

/ quiltinggail / 17 Comments

I have a UFO finish! It is the Any Which Way Mystery Quilt … it was finally trimmed and the binding was added! The first picture was taken in the sun … and the 2nd picture was taken on the snow – just because I could!

The binding was finished today while I was Zoom quilting with fellow Island Batik Ambassadors! It’s so fun to get together and see what everyone is working on!

This quilt used Island Batik fabrics, Hobbs 80/20 batting and was quilted with Aurifil thread using Schmetz needles. It finishes at 44″ x 44.” It’s nice to have this UFO done!

Stitching Stuff

‘

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

This week, I managed to only sew for 15 min a day …

  • January 1-9 – 9 / 9
  • Total: 9 / 9
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!

I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …

I used 1.5 yards of fabric for the backing of the Any Which Way Mystery Quilt.

  • Fabric Used this week      1.5   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        0 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  1.5 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

I didn’t get a lot done this week. I’ve had a bad back and can only sit for very short periods of time.

The To Do list last week:

  1. Trim & bind “Any Which Way” Mystery – √   DONE
  2. Finish Round 3 & 4 of SAHRR (yes, I want to work ahead) Decided I didn’t like Round 2 – so did some un-stitching and re-doing the round X not done
  3. Work on Polar Bear Plunge  √   DONE
  4. Work on Tickled Pink  √   DONE
  5. Work on January’s Island Batik project  √   DONE
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!  √   DONE
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes: no cleaning or tidying done and boy does it show! X not done

This week’s list:

  1. SAHRR: Finish Round 2 & work on Round 3
  2. Work on Polar Bear Plunge: get the top done
  3. Work on Tickled Pink
  4. Work on Secret Project
  5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

There are a few things on my Design Wall and there is NOTHING I can show you … yet!

#1 SAHRR is in progress … Centre block comes out Tomorrow! Be sure to come back so you don’t miss it!!!

#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!

#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!

#4 … Island Batik January Gradation project is getting there! and it will remain a total secret for now!

#5 Macaron Mystery by Meadow Mist Designs I have printed off the January clue – but haven’t done any sewing … yet …

Quilting:

Nothing is being quilted at the moment!

One UFO done!

Ms. P. Designs has this nifty colourful tool that you can use to track the tasks you have to do for your PHD. You can access the tool HERE.

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Plans for the New Year … and EXCITING NEWS!!!

/ quiltinggail / 30 Comments

My husband says every new year, “My New Year’s Resolution is to not make any resolutions.” I sort of feel the same way, but I do have quilty goals in mind and I’ll share them with you.

Island Batik Ambassador

I was again chosen to be an Island Batik Ambassador for 2022! I was beyond excited when I found out! If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you KNOW how much I love Island Batik fabric!

There will be monthly challenges and projects to make! I can’t wait to show you all the fabulous fabric and goodies from the industry partners!

New to Me

This is new to me, but it’s been around for awhile. I have watched other bloggers do this block of the month and thought I’d join in on the fun this year! Check out Jen’s blog post for more details and to get the pattern for this month’s block. Doesn’t “Spicy” sound fantastic???

January’s spice is Saffron. This is the 12 1/2″ block that I made:

I used 2 different oranges from Island Batik. I didn’t have enough of the dark orange, so I pieced the bottom left square.

Here are this month’s bloggers that are highlighting this Spicey month!

Stitching Stuff

Kate, from Life in Pieces, is hosting “Stitching Stuff” and the goal is to sew for at least 15 minutes a day. I use Kate’s guideline, but my personal goal is to sew for 30 minutes a day. On those “blah” days, it does motivate me to sit at my machine and 30 minutes often turns into several hours. Thank you Kate for the motivation!

Last year I managed to sew 97% of the days. What will this year bring?

  • January 1-2 – 2 / 2
  • Total: 2 / 2
  • Percentage =100% 

Stash Report

Donna at Quilt Paint Create hosts a weekly linky party where you can display your stash. This has really kept my stash from growing (somewhat!) Before I buy anything, I am always mindful of the fact that I need to report it on my blog … That sometimes stops me in my tracks! However, I am human and I do break down and buy fabric!

I love this meme that I saw recently (but can’t find the source) …

  • Fabric Used this week      0   yards
  • Fabric Used this year:        0 yards
  • Fabric Bought this week:   0 yards
  • Fabric Added this year:      0 yards 
  • Net Fabric used                  0 yards 

To Do

Linda from Texas Quilt Gal is now hosting “To Do” every week.

I had 2 weeks to work on my previous To Do list … let’s see how I did …

The To Do list last week:

  1. Finish A&A’s Quilt  √   DONE
  2. Bind the guild Fall Mystery Quilt  √   DONE
  3. Prepare the PHD in 2022 blog post.  √   DONE
  4. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS!   √   DONE
  5. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes   √   DONE  

This week’s list:

  1. Trim & bind “Any Which Way” Mystery
  2. Finish Round 3 & 4 of SAHRR (yes, I want to work ahead)
  3. Work on Polar Bear Plunge
  4. Work on Tickled Pink
  5. Work on January’s Island Batik project
  6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
  7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes

Design Wall

There are a few things on my Design Wall and there is NOTHING I can show you … yet!

#1 SAHRR is in progress … You can read about it HERE.

#2 Polar Bear Plunge: This is for a blog hop in January … it should be fun! Of course, I can’t show you until the blog hop!

#3 Tickled Pink: This is for a blog hop in February … and again, I can’t show you until then!

#4 … January’s Island Batik project and it will remain a secret for now! But, I will show you the stack of fabric that I’m working with! Tantalizing Teals! Aren’t they absolutely BEAUTIFUL? !!!

Quilting:

Nothing is being quilted at the moment!

However, my Any Which Way mystery quilt needs to be trimmed and bound.

My January Island Batik project is started … no finishes

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

Linking to:

Announcing: Stay at Home Round Robin 2022

/ quiltinggail / 26 Comments

Last year, as we had a parade for the SAHRR (pronounced Stay At Home Round Robin), we announced that we would be doing it again in 2022.

For the past 2 years, I have done a SAHRR and have made different quilts. The first year I did it on my own and then last year, I had some fantastic blogging/quilting friends join in the fun!

Here’s the quilts from previous SAHRRs. The one on the Left is from last year, the centre one and the one on the right were from the year before.

What’s a Round Robin?

This is a common activity in many quilt guilds. A round robin (in quilting terms) is where each person makes a centre block. This block is put in a bag or container, maybe with extra fabric, perhaps with a notebook, and the bag is passed onto another quilter in the group. They are given instructions as to what kind of border (or round) they are to add on to the quilt. Sometimes the next person will make a border for each side, or one side or two sides of the block. It’s then passed on to another quilter and it continues on … when the quilt centre and all the borders are completed, it is returned to the original maker of the centre block.

So, I stay at home?

That’s correct! You and your centre block and the borders all stay home. You have to make the decisions as to what to add when given directions. How big, how many … it’s up to you.

How do I join?

There’s nothing to join, no sign up. All you need to do is follow our blogs.

How often does this happen?

On January 10, we will show you our centre blocks … I haven’t seen any of my friends blocks – so it’s going to be a surprise for each of us. This will give you some ideas of what you can make or use (do you have orphan blocks?)

Then on January 18 (and each Monday following) we will give you instructions as to what the next border/round is to be. Again, we will all show you our centre blocks with the first border to give you some ideas.

Here are my blogging co-leaders in the order of what we will be doing and the linky parties we will be holding each week. (There will only be one linky party each week … and we’ll direct you to it …)

  • January 10: I will host the first linky party … for you to show each of your centre blocks … but you’ll have to visit each of the SAHRR co-host bloggers to see their centre blocks
  • January 18: 1st Round: Anja @ Anja Quilts
  • January 25: 2nd Round: Emily @ The Darling Dogwood
  • February 1: 3rd Round: Roseanne & Sue @ Home Sewn by Us
  • February 8: 4th Round: Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
  • February 15: 5th Round: ME!!! @ Quilting Gail 
  • February 22: 6th Round: Chris @ Chrisknitssews
  • March 21: Parade – showing all of your finished SAHRRs!

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don’t want to make that round? It’s your quilt – you can leave it out

What size do I make it? That’s up to you … you are sort-of the designer here.

Are the rounds hard? No … each round is pretty simple … squares, rectangles, half-square triangles with perhaps a surprise.

What colours do I use? That’s up to you … you can follow what one of the SAHRR leader uses or have your own colour scheme.

What if I miss a round? You can leave it out, or go back to the blog where the directions are given.

Will you cut my fabric for me? No

How often will the quilt police check on me and my progress? There are NO quilt police!! None!!

What do I do now?

Make sure that you follow each of the SAHRR leaders so that you don’t miss their posts.

Start thinking about what you might do for a centre block.

Relax … this is easy … and it’s only one round each week!

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail