How do you feel about free motion quilting? Most of you know that I really enjoy free motion quilting on my domestic sewing machine. It’s taken a LOT of practice and I’m still learning. Helen Godden is an excellent teacher and her youtube tutorials are great!

I have completed 3 of her tutorials: 2 Christmas ones and the Flower Power sampler. I used Inktense pencils on each of them. They were fun to make!

Helen is having another Christmas Countdown. You can access the free pattern HERE. EDIT: Apparently the link isn’t working … Helen posted on her FB page that the site was “melting.” and to try again later. In the meantime, you can go to her FB page and see her video. HERE.

How it works: each day from Dec. 1 – 24, Helen has a youtube video showing you what to quilt. It doesn’t take long. She offers hints along the way. It’s easy! And it is a fantastic way for you to practice free motion quilting!

It was from following along in the you tube videos that helped me do the FMQ on the Pangolin and the Elephant quilts. These were done for an Island Batik challenge using Aurifil Thread. You can read more about the Pangolin HERE and the Elephant HERE.

SEW … are you going to join me in doing the Christmas Countdown?

Mystery Quilt is Done!

Links to all the clues can be found at the top of my blog HERE.

WIP-B-Gone

Leanne, of Devoted Quilter is hosting a WIPS-B-Gone ’23 challenge. I decided to not only sew every day, but to also clean/tidy each day!!! I’m managing to find things to tidy or clean each and every day!!! It’s never ending! But, what do I expect when I’m tearing my room apart to find specific fabric for another project? Or, when a project is finished, I need to put the excess fabric away …

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 –October:  287 / 304
• November:  26 / 26
• Total:  313 / 330
• Percentage: 94%

Stash Report

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

I didn’t have the right colour for backing, so I ran over to Essem Textiles and bought 2 yards of flannel to back this quilt.

Yearly Tally:

• Fabric Used since the last report: 0 yards
• Fabric Used in 2023:    207 yards  from non-IB: 94
• Fabric Bought this week:  2 yards
• Fabric Added this year:    21.5 yards 
• Net Fabric used:             185.5 yards 

Just an FYI: I do not count any fabric that is given to me (Island Batik), but this year, I am going to count it as fabric used.

To Do Tuesday

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.

After looking at my list, I realized that I STILL had NOT cut out my Malted Mystery fabrics … and the cutting directions came out in July, I decided to put the fabrics back in my stash. It obviously is not a priority for me at the moment and hasn’t been for several months. I had good intentions, but I have enough on my plate for the time being. Thus Malted Mystery is now striked off my list.

The To Do list from last week: 

1. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “Turkey Trot” project … now renamed “Not a Hunter’s Star“. Partially done! It’s sandwiched
2. Cut out Malted Mystery Fabrics Not done
3. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt” Not done
4. Work on IB December Challenge. It was worked on, but I still need to quilt it! It’s a fun project and I can’t wait to show you! partially   DONE
5. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √   DONE
6. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √   DONE. With the WIP-B-Gone … I’m actually doing this for 15 minutes DAILY!!!!

This week’s list:

1. Quilt and Bind “Turkey Trot” project … now renamed “Not a Hunter’s Star“
2. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
3. Finish IB December Challenge
4. Start Christmas blog hop challenge.
5. Sandwich, Quilt and Bind “2023 Classic Car Monthly Colour Challenge.”
6. Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! 
7. Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.

Design Wall

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week. Sorry, no pictures to share!

Piecing projects:

1. Work on December Blog Hop Challenge / Cookie Exchange
2. Start Island Batik “SS 24 Catalogue Quilt”

Quilting: 2 of these need sandwiching, all need quilting and binding!

• “Not a Hunter’s Star”
• “2023 Fall Mystery Quilt”
• “2023 Classic Car Monthly Colour Challenge.”

Upcoming Blog Hops

Just Let Me Quilt: Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange and Christmas Blog Hop (December 4)

Just Let Me Quilt: White Rabbit (January 23. 2024)

Linking to:

• So Scrappy @ Scrap Happy
• Sunday Stash @  quiltpaintcreate
• Oh Scrap @  Quilting is More Fun than Housework
• Frédérique  @ Quilting Patchwork Applique
• 15 Minutes to Stitch @ Life in Pieces
• Sew and Tell @ Melva Loves Scraps
• Design Wall Monday @  Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
• Monday Musing @ Songbird Designs
• To Do Tuesday @ Quilt Schmitt