
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
A Finish!
Here are my Blue Blocks … all quilted and finished. It’s been raining so much, that I haven’t taken a picture outside, so all you get is a picture of it on my design wall. It’s made totally of 2 1/2” squares of Island Batik blue scraps … including aqua, light & dark blue and any scrap IB fabric with blue in it. Along with Island Batik solid white. Quilted on my domestic sewing machine (Janome M7) using a rounded swirl motif (that’s my name for the motif).

Quilt Stats:
- Size: 42″ x 57″ square
- Fabric: Island Batik: Blue scraps and solid white
- Binding is an assortment of left-over Island Batik blue bindings
- Hobbs Batting: Polydown
- Aurifil Thread: 50 weight
- Piecing & Quilting: #2600 (Dove Grey)
- Schmetz Needles: Universal 80/12
- Oliso Iron
Retreat!
I’m off to a retreat tomorrow at Over the Rainbow Lodge. It’s an excellent place to retreat and I’m really looking forward to spending time with my quilting friends!! Of course, I’m taking more projects than I can possibly finish in a week, but I’m OK with that! The last 2 black & white photos are my May and June Island Batik challenges. I hope to get the May one pieced and we’ll see about June’s!






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 – February: 58 / 59 days
- March: 30 / 30 days
- Total: 88 / 89 98 %
Design Wall Mondays

Judy, at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, hosts a linky party for “What’s on your Design Wall” every week.
Piecing projects:

- Yellow – The sashing has been added and I’ve started to web the top!
- Yellow – I’m making some Dresden flowers … no picture yet.
- Canuck Quilter Colour Value Mystery. I’m loving the colours I’ve chosen. It’s all cut out! I’m doing the traditional one.

Quilting projects:
- 2 Blue Charm Star quilts – the borders are from Stash Builder rolls! No yardage cut for either of these quilts … well, except for the solid white background fabric!


Sunday Stash

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!

Nope, I still haven’t bought any fabric yet this year!!! However, since I’m going to a retreat at Over the Rainbow, that might change in the next week!

I used about 6 yards of fabric in this quilt.
- Fabric used in the last week: 6 yards
- Fabric Used in 2025: 53 yards. {10 yards of non Island Batik fabric}
- Fabric Added in the last week: 0 yards
- Fabric Added this year: 0 yards
- Net Fabric used: 53 yards
To Do

Carol from Quilt Schmilt is hosting “To Do” every week.
To Do from the last week:
- Finish Binding IB April Project. √ DONE. I’ll be posting about this after I return from the retreat.
- Sandwich & Quilt 2nd Blue charm star quilt. in progress
- Quilt Blue 2 1/2” squares. √ DONE
- Finish webbing Yellow rectangle squares. in progress
- Start to get projects ready to take to a retreat: (no pictures yet)
- Swan – cut all the squares. √ DONE
- Train – cut all the pieces. √ DONE
- Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder! √ DONE.
- Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes. √ DONE.
To Do for next week:
- Pack for the retreat!
- Work on projects at the retreat
- Butterfly
- Swan
- Train
- misc. projects
- Island Batik: May
- Island Batik: June
- Do NOT be distracted by any SQUIRRELS! I NEED this continual reminder!
- Tidy & clean studio for 30 minutes.
Leaving Comments on my Blog
I appreciate each of you that leaves comments on my blog!! It’s fun to read about YOU!!
However, I know that many of you have difficulty leaving comments and I honestly do not know what to do about it. I moderate each of the comments (that’s why they don’t show up right away) so that you don’t have to read about the ugly stuff / junk that some try to slip in!
Anyhow, I notice that the vast majority of comments are “anonymous” and I have no idea who you are. If you could simply put your name after the comment, I’d appreciate it! Thank you! And Thank you to those that leave your name!
Don’t Forget

I am now a Silly Moon affiliate! So what does that mean? When you use my affiliate code Quiltinggail2024 at Silly Moon, you will receive 10% off your order and I will receive a small commission.
One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!
Happy Quilting!
Gail
Linking to:
- So Scrappy @ Scrap Happy
- Frédérique @ Quilting Patchwork Applique
- Sunday Stash @ quiltpaintcreate
- Oh Scrap @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework
- 15 Minutes to Stitch @ Life in Pieces
- Design Wall Monday @ Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
- Monday Musing @ Songbird Designs
- Sew and Tell @ Melva Loves Scraps
I think I have the blue quilt pattern in one of my books. The train project looks interesting. Hope you had a great time at retreat.
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The blue quilt pattern might be easy to find, but I made it up as I went along! Just wanting to use scraps!
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I bought fabric while at the retreat, which was held at the quilt shop. What I bought was specific for projects and was all clearance. I would LOVE to go to a retreat that is out of town. Maybe one of these years.
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Over the rainbow is a fantastic place for a retreat!!! We had a fabulous time!
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Another great week for you. I like your blue quilts/tops. In fact I liked the 2.5″ sqs one enough to do a screen grab and add it to my someday I may make it file. I like the idea of sometimes using single color for a scrap quilt. My blue basket overflows…. Have fun at retreat and I hope you get a lot of your projects done or at least moved forward.
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Thank you!! If you make the scrap quilt, I’d love to see a picture!
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Have a great time at retreat! Of course you’re bringing way more than you need. You just never know what you’ll feel like sewing while you’re there. I’m always in the same boat too. Lol
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Had a great time!! And yes, I brought more than I could sew!!
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You’ve definitely been making the most of all your blue Batiks. The Blue Block quilt turned out beautifully. Congrats on all the stitching time this week. Enjoy your retreat, may you at least make a bit of progress on all your projects.
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Thanks, Kate! I did make some progress on some of the projects. I’ll share more in a future post!
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Have a wonderful time on your retreat!!! I am going too add the making of the blue scraps quilt to my queue! Very pretty!
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thank you!! Have a great time!
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