Fat Quarter Cross Body Bag

Here's a tutorial sew I can have a bag for every season!

Mini Bag by The Bookish Quilter

January Stitchy House & Cross My Heart Fabric Pull

 

This is first in a series by Erica Arndt.  Her patterns were too adorable to resist.  A fun diversion.  Next year's post is my deadline to have each month framed; hold me to it!

Wendy Shepperd of Ivory Spring patterns is giving a shout out to participants in her Cross My Heart quilt along happening NOW on Instagram mostly. This genius creation, imho, was published in the February 2023 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting which is still on the stands. 

Linking up with:

Slow Sunday Stitching

Design Wall Monday

Thank you for reading my mostly quilting blog!

From Kimberly

Finished! Moment of Zen Baby Quilt

 This is my third make from the Moment of Zen pattern, published by American Patchwork & Quilting magazine in April 2021.

The pattern is designed by Jo Kramer & her daughter Kelli, of Jo's Country Junction, whom we all know and love!

While the pattern is designed with fat quarters in mind, I say it works as a two-color quilt also!

This baby size quilt is a donation to the Johnson County Tennessee Pregnancy Support Center through my guild, Tennessee Sunshine.

I'll get around to documenting the prior two quilts from this pattern, in which I did use collections of fat quarters.  It really can be a stash buster, or a great way to show off a designer collection.

I plan to do a lot more of this pattern!  

P.S.  Quilting magazine subscriptions are a great bargain.  For less than three American dollars per issue you get ten to twelve on-trend patterns.  To me, each issue is a bit of surprise happy mail !!

Linking up with:

Finished (or not) Friday

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

ScrapHappy Saturday

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?!

THANK YOU for reading my blog!

From Kimberly

A new quilt along just started with Fort Worth Fabric Studio and one of my favorite youtube creators is demonstrating as well.  I'm in!

Great Beginner Tutorial AND Quick Gift Idea

My online quilty friend, Robin, just posted this, and I had to share!

To-Do It Tuesday, 15 Minutes to Stitch, and More

 

I've been busy keeping up with my Blocks of the Week, yes multiples!  Turns out it's 4 quiltalongs but 9 blocks per week, sometimes 10.  It's all good because I'm feeling the quilty flow at the moment.  

The above blue and white blocks are continuing with Jessica Dayon's Scrappy Sampler . She is really pushing my skills here; keep in mind these blocks are six inches!  I am heavily invested in starch.

These three-inch churn dashes are plain white and "white wash" white, a reminder of the horse fences when I was growing up in the South. This is one of six 'color ways' so far in Pat Sloan's quilt along Secret Lives of Color.

Here's a glimpse of a squirrel that got my attention:

15 Minutes to Sew has gone great! I'm at 100 percent for the year.

Prior To Do Tuesday results are less than stellar because I'm simply frozen in place with the free motion circles. What? Are they hot coals? This is ridiculous.  However:

-Keep up with 3 quilt alongs - DONE

-Post PhD in 2022 entry - DONE

-FMQ practice circles for green quilt - fail

-Name same green quilt needing completion - fail

Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward toward the mark....

To Do Tuesday for February 1:

-Practice the $%&-ing circles

-Continue keeping up with the 3 plus QALs

That's it; low goals are easier, lol.

Linking up with To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal, and 15 Minutes to Stitch at Life in Pieces.

THANK YOU for taking your valuable time to read my blog!

Kimberly

PhD in 2022 - Finishing School

 

Disclaimer:  I only loosely hold to these particular 12+ UFOs to finish. Even though they are the closest to done.  But ya'll know how that goes.  I hereby reserve the right to toss any from my large list of UFOs into the finished salad at any time.

Thanks to Quilting Gail for hosting the PhD in 2022 challenge, in which we bare our 'sewl' just a bit.

And thank you for reading and maybe commenting on my blog!

Kimberly

To-Do Tuesday Report

 

The elephant in the room is pictured above.  I'm stuck at using FMQ to fill circles into this sorta-celtic-cross-shaped-secondary pattern (in loose red outline.)  I think small circles are called for to counter balance the small squares across the rest of the quilt. The 'easy' straight lines seduced me into a circular corner, very loosely speaking.

Some very old birdies fabric flew out from my stash; those birds have circles the right size for practice. So I made a half-yard sandwich.  This means I actually have to sit at the machine.  And practice.  FMQ.  Deep breath.  Harmless bird sandwich pictured next.

That was the largest commitment from my To-Do Tuesday for last week.  While this 'predominantly green" quilt isn't finished, there were decisions made and actions toward the goal.

But check out the two cluttered areas I committed to clearing out so they could be returned to use ironing and hopefully improving my photography (boxes left contain lighting gear).  (You can see 'before' photos of these disaster areas in a previous post if interested.) With no further delay -- Ta da!

I DID keep up with the quilt-alongs I've started. And here are a couple of pics.

To-Do Tuesday commitments for this coming week:  

1- At least SOME free motion circles the 'mostly green' quilt, and give it a name.

2- Again keep up with the 3 quilt-alongs.

3- Post about getting my PhD in 2022 (desperately needed, lol).

Linking up with:

To-Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal by Linda

THANK YOU for reading my blog!

Kimberly

15 Minutes Report and Design Wall Monday

Here are blocks for three quilt alongs on this Design Wall for Monday.

A 2022 Temperature Quilt; I love the squares and rectangles only, yet it will have a ton of movement when completed.  I will link to the pattern and designer in a future post.  (Remind me if necessary.)

Blocks 8, 9, and 10 of Jessica Dayon's Scrappy Samper block of the week, which I linked to in a recent post.

And the first two blocks for Secret Lives of Color weekly sew along, which is themed on a sort of "history of color" book Pat Sloan is telling us about in her DAILY Youtube videos.  I think it's educational, and I need all the art education I can get.

A decent start on 15-Minutes to Stitch 2022:

January 2-8

• 15 minute days/week = 6/7 days
• 15 minute days/Jan = 7/8 days
• 15 minute days/2022 = 7/8 days
• Success rate = 88%  

It's icy here today.  A great reason to stay inside and keep stitching, which I have been doing and plan to continue doing.  How about you?

Linkup partying with:

Life in Pieces

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 

Thank you for checking out my blocks and these parties!

Kimberly

A 2019 Finish - Fun All Over

 

Even a quilt this bright has trouble under a winter gray sky.  It's simple four-patches and half-square triangles in random order.  I don't remember a pattern; it's more likely that such a setting was inspired by another blogger, whom I cannot remember after so long.  Tell me if you know! 

The four-patch scraps echo the colorful dots in the black yardage.  Also this was great free motion practice.

The backing below is a thrifted vintage sheet. The background is white, not blue, but my camera is defiant.

I'll be connecting with and visiting the posters at the following linkups this week:

Finished or Not Friday by Alycia Quilts

Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday

Thank you for reading my blog; you are appreciated!

Kimberly

Monthly Goal and Weekly To Do List

January's One Monthly Goal is this predominantly green quilt from a recent magazine pattern which I will elaborate on in a finishing post, which I'm committing to completely finish by the end of this month.  Don't point out to me that it is already almost done, lol.  I'm just easing into 2022 and trying to get a feel for it.

My 1/4/22 To-Do Tuesday list includes finishing the above green quilt as #1, because ideally it will happen in this week, and I can begin FMQ or straight line on another UFO in the stack. 

#2 is keeping up with the QALs I've started.  I'll soon list them on a PhD in 2022 post (I hope) by January 15.

#3 continue tidying up my sewing area... it's blessedly large but that makes it easy to destroy from end to end before feeling boxed in.  It's reaching the point of mental mess interference and holy moly I don't need that.  I have some business-y things to do this month which I'm finding lightly stressful with the potential for increase, but all turning out well in the end.

Enough with that brutal honesty.  And that's also enough for a list.  I want to feel accomplished next week and able to report back 3 for 3, an unusually high amount of focus for sure.

I'm enjoying others' posts linking to these parties:

Monday Making

To-Do Tuesday

Mid-Week Makers

THANKS for reading this blog, and Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

Kimberly

Our 25th Anniversary Brief Vacation

 

You're looking at two felled trees stretching across an unused, gravel road in the dense (to me) forests of northern West Virginia. The leaves everywhere are deep (again, to me), big oak leaves mixed with pine tags.  Crunch, crunch.  On this hill top stands this beautiful rental "cabin."

This dark-ish photo makes the house look giant, but it actually isn't.  It's so-well designed inside that it feels 'spaciously cozy.' (How do  the pros pull that off?)  All the amenities were there, including an outdoor sauna not visible here.  Yes, it was a memorable two nights.

On most trips anywhere we would go out for a drive once, but here we stayed put.  I didn't want to miss a minute in this relaxing atmosphere.  Below is an inside sequence from morning, afternoon, and night, from the same vantage point.

Yup, we were up tiptoeing around in the moon light.  I didn't intend to take the same photo ice, but so it happened. As you can tell, I'm not a photographer nor a travel reviewer, but maybe it is time to catalog something.  

Getting married between Christmas and New Year's has a lot of perks we've found. For instance, it's a needed interlude at the time of year, whether or not we left home.

Thanks for reading,

Kimberly

Scrappy Sampler Blocks 1 and 2

Block 1 and Block 2 of the FREE quilt along hosted by Jessica Dayon Patterns.  Jump on over there and join in the fun!

Linking up with Cynthia's Oh, Scrap! party at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework , which it most certainly is.

Thanks,

Kimberly

Scrappy Stars for a QAL

Very scrappy stars in a row!  A pleasure in any palate of color, but especially for autumn.  Raise your hand if fall is your favorite season ✋

I got motivated by Carole at From My Carolina Home who generously is leading us through the Autumn Jubilee 2020 quilt along.  It's going to be a row quilt ... my first!  Wow, I don't get to say that often, lol.

Carole is also sharing a cornucopia 😉 of crafting this whole season, so be sure to check it out.  

There are earth-toned kitties in there if you look closely.  I think they want out.

That rooster would chase the kitties if they all got out.  Good thing they're staying in the quilt.

Linky partying with:

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Thank you so much for reading my quilt blog!

Kimberly

Two Fabric Pulls

 And all from stash.  All of it.  Because it really must be reduced!

Sewcialites is calling me.  The above collection from Connecting Threads is maybe two years or so old, and is called Wildflowers and Honey.  It nearly replicates the colors in the digital quilt image being used by the Fat Quarter Shop.  I'm pretty much just going to exactly copy their quilt!  

Alycia at Quiltygirl is having a five-week quilt along.  Just three fabrics of good contrast are needed, in yardage.  There is a patriotic theme.  The above red and blue are yardage came from Connecting Threads the Heirloom Manor collection, and is also two or three years old.  I was on a buying bender that year.  

Can you tell the sunshine is blindingly bright today?  That is NOT a complaint.

I'll be linking this post to:

Finished or Not Friday

Thank you for reading my blog!

Kimberly

Caught Up Thru August

 Hopefully, September's block will be finished in time for the linkup with Patterns By Jen 2020 Monthly Color Challenge.

Also, "I'm a farmer now."  At least I tell my teenagers that when I parade from the garden toward the kitchen showing these off (as they roll their eyes).

Thank you for reading my blog!  I really mean that.

Kimberly

Trying to Build Momentum

Many of us have been 'thrown off' our sewing game this year.  I too am trying to get back on the horse, but only if he's wearing a pretty cotton blanket.

So in catching up on the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge from Patterns By Jen.  Here is August:

And also March and April:

Linking up with:

Patterns By Jen

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

THANK YOU for reading my blog,

Kimberly

Charm Pack Table Runner - 4-patches in a square

Handy pattern for making 12" or 15" table runner with a charm pack.

https://www.mybluprint.com/project/charm-square-block-pattern

Inspiration: Paducah Quilt Week 2019

If you have not seen this video, please find about 16 minutes and enjoy it.  I was just a bit teary-eyed and very inspired by the lady's story near the end.  I hope everyone who reads this is doing well!  

Thanks,

Kimberly

Catching Up after a Rough Week

Which I won't tell you about until the final paragraph.

First below is the January block of the Monthly Color Challenge

freely offered at Patterns By Jen .  

Next up, and shockingly to me, here's the

COMPLETED-on-time Traffic Jam, quilted along

with Pat Sloan.  I'm glad I took her suggestion to use a fast,

'easy' gentle wave pattern for the stitch.  My FMQ skills are

still... wanting, lol.  But these tops have got to be done.

Maybe I'm not catching up so much as barely crossing

home plate on these items.  I should have chosen Traffic Jam

for my One Monthly Goal because the snowman wall hanging

may never be done.  Evidently I admire applique more than

I like actually doing it.

Sew many tempting Blocks of the Month and Week and short

and long-term quilt and stitch alongs getting underway right

now!  Plus several squirrels have crossed in front of me which

I ran right after!

Finally is my relatively rough week, relatively because my 

first-world life is actually pretty cushy.  Sew, my car broke down 

Monday and was not back until late Thursday; meanwhile, two 

of three college commuters, which I'm supposed to drive, got 

the flu.  With that, my back 'went out' and I had Jury Duty.  Um, 

can I go back to boring normal now?

Thank you for taking time to read my blog (and let me vent).

Kimberly