A New Quilting Community

One thing I miss terribly by being away from Ohio for three months - besides family! - is my quilting friends. We have such a good time when we are together, and we boost each other's productivity with inspiration and encouragement.

Friends gathering for a quilting retreat.

 

Slowly, my sewing Florida sphere is widening as I have been drawn into a new group of quilting friends that I am eager to know better.

Nobleton ladies putting out lunch.

 

Charlaine, a woman I met through shuffleboard, is a quilter! I discovered this fact at the very end of our first winter here. She's now a full-time Florida resident, and has cultivated some friendships with fellow quilters. I joined her last Thursday for the weekly fiber arts sewing circle in the nearby town of Nobleton. 

 

Stitching and socializing; networking at its finest!

The building is large, a community center with space for many activities, the most common being bingo, from the looks of things. Charlaine also goes to a Monday night craft session where more non-sewing activities are featured. For example, she is working on weaving a basket with pine needles. 

Lunch looked really good!

 

I met about a dozen ladies on Thursday. They were so welcoming. I tried to speak with everyone, but I fear some latecomers slipped past me. I will go again this week to see if I can remember folks. One gal, Polly, is 99! She is the liveliest little gal, and what a hoot! Her parting sentiment as she prepared to have someone drive her home was "Be jolly!" 

While Charlaine worked on EPP hexies, I worked on appliqueing the borders of my Grandmother's Flower Garden. It was nice to have a needle and thread in my hand.

Border is being attached!

 

Working on a project among like-minded folks really makes for a fun and rewarding day.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

 

Is This Madness?

Two years ago, I sewed along with Taryn's Tiny Nine Patch Challenge. It was so much fun to use my scraps and create a gorgeous quilt that I simply adore. I also enjoyed the community of other quilters as I saw the wide variety of quilts they were making along with me. Taryn hosted the quilt along on her Repro Quilt Lover account over on Instagram.

A new quilt along has begun called Fancy Four Patch Challenge. I printed off the introductory packet and made my first block. If I continue with this challenge, I very well could be mad. These pieces are so tiny! The finished block measures just 5 inches, and I need 152 of these to make the full quilt. 

 

I just don't know if I'm up for it. 

This block is just as cute as can be, however I question whether or not this is a good use of my time. What do you think? When Sharon and I sew together, we always talk about projects with bigger pieces and less fussy stuff. This goes against all that in a big way. There are some positives, though.

I have saved lots of cut-away HSTs from previous projects. I suppose there may be as many as a dozen baggies of these HSTs stuffed away in various spots throughout my sewing room. When I get back home, I may find that I can use them to speed up block completion. Wouldn't it be great to use of all those HSTs  in this challenge? It would definitely lend to making a scrappy quilt, which I love.

While I think on this 'do I' or 'don't I' conundrum, here are some pics from the construction process for this little block. Use the 1" squares on my cutting mat to judge the size of the tiny bits.

 

I did not bring a great variety of neutrals with me to Florida. The finished quilt should have a variety of neutrals in lots of mismatched tones, sometimes mixed in the same block. The print I've used here is a remnant from those little snap wallets I made a week ago. It definitely doesn't take much fabric to make this 5" block.

Bottom line: I am not saying I am all in for this challenge; nor am I all out. Riding the fence currently. I might make a few more blocks while here in FL. I will definitely go to those HSTs at home and just see how it goes. It could be a great way of using them and I guarantee I'd love it. Those projects were good ones; those fabrics were pleasing. Revisiting all of them through participation in this quilt challenge would be satisfying. 

Are any of you doing this challenge with Taryn? Do you have opinions on whether a block it too fussy and small? Have you any better ideas on ways to use saved HSTs? 

So many quilts. So many decisions. But such satisfying activity any way you look at it!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

Welcome February!

And just like that, January 2026 is history. The months go faster and faster, don't they? A lot of folks complain about how l-o-n-g January seems to be what with all the nasty weather present in many areas, but I've never minded the month, regardless of where I am. Admittedly, January is a lot more agreeable in Florida, than in some places! *smiles*

 I have a January wrap-up collage to share, and a whole bunch of new stuff to tell you about. Let's get the collage out of the way first, and then I will share the new stuff in some upcoming posts.

TOP ROW: The first finish for 2026 was hand quilting and binding this single block that came from my Aunt Margaret's stash. She passed in 2016, and my cousin passed along her quilting stuff to me. This sweet block was hand-pieced and tucked in amongst quite a lot of interesting fabrics, blocks and unfinished projects. Next is my annual jigsaw puzzle, which was quite the challenge. I generally do one or two every winter, but this was so tough, I decided one would suffice for this year. At 1000 pieces, that orange foreground took forever. The first quilt flimsy of the year is this layer cake baby quilt. I am planning to finish it in time for the birth of our next grandchild in early April. 

MIDDLE ROW: I've watched loads of tutorials for making bags and pouches and wallets, and this particular one just looked too easy. After acquiring the snap kit, I have gone nuts making a bunch of these, and continue to make more - 2-3 at a time. It's a very satisfying fast finish. We took this selfie to send to granddaughter Cate, just to remind her of who we are - ha! We sure do miss those kiddos! The second flimsy of the year is my Wensleydale quilt. I absolutely love this quilt, and look forward to quilting it ASAP. 

BOTTOM ROW: We have a farmer's market near us where we get our eggs and select produce. They also have quite a nice array of flowers and herbs. This cheery table full of blooms is a sampling of their offerings. I have met a new group of quilter friends through a shuffleboard buddy, Charlaine. I went with her to a nearby community center where like-minded fabric enthusiasts meet and share and sew. I look forward to this becoming a regular feature of my Thursdays. Last, one of our favorite restaurants is The Freezer in Homosassa. Steamed shrimp fresh off the boat! Eight of us met for a leisurely outdoor lunch last week and stuffed ourselves full. Delicious.

Our winter in Florida is one month down, and two months remain. February is a short month, but it will be packed with fun, I'm sure!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Wenselydale Flimsy!

Slow and steady, according to the old Aesop's Fable, and sure enough, slowly and steadily I have managed to put all the pieces together for Wensleydale. What a beauty she is!

The progress on this quilt has had some pauses of the planned variety. The foundation-pieced blocks were completed last spring and summer. I intentionally put them aside to be sewn together while in Florida. Following through on that plan in the first month! Yay!

Some of my very early work on the blocks.

Each new block instantly became my favorite!

So, the stack of blocks traveled down I-75, and here we are on Moonrise Lane. I went straight to work on the Layer Cake quilt for our coming granddaughter (arrival in April!), then I put Wensleydale on my radar.

I laid the blocks out on the bed and found a pleasing arrangement with very little fussing. Originally, I planned to sew the blocks together with the papers still attached to the back, and I did with the first and second rows. (I was strip sewing in Eleanor Burns' style.) 

It became evident that I would never be able to sew that whole quilt with the papers on, so I took a couple of days to remove all the papers while managing to keep all the blocks in their proper places. What a messy job! I had paper scraps everywhere. (And no photo evidence, but trust me on this!)

Then back to stitching. In the course of the last few days, it all came together. I pinned rather carefully at all the triangle points. Most matched just fine; a few are a bit off, but not so egregious that I am going to re-do them! I can handle a missed point here and there. 

 

 

The Tilda fabrics do all the work in this quilt. There's not a single block that I find objectionable. The eye is happy wherever it lands. 

The quilt contains 60 blocks, is 6 blocks x 10 blocks, and measures 77" x 66". I have given a bit of thought to how I will quilt it, but have not decided on a backing or binding, so those are some considerations I must work out. None of that will happen in the next 2-3 months, so I have time for those details. Somehow these things always find a way of coming together.

What next? I have two very important hand applique WIPs to work on, and I have additional new baby things, as well. Stay tuned to see what direction I take. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Small Card Pouch

I don't know what it is about bags and purses, but I am a total hoarder of any that come along. As my friend Jan says, 'I never saw a bag I didn't like.'

Likewise, I collect patterns and tutorials for making all manner of bags. One that has been worming its way through my brain for over a month is this tutorial for a small snap bag to hold cards - gift cards or business cards or credit cards. I saw it on Instagram, saved it, and have watched it a gazillion times.

Finally, I had all the materials for making this little card holder.

My test attempts are the blue and pink ones in the middle of this array. Actually, another blue one is already in use in my purse, and the other pink one turned out to be sewn - and cut - wrong, so it was a loss.

 

Hoping that I would have a chance to try making these, I brought a stack of random florals with me to Florida. I then ordered a snap kit which includes an rather intimidating device for securing snaps into fabric. On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby, I bought a yard of medium-weight fusible interfacing. 

Then I dove right in to creating some little bags! They are so fun. And after my initial bumbling efforts, I became rather proficient with the snap tool; I streamlined the cutting and folding and I also incorporated some cutting and turning tricks. These sorts of things weren't shown in the tutorial, but any experienced seamstress knows these tips - grading seams and clipping curves, for example. 

The snap kit I bought has a wide variety of colors, and it was fun to pull out snaps for these few pouches. And it came with so many; I'll have to make several hundred before I run out! You can see a few of the color options in the top photo.

I will definitely be making more. I can think of so many ways in which to use them. The one in my purse is keeping a few random gift cards secure. I don't carry very many business cards, but I'll likely use one for keeping a few essential ones in place. 

I'm thinking of how nice these would be at Christmas time or other gift-giving occasions. 

This was a fun little diversion after finishing the layer cake quilt top. Next up, I will pull out the Grandmother's Flower Garden and get to work on appliqueing the border. This will be a worthwhile activity for evenings. Machine time will likely find me pulling out the Wenselydale blocks and beginning to stitch together that quilt top.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

First Finish for 2026

The first flimsy is finished! It has felt as though I've not really been sewing much so far this month, but to be able to say I finished a quilt top by the middle of the month (I finished it on the 15th) feels like at least something is being accomplished! Yay!

My dear, dear friend Sharon gifted me a Layer Cake for Christmas - Emma by Sherri and Chelsi for Moda. She thought, and I agreed, that this would be a great baby quilt for our new granddaughter who will be arriving in April. 

I cut this out at the end of December so it was ready to go the minute we got settled into our Florida routine. Since I've made this pattern before, it was a snap to stitch up. 

If you have an extra Layer Cake that you don't have planned for anything, you ought to try this! The best part is that the waste is absolutely near zero. Let me simplify the steps for you.

1. Pair up a light and a dark from the Layer Cake (LC). Should end up with 21 pairs.

2. From each pair, cut 1 5.5" square. Set aside.

3. Cut 2 rectangles, 5.5" x 2.5". Set aside.

4. Cut 4 squares, 2.5".

5. Match up opposing combinations. See picture above. Each pair will be an opposite of one another. 

6. Stitch in 9-patch fashion and then sew the top, chain piecing in Eleanor Burns method. 

Easy-Peasy. 

Once I finished the top, I experienced that lost feeling of being indecisive over what to do next. I have several options, so I won't be wallowing in doubt for long.  

To see my other Layer Cake quilts using this pattern, click here to see 2 in one post - mine and Sharon's. Helen has made one, too. Scroll down for her purple and green quilt. 

We all love an easy and fast project!! 

As soon as we get back to Ohio, I MUST get that long arm going again and quilt up this newest flimsy. That baby will be here almost as soon as we return.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

 

Ten Years Ago...

 I came across an interesting post earlier this week while scrolling through Instagram. Someone - a quilter - randomly wondered what she was working 10 years ago. This lead to others wondering the same thing. 

Of course, I wondered, too. And because I keep a pretty accurate record of what I'm doing since beginning this blog, I could easily discover the answer. 

I was happy to see that in January of 2016, I already had a finish under my belt! I can sort of even remember going upstairs to the sewing room to finish this quilt. I'd been scrolling Pinterest, and after awhile of seeing so many quilts I wanted to make, I disgustedly closed the app and went upstairs to get busy.

I say disgustedly because I can dream all day long with gorgeous internet pictures similar to this, but they won't become realities unless I actually work on them! Take action, woman!Inaction gets me nowhere!

So, ten years ago this month, I quilted this little quilt. I still love it, and would make another in a heartbeat. Since that time, I have found that this is a Kathleen Tracy quilt. I've made other quilts by her, and have at least one of her books. Her appeal is that she leans toward traditional blocks and reproduction fabrics. I like this look, too. Here's the post from when I actually stitched it. 

I share this today, because I have very little accomplished thus far in 2026. I have made a few blocks on the layer cake quilt I am making.  

Here's what I've worked on instead of stitching - my yearly jigsaw puzzle. Gahh! That bottom left corner took me for-ev-errrr! Finally last night I finished it, then I went to the sewing machine to stitch up a few more blocks.

 

I have about 12 more blocks to sew, then I can begin stitching the top together! I may yet have a finish by the end of the month!

 Looking forward to accomplishing a lot more! 

And one final note, since we are looking back 10 years - I was 10 years younger! It's my birthday, and while 69 sounds frightfully close to 70, I prefer to dwell on all the great quilts I've made in the last 10 years, rather than the aging. Another trip around the sun means more time and even more quilts!

Happy Quilting, Friends! 

Jayne