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" square. Set aside.

3. Cut 2 rectangles, 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 

 

Sewing With Sharon

Isn't it strange how true it is that when we retire, we suddenly become busier than ever? We once thought that after removing the 9-5 from our routine, we'd be free to do as we please. The reality is that we - often unintentionally - over-fill that time with other activities and obligations.

As much as we want to sew together every Tuesday, we sometimes have to cancel. And lately, what with illnesses and basement floodings, we have been cancelling a lot.

Finally this week we sewed together and OMG!! I can't wait to show you Sharon's project!

She has a new grand-niece that everyone is in her family is excited about. For new baby Scotlyn (not sure of spelling), Sharon and her daughter Amanda are making a very special heirloom-quality quilt. Amanda cross-stitched 9 floral panels on linen. Gorgeous workmanship! So intricately delicate!

Now, Sharon is stitching borders around them with pretty Tilda prints. She selected colors to coordinate with the cross-stitched flowers.

Tuesday's efforts resulted in quite a pretty center portion. Sharon is considering option for a narrow inner border and then a nice, wide outer border. You just can't go wrong with those Tilda prints. Sharon is thinking that she will keep the quilting to a minimum, with stitch-in-the-ditch as her main option.

I am sure I will get to see the finished quilt with borders and quilting at some point. I will try to remember to share it here when I do.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Sweet Ruby And Her Quilt

In yesterday's post, I alluded to the two tiny baby girls not yet ready to be included in such pictures as that one of the 'big kids' sitting on the garden steps. I'd like to introduce you to the newer of the babies - tiny little Ruby Jean, who is now about 5 weeks old and trying her hardest to grow and become strong. My niece Abby and her husband Stephen have a sweet, agreeable, and content little darling to love on.

 

She looks tailor-made for the quilt from Great-Aunt Jayne, doesn't she? Ruby is the perfect little bundle for this easy layer-cake creation I made earlier this year.

 

In the few visits I've made in which Ruby was around, I've never actually seen her eyes as she's always been sleeping. This picture of her with eyes wide open gives me a good idea that she looks remarkably like her two-year-old big brother Boone.

The quilt pattern is an easy one to construct from a layer cake, and results in a baby quilt of ample size. I've made several and it does not require a border. I hope Ruby loves her quilt! I tell all the new moms who get a quilt from me that they should let their kiddos wear them out! I will gladly make another one if their first one falls apart. 

Baby season in our family continues! I still need to share grand-niece McKenzie Mae and her quilt. McKenzie was born in January, and coming in September our daughter Emma will be adding another little girl - our 2nd granddaughter! They and their quilts will be introduced here by and by.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Buckaroo Baby Quilt

Just after quilting McKenzie Mae’s quilt which I previously shared, I immediately loaded the other baby quilt waiting to be quilted. Buckaroo is going to another January baby, a little boy born to high school friends of DDEmma. 

 

I'll tell you what - a properly working long arm machine is an absolute dream, and I will have another one loaded on ASAP. I know now to change my needle, do a thorough cleaning of lint from all working parts, and then give it a good drink of oil. I do these things faithfully after two big quilts or three small quilts.

So, now Buckaroo is finished. As I did with McKenzie's quilt, I machine-stitched the binding. It just makes sense when gifting a baby quilt. It is my hope that the parents will use these quilts often and therefore be laundering often, so make them sturdy! And machine-stitched bindings are sturdy, to be sure.

In that link I posted at the top, you will find cutting instructions for making this quilt from a layer cake (10-inch squares) and have very little waste as a result. I have made three of these in the last year, and I am running low on layer cakes. That's all right. I have other options. *wink*

I always try to add a label to the back corner; and I have been making pieced backs on these last two quilts. It really helps to use up the stash. I have at least two more of baby quilts to make, so more pieced backing will be in my future. 

Since I've run low on layer cakes, maybe my next baby quilt will feature pinwheels. I think those are fun for babies.

Hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday! It's gonna be a hot one here today, and I will be stitching up a storm!

Happy Quilting, Friends! 

Jayne

McKenzie Mae’s Quilt

Edit: In the end, since I don't see Will and Krisit as often as I see Abby and Steven, I gave this quilt to Abby when Ruby Jean was born. I have another baby quilt made for a little girl, so it will go to McKenzie Mae at a later date.

While we were gadding about in Florida this past winter, my nephew Will and his wife Kristi had their second baby, a little girl named McKenzie Mae. I finally got to meet her on Mother’s Day when the family gathered at my sister’s and she is adorable! That tiny little face and with her tiny, button nose seems almost too perfect; she knits her brow just like her big brother Archie, as if she's trying super-hard to figure out all that's going on around her.

Of course, I knew she was to be a January baby and made her quilt early on - maybe as early as September. I love using layer cakes for this particular pattern. It goes together really fast and makes a perfectly-sized baby quilt.

 

I no longer have exact info concerning the fabric, but I am pretty sure it is a Riley Blake line called Emma. (Having a daughter named Emma helped me recall!) I do remember that there was a really sweet deal at one of the on-line shops I follow in which layer cakes were on sale. I got several, and I specifically bought baby- or youth-themed lines for all the babies which seemed (at the time) to be coming droves.

 

 

This is my 3rd baby quilt using this same pattern from layer cakes. It just doesn't get much more basic than this: match up pairs in your layer cake, and cut the pairs together. Cut from each pair 1-5.5" square; 2-5.5" x 2.5" rectangles; 2-9.5" x 2.5" rectangles. This leaves only a tiny 1" x 5.5" piece of waste. Perfect.

I quilted with a somewhat tighter, denser design and used curliques rather than a stipple pattern. I am so thrilled with the results - the tension was spot-on and I mostly did a good job with my free-motion quilting.

 

I finished the binding by machine stitching rather than by hand, since it’s likely to be laundered regularly. 

And now another baby quilt is ready to be delivered. I am sure to see sweet McKenzie Mae throughout the summer; this will be delivered soon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Buckaroo Baby Quilt

A few months ago, several members of our quilting group (The Frankfort Girls) were on a clearing out and giving away sort of mood. Completely unplanned and independent of each other, several went through closets, drawers, and/or storage tubs and came away with a few things they knew they no longer wanted or needed. I was a lucky in this paring down phase as I nabbed a layer cake of Sasparilla which Terry was relinquishing. Seems as though I almost immediately knew I needed yet another baby quilt, and this would be perfect.

I have now made 3 baby quilts using this same design from layer cakes. And it doesn't get much more basic than this - from a 10" square (layer cake size) cut 1-5.5" square, 2-2.5"x5.5" rectangles, and 2-9.5"x2.5" rectangles. That leaves only a bitty piece as waste - 1"x5.5" for the trash. 

I cut this quilt out on Sunday, and had it all stitched up on Monday. A full layer cake will make a quilt 6 blocks by 7 blocks. The blocks will be 9.5" square, and thus the quilt should measure 57"x66.5".

The first quilt I made like this has been gifted to baby Henry L. I made the quilt kit in January for stitching while we were in Florida. That worked out so well. When I learned of these 2 upcoming births - both in January - I knew exactly what I would make. One is for my nephew and his wife who will welcome baby #2, a little girl. 

I don't seem to be able to find a post on my nephew's quilt; maybe I was holding off until I quilted it. Anyway, here's a picture of the blocks. I do have the top sewn together, and most likely, it will be on the longarm this week.

This third quilt, Buckaroo, is for daughter Emma's long-time friend Laura and her hubby. They will become first-time parents.

I am attempting to find suitable backing fabrics for these two quilts from my existing stash. I have every hope that I can come up with something.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Cookie Troubles

I've been experiencing some difficulties with technology here in the last few days which accounts for my long absence from posting here. In an effort to fix things, I am appealing to you readers who know anything about cookies and Blogspot/Blogger and settings - especially for Google. I have tried many combinations of fixes, and have even taken my laptop to a tech guy - still no fix.

What I am able to do - for now - is to load my pictures onto a draft from my phone; then come back to my laptop to type text and move photos around.

In these intervening days, difficulties also occurred with my longarm machine. I'd been having such good success with it while doing my own quilts, so when my Frienzie Hettie called to ask me for a quick job on a baby quilt, I agreed to do it. She was about to get a 3rd grandbaby, coming earlier than expected per OB doctor's orders, so the rush was on!

I got along reasonably well until I neared the bottom third of the quilt. Then stitches began skipping and the upper thread began breaking. I removed a lot of quilting stitches while I thought through what my next step ought to be.

In the picture below, my seam ripper is pointing to an area where stitches have skipped. You can see that the needle did go through the fabric, but the bobbin thread did not catch. I tried all the usual tricks, but it soon became evident that my timing was off. 

I have fixed timing before, and while quilters make it sound complicated, it really isn't. I've watched a particular YouTube video about 100 times, and know the basics of what I need to do. I just had to be in the right frame of mind and have good morning sunlight to aid my bright lights - the machine's inner workings are hard for old eyes to see in dim lighting.

While I was fixing things, I took some time to adjust the upper tension; before long I was removing the quilt from the frame. Yay! Hettie also asked me to make and attach the binding; once that was done, Hettie picked up her quilt for an evening of tacking down binding.

The backing and much of the front of this quilt is batik fabric. I know lots of longarmers don't care for quilting on batik, but I'd done it before and never had had any troubles. Even now, I don't know if that contributed in any way to my issues. I may never know, but I do know that with each setback I learn new things and grow more confident.

Meet Ezra Meeker, all 5 pounds, 10.5 ounces of  him! He was born Friday, October 20, and measured 17.75 inches long. He doesn't take up much space on his new quilt! Hettie snapped this for me to post here. Won't it be fun to watch as he grows and fills out this quilt!? 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Sewing With Sharon

We had a productive day of sewing yesterday - Sharon was making pine trees and I stitched a baby quilt.

Alpine is a pattern that I bought last fall and it appealed not just to me but to Sharon as well. I made mine with more of a darker fall feel, while Sharon is using a bright spring green background for a totally different look.

We didn't do a precise count, but Sharon thinks she is getting close - maybe over 50, for sure. The pattern calls for 64 trees. It won't be long before she's stitching rows!

What a lovely variety of cheery trees! She has one print that is very dark and she's debating on whether or not to use it. I say forests come in all colors, so throw it in there! We'll see what she decides. Click here to see a picture of mine.

On Sunday evening, I cut a layer cake into this stack for a baby quilt. Our extended family will be welcoming a baby girl in January, so I am (for once) being proactive! I am making a carbon copy of this quilt I made in January and just recently gifted.

On Monday, I made all the blocks, and laid them out in a pleasingly random way.

By the end of the afternoon, I had it all sewn together and pressed. I will share all the details as well as a good pic of it soon. Since I didn't really have a plan for that layer cake, I also didn't have a backing ready to go; I am thinking about that for awhile.

I just love sewing days. It was good to catch up with Sharon, and it almost seems as if we fuel each other's creativity. I had so many quilting ideas percolating as the afternoon wore on. It's exciting to be excited about making more quilts.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hello Tin Lizzie

I reacquainted myself with my long arm machine last week. It was a comfortable session, too, as I loaded, quilted, bound and labeled the same quilt without a single snafu.

Admitting to myself that I've done so little quilting this year is something of a hard pill to swallow, as I set long-arming lots of quilts as one of my main goals of the year. Hmm..

But here we are nearly at the end of May and I have just 2 quilted quilts to show for myself. I guess I have to look at being a bit more accountable in the next 7 months, right?

The baby quilt I stitched in January/February while we were in Florida finally needed to be finished - that baby is already 5 months old! My hardest decision was which backing to use; I found a neutral solid in my stash that complimented the muted colors in the front, and they work perfectly together.

My meandering design makes me think of the flight pattern of a bumblebee; I just sorta' whip around all over the place and hope I can fill the spaces as evenly across the quilt as possible.

Baby quilts are so satisfying to do because they are small and are so quickly finished. In about an hour, I had this one done and ready to remove from the machine.

After cutting away all the excess batting and backing, I was able to create my binding strips from the backing leftovers. I love that. It helps reduce the leftover scraps. Lord knows I already have enough scraps! 

Done and ready to gift! Hopefully the little guy and his sweet momma will love on this quilt and wear it out as he grows.

Here's both a review of the fabric I used for the quilt as well as the details on making the blocks.

Happy Quilting, Friends!