Post-It Note Reminders

In my last post I shared the little trick I'd been using as a reminder of essential items on my to-do list.

Most of the quilts referenced on these little notes are ones that I definitely want to make. My reasons for wanting to make them are as varies as the quilts.

I've already made 'pine tree' - Alpine. My reason was that I wanted a memory of all the tree-covered mountains we've seen on recent vacations.

'Fall leaves' - I've got a couple of reasons for wanting to make this one. I have a lot of fall-colored scraps I could use (love using scraps!) and I love the fall-color in Ohio. Since I don't really have that many fall-inspired quilts, this one will be nice to add to my fall decor line-up. I'm feeling the need to get cracking on this one as fall is just a few weeks away.

Back in September of 2021, I actually made two leaves for experimental purposes - I like these! I could see a whole quilt of lovely leaves like this. I have these stored in a tub with a goodly stash of appropriate scraps just waiting to be transformed.

'Blue-gray-floral combination Irish Chain' - now that is a lot of information for a small note, but I needed all that in order to help myself remember the idea.

These three fabrics - a hefty amount of each - have been stored together for at least a year. I knew they were perfect together but it took me forever to decide on a pattern. After all, the perfect combination of fabrics requires a perfect pattern. And I think I found one in searching all the on-line sources of inspiration - yet another Double Irish Chain. I've made several DICs over the years, and this one will be different because I plan to use the little print as my background and the solids will be the chains. Somewhere I saw a picture, but I can't immediately locate it. I will keep looking.

'Winnemucca fabric' - This is simply to remind me to use the fabric I bought last year on vacation. We were headed out to Oregon to see our son and went through Winnemucca, Nevada. Needing a gasoline stop, we also looked for a local quilt shop. We found one and I bought a wonderful combination; once again I am searching for the "perfect " pattern for this fabric. It will probably involve stars of some sort.

I think I've swiped the neutral out for some other project, but the remaining 4 fabrics are stored together awaiting their future creation.

The next post-it,b'Blue dot...' has been officially named Posies and Polka Dots which is my current project under construction. You've seen progress shots in the last couple of posts, and if my week goes as planned, it will be a flimsy by Thursday.

The bottom Post-It Note references a calico layer cake I want to use. I bought it last year at Mae-Lynne Makers while on a quilting retreat at Needles and Pines, which means I took advantage of the retreat discount .*smile*

This method of plastering my sewing machine with these reminders really does keep me on track and focused on the projects I most want to complete. Yes, I get interrupted from time to time - especially with baby quilts! - but I have the notes just a glance away to reset myself.

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Making Plans

In recent posts, I have alluded to all the ideas I am having for new quilts to make. There seems to be no end to the possibilities, and as long as I can continue using up fabric in my stash, I see nothing wrong with starting all these new projects.

Sitting atop my list are two in particular that I have set nearby for relatively immediate attention. First, let's talk about a 2-color Double Irish Chain made with solids. It so happens that I have a healthy stash of white and cream from which to pull. That takes care of the background.

For the color, I've been wanting to make a blue and white quilt, so I turned to some sale fabric I bought about three years ago. This color is Regatta, a Kona solid; I have 3 yards of it and seeing this combination come together in the classic Double Irish Chain will be a true delight.

Sharon is making one, too, also blue and white, and has already begun hers. We are using the Eleanor Burns pattern from - what - 30 years ago? One of the very first quilts I ever made used this pattern, and Sharon was actually able to find her pattern from all those many years ago. It was meant to be, right?

The second quilt waiting in the wings is Lil' Orphan Scrappy from Sew'n Wild Oaks. My cyber friend Lynn Wilder is the designer. I have admired this quilt for years - I remember when she was making it and showing her progress on her blog. I finally decided it was time to take action last year some time when I bought the pattern. Since then, I have been setting aside fat quarters and perhaps I will "git to gittin'" on this beauty come summer time.

But first, I've got some things to finish, so I must restrain myself. First, the T-shirt commission is my most urgent finish. It needs quilting and binding. Then, I need to finish some of the WIPs I seem to have accumulated lately: the red and white stars, the blue Kaffe Fassett stars, maybe quilt one or two of the Spring Dreams Sew Along quilts, too. The 4-patch scrappy quilt needs more blocks, and there's always Lake Effect.

Whew! I never seem to run out of projects. And isn't that a good thing?

Happy Quilting, Friends!