Patchwork Wishes in progress

In December I spent some time playing with EQ8.  With Christmas on the way, I was feeling traditional vibes and that led me to a scrappy, traditional design style.  I could have dug into my scraps for a true scrappy quilt, but I treated myself to a stack of 10" squares of Island Batik's Shadow Blooms instead.  Insta-scrappy, 20 different prints with no effort at all!  Aren't they pretty?

I'm hesitant to write patterns using precuts because the precut sizes are not always consistent.  They're all pretty close, but I've had some be off by 1/8" in one direction.  That doesn't seem like much, unless you need a full 10" to get four 2.5" cuts, for example.  

I'm not sure about other manufacturers, but Island Batik is very up-front about the possible variation.  It's right there on the package:

Duly noted!  This pattern just uses the precuts for instant variety.  I designed the cutting so I wouldn't need a garanteed 10" to cut all the pieces I need from the squares.   There's also some yardage involved to pull everything together.

I snuck some sewing in between Christmas and New Year's when my daughter, who was home from college, was out catching up with old friends.

You see where this is going.  I do like simple star blocks!  Throw in a little strip piecing with yardage...

...then throw all the parts up on the design wall.

Yes indeed, very traditional, but I love the homey, cozy vibe that's taking shape, even with these less traditional batik prints.

Here's where I left things on New Year's Eve.

Why am I always surprised how much things shrink on the design wall when I start sewing parts together?  I know the math.  A half inch dispppears into the seam allowance at each seam (1/4" from each piece) and those half inches add up!

I haven't had time to sew since then, but I think I can get a bit done today and tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes.  I'm easily distractable these days.  For example, while I was putting the parts for this quilt on the wall, I suddenly had a picture in my mind for a different sashing, and I'm itching to see what that might lead to.  I made a note to go back to it.  For now, I must stay focused on this quilt. 

Next up on my "to do" list is to sort through several months worth of photos.  I know some quilt finishes I haven't shared yet are patiently waiting in my photo roll.  Stay tuned for those!

Then there's short quiltalong to plan.  It will be a runner featuring prairie points and be just a few weeks long.  I don't have a timeline for it yet, but keep an eye out for an announcemeent.

What are you working on this month?

Happy quilting,

Joanne

First Snow!

Happy New Year!  I hope you've enjoyed a lovely, peaceful holiday season.

I woke up to the first snow of 2025 this morning and was thrilled to realize that I had two quilt holders available, as my daughter is home from university for another few days.

The Simply Snow setting is a free pattern. 
Snowflake block patterns are available separately here.

I've been wanting a picture of Simply Snow in the snow since I made it, but this is the first time a snowfall and willing and available quilt holders coincided.  

We were out there while the snow was falling and it was just so quiet and pretty and peaceful!  I tried to add a short video so you could see the snow drift down around the quilt, but it didn't work.  You can watch it on my Instagram if you like.  It's actual snow, not an instagram effect or filter!

Hoarfrost got in on the fun too!

Hoarfrost

To celebrate the first snow of 2025 and finally getting the snowy quilt photos I've been wanting for years, all my patterns featuring snowflakes are 15% off in my shop until January 6th when you use coupon code SNOW2025.

Wishing you joy and peace and the best that the new year has to offer,

Joanne

The view from the footbridge on the way to the park after the quilt photo shoot

Brochettes plus an extra!

I finished the Brochettes placemats and runner I started at quilt retreat in October and posted about last month.  I struggled to get a good photo.  The binding is really not as dark and stark as it appears in the photo, and the colours overall are brighter.

Everything looks better in a pretty styled shot, though I forgot to take a picture without the plate hiding the placemat's design.  Oops!

These were really easy to make (once I got over distractions at retreat).  The stich-and-flip corners (AKA lost corners) result in extra triangles though.  Stitch-and-flip in my patterns often results in smaller triangle trimmings that I don't have the patience to use, but these were substantial enough that I took the time to sew them together in HST units.  

I played around with possible layouts for those bonus HST.  These are just a few I threw up on the design wall.

I knew if I didn't make something right away those bonus units would disappear into the "do this later" bin and probably never again see the light of day.  With that in mind, I made myself settle on a layout and make it.

I dithered a little about how to quilt it.  Finally, just to get it done, I used a walking foot and quilted staright lines 1/4" on each side of every seam.  It's simple but efficient, and in the end I think it's just the right amount of quilting for this extra little runner.

I added this layout to the pattern as a bonus.  After making Brochettes you're almost all the way to the bonus runner so why not tack it on to the project?

I'm curious.  How small do your bonus triangles have to be before you throw them away?  And do you eventually use the ones you save?  What do you make with them?  I have a small basket full of various saved triangles I plan to get to some day...but for now I'm feeling very smug that I used at least these few!

Happy Quilting,

Joanne

Brochettes pattern available here