Institches with Bonnie

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Monday Meanderings 3 -- 24 -- 2025

Spring has come! The cherry blossoms are getting ready to bloom in Washington, DC and our front yard. It will be beautiful once the blooms come. Tonight I noticed there were some blooms and surprisingly some were already on the ground. Must have been the wind. Although it has been a nice week weather-wise I spent a lot of time in my studio. It's been a good week getting my goals done. Here's my list from last week.

3/17/25

✅Quilt another of my quilts — quilting done, binding to come.

✅Start sewing March UFO blocks together — the half log cabin blocks are now a top!

✅Bind baby quilt — done!

Make a couple of placemats — didn’t get to this one.

✅Finish sewing the lining in the needlepoint scissors case — finished this cute little case.

Here's last week's quilt. It hasn't been trimmed or bound -- that's for this coming week's goals. This is Pat Sloan's pattern, Traffic Jam. I changed it to use 2" squares since I had a bunch of them to use up.

The quilting design is Saffron Blossom by Apricot Moon. One of the things I added to this quilt is a lot of little squares that have surprises in them: an elephant, a fish, a mouse. Any little animal I had in my collection of 2" squares I threw in. Whoever receives this quilt will find a lot of cuteness among the squares.

On Sunday afternoon I finished my March UFO top. It is my half log cabin. Here's the quilted top. I haven't even trimmed it yet. It's on the goals list for this week.

I've finally finished a cute needlepoint scissors case. This was a freebie project from a cruise many years ago. The project came completely finished except the needlepoint design. I've been working on it for at least 5 years. I finished the needlepoint last year. I knew I would need to line it to protect my scissors from the stiff needlepoint canvas. Here's what the out side looks like.

The design is stitched with floss rather than tapestry wool. I'm happy to have this one finished. I knew the needlepoint canvas would be rough on my scissors so I lined it with some velvet like fabric. We took another cruise on the same line with stitching sessions on sea days so I got a new project. It's suppose to be a glasses case but I've dismantled it so I can use it on a tote bag I'll make for it when it's finished. And here's the inside of the scissors case.

Now on to this week's goals. It took me a while to come up with this list. I decided not to make it too long this week.

3/24/25

Make 2 RSC yellow blocks

Quilt and bind one of my quilts

Mail blocks to FCQ Equilter

Cut out a new quilt

If I make it through this list I have another top for the quilt guild. Or perhaps I'll quilt another of my tops. I have 28 tops waiting to be quilted. Did you notice the purple backing on my quilt up there? ⬆️ There's a big piece left over. I've used almost 5 yards of the original 15 but I'm going to have a lot of scraps and pieces leftover.

Another great week stitching every day. Here are the stats:

W/ending 3/23/25. 82 days of 2025

15 minute days/Mar = 7/7
15 minute days/2024 = 82/82 days
Success rate = 100%

Here are two more quilts from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. First up is On Eagles Wings by Beth Filko. Notice the use of string blocks.

I took this picture for a friend who enjoys doing wool work. I really liked it although I probably would never do anything like it.

On Saturday we volunteered at the local food bank to pack student food boxes. They are given to school kids to augment their family's food. We signed up for 2 hours but we were done in about an hour and a half. We and a group of students from Mary Washington Univ. packed enough boxes to fill 6 Gaylords. From what I found on line Gaylords can be 40 x 40 x 40" or bigger and generally are on a pallet so they can be transported by forklifts. After they were filled they are shrink wrapped to keep everything controlled. The staff was very happy we finished the packing early and had been cleaning up as we went along so there was no mess to clean up at the end. Pat already volunteers two times a month on weekdays. We might continue to volunteer on a Saturday each month if we can. Evidently weekend time slots fill up fast.

Hum, there are several Gaylords behind me. Me keeping boxes on the line.

I'm linking up with the following Linky parties:

Stitching Stuff

Oh Scrap!

Design Wall Monday

Monday Musings

That's it for me today.

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Monday Meanderings 3 - 17 - 2025

I'm not sure what I did all week but I certainly didn't get much done on my goals list! I did get the new Cali-Co block done though! My friend Sharon and I are doing this Mystery Block of the Month together. Every month we Face Time when the new block comes out and make our blocks while we chat. It's a great way to keep up while we make a new block.

Here's mine from this month.

And here are all three blocks together.

I really like them so far. But I'll have to pay more attention to the fabrics I pick so they don't get dark -- I'm looking for light, bright fabrics. Cali-Co is sponsored by Coriander Quilts. You can go to her website and search for the three blocks on the third Saturday of each month. I'm not sure I am thrilled with the number of half square triangles but I have a die for them!

Here's last week's goals list.

3/10/25

Quilt another of my quilts — didn’t even pick one to quilt!

✅Quilt guild top and trim — done, ready to return.

✅Continue working on March UFO — laid out blocks, changed some of the logs.

Bind baby quilt — I picked the fabric out!

✅Finished last FCQ Equilter blocks — ready to get them ready to mail.

Here's the guild veteran quilt that I quilted. I really like the design I used called Quick and Easy Stars from My Creative Stitches. I have many star patterns but I like this one because it incorporate swirls along with the stars. And, it's quick and easy just like its name!

Here's my plan for the March UFO which is my half log cabin block. I'm using the circles version.

Look for the blue circle around the two orange blocks. On the top row second block from the left has been changed. As has row 6, block 5. I decided they both stuck out like sore thumbs. I may move some blocks that might conflict with other blocks around them. Plus I notice that some of the lights look pretty dark in the bottom right corner. I'll play with this one during the week and hopefully start sewing it together.

Here are the FCQ Equilter blocks I've made. They are ready to be sent to my friend.

These look great. I'm looking forward to seeing how these mix with the other blocks she is receiving.

Now, on to my goals for this week. Hopefully, I'll get more done.

3/17/25

Quilt another of my quilts

Start sewing March UFO blocks together

Bind baby quilt

Make a couple of placemats

Finish sewing the lining in the needlepoint scissors case

Three are repeats from last week. I've got half of the lining of scissors case sewn in. I just need to sew the other half in. The quilt guild meeting is this week so I hope to make a couple of placemats to donate.

I've done a pretty good job getting my 15 minutes of sewing in every day. Today I repaired a fleece hoody for my grandson. He evidently wears it all the time. The fleece may be too hot with spring coming. Here are my current numbers.

W/ending 3/16/25. 75 days of 2025

15 minute days/Mar = 7/7
15 minute days/2024 = 75/75 days
Success rate = 100%

Yea! I'm getting quite a bit of sewing/knitting done even though I'm not getting everything on my list done.

Here are a couple more pictures from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. One of the guilds I belong to did a challenge for their entries in the show. Here's the sign explaining the challenge. I thought it was pretty interesting but I wasn't willing to commit to it.

Here's my friend, Michele's quilt. She started this in June at a retreat we were at. I'm sorry she didn't put the size on her author's statement. I think the HSTs finished at 1".

Here's an original design from the show. I love how vibrant the cat looks. And even though the edges are straight lines it doesn't look like they are. This cat has catatude!

I'm linking with the following parties:

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Monday Meanderings 3 - 10 - 2025

Why has this week zipped by so fast? It didn't seem like I got a lot done especially since I was reading too. It never fails if one reserved book or audio book becomes available, 3 are available. I've got more to read and listen to this week. However, I did much better on my goals this week. Here's what it looks like now.

3/3/25

✅Bind the R,W,B quilt — All done!

✅Quilt another top — Baby String Bean top quilted.

✅Make blocks for FCQ EQuilter of the month — 4 done, 1 left.

Cut a new kit out — didn’t happen.

✅Work on the March UFO challenge — Started playing with layouts.

Pictures of the R, W, B quilt will be taken and shared later. (Ok, it'll probably be several weeks from now, knowing me.) But here is the Baby String Bean top during quilting. It still needs its binding. I have to figure out what color binding to use. I'm pretty sure all of the fabrics I used were just leftover strips except the block centers and there is hardly any left of it. (Good news, I'm using up fabric but...)

I've been making Nightfall blocks (from a video on Missouri Star Quilt's video) for the FCQ Equilter. Here are the first two that I made.

I chose not to make my original half square triangles by stitching on the outside edges of the square as the video instructions suggested. The finished size HSTs needed were 6.5" unfinished. Guess what size HST Accuquilt die I have? Yep, I started with HSTs cut with my die. And then I finished the rest of the directions for the Nightfall block. You can check out the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhTooAVmjZE&t=11s. There are several other ways to arrange the units also.

My last effort on my goals was to start working on the March UFO Challenge. The number 8 was drawn and for me that was to turn the half log cabin blocks into a quilt. To that end I used a few of the blocks to try out various layouts. Here are two of them.

Pinwheel half log cabins.

Circle half log cabins.

There are a couple of other ways to set these blocks. Playing with the few here I realize the lights don't always read as lights. I do know that I sewed them all differently than what the pattern called for which means at least one of the setting won't work. It's not a problem for all settings so it will be fine. So far, I prefer the circle half log cabin layout. I'll be laying out all the blocks over the next few weeks. Hopefully they will become a top before the end of the month.

Here's what I plan to work on this coming week.

3/10/25

Quilt another of my quilts

Quilt guild top and trim

Continue working on March UFO

Bind baby quilt

Finished last FCQ Equilter blocks and get them in the mail

I've continued my success with 15 minutes of stitching.

W/ending 3/9/25. 68 days of 2025

15 minute days/Mar = 7/7
15 minute days/2024 = 68/68 days
Success rate = 100%

And, honestly I've gotten quite a bit of knitting done. I should have another hat finished by tomorrow. And then I'll go back to working on the socks. Tuesday I hope to go to the workshop for From the Heart Stitchers. It's where we turn in our finished projects and we can pick up some supplies to continue to make things. Generally my friend Fran goes to deliver and pick up items. This time I'm hoping to go with her. My goal is to get some more white yarn and maybe something in lemon yellow. (Ok, I don't really need the yellow but I thought it would be a nice color change!)

Here are two more quilts from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show.

I'm linking up with the following parties:

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Monday Meanderings 3 - 3 - 2025

Last week I attended the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. I didn't have a lot of time because Pat, Sunny, and I were going to the beach house after the show. (We did the same thing last year but no Sunny yet.)They spent time walking around the parking lot and sitting in the car. I spent about an hour and a half at the show and saw a surprising number of the quilts and did just a little shopping. Okay, also one big shopping. I've been buying rolls of Pellon 80/20 batting from I Sew Desire Quilts. This year was my third purchase. I now have a roll 90" by 30 yards. It's 50% bigger than my former rolls. My first roll took two years to use up. The second roll is almost finished after a year. Hopefully this bigger, third roll will last a year to two years. Except I am trying to turn more tops into quilts so ... who knows how long it will last.

Afterwards we drove to Nags Head, NC to do a little work on our rental house. Some locks were changed, some baseboards were washed, some screens replaced and some spots painted. A little shopping took place. And Sunny went on a walk on the beach with us. It was a beautiful day although not really warm.

The above explains why I didn't do very well on my goals this week. Sigh. Here's what I was suppose to work on. (Remember I only had 3 1/2 days at home!)

2/24/25

✅Finish knitting current sock and start its partner — Done. 2nd one barely started

Bind the R,W,B quilt

✅Go to MidAtlantic Quilt Show — Enjoyed the time I had!

Make blocks for FCQ EQuilter of the month

Here's the sock and the beginning of its mate.

See my original sock I finished last March. ⬇️ Yep, it looked ridiculous. I ripped it out and started over. Hopefully it won't take too long to finish the 2nd sock. It's been so cold here this winter I've been wearing my hand knitted wool socks a lot.

Here's what I hope to get done this week. I probably should think up a few more items but I haven't a clue at this point so I may add some off list project(s).

3/3/25

Bind the R,W,B quilt

Quilt another top

Make blocks for FCQ EQuilter of the month

Cut a new kit out

Work on the March UFO challenge

With JoAnn going out of business I've decided to try another source for backing fabrics. I recently purchased a bolt (15 yards) of fabric from Marshall Dry Goods. I chose a basic purple because I have several tops that this will work for backing and possibly the binding. I originally planned just to buy several lengths of fabric for some different colored tops. I was having a hard time making up my mind and thought I'd try a bolt. Bolt prices are less than by the yard fabs but no free shipping option for buying a lot. As it turns out by the bolt plus shipping is cheaper than the fabric purchased by the yard.

I plan to cut a couple of backing lengths from the bolt and then prewash it. I'm pretty sure that one of the tops that the purple will work with will be my next top loaded on Ruthie. Check in next week!

I took some picts of some of the quilts hanging at Mid-Atlantic. I'll share a couple of them this week and if I remember, more will be shared over the next few weeks. First up is Lady Bug. I specifically shot this quilt for my daughter-in-love. She loves bugs and was thrilled when I shared it with her. Enlarge the picture to read all the interesting facts. Unfortunately, I was so excited to get the picture I forgot to photograph the maker's statement. Enjoy Lady Bugs and all the facts shared. Aimee said she nailed all the facts.

Next is Midnight Compass by Laurie Mutalipassi. Here's her card telling about her quilt.

And her wonderful quilt.

Look for more quilts in the upcoming weeks.

I was able to keep up my 15 minutes of stitching every day. I am lucky to be able to knit in the car so driving home I was able to start an easy hat. Here are the stats.

W/ending 3/2/25. 61 days of 2025