Quilting and Stuff by Knitnoid

Batting Scraps

January 15, 2026 11:51 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I’m a longarm quilter and purchase batting by the 96″ wide roll. Most of the quilts I made do not have a dimension of 90″. As a result I end up with batting scraps.  The pile got to be quite large.  Last night I cleaned up the pile.  If the piece was less than 10″ wide, I cut it into 2 1/2″ strips for  jelly roll rugs. I think I have enough for now.  The big stack to the right have all been measured. This will allow me to easily grab a pieced for smaller quilts or even to make frankenbatts. Now I need to remember I’ve put them in a tub under my longarm.

After dealing with the batting I added the sashing and cornerstones to my second Chain of Blossoms.  Now I need to figure out the border. I’m not sure what my plan was for the border, but I don’t have much fabric left.  I have 1/2 a yard of 2 different greens, the purple and the orange. My scrappy neutrals I just have what is left from a FQ of some of the fabrics. No telling what I’ll figure out tonight.

 

 

Posted in: Chain of Blossoms

Handwork Tuesday

January 14, 2026 12:46 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Handwork Tuesday actually started on Monday evening after Bunco.  I prepped these blue hexies for the next row — just as soon as I get the neutral row stitched onto the section I’m working.

Tuesday, I stitched this section of my redwork. Time to move the hoop. Since I’ve worked on these two projects, I suppose next week I need to make a star.

On the Studio cleaning front I found my flat surfaces!  The box on the sewing table is a bookshelf I need to assemble for the Sunroom, but I need to get the paint cans moved so I have a place for it.  But since the flat surfaces are cleared, I can now start working on the Green and Orange Chain of Blossoms. I would love to get it quilted this week.

Posted in: Chain of Blossoms, cleaning, Handwork Tuesday, Hexies, Star-A-Day, Trip Around the World, Winter Wonderland

Quilt Studio Cleaning

January 12, 2026 8:24 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

It’s an ongoing battle to keep the mountains of fabric beat back. Between multiple on-going projects and the desire or need to move to the next project, stuff gets piled on my tables. Honestly, I’m not sure when I last saw the surface of that far table.  It’s supposed to be be my cutting table.  But instead of speeding ahead into my next project I started working on the tables. I have a deadline — Sunday.  My sister will be here for 2 week sharing the space with me.

On the near left corner is fabric which needs to make it into one of my FQ bins. I’m stacking it because I’m sure there is more and my fabric bins are stuffed.  I may need to shuffle fabric to get it all put away. On the stool in front of the far table is yardage. Honestly I’m not sure there’s room in the cabinet, but I can’t put it in there without more comic book boards, so I gave in and ordered them. They should be here sometime today.

As I’ve been cleaning up the scraps I’ve added them to my strips bins — selvedges, strings, 1 1/2″, 2″ and 2 1/2″ strips. Only the very top layer is new and there is more on the table.  In fact I counted 5 bags and bins of scrap fabric. There’s one on the floor by the table, a bag on the table and 3 bins under my longarm. Maybe after I get through a couple more of my UFOs I’ll do a scrap quilt.

This is the next quilt I plan to finish.  It is the 2nd version of the 2025 Brandon Quilters Mystery Quilt. I want to put in sashing and cornerstones. But first I have to finish the cleaning.

 

Posted in: Chain of Blossoms, cleaning, mystery quilts, scraps

First Finish of 2026

January 11, 2026 10:08 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

My first version of the 2025 Brandon Quilters Mystery, Chain of Blossom, is finished. This quilt is on my Brandon Quilters UFO Challenge for 2026.  All the fabric came from my stash, thus the design decision on the binding. I think I have a 1 1/2″ wide strip of the gold and maybe a 7″ strip of the blue left.

Chain of Blossoms

  • Started 12/1/2024
  • Finished 1/10/2026
  • 43″ x 43″
  • E2E – Nightlight
  • Sand thread

Additionally, I finished my Twirling Leaves top and made the backing for it.  I am sending this one out to Shelly Pagliai at Prairie Moon Quilts. I’m a head of schedule since my slot is in March.

My sister is visiting for 2 weeks to use the longarm. I think she has a dozen tops ready to quilt.  So I plan on spending this week cleaning the quilt studio and cutting hexies. I have hexies cut for yellow and neutral, but I need to cut and prep blues and oranges since I’ve changed how I’m putting the quilt together.  Once I’ve got the tables clean, then I’ll work on the my next UFO – the 2nd version of the mystery quilt.

 

Posted in: Chain of Blossoms, Trip Around the World, Twirling Leaves, UFOs

A Very Good Quilty Day

January 10, 2026 12:41 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Friday was a very good quilty day.  First I was paid for quilting I did that I expected no payment for. Then I recounted the stars.  That bottom right star is #113, the next to the last star journaled.  This means I have all the stars that I’ve made. Star # 114 is in my Star-A-Day box along with Star #115 which I had not journaled.  I suspect it’s because I lost 2 of the swatches.  I pressed that star, did my journaling and glued in the one piece of fabric I did find.  Only 250 stars to go.

Then I quilted this cute Crayon quilt.  Back in August, Brandon Quilters had a program on Crayon quilts and everyone made a block during the meeting.  One of our members took the blocks home and she brought 2 quilt tops to the meeting on Monday.  I found some pink floral fabric in my stash for the backing.  When I get the other one quilted I’ll give them back for her to bind. Ultimately they will be Community Quilt.  I have the backing made for the 2nd quilt, I just need to figure out how I’m going to quilt it.

While this was quilting, I continued working on Twirling Leaves. Just one more block to finish!

Posted in: Crayon 1, Star-A-Day

First Quilt off the Longarm in 2026

January 9, 2026 11:18 am ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

My first long arm quilt for 2026 is off the long arm, it just needs to be bound now. This is Chain of Blossoms, the 2025 Brandon Quilters Mystery quilt that I designed.  Just needs a binding now.

Posted in: Chain of Blossoms

Handwork Tuesday on Wednesday

January 8, 2026 6:04 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Although I should have spent time working on my Twirling Leaves, I decided to look for my hexie bag. It didn’t turn up after yet another pass through the Quilt Studio, so I headed into the house.  I started in the front bedroom. Didn’t find it, but waded through 2 large crates, sorting into trash, donate, put away and to be dealt with.  The later ended up in just one small crate about 1/3 the size of the 2 I started with, but no hexie bag.

That meant I needed to dig though the boxes in the other room.  There was no sorting this time, just digging and I located it!  I haven’t found my hexie punch, but it’s not a priority at the moment.

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I put this away.  Many of the outer edge hexies are only stitched to the main body and not each other.  I worked on those for a while then decided I need to work in sections instead of the round.  Well, at least that’s what I thought tonight.  We’ll see how it goes.

I drew on my pattern where I want the first section. In this section each row is one more hexie until there are 22 hexies, then each subsequent row is 2 fewer. It’s a good thing this is a WISP because this one section will take me a while at 12-15 hexies a week.

Tonight I may make a pass looking for the Star-a-Day journal, but then I’ll get back on Twirling Leaves. That deadline is looming.

P.S. I waded through my posts to see if I could find a picture of the hexie journal so I know what I’m looking for.  This is the only one I found. With this new knowledge, I made another pass through the Quilt Studio and the front bed room.

 

Look what I found.

Then as I was making this addition to the post, I thought about the box in the closet in the 2nd bedroom. Not finding it there, I made a quick pass though some of the other boxes in the room — and look what I found.

Star # 114 on 4/8/18 is when I pressed the last star that I’ve made.  I only counted the stars that I have sewn to the background.  I hope the rest of the stars are in the box of pieces, but that is one goose chase that will have to wait until later today.

Posted in: Handwork Tuesday, Trip Around the World

WISP- Works in Slow Progress

January 7, 2026 12:53 pm ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

I have a number of project which are in Works Slow Progress – simply because I’m not working on them.  I also like to make lists and plans which I may or may not follow through with. It’s perfectly OK when it comes to my quilting. Life happens, I get distracted.  But I really would like to start to make progress on a few of these. So I have a few ideas.

Handwork Tuesday

Tuesday was picked because I have quilt guild meetings and Bunco on Monday’s.  Also I enjoy watching TV on Tuesday night. If CBS changes the day the NCIS franchise airs, this day may move.  So what am I going to work on on Tuesday? One of 3 projects.  My Redwork Winter Wonderland, the current panel I’ve been stitching on forever is shown above.  I have 2 more panels to stitch after I finish this one before I can start piecing the top. I started this quilt in 2007.  My goal for 2026 is to finish this panel.

Next up for Handwork Tuesday is my Star-A-Day quilt which I started back in September 2014.  I just checked and I have 103 stars done (this is a old picture).  I would like to get 2 stars done a month. I need to find the journal I started when I started this quilt.

My final Handwork Tuesday project is my Hexi quilt. There’s just one issue I’m not sure where the bag is that it is in.  I need to find it sooner than later because I would love to significant progress on it this year and I am demonstrating this a a quilt guild meeting later this year. I started this quilt in April 2014.

4th Saturday BOM

I have several BOM which have way more than 12 blocks. I want to take one day a month to simply make progress on these quilts.  First up is Just Takes Two. I think there are 29 more blocks, plus the border. I started this in 2012. 

With 77 blocks made I’m just over halfway done with this block a week quilt I started in January 2007. This is Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler.

I want to make every block from Bonnie Hunter’s Addicted to Scrap quilt, then combine it into a single quilt. If I  have counted correctly there are 92 blocks and I only have 18 made. I started this project February 2021.

5th Monday Bonus

I have quilt guild or Bunco on the first 3 Monday’s a month, so when we have a 5th Monday it’s bonus time. These are some of the blocks from my Star Studded BOM started October 2019. As near as I can tell I just have the center star and maybe one more to go before I can start assembling it. Even if I only work on it the 5th Monday (March, June, August & November), I think I can finish the top by the end of the year.

I hope that Handwork Tuesday, 4th Saturday BOM and 5th Monday Bonus allows me to make progress on some of these Works in Slow Progress. With the exception of Star Studded, I do not anticipate finishing these tops this year. After all I have other quilts I want to finish this year!

 

 

Posted in: 4th Saturday, 5th Monday, Addicted To Scraps, EPP, Handwork Tuesday, JT2, red work, SBS, Star Studded, Star-A-Day, Trip Around the World, Winter Wonderland

The First Few Days of 2026

January 5, 2026 12:27 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

I’ve spent the first few days of 2026 in the Quilt Studio.  Just poking about and making forward progress.  The sewing table is cleared off (well was until I pulled Twirling Leaves out), half the pressing station is cleared, the long arm is cleared (or was until I got back from the laundry mat), and the piles on the other two tables are lower. I’ve also identified 12 projects I want to complete in 2026.  A description of the projects and their current state can be seen HERE.

I pulled Twirling Leaves out and assembled the first two sections.  I still need to do the turn back on the last section before assembling and attaching it, then adding the borders.  This is my # 1 project as I’m sending it out to be custom quilted and I have a slot on the longarmers calendar in early March.

I mentioned going to the laundry mat.  My two oversize king quilts needed washing. They just don’t fit in my washing machine and dryer.  One hour and $18.50 later, the 2 quilts, as well as 2 table runners and a knitted afghan are clean. While I sat there I ripped apart the green and orange Chain of Blossoms so I can put in sashing and cornerstones.

When I got home, I dug through my backing box and found a piece of fabric big enough to make a backing for the red, white & blue Chain of Blossoms.

Brandon Quilters meets tonight, so I’ll probably only get the long arm cleared off again.

Posted in: Chain of Blossoms, goals, Twirling Leaves

The Final Countdown of 2025

December 31, 2025 11:49 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅


Every year over at Prairie Moon Quilts there is a final count down to get our spaces ready for the new year.  As you can see mine is a mess.   Here are this years tasks and what if anything I’ve accomplished on them:

Task One:

Make a list of all your projects

This one on the surface was easy enough to do, as I’ve maintained a list of projects and their status since I started blogging in 2009. Earlier this week I updated my Finishes, Quilts to Top and Works in Progress.  Later this week I’ll create the pages for 2026 and update my PIGS and WHIMS pages.

Task Two:

Deal with the Scrap Pile

I’m afraid I’m taking the easy way out on this one.  It’s all going into a bag (or 2 or 3).  The stuff that is too small or that I simply don’t want to deal with, will go into bag which will be taken to the guild on Monday for pet beds.  The stuff which needs to be processed will go into an bag or two to be deal with later – after I get my space cleaned up. Which brings us to

Task Three:

Clean out a Storage Area

Technically I have 3 flat surfaces —  6-foot pressing station, a 5-foot AccuQuilt station and a 6-foot cutting station I can get to both side of.  In reality, it’s become a storage area.  Sure, the pressing station is relatively clear, doing dual duty as both pressing and cutting. I have had the AccuQuilt area cleared, but not for long.  The cutting station has simply become a dumping ground.  My goal is to clear off all three tables (and while we are at it, my sewing table) and put stuff away!

Let’s see how far I get today.+

Posted in: Final Countdown