My Disappearing Hourglasses are ready to assemble. It turns out I only have 16 squares in the layer cake. Now I’ve cut 2 of them wrong. The first one I made a pinwheel, but didn’t notice until I cut it. That’s OK – I’ll just have one block that is not a star. However the 2nd block I miscut and I won’t be able to use. I guess I’m making a smaller quilt.
Meanwhile, my Riviana blocks continue to accumulate as leader/ender.
and I still need to bind Eclipse and Scrappy Bargello.
My quilting goals for March start with binding Eclipse. This was on my February list, but I ran out of time.
The quilt of the month is my Disappearing Hourglass. I would love to have it finished by the 16th.
The 2026 Brandon Quilters President Challenge is pillowcases. I’ve had these cut out since 2018 and haven’t got them put together. Now is the time.
While I’m piecing on the machine, I’ll move Riviana forward as my Leader/Ender project.
Handwork Tuesday will continue.
One hoop of redwork – I didn’t realized how far along I was on this panel until I folded it to take this picture.
I have 9 stars cut out, ready to go. I’d love to get 10 stitched for my Star a Day quilt.
On my hexie project, I need to finish the neutral row, add a row of blue hexies then attach it to the center.
4th Saturday BOM
The goal is to get the next block done and attach this section to the first section.
5th Sunday/Monday
This month there’s an “extra” Sunday and Monday. As near as I can tell, I just have this Ribbon Star block to piece then the center star before I can start assembling the quilt.
It’s a lot, but I will be going to a 2 day retreat, so I don’t think it is impossible. But first – I’ve got to make some binding!
On this 4th Saturday I continue working on my Just Takes Two quilt. I actually started on the block yesterday while Eclipse was being quilted. My plan was to use interfacing to turn the Hawaiian block since I do not applique. It might have worked, but I picked a very light weight interfacing and my tools tore it. So my next attempt was the block in the lower right corner with a heavier interfacing. It turned well, but came out too small. So I tried again. This time too big. At that point I said to heck with it and just traced directly on the fabric then did a small zig-zag along the edges. Since that worked, I attempted the crescent moon and star. Finally I tackled the Hawaiian block. Next up is a paper pieced star, then this section will be complete.
As this is also the last day of the month how about a up date on my February goals. There were 5.
February Stash Report
Tomorrow I post my goals for March.
My stamina is not was it was before surgery, so every thing is taking twice as long. Before, these 2 quilts would have been done by mid-week, but it was late Saturday before I completed them.
Along those same lines, Eclipse would have been done, but I just didn’t have the energy to mess with them. Maybe tonight. There has however been a lot of hand work happening. That bottom section, along with prepping the hexies has been my go-to project with my feet up.
Eclipse is now ready for borders. I’m still confident I’ll get this quilt finished by the end of the month.
In addition to getting the first ‘wing’ attached to the main body of my hexi quilt, I’ve stitched a few hexies for the next section.
I’m progressing through my February goals. One of my handwork goals was go to get one hoop of stitching done on my Winter Wonderland panel. This past weekend I did 3 and am about halfway through a 4th.
I still need to work on the next block on the Just Takes Two and make a Star for Star A Day. I feel confident I’ll get it all done this month.
I’m a little all over the place this week. In the top left are my Rivanna 9-patch units that I’m building as my leader/ender. The green and white comes from stack of scraps my sister left for me. We are doing an on-going series of Disappearing Blocks at the Quilters By Hearts Desire Meeting and this month is Disappearing Hour Glass.
The pink, lavender and white is Eclipse, 5 yard quilt that I enlarged. I really would like to get it finished this week, but I’m not holding my breath.
The turquoise and gray is the 2nd section of Just Takes Two. It’s hanging out as a reminder to work on it this upcoming 4th Saturday.
Finally in the middle is my hand work hexie project. It doesn’t looks like much now, but I promise it’s going somewhere. – slowly. I have hexies cut that I need to prep for the section I’m working on. It’s actually pined on the wall in the wrong location, but that’s where it fit.
These are not my quilts. My sister came to visit to use the long arm and stay with me after surgery. In the 3 weeks she was here she put in 1,064,708 stitches on the longarm and used 25 + yards of batting. With the exception of the table runner on the right which just needed binding, the rest were quilted and bound while she was here. Two of the t-shirt quilts (the one with the pink shirt and the one with the ‘safety’ shirt) were pieced. Additionally, she quilted & bound the table runner shown below.
So, what have I been doing?
Over the weekend, I finished piecing the squares for Eclipse. I have 2 rows sewn together. I hope to get it finished this week. I also pulled out Rivanna and I’m piecing 9-patch sections as my leader/ender. Once Eclipse is a top, Rivanna will become my main project and the Color/Netural 9-patches will slide back as my leader/enders. I just have blue, turquoise and purple squares to go.
On the handwork front, I added the blue hexie to the ‘wing’ and attached the wing to the center. I need to find a different size needle to work with that doesn’t stress my hand. The next time I pick up this project I’ll be prepping the hexies. Over the weekend I cut more light, pink and blue. I have enough green to make the round. I just need to decide if I’m going to do the round, or do another ‘wing’.
I also need to deal with this pile of fabric. It’s stuff my sister left for me.
One of my goals this month was to close up the seams on the yellow hexagons and complete the neutral round. Mission accomplished. Now I need to pull out my design and see what color is next. I think it’s green. After I stitch a hoop full of redwork and make one star, I’ll need to prep the green hexagons.
Tomorrow I’ll work on the alternate blocks to Eclipse. Or maybe I’ll take that nap I’ve been trying to take all week.
It’s the first of the month and time to set some goals.
Up first is Eclipse. I would like to get this quilt bounds by the end of the month. This is on my 2026 Brandon Quilters UFO list.
For my 4th Saturday BOM, I would like to get at least the top hole filled in. Bonus if I get some of the other blocks in this section done.
For Handwork Tuesday, I’ll rotate between projects, depending on what my cats will let me do. For the hexi project, I would like to get the seams closed on the bottom of the picture and maybe complete the next round of neutral hexies.
Just one hoop full of redwork on my Winterwonderland.
At least one star on my Star-A-Day project.
This is the month I’ll find out the parameters for the Quilters By Hearts Desire President’s Challenge. My only goal with that is to figure out what I’m making.
If I get through all of this, I’ll start assembling Rivanna and/or make those Red, White and Blue napkins and jelly roll rug/placemats.
It looked like I was going to be able to finish Eclipse in January, but car issues took up most of Thursday and ALL day Friday. As a result, I cannot include Eclipse on my stash report. This month I’ve been to the quilt shop 4 times, but only purchased thread – twice. So the report looks good so far. As is my custom, I start with zero and add what I purchase or otherwise receive and subtract what I use or otherwise leaves the premises. But first for the record the December report.
2025
I’d like to use more in 2026 – or at least not increase my stash as much. I’m not sure how much more I can get into my cabinet and the FQ boxes are full.
I’ve also pulled out the Color Theory Swap blocks I’m using as my leader and enders. I’m just over halfway through the pink squares.
I’ve been contemplating a new car for a number of months. I like not having a car payment, but my little Cube is 14 years old. Meanwhile, my sister’s car has twice the miles on it than the Cube does, so she’s getting my Cube and I bought a new Rogue. It is a huge upgrade in terms of comfort and ride. And most importantly, a roll of king size batt will fit in the back without having to pull the seats up. Yes, we took the roll of batting with us to be certain.
