A New Hand Stitching Project

New year, new project. I've been missing having a quilt to hand piece and my recent Pinterest trolling has filled that void for me. It's a free Moda pattern called Quadrangle. 

Of course it's scrappy and there are lots of neutrals to play with, too. 

For whatever reason, I printed a photo of the inspiration quilt but didn't have the smarts to Pin it so it's taken a bit of time to track down the source again. It would have helped considerably if I had been searching for 'quadrangle' rather than 'quartile'. Sigh. If I only had a brain... 

Anyway, huge thanks to suepatch12 (her photo) for her inspiration. Isn't it lovely?

I was somewhat surprised when I saw the original pattern as it is much denser than Sue's. By choosing to make every alternate block a neutral instead of a pieced block she has made it beautifully light and airy. 

I'm taking the neutrals up a notch, using a random assortment in each block rather than only a single neutral in each. Thinking I might forgo the cornerstones in the sashing too, but we will see. Love being able to work on something without running down to the machine; so relaxing....M

Last Flimsy of the Year

It's been more than a month since I have crossed the threshold of the sewing room for anything other than hiding a few Christmas gifts so today I picked up a project that has been languishing since the fall and - surprise, surprise - I finished up a flimsy.

Jan, one of the quilters at the church, put together a centre panel for a Quilts for Survivors project back in the fall and wanted someone else to finish it up. 

Full disclosure: I'm not much of a grey person when it comes to quilts so it took a little imagining for me, though I do like the prints in this bundle. Things have been very hectic for the last few months so it sat on/near the cutting table, and that's as far as it got. No chance of it getting included in the quilt shipment that we made in October.

I was puttering around downstairs yesterday and decided it really didn't need that much more work so I gave it a second look. Jan had sent a piece of peach with a slight cross hatch in it home with me, thinking that it would do for the border but on its own it just didn't carry enough weight. It needed something else. So I landed on a 1" strip of peach and then a wide grey border that I uncovered in our stash at the church (from a sheet).

I had both a fitted and flat sheet to work with so I cut the fitted one up first, thinking that the backing could be made from the flat sheet. Despite being new, there were several stains on the sheet that I was working with - maybe wax? - so it took me longer to cut the borders than I had planned.

The finished product is lovely, if I do say so myself. That little bit of peach adds just that extra bit of life that it needed and it's almost as though the grey was made for it! Not sure if I will use it as a backing too because it's a little stiff, but maybe if it gets machine quilted it would work. I'll see what the gals think.

If I am correct, this is the fourth quilt/flimsy for our 2026 shipment, all thanks to Jan getting things started....M

Bits of Red and Green

I'm enjoying sitting by the tree today reading and stitching, and was reminded of two small projects that were made for the bazaar so I thought I'd share them before all of the holiday decos start coming down.

We were asked to make tree decorations for the Holly Bazaar so I dug into my scrap bin and whipped up a dozen little scrappy Christmas trees. No real rhyme or reason to the width of the strips, just sewed a slew of them together and then stitched a tree pattern with a variegated green/blue thread. Almost any combination of fabrics worked but it helped to include prints that had some red in them to liven things up a bit.

They were backed with two different red scraps and a simple ribbon tied with a knot was hand stitched near the top for a hanger. About 4-5 inches tall, they are very sweet. Any decos left at the end of the bazaar were packaged up and delivered to our shut-ins, so they all got to be enjoyed.

And my niece Julia kindly crocheted five more of these adorable little stockings for me this year. I like to stuff them with chocolates and candy canes and tied off with a ribbon to keep everything contained. Then I packaged them in clear cello bags. They are fun for the little ones but would be nice at a table setting too. Last year they were put on the bake table but this time around I made sure that they went to the craft table, and, as usual, they were a gone in no time. The pattern comes in two sizes.

We're waiting for an ice storm to roll in overnight so I'm going back to the tree to enjoy my stitching and a nice cup of tea, hoping that it doesn't bring as much bad weather as is forecast....M

Merry Christmas!

With all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas now behind us, I'm settling in to enjoy what I consider my day of indulgence. Usually on Boxing Day I stay in my PJs, find a puzzle and work on it until it's finished in the wee hours of the morning - no running, no meal prep, no nothing, except a little quiet time for moi. This year, I'm switching it up a bit and picking up my cross stitch. There'll be Christmas carols, munchies and likely a holiday bevvy or two - my perfect day of stillness amid all of the hustle and bustle.

Merry Christmas to you and yours and may you find time to enjoy your special moments as well....M