What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Today we celebrate the arrival of Block 4 of The Celebrate Quilt. This month you will make an 18″ square chunk of the quilt. 

Here is a quick tutorial to walk you through the block construction. You should have received the pattern in your inbox. If you didn’t, it is available in the Free Resource Library. This quilt has a lot of piecing and it might look overwhelming. You can see that nothing is difficult and each block just has a few simple units. It is a great way to use up small scraps. Just don’t stress too ...

Do you need a little motivation to jump-start your sewing week? I have just the project–The Celebrate Quilt Block 3.

Feel free to customize your block any way you wish; switch up the units, change the colors, or make it less or more scrappy. This is your quilt, so do it the way that suits you best! The point is to have fun and use up some scraps or stash.

Here is a little tutorial on the block construction. First, you will need to download the instructions from the Free Resource Library.

Follow the cutting instructions and cut all ...

Since releasing the pattern for Block 1 of The Celebrate Quilt block of the month last week, I decided it might be helpful to create a tutorial of the block construction. First, grab a copy of the pattern from the Free Resource Library. Make sure you have the updated version (I made a couple of minor corrections). If you don’t have the password to the resource library, sign up on the home page and it will be sent to you right away. 

Okay, here are step-by-step instructions with photos of the block I made.

1. Following the pattern instructions, cut ...

The Celebrate chunk of the month quilt

If you are on my email list you got the first look at The Celebrate Quilt in Saturday’s newsletter. This is a free 12-month program, but instead of making a block every month, we will make a “chunk” of the quilt. Each month, there will be a 12-inch block and some small filler blocks. When all the chunks are complete, they will fit together like a puzzle to make a 54″ x 66″ quilt. If you want a larger quilt, you can add borders or make extra blocks some months. I will ...

 Yesterday was a busy day, and I was on Zoom for most of it. I can't imagine what my days would be like without it! Yes -- I could get together with friends locally, but I couldn't be with someone in Germany, Mexico, and various parts of Canada simultaneously! But with Zoom, I can! The friendships that have grown, the things we have shared -- well, it just can't be beaten! 

And some of them just can't get enough! I left the call at 9 PM, and there were still some diehards. The night owls, but where are ...

 I'm not sure why some days I feel more in a panic than I am right now. Oh yes -- I know. There are no classes today, and everything is under control for the ones tomorrow. It's all about planning ahead! 

There's so much I want to do, and there just doesn't seem to be time, even though I spend a good solid eight hours or more these days in Studio B. The long arm eats up a big chunk of the time these days, but I'm happy to report that the last customer quilt for ...

It's like the Night before Christmas at my house. All is calm! And I love it! It's super easy to keep all my spaces clean and tidy - trust me, they go through many transformations in a day, and it can look like a disaster, but because everything has a home, it takes mere seconds to put stuff away. And yes, constant refinements will be made as I go along, or I'll unearth something else that needs to be dealt with. It's going to be an ongoing process for years to come.

However, at the rate I ...

OH MY GOODNESS - Tammy --- you're the best! Tammy just saved me a trip to IKEA and money! Instead of buying a desk with drawers, did you know you can buy a drawer unit that fits under your table? I just Googled them, and there are MANY options, so that looks like an excellent idea for ALL of my worktables. I might buy one to test it out and then see how that goes! Thank you, Tammy!!! It looks like I'm only going to find them at my favorite online store. So be it! 

And the item that I ...

Many years ago I made this quilt as a block of the month. It is really a “chunk of the month quilt” as it is made with a 12″ block and small filler blocks. I still love the quilt, but the Thimbleberries fabrics, not so much (it’s not a good photo, but you get the idea!).

I think it would be fun to offer an updated version of this as a skill-builder chunk of the month quilt. Starting in January, I will offer a pattern that will make a chunk of this quilt. The quilt shown is throw-size, but ...

 HA -- I love the comments - I LOVE them all referring to the Jen Kingwell quilts. Yes, indeed - I LOVE them all, and very hard to pick the one I like the least. They are all so worthy in their own right, and I'm just so darn proud of everyone who finished, and there will be more finished quilts. Those will get posted and added to the appropriate slot to keep them all in the same place. You'll know when that happens. 

It's that bittersweet day at any retreat, as we're going home today. But as usual ...

For once, that (title of the blog) does NOT refer to me and some crazy deadline. I'm so relaxed that - well, it's gazebo time!

Even in the heat, I was in the gazebo (with a sweatshirt on) and happy as a clam. It was glorious with the trees and the breeze until the sun came around the roofline and shone into the gazebo. 

I was supposed to be reading, but I had a nap instead. The scent of the lilacs and the tingle of the windchimes put me to sleep. 

Lilacs are in bloom

 Oh my --- what great fun we had at the virtual retreat! We had a great visit with Jenny from Australia, where it's winter! But not like our winter. And there was the usual gang of misfits! OK - maybe I was the only misfit? No, I don't think so. I love that we all get along and have some wonderful conversations, and we learn so much from each other. 

The conversations are entertaining, and you can just listen, especially when you have an ugly job to do. Before I went to retreat last week, I had an issue with ...

I'm happy to report that one more writing assignment went out the door! Bye-bye! I made good progress on one homework assignment last night and hope to get that out the door this morning. Then one more to do later today. Then all the urgent stuff is gone. Although I have another major writing assignment to start next week. 

I did have a pretty free day today, but now I have meetings all afternoon, so I may have to work into the evening again! Sigh............

Then I have 6 articles that need to be written, and I NEED to ...

 I'm up at an even more ridiculous hour than usual, and it's a Sunday morning! Yep -- It's the one day a year that I lose all sense of sanity and volunteer for the Toronto Marathon. I'll be dropping off tables and stuff for the water stations. 

It's a crappy job, to say the least, and each year I tell myself that this is the last year. Well, guess what? I'm doing it again! They are not super organized (NO -- I will not ask for a higher job, so things are organized!), and they have ...

Don't worry -- I'm not moving! The neighbor who just sold her house is a single person and lives in that big house all by herself. It was time for her to move, and she had talked about it for years. We are NOT moving! My girls love their backyard, we love the backyard, I love the location, and as Jannette mentioned, if you sell, where the heck will you buy? The prices are crazy everywhere!. 

I spoke to another neighbor who had been thinking of moving, but they've looked in smaller towns and decided to stay put ...

I did work in the office yesterday. I didn't want to, but I had to. I had to at least make a start on this mess. I know from working on the basement that the more I tidy up and the more I throw away, the better I'm going to feel about the entire mess. I also know that the office is going to be hard - this is the dumping ground. That means that ANYTHING that didn't have a home, got dumped here. 

There are two desks, a table, and a buffet. Oh - there's a filing ...