What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Just popping in to update on things in the Thistle Thicket Studio lately. It's been hard to find the my mojo but I have been working on my Moda Block Heads 3 quilt. I finally finished all of the 56 MBH3 blocks and made an additional 8 blocks from MBH2. All 6". What was I thinking!!! I swore after making the Farmer's Wife quilt that I would never make 6" blocks again. But don't they look so cute all laid out on my 'design floor'?

The holidays flew by and a new year is here, and with it a new year of the Finish-A-Long is beginning. The FAL took a break last year but posted on Instagram that they were ready to start back up again. So here is my very short goals list for the first quarter of 2021.

I decided to just focus on the three sewing challenges that I started in 2020 and hoping this will help me to focus and finish them in a timely manner (ha, ha!).

1. Moda Blockheads 3 Quilt: There are only five more blocks to go ...

Last night our quilt guild celebrated the holidays with their annual Christmas carry-in meal and gift exchange, all socially distanced. Members were encouraged to gift a handmade pincushion and had three months to craft their gift.

I decided I wanted to make a pincushion from some of my vintage fabric stash and finally landed upon the idea of a Christmas tree pincushion. I chose some 30's fabric scraps that had either red or green in them. I used a muslin foundation topped with a piece of fusible batting. I then did a stitch and flip method of foundation piecing ...

It's Friday again and I'm back to share the final "A Lightbulb Moment" bonus project with ya'll today. No Christmas would be complete without stockings hung by the fire! So here are two versions of my "A Lightbulb Moment" Stockings using the leftover scraps from making the large lightbulb blocks in my other projects.

Howdy! I'm back to share another "A Lightbulb Moment" project with ya'll today. You can't celebrate the holidays without a decked out table and you can't have a decked out table without placemats! So, to go with the table runner that I shared a while back (can you believe almost 2 months ago?!), here is the "A Lightbulb Moment Placemat"....

Oh My Goodness!!! Where has the past three weeks gone?! I meant to get another "A Lightbulb Moment" pattern posted long before now but didn't have the time to finish writing the pattern. Better late than never, right? I shared photos of this advent calendar bunting a few weeks ago on IG but now I'm sharing them here along with the free pattern. YAY!!!

This advent calendar was so fun to make and I can't wait until the holidays so I can hang it and fill each pocket with little surprises for my grandsons. Since they won ...

Yay! Yesterday was my birthday and today is my turn on the Best of Moda Bake Shop Pillow Parade so let's celebrate with not one, but TWO, free pillow patterns featuring my lightbulb block from the quilt "A Lightbulb Moment"!!!

Finally! I've had this project in my head for a couple of years and I finally can check it off my to-do list! I love the whole farmhouse sliding barn door look and wanted a similar door for the entrance into my studio (aka sewing room). I originally wanted a vintage screen door with chippy green paint but I couldn't find a door that I liked in a reasonable price range. So I eventually settled for a new screen door. And now that the project is finished, I'm glad that I did!

I added extra shelf brackets ...

Another week has flown by! I spent this week putting the finishing details on my "A Lightbulb Moment" bonus projects and gave a trunk show at my quilt guild. It was fun to finally share what I have been working on with the group. Even though all the projects are finished, I am still writing and putting on the finishing touches on the patterns for some of the projects. So, my plans of posting this project on Friday went out the window but I'm finally finished and ready to share my "A Lightbulb Moment" Tree Skirt pattern!

This tree ...

It's FriYay! I thought I'd pop in and share another one of my "A Lightbulb Moment" bonus patterns in time for your weekend sewing. This week I'm sharing how to make an oven mitt/hot pad featuring the lightbulb block from my "A Lightbulb Moment" quilt featured in the new "Best of Moda Bake Shop" book now available in stores and online.

This is a double oven mitt which can also do double duty as a small table runner-style hot pad because it has Insul-Bright to protect your hands and surfaces from heat, plus a layer of ...

I had every intention of saving this post until the end of the week but I finished the pattern and couldn't wait to share! Here's the latest bonus pattern for my series of "A Lightbulb Moment" projects. My quilt pattern called "A Lightbulb Moment" is one of 15 projects featured in the new "Best of Moda Bake Shop" book now available in stores and online. 

Yesterday I shared the Ugly Duckling Challenge project I made for our quilt guild exchange (click here to see more) and today I'm sharing the Ugly Duckling Turned Beautiful Swan project that I received. Luckily, my mom drew my name so I was doubly blessed - a pretty, functional gift and a gift made by my mom!

I am so incredibly thrilled and honored today to finally share that I have a new pattern that is included in Moda Fabric's soon-to-be-released book called "Best of Moda Bake Shop" published by Martingale!!!! My pattern is called "A Lightbulb Moment" and, of course, is a Christmas-themed quilt featuring a big string of old-fashioned lights. 

Spring (and some days, maybe summer) has definitely arrived on the farm. That means there's a miscellany of projects I've been working on. So today, I'm just going to share a miscellany of photos to share what I've been up to!