A Couple of Recent Finishes

 December was a month when I got little done but, I'm trying to make up for it.

Here are two quilts I finished so far this month.

The first is Rolling Waves (82" x 82"). The pattern is from a free, downloadable ebook available HERE. I used only two fabrics for the top (a difficult thing for this scrappy quilter!). The back is a patchwork cheater's cloth.

Rolling Waves (82" x 82")

Rolling Waves (backing and binding detail)

The quilt is hanging straight down from the fence, but the use of different sizes and shapes of blocks gives it the illusion of rolling waves. It is an easy pattern--all nine patches. The effect is achieved by their arrangement.

The second quilt is Hourglass Wreath (58" x 72") from MSQC. The tutorial is available HERE.

I used a Kaffe Fassett layer cake to make this one. I rarely buy precuts (other than fat quarters), but KF is an exception for me. I like getting lots of his different prints without having to buy yardage.

KF Hourglass Wreath (58" x 72")

KF Hourglass Wreath (backing and binding detail)

This is another beautiful, but easy pattern to make.

I'm not thrilled with mine--I think the black I chose for the background does not have enough contrast with some of the KF fabrics. I'll pay closer attention to that next time. I used every inch of the black, so I went with a paisley black for the binding. 

Right now, I'm working on a log cabin quilt. I've never made one before, and I'm enjoying it very much. I'd like to explore the pattern and variations more this year. Maybe I'll think of 2023 as my Log Cabin Year.

I'm afraid I have stalled on the BH mystery quilt--as I said earlier, December was quite the month! I'll get back to it later. I have the first clue completed.

Happy Quilting! 😸

A Couple of Summer Finishes

Summer is here--the heat is ON! 🔥

I have a couple of finishes to show. First is another donation quilt--this time in neutrals.

Neutral Donation Quilt 62" x 74"

Neutral Donation Quilt (backing and binding detail)

I continue to use 3.5" squares as my leaders and enders (I think this is quilt #12!). As I was working, I set aside the neutral squares until I had enough to combine for this quilt. It is quieter than usual, but I think someone will like it.


This second quilt is for a friend (actually, the mother of a friend!). She likes blue, so I cut from a variety of fabrics. The block is the 2020 Stashbuster from Border Creek Station (January version).

2020 Stashbuster (66" x 98")

2020 Stashbuster (backing and binding detail)

There is a second stashbuster block from Border Creek Station that was revealed in June. With everyone staying home, the participants finished the first quickly, so the company added another project. You can check it out at the same link given above.

I've made and distributed a few masks. There are some I did for family (human and feline!).🐱

In other news, my garden is growing, even though I put things out very late. Something (I'm suspecting a rabbit) denuded my beans, but everything else is doing well in the heat. My crops will be late, but I hope to can several things for winter enjoyment. Stay tuned. 🌿



Try to stay cool, wear a mask, and wash your hands often.

Crazy Eyeballs

I finished my latest mystery quilt. I don't know the name of the block, but I call the quilt Crazy Eyeballs because of the print fabric.

Previous post about this quilt can be found HERE and HERE

Crazy Eyeballs

Crazy Eyeballs (detail)

Crazy Eyeballs (binding and backing detail)

My thanks to paintmejudy on the QB for another fun mystery quilt.



I'm linking to Fiber Tuesday 101 at The Quilting Room with Mel and Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress.

A Blue and White Quilt For My Niece

We've had several events in our family recently--showers, weddings, etc. One of my nieces is the "go to" person for organizing things like this--planner/helper extraordinaire! To say "Thank You," I made this quilt, and now that it is in its new home, I can show it. She once mentioned that she likes blue and white quilts, so I hope she will like this one.

(The pictures are less than wonderful, sorry, but you can get the general idea.)

Disappearing Nine-Patch Pattern

D9P (detail)

D9P (binding and backing detail)

I used yardage for the dark blue squares, the white background, the backing and the binding. The print squares were from a fabric line by Windham--Annabelle for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.


Happy sewing.

I'm linking with Jo's Country Junction UFO Progress.
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Anvil for my Nephew

I've been working on gift quilts for my youngest nephew and nieces. The quilts are now in their hands, so I can now share my work without spoiling the surprise. 


My nephew enjoys metalworking on his forge. When I decided to make him a quilt, the traditional Anvil block seemed appropriate.

I wanted to make a bold, geometric quilt--not a fussy one. For this reason, I chose to go with only two fabrics on the top--a struggle for a scrappy quilter like me!


The basic units are 3.5" and 6.5"--this creates a 12.5" block.

The block is easy to assemble:

Sew a 3.5" HST to a 3.5" solid light square

Sew a 3.5" HST to a dark solid square

Sew the two units together. You will need 2 of these four-patch units per block.

Sew the unit to a 6.5" HST to form a half-block.

Join the half-blocks to make a complete Anvil block.

In this quilt, I used 36 blocks to create a square quilt approximately 74" x 74" when finished and bound. Even numbers of blocks for each row and column made the overall pattern seem more complete to me. Experiment with your blocks to determine if you wish to make it differently.

Other layouts are possible with this block:

This layout turns all the scrappy anvils in one direction and adds sashing between the blocks. (Click the photo to find the original site of the image.)

Again, here the anvils all run in one direction this time without sashing between the blocks. (Click the photo to find the original site of the image.)

I chose the layout I did because I like the secondary pattern that is created by the light-colored fabric.

I backed this quilt with a fabric featuring American flags.

The binding is the same blue fabric as I used on the front.

My nephew is interested in the Navy, so I thought of using backing fabric printed with semaphore flags. The problem is, I don't read semaphore, so I wouldn't know what those flags were saying.I didn't want to give him a quilt where the flags spelled out "You are a scurvy rat" or "Your granny sucks eggs"!  :)



Thanks for visiting and happy sewing.


I'm linking to Myra's Busy Hands Quilts Finished or Not Friday and Fiber Tuesday 79 at The Quilting Room with Mel.