He Still Loves Me Jelly Roll Race quilt top

 

 

I started this quilt top on Wednesday and finished it today.  If you've ever made a jelly roll race quilt, you know that it involves sewing very long seams once you get the strips sewn end to end. It's not my favorite thing to do, so I was only sewing one long seam per day.  I sewed the last two seams today, but they were the shortest ones. These really aren't my favorite types of quilts to sew, and I don't love the way they look either.  

I bought this jelly roll (one of my first actually) and some coordinating fabric over 10 years ago, planning to make a jelly roll race out of it. I actually bought 2 jelly rolls at the same time and made a jelly roll race out of the other one, but in doing so found out that I didn't like doing it.  

However, I decided that I wanted this style of quilt to practice long-arm quilting on, so I went ahead and pieced this one just for that purpose.  It has the added bonus of using one of my unused pre-cuts, so that means it satisfies one of my goals for the year, too.

Running total of goals accomplished:

    Finish UFOs = 4 of 4 (completed)
    Use pre-cuts = 3 of 3 (completed)
    Do window paintings = 0 of 2
    Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
    Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
    Sew small bags = 0 of 2
    Sew tote bags= 1 of 2

Hopscotch quilt

 

I decided to name this one "Hopscotch" because the alternating rectangles and squares made me think of a hopscotch board.  Plus, the bunnies on the fabric already had me in the mindset of hopping.  I considered naming it "Paska"after the Eastern European Easter bread, because the pattern name is "Brioche and Baguettes" and the fabric was Easter themed, but decided against it.  It seemed a little too obscure and confusing for the general public that wouldn't know the pattern name.

I finished this quilt yesterday, June 5, 2025, but I started it on June 24, 2020, so this is my fourth completed UFO of the year, which completes that goal category. Yay!  This is another quilt that will be tucked away for my imagined craft show booth.

I quilted it on my long-arm in an all-over swirl-meander motif.  The thread is Isacord Chiffon, (color #2170) and the batting is Happy Cloud 50/50 Bamboo blend.  The binding was attached to the front by machine and turned to the back by hand.  The quilt finished at 57 x 75 inches.


Running total of goals accomplished:

    Finish UFOs = 4 of 4 (completed)
    Use pre-cuts = 2 of 3
    Do window paintings = 0 of 2
    Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
    Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
    Sew small bags = 0 of 2
    Sew tote bags= 1 of 2

Banner Day Flannel Rag Quilt

 

 

I don't plan on giving this quilt an official name or label, because I donate these to the Child Advocacy Center.  I started this quilt on May 24th and finished it yesterday. (They really don't take very long to make, but we took a mini-vacation during that time, too.)  It is made from a bundle of fat quarters of Banner Day fabric from Robert Kaufman Fabrics that I purchased from The Fat Quarter Shop in January of 2020, so that counts as one of my unused pre-cuts.  The bundle included 12 fat quarters, which was exactly what I needed for this style of rag quilt.  

These fat quarters were a little short lengthwise and a little long in height, so I ended up cutting the panels at 20 x 18.5 inches.  I sewed the individual fabric and batting sandwiches together on my sewing machine, and then quilted each one on my long-arm.  I used light grey Sewology thread from Hobby Lobby for the quilting, and I quilted them all in an all-over swirl motif.  After sewing the quilted panels together on my sewing machine, clipping the seams and edges, and washing it, the quilt finished at 33.5 x 46.5 inches, not including the outer fringe.

Running total of goals accomplished:

    Finish UFOs = 3 of 4
    Use pre-cuts = 2 of 3
    Do window paintings = 0 of 2
    Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
    Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
    Sew small bags = 0 of 2
    Sew tote bags= 1 of 2

May Mini Watercolors

 

 

These are my two 3x3 inch watercolors for the month of May.  The one on the left was inspired by a YouTube video by Foxhardt.  Hers was done in purple and wasn't a mini.  The one on the right was inspired by a tutorial by Andrea Nelson Art on YouTube. I'm pleased with how they turned out.

I feel like I'm starting to get an understanding of the wet on wet technique, maybe.  I like how the lighter trees fade into the background using this technique.  Then the darker, more detailed tree stands out, because it was done wet on dry.

I'm not sure that the composition is exactly what it should be in the mountain painting, but I think it works, okay.  I like the darker shading on the left side of the front mountain, but it probably needed a little more detail.  I'm learning.

Floral Twist bag

 

 

Yesterday and today I worked on making this little twist bag.  I made a similar bag for my granddaughter last year and I decided to make one for myself.  I don't often carry a purse, but when I do, I usually just want something to put my keys, wallet, and phone in.  I think this will be a nice size for that. 

I quilted the outer part of the bag on my regular domestic sewing machine in parallel lines.  The thread is Aurifil Bright Pink (#2425).

Since this one is for me and not intended to be inventory for my shop, I'm not going to count it toward my yearly goals.

Watermelon Tourmaline quilt

 

I finished the binding on this quilt on Sunday, and I got the label attached yesterday.  I named it Watermelon Tourmaline, because it was designed to look somewhat like the gemstone by the same name.  I started this quilt back in 2016, but never got around to quilting it or having it quilted. I couldn't decide how I wanted it quilted.  I still struggled with the "right" design and thread color up until the point when I put it into the frame.  I'm not sure what I was so worried about, really.  Perfectionism was just getting the best of me.

I quilted it with my long-arm quilter in an all-over meander pattern. I used Quilter's Dream Select cotton batting, and the thread is Isacord Rose (#2530).  The binding is attached to the front by machine and turned to the back by hand. The quilt finished at approximately 42 inches by 52 inches. This is my third finished UFO for this year.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 3 of 4
   
2. Use pre-cuts = 1 of 3
   
3. Do window paintings = 0 of 2
   
4. Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
   
5. Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 1 of 2

 

Wizard Tote Bag

 

 

I made this bag today, from start to finish.  The wizard fabric is the same as the fabric in the bag I made for Ruthie, but the purple accent fabric is different.  This bag is also smaller than the one I made for Ruthie.  This one is my normal tote bag size, roughly 5 x 9-1/2 inches at the base and 14 inches tall.

I quilted the outer shell on my longarm in a spiral meander pattern, using Isacord thread in Sugar Plum (color #2912).  The batting was leftover 50/50 Bamboo Blend Happy Cloud batting from Fat Quarter Shop.

I made this just to be inventory for my imagined craft fair booth, that may or may not ever happen.  But it also fulfills one of my creativity goals for this year.

Running total of goals accomplished: 

1. Finish UFOs = 2 of 4
   
2. Use pre-cuts = 1 of 3
   
3. Do window paintings = 0 of 2
   
4. Do non-window painting = 1 of 1 (completed)
   
5. Sew sets of coasters = 5 of 5 (completed)
   
6. Sew small bags = 0 of 2
   
7. Sew tote bags= 1 of 2

Mini Art

 

 

I decided to try making some little 3 x 3 inch watercolors inspired by Kirstin Van Leuven.  She's doing 100 mini painting this year, but I'm not necessarily painting along.  I like the idea of the small painting, but I'm not planning to do 100 of them or to necessarily do the same subjects that she's painting.  Just taking her idea as inspiration, mostly.  My goal right now is to do at least 2 per month for the rest of the year.

These are the ones I painted this month (Not today). From left to right, some trees inspired by a tutorial from Rebel Unicorn Crafts, a tree inspired by the tree in my front yard, and a sunset inspired by one that my husband and I saw taking our evening walk one day.

Watercolor Again

 

 

For the month of March, I decided to pull out my watercolor paints and try to paint at least a little something every day.  Mostly I did Zen Tangles, but I did try a few other things as well.  I decided I didn't want to post about it every day on social media like I did for Inktober several years ago, but I thought I'd share a few of the highlights now that the month is over.

Mostly it was pretty fun to do.  I plan to try to keep painting some, but not every day.  Maybe I'll do some more sewing now that all my creative time isn't focused on watercolor.