Three Easy Steps

 How to TOTALLY Screw Up a Perfect Productive Streak.

 

 

.......It was a dark and stormy night....TWISTER!

Yes, I did know I moved to Tornado Alley, but this night there were 500 active tornado watches along six states...AND one flew right over MY house!!

Thankfully not much damage to our small town, but that string of storms ushered in a massive rain fall, dropping 15" of ran in about 36 hours...which resulted in local flooding.

Through it all my little house was protected, but it was a major disruption to the area.  Ok, One Down. 

...... Followed by an allergic reaction to a Medication.

Have you EVER had a really bad case of HIVES?!  It is not just a little rash, let me tell you!  Picture, if you will, thousands of  mosquito bites all (and I do mean ALL) over your body!  They blossom from swollen, itchy bites to massive red and purple, itchy splotches...all on FIRE 🔥.  And that isn't even the half of it....many other very unpleasant symptoms come along for the ride.  ... the mental fog persists even today.

Another week bites the dust.

 

They say things come in THREES. 
At least this third event was a pleasant one.

 

 

.... the Trilogy Ended with Quilt Week. Whew, relief!!

I was able to spend three wonderful days taking classes and drooling over spectacular creations.  Not to mention stimulating the quilting economy just a bit.

 

 

 

The three classes I took were all wonderful and fun (mostly). 
The instructors were excellent, passing along so much information...
I learned a lot.  I won't lie, I am a little jealous of their creative abilities.  (More about these later.)

 

 

Best of Show.  A February's Dream of Spring

The winner of Best of Show receives $20,000.  The quilt does become the property of The National Quilt Museum.
(I mention that because some winners have chosen to pass up Best of Show to maintain ownership of their creation.)
$20,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it probably took her many hundreds of hours to complete this quilt....She surely earned every penny.  Get all the details and close-up pictures HERE 

This is my personal favorite: Horse with No Name.  Thread Painting throughout.

HERE is a link to the complete list of all the Award Winners.   In total, AQS paid out $250,000 in prize money.

The week was an inspiration:  After the last Show day I came home and spent some time in the "studio" organizing and cleaning up and letting the quilting vibes rejuvenate my spirit.

Finally:  A Blast from the Past:

Quilt Week with all the Sisters (and our "driver")

 

This popped up on my FaceBook page yesterday. 
While the picture surely brightened my day, I was also a little sad as mom and Auntie are both gone now.

Next time:  Quilts and Classes.  

Now, Lord Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise (again), let's see if I can get back on my Productive Track,

And, Furthermore ...

 ... in addition to .... the UFO lists.

Sister's Birthday present:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My goal was to make her a different table runner for each month...but, if I hit the BIG celebrations, I'll be happy.*

She has a Very L-O-N-G table (72")...Happy Birthday, baby sister.

 

 

An addition to the Small Quilt Wall:  

 

Star Bright from River's Edge, the finished product from the Mystery sew-a-long a couple Saturday's back.  HERE

Practiced FMQ....it's coming along.

I like the River's Edge shop more and more...one of these days I'm going to go visit them in Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

 

Finished up a Cat bed:

 

How could something so simple take so long to complete??
(hint....because it's boring...)

Lou already has 4 beds scattered around the house, but this came in handy when I washed two of his beds and they took DAYS to air dry.

(The inner pillow is muslin, then made a "pillow case" so it's easy to wash. 
Filling is scraps.)

 

I must say....I'm a bit proud of myself for accomplishing so much, so far this year....(the universe did not hear me say that...."Pride goes before a Fall"....Proverbs 16:18)

 

*No pattern for this runner.  I saw a picture similar to this and decided to make my own as I went along.  I'll admit, this is the second version....my first attempt was very wonky and ended up in the trash.

 

April is Brought to You By...

 

The APQ  UFO Number is 2 and the
River's Edge UFO Letter is "H"
and the NEW River's Edge Quarterly Project is W3.

APQ's:  April number is 2.

The memorial wall hanging I made for my Quilting Auntie Nyla using Row-by-Row license plates.  This is not TOO old....only a couple of years.  And, NOT the first time shown here.  

 

When originally posted as a UFO in 2023 the purpose was to learn to use the Flynn system for quilting. 
Let's see if I can kill two birds with one stone.

River's Edge:  April's Letter is "H" 

 "H" is two items:

 

A paper pieced cup....this was started WAY back .... WAY, WAY back...at least 15 years ago???  It was a class at Greenbaum's Quilted Forest in Salem,  OR.  (The store closed  in 2016. It was such a great store.) My introduction to paper piecing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, the second item....the TP wall hanging.  I bought this pattern just before the "Lock Down."  Remember when everyone went nuts and filled their spare rooms, attics and basements with TP?  That was crazy, but the pattern is still too cute not to sew up.  

Looking at this pattern brought back fun memories of the Needlers and creating a Care Package for Miss Wanda.  HERE

 I sure miss those ladies....

 

 

 

The River's Edge Quarterly Project was to make covers for my large kitchen appliances....well, NO...just NO.  This is not the kind of sewing that "sparks joy".... so into the donation basket it all goes....thank you, Marie Kondo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of non-joy-producing sewing, I'm going to make a quilt for my great nephew, Sterling.  That will bring us BOTH joy... he's a pretty happy guy most of the time, already.

There is a reason this is a UFO, even though it has not even been started...Truth be told, I've had this pattern for "a while", a LONG while.  And I'm going to see this little guy in June, so perfect timing.

 

 

 

There you have it...the plan for the month....I've made my list...
Lots of FINISHES.  I feel motivated, and I ain't foolin.

May The Fourth be with you...

 

It would appear joining two UFO groups is paying off this year...
it also helps that I'm semi-retired now, so I have more FREE time.

March Finishes:   APQ, Quilts needing labels.

 River's Edge  March's Letter was"A"

You're Invited 

Surprise, surprise...it turned out pretty cute.  I won't lie, what looked like an easy, slam-dunk design turned out to be a bit challenging.  Jack and I spent a fair amount of quality time together.  I still see things I'd change if I had the "want to", but.... now it's off to the  LAQ*.

 

River's Edge: quarterly project 

While I have been working on the Memory Bears as my quarterly project....the quarterly project due this quarter was the stack of Row-by-Row kits and patterns accumulated over the years.  The goal, weed the stack and finish two. 

Remember when Row-by-Row was all the rage?  My Quilting Auntie and I would shop hop and pick up patterns and kits like we were really going to sew these up!  😂

Row-by-Row from 2017.  Picked up from Sew EZ Two** in Spokane, WA.

 

 

Adding to my studio Small-Quilt Wall(s).  I hung it above my design wall so I could see it every time I entered the room.

 

 

 

 "Adventure A-Waits"

Picked up from Mel's Sewing and Fabric in Southern Calif. in 2017.

I've gone through the weeding process with these patterns and kits a few times now and it's down to three kits to make up.... the first entry on the UFO list for 2026. 

 

Machine Review Corner:  Baby Doll

For an inexpensive machine, she was OK.  Not as smooth as a more expensive machine...but OK.  It would be a good travel machine or a good "first" machine.

 

That wraps up a busy month....so satisfying!

 

 

* LAQ = Long Arm Quilter
** Sadly this shop is permanently closed.
And that's a pity, it was a great shop. Aunt Nyla and I spent a lot of time (and money) in this shop.

Mystery Solved!!

 ...And, a Fun little virtual get-together...River's Edge Antiques & Quilts

It started in the morning and every hour they would release the next "Clue."

Another small quilt for my Small Quilt Wall....

 

 

 The more I interact with this shop on line, the more I want to hop in the car and go visit them.

 

It Was the Butler

...In the Library with a Candle Stick!

I wasn't going to say anything....I signed up and was just going to DO IT. 

But then I thought y'all might like to have some fun, too.

River's Edge Antique's and Quilt Loft is sponsoring a one-day mystery quilt-along, called Star Bright.

 

 

 

 

 

March 29, 2025

Here's the skinny:  It is a one-day event, it will be a small wall quilt when finished.  It just looks like fun.

* Go HERE to sign up.  Participation is FREE.

* Pick 6 Fat Quarters from your own collection....or they have some bundles for sale (the bundles look good and I was tempted, but I have FQs that are begging to be sewn up!)

*Then just tune in on FB on March 29 and follow along.

 It's THAT simple, but the date is fast approaching so don't delay....sign up today....see all y'all there (virtually) !

Beary Cute!

 

Memory Bears for my Bestie, her daughter and granddaughter....

Finished the first one.... 

 

Working on the Second One....I decided I wanted them all to be different,  and I stumbled across this YouTube channel:  PayItForward  HERE 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only is this the CUTIEST bear I've ever seen, Lisa Pay videos are WONDERFUL!! 
Very detailed and she's so easy to follow.

Rag Bear Pattern video HERE  And the Pattern is FREE!!

 

The Rag Bear is a very different style. But, he's quite cute and I think Madelyn will like him.

 Lisa Pay has A LOT of FREE patterns AND, you just have to LOVE her sense of style!! 

One more bear to go...I can BEAR-LY wait for Miss Peggy to see these.....