2025: Tiny Quilts: Square-in-a-Square and Stacked Coins

These two little quilts started with the fabrics. And the urge to make something small. Making these two little quilts was an inspirational break after working on bigger quilts.

Audiobooks:
None documented

Completed Square-in-a-Square March 8, 2025
Designed by Sheryl Johnson of Temecula Quilt Company
January Mini-a-Month post card quilt

I had bought a fat-eighth  bundle of Dressing Gowns by Judy Rothermel from the Ye Olde Schoolhouse Quilt Shop in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Jeanie, the owner, had posted it on Instagram. No quilter needs an excuse to buy fabrics that speak to her (or him)! When I received the bundle, I immediately turned to my tiny quilt patterns collection and found Sheryl’s postcard quilt. I made this tiny quilt in one day!!! Later I ordered two yards of the Tossed Tiles fabric and had a lovely conversation with Jeanie about how we love reproduction fabrics and quilts. Jeanie, if you ever read this, find me a good quilt retreat and I will come to your shop!

Completed Stacked Coins March 10, 2025
My design

I had a bunch of small rectangles just waiting to be used, so I started sewing them together into strips randomly. I arranged them with shaded strips of turquoise I had left over from another project. I finished the quilt with an eye-popping binding.

2025: Valentine’s Day 2025 Mystery Sew-Along

Designed by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts
Fig Tree blog project

Completed top February 25, 2025
Audiobooks:
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Due to my new love of all things Fig Tree, I decided to try a more playful pattern when this free online project was offered. I had some fabrics that were appropriate, but I ordered the Sweet Romance bundle to have a selection of light fabrics for this project. I am very happy with this lovely quilt.

2023: Garden Trug by Kim Diehl

A Simple Whatnots 12 project

Completed quilt September 1, 2023
Audio books: 
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

The traditional meaning of a garden trug is a narrow basket used to gather flowers or vegetables from the garden. This little beauty could be used as a liner for the basket, but I like it best as a table topper. I forgot to take a picture of my completed trug so this is Kim Diehl's picture. I gave this to my dear friend Lucy. She only enjoyed it for one season and then left us. 

2023: Starstruck

Pattern by Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robison of Red Crinoline Quilts, from the American Patchwork and Quilting Calendar, September 2023

Completed quilt October 4, 2023

Audio books:

            The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell

            and Dustin Thomason

            When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskins

 

I had the lovely Red Rose and Vine fabric by Paula Barnes from a previous project.

 

2023: Christmas Birds

Based on Chain Reaction, from the book Modern Views with 3-Yard Quilts by Fabric Café
Completed top October 9, 2023
Quilted February 2024
Audio books:
None

This was a retreat project with JH. We had bought this beautiful bird fabric, Holiday Collection, by Laurel Burch, many years ago at a lovely quilt shop that no longer exists. It sat and sat and sat because we had no idea what to do with these birds. When the 3-Yard-Quilt craze came along, we thought this pattern would be perfect to showcase them. 

 

2023: Cozy Flannel Throw

Completed quilt October 28, 2023
Audio books:
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin
Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

This quilt replaces a worn out flannel throw that I made 30 years ago. I don't have the original pattern so I just copied the quilt and added churn dash blocks. I had some leftover flannel from a previous project. 

I found the finishing flannel at Meeting House Fabric in Wales, MA. It is hand-tied with black cotton.

    

                         Old Quilt                         

                  

                                                                        New Quilt

2023: Striking Stars

Designed by Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robison, from the book Tucked Away Treasures
Completed top November 23, 2023 in California

Audio books:
Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton
61 Hours (Jack Reacher) by Lee Child

I found the fabric pack for this wall hanging on my first visit to Meeting House Fabric in Wales, MA. I have this book, which features this pattern on the cover. As I was sewing this project, I realized that the fabrics in the pack were not as bright as on the cover photo. I added a couple of brights from my California scrap bin. The quilt was made entirely in California. 

2023: Fresh Off the Vine

Garden Path, from the book Modern Views with 3-Yard Quilts by Fabric Café 

Completed top January 11, 2022; quilted November 2023

Audio book: Elegy for Eddie (Maisie Dobbs #9) by Jacqueline Winspear

The quilting is exquisite...I wish I had kept this!

I made this as an easy, quick project between larger ones. It hung in the closet for over a year. My WW coach loved the picture of the quilt so much, she bought it after I had it quilted.

2023: Mirror, Mirror

Designed by Jordan Fabrics

Completed top December 29, 2023

Audiobooks:  Name of the Wind by Peter Rothfus

My sister-in-law Nancy asked me to make a quilt for her bed.  Her husband had adopted her “retirement” quilt from years ago. She picked the pattern, bought fabrics, and chose quilting design.  I thought her choice of backing was perfect -- she does love blue!

2024: Christmas Tree Skirt

Designed by Donna Jordan of Jordan Fabrics.com
Completed skirt December 30, 2024

Audio books: None documented

For years I have been wanting to make an official tree skirt but kept putting it off and using a quilt. This year I did it! I bought the fabrics in November 2023 in California.

2024: Spruce Lane

Designed by Taunja Kelvington of Carried Away Quilting

Competed top December 13, 2024

Audio books: Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune

This is another of Taunja’s patterns that I found on IG.  It is a winter design, but the greens give hope for the coming spring. This pattern was refreshing to make. I used all my own fabrics. 

2024: Giving Season Pillow

Designed by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique
Completed top November 26, 2024 in California

Audio books: None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

I bought this pillow kit at Quilty Pleasures Quilt Shop in Simi Valley, CA in November 2023. I loved this pillow so much that it stayed on my sofa till the end of March! 

2024: "Tis the Season Snowman

Designed by Cyndy Fahey
Completed pillow November 29, 2024, in California

Audio books: none documented

This was an adorable little kit I could not leave in Meeting House Fabric. I had not done anything crafty for many years except quilting. I managed to muddle through, and my little guy is so cute!

2024: Nestled

Designed by Taunja Kelvington of Carried Away Quilts
Completed top November 27, 2024, in California

Audio books:  None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

I have been following Taunja on Instagram for a while now. Her patterns are simple and fresh. Although I love making reproduction quilts, I have come to love her modern style.

Nestled is a wreath wall hanging or table topper. When I saw this darling posted on IG, I immediately ordered the cute little Christmas mice fabric that she uses in the windows of the house. The tiny mice are adorable.

Using my own green and red fabrics, it turned out beautifully. I will be sure to use it next holiday season.

2024: French General Floral Fire

Designed by Suzanne McNeill, for 10-Minute Blocks
Completed top November 17, 2024

Audio books: None documented. 

Yankee Quilter in Seymour showcased this quilt in the shop. JoAnn and I were entranced with how this quilt is put together, so I bought the pattern book. 

I had been collecting French General fabrics for a couple of years for a project like this, so I got right to it. It was a bit tricky to put together the first block, which took me three attempts to get it right. For every block I made, I had to pay really close attention. The pattern calls for a border, but I felt with all the busy fabrics in the top, I would leave it as is. The top is now waiting to go to my long-arm quilter.

Safe Keeping by Kim Diehl

 

A Simple Whatnots 12 project

Completed top October 31, 2024

 

Audio books:

None documented

 

I gave this little quilt to my chiropractor, who has been keeping me on the straight and narrow for the last 12 years.

 

2024 Vintage Sampler Block of the Month

Designed by Nancy Rink
Completed top January 8, 2024 (began May 14, 2023)

Audio books:
            The Medici Manuscript by C. J. Archer
            Winter’s Redemption by Mary Stone
            Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
            The Life We Bury by Allen Eskins
            The Guise of Another by Allen Eskins
            Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger
            Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin
            The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
            Worth Dying For, a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child
            The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne
 
Whoa! I COULD NOT RESIST when I saw basket blocks on the wall of Yankee Cloth's second floor. When I discovered they were part of a BOM, I paid for the entire program then and there! The fabrics are Vintage Charm by Judie Rothermel, my favorite reproduction fabric designer. Each month brought beautiful fabrics into my home, and it is ready for my bed.

 

2024 Go Getter

Designed by April Rosenthal of Prairie Grass Patterns 2020

Completed top January 19, 2024

Audio books:
The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskins
Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger
Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger
#23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer

        The Pecan Man/The Truth About Grace 

            by Cassie Dandridge Selleck

This quilt really needs a better name.
I purchased this kit at Cotton & Chocolate in Thousand Oakes, CA in 2023. This is another quilt, with Love, Lilly fabrics, that has a breezy, summer cottage feel.

2024 Harvest Pumpkins

Designed by Vickie Gerike, from County Seat Quilts book
Completed top January 14, 2024

Audio books: 
Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger
#23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer

This was a quilt waiting to be made for my house.

I had mentioned to my husband last fall that the seasonal Halloween quilts were cute, but not something I would want to make for our 1897 house. And then, during the 2023 All New England Shop Hop, I found one of my favorite shops, Meeting House Fabric in Wales, MA (not on the shop hop list of stores).

This beautiful autumn quilt, with stars in the center of the pumpkins, was made in traditional fall colors. I thought the kit was too expensive for me, so I bought the book! When I returned home and turned the page on my quilt studio calendar -- there it was, the featured quilt for October! Needless to say, I had not needed to buy the book, but I am happy I did. 

Did you feel the universe reaching out to me? On the next visit I just picked up the fabric pack because there was no way I could replicate the look of the original, to heck with the cost! This quilt is perfect for my house. The quilting is exquisite with oak leaf and grape vines intertwined throughout. 

I had extra blocks, so I made a table runner for my good friend Lucy, who loved this color theme. Sadly, she never got to use it before she passed in August. But her husband is keeping her decorating traditions going.

2024 Vintage Stars

Designed by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree & Company

Completed top February 16, 2024

Audio books: 
Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton
        The Pecan Man, and The Truth About Grace by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson

I purchased this kit at Cotton & Chocolate in Thousand Oakes, CA. I fell in love immediately with the sample because the fabrics in the kit were beautiful; if made up of fabrics in the pattern picture, it would have been a pass for me. The lovely florals give the quilt that cottage feel I love.

    

Cake Walk by Kim Diehl

A Simple Whatnots project

Completed top February 19, 2024

Audio books:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
Name of the Wind by Peter Rothfus

I gave this little quilt to my friend Kim for her home in South Carolina

Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Block of the Month 2020

Completed top February 28, 2024

Audio books:
A Killer in King’s Cove by Iona Wishaw

For me this quilt was a true mystery. I seemed to have ordered it by accident and don’t remember doing so, or maybe I was intrigued by the fabric line. In any case, I began making it and the blocks just sat in the pretty box the fabrics came in till I decided to finish the damn thing.

I have no picture of the completed top. I didn’t love it so I gave it to a California quilter friend who she could use for her granddaughter. However, there were some design elements I liked and I took a picture of just one that hangs on my design wall.

Snowberries in Summer by Kim Diehl

A Simple Whatnots 12 project

Completed top March 5, 2024

Audio books:
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan
 

Cedar Chest Quilt Retreat, February 2024

Retreat hosted by the Cedar Chest Quilt Guild in Cedar City, Utah

It has been many years since I took a quilting class anywhere, so this trip was a lot of fun. I was invited to attend with several of my California quilting friends. We stayed in a house and had a blast at the retreat. I am going again this year!

Holiday Season

from the pattern Red Delicious by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter.com

Completed top May 7, 2024

Audio books:
Edge of Collapse by Kyla Stone
The Interview: Anne Hathaway by NYT The Daily podcast
The Interview: Israeli opposition leader, The Daily
The Daily: Bird Flu
Old Babes in the Woods, Stories by Margaret Atwood
The Warwick Recordings, a Deadbolt Mystery

I loved the teacher for this class, Teresa Porter. The pattern is actually easy to make. I used my own Christmas fabrics, but they do not have a standard Christmas theme. This quilt is basically red and green. 

Crossing Paths 

Designed and taught by Melissa Cory

Completed top: April 11, 2024

Audio books:
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
A Wanted Man (a Jack Reacher novel) by Lee Child

Melissa Cory was fun to watch! She introduced me to magic tape for sewing diagonal seams. I loved all the fabrics I used in this quilt but in the end, it did not have that POP effect that I endeavored to achieve. Perfect for a man.

 

Ohio 3-Yard-Quilt

 Garden Path from the book Modern Views with 3-Yard Quilts 

by Fabric Café

Completed top May 19, 2024

Audio books:
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

I made this quilt for a relative who was hospitalized to treat a severe skin infection. Her skin was very sensitive to pressure, so I used a flannel backing. It was perfect!

No photo to share.

Piece of Cake, BBMQ 2024

Piece of Cake, A Brown Bag Mystery Quilt 2024 

Designed by Karen Montgomery

Completed top May 25, 2024

Audio books:
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
        Edge of Collapse by Kyla Stone

I think this BBMQ is my fifth, but who's counting? I chose this brown bag by the floral fabric attached to the bag handle. The fabrics were fine, but in the end I did not like the lack of contrast between the cake stands and background. It does look like a picnic quilt. Other quilts shown online were so much more beautiful. My daughter Laura loved it, so it became her Christmas present.

I am wondering if I should continue for 2025 because it is getting expensive. But given my recent spending on fabric, why the hell not??? And it would require a trip to Florida - Yay!

May 14, 2025 update: I found my 2025 BBMQ at the 2025 Cedar Chest Quilt Retreat! I was so happy to find it there because I never made it to Florida.

Pink Floral 3-Yard-Quilt

 Urban Chic 3-Yard Quilt by Fabric Café 

    from the book Fast & Fun 3-Yard Quilts, 2018

Completed top June 1, 2024

Audio book: The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

Made for a neighbor when I heard diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I put Minky on the back, which helps to keep patients warm during chemotherapy. She is doing well.

Carrie's Snowflake

This pattern is Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery Quilt Sew Along, Jelly Snowflake

Date top completed: June 21, 2024

Audio books:
None 

I have long wanted to make my niece-in-law a contemporary quilt in her favorite color, purple. I already had a large pattern in mind but when I came across this "Christmas" pattern shown in two colors, I knew it was time. I actually needed to purchase the grape Grunge Basics fabrics because I don't stash yardage (unless for background or backing).  I used a purple floral on the back so that she can use it year-round. She got it for her birthday in November 2024.