Category: Quilting

Quilting · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday: QB3 & 4

Vicki7 Comments

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

Nothing new here.

QUILTING:

I made my sewed together my third & fourth quilt blocks last night which were previewed the other day!

Colorful patchwork quilt featuring spirals and polka dots in shades of pink, purple, orange, and white.

Here’s how that Disappearing Nine Patch sliced up & got rearranged.

A colorful quilt square featuring a central floral motif surrounded by various patterned fabrics, including polka dots and zigzags in vibrant colors.

And the Squared In pansy block.

The day I can both cut and sew in a straight line will be one worth celebrating. haha.

A vibrant quilt featuring four colorful patchwork squares, each with distinct patterns including swirls, polka dots, and floral designs.

Here are the four blocks that I’ve completed so far! They won’t be arranged like this & they won’t be all jammed up together in the end, but it really helps to see them all together so I can make fabric/pattern choices for the next one or two or three. I have homework!!

READING:

Continuing (bedtime pages): No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder.

George Saunders’ Vigil on audio. I have one more chapter… and then I might start all over again!

It’s been a weird week, y’all. I ended up going to work yesterday morning because of a domain expiration due to a credit card expiration and because of such, we were getting no email. So, I ended up going to work on all three of the days I would normally have had off last weekend! Oh well. On top that that, Rusty returned from a long (work) weekend in Todos Santos & his flight didn’t arrive until 11p — last night! So, after quilt class, I drove down to Milwaukee, arriving at 9p, and snoozed in my car for a couple of hours — well, an hour, maybe — after I caught up on all my Crossplay games & messages. I must have actually fallen asleep, though, because my alarm woke me up! And I didn’t have to work ALL day yesterday, so I was able to get in a little nap in the afternoon, too.

Quilting · Weekending

Weekending

Vicki6 Comments

It’s a funny one. It’s supposed to be one of my long weekends, but I ended up working on Friday (half-day) & today, too, because my co-worker’s mom had heart surgery on Friday.

I had Ginny, Malina & Davy overnight on Friday — Junah was otherwise occupied! There was painting, coloring, game-playing, K’nex building, jigsaw puzzling, movie watching, plenty of eating, and time on the iPad (which they love, but I limit to :20 each, once or twice a day).

A child stacking blue game tokens while sitting at a wooden table, with a board game featuring playing cards in the foreground.

If you knew how wiggly my old kitchen table is, you’d understand why I was bracing for a disaster as I snapped this pic while Ginny & I were getting a game of Sequence underway. She got them all stacked up without mishap! Whew.

A boy sitting on a bed with a laptop, and a girl sitting beside him on the bed using a tablet, surrounded by a colorful quilt and soft furnishings in a cozy bedroom.

Davy, patiently awaiting his turn in my sunny & bright bedroom, holding the empty iPad case while his sister tests her limit. haha.

It happened to be Eagle Days on Saturday (plural, even though it’s only one day… I guess “Eagle Day” sounds dumb) at 1000 Islands Environmental Center, our local nature center. They had a live presentation by the National Eagle Center (HQ in Wabasha, MN) featuring Latsch, one of the centers “eagle ambassadors,” who was found on the ground near an eagle next nine years ago, and discovered to be blind in one eye.

A smiling man in a blue shirt stands beside a bald eagle perched on his arm, while an audience watches in the background.

One of the day’s presentations was timed perfectly, so we met Ali & Junah at the nature center. As far as those types of programs go, this one was pretty good — not too long, informative, entertaining, and interactive. Plus, live bald eagle! Oh, and it was standing room only. We ended up standing right next to the tarantula cage (aquarium) and he/she was very active! Ew (shudder), but also wow!

I didn’t leave the house all day yesterday. I putzed, tidied & napped, watched some Shetland (catching up on the last few seasons) & the Grammys, and pressed & cut some fabric for the next two quilt blocks.

A quilt square featuring a patchwork design with nine sections, incorporating various patterns such as spirals and polka dots in shades of pink, purple, and red.

This will be a Disappearing 9 Patch, and will undergo a bit of a transformation during construction. I’ll have an update on this one, for sure, on Wednesday.

A colorful quilt block featuring a central diamond shape surrounded by squares in various patterns including polka dots and zigzags, predominantly in red, navy, and pink colors.

I also auditioned & cut pieces for the fourth block, which is called Squared In. As soon as I cut the piece for the middle, I knew it wasn’t going to work very well — it’s a stylized hydrangea but the scale is all wrong.

A colorful patchwork quilt square featuring a central floral design surrounded by polka dot and zigzag patterned fabrics in vibrant colors.

I just happened to have more of that Big Blooms fabric (two or three cuts in different colorways), so why not another pansy? There are a few more “centerpiece” blocks in this sampler quilt… not sure they’ll all feature pansies. But maybe. If all goes well, I’ll have an update on this one for Wednesday, too, though it won’t look much different (just more put together).

Quilting · Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday: QB2

Vicki6 Comments

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

Well, there really hasn’t been much knitting lately. I don’t know what I’ve been doing, except that I’ve been busy & wildly distracted (and should probably reapply some limits to my phone use). The new Crossplay (think Scrabble/Words With Friends) on NYT Games is fun, though, and I have numerous matches going at any given time with Kate, Ali, Ann, even a couple of random strangers.

I am on the home/decrease stretch of the Sophie-esque scarf I mentioned a little while ago, though, and I’ve been feeling the urge to knit!

QUILTING:

I made my second quilt block last night!

A colorful fabric quilt block featuring a central floral design with pansies, surrounded by various geometric patterns including polka dots and circles in purple, pink, yellow, and blue.

The block is called Churn Dash — I used the center square to highlight a pansy (still one of my favorite flowers). I don’t think that’s a very traditional choice, but I think you can probably tell that “traditional” is not where this is all going. haha.

A selection of colorful fabric swatches, featuring intricate patterns including spirals, dots, and floral designs in vibrant colors.

These are my choices, more or less, for the third block, which is Disappearing Nine Patch. I’ll be trimming & cutting pieces for that this weekend, and likely choosing fabrics & doing the same for the block or two that follows.

READING:

Bedtime reading continues to be No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder, and that will likely be the case for a while.

I was so excited for the release of George Saunders’ Vigil that I had it on my calendar & pre-saved in Spotify, so I had alerts galore yesterday morning and… we’ll see where it goes! So far, I’m enjoying the “performances” immensely — perfect casting, while still figuring out the story. I’m very curious about how much Saunders is involved in the actual production and/or direction of the recording. Anyway, we’re off! It’s been ages since I’ve listened to a book and this is the perfect way to get back to it.

2026 - Michigan's UP · Quilting

Up North

Vicki10 Comments

We had a nice, relaxing weekend in the UP. There’s so much snow up there!

Snow-covered landscape with trees and a frozen lake during sunset, featuring a cozy cabin in the foreground.

Our Airbnb cottage was on a very small, very quiet lake… there were other people around, but I didn’t see them.

A snowy landscape featuring birch trees and red outdoor furniture partially covered in snow, with a serene lake in the background.

A few inches of snow fell while we were there. There was never a big flurry, just very lightly falling most of the day (or at night when I wasn’t looking).

Snow-covered road stretching into the distance under a cloudy sky, with trees flanking the sides and a faint sun visible through the clouds.

The roads were mostly snow-covered from Escanaba north…

A black Subaru Outback covered in snow parked in a lot, showing the rear view with a clean area on the snow-covered license plate.

…and sure made a mess of my car! This was my Subie’s first road trip & she did just great, though!

We discovered that The Up North Lodge was only a few minutes away, so we headed there on Friday night. Food & service were both great.

A wooden tabletop displaying different types of wood samples labeled with their names, including beech, black walnut, and white pine, with the phrase 'WOODS OF THE UP NORTH' prominently featured.

There was a huge, curved, custom bar featuring cuts of “Woods of the Up North.” It was so cool, but I was only able to see a very small portion of it (without being rude). Alas, a good enough reason to go back? I think so.

We went up to Marquette on Saturday for much of the day. I dropped Rusty off at a book store while I went on a mission to Alley Kat’s Quilt Shop! I’m sure that’s no surprise.

A vibrant assortment of fabric swatches arranged in a circular pattern around a color wheel on a wooden table.

Needing some sort of direction, I printed a simple color wheel & tried sorting my FQs that way — it really helped, and also made me aware that I have enough for another two or three projects. Anyway, I found a few cuts at Alley Kat’s to help fill things out (or give me some choices). (I also had a couple of cuts from a local-ish Etsy seller waiting when I got home.)

A wooden table covered with colorful fabric pieces, measuring tools, and papers, with a snowy landscape visible through a large sliding glass door in the background.

I commandeered the table for our most of our stay! Once I figured out where I was headed & got things sorted, I started pressing & squaring up my fabric.

An ironing board with a patterned cover set up on a kitchen countertop next to a blue steam iron and a spray bottle.
A pile of colorful fabric scraps and threads scattered on a wooden surface.

For a relatively cozy cabin — and even though Rusty & I both immediately thought about how we’d have arranged it all differently — there was a lot of room!

Cozy living and dining area featuring a wooden dining table, patterned sofas, a wood stove, and a kitchen visible in the background.

There was a lot of wood, a definite duck theme, and lots of plaid!

A tranquil winter landscape featuring tall pine trees, a snowy foreground, and a frozen lake surrounded by distant trees. The scene conveys a serene and quiet atmosphere, depicting the beauty of nature in winter.

Rusty made a little watercolor on Sunday while I ironed, trimmed & cut fabric.

Colorful quilt block featuring a cross pattern with swirls and polka dots in various shades of blue, pink, green, and purple.

I made my first block at last night’s class! I had time to cut my pieces for next week’s block, too.

Quilting · Right Now...

Right now…

Vicki6 Comments

Anticipating… a few days in the UP (Upper Peninsula) (of Michigan) because we’re…

Celebrating… our 41st wedding anniversary next week! (Sheesh.)

Junah celebrated his golden birthday on Monday!! Can you believe it? They went on a little trip to LEGO Land in Chicago. I’d hoped to see them before they left, then when they returned… but we’re busy & they’re super busy (besides school & homework, think dance classes & wrestling) (Davy’s wrestling!). I think we’ll be able to get together next week. (And I really want to go watch Davy.)

Cooking… I’m cooking a lot more lately because just after Christmas our personal chef drove off with a car full of stuff (and her dog) & temporarily relocated to the Arizona desert.

Excited about… meeting said personal chef in Albuquerque for a long weekend next month as she begins to slowly make her way back to Wisconsin. She’ll be back by early March because that’s when Maddy will be here!!

I have two cousins (sisters) in ABQ, so will also try to meet up with them.

Wondering… if Kai will be excited to see me in Albuquerque! It’ll be interesting — it will be almost two months since they departed and we’ll be in a completely new & random place.

Hoping… just holding on to hope.

Knitting… Since the holiday knitting bonanza is over, I’ve been back to working on a little Sophie-esque scarf — only a few more repeats until I begin the end shaping. Then, I’m…

Looking forward to… getting back to my Farfalle cardigan! Both of those projects will be accompanying me to the UP. I need to pick that back up & get back into the rhythm I was just starting to feel. And, yes, the Family Temperature Blanket is also still awaiting some attention.

Practicing… patience.

Reading: Pages… No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder. I bought this book in Nebraska & it’ll fit nicely on the shelf with all my other books about pioneer women & the west. This one also happens to be a memoir & quilting features prominently, so it’s ticked a number of boxes.

Reading: Audio… I haven’t “read” an audio book in quite a while, but I have the release of George Saunders’ Vigil noted on my calendar and I cannot wait!

A colorful array of various fabric pieces arranged in rows, showcasing a mix of vibrant patterns and textures.
A collection of fabric strips in various patterns and textures, arranged in vertical stacks on a cutting mat.

Planning/Sewing… I’m not at the sewing part yet, but I had my first quilt class this week. I’m still very much in the planning stage, as in choosing fabrics, and it’s hard! I’m trying to mostly use fabrics that I already have. The quilt uses about 15-17 fat quarters — and I have a lot (by my standards) (though not as many as I did a couple of months ago), most of them randomly collected so I’m trying to find The Thing that pulls it together. The main Things that I’m considering are color, pattern & scale… and it’s hard to focus/decide. It doesn’t help that I’m using mostly Kaffe Fassett fabrics again (because that’s mostly what I have) and so many of them defy categorization… but also he’s all about color & breaking rules & doing what makes you feel good. What makes me feel good? haha. I’m bringing the contenders on the trip & hopefully making my choices for the first block… which we’ll be sewing at the next class.

Thinking… that maybe I just need a good neutral/solid in there somewhere! Yeah, I’m thinking too much. If I really can’t land on a combo myself, I’ll haul it into the shop for some guidance.

Wondering… what’s up with you right now?