Everything I had planned didn’t work – I’ll explain all but first the pink log cabin for those who didn’t see it here or on Instagram.
Another shot so you can see Farmer Tim’s cornfield in winter mode. Very dull – can’t wait to see it green again.
Many soft rose fabrics with some darker and even a couple lime green and aqua strips thrown in for fun. Someone wrote to me and said they didn’t have enough fabric in these shades. Well, here’s a shocker – neither did I!! I shopped for about 20 eighth yard pieces and could use it all because strips were cut in assorted widths. So even though I do have lots of fabric I didn’t have just exactly what I envisioned.
I will do this again but not wacky strips – I misunderstood what an uneven log cabin block was. Next time I’ll use assorted strip widths and then size my blocks. But first I tried to start something new today.
I have these great antique blocks – enlarge this picture and look at the stitching. I want to put them together with gold so I have both Iowa and Iowa State colors covered. But the quilt will get bigger than I want to work on right now so this was out.
Look at these fabulous blue and white embroidered blocks – 12 of them but they’re 16-18” – BIG! And I wanted to piece blocks to go between each one. Another quilt that’s too big but they’re two shades of blue floss and the workmanship is so perfect. Dang.
So maybe use these antique blue blocks along with the vintage indigo fabric still on the blot – 36” wide even!! Or maybe just put the indigo blocks together for a wall quilt? What if I wish I had saved them to use with the blue embroidered blocks???
When I couldn’t decide what to do I baked cookies while I debated.
And then the piece de resistance! The cat quilt!!! I made these blocks last winter and because they were so detailed I could make only one per day – sometimes I could cut only one per day and piece it the next day. Some of the connector squares were CUT 3/4” x 3/4”. What was I thinking??
So after the blocks were done I put it away to pull it out in the spring to sew them together. And then the borders. I just kept playing with the borders every month or so until I simply wanted to be done – today.
Does anybody remember this small quilt that I said was the hardest thing I’d ever pieced? Those quarter square triangles in a row that should fit perfectly are disgusting to put together and yet I forgot that and did the same border on this cat quilt. Once again – what was I thinking? I have no memory it seems.
Oh boy, I’ll be glad to get it on the longarm and I will quilt in straight lines as usual.
So after all that whining, I know just where I’m going to hang this quilt and I’m sure I’ll look at it fondly.
Here’s another project I finished piecing last week. Very simple. I used an ancient Free Spirit jellyroll from the early to mid 90’s , I think. Just trying to make a dent in my supply – ha! I made it the exact width of Keeper’s chair.
I’ll show these again after they’re quilted.
Whew! It’s been a busy couple of weeks but what else did I have to do. Sitting at the sewing machine can be therapeutic.
So tonight I’ll clean my sewing room so I can start fresh on something – I still don’t know what. I’m going for some retail therapy tomorrow – I think I need a couple new plants even though I counted 86 tiny starts in the basement – ha! And there’s a quilt shop in the area I’m going to as well as an antique mall and Salvation Army store. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Who wants to go along? Keeper, of course!
Here’s a picture from Jamie:
She thanks all of you who sent cards.
Mary— I love, love, love that cat quilt!!! And the soft colors on the pink one- so soothing!
Mary, Your red & black antique blocks look wonderful but with them being old, you might consider washing them with a color catcher to be sure they don’t bleed. Probably the same for the blue blocks. Keeper’s new chair quilt is fabulous, it’s so bright and happy.
Enjoyed all the pictures today. I like the pick quilt as well. Keeper’s quilt is great! Nice and bright! I hope Patti in FL is okay. I have missed any posting from her the past couple days.
Patti in Florida has company. She’ll be back 😉 with all sorts of news! 😉
Today is mostly cloudy and 28* not much wind. Still working on bookwork.
Our Michigan son called last evening! Yaa! He is not a big phone talker and with 5 children and a wife he really is probably tired of talking 😝. Our daughter-in-law calls at least once a week so we do keep up with their goings on.
Don’t buy ‘cheap’ freezer bags! I put a piece of fresh salmon in a cheap freezer bag and it got frost bitten! But thankfully surprisingly it was still good except for one edge!
Have a good evening!
Joy – Oh, yes. I forgot about that. I’m sure she will have lots to share with us.
Happy and healthy new year to all!
Wow Mary for someone recovering from surgery you sure have been busy! All of your quilts are great inspiration and lovely to look at. Have you seen the Dog Park pattern? I think you would like it.
I had planned to sew between Christmas and New Year, but my husband and I have had some kind of crud. We have both been exhausted and never slept so much, we are finally starting to feel better so that is a good sign. Sewing will have to wait until all my Christmas decorations are safely put away for another year.
Your quilt top is just super! Perfect use of those precious Free Spirit prints from the past.
Oh so many lovely quilts. Love the pink quilt. Looks like you had a plan and it worked.
I’m at ‘quilt camp’ with a couple quilting friends, I’ll send photos in a few days of our projects.
Oh, Mary, you have been busy. I always love to see what you have been up to. The pink quilt is very restful looking. Fun to see what you’ll come up with on the blue antique blocks! Keeper’s quilt is a nice surprise, too. I throw fleece and fuzzy blankets on my couch for Buster. They go in the wash quite regularly.
Had to sign up for Sling to watch the Rise Bowl game between Ohio State and Oregon. Great to see our guys play so well. Must have been great to play in that weather. Such a beautiful site with the mountains all around. I missed the Rose Bowl parade. 🙁
You know, after watch the NFL for the last couple of years, I always think we are too tough on our college players. Field goals will be missed, defensive players will play so well that quarterbacks will be intercepted, it’s just part of the game. I know I watch just to see how amazing these young players are. All of it seems miraculous to me. I root for everyone to be their best selves. I am just in awe sometimes. Still think football is the best reality show there is!!! Lucky me.
Love the muted colors of the log cabin quilt. Looks very nice and cozy. Just took our daughter and grandkids to the airport this evening after they spent the holidays with us. Itching to get back into my sewing room but it needs a major cleaning so that will have to come first.
Does anyone remember the Travellers Insurance commercial with the song “Trouble” and the little white dog that looked like Hazel? We’ve been reminiscing with old music tonight, and this song came up (by Ray Lamontagne). You can see the commercial on YouTube (funny dog commercial). Love you, Hazel!
I will look it up – I don’t remember it. I’m thinking Hazel needs her own Instagram page.
OMG! That is definitely Hazel and something she would do. I remembered it as soon as it started. One of those commercials that produces belly laughs no matter how many times you watch it.
Thank you for the reminder!
I am a recent reader of your blog. I do love that pink quilt! Did you start it with a plan in mind? I’d love to know more about it. The cat quilt is precious! It is from a pattern I assume…..do you have its name? I’m looking forward to learning what you decide to work on!!!!
Carol – the cat quilt is my own design but will not be available as a pattern. The pink log cabin was a relaxed project and yes, I had the color in mind. I did not want bubble gum pink nor mauve. I’d say it’s a soft rose with lots of pattern.
Hello Mary, and all your readers. I want to thank you and everyone who contributed to this blog over Xmas.I spent the week in hospital, being very well cared for, but reading everyone’s comments plus the pictures was wonderful. I didn’t watch tv, read 5 books, and was inspired by everyone’s enthusiasm despite some health issues or setbacks. I’m home now, progressing well, and getting some garden therapy – it’s summer here- and following the “don’t overdo it” mantra everyone throws at you. I know they care.
I have a completely different food regime to follow (big pantry and fridge clean out) plus medication, none of it difficult, but resetting my headspace. And looking at what I can do instead of what everyone else assumed I would do – trying to do it all isn’t worth the toll it’s taken. Enough rambling, but I wanted to let you know how important and caring is this world-wide community of quilters with their other interests as well. Many thanks and happy new year to all. Pauline in South Australia
PS: love the pink quilt.
Pauline – your mind set about food sounds familiar after my own surgery in November. The same foods that I enjoyed prior to surgery simply don’t agree with my digestive system now so I am learning to eat differently. I’ve totally given up big pieces of meat much to Rick’s disappointment. And I am still hearing not to overdo things but I honestly know that I can feel if I’m overdoing something, can’t you? I wish it were summer here but then I’d have lots of outside work to do. So glad you’re home – I look back on those 9 days in the hospital as the worst days of my life.
Mary, it makes you appreciate the sayings money doesn’t buy happiness or good health or any of them that say all you could ever want is good health for wishes. Indeed they are right after experiencing your treatment. Have a good time shopping today and I know you’ll be showing us your thrift store haul as it feels like we went with you looking at things.
Hi Mary, love Keeper’s quilt! He is a lucky dog to have landed at your place. The tension on my machine is playing up,so off to repair shop tomorrow which is near the theatre where l am taking Stella and Luna to see paddington in Peru movie. My first time to take them to the movies, they have been to the giant imax theater,but it’s not my cup of tea.l like your pink quilt Mary, sometimes you need a calm, restful quilt to cosy up under. My pizza is ready, so bye everyone, take care,best wishes from Sandy
Mary, perhaps you could use some of the blue embroidered blocks as the center–as in a medallion quilt with the indigo blocks around them. Or use some of them in a wall hanging/table topper/etc.
They are much too pretty to be put away again
Dorothy in W WA
Mary,
Happy New Year to you and to all the readers.
I love the pink quilt also. Boy, that cat quilt is a cute one too!! You have been real busy, I admire that.
Watched football and celebrated my son’s birthday. He was the first baby born in Detroit, Michigan in 1987. We received gifts and had our picture in the paper! That was a long time ago.
Take care everyone. 🌻
Sunflower – you had a New Year’s baby! How special!
Oh, that soft, faded pink is calling my name. I just love low contrast – feels so vintage.
Happy New Year Mary, and everyone out there!
Just arrived back in Arizona this evening from California. I spent the last 6 days and about 80 hours working on the Rose parade floats. I am definitely feeling way too old for this. I hope some of you took some time to watch the parade today. The company I worked for, Phoenix Decorating Company, had 17 floats this year. I hope you saw the Western Asset float with the moving butterflies on top of the tree. it was an incredible amount of work and we 10 florists did 36 fresh flower arrangements just on that float alone.
I missed your blogs this week and am trying now to catch-up before I fall asleep. All the sewing you have done lately exhausts me too. I wish I could get that much done. I love your pink quilt too.
Hope everyone has a wonderfully year in 2025.
Pattie – as we watched this morning I told Rick about your work on the Rose Parade floats – did the dogs survive, too? You need to rest up!
I call the soft kind of beige pinks peige as there is a soft beige contrast. Do like that shade of pink, not into the pink/pink. Added a little Ameretto liquor to chocolate chip cookies, made these for gifts for Christmas and they were a big hit. No one knew but they sure liked the cookies. Added some butterscotch chips as well. Am going to make a winter uneven log cabin table runner for very long dining room table. Like the concept.
On to 2025 for all of us.
Carolyn in GA
I watched a lot of the parade as I made an egg casserole for Sewing today. I loved all of them! The Rise Bowl Parade and games are in my bucket list! I was fascinated by using crushed rice for white. And, oh my ALL those beautiful flowers!! Pattie, thank you for your hard work!
Diane – I, too, caught that idea about the crushed rice – wasn’t it on a roof to look like snow?
Lots of great quilts today! Love the dusty pink log cabin! And the colorful quilt for keeper’s chair. I also love the kitty quilt!! Most of the farmers around here plant some sort of cover crop in the winter– winter wheat or rye, so many of the fields are green even in the winter! I spent the day helping my grandkids make gingerbread houses– we were supposed to do it before Christmas but several were sick then, so we put it off until today! So much fun!!
Surprising results:
After viewing Mary’s dusty pink log cabin and reading this post about straight line quilting made time to consider what machine quilting patterns I gravitate toward. So I made a list of a few motifs on the last few quilts that were made. It was a heartwarming experience because half of them were gifts and I can remember each gifting experience and those feeling of sharing comfort with someone else. I am astonished and gratified that this handmade textile experience can be shared with you all because you know exactly how I feel.
Hello Mary! And everyone one! Wow! Writing twice in one day! Mary I really do love that soft pink quilt and it looks beautiful on the fence! The kitty quilt is so cute! Wow!
Our bachelor neighbor (70 years old) came for a visit and chatted with hubby for at least 2 hours! He is a great guy and stops occasionally to visit. He still works at a machine shop running for parts. So he picks up calendars for us, so fun! That was our entertainment today! We have lived here for over 52 years and he was in junior high when we moved here! We have known the family since forever!
I did indeed work on our checkbook today and am half way! I should do better so hubby could have a report earlier! Haaaaahaa! He hasn’t fired me yet. How do you fire cheap help?
The real highlight of my day was a phone call from our Michigan son. He called me and chatted about all sorts of things and then with Jay! It’s so good to hear from the kids!
Friends please pray for a family that lost their 21 year old son in a car accident in the fog this past Friday night. So sad.
Again, happy new year!
Joy – the fog was indeed terrible. So sorry to hear a young man lost his life in it.
Love Love that pink quilt. It looks comfy and cozy to wrap in and take a nap. Wish I was closer as i would go shopping with you. All my favorite stores. Beautiful vintage indigo fabric. You don’t see that often. I am always on the hunt for some. Carolyn b Shenandoah Valley va
Sara – But why would I want two very similar quilts?
Well, it was just a thought, but why not have two similar quilts? You’ll probably come up with a much better idea, and I look forward to seeing it (smile).
Sara – why not? Because I quilt for the journey, not the destination.
Every project you showed us today was wonderful! I love the pink log cabin. The narrow one for Keeper’s chair is so bright and cheerful; it is a perfect bright spot for winter. The cat quilt is going to look great hanging for all to see—stunning!
I wish I would have baked cookies today. A friend gave us some adorable gingerbread men that were so good. My hubby likes them, too; so we will make them soon. After having all the holiday goodies in the house, store bought is just not an option.
Thanks, Mary 🥰
Love your pink log cabin. I actually do have a number of fabrics that shade of pink, so maybe I will have a new project?? Like I need something new to start, but that’s always the fun part. Also really like the quilt for Keeper’s chair. Need to look at my jelly rolls and see what I could do. Like you, deciding what to start or work on is hard. Shouldn’t be with all my UFO’s, but it is. All the best to you and Rick, all the fur babies, and all the readers for a wonderful 2025!
Mary I love your pink quilt and the cat quilt! The cookies look delicious. You have been busy. I worked on clue #8 of Bonnie Hunter’s mystery quilt today. 2025 stash buster came out today too. Oh so much I want to do! Hope the new year is good to you.
Happy New Year to everyone. Today I started to take down all my Christmas decorating. I’m a little slow because of my knee but I did very well I thought. Just need hubby to carry the awkward things downstairs. Last thing to do is take the decorations off our tree. It is a live tree in a pot so will go out on our deck when I am done. Hubby will bring up the boxes I pack the ornaments in, so I can do it tomorrow. I’m sitting with the ice machine on my knee and it feels great. We are going to pop out for dinner tonight to a local restaurant. I’m excited to do that. We’ve had so much rain lately and got a wonderful break today. 2025 is starting out very well I’d say.
Teresa – let your husband help when he will/can!! Take care of that knee.
Teresa I’m so glad you’re doing well and continue to ice your knee. I am finally able to go down my basement stairs with less trouble as they are not the normal rise or width as standard stairs. Been doing 30 minutes on the thread mill some and walk outside when it’s not to cold. It is turning colder starting tomorrow.
Started cutting fabric for a quilt for my daughter.
Continue to have a great and healing New Year!
If you don’t mind my asking what color are you leaning toward for this quilt? Will you be quilting it or sending it out?
Hi li, here is the link for the pattern, https://everydaystitches.com/product/the-ribbon-quilt/. I will be using a medium pink that reads solid for the ribbon and various light, medium, and darks pinks for the background. Right now I hope to quilt it myself, maybe just straight line quilting. The pattern also shows the colors for various types of cancer to use for the ribbon.
Rita I. iowa
Thank you Rita. I am not a pink person but I really like the effect of the watermelon pinks on the pattern image. You made a great choice for a lovely visual impact. The colors you will be choosing should work out very well indeed and be fun to work on as well.
Thank you Mary. I’m just so bored as I am sure you totally understand. I did overdue it two days in a row and paid for it at night. I think I’ve figured out a good balance now and that includes a little sewing therapy.
Thank you Rita. I am definitely improving a little each day. Just trying to get a balance of not being bored so doing things without doing too much.