So much for good intentions!

I am just going to pretend that it hasn't been over a month since I last posted, and go on as if I had posted twice in January, as I had planned. :)

I can't even say for sure how many weeks ago this little charmer arrived at my house, but it was a delightful surprise! 

This was made by Doniene Fullagar, who used to blog at "Now It's Just Quilts". She explained to me that I had loaned this magazine to her about a dozen years ago, and that is how our friendship began. The quilt looked very familiar, but I had forgotten all about loaning the magazine. She now has completed the top for the full sized quilt, but had also made this tabletop/wallhanging size for me. Isn't it beautiful? I am very touched, and it was delightful to be in touch with Doniene again. She is a sweetheart! Some of you may still see her on Instagram.

Well, I finally sewed the last row of my red/white mini Burgoyne Surrounded. When working this small, I pin things to within an inch of their life before stitching the rows together.

And here it is, laying on the red print I used in the blocks. My intention was to use this for the final border, but at the moment it isn't talking to me. However, I don't like the idea of pulling in a print that I haven't used anywhere else in the quilt, and I don't really want to use the solid for the final border. 

So I am leaving this out on the dining room table to see if it grows on me. I should have put my rotary cutter in this shot to give the needed size perspective. Just keep in mind that the smallest squares in the chains are 1/4". A completed block finishes at 3 3/4".

The only other stitching that has occurred since my last post has been in the "Tiny Block" department. We started up again on these blocks in my guild in January. The photo below shows you the finished blocks I have so far--this encompasses the ones I made in repro fabrics when I took the classes from the designer extraordinaire, Lynn Hopkins, at Village Dry Goods a few years ago. Since teaching it in my guild I have been making the blocks out of batiks.

Nothing beats batiks for pressing flat and keeping a sharp edge to a seam. When you work this small, it really helps. Remember that each of these blocks finishes at 2 inches.

I end up with multiples of some blocks because of the "story boards" I make that show the steps of construction. Then after teaching them, I sew up most of the samples. Below are the ones that I still need to stitch together from the last few sessions from last year, and this first session from this year.

This gives you a little better size perspective below, with three of the newest blocks.

Word on the street is that Lynn could be offering his patterns and rulers in some new sizes--a little larger--and even smaller! And there is also a possibility of a Zoom class from him on these blocks. I will share info here as I get it, in case any of you are interested in any of those options.

In my post just before Christmas I shared 3 quilts that were ready for binding that were NOT minis. They still need binding, and another one was added to the pile. This is the half log cabin I started to sew up after my shoulder surgery in 2018. I finished the top early in 2019, but just decided to get it quilted last year. I finished the quilting last year, too, but somehow missed the photos when I was posting in December.

For the center of the quilt I used Barb Vedder's Fan Stencil. I bought it when she first came out with it, but this is my first time using it. She has a great tutorial here. You can see in the photo above that I used a leaf stencil for the outer border. Wasn't my favorite choice, but it was the best option from what I had on hand.

I quilted it on Gidget (my HQ Sweet Sixteen). I had my longarm quilter baste it for me. It is worth it to me to have that done. And it wasn't difficult to remove the basting stitches afterward. But now I have a LOT of binding to get done! Do you stall on binding like I do? 

I don't have any stunning sunsets to share--for two reasons. First is that I have been doing my daily walks on the treadmill since our January snows made mud out of the dirt road I walk on, and the snowplows push the snow off the paved road onto the only place you can get out of oncoming traffic when you are walking (no sidewalks out here). Snowbank diving is no fun!

But we have had a lot of fog lately, so I will share this rather different view we've had of late.

Until next time (which should not be over a month away), be creative, and PLEASE be kind!

Janet O.