Swoon block #7 is complete.

The prints really pop next to each other.

 My customer Janice received a whole pile of beautiful tiny pieced blocks from the family of a quilter that had passed.  She decided to make smaller quilts with the blocks and gift them back to the family and to a charity.

The first project I quilted for her is this fabulous Red, White and Blue quilt with the 8 point stars. 

This "before" picture shows how pretty the top is even before it received it's stitching "bling".

The stars are only 4" square and the piecing is impeccable.  Whoever stitched these was a master.

Being that this one is Red, White and Blue the Shooting Stars pantograph was the right choice.

I'm sure you'll agree that it turned out very pretty.

Janice brought me bright Blue minky for the backing.  She was worried about how well it would work as she had heard stories from other quilters but this quilted up beautifully.

She chose Glide Cool Gray 3 (my go to thread for tops where White thread isn't right) for the top and So Fine Misty Blue for the backing.

We were both thrilled with the results.

The 2nd quilt was this Blue and Green Bear Paw design. Again, the center Bear Paw blocks were only 4" square.  So tiny and so perfect.

Here's the "Before" photo.

Breath of the Gods was her pantograph choice for this one and I love the way it brought gentle movement to the entire quilt.

The stitch design was subtle enough to not take away from the awesomeness that was the pieced blocks. I just can't imagine piecing blocks that tiny.

The same Blue minky backing was used for this quilt also.  I love how the stitching shows so well.

These were such a pleasure to quilt for Janice.  She told me that she has a lot more of these tiny blocks so there will be more pretty quilts from Janice to share with you in the future.

 I've completed a few more blocks for my Swoon quilt.  This is block #6.

Choosing the fabrics to use for each block is really a lot of fun.

My customer Donna brought me this Black and Gray Bow Tie quilt to help her finish. 

Here is what it looked like "before", after it was loaded on the frame.

She added a pop of color in one of the blocks.

The pantograph she chose, Bubbles, worked nicely to soften the angular lines of the piecing.

 Thread used was Glide Black on the front and Sterling in the bobbin.

The backing is a soft pale gray print with snowflakes on it.

Thank you Donna for having me quilt this for you.  I look forward to seeing your next project.

I've been feeling really good about getting long awaiting projects crossed off my To Do list. This is the newest UFO to receive my attention.

Way back in 2014 I hosted the Primary Bee. My kids wanted to participate in some sewing and I thought this would be a great way for them to connect with other kids who were sewing too. We had 12 kids, including my 2, participating.

Jammer's month was towards the bottom of the list. He only received some of the Sawtooth Star blocks in Red, White and Blue that he requested.  These are the 9 blocks that I had to work with. All but 1 were the right size so I only had to unsew the parts of 1 block to make it work.

I just had to revisit the pictures I had taken when he was working on the blocks for the bee mates.  He was such a good student and he really concentrated on doing a good job.

He was really proud of the blocks he made.

I came up with a rough plan to make a usable size quilt and pulled out my Red, White and Blue scrap mini charms to use.

Adding White sashing strips to the sides of the blocks was the first step.

Scrappy Red and Blue strips (I skipped the White) were added next and then White sashing to the tops and bottoms of each row.  Can you figure out yet where I'm going with this?

Lots more scrap mini charms are in the process of being added next so stay tuned.

Don't these prints look great together?

 I finished another project on my To Do list so I got to make the next block for my Swoon quilt.

Four done, 8 more to go.  I'm thrilled with my progress so far.  This rewarding myself system is working well.  I just may continue to use it throughout the year to make sure I always make time for my own sewing projects.

My last finishes in 2022 were these 3 Sammy Wallets from Sew Many Creations that were gifts for my 3 sisters. The fun part is they all are constructed in part with cork fabric, which I've found I like working with for projects like this.

They were kits that I purchased and each kit contained everything I needed except thread of course. The bright and black one was gifted to my sister Tina.

The interior fabric is a sage green decor weight which gave a nice feel to the pockets and lining.

The blue floral wallet was sent to my sister Diane who lives in Myrtle Beach.

The interior fabric provided was a nice medium blue.

The last one was gifted to my sister Marianne.  Unlike the other two, the kit for this one included cork fabric for both of the outside sections.

This kit included a rainbow iridescent zipper and pulls and the interior fabric is a pale blue.

I purchased a 4th kit that I may get around to making for myself some day but for now, I have other projects that need to be completed. The sisters really liked their gifts and I'm guessing they will be well used.

Jessica of Sew Many Creations is a member of my local guild and has lots of other great patterns and fabrics available on her website so check it out.

My client Kate sent me another great top to quilt for her. It's a fun design called Interrupted Log Cabin which can be found in the book Quilt with Tula and Angela.

It's certainly an interesting modern design that would look great in practically any color palette.

Kate chose the Modernish pantograph which suited the linear style blocks well. Quilters Dream 80/20 batting in Natural along with Glide Mercury thread for the top and So Fine Brown Sugar rounds out the other materials used to finish this one.

Kate always takes advantage of my trimming service and this time Maverick felt the need to inspect my work and help lay it out on the floor.

Here's the glamor shot! I really love the pops of Blue and Teal she added to the piecing.

The wind decided to be a little challenging that day.

It's a good sized quilt, measuring 80" x 80".  It was a Christmas gift for her daughter.

The backing is a fun New York  city scape print she purchased at City Quilter.  They closed the brick and mortar store a few years back but they still have an online store.

The sun shining through from the white strips on the front look like streets themselves.

Here you can see the details of the fabric.  If you have anyone with ties to New York City, this online store is the only place where you'll find fabrics like this.

This was another fun project to quilt for Kate.

I know another quilt will be on it's way to me to stitch soon.  I can't wait to see what it will be.