Just found this pattern from an old magazine but the Benartex still had free pattern :
https://benartex.com/fabric-gallery/...rm=rubick+cube

What a good pattern to "eat up" 2.5's, Travelinggramma. Thanks for the post. It would look good scrappy or in Christmas fabrics or black and white with a pop of colors for the crossed "ribbons". Thanks.

January has moved along SOOOO SLOOOWLY! I am ready to hear what the ground hog has in store for us.

Travelinggramma, that Rubric's Cube is a great pattern for our candies!! Thank you for the link. I will wander over to the Debbie Brown website soon. Thank you for the referral, WMUteach.

I know it's not the groundhog's fault, but this week is giving me major anxiety! We are suppose to fly to Florida on Thursday in the middle of a major storm that could drop 18" in our area. Our airline reached out and told us we could reschedule without charges. I think it's better to cut the trip shorter but know we have a seat. The hubby and I will talk about it tonight. I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons -- during the storm I can get lots of work done on a quilt I'm making for an April Bridal Shower.

First day of February! Woozers, the year is 1/12 over. How about a contest to warm up our February and to distract us from snow and ice storms?
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PM me your responses to the five questions below about our unimportant holiday to celebrate the prognostication of an oversized rodent and win a prize. The first one with all correct answers wins.something for your quilting pleasure. (No, I am not going to send you more 2.5's.or anything about groundhogs.) https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/wink.png

1. Which ancient Christian winter celebration morphed into Ground Hog Day?
2. What animal long ago was used to predict the end of winter in Germany?
3. When was the first time Groundhog Day was celebrated in the United States.
4. When was the movie Groundhog Day released? Who were the “stars” beyond the that over sized rodent?
5. Name two other cities in the US that have an office weather predicting Groundhog Day and celebration.

Bonus: Provide one strange fact about groundhogs or the celebration of Groundhog Day.

Have fun searching for Groundhog day trivia!

and here is a free 2022 BOM featuring a lot of candies..... https://abyquilts.wordpress.com/favorites-bom-qal/

ibex94, are you going to take this one on? My list is so long already and it is only February 2 I don't think I can tackle it.. It is a lovely quilt and the colors are so soft but not light.

Ibex, that's a very pretty quilt. I have another BOM pattern I've been hanging on to for 2-3 years and still haven't gotten to!

I have a problem.... my eyes are bigger than my time. So I look and collect what appeals to me. I like the friendship medallion in that first block for the Abyquilts BOM. I might give that a shot. I have no time to do much right now. I'm still working on cutting my candies for the year!

In my quest to find perfect fabric for candies, I've been doing the burn test on some of the older fabrics I've been pulling out of my stash. They burn like cotton, smell like cotton, ash like cotton, but are stiff because of the ink being used, I suspect. I am not going to send them for the birthday candies because that stiffness annoys me. However, I am cutting some up just in case because the occasional stiff candy will not impact a nicely quilted quilt too much. Playing with my stash has been eating into my quilting time. I still need to take my machine in to get serviced, too.

So am I going to try to make the Abyquilts BOM? That is a strong, maybe.

Ibex94, I and I should say we appreciate your attention to detail. But please, don't lose your precious quilting time seeking the perfect fabric for your 2.5s. My wish is that this would be joyful for you and not a burden. We will like what ever your send. I bet we all have some "clunkers" in our stash that have been donated to use or that have been around for a while. I know I do, I just pass them by. Eventually they will rise to the surface and disappear into dog beds or what ever.

Last Call for Groundhog Content fun! Got some good contradictory answers. :)
I will post the winner and the fun facts tomorrow. My Michigan Groundhog postponed the celebration until Saturday. It was too cold to come out to check for shadows yesterday, so it was reported.. OOPs, there is one of the answers. Tee-Hee-Hee!

Our winner for Groundhog Contest is.................JENNR8R

1. Which ancient Christian winter celebration morphed into Ground Hog Day? Candlemas https://germangirlinamerica.com/grou...man-tradition/

2. What animal long ago was used to predict the end of winter in Germany? badger https://www.businessinsider.com/how-...-groundhog-day (I also found evidence that the Germany tradition used Hedgehogs as predictors of the weather, aka the end of winter.)

3. When was the first time Groundhog Day was celebrated in the United States. Feb 2, 1887 in Punxsutawny, PA https://www.history.com/this-day-in-...-groundhog-day

4. When was the movie Groundhog Day released? Who were the “stars” beyond the that over sized rodent? 1993, Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray

5. Name two other cities in the US that have an office weather predicting Groundhog Day and celebration. Buckeye Chuck in Marion, Ohio & Cleveland, Ohio's groundhog -- Thistle the Whistlepig. Here are a few more cities that celebrate this silly holiday moment: Sun Prairie Wisconsin,
Marion Ohio,
Long Island, NY .
Cleveland, Ohio,
Manchester CT,
Staten Island, NY
Miltown Connecticut (recently deceased, 2022.)
Essex New Jersey,
Chattanooga, Tennessee,
French Creek, West Virginia
Howell, Michigan "Michigan's official groundhog, Woody the Woodchuck, who lives at the Howell Nature Center, apparently decided she didn't want to face this week's snowstorm and put off her prediction to Saturday." (Yes, it is true. Our February 2 snow storm here in Michigan sent our Woody scrambling for a few more days of slumber.)


Prize will go in the mail on Monday morning! Thanks to all who participated. We now know way more about groundhogs that is necessary! Tee-Hee-Hee. Happy weekend sewing everyone.

Thank you WMUTeach! It was fun looking up all those Groundhog Day facts. Who knew there would be so much history surrounding February 2. :)

Congrats JENN! Good sleuthing!

Congrats JENN - I too enjoyed a look through google for the fun facts. - really I needed something to do while waiting on hold with the IRS!!

I am cleaning up some odds and ends of tasks this afternoon. Here is a photo of my first 2.5 quilt for 2020. Added the binding Sunday and just got around to photos today. 620 little squares out of my collection. Whoopee! Off to Project Linus.

Now on to quilting #2 for the year. Picture in a few weeks.

Love all that green, WMUTeach!

Congrats Jenn3r! It was fun looking up all those facts that I had no idea about. :)

WMUTeach, I agree I love all of that green! Good idea on Project Linus.

Wmuteach, love the green's.
working on my 2nd postage stamp quilt, still trying to use up the never ending scraps.

Terrific finish. May it be loved and appreciated

Such a lovely quilt, WMUTeach! I like how each candy pops by itself beside the solid white. A great way to showcase the individual fabrics!

just finished another scrappy postage stamp quilt. Though it's not 2.5 candies, it's what I've been working on to get some of these scraps gone. Still needs a 2 inch white border, ( have to order more). I've not ordered any new fabric for quilts in a couple of years. Trying to use up stash and complete several which are half done.
Patiently waiting to get my 1st birthday gal their candies.
Attachment 637809

Ooh, that's beautiful Gannyrosie! Love the rainbowy layout.

Love the demonstration of patience GR.Three cheers to you postage stamp gals.Bet it feels marvelous to be able to step back and admire all of your work.

This is similar to Gannyrosie's but with 2.5's.It works both ways. This was from last summer's, 2021, quilting, so a repeat photo for many of you. ;)

That's such a pretty quilt, WMU. Love all that color.

Wmuteach, patience I have, though it's more out of boredom. I cut up all scraps into strips, and several size blocks. 1.5 is the smallest , candies I use mostly for hexies. scrappys keeps my mind active cause its undetermined.

Love the rainbow candy quilts! Thanks for sharing, Gannyrosie and WMUTeach.

Gannyrosie and WMUTeach - stunning! Inspiring! Now for time to play with my candies. And to put together my BoomBlocks into a quilt.

My Groundhog Day Contest prize is here! A Hera Marker and some beautiful 5" precut squares. I have had my eye on a Hera Marker for quite a while and have never bought one. Did the groundhog tell you to get that for me WMUTeach? I'll certainly put these prizes to good use.

Thank you WMUTeach! :) I love them!

Oh, yes, the Groundhog, tooth fairy, Santa are good friends. We chat often about what quilters need or wish they had in their tool box. Tee-Hee-Hee! Glad my the package pleased.

I am working on a UFO at the moment and decided to add some 2.5's to it to help deplete the stash ad finish the top from 2020. I have my last year's birthday swap quilt quilted and just need to finish the binding on one side. Another long night of the Olympics would do it, I think.

And what are you working on?

Oh did any one see the free pattern on the Jordan Fabric's site today? It made me giggle. Why didn't I publish that pattern and make some money? I can bet my booties that we have all made this one without a pattern. ;) A good starter for a new quilter though. https://jordanfabrics.com/pages/cheery-postage-stamp

I'm working on a baby quilt that I will name Patrotic Puppies.

Cute patriotic pup, Jennr8r!

I'm taking a quick break from my UFOs to make Boom blocks and I'm using 2.5" candies as leaders and enders. I'm making 16 patch blocks with them with the intention of making a quilt or two from Debby Browns challenge last year.

Love the scotty dog!

WMU, do you think people actually work patterns like the postage stamp from a pattern? It's so easy to just put together without needing one...

Once in a while you'll get a new quilter wanting a scrappy pattern to help with color placement, hoping it has directions like - cut 10 red, 15 blue, etc.

I spent some time the last weekend cutting up scraps - making a BH top that uses mostly 2" UF squares. This worked out as I had a lot of leftover binding strips that were originally cut at 2.25".

I also sorted out all my strings (most are less than 1.5" wide). I was also cutting for the "Aunt Dorothy" quilt in the challenge section. That one takes a lot of larger pieces, but did need about 150 colored 2.5" squares. So while going through scraps, after cutting larger pieces, I also cut 2.5" squares out of anything that was big enough for that. I figured I could pull from my candy box if needed, but instead I ended up adding to it. (BTW, - I do not pull from my candy box for this swap, that is all fresh cut candies )

I started out cutting up even the smaller pieces into triangles and 1.5" squares, but decided that was going to take way too long, so anything that was not long enough to use as a "string" or big enough to cut a 2" square out of got left - and I ended up with a decent pile. Figure if I vacuum pack them, I could get them all in a large flat rate postal box. They are what I'd call "crumbs", but I don't save pieces so small that I wouldn't want to sew them together. If someone wants them, please PM me. if postage is an issue, we'll work something out.

Sewbiz, I suspect that a new quilter, particularly one without a mentor or quilting friend, would not have the experience to just dive in and make a postage stamp quilt. We do it so easily with any size pieces that we have on hand. It makes me giggle now, but 30 years ago, I did not understand how to make and use strips to create four patches or how important it is to square up, press seams to one side, nest, spin seams and on and on. The simple geometry of a postage stamp might have scared me away.

I still have my first true quilt and I remember how "hard" it was. Tee-Hee-Hee it was a simple cat silhouette. Now the thought of purchasing a postage stamp pattern seems silly, but I have learned a few things since I switched from making garments to creating quilts.I went searching and found the book I use for my first quilt. "The Cat's Meow" by Janet Kime and it was from 1994. Yikes!! A nice trip down memory lane.

Like your pup, JENNR8R. Always wanted to make a pile of those as Scottie dogs for a friend.... never have. And, MacyBaby, you have been busy! I will be in line to see the Aunt Daisy Quilt (I think that is the one you were referring to.). It is lovely in two colors but I am anxious to see it in multi colors. I looked at the Facebook page for the sew-a-long and ran away to hide in the corner. Too many flying geese for me! Geese and I just don't get along. I leave that flock to you.

So nice to hear what y'all are up to this week while we wait to send out packages to our first birthday swapper.

My first real quilt was an Irish Chain. My fabric selection leaves a lot to be desired!!

My first real quilt was a set of 12" sampler blocks. I was in my early 20's at the time, and that was before rotary cutters and rulers. I designed each block by hand on graph paper. Did it up in brown calicos, sandwiched it on my mom's frame out in the front yard as it was king size and too big to do in the house. Got it all basted and then spent the winter in a rocking chair with a hoop in my lap. And for a lot of it, I had a cat in my lap under the quilt. I did this while I was living with my parents with my infant son while DH was in basic training for the National Guard.

Didn't think it was anything all that special, and when it got worn out, I tossed it and didn't think anything more of it. I wasn't really into quilting back then, preferred garment sewing.

Fast forward about 30 years, after my Mom passed away and we were cleaning out her house, my brother contacted me as they had found a candy box with my name on it, and inside were a bunch of hand drawn patterns for quilt blocks. Turned out my mother had saved all my designs, and had them hidden away all these years. The strange part is they were not in her sewing room with the rest of her sewing stuff (though she had not sewing in about 15 years), they were in her bedroom with other mementos she had saved - she had 11 children and saved quite a bit.

Awesome story, Cathy! You should use your old patterns and make another sampler. I can see why your Mom was proud enough to save your patterns.

Oh, such a sweet and touching story, Macybaby. I absolutely agree that you should make another, maybe not a king, but at least use the patterns as templates for a new sampler in honor of your mom and your progress as a quilter.

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Jennr8r, that is too cute. Great use of candies.

Attachment 637937
macybaby what a beautiful thing mom did. she must have been an amazing person.
Working on a UFO, Splendid Sampler 2. When the book arrived, I went all in, mostly started with the embroidery blocks and few appliques. I had put it away to do something else, and now 4 years later I'm going to try to complete it, or at least get enough blocks done for a nice size quilt. . In the last week I've been able to do about 12 blocks. this one will be using mostly scraps, but will try to keep to a white background.
I completed #1 and hand quilted it, but it was challenging since some of the blocks were very dense. I think this one will go out to be quilted.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines day.