All stash. My first major FMQ. My first applique. My first pieced border. And seriously larger than originally planned. Final size 72 x 72.

The story. I'm a teacher and when we first closed \ went remote for the spring 2020 a colleague became my life line. She and I leaned on each other so hard ... I don't know if we could have made it without each other. I had epic Covid Anxiety. And my sewing machine is...well "This I can control. I will do this...alot of this."

My Covid Anxiety has moved into the Covid Blues and there are some days I feel so hollow. Everything is a charade. But the sewing machine: "This I can control" and my work friend continues to support with kind words and funny memes.

So I pulled some FQ from stash and some beige that I thought would work as background. I had bought the border as "I need to support my LQS!" And decided to match everything to that. The paws came together so easily. But I looked and had a ton of scraps and then decided to make a border. And then it needed another. And how is my sloppy piecing going to match in the corners? I decided to add the bear applique...which meant I needed to LEARN applique.

Then I did the straight line quilting in the sashing and decided it needed more so then I decided to just *go for it* and FMQ the borders and blocks.

It was supposed to be a nice little couch quilt. But like my friend's huge heart....it grew.

What a great inspiration! Making lemonade out of lemons takes a little work, and you have done well. We are so lucky to have something to have "control" over. And not only that you have a wonderful, delightful quilt.

Haven’t had much time in the sewing room the past couple weeks but I used stash to finish the sashing and borders on my 2020 Temperature quilt- it’s Huge!like 104” X 108””. I really didn’t expect it to turn out so big. The whole quilt, 366 (3 1/2” x 6 1/2” flying geese blocks plus 11 sashing strips, top & bottom black fabrics to make each month/ column the same length ( since the months don’t all have the same number of days) and borders around- all stash and scraps. It was quite an adventure. And amazing I stuck it out through the whole year— that amazes me more than anything.
I also sent my son 3 yards of stash fabric he needed for a project he’s working on.
i thought I had a picture of the temperature quilt but can’t find it now so will share one after I take another one.
Here’s a picture of the quilt my son just finished. He ( thread painted) the center block Olaf freehand with his sewing machine- decided he loves doing that.
the other picture is a quilt he made out of cut up denim jeans

Rob: I saw your quilt on the Color Block FB page. I loved reading the comments.

Rff1010: Congratulations on all of those firsts and finishing the awesome quilt! As a retired teacher and a substitute until last March, I too went through COVID anxiety and sometimes the blues when school closed down. I haven’t gone back yet this year and may wait until fall. Do you know when you can go back?

ckcowl: I’m looking forward to seeing your temperature quilt. You must be bursting at the seams with happiness for your son and the skills he has been learning while at his home.

Wow rf1010- so many firsts and you did a great job with all of them. Well done! And wonderful backstory that I think so many of us can relate to in these strange times.

Rob

Ckcowl- congratulations on sticking with the temp. Quilt- that’s quite an accomplishment. Looking forward to pics when you get time. Your son is doing some amazing work with both thread painting and piecing and helping you whittle down your stash at the same time-thanks for sharing those pics.

Rob

Rff1010, I can relate to a point. I taught after-school classes in the metro area where I lived until my move. I had already given notice & my last week was the week prior to spring break, which happened to be when Covid shutdowns began. Kids in that area left for SB & never returned. Remote learning began right after that. So the company I worked for also began remote programs, conducted by their office staff only. I would have been out of a job even without giving notice. I spent only 2 months in limbo, wondering if my house would sell, having to do some major projects on it, all on my retirement income & no extra from a job. During this time my fabric was locked away in storage & I couldn't sew, fabric stores were closed, I had no extra cash to buy fabric anyway... Then someone donated fabric to anyone who would sew masks. I used my daughter's sewing machine (which she has for craft sewing) & that helped me a lot. Your quilt is wonderful! And a great use of stash.

Ckcowl, I recall the in-progress picture your temperature quilt you posted & I love it. A project such as that can grow & grow, right? The fact it's all from stash is amazing. You've obviously passed on your quilting talents to your son, as well as stash! I'll bet you can see some dents in it now.

Congratulations everyone on your beautiful, inspiring finishes!

I finally finished my grandson’s first quilt! Whew! I will give it to him on Sunday for his first birthday which was this week. I saw a quilt I liked and then had a problem getting it graphed correctly with the changes I wanted to make. 🤷‍♀️ This is the first time I made a flanged binding. It worked well but I missed the back seam. Oh, well! Tomorrow I will wash it with some color catchers.

42.5” by 48”. It was the first time I made a label also. I will tack it down before I gift it.

Teach what a darling quilt. Hope you are able to get a pic of him wrapped up in it. I can see him dragging that quilt all over the house and of course napping with it! So darn cute!

retiredteacher, what a wonderful quilt for a grandson! I can imagine how much he will love it.

Ckcowl.....your son is doing amazing work. That denim row quilt is really really cool!

Connie...OMGoodness... that is just adorable. Well done on the label, too.

Conchalea....so happy for you and your new life. It was a bit scary for you for a bit....now you are moved and happily playing with K surrounded by your pretties... lots of blessings!

I pulled out an old jelly roll today...I’m off and running on a new project. I could not just sit and wait for the weekly BOW’s (2 of them) to come out...so 3 WIP’s... yikes.. but this jelly roll,project will go quick. I made 4 of 30 blocks after dinner...lol... away I go...

Attachment 631485Attempting to attach a picture. On the learning curve.

Rff1010 - that is a seriously gorgeous quilt! I have always been partial to bears paw, but that is absolutely beautiful. (And congrats on your various firsts - I still haven't tried proper FMQ, so I'm even more impressed!!)

ckcowl - that temperature quilt sounds like a labour of love, I look forward to seeing it https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png. And your son's work is amazing.

reitredteacher09 - that quilt is absolutely darling! I'm sure your grandson will love it. There is a lot of love stitched into that froggy bonanza. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/heart.gif

Retiredteach- that quilt is so cute- good job!

Pet- looks like a neat quilt. Not sure why your thumbnail won’t enlarge, unless your pic is way small to begin with.

Rob

Lots of neat quilts coming through...all different styles, sizes and fabrics...Well done everyone. It just goes to show the variety of quilts that can be made.

Will be fun to see how the denim quilt looks with some quilting. Really like how you used the extra cut outs in the back, RetT. Did you do that to help get a wider back for the quilt? If so, a fun solution!

Rob; Noticed the size too. I think the thumb nail is very small. QB allows 2MB, this measured in KB.

Attachment 631499Another attempt.....Better

Thanks for the compliments. I also made a doll taggie quilt for my grandson’s Packer doll. 12” by 15.5”. He loves tactile things. The books with rubbery body parts for the animals and the air vent open/shut tab are favorites. 🤷‍♀️ They only allow Instagram pictures of him so I won’t be able to post a picture even if he slows down enough to get one. 😊

oksewglad: Yes to adding the strips to widen the back.

petthefabric: Wahoo to getting a picture inserted and the finish on a very pretty quilt.

petthefabric, I just love that! Especially how irregular bits of the large print show themselves. I'm glad you figured out how to post photos!

Thank you.

Attachment 631549 The fabric choices started with the giraffs. Then chose the oranges and light fabric. Figured out the size possible with these fabrics and decided it was too small. Back to stash. Found the dark fabric and made the pieced borders.

The pattern is from a posting on QB, I think.

Now it's ready for quilting. I think a male would like it.

Teach, I'm a cheese head too. Lived in WI just over 30 years.

Cool flimsy, petthefabric. Glad you got the pics figured out.

Rob

Cool fabric, petthefabric...... Great layout. I love this quilt!

petthefabric: Great way to use the giraffe fabric!

Julienm1: My daughter-in-law grew up in WI and my son crossed the river and became a Packer fan. :) They liked the doll quilt and wrapped the Packer doll in it.

strip quilt
 

Another quilt top for charity. Since the QB format remake, I've been working and couldn't post pictures. This quilt is from strip sets, cut into squares and then cross cut and rearranged.
Attachment 631582

petthefabric: Very pretty!

That's really cool!

pet...your strip quilt is very striking.

While I'm sewing my small 9P's I am sewing this quilt together. First photo is a partial with some of the strips (diagonally) sewn together. Second photo the 3 border fabrics I plan on using. All from stash...I think I will need to buy binding fabric but I may have enough from the second border if I want a "pink" binding; otherwise a dark navy would be my choice. I think I will call this Perfection is Pointless...as my points are far from perfect.

Cute top, OK.... well done..

I am finishing up my jelly roll quilt. I tried to use every strip and every piece of background I could. When this is done, I’ll have one strip of JR neutral left and a few short strips of BG. Woohoo! I even used a few narrow cuttings and string pieced some corner stones blocks. This was a fun challenge but my brain hurts...

Sounds like you used as much of the JR as you could, Teen! 3 WIP's, hmmm...no UFO's though!

Oksewglad- those stars look pretty darn good to me!

Teen- well done on using up the jellyroll and background, sounds like it took some serious thinking to figure it all out. Post pics when you get a chance.

stitched up some more on the improv crumb quilt and started sashing the blocks for my Feb. Debby Brown. All from stash. My crumb drawer is now empty and I was able to use it for some more of the homeless stuff that’s been floating around the studio all these years. Between Debbie Brown and the improv crumb quilt, that's two drawers I’ve managed to empty of fabric this year. So now they are tool storage- yay! I have also decided that I will no longer keep a crumb drawer. Instead I will use one of the plastic scrapbook envelopes that used to hold UFOs. When it starts getting full I will have a choice- either stitch together some crumb blocks, or throw away the crumbs- gasp! I see a lot of crumb blocks in my future LOL!

Rob

lol...no UFO’s. The WIP are slow going since they are BOW’s... I make each block on the day of release then.....sit for 6 days waiting for the next. Driving me nuts...lol...but at least I’m powering thru some precuts....After I finish this JR quilt, I’m going to make some cute pincushions to fill in some time. I’m still waiting for 2 quilts at the LA’er, too. One day at a time...

Jelly Roll
 

I have a final border of dark blue to do yet but the jelly roll has been exhausted except for a few bitty pieces... Background and sashing is all from stash, too. Yah!!

oksewglad: Perfection is Pointless is looking great to me!

Teen: Way to go! It does hurt our brain sometimes trying to get the tops done especially when we are creating as we go along. Great top!

Rob: 2 empty drawers is a great accomplishment!

I finished my Wanda top. The pattern is in the Stripology Mixology 2 book by Gudrun Erla. She did 4 weeks of online instructions so it was easy to follow along. Almost all of the fabric was in donations to our church group who will finish and donate it. 60” by 80”.

Here is a better picture of the colors in the blocks. I need to figure out a way to take better pictures as far as true to color.

A baby quilt, for hubby's high school classmate. All from stash, made in a hurry, because the baby was due in the end of February, but she is already born!

(Now let's see if I can upload from smartphone. Well, I can, but is is too big. So I will post the pic later, when I get to adjust size on computer).

Connie, that quilt is cool. I like your attention to detail like the stripe in the sashing.