ARE YOU BUSY?

 

Such a silly question, isn't everyone busy this time of year?

For Christmas I still have a few more gifts to figure out and buy. More cookies to bake. The usual things in the days before Christmas. 

In my Quilt Life, I am having SO MUCH FUN making two versions of Game On!--the 2026 BOM for The Quilt Show designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW. The patterns are FREE for Star Members, only $49 for a year membership gives you so much bang for your buck. 

My PRINTS VERSION, and I am making my borders on this one symmetrical, this has me through month 7:

My SOLIDS VERSION, I created a different left border--for Month 4: 

Both of them on the design wall. The PRINTS version has the border for Month 5 made and waiting: 

The great thing about this design is how easy it is to make it your own. Not crazy about one particular border? Change it--I will show you how. Want to play with colors--so easy, I'll help you.

Becky's show premiers Sunday December 28, 2025, it's FREE FOR ALL to see.  Watch Becky show you how she will walk you through the year. And today you can see an interview with Becky and Alex Anderson in which Becky explains how she was inspired to create this design after seeing a museum exhibit of antique game boards--watch now: BECKY AND ALEX She discusses the exhibit starting at about 10 minutes in. 

I will be LIVE Monday December 29, 2025, noon Central time, to help get you started, with tips and tricks, and "what could possibly go wrong?" suggestions. I hope you'll join thousands of us as we get our "Game On!". 

Since I am home until mid-March 2026 I decided to take two online classes in January to improve my ruler work longarm quilting skills. 99 Strip+ Strip Designs by Natalia Bonner is a FREE class. My project is a Quilt of Valor I am making specifically for someone and the strips are just the right size to learn those designs:

Angela Walters has a new class coming in January: FREE MOTION CHALLENGE QUILT ALONG, featuring Arcs, Curves and Points with Rulers. I ordered both the large and small printed top, making it easy to be ready for the first class mid-January--I am doing the SMALL version:

42" x 56"--I just need to put it together with batting and a back

I will also have a little time to teach TWO LOCAL CLASSES: 

THE VILLAGE, January 23, 2026:

and CHARMING SAMPLER, March 5, 2026:

"Kaffe Charming"

Reproduction fabrics

Each teaches a lot and if you are local and ever want to take a class with me, now is your chance. Register online at SOUTHERN CHARM QUILTING

I do plan to submit proposals to teach at International Quilt Festival in Houston November 10-14, 2026. They will decide which classes of mine, if any, they want to offer. Let me know if there is one you really want to take so I can propose it. ALL my WORKSHOPS/CLASSES are listed in the tab above: WORKSHOPS. 

It is a good idea to offer at least one handwork class. I have a new one in mind--/big Hexagons for English Paper Piecing, 3 hours, with a Kit that includes everything except your fabric. This sample is still a "work in progress"--just enough to teach the basics. What is started in class can become a larger quilt or a single placemat. Sometimes that is big enough to teach you all you want to know about a technique. 

I always have a hand piecing project available and EPP is good for this purpose. The papers are still in this, I am not finished yet. I will finish off the edges the easy way--by appliqueing the piece to a background--no fussy edge treatment necessary:

I won't know until late February or so if I will be teaching there but I will let you know as soon as I get the word.

The other long-term project I am working on is my SECOND LIFETIME QUILT--the Old Italian Block, 3" size, that has been my "Leader/Ender" project this year. I provided lots of information on this as my SUMMER SEW A LONG 2025. 

I have 270 of the 289 blocks needed done so I am starting to think about layout and design. I'm not sure I want to do such careful color placement but it might be more fun than strictly random. Time will tell:

Well, I better get back to that Christmas shopping and baking. I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa or simply peace and happiness now and in the future.

Let's quilt.

Barbara