HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Out with the old, in with the new. Or, in my case, celebrate finishing this OLD quilt top I began designing almost 30 years ago, so OLD but now it feels really NEW:

Star of Texas, about 72" square

This has been on my bucket list for all these years. Read more about it here:  Star of Texas

Here are my two Game On! quilts, both through month 7, now all I have to do is write the blogs for each month. It is not too late for you to start--this is SO MUCH FUN:

                                                        

Now that I am pretty far along on Game On! I can concentrate on a few more projects I really want to complete this year.

My Old Italian Block Lifetime Quilt is the next top to make:

All 290 of the 3" blocks are done--now it's on to the design wall this week

Quilting needs to be done on Diamond Jubilee:

And soon I will start two online courses on ruler quilting with these two quilts:

panel for Angela Walters class on Arcs and Curves

Quilt of Valor to use for Natalia Bonner's class on 99 strip designs

There is always more to create and I have to come up with my NEXT Lifetime/Leader-Ender quilt project. I have a few ideas. Stay tuned.

Since I am home until mid-March I am determined to get as much done as possible. 

My words for 2026 are "RENEW" and "REBUILD". I don't usually pick a word but was challenged to do so by a friend. These seemed to ring true for 2026.

Do you pick a "word of the year"? 

What do you plan to achieve in 2026? Just keep going, that's my plan.

Happy New Year to all!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

WHAT AM I DOING?

By the end of Thanksgiving day I had come down with a big head cold that kept me in my easy chair for 3 days, reading, sleeping and eating. No exercise, no energy, just sneeze, cough and repeat. All better now and ready to get back to several ongoing projects.

Here is what I am working on:

TEXAS STAR: begun more than 25 years ago, this BUCKET LIST QUILT has come back out to play. More borders are yet to come, one from the 2026 Block of the Month quilt Game On!  To read more about this quilt see this post: TEXAS STAR

Texas Star, more borders to come, currently about 65" square

Speaking of GAME ON! the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW, I am having SO MUCH FUN! This quilt will teach you a lot and it's fun too. The Solids version is the Kit available, if any are left, from The Quilt Show Shop:                            

In progress, more tweaking needed then a trim and double borders are added

This Prints version is from my stash. It is fun to select fabrics, everything goes, and a few of my most favorites get featured. The top half needs the large circles appliqued in place, then the Medallion center block can be completed. 

These take extra time because I make notes and take photos as I go for the Blogs to come and the LIVE broadcasts I do each month: 

I always have a LEADER/ENDER project going. Old Italian Blocks are one of my most favorite. 

Currently this is my Summer Sew-a-Long 2025--find all the details with several size options here: SUMMER SEW A ALONG 2025

230 done so far, bagged in color families--I have a layout plan that uses color as a feature

Leader/Ender blocks laid out beside my machine, these are 3" finished

When I want a break from piecing I work on machine quilting my DIAMOND JUBILEE quilt, started 13 years ago. The end is near...

Read more about this quilt here:  DIAMOND JUBILEE:

Deciding WHAT to quilt is always the most challenging for me. After a few failed attempts that involved lots of time with my stitch ripper, I figured out what I wanted in the stars. 

The wide outer border has yet to be decided on though I have a few ideas. The paisley fabric is so busy no intricate designs will be noticeable. And I will draw the ideas out on plexiglass first, BEFORE stitching them, to be sure I like the designs, lesson learned: 

Detail of the quilting designs

When I am not at my sewing machines, I am on my computer, writing blogs, booking future airplane trips and hotel reservations, etc. It's also holiday season so I do have to decorate a bit before the Sunday Sew and Sews Christmas potluck party here. And buy a few gifts, and bake cookies. And so on and so forth...

My LIVE broadcasts are always available here: The Quilt Show channel on YouTube. This month I am doing two: Friday December 5 we wrap up Laurel Ridge and get very excited for Game On!  Monday December 29 is the kickoff for Game On! I have tips and tricks to help you be successful with a variety of foundation paper piecing skills. 

WHAT KEEPS ME BUSY

 It's mid-August and I am knee deep in projects and "must-do" activities. Just so you don't think traveling quilt teachers just show up, ready to teach well-rehearsed classes, take a look at what I am doing.

PACKING FOR HOUSTON: yes, packing and shipping has to happen for me in August as I will be away for almost two weeks in September, teaching on back-to-back cruises. Before I can pack I have to prepare kits, get handouts copied, gather supplies for class, find and pack the class samples, lots of preparation is required:

Love the table surface my Bernina Q20 provides for class preparation

Boxes in various sizes stacked everywhere

Kit preparation for Western Sun

I have 6 classes and 2 Lectures in Houston and that requires a lot of quilts. Recently I gathered up all the class sample quilts and did a "dry run" in my large suitcase to be sure they will all fit. It would be expensive to have to ship quilts too. Fortunately, they fit:

Next week I am teaching two classes in Colorado Springs and giving a lecture. Those classes needed Kits and Handouts prepared. I am ready. Here is stuff for Colorado Springs, the Cruises, and the box on the floor is packed for Houston:

Recently I offered a variety of quilts for sale. Several of those were bought so that involved boxing and shipping some of those, meeting with people for pickup here, and updating the blog posts:

Before all this started I began quilting Diamond Jubilee. It is still in progress and I am eager to get back to it:

Quilting in the paisley center hasn't been decided yet

Something different is going in the red backgrounds, just haven't decided what yet

The back shows the quilting better

This next project was started YEARS AGO and is on my bucket list to finish. When the design wall opened up I got back to this, I call it TEXAS STAR, still a long way to go. For more information on this see BUCKET LIST QUILT # 3: 

There is always a Leader/Ender project underway, here are a few at the same time in case I get bored. The 3" Old Italian Blocks are my SUMMER SEW A LONG :

With school back in session we had our two local grandkids for a two-night sleepover two weeks ago. And this week Oliver came for a quick visit--he is 17 months old now. So you know those events keep us busy:
            

Oliver and PopPop

Stella 10 and Sam almost 7

So, lest you think I have nothing to do, here is peek at my world. My kids think I am "retired"--HA! Not yet.

Let's quilt,

Barbara

RECENT FINISHES

 Getting both a quilt TOP and a small QUILT finished this week makes me feel very accomplished.

As February has me home I am working hard every day to get as much work done as possible. In March I will only be home a few days all month so now is my time to "get it done"!

DIAMOND JUBILEE--a BUCKET LIST quilt for more than 12 years, this is finally done. And I am so glad. It will get basted while at my Joyful Journey Retreat March 5-9. Then I will quilt it.

Diamond Jubilee 72" x 89" 

Inspired by a great quilt made by Catherine Butterworth,  I knew it was the perfect project to celebrate a BIG birthday.  After seeing her quilt in a magazine, I tracked Catherine  down in Australia where she lives. We became "friends". When we were both at Road to California in January 2020, me to teach, she to attend, we got to meet in person. It was as if we had known each other for years, soul sisters:

Catherine and I January 22, 2020

I planned to have this made for my 60th birthday so I started it two years before that. Now that I am approaching that and 10 + 1 it was time to get it finished. For more information see some of the previous posts I have written about it:

The Hard Stuff

Feathered Stars Perfectly Paper Pieced TUTORIAL

Catherine Butterworth in CA

My other finish this week is a small quilt that will be a sample for an upcoming class. OH, MY SMALL STAR: 

32" x 32" 

My top is 97" x 97" and is currently at the longarm quilter:

The full pattern is by American Jane patterns. I fell in love with it and had saved it to my Pinterest board of favorite quilts:

I made a few changes to the original pattern to provide options for students. In the SMALL sample I changed the construction of the star to avoid the Y-Seam method in the pattern instructions. Students will learn how to do both methods and choose their favorite.  

This will be a GREAT CLASS for guilds--those who want to MAKE a big bed size quilt can get started, those who want to LEARN the process of making this somewhat challenging block, can do so by making only ONE star.  And learning a fun and EASY way to make those small stars is icing on the workshop cake.

Read a few of the blogs I have written on this project:

The Beginning

Fabric Selection for the Stars

Design Decisions

I am teaching Oh, My Stars at my Retreat March 5-9, 2025 AND at EMPTY SPOOLS SEMINARS in 2026--April 29-May 4.  Empty Spools Seminars should be on every quilters Bucket List--it was on mine. It will change you as a quilter, teach you SO MUCH, and provide a lifetime of wonderful memories. Registration starts April 26, 2025--set a reminder on your calendar as these classes can fill in the first few days. 

For more information, see the 2025 Registration Information: EMPTY SPOOLS SEMINARS  TODAY 
February 23, 2025 is the LAST DAY to register for the 2025 Seminar. I LOVE the class I am teaching March 30-April 4, 2025: TWO FOR ONE, there is still room for YOU:

Time to get back to work! And I still get 2 hours of exercise every day. When it's below freezing as it has been two days this week, I power walk at the mall. Above freezing, I bundle up and hit the sidewalk. Next week it will be in the 60's and I am SO looking forward to that! Stay warm and dry, Spring is coming...

Let's quilt, 

Barbara

DIAMOND JUBILEE PROGRESS

 You may remember I decided to greatly alter my plan for my "Diamond Jubilee" quilt. It was begun 12 years ago in anticipation of my 60th birthday. This year I will be 10 +1 more than that so it was time to get this done.

Here is  where I am today:

Still to come is a pieced border of half square triangles and an outer border of the paisley print used in the center of each star and the sashing between the stars. 

Here is the original plan--to replicate a quilt made by Catherine Butterworth I saw in a magazine years ago. It won a big award at the Sydney Australia quilt show, where Catherine lives.  I tracked her down and we became "friends".  My colors would be much different but I LOVED her design. Her stars are almost 20", with 4 "feathers" on each side, mine is 15", with 3 feathers on each side:

"Julie's Quilt" by Catherine Butterworth, 96" square

A year ago I only had 4 stars done of the 13 needed. So I got back to this project in earnest. I made 5 more Feathered Star blocks, using the detailed color plan I developed 12 years ago.

Over time, things change. I decided I didn't need a king size quilt. And I didn't want to make 8 HALF STAR blocks and 4 QUARTER STAR blocks. I had 9 Feathered Star blocks done, 15" square each. So what to do???

I played around in Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8), quilt design software, to get an idea of what I might want to do. Sixteen Feathered Stars set straight would look like this:

That was ok, I already had 1 star done with the light yellow background. I would still have to make 7 more Feathered Stars. And 80" x 80" is still a pretty large quilt.

Ultimately, I settled on this:

BUT, the yellow stars look way out of place. I made 3 more Feathered Stars, each with darker backgrounds. Putting them on the design wall gave me this--the yellow one is still a problem:

SO, I made ONE MORE FEATHERED STAR: with a GREEN background. Now I had this and I liked it  much better:

OK, on to the sashing. I pulled one fabric after another out of my deep stash closet, auditioning many options: light, dark, striped, solid. Nothing seemed to work:

Sometimes you just need another set of eyes to help you see. My friend, Jan Davis, was out of state at the time but I was able to send these photos, and others, to her for her opinion. Jan is making several of these same stars to finish up her own "long brewing" quilt project. I knew she would understand my dilemma and how I wanted to get it "right".

Jan agreed with me about the yellow star--it had to be replaced. Then she suggested the idea I had been toying with: what about the big paisley print that is the "focus" fabric for all the fabrics included in the quilt? Would it be busy? Yes. Would it be unexpected? Yes. Would it WORK? Maybe... I have a BOLT of it so that wasn't a problem:

It's not awful

It was so much better than anything else I had tried I declared it the winner. The cornerstones really help to break up some of the "chaos" a busy print brings to the table:

Now it was time to make the half square triangle borders. I had designed them to be 3" so I made a bunch of the 80 needed. When I put them on the wall beside the top I knew they were JUST TOO BIG. I made a few that were 2" finished, much better.  I need 130 of those but they are quick to make so that is my new plan:

There will be a large outer border of the paisley once the half square triangle borders are done. The quilt will  be about twin size when done, significantly smaller than the original plan. But that will make it a good size as a class sample to teach the paper pieced Feathered Star block. I already have a YELLOW sample block done!

The pattern is FEATHERED STAR HEAVEN by Sue Garman--all the papers you need to make 9 blocks are included in the pattern. Sue's instructions are excellent. I recommend it highly. The Star is 15" finished. See my TUTORIAL on FEATHERED STARS here

So, you have to be prepared to change your mind on a long-term project when it no longer sings to you. Right now, I am happy to charge ahead to get this top finished before my Joyful Journey Retreat March 5-9. There I will be able to baste it so I can quilt it later this year.

I really look forward to having this BUCKET LIST QUILT finished.

Let's quilt.

Barbara