ooooold wip(s) wednesday 2026.10

i think this is the oldest wip i have. it was an original, exciting-to-me idea i had about two years into my quilting adventures when i was just getting started making hsts and they were so nerve-wracking (to my mind). i went to my (now long closed) local shop and picked out the most attractive charm pack they had available, because i didn't want to cut squares but rather focus on mastering that scary, tricky hst shape. i liked this "spring house" collection by moda enough to pick it. the colors were fresh, funky, and the collection was a little edgy. it's a bit bright for my tastes nowadays, but i can live with it. my current inclination for precuts and fabric collections is to mix coordinating fabrics from stash with them for a scrappier, less currated, unique look, but i really don't want to cut any fabrics for this. i'd rather just use what i've already got and get it done. 

the idea was to create a large, radiating, off-set diamond from the hsts. i got started with sewing one set (of three total) charm packs together before i left off this project and jumped to something else, never picking it up again until now. i don't know why i left it off or why i never got back to it, but it's about time to finish it! i think after it had been long enough since i started the project, i lost interest in all those hsts (because - trimming) and then i lost interest in the fabrics and doing a single-collection quilt. but it's still here and somehow i don't mind just doing it now.

i spent all of 30 minutes one afternoon this past week to mark and sew the next set of charm packs together (one left to go!). i could have had d5 do them for me, it's within her ability range. maybe i'll get her to do the last set.

obligatory chain-pieced hst bunting photo

i threw it in d4's lap and gave her a pair of snips. "cut," i sad. "i don't like to cut," she said, but then she did it anyway.

this set is snipped apart and added to the pile. i'm glad i haven't separated and pressed any of them yet. i'll do that all at once when they're all pieced.

d3 was home from school for a wedding this weekend, and since we weren't 100% sure she'd helped with the "sixteen going on eighteen" quilt (no photographic evidence), i sat her down and made her help me piece the backing.

that's my piecing report for the week.

as for the rest:

epp

• lots of progress! more than just a piece a day. i now have about 3 sets of 3 or 4 interconnected cogs put together. i had to baste a few pieces and sew several half wheels together to get there and it's been quite satisfying. more than once i've gone to my room to take a nap to relax and done some epp sewing instead.

quilting

• i completed all the horizontal and vertical straightline quilting and a quarter of the diagonal lines on "frosted forest star." just those last few diagonal lines left to go on this one.

organizing the sewing room

the state of the solid fabrics shelves has been bugging me. i needed to pull a green to see if i had the right one for a binding, which turned into me organizing the green stack, which made me want to do the blues. i remembered to take a “before” photo at this point. I did all the blues and was getting tired of it, but persevered until i had refolded and restacked the warm colors, too.

better.

purchases

• none!