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!

wip wednesday 2026.7

 

i think i failed to mention in my last post that this blog is now fifteen years old. that means i've been quilting nearly a third of my life, which feels so strange since i took it up in my later 30's, well into adulthood. in the end, i will have been a quilter longer than i wasn't one. i didn't see that coming.

what have i accomplished in 15 years of quilting? take a look at my "quilt gallery" page to see what i've completed and my "wips" page to see what i'm still working on. the ratio is about 2:1. it’s not just about the finishes or the endless WIPs  it’s been about a whole lot of fun and learning and fabric and friends mixed in with a lot of mistakes and miscuts and frustrations. quilting has taught me a lot, given me a lot these past 15 years.

the opening photo is of a project nearly as old as this blog: my "london wardrobe" epp project. i began these hexagon-and-square-and-triangle wheels in 2013, planning to make 100 of them. currently, i have 22 full wheels, 2 sets of 3 interlocking wheels, and one middle piece complete. there are about a dozen hexagons and an innumerable amount of triangles and squares basted and even more cut, ready to baste. i have large cuts of a few feature fabrics for the backing and of the low-volumes for background for the front.

i took the project back out a few months ago to assess what can be done with it. i no longer have an interest in completing 100 wheels. i'm trying to figure out what i can do with the wheels i have complete instead. the answer to that question is not simple because of the state all the pieces are in. i wish i had it in me to keep at this project and see it through, but even a shortcut version is going to a lot of work at this point.

i'm still undecided on a layout. putting the wheels in rows will require making a lot of middle/half wheel/connecting pieces. making more interconnecting cogs for one big slab will require more work than i even want to think about. there's no quick fix way out of this mess. 

what am i to do?

maybe i just set it aside until such a point in my life as i have the motivation and time to keep making it into something like i originally planned?

the only reason i'm even thinking about it is i'm a little "tired of pink" at the moment and needed a distraction.

i'm not truly tired of pink - just tired of blogging about it. the only thing i get done these days is a few more stitches on "pinky stinky" edna, which is turning this blog into a play-by-play in pink. who wants to keep reading that?

as wednesday approaches and i haven't done any new quilting, i think to myself, "i need to go quilt a little so i have something to post." this isn't very genuine, on the one hand. on the other, it's motivating me to keep the project moving forward, even a little bit at a time. there's nothing wrong with that, is there?

i've thought of doing something else, but i need to get the pink thread off the machine before i move on. i'm really making myself stick to these wips until i get them finished, which is great for finishes but makes for boring blogging.

this week i put the star points on the pieces above and attached the horizontal sashing strips to 3 of the 16 patches for row 4. it was actually a nice break from house design.

as i was leaving the room last night, i noticed this bit of silliness above. i put the same star points on two consecutive pieces. the set on the right is supposed to be bird points, like the cornerstone block under it. that's going to be some work for me. upicking coming right up!

"pinky stinky" strikes again, which is to say, "hydee messed up again." 

and somehow i still make quilts.

looking forward in 2026

on the pressing table

this is the ultimate wip wednesday post! i’m going to take a look at all my wips and make some plans. warning - it’s going to take a while. there are a lot of them. which just means I have a whole lot of fun ahead of me and there's a long read ahead for you if you choose to stay.

i ended up just doing a recap post and not really setting my quilting intentions for the year as i intended on january 1st. so now i'm going to look at my extensive wip list and talk about what i'll be working on. this is a deep dive as i have about 25 projects currently in the works, or at least that many that i'm counting/claiming at the moment. there are a few more piles of fabric that haven't been cut into that i have plans for. i'm not counting these fabric pulls with intentions as wips yet.

my handwork project - just around the corner from completing this one

but let me say first what my year is anticipated to look like as of now. in 2022 we bought a home on a street where we had been house-hunting for five years. three of my 7 siblings live on that street and i really wanted my kids to spend the latter half of their at-home years on the same street as their cousins. it didn't work out that way. and even though we finally found a property to purchase, it has been nothing but changing plans ever since we bought it. our family dynamics are continually in flux right now and our housing "needs" are evolving constantly. this has kept us from nailing down a remodel design and plan to this point. however, we feel ready to proceed now. so my number one job until construction begins is to get our design plans finalized and in motion. one upside is that the parts remodeled by the previous owners have some super cool quilt-like tiles. i just need to get the add-ons and extensions planned out. it's going to be a full-time project for me and has to take priority over everything else in my life, quilting included. i may not have any quilting time at all for the foreseeable future. or if i do, i may not have time to post about it. but everything i do to move the project forward benefits my quilt life in the end because the new build portion of this house will have a beautiful new quilt studio for me, full of natural daylight, storage, design wall space galore, and increased circulation room. so i really need to get it done! working on the house will only enhance my future quilting even if it delays it for a while.

my design wall at the moment - several projects and some orphan blocks

right now, i am trying to spend my mornings working on house design and giving myself quilt time in the afternoon for one hour when d5 is at her math tutoring service. once she gets home, i start making dinner. so far this year - all 7 days of it - this is working. we'll see if it continues.

assuming i do get to quilt, what am i going to do? my main interest and intention at the moment is to finish up many of the wips i have in various stages. to take stock, i cut-and-paste from my wip page and will add notes below. projects are grouped in categories according to what phase of construction they're in.

piecing queue

robin nests

pattern: quarter log cabin blocks

fabrics: solids scraps, mostly kona cotton solids

collaborator:  my grandson r

companion quilt: 

started: nov 2025

this recent start is a project with my grandson. we have 6 of 16 blocks made. this will be worked on randomly when he's visiting and feels like sewing. that will determine the pace of its piecing. i need to find a light blue sashing for it. not a high-priority finish.

wensleydale

fpp pattern by jen kingwell

started: september 2025

oh, i love this one. i was on a roll with it in the fall doing a block a day until i joined the single girl sewalong. i think i can still stomach the color palette right now. the last few years, i really like working with in-season colors. but this one is so fun i might be able to keep at it for a while. there are a couple other projects above it on the list, so it might end up waiting until fall rolls around again.

yellow hst star quilt

started: july 2025

pattern from "scrap quilt diary" book by jolene klasen

this was an experiment; i just wanted a taste of making these blocks. i intend to add in more deep golds and some browns, too. not a high priority at the moment, basically at the bottom of the list.

"pinky stinky edna" 

started: may 2025

pattern: edna by jennifer jones of penelope handmade

collaborator: d5 (she's doing the 16 patch blocks)

this one is mainly waiting on d5 getting the 16 patches done. she has very little time to sew these days, so progress is sporadic. we have one full column of 6 pieced and she has about 10 of 30 16 patches done. i have no control over her availability but would call it high priority if i wasn't waiting on her.

lemonade at sixes

started: may 2025

pattern - petite crossroads, my variation of the treehouse crossroads pattern

fabrics - ruby + bee “lemonade” and “pink petal” with green denyse schmidt prints

high priority! top 5. i've been working on sets of three or four fabric combos at a time because that's what i can cut together. when i get one set pieced, i cut the next. i'm maybe a 1/4 done with piecing.

most of my stats for how far i've gotten with a project mentioned here are my best guesses. if i were to stop and actually count each one, i'd be doing this forever! 

liberty courthouse steps #2 (twin quilts)

started: march 2024

liberty + chambray church lap quilt

i have a lot of church lap quilts completed and in use. this one is not high on my priority list - middling. i do love it and look forward to finishing, but i need to complete some of my other handquilting projects first.

liberty christmas stars 

liberty + crossweave “star hollow” blocks by jolene klassen of blue elephant stitches

started: Dec 2024

this one will wait until christmas comes again. low priority.

cute liberty betsy hearts

inspired by mary warren

started: feburary 10, 2024

fabrics: liberty tana lawn "betsy" print in pink and blue colorways with low-volume from stash

very cute but low priority right now. come february i might want to make a few more. 

spinning elizabeths

started: january 2023

pattern: modified "spinning around" from quilt lovely book by jen kingwell

fabrics: anna maria horner and other from stash

i'm either going to pull this one out soon or leave it til fall. once i get my highest priority makes done, i'll see what this still needs and think about when to do it.

bright forest

pattern: patchwork forest by amy smart of diary of a quilter

started: dec 2022

fabrics: kona cottons, leftovers from shelter in place quilt

argh! i got pretty far on this one this holiday season. two rows are joined of seven. this might be my next priority after the one i'm piecing at the moment just so i can remember what i'm doing with it. but i might not like it now that christmas is over.

heather ross log cabin

started 4.27.2021

fabrics: orange, green, and low-volume heather ross from various collections

this one is sitting on my cutting table at the moment. it could be a quick finish. i think it's priority no. 3 (behind "bright forest"). if i remember correctly, there are 10 blocks done. i need to finish the other 2 and complete the top with sashing.

shelter in place

pattern: stay home by allison harris of cluck cluck sew

started: march 2021

instagram: #shelterinplacequilt

fabrics: kona solids from my last fabric order placed before the pandemic shutdowns began

i just want this one done already. kind of like how we felt about the pandemic and lockdown. but i'm not excited about it. middling priority.

olmstead’s geese

flying geese, own layout

origins collection by basic grey for moda and coordinating stash

companion quilt: grellow garden geese

started jan 2020

top 5 priority? pretty high, but just below items on my design wall and cutting table. i like this one better than it's recently finished companion. i think at least half the geese are done. i looked in the box recently but don't remember for sure. would want to be doing this one in march maybe if not sooner. and the there are all the leftover hsts from both quilts that will be worked up together, but let's not think too hard about that right now.

giant swoon

pattern: upsized single "swoon" block by camille roskelly

meadowdot by sandi henderson, picnic bouquet by heather bailey, and essex linen

started: january 2017

this has been decorating my design wall for far too long. as much as I like looking at it up there, I also want it done. it should be quite an easy finish so it’s pretty high priority. 

"gypsy child"

3" hst patchwork quilt

started march 2016

ah, this one is nearly a flimsy! i've been working on it this week. if i hadn't spent so long blogging tonight i could have put it all together. i'm very excited about this one. and i have some loose plans for the 290+ remaining hsts that didn't go into it! but i'm not sure i'll use those up until after some older projects are completed first.

gypsy wife

started jan 2014

participating in quilt along schedule

pattern: "gypsy wife" by jen kingwell

recipient: self

this is either my no. 2 priority project or i'm saving it til next year. my reasoning?  i have two other gypsy wife quilts i want to make. this one hase 3 or 4 sections of 10 complete. i could just keep going at it OR i could plan to work on it along with the other two versions starting next january. i would do a quilt along if i decide to do it that way. i'm undecided!

sugar block club 2014

started jan 2014

pattern by by amy gibson of stitchery dickory dock

recipient: self

this one is problematic. it's part of block-a-month club from 12 (!!!) years ago. i checked my email a few hours ago and i still have all the emails. but . . . none of the photos or graphics are loading in the emails. amy gibson's website and blog are gone. i guess she doesn't really quilt anymore? i found her IG page, which is active, but it's all just family now. i was able to locate a photo of 9 of the 12 blocks on her older IG posts. but as some of them are fpp, i don't think i can wing them without the printout i can no longer access from the emails. i think i might use the fabric pull i have for the project and just make up my own sampler of traditional blocks from some of the books i have.

 hst diamond quilt

started: may 2013

own design

fabrics: spring house by stephanie ryan for moda

recipient: play room

this is a charm pack hst project. i was going to make radiating diamonds from and offset lower right point. it's an idea i dreamed up in my early quilt days. it never got off the ground. i still have all the charm packs and several hsts made up. it's been a long time since i used just one fabric line in a quilt. these days i prefer to mix in stash with precuts. that's an option here. middling priority. i would definitely like it off my wip page and out of stash.

class projects

sometimes i take a class to learn a new skill or technique. it's more about the class experience than actually finishing a project, although i do come out of the class with projects in mind and a few starter pieces complete. these are not high priority finishes for me at this time.

string star

from a class by tara faughnan

started february 2023

i made one small sample star and will likely make a giant star block as a quilt top. undecided.

scrappy dotty dresden plates

from a class with louise hailey

started may 2015

alternating dresden points of red polka dot and scrappy points set on pink swiss dot fabric. one set of points formed but not joined. planning for maybe 12 total with sashing and cornerstones.

leaders and enders

bonnie lass

started dec 2022

pattern: bonnie lass from "quilt lovely" by jen kingwell, upsized

fabrics: all from scrap

bonnie lass

started 2024

pattern: bonnie lass from "quilt lovely" by jen kingwell

fabrics: all from scrap

these are leaders-and-enders, so they aren't meant to be finished until they accumulate enough blocks. i'm pretty far on the larger one but need to revisit my math again before i know how far i am. middling priority for the larger one, no time scale for the small one.

epp

"london wardrobe"

an english paper piecing (epp) project, all done by hand

traditional ferris wheel pattern inspired by Katy at i'm a ginger monkey (here)

started: july 2013

i took this one out early december to have a look. it needs to be done! my original idea is not going to happen, but i have a few ideas how to make use of what i've got. however, there are no quick and easy fixes. this is middling priority, behind top 5.

frosted forest star

started: may 2021

pattern: stella grande, own design

i got backing fabrics i like (finally!) for this one in december. next batching party i have, this one is getting basted and quilted.

handquilting queue

groovy liberty

started may 2025

pattern - half square rectangle pinwheels

this one is middling priority. it's backed and has been stabilized with some basic machine quilting. but it still needs handquilting and there are other handquilting priorities.

quilting queue

twelve south

pattern: single large improv log cabin

started: march 2021

i got held up on quilting this one because i was trying to branch out in my fmq, be a little adventurous and try new things. bad idea. or at least not a sustainable one for me. if i can figure out how to simplify that idea and get it done, i will be doing this in the next batch party.

improv in an afternoon

started january 2023

pattern: improv

taking the quick and easy route here, too. i'll do some straightline quilting or some such basic design and just get it done at the next batch party.

trimming queue

binding and handquilting more queue

 binding queue

sunny crossroads quilt

started february 2023

pattern: treehouse crossroads

fabrics: various yellow and low-volume from stash

next time i'm batch making binding, this one will get it's turn. and i might add some handquilting someday. but probably not.

bound, but still handquilting queue

cheery (easter) quilt

improv frames, own design

started: feb 2019

still a lot of handquilting to add to this one. the eternal spring break project. but it's going to take priority in the handquilting department soon. like, at spring break and thereafter til done.

free-wheeling single girl

pattern by denyse schmidt

fabrics: liberty tana lawn prints in autumn colors and a brown crossweave background

started october 2025

bound and in use this fall, this one is getting put in the handquilting pile but it's not priority until fall again.

liberty christmas cabin

liberty + crossweave log cabin quilt

started dec 2024

i got the initial handquilting complete and it's now bound, so useable (although out of season). to me, it feels like it needs more handquilting. this is one of those psuedo-finishes, half-done things. i still want to add more handquilting to it after all. it's middle priority for handquilting.

that's THIRTY-ONE projects. (three are bound and in use but not fully finished with handquilting.) i have work to do, don't i! which would you do first or like to see finished most?

little bits of progress

i've steadily worked away at "wensleydale," keeping the pace of a block a day (with a few skipped days), and i've also made the last of the geese i need for "grellow garden geese," but i took a small break to get some yellow hst pieces literally off the floor and made into blocks so i could put them away.

the extra hst pieces i made several weeks ago when i was playing around with a new block idea have been laying together with the block on a piece of batting, which has been laying on the floor just inside my sewing room doors. often when i'm actively working on a project, i'll have a batting scrap laid on the floor just outside my sewing room doors, which will be open when i'm working in there. the piece of batting serves as a mini design wall, albeit on the floor, and as a place to keep everything together. i don't usually let things stay in this state for long. but this project (and edna) got quickly pulled into the room and the door shut on them a few weeks ago when i was in a hurry to clean up and get them out of the way of general foot traffic in the house. so i've been stepping over them any time i enter the room for weeks now. not tidy or desirable at all!

thus, i decided to do some cleanup work to get those pieces out of the way and off the floor as a mini break from the projects i'm most focused on at the moment.

as i was putting the first block together, i realized the hsts weren't trimmed. yikes. i did not want to do all that trimming - 16 units per block - so i decided to skip the trim and see what happened. the block (left above) turned out fine enough, but when i compared it to the original block, it was a full 1/4" larger on all sides. when you cut units sized with the intention of trimming them, you can't get lazy later and decide not to trim. not unless you skipping trimming all of them from the beginning. 

so i broke down and trimmed the pieces for the 3rd block. it really wasn't too bad.

looking at these blocks together i can see how slight shifts in the value of the yellows in the star pieces vs. the corner pieces make a big difference in how the pattern appears in the blocks. how interesting. the lowest block has a clear star pattern to it whereas the other two blocks look different. using softer yellows in the innermost diamond and for the corners while using bolder yellows for the points really brings the star shape forward. note to self for future blocks!

now these blocks are safely put away in the project box recently vacated by the flying geese project and i can think about them in the spring when i feel like sewing with sunshine again.

photo of me taking a break on the piano room couch, surveying my geese and also contemplating the upcoming remodel of this room's trim. 

i called d1 to chat about some things and showed her some feature of the geese on video call. she said, "mom! that's not the quilt you've been posting about." shows how much she's been paying attention. for one, i have recently posted about this quilt on insta and she's been in the house since i put it out on the floor a few days ago. her three kiddos 3 and under must be taking all her attention. "how many quilts are you working on right now?," she says, as if she doesn't know me and my quilting adhd habits at all.  

"actively - two," was my response. and that's true despite the few side trips i took this weekend that are featured in this post.

saturday night, long after i'd shut the sewing room doors for the day, d5 came to me and asked to have a little sewing and listening session for about 30 minutes before she went out for the evening. i was thrilled. since school started up last month she hasn't had any time for sewing with me and i'm itching for her to finish those 16 patch blocks. she got 6 done while we worked together and took a short trip to PEI to visit jane.

i was mentally done with both "wensleydale" and the geese for the day, so i picked up my sweet little mini crossroads blocks for some mindless piecing. i do love these so much and look forward to getting them completed. they'll need to take center stage again when i have a few projects pushed to the flimsy & basting stage. those quirky stripes and dotted o's aren't my favorite fabric of this grouping, but they'll add character to the quilt. if only they were printed straighter! 

that's it for the side projects for now. i'll be back to work on wensleydale and geese come the work week.