Jack and Benny (2025)

Here's my last finished and gifted quilt for 2025! Our dear friends Jeff & Kelly waited a long time for a special quilt. 

Neutral Jack and Benny quilt

In fact, they waited so long, I don't think they were expecting it at all. Lots of hugs, maybe some tears, and it went right to their bed. 

Holiday snacks, beverages and a surprise!

Gray grunge backing and striped bias binding. 

I had been collecting gray and beige fat quarters for a while knowing I wanted something to coordinate with their decor. I just couldn't settle on a pattern. So much overthinking....

I love the little stripe for the binding.  

I stumbled across Annemarie's neutral version of her Jack and Benny quilt on Instagram and knew immediately I was going to straight up copy her design. 

Annemarie Chaney's neutral Jack and Benny (Instagram)

    

Hmmmm something's not right....

Of course I was scrambling to finish in time for Christmas and was so excited to finish the top. I snapped a pic to text Hubs. Thank goodness I did. 😕

So Jack (the ripper) and I spent quite a bit of time together after that. Six.  That's the number of blocks I had to take apart to fix those two up there.  😩  After that, it was a dash to Donna for a longarm spa day. It's a special friend that will drop everything and quilt for you in December. 💕

Vanilla Grunge background ⭐⭐⭐

Sadly, I was in such a scramble, I didn't take any photos (again) before it was gifted. Would it be rude to show up on a sunny day to stage a photo shoot? Probably. They won't mind. 

The pattern is Jack and Benny by Annemarie Chaney and finished at 84" square. Thanks for a great pattern Annemarie!

Piece...

~ Cheryl

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And She's Off!

She's off the design wall, and she's off to the quilter! My Star Sampler is a flimsy! I don't know why I struggled with this one so much. I wanted it to be special to showcase all the great blocks from friends - something I'll enjoy displaying this summer for America's 250th birthday and for many years to come.  Regardless, too much over-thinking going on for sure.  

Better pictures soon. My planned blue border just didn't work (for me).  It felt too heavy or something so I stopped with the white border. I'm considering the blue star print for the binding to give it a nice frame. Anyway, she's a flimsy! Michelle randomly had an empty quilt frame on Thursday going into the weekend. So I dropped her off at the longarm spa, and she will come home all spiffed up and beautiful in a few days I'm sure.

May Shopgirl Stash Bee 

I'm the May queen bee for our Shopgirl Stash Bee so my blocks were done early.  I jumped on the potato chip block bandwagon and came up with this variation.  I need to dive back into Pinterest to find the block variation that inspired my plan. I'm sure I saved it somewhere so more on that later. 😐 If it comes together as planned, it will be a nice QOV for a family member.

String quilt flimsy

Speaking of QOVs, I also picked up my string quilt from Donna's longarm spa. I love the stars and ribbons she used.  

More (and better) pictures after it gets a binding and label. And Oh I have a plan for these. We have SEVEN (living) veterans in our immediate families. Gratitude starts at home, right? 

Sunday afternoon's bike ride didn't disappoint. Far fewer butterflies this time but plenty of bird watching along the way.  And the headwinds were much more tolerable. 😂 

My cute squirrel friend made himself at home under the cushions!

Yesterday was a long day cleaning the front and back porches.  Squirrel friend evicted, pollen eradicated. Today, I am feeling it all over but the back porch is open for business! Hoping to fill the flower pots this weekend.

May goals:

1. Bind and label Star Sampler (May OMG!)
2. Quilt Honey Bouquet
3. Orange RSC blocks
4. Bind and label the string quilt
5. Layout Carolina Chain blocks
6. Wrangle batting scraps

Piece...

Cheryl

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Linking up a day late 😣 with Judy's  Design Wall Mondays and with Anne-Marie's One Monthly Goal (OMG) for May.

Headwinds and the Pink Scrap Bin

"Headwinds and the Pink Scrap Bin" sounds like a children's book title. 😜 

I finished up the pink Village Quilt houses las week for RSC. Now I'm in a quandary. I need eleven more house blocks per the pattern. The original plan was to make them in neutrals like light and medium gray, but I'm afraid they will blend too much with the gray roofs. Overthinking in progress as usual.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, we've been enjoying spring and Tennessee backroads on the bikes.

Early April Dogwoods

That day, I was convinced my e-bike was headed to the mechanic with a MAJOR problem - it felt like I was pedaling in wet cement. Handsome checked it out later and diagnosed it as "headwinds". 😂 Bike is fine. My ego, not so much. 😐

Hubs is part mountain goat and can climb about anything. I ride an e-bike so I can keep up with the goat. 😂 And you never know what you'll find around the next bend... 

Today is a sew day with shopgirls from The Dancing Bobbin so I better get moving. I'm taking strings for a day of mindless sewing and good conversation. 

Piece...

 

Cheryl

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Linking up late to ScrapHappy Saturday and Design Wall Monday.

Nana's Brightly (2025)

Back to documenting past finishes today. The current plan is to do all of my 2025 finishes and then switch to more of a summary post for prior years.  Otherwise, I'll never catch up. 😬

This is Nana's Brightly quilt, and it has quite a story. 💙

Years ago, I made Brent's (aka Handsome, Boyfriend, Mr. Quilt Holder, Enabler, Warden) parents a Christmas themed quilt, one of my first quilts.  They used it year round, and over the years we gave them much grief for that. (think snow globes and mittens in July) Nana said she would stop when she had another one to replace it. 😂😅  I had been planning to make another bed quilt for them for quite a while and finally put it on the priority list for 2024. Nana LOVES all things blue willow and ginger jar so that was my inspiration. (Thank you, Google images, for the inspiration pics)

I found the perfect fabric line at a local quilt shop, added some blenders and decided on the Brightly by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew. It's another great pattern that seems to work with any fabric combo. (fat quarter and layer cake friendly, too!) No photo of the fabric pull. 😑

Anyway, I finished piecing Nana's Brightly in September of 2024 thinking we'd gift it for Christmas. Plenty of time to have it quilted, bind it and label it. Right?  Nope. Life happened in October. Their washer flooded and caused major damage to their home. Temporary accommodations and extensive remodeling ensued, followed by some pretty serious health issues and the difficult decision to downsize/relocate closer to their children. 2024/2025 was HARD. They lived nearly five hours away at the time, and Handsome went most weekends for almost six months to help with the repairs, packing, staging, selling, moving, etc.  

While a Christmas delivery didn't happen, Nana's Brightly made the perfect surprise housewarming gift. Jesus knew she'd need something special on a hard day. We sneaked in and left it on the bed while she was distracted with the movers. Her throw pillows and shams coordinate beautifully too.

Housewarming gift 💙

Moving day 2025

Relocation was a really difficult change for them, leaving their church family and community of nearly 50 years. But they've settled in nicely and are enjoying being a bit closer to us (3 hours!) and just minutes from Handsome's sister and family.  

Nana's Brightly finished at ~ 84" square and was quilted by my friend Donna. Zoom in for a peek at the backing. In all the excitement (stress) I forgot to get finish photos.  I'll have to take it off the bed and sneak outside for a photo shoot next time we visit. 

By the way, the Christmas quilt?  It now lives on the guest bed under a beautiful coverlet where I see it each time we stay over. But more on that one later...💕

Piece...

~ Cheryl

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Hold On. Let me Overthink this.

There hasn't been a whole lot of quilting going on over here for one reason or another, but I spent this past week at a retreat (yes, another retreat) with a group of friends. I might have procured a new t-shirt. It's perfect. 🐥

And, I'm happy to report progress on several projects!! First up, some pink 9 patch blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge project I "accidentally" started last month. 💗 My plan is to make as many each month as my 2 1/2" bin will support. I have plenty of pink in the box, so maybe I'll  get a few more in next week.

I made a few more Village Quilt houses in pink last week ,too.  I have eleven more cut but forgot the "door" pieces at home so maybe next week... This is one of my RSC projects from 2025.  After pink, I think I only have one or two more colors to add. 

 

Donna is the April Queen for our Shopgirl Stashbee and chose this Disappearing Pinwheel block for us. I believe the block tutorial was from Missouri Star.

Donna's sample block

She asked for gender neutral fabrics in a softer palette for a baby quilt. Here are my blocks. Geese and bunnies!

Next up, I made my last Carolina Chain blocks, another 2025 RSC project.  I chose gray for October instead of pastels since I'd already been using all shades/tones in each monthly color. When I finish the star sampler, I plan to start sewing these together!

Because I was still procrastinating (overthinking) the star sampler, I stitched up a Honey Bouquet top using a cute little bundle called Pawsomely Posh from Camelot. Get some sunglasses.  It's bright. 😎 But the pups and scooters are just too cute.  Some little girl somewhere will love this. I think sorting out the layout took longer than cutting and sewing the top. I'll definitely revisit this pattern.

Pawsomely Posh Honey Bouquet 

I finally settled down on Thursday, and worked out a plan for my star sampler.  I got all the sashing finished and blocks sewn into rows. I'll sew the rows together and add a border in the same blue fabric as the cornerstone stars next week (I hope.) And then maybe take some better pics. 

I made five more Streak of Lightning blocks for my Leader/Ender project using up a shoe box of 2 1/2" squares and strips. That box is like loaves and fishes, but the lid fits a little better now. :)

 

Next up? Back to the star sampler, some pink houses and my block samples for May stash bee. I'm about to be a queen!  

Piece...

 

Cheryl

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Linking to Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday 

Margie's Meadowland (2025)

 Last year, my sweet friend Margie welcomed her first grandbaby and will henceforth be known as "Gigi". The occasion had to be marked with a special quilt, one to be kept at Gigi's house for all the future grands. Here's to many more, Margie! 

Margie's Meadowland

The pattern is Meadowland by Then Came June. It's one of my favorites. This is my second version, and I already have plans for a third.  I treated myself to a 4x8 Bloc Loc flying geese ruler for this pattern.  I can't recommend it enough. 😍 The pattern is FQ friendly and produces very little waste. 

I pieced the top at our 2025 quilt retreat. We used these tables for layout work, and then looked down at it from the balcony to get a bird's eye view.  This always becomes a group effort - one or two arranging blocks while the others chime in from the landing.  😂 Works for us.

Look at all the finishes!

Here it is hanging from the balcony with other completed tops at retreat. I used a long-hoarded half yard bundle of Charleston by Amy Sinibaldi and some Art Gallery blenders. I'll just love this collection.

Quilting by Michelle 💗

Michelle did a fantastic job quilting it for me.  I'm amazed at what she can do with some rulers and freehand magic. I love how the tiny stippling makes the orange peels pop.

Labeled, bound, gifted!

Margie's Meadowland finished at ~ 48" x 64" and was gifted in May 2025 from 100% stash!!! (yay me!)

Halloween Two-Step (2025)

Meet my Halloween version of Two-Step.  

Halloween Two-Step

I worked on this quilt off and on in 2024, mostly at Scrap Club and as a leader/ender project. The top was finished in January 2025 at a quilt retreat and was finally quilted, bound and labeled in late May.

On the design wall at a quilt retreat

I quilted this one at home with my trusty walking foot and a decorative stitch that looks like baseball stitching ⚾ ... or maybe Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas. 💀

Pin basted and auditioning thread color

Chartreuse vertical stitches.   ⚾ or 💀?

The color palette was inspired by the pumpkin fabric on the back (Art Gallery, I think), and it was made with 100% stash.  Yay me! {pats self on back}

Love those little pumpkins 💜

Two-Step is found in the book Scrap School by Lissa Alexander and was designed by Amanda Jean Nyberg - Crazy Mom Quilts.

For me, quilts are generally Gifts, Donations, or Keepers.  This one's a KEEPER! 

At 52 x 64", it's just big enough for me, and I LOVE it!  🩷❤🔮🎃

Piece...

~ Cheryl

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No Scrap Club for you 😷

Monday was our monthly Scrap Club day at The Dancing Bobbin, and I missed it! So bummed. 😞  I've been ordered to rest until this lingering upper respiratory thingy moves out of our home. Ughhh.  On a positive note, I've wrangled some overdue paperwork and enjoyed a lot of blog posts and youtube tutorials. 💓

on my design wall...

I'm still pondering my star sampler layout which is kinda killing my sewjo, but I did manage a bit of sewing Wednesday while the warden was at work 🙊. Cyndi is the March Queen for our Shopgirl Stashbee and chose this block for us. I'm not sure of the pattern source, but it's really cute! We're using 2 1/2" squares for the 9 patches and 6 1/2" squares for the snowball blocks. 

Cyndi's inspiration pic

...and her sample blocks

I finished her two blocks...

...and then I accidentally made more red 9 patches.  

I was determined not to start any more scrap quilts in 2026 until there are some finishes over here. And I held out for a whole 2 1/2 months. Oops. 🙈 I mean, this is the perfect Rainbow Scrap Challenge project, and the color of the month is RED, and I already had these squares in my 2 1/2" scrap bin. So I didn't really have a choice, right?  These have now been stashed away in the RSC project box (Nothing to see here, folks 😂) and I'm back on track with the WIPs. 

Last fall, I dabbled with some EPP for the first time while on a weekend camping trip. I needed something to do while Mr. Enabler (hubs 😍) was out for his bike ride.

So I glue basted these two little cuties and very slowly stitched them together. And then I put them in a box out of sight as per usual. And another WIP was born. 😂 This is why I currently have a No New Projects rule.  Anyway, I pulled them back out this past week while scrolling Pinterest and re-watching tutorials on YouTube.  

The verdict? I'm really enjoying EPP as an evening project to keep my hands busy (instead of scrolling the phone) while relaxing with Mr. Enabler. I'm using 1 1/4" hexie papers and a box of 3" scraps. Did I mention I'm really slow? I don't have a design plan, but I probably don't need one yet.

Next up? Back to the star sampler, some gray Carolina Chain blocks and maybe another hexie or two.  

Piece...

 

Cheryl

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Linking to Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday