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

🧵🪡

Linking up late to ScrapHappy Saturday and Design Wall Monday.

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

🧵🪡

Linking to Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday 

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

🧵🪡

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

🧵🪡

Linking to Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday 

While at Lunch (2025)

The point of this blogging/journaling journey for me is to catalogue past finishes and do a better job documenting them going forward. Would it be better to do these all in one post? Maybe, but that would make for a REALLY long post right?  So for now, here we go - one at a time. 

I have a group of friends that meet monthly on the 2nd Monday at the quilt shop - a day when The Dancing Bobbin is closed for business so we are free to carry on without interrupting anyone. ;) The idea when we started (2022, I think) was to form a small group for a few ladies that could use some quilty friends in their life. We each started with a copy of the book Scrap School by Lissa Alexander and chose a quilt that we thought would work with our stash, and Scrap Club was born. 

While at Lunch

This is my version of While at Lunch made and gifted in 2025 to a dear friend Sandy who loves sports, travel and the color blue. Almost all of the blues and grays on the top were from stash. The backing is a cute Rifle Paper Company print with foreign stamps with a blue grunge-like print on the sides. It generated a pile of HST's in blue/white and gray/white.  They'll find a home eventually. It finished at ~64" square and was quilted by my friend Michelle. She free-handed the little flower pattern while I sorted/folded fabric in her studio. Because that's what friends do. 💕

And that's a wrap - February

Where did February go?  Well, there was that epic ice storm across the South, a Bucket List winter vacation, Gold medal olympic hockey watching (obsessing), a bike ride in the mountains during yesterday's spring-like weather, and as much sewing as I could squeeze in.  

I had a great time with my quilty peeps from The Dancing Bobbin last week at The Grand Oak Retreat center in Scottsboro, AL.  We've already booked a return visit for 2027!  The space was perfect for our gang. Great facility, yummy food and just so many belly laughs with friends. 

(I borrowed this shot from their website gallery) 🙊

Dancing Bobbin Friends minus one 💜

    

Swapping stars 💙

The star block swap was a big hit.  Can't wait to put them all together. We all have the same stars, but our samplers will vary drastically.  I mostly worked on WIPs from 2025 as I'm determined to focus on FINISHES this year. 

First up were fifteen little green houses for my Village quilt. I started these blocks last year for Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) at  SuperScrappy.  I added aqua and pale pink blocks later in the week (no photo again) so I think I only have neutrals left for this one.  

    

Next up, I worked on Carolina Chain blocks in various colors. It's from Bonnie Hunter's book Addicted to scraps, and I believe it is also available on her website. This is another RSC project I started in 2025. I think I only need about 30 more blocks for this one in light to medium grays.  

I started these two Riley Blake banner kits I collected last year.  I would have finished the bunny except who remembered to bring batting?  Ughhhh.

 

I've been steadily working on these Streak of Lightning blocks as a Leader/Ender project using up a shoe box of 2 1/2" strips. I spent some time cutting for future blocks to add variety. I literally stacked strips and cut a square and a rectangle from each.  Very easy units to make.  The challenge is keeping them going the right direction.  Ask me how I know.  The book More Nickel Quilts by Pat Speth is out of print now, but I found a used copy online.  

I'm going to attempt linking up with Angela at SuperScrappy a day late.  Take a peek at what other quilters are making for Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

Looking forward to March and whatever adventures it brings.  

~ Cheryl

Patriotic Stars (2025)

 

Patriotic Stars

I committed to donate a patriotic quilt to an organization in GA that works with Veterans in 2025. I decided on No Point Stars and recruited some quilty friends to make a block or two. Quilty friends are just the best. 💗

On the design wall 

I saw this layout on Instagram (I think), and just had to re-create it. Of course, I can't find that post now to credit the original maker.  I love the oversized stars mixed in. 

I pieced the top at a January quilt retreat, and then my friend Michelle generously quilted waves on it for me. Finished it with a striped binding (my favorite).  We even had a bright sunny Saturday late January for a quick photo session.  Thank you Mr. Quilt Holder and Supervisor Sophie. 

Sophie is always ready for a photo op and a test drive. Patriotic Stars was subsequently donated to a local Quilts of Valor chapter after the timing didn't work out with the original organization. I'm already working on another quilt for the local group for 2026. The star blocks we used are No Point Stars by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew. 

Quilt stats:

    Size: ~60" x 70"
    Blocks: 10 1/2" and 20 1/2"
    Fabric: Red, white, blue & gray from the stash

~ Cheryl