Thursday, June 18, 2026

A Finished Flimsy, FMQ, slow stitching and I Quilted This!

Hello and welcome 😊 Another week has whizzed by. We're back to more seasonal weather and lots of rain. Yesterday the rain drops were so big that my patio umbrella was vibrating 😮 Let's get to the good stuff!

A Finished Baby Quilt Flimsy

The first baby quilt (of three) is now a finished top. It's actually one row less than the pattern but it's a baby quilt and didn't need to be that long. It measures 43" x 47". I just want baby to be wrapped up in it when it's cold and they're going out in the car or to play on the quilt on the floor.

As I mentioned, this is the first of three baby quilts. Three of JJ's friends had babies this winter. JJ helped me plan the quilt and chose the novelty fabrics based on her friends' hobbies. This one has fabric featuring Star Wars, pickleball, smoothies, and cute animals, including dinosaurs. I have three more blocks that I'll be adding to the back (hockey, trucks and mittens) and JJ will design and prepare the label.

A baby quilt flimsy from the Square Dance pattern

FMQ Two More Houses

I had fun FMQ two more Rainbow Neighbourhood houses.

Yellow house now FMQ

The brown house at night is also FMQ

My process is to take out some thread and then do all of the FMQ that I can with that colour. I started with white, since I was piecing the baby quilt before this. I did all of the insides of the blocks on the side walls. I then went on to yellow and then brown since I could use the same bobbin thread for both. So far it's worked very well.

I haven't quilted the yards or the actual rooves since they're another colour. The quilt has 8 houses and a park. I've FMQ 3 of the houses, so 5 more left! I'm also looking forward to playing in the park!

Slow Stitching

While watching video tutorials and catching up in the TextileArtist.org's Stitch Club, I've continued stitching my grandmother's placemat. I wanted to stitch something different in the pink sections and happened to watch Mirjam Gielen as she demonstrated how to do an organic honeycomb stitch. It's not a great stitch to quilt with since it's difficult to keep the tension even but after ironing the placemat, it wasn't too bad - at least not worth un-stitching😁

Honeycomb stitch on the placemat - a little wabbly but fine

I'll be using the honeycomb stich for only these two sections

This afternoon it was cool enough to stitch outside. It's my favourite retirement activity. There seems to be new baby grackles and squirrels around. They really don't like each other but they mostly behave 😃 Today I took out my floral watercolour concertina book and stitched away while watching the live nature show.

I started using "W" shapes - they stitch easily

Adding a lot more stitches to the pages

The concertina book - many more hours of stitching left 😍

What I learned

After finishing the last two rows of the baby quilt, I wasn't in the mood to make another two rows (the squares and then the triangles). I looked at the quilt and decided that it was big enough. It is for a baby, and would be fine for a toddler.
I do have three more novelty blocks to add, so I'll make a fun pieced backing since the quilt is wider than 42" (of course).
I do want to quilt the baby quilt but the Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt is a priority. However, if I can FMQ a couple of houses per week, in a month, I could have most of it finished. I was thinking that this gave me tons of time but July is just two weeks away, 😳 so I'll be focusing on the Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt.
I'm happy to report that I've only had issues with my white thread when FMQ. I have no idea what that's all about but the tension at the back just wasn't quite right. However with the other coloured thread, everything was fine. I was using a piecing thread, so next time I'll use something a little better for the FMQ.
The slow stitching on my grandmother's placemat wasn't as great as I hoped but it's still fine. I'll finish the last of the yellow perle cotton and then do something else for the other pink blocks.
I had a lot of fun stitching on paper on the concertina book. The first page is the easiest, after that it gets a little clumsy but it's all good.
I want to explore what other very simple stitches I can use on the paper. I have done some French knots. The vases on the collages are card stock, so I'll be able to try something different on those.

Related links

Flitting from Project to Project and I Quilted This! June 11, 2026
Baby Quilt

Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This! May 21, 2026

Rainbow Neighbourhood

A finish, June's OMG and I Quilted This!, June 04, 2026

Slow Stitching

Projects in Progress and I Quilted This!, May 27, 2026
Playing with watercolour and stitch, January 07, 2026

Linking parties

I'll be linking to many fun linking parties that you may want to check out!

Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell,

I Quilted This!

Welcome to the I Quilted This! linking party that celebrates quilting on a domestic machine or custom quilting on a long-arm. Feel free to link up and share any recent project, even if you're not quilting it!

Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.

Gretchen from Gretchen's Little Corner, has finished quilting her two final compassion quilts for the year. Awareness & Butterfly Beauty are both lovely quilts. Gretchen did some straight line quilting in both and added a piano key border and diagonal quilting in the border corners of Butterfly Beauty. You'll want to check them out!

Awareness, made and quilted by Gretchen

Butterfly Beauty, Gretchen's own design

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts finished quilting her Peaches quilt for the Quilts 4 Kids Program. It's quilted in a straight lines pattern in a zig zag style.

Kat's quilted Peaches quilt

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts participated in a blog hop to showcase a new collection of fabrics, Sunflower Spice. They are gorgeous! Preeti created a wonderful queen sized quilt, Phagun, which she quilted on her domestic machine. You won't want to miss reading more about it and seeing more eye candy! Also, you'll want to check out her very cool pouches made with a recycled Nepal napkin.

Preeti's Phagun quilt

Diann of Little Penguin Quilts participated in Sandra's Lyra QAL and made a runner/wall hanging. It is really lovely. Here are both views.

Diann's version of Lyra as a runner

Diann's version of a wall hanging

It's now your turn 😍

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Flitting from Project to Project and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome ☔ We're getting rain after a couple of wonderful sunny days. It was time for the rain to come since it got very hot and muggy. It was hard not spending my morning in the back yard, but I'm sure the sun will be back 🌞eventually! Let's see what I've been playing with.

FMQ an Orange House

I haven't done much stitch-in-the-ditch on the Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt since last week. I got bored and so started free motion quilting (FMQ).

I was a little nervous because the last time I FMQ I had serious problems going left! I'm not sure if I got better results because I doing less swirls or if going slowly helped but the FMQ with cotton and polyester thread worked well. Yay!!!!!

FMQ the front of the house and the yellow star

You can see some of the stitching

When I change thread and start FMQ the grass, I'll see if I get the same great results 😊

Back on Track with the Baby Quilt

The last time I posted about the baby quilt, I noticed that I had an oops at the bottom of the second row. It took me a while to get to it, and to figure out what I had done wrong but I did it.

Square Dance quilt is now fixed and ready for two more rows

I've got all of the Kona solids fabric picked out and planned. The pieces are all cut out for the next row. It's now a matter of getting it done!

Slow Stitching Mémère's Placemat

This week I had the chance to keep stitching my grandmother's placemat while watching the Fast-N-Easy Quilters Paradise Summit. It's a virtual summit with many fun. simple projects to quilt. It features many teachers and techniques. So far I haven't succumbed to the temptation of trying anything out. I did take detailed notes on a couple of the projects that I'd like to try eventually. Even if I don't make the projects, I learned something from each presentation that I watched. It was also the perfect time to stitch.

Stitching each large square using different designs

By the fourth block I needed something different - circles!

At this time, the plan is to stitch the whole placemat except for the small tulip squares.

What I learned

I seem to be restless these days. I spent some time in my studio but didn't feel like making much. It's all good - this is meant to be a fun hobby, not a job! I'm happy that I got a little further on three of my projects.
I'm really happy with the FMQ on the orange house. I had originally thought of only using my walking foot but with a big quilt, that's a lot of shifting the quilt around. I'm glad that I tried the FMQ - and even happier that it worked.
I took full advantage of the nice weather last week to hang out in the back yard watching the critters. One of the squirrels just cracks me up and the grackles have had their baby. It's really noisy when it's hungry 😀

Feeding time for baby grackle

Squirrel antics

I really hope to make some lovely art quilts one day, based on these visitors.

Related links

A finish, June's OMG and I Quilted This!, June 04, 2026 (Rainbow Neighbourhood)
Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This! May 21, 2026 (baby quilt)
Projects in Progress and I Quilted This!, May 27, 2026 (slow stitching)

Linking party

I'm linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out 😍

Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Slow Sunday Stitching,

I Quilted This!

Welcome to the I Quilted This! linking party that celebrates quilting on a domestic machine or custom quilting on a long-arm. Feel free to link up and share any recent project, even if you're not quilting it!

Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.

This week Melva of Melva Loves Scraps, finished two versions of her Little House Sew Along 2026. She hosted this very successful Sew Along. I love the blocks within the log cabin. You'll want to check out the participants' quilts.

Melva's Little House Sew Along quilt

Melva's second Little House Sew Along quilt

Chris from Chris Knits Sews quilted a baby quilt and a birthday banner for her latest grandchild.

Details of a baby quilt

Birthday Banner by Chris

It's now your turn 😍

Thursday, June 04, 2026

A finish, June's OMG and I Quilted This!

Bonjour and welcome 😎! Thanks for dropping by. The weather has been so lovely here. My favourite part of the day is a morning (not too early) having coffee outside in the backyard. I've been able to do this almost every day. Evening are often in the studio. I'm happy to say that the scraps from my retreat are all put away. There is hope yet for a tidy studio!

Scrappy Improv Sewing Machine Cover

It's done! The improv sewing machine cover that I worked on during my quilting retreat is finished. I like the pattern because it used ties to close the cover. This makes it reversable and easy for those of us who are accuracy challenged!

Sides 1 and 2 were created years ago to make a scrappy fabric bag based on a lesson from Craftsy. It never got passed the stage of sewing two scrappy panels for the bag. Before leaving for the retreat I sewed them together to make sure that they would be big enough for the sewing machine cover. I just added a couple of inches on each side using wonderful fabric that looks like patchwork. I knew that it was too wide but that gave me wiggle room when trimming everything. I also used that fabric for the binding.

Side 1 of the machine cover

Side 2 of the machine cover with orange ties

Sides 3 and 4 were created at the retreat on the Featherweight. There was only one spot where the tension problem showed up. I just FMQ over it - no problems here 😁

Side 3 - lots of 2" blocks!

Side 4 - I got bored with the 2" blocks 😂

You may have noticed that the cover seems quite wide. I did trim it but ~~probably~~ could have trimmed it another 3". I wasn't going to take the chance that it would be too small. There's nothing wrong with some extra room - it might grow into it!

I used a variegated thread to sew the binding on. I sewed it by machine - not great but good enough. The other thread in the photo is a pale pink InvisaFil thread used to FMQ.

Machine cover with threads used on the project

Here are a few images of the FMQ.

FMQ sewing machine cover

More FMQ

The scrappy sewing machine cover with ties

June's One Monthly Goal (OMG)

I've been trying to start quilting my Rainbow Neighbourhood QAL flimsy for a while now. Making the quilt sandwich was my April OMG. I forgot to put it as my May OMG and would have made it since I sandwiched it on May 31st. Quilting the Rainbow Neighbourhood project is now my June OMG. I've started quilting it in-the-ditch. The goal is to do all of the in-the-ditch quilting by the end of the month although I hope to get it done quicker than that. I need this lovely finished by the beginning of August for our friends' 40th wedding anniversary.

The day and night skies have all been stitched-in-the-ditch


Using the walking foot to stitch-in-the-ditch. The quilt is 68" x 65"

I also joined our local quilt shop's, Quilty Pleasures, Summer UFO Challenge. This is one of my three UFOs/WIPs on the list.

What I learned

I'm very happy to say that I didn't have to make the orange ties for the cover. When I was gifted my friend's hand-dyed scraps she had included at least a dozen ties that she would have used to make masks. I'm so grateful because I really, really dislike making these!
I had a difficult time FMQ anything that went left. I know that my machine doesn't like it when I sew in the left direction but it was a little ridiculous. I ended up doing more squiggle lines than I usually do. FMQ forward and backwards is fine. I'll eventually get the machine cleaned and checked but for now, there are no left turns allowed!
For the machine binding, I used a 2" strip but didn't fold it. Again, I'm always afraid to make it too small but 1¾" would have been better. I'm happy to report that my corners were awesome 😊
The Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt will be mostly quilted using my walking foot. If I need a few swirls in the sky, I can FMQ them, probably very, very slowly!

Related links

Projects in Progress and I Quilted This!, May 27, 2026
Baby Quilt, Upcoming Retreat and I Quilted This! May 21, 2026
A Orange Scrappy FMQ Finish, April 02, 2026 (April's OMG)
Final Rainbow Neighbourhood Quilt Top, June 28, 2023 (all of the project details are in that post).

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun quilting parties, including the June OMG. You may want to check some out before linking up below😊 Monday Musings, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Oh Scrap!,

I Quilted This!

Here are the posts that included FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting last week. Thanks for linking up 😊 and consider grabbing the button.

Gretchen from Gretchen's Little Corner used up tons of her scraps, even the ugly ones, to make these two quilts, that are not so ugly! Gretchen FMQ diagonal lines in the white blocks and borders. I'm sure both of these compassion quilts will be loved.

Gretchen's two "not so ugly" quilts

Terry Knott of On Going Projects finished quilting her 2022-23 temperature quilt.

Terry's 2022-2023 Temperature quilt

Terry custom quilted the quilt

Look at all of the details of the quilting by Terry

Diann from Little Penguin Quilts made this lovely orange placemat. She used larger squares so that the lovely elephant fabric would show up nicely.

Lovely orange placemat by Diann

The back and simple quilting of Diann's placemat

Melva from Melva Loves Scraps finished her Pieces from the Past quilt. She used some traditional looking quilting designs for the blocks and the sashing.

Pieces from the Past by Melva

FMQ details by Melva

Brenda from Songbird Designs has finished embroidering, piecing and quilting her Sunshine Cove quilt. This is the centre medallion. What a beauty!

Brenda's centre medallion for her Sunshine Cove quilt

It's now your turn 😍

Saturday, May 30, 2026

An Orange House in Quilter's Cove QAL

Hi and welcome 😎 For the month of May, the colour of our house is orange. Quilter's Cove is slowly getting populated! I'm glad that you're here to check out the latest addition to the village. It's never too late to join the party if you want. If you're looking for the I Quilted This! linking party, it's here.

Lovely Orange Houses in Quilter's Cove

I started the house last weekend at the retreat but was tired by then and didn't get much done. It was a good beginning and I finished it tonight, just in time for the party.

A pretty orange house

If you're interested in learning more about the Quilter's Cove QAL, go to the QAL's main page on Kat's blog - see Related links below.

I'll add June's colour as soon as I find out what it is! Pastels

What I learned

I wanted a different perspective on the house, so I added the area in front and around the house.
I used the FMQ design by Lori Kennedy for the car - I think that it worked well. I'll be outlining it, possibly in black, when I FMQ the block.
I used a burlap trim for the front yard fence - I'll embroider it on when I put all of these together in a quilt, just to make sure that it stays put if laundered.
I seem to be incapable of making a straight house - oh well, at least I'm consistent😀
It would be nice if I did make the next house with time to spare, but at least I didn't forget!

Related links