A Cowboy Finish and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome - I'm so happy that you can share my happy place with me 😊It's mid-February, the days are getting longer and this week it feels like Spring may eventually happen 😎. We all know that there will be more cold days ahead but there is hope. 🌞

A Cowboy Panel Finish

This quilt has been about 13 months in the making - not full time but in chunks of time. 

Cowboy Panel Quilt 😊 finished!

Here is a quick recap. I finished most of the blocks by the end of last year's SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin). You can read all about the piecing process in my November 27th post (see Related links below). FMQ the quilt was my January One Monthly Goal (OMG) but I didn't quite make it. You can check out the links below but essentially I quilted-in-the-ditch, FMQ the blocks, FMQ the panel, and then FMQ the borders between the blocks. 

In my last post about FMQ this quilt, I mentioned that I just had the inner dark brown border to stitch. I kept it simple with two straight lines quilted with my walking foot and just closed the line with a triangle shape in each corner. This is one of Angela Walter's ideas.

Quilting the inner border

Here are a couple for photos since the weather was perfect outside!

A quick picture at the entrance of our home

Another glamour shot 

I'm keeping it short and sweet today. This evening I'll be dropping of the quilt to Alek. I really hope he'll like it! - He did, for about 2 minutes and then was off to other things.😂

What I learned

• I had no idea that the panel I purchased was so large - that made for a big quilt. If possible, I'll try to keep my baby quilts smaller.
• I really did have fun putting this quilt together. It was challenging to make some of those blocks but given my accuracy challenge, even simple 9 patch blocks are a challenge!
• I had fun FMQ the Christmas panel quilt in December, so I was eager to start on this one. It was enjoyable and I'm going to try to do some FMQ every few weeks. I do have a number of smaller quilts to FMQ so that should keep me happy 😁
• I don't want my SAHRR 2026 to take me 13 months to finish - so I'm really going to try to make it for the parade at the end of March. At least I don't have two quilts to make this year!

Related links

• FMQ the panel and borders: Updates and I Quilted This! February 05, 2026
• FMQ Blocks and I Quilted This!, January 29, 2026
• Starting the FMQ: Getting stuff done and I Quilted This! January 22, 2026

• 

  Stitching-in-the-ditch: Starting Things and I Quilted This! January 15, 2026

Linking parties

I'll be linking to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out, after you've linked up below! Monday Musings, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, Design Wall Monday, Needle & Thread Thursday. This is also my February Favorite Finish. 

Project details

Cowboy Pane Quilt

Made during the SAHRR 2025

Size: 45" x 52"

Materials: cowboy panel, Kona solids, flannel backing, scraps

Techniques: piecing, appliqué, FMQ

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 feel free to grab the button. 

Kat of Scrapbox Quilts has made some lovely placemats. The first is a scrappy spiral blue placemat, the colour of the January RSC. 

Scrappy spiral blue placemat by Kat

Kat also made placemats as a refresher on making mountains block. They are in red since it's the colour of Connie at Freemotion By The River's monthly color challenge. They were made to give as a hostess gift - lucky hostess!

Mountains block placemats made by Kat

It's now your turn!

Hi! I'm so sorry - I prepared everything ahead of time and then forgot to copy and paste the linking party. Have fun :-)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Updates and I Quilted This!

Hi and welcome 😎 The 🌞sun is shining here -  what a difference it makes to see it. I've been very busy FMQ the Cowboy panel quilt - I can see the end. Yay!  I've also managed to play with scraps - they are so addictive. They just want to be sewn together 😊. If you're looking for A Quilter's Cover QAL linking party, it's here)

FMQ the Cowboy panel quilt

All the blocks except one have been completely FMQ. I then FMQ the actual panel. I used various cotton and polyester thread to quilt the cowboy and parts of the background. When I was finished, I needed to FMQ the white background but didn't want it to stand out, so I used a beige bottom line thread in the bobbin and a white InvisaFil. It worked really well. 

FMQ Cowboy panel

It was then time to tackle the light brown borders around the blocks. I wanted this to be interesting but not too difficult. I also needed it to not distract from the blocks.

I tried a few designs and chose "Spurs" from the book, Get Addicted to Free-Motion Quilting by Sheila Sinclair Snyder. Here is the back of my practice piece.

Practicing the "Spurs" FMQ design

I did have a few skipped stitches so I changed my needle. I helped a little, but the biggest help was slowing down, which I did when it came to actually FMQ on the quilt. Here are a few pictures. I also added loops in the smaller areas.

FMQ the "Spurs" and loops designs

A close-up of "Spurs"

The FMQ went relatively fast. In two separate sessions I was able to quilt about half of the light brown borders. The design is a lot like one of the flower FMQ designs that I use, so it was a matter of getting used to adding sun type angles around the centre, and then stitching a bit away to then echo the sun angles.  I'm hoping to get a few more hours in today to finish those up. 

For the dark brown inner border, I'm thinking of using my walking foot to add a couple of straight lines but with interesting corners (like a frame). I need to figure those out, but it will be simple!

Sewing up 3½" Scraps

My SIL lives in a community with lots of seniors. One of her neighbour's wife died. She was a quilter and of course had lots of books, scraps, and small UFOs. I told my SIL that I would go through everything, keep some and pass on the rest. It was a big job. 

Here is a scrappy quilt that she had started. The rest of the cut blocks were included in the bag, so I'm slowly sewing them together. She had sewn up the bottom 5 rows, so I'm going to keep adding to it. I'll eventually figure out the size required for a baby or youth charity quilt.

Scrappy quilt so far

What I learned

• I always start FMQ a larger piece with stitch-in-the-ditch to stabilize the quilt. From there, I quilt what ever I feel like.
• Leaving the large panel for last meant that there was more chances of puckering. I worked pretty hard to keep it taut and it mostly worked. I'm hoping that washing the quilt will help, otherwise I can always add a stitching line or two afterwards. 
• It took me a while to find a FMQ design what I could do relatively easily and that wasn't a flower for the border. I really loved FMQ "spurs" and it seemed appropriate for a cowboy and ranch.
• I should have the Cowboy panel quilt finished by next week. I'm looking forward to working on other projects without feeling guilty that this one isn't finished!
• There was some confusion last week since I had two linking parties going. Sorry about that, I'll have to be careful about identifying the different linking parties, 

Related links

• FMQ Blocks and I Quilted This! January 29, 2026
• Get Addicted to Free-Motion Quilting by Sheila Sinclair Snyder

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Consider linking up below and then checking out some of those linked up. Monday Musings, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Sew & Tell, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 

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 feel free to grab the button. 

Kat at Scrapbox Quilts joined Connie at Freemotion By The River in her Colour of the Month Challenge. Kat made a lovely placemat, in anticipation of the summer (I suspect). 

Placemat Challenge by Kat

Melva at Melva Loves Scraps is starting a new Sew Along - here is her Little House quilt. 

Melva's quilt for the Little House Sew Along

Sally from Crafts, Cavies and Cooking created two lovely mug rugs from left-over blocks. It's a great way to practice FMQ.

Sally's cute mug rugs

It's now your turn 😍

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

FMQ Blocks and I Quilted This!

Bonjour and welcome 😀 I hope that you're keeping warm, wherever you are. I've been cozy in my studio - slowly cleaning it up and re-organising what isn't working for me. There's no rush, as long as I have space for my computer and my sewing machine 😊

FMQ Blocks on the Cowboy Panel

I've been busy finishing up the 18 blocks around the cowboy panel. I only have one block that I want to add a few details to. Otherwise, they are done.

SAHRR 2025 - blocks all quilted!

First art block - round 1

Second art block - round 1

Friendship star block - round 2

First nine patch star block - round 3

Second nine patch star block - round 3

First block with insert - round 4

Second block with insert - round 4

Third block with insert - round 4

Fourth block with insert - round 4

Quarter log cabin block - round 5

Log cabin block - round 5

Kite block - round 6

Extra blocks - appliqué, improv, showcasing fabric

Hat and boot appliqué block - more FMQ to come

Horse shoe and friend appliqué block

Cacti appliqué block

Improv block

Pocket block with "Alek" FMQ

Block showcasing beautiful fabric

What I learned

• I enjoy figuring out what to quilt for each block. As much as possible, I followed the fabric. I also used simple loops and lines.
• It was also interesting using different thread. My favourite was a grey thread, boring but effective without being showy. I used a gorgeous pink, yellow and orange thread for the third block with insert. It was wonderful. I used a much darker variegated thread for the first block with insert and didn't like the effect as well.
• I'm glad that the blocks have all been FMQ. I will be adding some details to the boot and hat appliqué but that's all.
• Next to FMQ is the panel. I started but my bobbin thread ran out and it was time to call it quits for the night.
• I'll have to make sure that I stretch the panel out well when I quilt it to avoid puckering. 
• Last week I mentioned that I had accidentally quilted the backing fabric. It took me a while but it all came out well. It's all FMQ again and nothing shows. I did trim the fabric though before going on 😁
• I was fixing a pair of knit pants this week and I thought that I had broken my Jag! 😕I removed the bunched up fabric and when it wasn't sewing properly, I just turned it off. The next day, I cleaned it and it was fine. Phew! It's all good (I keep thinking of the computer techs who always ask you if you turned off your computer and rebooted before they address a problem. There is something to be said for that!)
• This is my January OMG and I don't know if I'll have it finished on time. If it is finished, I'll be including it in my Quilter's Cove linking up post on Saturday!

Related links

• Getting stuff done and I Quilted This!, January 22, 2026

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check some of them out after you've linked up below? Sew & Tell, Monday Musings, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Design Wall Monday, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2026, 

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. Please link up and share any recent project, even if you're not quilting it! However, to keep the original emphasis, preference will be given to FMQ, ruler work and walking foot quilting when featuring projects from the previous party. Thank you for linking up 😊 and feel free to grab the button. 

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts made her first lil bear hug quilt of the year. 

For this one, she used her walking foot in a diagonal grid. 

Kat's first lil bear hug quilt of the year

Donnalee made a Christmas Runner with the left over fabric from her many placemats. Isn't it cute?

Donnalee's  Christmas Runner 

Deb, a Scrappy Quilter finished her first quilt of the year - and it's a large one! It's the second of three 8 x 10s quilt. 

Deb's finished 8 x 10s quilt

Anne-Marie of Stories from the Sewing Room did some custom quilting on parts of this gorgeous purple owl quilt for a client. She custom quilted the owls and the branches. 

Owls quilt partly quilted free hand by Marie-Anne

Diann of Little Penguin Quilts made these two lovely placemats. The dark blue and light blue placemats have contrast that really make them pop! Diann used her walking foot to quilt them in a variation on Jaquie Gering's Echoed Curves.

Diann's lovely blue placemats

Gwyned Trefethen found a plaid fabric to participate in last week's Project Quilting Challenge with Posies on Parade. She quilted the plaid and then machine appliquéd the posies.

Gwyned's Posies on Parade quilt

Melva, of Melva Loves Scraps made a lovely quilt using vintage roses cross stitch blocks that were given to her. What a wonderful quilt!

Vintage Roses quilt- by Melva

Sandra Walker of mmm quilts finished a gorgeous tree quilt. She quilted the blocks in two different designs. Sandra alternated quilting designs using a "large jigsaw meander" in one block and then lines, "à la ripples in water" in the next block. 

Sandra's gorgeous tree quilt in the snow

The back of Sandra's tree quilt to see the quilting

Sally of Crafts, Cavies and Cooking created a woven plaid postcard for Project Quilting's last challenge. She did the weaving and the sewed on top of it. 

Sally's woven plaid postcard 

It's now your turn! 😍

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Starting Things and I Quilted This!

Bonjour and welcome! 😄 It's been raining, snowing, raining and snowing for the last week. I'm sure that the January cold will eventually come back but it is nice not bundling up to go outside! I've been busy with all kinds of things, but not much sewing. Oh well, there's always tomorrow 😉.

Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR) 2026

I pulled out blocks that had never been put together - of course they were made in a Quilt-Along from a long, long time ago. Specifically, the Growing Up QAL with Alida in 2017. 

Blocks from the Growing Up QAL from 2017

The blocks were supposed to be 12½" x 12½" but the New York Beauty style block was smaller so I ended up trimming them all. The four blocks measure 23½" square.

The blocks that I chose are block 5 - improv piecing, block 6 - Famous Jane Style block, block 7 - EPP, and block 11 - New York Beauty style block. If you want to read more about the Growing Up QAL, all the links are posted below.

A Quilter's Cove QAL

As I mentioned in my planning post, Kat of Scrapbox Quilts is hosting a QAL. We'll be making houses in the monthly colours of the 2026 RSC. This month it's blue! Kat has already made her lovely blue house block. I have no idea what I'll be making, except that it will be a blue house. Since my goals for 2026 are scrappy, small, playful and experimental - that's exactly what I'll be doing. 😁

If you want to join, just check out the colour of the month at soscrappy (see link below) and make one or more house blocks. The linking party will open the last Saturday of the month for 7 days. So come back between January 30^th and February 6^th to link up!

Cowboy Panel Quilting (SAHRR 2025)

I have started the stitching-in-the-ditch of the Cowboy panel quilt. I'm almost done! Then starts the fun part - FMQ. I used the walking foot with cotton thread - it worked wonderfully.

Proof of the work being done!

Here's the backing flannel fabric.

Backing flannel fabric

What I learned

• It was so cool going through my blocks. I can't say that they are orphan blocks, they just haven't been put into a quilt yet!
• I was pretty impressed with the sewing that I had done. At the time, I was doing a lot more blocks, so my block construction wasn't quite as wonky....also, I think that I cared more about accuracy back then, than I do now😊
• I think that the SAHRR 2026 has lots of potential. I'm hoping to add some awesome fabric that will hopefully play well with the more sober solids. 

Related links

• Growing Up QAL
• Growing Up QAL with Alida
• Finished Growing Up QAL, December 7, 2017
• Block 11 New York Beauty style block, Lots of curves, November 29, 2017
• Block 7 EPP, Slow Projects, July 23, 2017
• Block 6 Famous Jane Style block, June 22, 2017
• Block 5 Improv piecing, June 04, 2017

• A Quilter's Cove QAL
• A Quilter's Cove QAL with Kat at Scrapbox Quilts
• A Quilters Cove - January House- Blues, January 10, 2026
• 2026 RSC at soscrappy

• Cowboy Panel Quilt - My plans, goals & dreams for 2026, January 09, 2026

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties, including the Centre Block SAHRR linking party. You may want to check some out before linking up below! Monday Musings, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell,

I Quilted This!

Welcome to the I Quilted This! linking party. I'll be  featuring the projects from last week's  party that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. Thank you everyone who linked up. Feel free to grab the button. 

Donnalee has been busy making a lot more Christmas placemats. Here are some of them waiting to be bound.

Donnalee's placemats, quilted and ready for binding

Gwyned Trefethen made this very lovely piece, Holiday Sparkle, for Project Quilting. She used her embroidery machine to stitch these ornaments to the fabric.

Holiday Sparkle by Gwyned

See the stippling on the back of Holiday Sparkle by Gwyned

It's now your turn! 😍

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter