This morning, I was sitting on my couch, enjoying my morning caffeine, when I realized that a) it’s been months since I wrote a word here, and b) we are approaching the halfway point of the year. So, grab your favorite beverage and let’s get caught up!

First off, I am getting ready to quilt this darling little quilt I made for a colleague’s baby. I meant to get it done before the baby was due last November, but with the house move and everything that was going on, it just didn’t happen.

A simple nine patch quilt is always fun and easy to put together. I used Michael Miller’s Woodland Musicians fabric as my inspiration for the colors, and I love the way it went together. My plan is to quilt it using this Designs by Juju end to end quilting pattern.

I don’t know yet if I will use it as an end to end design, or just use it in spots. I’m a bit worried that it might be too dense, and thus make the quilt very stiff. I’m hoping to get the quilt backing put together today so that I can spend time this coming week getting it sandwiched and start the quilting process.

For Mother’s Day, I received the Brother Scan N Cut SDX325 (hereafter called SNC). As you may know, I had the CM550, which I used some, but not a lot. It was one of the first cutting machines that Brother made, and it was good, but it lacked some functionality that I wanted when I bought it. My husband then bought me a Cricut Explore Air 2 for Christmas one year, then I upgraded to the Cricut Maker, which I used quite a bit, especially for cutting masks during the Pandemic. I’ve been watching Becky Thompson’s Power Tools With Threads YouTube channel and reading her blog, and I got really interested in doing some appliqué, something I have not really tackled yet because it intimidates me. She makes it look so easy, and while I know she’s been doing it for a while, it gave me the courage to try it. I mentioned to Chris that I was thinking of upgrading the SNC, and so he bought it for me for Mother’s Day.

So far, I’ve used it to cut out shapes for a hexie quilt I decided to make by hand. I haven’t ever done this, either, but so far I’m enjoying it. It’s slow going, but I have hope that over time, I will get faster.

I have been enjoying this project in the evenings while we’re watching tv. It gives my hands something to do, and I feel productive in a Quilty sort of way. Currently, I’m using mini charm packs for the fabrics, but I have a lot of regular charm packs and I’m considering cutting down a few of them in to 2.5″ squares to use in this project. It will be a very scrappy, somewhat loud quilt, but it’s a good way to use up mini charms I bought as an impulse purchase at the LQS.

Now that we’re almost to the middle of the year, my mind is turning to the holiday season. I have several people at work that I’d like to gift something to, and I’m thinking maybe some small housewares type gifts may be in order. Handmade pot holders, kitchen towels, table runners, maybe a small set of placemats … there are lots of options that aren’t difficult, but make cute gifts.

But before we get to Christmas, I have some cute summer projects I want to get done. Table runners, placemats, and patriotic quilts are the order of the month in June. Stay tuned for some adorable projects I’m working on right now!

Until next time,

Be creative!