Bonnie Hunter mystery.

Old man winter is here with a blast. -24C on the first day of the year? Time to get busy and hibernate, bears definitely know a thing or two. They sleep through it all, smart of them.

All the pieces are sewn so far, except part six. It is all ready for sewing together, awaiting their turn. I like to trim the blocks to the unfinished size, taking extra time to do this step.

Is it required? no just to trim the dog ears with a pair of scissors.

A New Year.

The start of a new year is always exciting. Every year we add, finish or even remove things we want to do. It is less about achieving large goals, celebrating all those mini goals we can and do, with ease and grace. Sewing a half an hour a day is something I do every day, it allows me to do everything else I need to do as well. Over the years, taking this bit of time every day has helped me express my creativity and finish many projects. A number of these projects take years to complete, they are creative challenges. They are not the only projects that I work on, many gets added into the mix that was not planned. I am okay with that, do I get frustrated sometimes that things go beep in the night and they are on the backburner for longer than I had anticipated? Sometimes I do, we are human after all.

The plan for 2026 is to continue work on all the projects that are on going. The past year saw a whole rubbermaid of quilt tops quilted and finished, something which was totally unplanned. One of those happy accidents that happens in life. A large number of them got gifted, a few has ended up in the linen closet which needs to be sorted and rearranged again. We rotate quilts as the seasons turn, winter is here and is packing a punch!

The box with the leftover binding gets used a lot, however it has not been empty yet! It gets checked everytime before new binding is made. The baby panels will be quilted next and as much as possible of this binding will be used, just like all the scraps in purple and green is currently being used for the Bonnie Hunter mystery which started in November 2025.

The Cape of Good Hope Quilters mystery yielded extra strips sets which was used to create this baby quilt, so nothing got wasted. A Rubbermaid tub has been filled with leftover bits from all the completed projects, recently it came in handy when our eldest son sent their wedding quilt back after ten years to be repaired as it has been much loved and used. After a quick turn around, hubby took it back to them on a business trip and they have their wedding quilt back to enjoy and keep them warm.

No new starts for projects for the new year, joining the RSC26 colour challenge is a must for me. Why? It keeps me grounded and sewing the whole year round. SoScrappy hosts this year in and year out. Many a quilt has seen major progress by working on the called for colour of the month. Omygosh with nearly 20 000 pieces got completed by just making the blocks in the colours each month. Baby steps and units, team work is dream work.

Merry Christmas 🎄

Soon Christmas day will be upon us, a very busy time for many of us. Thinking of all of those family and friends that will be far away or by themselves. Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Finishes for the year Part 2.

The quilts quilted and finished. The kingsize bargello in jewel colours is done, all hand quilted.

A wedding quilt for hubby's nephew, this one was machine quilted in a heatwave in summer with a very short deadline. It is now at its forever home with the happy couple.

My brother's sons wedding quilt.

A quilt for my friends nephew who is battling cancer. The front above and the back below.

Michigan, another mystery quilt from Laundry Basket quilts is a finished quilt.

Old Town Bonnie Hunter is done too, also a mystery.

Finishes for the year. Part one.

Over the course of the year we finish very many things, it may be quilts or a variety of different objects.

This is a top I made for me, rare as most of what I make is gifted normally. Below a placemat set for my dear daughter in law and son.

A pink blouse which got made as well for me.

A small top finished with the leftover blocks from the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt top finished in January of this year.

A mini quilt I designed with leftover strips from various bargello quilts.

A top made from a quilt kit I received at Christmas last year.

Birthday quilt made with some special fabrics celebrating my favourite local quilt shop.

Good Hope Quilters mystery quilt.

The extra strip sets from this quilt made into another mini quilt. The rubbermaid filled with quilt tops and binding is now full and a second one has been started. Now to find the time to quilt these flimsies...

Bonnie Hunter Mystery.

Every year towards the end of November, Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville starts a free mystery quilt. A clue once a week is released andone get to work on it. As the weeks progress, parts of blocks are created, with not a clue as to how it will all fit together, (no pun intended).

Last week was hour glass blocks, this week it is flying geese. What I love about it, it use up all those leftover scraps of fabric. After about seven to eight weeks one ends up with a queen size quilt top, less scraps and it makes me feel good. I still have scraps of fabrics, they are all contained in a rubbermaid tube. Sewing for just twenty minutes a day, can make a difference.

A wedding quilt came back for some patch replacement and mending. This quilt was gifted in December 2015. All the mending and replacements are done. The quilt is all package up and ready to be sent back! They have received another quilt in 2021. A surprise one will be going to them soon.

Maybe something like this one? The one below has arrived with my neohew and his new wife, theygit married in September!

Cold weather and flannel.

With the onset of cold weather, we think of soft buttery flannels, minky and fireside fabrics. This past summer I worked with all of these fabrics as backings to quilts. A new favourite emerged from them, fireside! Having never used it before it was surprisingly easy to quilt and soft, so super soft.

We all enjoy our rag quilts, made with flannel. A new one I discovered is made with circles, all cut on a studio die. Flannel on the back and cotton on the front, with flannel inbetween the two layers. They come in precut kits from my local quilt shop, The Sewing Cafe.

The best part, you just start to sew. A quick project all ready for Christmas. The circles are already clipped, so once it is made one can wash and dry it.

We went to visit our favourite kitty, the humane society was visiting on the same day and we got to meet some more kitties along the way.