Wonderful Wednesday - Blue and Green for Parrish - A Spring 2026 (Ravelry) UFO Club Finish

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  I'm here to share my 1st UFO finish of the Spring 2026 UFO Club. This quilt has been on and off my list for more years than I care to admit.  TEN YEARS to be exact.

When the year began...

This quilt was one of 12 quilt projects in the running for finishing.  Maybe it would rise to the top of my UFO List and I might actually find the wherewithal to complete the quilt.

5.  Blue and Green for Parrish (2016)

It began The IDEA of this quilt began when I heard a heartwarming story about a boy whose birthday wish was to be able to sleep under a quilt I had made for his sibling.

My quilting friends came to the rescue.  Seed blocks arrived from Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts back in 2016, but the project never made it to the top of the UFO List until...

It became one of my retreat projects in 2023 and I cut the final pieces for it on the last night.  Here is the layout that I planned before heading off to bed:

The next morning...

I was the only quilter in the sewing room and managed to finish up the quilt top with time to spare:

Special thanks to Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts for the brightly colored "Starter Blocks" for this quilt!!

A number of years later...

I decided that it needed to be bigger.

So...

Once again it waited.

Then...

Enter the 2026 UFO Challenge that my local Bee is hosting.

The quilt went on the list, but the first time its number came up, I opted to work on another project.  (That is totally within the guidelines for our challenge.)  I had a reason, but will need to look back to find it.  Oh!  I wanted to work on something else last month.

And this month...

It finally got the attention it so richly deserved.  I selected fabric for cornerstones...

Made the choice between border options...

Then binding and backing fabrics were chosen:

Soon enough...

The quilt top was complete:

Next came the creation of a quilt back:

Special thanks to Britt for making time to quilt it for me on her machine:

I feel SEW lucky to have such a good friend!!

Since I wanted it done with a pattern that was outside my comfort zone, I asked Britt to quilt it for me.  We had a studio consultation prior to one of our ARTventure days and was returned a couple of weeks later.

With the quilting done, that only left the trimming and binding!!!

Here it is all squared up:

The binding was sewn on not long after:

And...

That binding was attached during this past Sunday's art time and was sewn down during Monday's Weekly Zoom Call with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color.

If you're in the Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry you may have already seen it, but...

It's DONE!!!  Here's the picture proof in my customary porch swing picture:

This is the same quilt on our living room sofa:

In case you'd like to see the back:

I'm SEW glad that this quilt has been completed.  It was moved up the list based on a sad story I heard when I was in Florida last month.  The quilt will soon be making its way to England to comfort its intended recipient.

I might not have completed this quilt without the UFO Challenge hosted by my Bee.  Thanks, Maggie, for suggesting we play the UFO Number Game and to Britt for taking the lead.  This is my 1st finish for the Spring 2026 session of the UFO Club on Ravelry.  It's my 4th finish of our Bee's UFO Challenge and I couldn't be happier.

Until next time...

Mark another UFO off the list!!

Wonderful Wednesday - QuiltCon Edition

WARNING!!!  PHOTO HEAVY POST!!!

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Today, I'm here to tell you about my trip to QuiltCon last week.  It was a quick trip, but a really good one.  Lots of incredible quilts, a good number of friends, but NO SHOPPING (for me.)  My apologies to all of the wonderful vendors, but was not one thing that I needed to buy.

Read on to see a portion of what and who I saw that the show...

The show was in Raleigh at the convention center.  My bee mate (Knittingsuek) from my Monthly Evening Quilt Bee and I arrived later than the majority of attendees.  I'm not sure if it was the timing or the fact that we went on Friday this time, but our "favorite" parking deck was FULL!  :o((

Our arrival...

Let's start with a bird's eye view of the show floor...

Quilts on the left:

More quilts toward the center:

"Cafeteria", lecture space and vendor section toward the back and right of the photo below:

What to do first???

We decided to walk the show first and do the vendors after lunch.  Here are a few of the quilts that I found interesting:

A couple of quilts from the Windham Artisan Cotton 2026 Challenge:

Including one photographed for my friend Jean, remembering her Pear quilt phase:

I didn't get very far before running into Dee Dee from my Weekly Morning Quilt Group:

A few more quilt photos...

While the construction on this quilt was interesting...

You really had to step back and take a photo to recognize its brilliance:

Before finding one that reminded me of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge friends.  The Color of the Month for February is GREEN:

While Sue was visiting with Allison Glass...

I recognized Linda @ Flourishing Palms walking by.  I called her name and she turned to exclaim mine.  It's always a pleasure to chat back and forth online, but it was even more fun to meet Linda in person.  Photo op time:

The quilts are amazing, but let's eat!!!

We found a free chair in the "cafeteria" and Sue had her Rollator with a built-in seat.  It felt great to sit and relax for a bit.  During lunch I saw a couple friends from guild.  It was a pleasure to meet Carrie P's sister and oh-SEW-good to see Diane H!  No photos of them.

After lunch it was time for my Scrap Club Meetup...

Jeff and Teresa met yesterday and Beth will join them tomorrow, but here is picture proof that thanks to Kristen @ Scrap Fabric Love we have built a wonderful community:

Jeff had a gift for me.  One of his patterns, an amazing ATC, and a bundle of FQs for me to choose any that I liked.  I restrained myself and only took two:

Thanks SEW much, Jeff!

I also pulled 4FQs for an Ugly Fabric Swap for our QuiltCon Meetup Challenge, but they will wait to pull theirs when they meet Beth tomorrow:

We chatted for quite some time, but I still needed to see more of the quilts before it was time to head for home.  I got this far before remembering that I should check my phone.

Before beginning, I checked my phone for messages.  Britt had texted so I went to find her before she and Lynda Mac left the venue:

Another stroll through the quilts revealed this (maker tag not captured) GREEN quilt...

And this one with my RSC Quilter friends in mind:

Along with several others that I was particularly drawn to...

Then I was determined to see more of the quilts...

These are a few of the ones that drew me in for a closer look:

I particularly liked this group quilt which I later realized was one that Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts participated in making:

Before I knew it, Sue was texting to see where I was.  We took in one more section of the quilt display before sayin goodbye to QuiltCon 2026.

It was a wonderful (and exhausting) day.  Thanks for dragging me along, Sue!

Until next time...

Go see a QUILT show!!!

PQ17.4 - Of Another Era

Of Another Era

Welcome to The Joyful Quilter!!  And... Welcome to the wonderful world of Project QUILTING hosted by Kim Lapacek @ Persimon Dreams!!  This is my 7th year of participation in the Challenge.  Trish Frankland @ QuiltChicken is the creator of the crazy challenges that participants will face during the next 6 weeks.

Sassy @ Farm Quilter got me started at the beginning of Season 11 by inviting her readers to join in the fun.  I accepted her invitation and the rest is history.  I wasn't sure if I would be dragging along my friend LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color for this season, as she has had some other things on her mind recently, but she decided she might be up for the challenge after all.  Would YOU like to join me in this creative journey, too?  Jump in at any time.

BEWARE:  It's a wild ride, but oh SEW rewarding!

Challenges are given and start to finish you have ONE WEEK to complete your project.  PQ 17.4 can be found at THIS LINK:

Step One...

Read the instructions to see what is required of the first challenge.  Here's what Trish had to say:

PQ 17.4 OF ANOTHER ERA

Taylor Swift got us all thinking about the "eras" of a life - the cycles of personality, style, and influence that help define a period of time. This week I'd like you to explore a different era, either through color and fabric choices or by style. Will you make a Civil War era piece? Embrace the hippie revolution? Or lean into the wonder of a child's dinosaur era?

Step Two... Hope.

Why?  Because I'm off to a great start.  NOT!!  I was so engrossed in my library book that I didn't remember to check for this week's prompt until 4+ hours after its release.  I'm hoping that inspiration will strike and I will come up with an idea soon.

Step Three... Think.

What era would I like to revisit?  Do I have any time-specific fabric to help me with this prompt?  I know I have some reproduction fabrics, some 30's fabric, and possibly something with a 60's or 70's vibe.  It's time for a trip up to the studio to see what I can unearth.

Step Four...

Review the rules:

Rule One: Explore a different era

Projects need to be created during the week of the challenge (started on or after February 15, finished by February 22).

Your project does not need to be a traditional quilt, but must meet at least one of these three requirements:

• include patchwork

• include appliqué

• have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine.

  
  

Incomplete or unfinished does not qualify. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline.

Link up at the bottom Kim's PQ17.4 by Sunday, February 22 at noon CST.

TWO DAYS LATER...

Step Five... Gather Supplies:

I started with another nod to the February Color of the Month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge by looking for scraps in this GREEN Quilted Scrap Basket:

The tutorial for making a basket of your own can be found HERE on the blog.

Step Six... Rethink that plan!!!

After coming up empty handed, I searched several other scrap categories and found the following selections:

What's the plan, Joyful???

 

That's a really good question.  Once I determined the best fabric options, I worked out a design on Wednesday during Get Messy's Midweek Meetup.  It doesn't look like much yet:

Here is a bit of my construction process...

(Scroll down to the bottom of the post NOW, if you don't care to see a blow by blow of the making of my quilt.)

Step Seven... PLAY:
Finally, the cutting...

And a bit of sewing began, along with a fabric substitution:

On Thursday afternoon, with less than 3 days remaining, things still plodded along...

The remaining block were assembled:

That's when things went a bit haywire...

The block I stitched didn't match the layout I had in mind:

So a date with Jack the (seam) Ripper was required:

You can be sure that I double checked before attaching the two halves this time around:

Next came the search for an appropriately sized scrap of batting and here is the backing...

Friday found me taking on the task of thread selection:

Late Saturday afternoon, I got busy with the minimal quilting...

In WHITE thread, as was traditionally done.  This is what the back of the quilt looks like:

Sometime after dinner, I had to "phone a friend" when it came time for binding selection. Thanks for the design consult, Britt! These were the options in question:

When the verdict came in, it was too late for stitching so that happened on Sunday morning at my Weekly Morning Art Zoom:

Here is my completed entry for the PQ17.4 challenge:

Along with a closer look:

 

There is usually a reason that I participate in these challenges...

... And this time, it was because I have always wanted to make a 1930's reproduction quilt, but hadn't accomplished it prior to the release of this challenge prompt.  Thank you ProjectQUILTING, for providing the inspiration needed to finally make it happen!!

There you have it...

Process, product, and the REAL reason for accepting this Challenge.

Follow THIS LINK to the Season 17 overview.  Check back on the Challenge release days (or sign-up to be notified automatically) and there may be one that YOU just can't resist.

It's a SHORT turnaround time!

Depending on the size and complexity of your project, that doesn't HAVE to be insurmountable.  With a little creativity and a few evenings, you really CAN do this!  My project was once again a long haul this week, but was finished with just less than 3 hours until the deadline.  This post was completed with 2 hours to spare.  With editing time, I made the Link Up with little more than an hour to spare.

Until next time...

Challenge accepted!!!

Remember:  If I can do this, YOU can do it, too!

(Plus, there's a spot to post your completed Project QUILTING inspired projects AFTER the deadline for any of the challenges.)