My Entries to the 2026 AVQ Show

I entered four of my quilts into the Amador Valley Quilters 2026 show. In the following sections, each quilt with the text of its descriptive story card is shown along with a link for further details. To see many of the other quilts in the show check out my blog post dated 5/2/26.

1_OhDeer 41"x 40" (#32A)

Changing borders and colors from Coriander Quilts pattern #206 Deerly Loved, I fussy cut the antler fabric to center the medallions. I added black triangle pupils to bright blue eyes. A narrow blue border strip ties into the eye color. The quilted upside-down clamshells symbolize garlands. Be sure to check out the fun backing fabric. (For more details see my blog post dated 12/2/24.)

2_Spooky_Sweet 30.5"x 34.5" (#121D)

Spooky & Sweet, is from a four-week quilt-a-long project by the Fat Quarter Shop with free pdf pattern downloads. The soft colors, all solids, attracted me to this kit. The gray background played nicely with the Coral, Clementine, Pesto and Violet hues, toned down from the typical garish orange, green, and purple for Halloween. (For more details see my blog post dated 10/3/24.)

3_BinThereDoneThat 55"x 55" (#124)

Blocks I’d made from JoAnn Fabrics' 2006 Block of the Month series Spice Meadows resurfaced in one of my project bins, hence the name. These colors were popular nearly two decades ago. Striped Noah's Ark fabric as a backing makes the quilt more contemporary. The colors went well with the front. I had a generous amount of this fabric in my stash. (For more details see my blog post dated 9/14/24.)

4_ChemoChaos 48"x 48" (#51)

Quilter-blogger Karen Brown, at her website Just Get It Done Quilts, posted a technique on how to use layer cake pre-cuts to advantage with symmetry about two axes. This is my result from one layer cake with a sewing theme. The final arrangement of the blocks confused me, but I was undergoing chemotherapy at the time… hence the name Chemo Chaos. (For more details see my blog post dated 11/20/24.)

BinThereDoneThat... Again (Part 1 of 2)

I previously made a 55" x 55" quilt,  named Bin There Done That, from sixteen blocks of JoAnn Fabrics' 2006 Block of the Month Spice Meadows. Its completion is written up in my 9/14/24 post. While cleaning and purging my sewing room I found even more packages of the block of the month. I handed out a package (or two) to each member of my small quilt group, the Cut-Ups, to be returned at the next meeting.

I got back twelve blocks with a few duplicates. There was no Block 1 or Block 5, but Blocks 3 and 8 had two copies each (marked by two stars) and Block 2 had three copies submitted (marked by three stars). One of the Block 2s had a minor glitch; one corner HST was oriented wrong. Since I had to pick that HST out to rotate it, I rearranged the other HSTs as well to create a different block. 

Unlike with BinThereDoneThat, I did not add any sashing between these blocks. I distanced duplicate blocks apart from each other and placed them somewhat symmetrically to achieve a balanced look. For the most part, blocks in the center column have a square centers while blocks in the outer columns have diamond centers. The twelve blocks assembled to be a 36½" by 48½" top, big enough for a baby quilt. Although these dimensions met my guild's minimum for a baby quilt I wanted to enlarge the top a bit with a border.

I picked a multi-color dot for the border to add some levity to the rather solemn color scheme, typical of circa 2006. For the backing I chose a funky giraffe skin print. The beige and gold tones went with front but the splotchy print adds a few giggles. For binding I chose a muted red mini-print. 

Here is the selvage on the Moda dotted print. When I bought this, fairly recently, I had no predetermined use for it, but the perkiness called to me. It is truly serendipitous how well those dots echo the 2006 color palette of the JoAnn's Block of the Month. The tonality of the funky giraffe print is not such a coincidence. Per the selvage, the giraffe print is from 2008 (JoAnn blocks were 2006). Remember Jungle Babies...? But on second thought, giraffes do not change their skin annually to sport the color of the year. A leopard cannot change his spots and neither can a giraffe.

I made up the binding, then cut and spliced the dotted border strips to add to the four sides. All the fabrics came from my stash, I am proud to report. Remaining tasks are the sandwiching, FMQing, and attaching the binding. Those are topics of another post.

Bin_There_Done_That is DONE!

I named this 55" x 55" quilt  BIN THERE DONE THAT. I wonder if anyone will recognize this quilt as derived from JoAnn Fabrics' 2006 Block of the Month Spice Meadows or even realize how far back the blocks date — nearly two decades. The fun Noah's Ark fabric on the back makes it feel a bit more contemporary... maybe. Actually I chose the striped backing fabric because I already had a generous amount of it  in my stash and the colors go really well with the front.

Noah's Ark has the same muted reds, soft golds, greens, and tan beiges as the front blocks. An exception is royal blue instead of regal purple. Here is a close-up of the backing fabric with my customary grosgrain ribbon labels on the lower corners of the quilt back. Here are previous posts about this quilt.

2/07/24 laying out collection of blocks from circa 2006
2/19/24 rediscovery of blocks in a bin and incentive to resurrect
2/27/24 sandwiching and quilt pattern decisions
9/07/24 FMQ completion
9/14/24 (this post) finished in time for Thanksgiving

These colors, except for some royal blue on the back instead of purple accents on the front, remind me of Thanksgiving hues. Bin There Done That kind of goes with the turkeys, don't ya think? I plan to deploy this quilt for Thanksgiving 2024.

FMQ Completed on Bin Project

This project was initially resurrected in February 2024 to empty a bin containing blocks from a 2006 Block of the Month activity. In my post for 2/19/24 I described the assembly of blocks along with fabric choices from my stash for sashing and backing. In my post for 2/27/24 I described my designation of blocks as either a 2x2 or a 3x3 array and how I intended to FMQ them. There are nine 2x2s and seven 3x3s. Then all progress halted for about six months. Now work on this quilt has resumed and I intend to see it through to completion. I have some momentum going and I am determined to refrain from tabling it again.

Once I started the FMQ I realized that I did not like the low quilting density on some of the 2x2 blocks and decided to treat them as 4x4 blocks. Here is a sample of 2x2 block quilted as 4x4 followed by a 2x2 block quilted as a 2x2. Since the four petal motif landed centered in each of the four striped squares, I decided to leave this four square 2x2 block as is and not quilt it more densely.

I then got the idea to quilt the brown speckled sashing in a centered repeat of the leaf motif in the blocks and to embellish each red cornerstone with a four petal flower. This pattern is a go-to for me. Yes, I was not very adventurous in my FMQ with this top but since it had been languishing in a plastic bin since around 2008, I just wanted it done. My goal is to have completed it by Thanksgiving since its colors reflect the mood and tonality of that holiday. On the edge sashing I biased the quilt pattern away from the edge so the petals will appear centered once the binding is attached. The binding will be the same fabric as the red cornerstones.

Next up is making the label, attaching the binding, and taking final photos.

Bin Blocks Progress

As I sandwiched my quilt top with my typical 100% bamboo batting and spray basted it, I thought about what the name should be. I am leaning toward naming it "Bin There Done That" or some permutation of that play on words. I would like to pay homage to the fact that this is a resurrected bin project that really had no plan when I made the blocks. 

I also pondered the quilting pattern. While it was spread out and available for my scrutiny, I noticed that each block was either a 2x2 array or a 3x3 array of smaller units. They may have not been assembled that way, but arrays are the basic structures. I labeled the arrays in the next photo to remind myself. There are nine 2x2's and seven 3x3's.

A favorite go-to quilting pattern of mine is from Angela Walters' book Shape by Shape book with free-motion quilting suggestions. In particular I like Square 7, especially when the squares are butted end-to- end and create a secondary pattern. I decided to use this basic motif in the units of the arrays.

The 2x2 arrays have larger base unit sizes and so I might add the proposed variation and echo another curved bracket outside the petals. I am holding off until I see the 3x3's next to the 2x2's and see if those added fill-in curves are needed for the quilting to look balanced. Alternately, I may be sick of FMQing this quilt at that point and forgo the added stitching. The Winline 100% bamboo batting will allow stitching as far apart as 8". 

Here is the Square 7 pattern in the 3x3 array. I does have a bit denser appearance. Although the thread blending in with the color of the background in the 2x2 array may create an optical illusion. There are other 2x2 arrays so I will just have to wait and see the overall picture.

So now I have eight more 2x2 arrays and six more 3x3 arrays to quilt. What to do in the sashing is another question. When a 2x2 array butts next to a 3x3 array does the sashing need to play mediator? Or does the sashing assume a role wearing blinders at the borders, and ignore the potential conflict? Pebbles is a potential solution I would like, especially with the dotted brown fabric; but I am terrible at quilting uniform pebbles. Maybe a meander? That is not a smooth, strong skill of mine either. Then again the sashing is only 1" wide so it will not need much. Sashing treatment remains to be determined. Stay tuned.

Empty Bin Incentive

In tidying my sewing room to have a quilt friend over, I peeked in a plastic bin and found 16 blocks I'd assembled from the 2006 JoAnn Block of the Month series, called Spice Meadows. I'd collected a scattering of random block kits from the clearance section for $1 per block kit. Each block measured 12½ inches square. The colors are dated and rather blah (in my opinion), but 16 was enough to assemble into a decent size quilt. Why not join the blocks together now and have an empty bin available for other projects? The challenge would be to use only fabrics from my stash.

This is not the first time emptying a bin has been my incentive for working on a long forgotten project. Other bin projects having had their rebirth after a prolonged time period neglected, dwelling, and taking up space in a plastic box. For example, in my 4/10/23 blog post for my Pieces of Blue quilt:

I typically store the components – pattern, fabric, specialty rulers, magazines, etc. – for my ongoing-projects or dream projects-to-be in these 12"x12" plastic bins designed mainly for scrapbookers. I own fifteen of these bins, as many that will store five across and three high on one of my shelves. The following photo shows nine bins. I have a self imposed limit of fifteen on this number of bins. If I need another for a new project, I constrain myself to 1) finishing a project in one of the bins or 2) giving up on a dream project and disseminating the components to free a bin.

I did not have all twelve advertised kits from 2006 JoAnn Spice Meadows series, nor the finishing set, but each block kit was an opportunity to sew up a block only for amusement. I was missing blocks 9 and 12, but since I had duplicates of others, I could substitute to create a layout of four by four blocks.

For those curious, here are the Blocks 9 and 12 that I did not have. Block 9 was a cute star named Mosaic Star. Block 12 was the central appliqué block, called Bouquet. Skipping Block 12 was perfectly fine with me. I prefer piecing far beyond appliqué. Many of these blocks can be found to buy on eBay, but certainly not for the bargain price of $1 that I paid.

My friend and I dug through my stash to find sashing and cornerstone fabrics. We came up with this brown speckle for the sashing and soft red for the cornerstones. Both seemed to go with the common tone of golden beige of the block backgrounds. But how wide to make the sashings? Simple. As wide as my one yard of brown speckle would allow. I cut 2" strips that would finish as 1½" sashings. At the outer edges, I widened it to 2½" strips so the binding would not cover up a disproportionate width of the outer edge. I only had ½ - ¾ yard of the soft red, but it was enough for cornerstones and binding. The resultant top assembly seemed a bit brighter with the rivers of brown and the splashes of red. Here is how my friend and I collaborated to arrange the blocks. Where I could manage it, there is some symmetry in the block placements.

Next up for decision was the backing. I found this Noah's Ark stripe in my stash. The height of the animal bands are about 2". Except for blue instead of purple, the fabric reflected the colors and tonality of the top quite well. The whimsy of the print also cheers up the somewhat somber nature of the top. I had three yards, which I calculated was enough area for the 57" x 57" top. I just had to figure out if I could cut and seam the Noah's Ark while preserving and matching the stripes. 

TOP: 57in x 57in = 3249 sq.in.              

BACKING: 3 yds x 36"/yd x 40" WOF = 4320 sq.in.

I did mange to seam the backing fabric quasi-invisibly with one entire width horizontal seam, and one short partial height vertical seam. The vertical seam is shown in the following photo where the tip of the scissors are pointing.

I have enough leftover Noah's Ark fabric to make another quilt. I could cut the fabric into squares and alternate it with patchwork blocks of another pattern such as nine-patch or pinwheels or rail fence. In the photo below the fabric is folded in a double thickness. Or I could use the longer pieces as the borders of a smaller quilt. Whatever I do, I am not storing this back away in the bin I just emptied!

My binding is all made from the red fabric. Next up is sandwiching this top and backing with batting, and then quilting it. Those activities are the subject of another post.

Random Enjoyable Days

Today, Feb 7th, was a day when the rain poured down relentlessly outside our home in California. Per the weather man, we are currently experiencing an "atmospheric river". It was a good day to stay in my sewing room tidying up and dabbling with random small projects. I'd had a quilting friend over yesterday and we dragged out a bunch of kits and fabrics to look at and audition. I leisurely took the time today to put that stuff away, also, refreshing my memory and becoming re-inspired as I did so.

I continued my dedication to my ongoing project of completing Christmas stuffed ornaments. I found two more  angels to round out the set of six that was my first project of 2024. These two were cut out and tucked away amidst other Christmas fabrics. Take heart. UFOs never go away; they just vanish to an undisclosed location to resurface at a later time. I sewed up and stuffed those two angels. Based on their hair, my guess is that they are African and Native American. Four of the set had been made with red ribbon loops and two with green ribbon loops so I chose green for these additional two to balance out the octet. I like that the green picks up  of the wreath of the angel on the left and pick ups the tree of the angel on the right. Following the photo of the pair I sewed and stuffed today, I've repeated a picture of the other six from my post at the start of 2024. They are such a bright and cheerful lot, especially spirit-lifting on such a dreary day!

I also found nestled among the panels of fabrics two forgotten critters, a lion cub holding a poinsettia and a kitten with a Christmas ball. They were already cut out and just needed to be stitched and stuffed. I obliged. I suspect other members of the set are packed away with Christmas ornaments that had been displayed this past Christmas 2023, but there are no guarantees. Those other critter ornaments may pop up from some secret mysterious location, awaiting completion. Unusual among these type of ornaments, the kitten was labeled to be stitched at the side back rather than at the bottom. I wish I had ignored those markings, since the whip stitch closure is more visible on the side than it would have been on the uneven bottom. Oh well, what's done is done.

During my sewing room browsing (cleansing?) I came across a plastic scrapbook type bin with sixteen completed blocks and seven pinwheels. These had been made from block of the month packets from JoAnn Fabrics that I'd bought in clearance at $1 each. The block of the month kit was called Spice Meadows and was originally available through April 2006. The colors are kind of a give away. I have an incomplete assortment of assembled blocks with duplicates of some. Yesterday, I became re-inspired to assemble the blocks into a quilt. My friend helped me pick out some spotted brown fabrics from my stash that I may use as sashing. There were some fabric scraps in the bin so today I sewed up an eight ~2" pinwheel. More details will follow when I actually work on this quilt but I least have the intention to do it in 2024. My real incentive is to free up that plastic bin. I have a self-imposed upper limit of 15 of these bins.

The colors of the previous set of blocks are very muted and not my normal preferred palette. I dragged out a kit title Harvest Home that I'd bought at a show (©2006 pattern included within) purely because of its clearance bargain price (~75% off!) thinking to possibly raid it for completion fabrics. Instead, when taking it out of the package and really looking at it, I became re-enamored with the kit and now want to work on it, too, as designed.

All in all, today was an enjoyable day of indulgent dabbles and foibles indoors, heedless of the puddles and dribbles outdoors.