March Shamrocks and Irish Chains Completed

In my previous post I compared a kit option versus using my own fabric selection coupled with a pdf pattern. Loss of flexibility in design freedom is offset by the convenience of a kit. Once the top is assembled, however, this distinction vanishes when it comes to the FMQ. Here is how I FMQ'd the featured blocks and the sashing and borders that surround them on the Shabby Fabrics Pieceful Patchwork banner for March.

SHAMROCKS
I did nested hearts internal on each of the three leaves using the 5" heart from Amanda Murphy's Good Measure Every Heart 2 Set of 3  and the 2½" heart from Amanda Murphy's Good Measure Every Heart 1 Set of 3. I put scallops along the stem, using my HandiQuilter Mini Scallop Ruler. The leaves still looked a bit naked so I added scallops also along their perimeter. I struggled with what to do with the background and decided on stippling. I do not so well with stippling, so I guess that means I could use the practice. The areas surrounding the shamrock were small enough, so I gave it a try in those triangular spaces, and it worked out OK.

IRISH CHAINS
I used the 3" heart from Amanda Murphy's Good Measure Every Heart 2 Set of 3 template for the four lobes of the diamond. To echo the concept of Irish Chains, I used the outer diameter of the 4"circle from Amanda Murphy's Good Measure Every Circle Set of 5 templates to make the arcs of my chain smooth on the two diagonals. In the background area I did parallel lines to echo the shape of the diamond using my Angela Walters Slim straight ruler.

BORDERS and SASHING
Initially I was going to put scallops in the border as I had in the shamrock blocks but scallops seemed on too small a scale for the space. Instead, I stitched two rows of half circles with the 1.5" side of my HandiQuilter Multi-Clamshell ruler, the smallest side. Collecting rulers from different brands, I appreciate that Angela Walters and Amanda Murphy rulers have both white and black markings. I do wish HandiQuilter would adopt this design. It really does promote better visibility.  

In the sashing, I really wanted those leprechaun eyes to peek out, so I free-hand stitched straight lines under each pair of eyes and no where else in the sashing. For the horizontal sashing I waved the lines a bit to look like an undulated water surface in case the little green guys were hiding in a pond, or wavy like mild hilly terrain, in case the leprechauns were tucked behind mounds of dirt.

BACKING
For the backing I had one yard of a bold lime green and white stripe that I had been saving to use in some clever diagonally mitered situation ... an opportunity that never seemed to arise. I repurposed the stripe for a happy backing. even cutting is crosswise for the hanging sleeve. I used my domestic Pfaff to  machine embroider my usual labels on grosgrain ribbon. This time, however, the unimaginative —  but accurate — name was so long, I needed to use two length of ribbon to make it. In retrospect, I should have named the banner something shorter and more clever, like Leprechaun Levity for example. But staying with the custom of the other banners, it stayed at Shamrocks and Irish Chains. The label with my initials, the year, and intended month for the banner is in one lower corner. The label with the quilt name is in the the lower corner.

COMPLETED BANNER
I have a spot right next to the entrance to my sewing room where I can easily trade out a banner each month. Here is the March banner Shamrocks and Irish Chains displayed. I am going to keep it up for a while since the April banner stole some of its time in March. I am all set to be in sync for May and June, though, since those banners are already completed.

Here are my completions thus far for this series from Shabby Fabrics.

• JAN    Snowmen and Snowflakes (2/10/26)
• MAR  Shamrocks and Irish Chains (4/6/26 this post)
• APR   Bunnies and Carrots (3/6/26)
• MAY   Roses and Pansies (9/11/25)
• JUN    Strawberries (9/6/25)
• AUG    Bees and Sunflowers (9/21/25)

I still have six yet to start: February (a pdf not a kit), July, September, October, November, December. I may not do them in month order, but rather in the order of which colors I am in the mood for. Sometimes, with my quilting, I am more productive if I listen to my heart, rather than my mind.

March Shamrocks and Irish Chains

Instead of a kit from Shabby Fabrics' Pieceful Patchwork Banner for March, I bought a pdf for the pattern. "I have plenty of greens," I told myself. "I can pull and use up some of my own fabrics." Well that I did, and what chaos I created in my sewing room trying to get nine different greens as called for in the pattern. Yes, I did have that many greens, but none were the correct "emerald" green illustrated in the pattern cover and associated with St. Patrick's Day. Some were too olive, and some were too yellow, and some had non-subtle prints that did not read like a solid. I did cave and pick up three fat quarters from my local quilt shop In Between Stitches to fill in my "emerald" green gap. 

This is the set of colors I was trying to imitate followed by a photo of the nine greens I did decide upon. I decided that a pure green hue, my shamrocks (colors 1 thru 5) could have a dash of yellow and be more lime and the Irish chain blocks (colors 6 thru 9) could have a dash of blue and be more teal.

I had to choose my background fabric and, although I could have chosen white, I wanted something with a bit more interest. I considered a white with tiny navy dots, an ecru subtle stripe with green eyes peeping out, or a soft ecru with subtle same-size-but-random dots. I really like the eyes fabric. I remembering buying it in Cinnamon's Quilt Shoppe in Jacksonville, FL during a Country Heritage Tour in March of 2019 as one selection in a fat quarter bundle with an alligator theme. Put in an Irish banner they would become leprechaun eyes in my imagination. I decided against them as the background because with the flipped corner triangles, the orientation would be in different directions and pretty hard to control. To be logical and make it easy on myself, I chose the subtle dots as the background. I still "eyed" those green eyes with longing though.

After sewing three four patches for each of the two shamrocks, I "rounded" each leaf with corner flip triangles of my background subtle ecru dots. A completed shamrock is the last in the following trio of photos.

I took no in-progress photos of the Irish Chain block, but here a closeup of an assembled one is shown in the second of the following pair of photos. The Irish chain block is made up of five four-patch blocks and four two-tone blocks that look like picket fence posts.

There was still some fussy cutting in this banner's future. I decided that the sashing between the blocks could still be the eyes of the leprechauns hiding amidst the shamrocks. I cut the sashing on the straight of grain or across the grain so all eyes faced the same way. I did cut all the tile-like print outer border on the straight of grain, and I centered each  petal image along the border strip. 

My fabric selection for the binding was a solid teal, referencing back to the solid teal of the Irish chain blocks, but I did not have enough of it. I seamed it lengthwise with the second color hidden within the binding and made it work. To make the binding 2½" wide I joined a 1¾" strip of teal with a 1¼" strip of another green. Calculation: 1¾" + 1¼" - ¼" - ¼" = 2½". In the following photo the upper image of the seamed binding is shown from the inside, before folding in half. In the middle image, the folded binding is shown from the back, which will be concealed inside the binding when attached to the quilt. In the bottom image the teal binding is shown as it will look before sewing to the quilt.

All these decisions took time. When I mull things over I am not very speedy about it. After March's experience with a pdf pattern using my own fabric selections, I appreciate even more the convenience of a kit. Also, kits generate fewer scraps. I now have quite a few partial fat quarters in the green family because I used only a fraction of each one. Do these go in my fat quarter drawers to frustrate me in the future when I think I have a fat quarter but a chunk is cut out of it? Or do these go into oblivion in my scrap bins? Ah, more decisions even once the top is constructed!

Next up is sandwiching, quilting, labeling, binding, and adding a hanging sleeve. Stay tuned for the completion blog post.

Chilly the Wooble Frog

Today I finished the Wooble named Chill-lieve in Yourself along with his Tiny Buckle Backpack. My ten-year old Grandson in Oklahoma loves these little critters and puts in his requests for Grandma to make them for him. This is the fourth in his collection after Strawberry the Axolotl (post for 1/22/24), Creeper (post for 10/15/25), and VAN (post for 2/6/26). The main body generally works up very quickly and then I stall and procrastinate making the appendages or accessories. This time I moved right ahead to do the belly and eyes on the frog.  He came out amusing and huggable. The backpack is tiny and easy, but fussy to do. After the bright turquoise and rich gold, the dull gray and black color combination was uninspiring. I dragged my feet to complete the Tiny Buckle Backpack. Once I started it, though, it was no big deal at all. I kicked my self for delaying — yes, kicked myself with those very same feet I had been dragging. Here are the frog and his accessory completed. They are both incredibly adorable.

The Chill-lieve in Yourself Bundle came in a series of packages. I worked from a tray to keep all the components organized and together. The illustrative teaching videos are excellent. I am right-handed but it is good to know that there is a left-handed learning option as well. For those with enough crochet background, there is a straight text pattern option to follow also, so your pace is not constrained to video speed. Though, as a perk, the videos themselves have selectable speed options. Another feature to be praised about these Woobles is their customer service.  I had trouble locating the directions for the backpack. I did not know that they were separate from the frog itself and needed a different designated password. I texted the customer service number provided in the kit; within an hour I got a reply! After a couple of exchanges over the next two hours, my issue was completely resolved. I was given a password to move forward, and I went merrily on my crocheting way. This occurred on a late Saturday evening — now that's service!

Here is the promotional photo for advertising the completed project on the left, next to my own version of Chilly on the right. The stitches attaching the belly look different, so I either misread the directions or the video described a technique for attachment other than the photo. When you cook up a recipe, it is alway gratifying if your creation looks like the picture. The same is true of needlecraft. Close enough and still cute... I am pleased. I also strongly believe Isaiah will love them.

Walker Bag

When you are between projects and you need inspiration to renew your sew mojo, sometimes a short project is just the trick. I made a bag for a friend's walker using the free online pattern available from Spruce Crafts. After quickly skimming it, it seemed to me that it would be straightforward. I downloaded the pattern to a pdf  so I could print out just what I wanted. Before beginning, I read through the pattern first, and was confused. After scratching my head for a bit, I figured out that the file had advertisements superimposed on parts of the directions, so my printout was incomplete. Once I went back to the source, and read about those "missing" steps, all was well and the pattern was accurate and straightforward.

Since I had a sufficient amount of the gray/white/blue fabric I opted that the lining be the same as the main body. I added little notes on the cut out pieces so I could distinguish when the directions referred to lining or body. The photo with the directions used a contrasting fabric for the pockets and they show up well. Since I did not do that I added the blue ribbon to make it more obvious where the pocket edges would be for inserting stuff. The front and back of the body has different width and varying depth pockets to accommodated varied sized things such as a cell phone, a pen/pencil, or ear buds.

If I had it to do over, I would have made the top tabs and side ties ties custom-sized for a particular walker. As it was, they were extra long to provide versatility. Given their extra length, I would have also put longer strips of Velcro so the tabs and ties could have been configured in a shorter way with more overlap. Overall, this was a satisfying, quick project that came out well. 

QuiltCon 2026

I went with my sister Maxine and my daughter Robin to QuiltCon 2026 held at the Raleigh Convention Center, February 19-22. Per QuiltCon's website

QuiltCon is the largest modern quilting event in the world, bringing together thousands of quilters from around the globe to celebrate modern quiltmaking.

I flew in from California and my daughter flew in from Oklahoma. My sister already lived near Raleigh. Maxine, Robin, and I were at the show for one day only, on Friday the 20th, but stayed for the full day, opening to closing. Before setting off to view the quilts, we prepped. Robin and I picked up our pre-ordered T-shirt and tote bag. We kept those T-shirts rolled up, but the totes sure came in handy.

We got a scooter for Maxine. Because of the scooter, we had to figure out how to get down to the show floor without using an escalator. The Raleigh Convention Center is not well designed. One elevator does not go all the way from entry level to show floor. It takes two elevators at different locations in the building. Aaargh! But we figured it out by trial and error plus, Maxine got practice on how to go forward and reverse on the scooter, entering and backing out of the elevators. The scooter takes a bit of a knack to ride, there is no brake and so to stop, you release the hand controls. 

Before venturing down to the show floor I took some overview pictures. First, looking to the left, are the quilts hanging in the distance at the far corner. A total of 470 quilts were juried (or accepted) into QuiltCon 2026. Central to the hall are the tables for the concession stands for food and drinks. Second, looking straight on, are some of the vendors. Third, looking to the right, are more vendors. QuiltCon had 123 vendors. It was easy to get lost; the vendors had no assigned booth numbers and we had no correlating program. We finally realized the tall square columns each had an alphanumeric designation on them so we could find each other and meet up when separated using them as rendezvous points.

Logistics and orientation accomplished, we set out to view the quilts first, leaving the vendors for later. I am more of a traditional quilter, so modern is not my vibe, but I can still appreciate the visual impact and the workmanship. I share the following pictures of sixteen quilts, which amounts to less that 3.5% of all of them, but these were my favorites. I am, of course, attracted by the color selections, but the quilting on many of these positively blew me away! I divided the quilts by the show categories of  Challenges, Youth, Modern Traditionalism, Piecing, Appliqué, Improvisation, and the featured artist Hillary Goodwin. 

THE QUILTS

CHALLENGES (3)

(Windham Artisan Cotton 2026 Challenge)

Algorithmic Strictures of Deep Learning

by Colleen Pokorny / Albany, Oregon / Corvalis Modern Quilt Guild

This quilt was inspired by a Midjourney-generated image exploring shape, negative space, and Mid-Century Modern geometrics. Using Photoshop and Illustrator, I refined color placement, developed the pattern and templates, and mapped the quilting design. While co-designing with Al sparked bold ideas, its limitations, like poor color control and iteration overload, frustrated me. The final design reflects a layered process of digital experimentation and disciplined translation, transforming imperfect outputs into a precise, tactile composition.  

(Windham Artisan Cotton 2026 Challenge)

Wings

by Beth Wells / Portland, Oregon / Portland Modern Quilt Guild

This piece began in a pattern free class and grew into a playful abstract work. The specific color of the Windham fabrics were my main inspiration, lending itself to the spontaneous flow of the composition. Machine applique was the perfect technique to achieve the clean crisp edges that give the quilt its graphic pop.

(Diamonds Quilting Challenge)

Accidental Asterisk

by Lindlee Smith / Bozeman, Montana / MQG Individual Member

My sole intention when designing this quilt was that I wanted 8 small stars stars within a larger star. It wasn't until after I shared about this quilt (and several people pointed it out) did I see the stars within the quilt actually formed an asterisk shape at the center of the star. I hadn't even seen it! It's so interesting how sometimes we can't even fully see what we are working so intently on.

YOUTH (3)

Ahh-moo-tions (emotions)

by Georgia Wespiser, age 9
Lee, Massachusetts / Northhampton Modern Quilt Guild

This quilt is an expression of emotions inspired by the movie, "Inside Out 2". Can you pick out the blocks with these emotions; anger, jealousy, and nostalgia?

Midnight Blooms

- by Ellie Stuckey, age 18 

Spring, Texas / MQG Individual Member

Midnight Blooms emerges from the whisper of antique blue-and-white china - moonlit porcelain reborn in fabric and thread. Deep indigo and soft white dance together, echoing the fragile grace of hand painted petals and timeworn glaze. Curves unfold like blossoms in twilight, each stitch a quiet brushstroke of memory. This quilt is a meditation on elegance and endurance - where the cool stillness of porcelain blooms into the living warmth of cloth. 

"Pigs in a Blanket Quilting"

by Lorelai Kuecker (age 16)

I did not record the title of this quilt nor the dress this teen quilter wore but I was very impressed. In fact I think I was in awe. I have pre-ordered her book, First-Time Quilter's Handbook from Amazon.

MODERN TRADITIONALISM (3)

Imagination Factory
by Paula Steel / Adlington, Lancashire, United Kingdom / MQG Individual Member

Using children's drawings as inspiration, the quilt uses both classic and hybrid blocks to build a creature/toy from a child's imagination. The bright colours are reminiscent of a child's crayon selection adding to the child like simplicity. Is it a bird, a frog, a puffin a robot or a mix? It is of course whatever you would like it to be.

Bloomin' Lot
by Tara Glastonbury / Kensington, Victoria, Australia / Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild

I hope this quilt makes you as happy as it makes me! Made from quilting cotton and a number of upcycled sheets, Bloomin' Lot was inspired by the flower shapes I saw people creating with Lego dots. The product is no longer available, but the base units of the flowers were essentially drunkard's paths and squares, so I set about covering a quilt layout with a bright mix of flower shapes, leaving no space

untouched.

Hue's to Say?
by Erin Kroeker / Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada / MQG Individual Member

We all view the world through a unique lens shaped by experiences, values, and perspectives. When these lenses overlap, like in a Venn diagram, shared connections emerge alongside distinct viewpoints. Just as overlapping colored lenses create new hues, our perspectives blend to form something richer. My father and son, both colorblind, experience colours differently, reminding me that even when our views don't align conventionally, the unique perspectives of others enrich our understanding of the world.

PIECING (1)

Where the Wild Quilts Are

by Cassandra Beaver / Urbana, Ohio, United States / MOG Individual Member

When driving through New England, I loved seeing the dome-shaped individual trees interlocking along the hillsides, resembling a wild version of a clamshell quilt. Eighteen whole-cloth mini quilts are joined into a single quilt using a potholder quilt technique, where each individual component is quilted and bound as its own entity before being combined into a larger quilt.

APPLIQUÉ (2)

Peppermint Twist
by Ann Feitelson / Montage, Massachusetts, United States / Northampton Modern Quilt Guild

An homage to the humble candy disk. I love stripes; I love to make them whirl and twirl. I love color gradations. The backgrounds and the candy disks are arranged in gradating sequences.

Mod Floral

by Corinne Sovey / Austin, Texas, United States / Austin Modern Quilt Guild

This piece reinvents the floral quilt using a modern perspective. My favorite technique, turned-edge appliqué, allowed me to place complex shapes onto a single, uninterrupted wholecloth background. It was a rewarding challenge to manage the scale of the wholecloth fabric while ensuring every appliquéd element achieved a clean, crisp finish. 

IMPROVISATION (1)

Hopes and Illusions

by Emilie Trahan / Joliette, Quebec, Canada / MQG Individual Member

Fourth chapter of a series that explores the relationship between red and every other color. This quilt is centered around red and green. I challenged myself to use an old Christmas tablecloth as a print, while trying to stir away from Christmas. I focused on two complementary principles: hope and illusion. Opposites and alike, separated by the fading line of reality. Hope is essential, but illusion is its mandatory counterpart. Can you see the difference?

WORKS of HILLARY GOODWIN (3)

Hillary Goodwin is a textile artist and quilter based in Northern California with roots in North Carolina and Washington State. Her work explores modern themes while paying homage to the rich traditions of quilting, dyeing, hand stitching, and leatherwork. Botanically dyed fabric, repurposed t-shirts, grain sacks, as well as modern textiles all show up in her often hand-quilted pieces. Her work has won prestigious awards and been exhibited internationally, and has been featured in multiple books and magazines. One of her community quilts was acquired in 2021 by the Henry Form Museum in Detroit and is part of their permanent collection.

From the artist:

Quilts hold the stories of our lives. Mine tell the story of my participation as an early fan and member of the Modern Quilt movement with the experimentation and bold style this group encourages. They pay tribute to other quilters with collaboration. They speak of my life as an ER doctor who started her career at the onset of the HIV pandemic and worked on the front lines through the Covid pandemic. And lastly they pay tribute to my experience as a member of the world during a tumultuous time who has tried to stand on the right side of history and find comfort one stitch at a time.

!!!

by Hillary Goodwin / California, United States / MOG Individual Member

Exclamation marks can express both distress and delight. For me, in our current political setting these marks scream danger and the colors are intentionally largely skin tones. This was a meaningful collaboration with quilting done by Shashari Kiburi.

Bloberella 2.0

by Hillary Goodwin / California, United States / MQG Individual Member

Blobs make me happy as do improv stripes. This quilt is a celebration of improvisation both front and back and part of my "Bloberella" series adding small components of improv onto odd shaped appliqued circles.

The Egg

by Hillary Goodwin / California, United States / MOG Individual Member

This piece plays with free form improvisational piecing and the elaborate and detailed quilting by Rachael Dorr - a fun collaboration.

MID-DAY BREAK

After gawking at the quilts, we stopped mid-day for lunch, sitting at a round table and people watching while we ate. The escalators were a great source of amusement. We watched, befuddled, as more and more people came down the escalator while it appeared very few were going up. Where was everybody going to fit?

THE VENDORS

After lunch we went over to the to the vendor side of the show floor. We did learn that the vendor stalls were super crowded, and to get close to the wares was a challenge. The lines to pay for items were long but everybody chatted and was cheerful while waiting. The area with 123 vendors was indeed a mob scene. You had to have eagle eyes to spot something you wanted from out in the aisle or have the patience and flexibility to squeeze your way in close enough to get a better look. The were many of literally "on line" conversations struck  up while waiting to pay for treasures to be bought. It was a friendly, chatty crowd, but also oblivious to anything other than the fabric and other vendor wares. My sister in her scooter was below eye level. What we really needed was a tall flag so Maxine would stand out in the crowd. When in a tense pedestrian traffic situation, the instinct is to hold on tight — not let go. We had a few skirmishes but no one was hurt. All involved saw the humor in the situation, and we had a few good laughs. Robin turned down the speed of her aunt's vehicle. Huh — and I thought I'd left the freeway traffic back in California!

Some vendors have things to try as well as items to sell. My sister had a blast trying out this long arm quilting machine.

PURCHASES

My husband is supportive of my hobby. When I go to shows he encourages me to buy stuff. "After paying for your airfare, hotel, and meals, make sure you make the trip worth your while," he says. Having just completed the 21 Day Declutter Challenge from Just Get It Done Quilts, I did rein myself back. Here is what I bought.

My husband collects stamps so this fabric caught my eye. I bought it in gray tones but I thought the yellow colorway would provide a good contrast. I bought one yard of each. When I got it home, I was happily surprised to find out the yellow was a pastel spectrum with color gradations of blues, greens, and pale reds as well.

This is only ½ yard but I could not pass up these cute Tula Pink fruits on a happy green background.

I bought two patterns and a mini kit to make a pop up canister.

My sister was thrilled with her purchase of two zippers. She had never seen striped zippers before, much less those with contrasting teeth. They are 30" long so she plans to make a tote bag of some kind.

Robin bought a panel for customizing an article of clothing for walking though her next quilt show. Some of the outfits folks were wearing as QuiltCon were amazing and we were a bit remiss in not decking ourselves out so artistically! Robin also got some iridescent Tula pink scissors. She did not have any checked luggage so I had to take them back to California with me and mail then to her in Oklahoma lest they be confiscated from her carryon at the airport. For her husband, Robin bought the shirt, "i enjoy romantic walks through the quilt shop". He is a tremendous help at her quilt guild shows and would happily wear this shirt. He had flowers and chocolate waiting for her when she came home.

SAYING FAREWELL

On our way out we took photos by the welcome banner. 

Earlier in the day, Robin had met outside the convention center for a photo with all the quilters from Oklahoma that had come to QuiltCon. My daughter is standing second from left, between and R and the A of Raleigh.

I am glad for the adventure and time enjoyably spent with my sister and my daughter. There was a lot of very impressive talent to behold at this modern show. Sharing your thoughts and opinions with those you love is invaluable. I am so grateful we had this time together.