Tidbits

 I have been so sporadic with my posts these days that I realized I have forgotten a few of my (relatively) recent projects. 

This was the second quilt I made in Taryn Faulkner's (Reproquiltlover) Instagram sew-a-long. The first one went to a friend for her wedding and this one will go to our local Hospice. I adore this yellow as it is so cheerful! It is made in the potholder method but this time I chose to use only two fabrics for the back. 

 

 

Here is my Barbara Brackman (Civil War Quilts) bird block of the month for May. Who doesn't love a cardinal? Well, ok, they are noisy in the early morning hours, but they are so lovely! 

 

I initially tried this black print for the sunflower center, but it made the whole block look dark so I changed it. I had to add the little black around sunflower so the yellow wouldn't disappear. 

 

Here are the first three in the series. It has been a while since I have done a sew-a-long with Barbara and I am having great fun with these. 

 

This is the my finished quilt (again in the potholder method) in Taryn's (@reproquiltlover) "Scrappy Meets Thrift" challenge on Instagram. The variety of these quilts is amazing and I recommend you visit her Instagram feed to see them all (#scrappymeetsthriftchallenge). 

 

Love the cheater prints on the backs of these blocks.

 

The little blocks were so much fun to make. Kind of like eating peanuts! 

 

 

And, last but not least On May first I was interviewed by Susan Giberson for her You Tube channel, "Making it in Maine". Her videos are fun to watch so you'd best grab a cuppa before entering her world. 😊 

My interview was labeled MIIM 63B. My link is not working today for some reason (Operator error I'm sure!) but you can Google Wendy Reed Making it in Maine YouTube if you are so inclined. 

That's it for now. Gotta go sew!

Have a super day!

Another year of fun

 Our 14th annual "Seven Sistahs" retreat was a bit small this year. We were down 3 Sistahs who were missed greatly, but it didn't stop the rest of us from having fun and being super productive. 

 

 

 

I brought only hand work and finished a few things including the April block for Barbara Brackman's (Civil War Quilts blog)  bird sew-a-long. I did a bit of fussy cutting to make my eagle so that I did not have too many small pieces. (my blocks finish 9") It worked out better than I had anticipated. 

Karen continued making community quilts with her precious Aunt Marsha's orphan blocks. 

 

I truly love this one and thinking I might have to make some new orphan blocks!😉 

 

And, on our last night we enjoyed Kathy's loaded baked potatoes with friends all the way from Australia! What a lovely way to spend our final evening!

Then, Linda and Lizzie and I shopped our way back to Bath for a few days of fun together before they headed to other adventures. 

 

Linda made this simply gorgeous mini quilt for me and I adore it!

 

It was hard to say goodbye! 

Wishing everyone a Happy Memorial Day!

Spring Happenings

 I'm well along on my Instagram sew-a-long with Taryn (Repro Quilt Lover) called "Scrappy Meets Thrift Challenge". Lots of little square in a square blocks made from tiny scrids of fabrics grabbed from one of my many scrap drawers and baskets. The scraps never seem to end! 

 

 

I'm making mine in the potholder method (surprise 😉) and having lots of fun choosing the cheater fabrics (of which I have many) for the backs of each block. I used this marvelous Mary Koval Lancaster blue print for the sashing and binding. The thread count is super high so it makes for a nice crisp edge. 

 

I've also finished my first block in Barbara Brackman's "Liberty Birds" sew-a-long on her Civil War Quilts blog. With only one block per month, I feel like I might even be able to keep up with this one! 

 

Bluebirds are beginning to nest here in Maine. 

Happy Spring!

 

A Few Finishes

 I finally finished hand quilting my 2023 Quiltmania Mystery quilt designed by Susan Smith. This one will be at our "Maine Quilts 2025" show this July in Augusta, Maine. Hope to see a few of you there!! 

 

 

I wanted to make a strippy quilt in the potholder method so I grabbed some vintage feedsack scraps and started appliqueing. I hand quilted the applique strips and machine stitched the strips directly onto the batting and backing for the pieced strips. I love how the back came out! I'm calling it "Rock Candy".

 

I liked this so much I decided to try another one with this marvelous Christopher Wilson Tate giraffe fabric. It all went well until I washed it and one of the reds ran! I prewash all my fabrics and usually wash reds twice before using, but this one must have slipped by me. I switched out the red circle and tried my solution of baking soda and Dawn and most of it came out. Lesson learned! I've named this one "Nonpareil". 

 

 

I love the slightly pink toile of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Since my name is Wendy, it seemed appropriate.

 

I've just started Taryn Falkner's (@reproquiltlover) "Scrappy Meets Thrift" challenge on Instagram. And, I'm starting Barbara Brackman's Liberty Bird's on her "Civil War Quilts" blog today. That should keep me busy for a while! 

Enjoy the day! 

A Big Stitch in Time

 I wanted to start the new year off mastering something new. I had tried big stitch once before and was not happy with my results, so I whipped up a little top made entirely of vintage feedsack scraps for a practice piece. I used Barb Vedder's (Fun With Barb) Baptist Fan stencil which was so easy to mark. This is the first time I had marked an entire top before sandwiching it. I am a lazy quilter and do not baste for hand quilting except for around the edges to keep the batting from getting in my way. I simply start in the middle and work my way out to the edge. I tried my normal quilting thread for the first arch, but it was a bit thin looking so I switched to #8 pearl cotton. When teaching hand quilting, I like to tell my students not to worry about size as your stitches will get smaller with practice. Guess that rings true for the big stitch too because I started out with nice big stitches and they got smaller and smaller! 😂 So in conclusion, the jury is still out, but either way I need more practice!! 

 

 

May all your stitches be happy ones!

Another year of Quilty Fun!

 First finish for 2025. This is my little offering for the Instagram 2025 Doll Quilt Swap hosted by Linda Collins (Quilts in the Barn). All it needs now is a label and it will zoom off to its new owner. 

The center consists of simple random shapes using this fabric for the bird in the center and then surrounded by four corner circles. I just love throwing pieces down on fabric and stitching them in place. 

The outer borders were a bit more fiddly so I backbasted them to make sure of the proper placement. All in all, it was a really fun little quilt to make. Hope my swap partner likes it as well. 

 

I have also been hand quilting along on my Quiltmania Mystery quilt designed (with a few changes by me) by Susan Smith. I started it last January but abandoned it for nearly a full year before picking it up again. 

Off to the sewing room! I hope 2025 will be full of quilty goodness. Let's spread the joy!

Goodbye 2024

 I'm not going to make any resolutions this year. I am just thankful for each and every day! I will end my pitiful blog entries this year with a few recent projects and look froward to a new year of fun and adventure.

Earlier in the month I was finishing what I hope to be my last IVIG infusions for a while! I couldn't go to my regular infusion center because they were short staffed so I ended up at a local Cancer Center for the infusions. The staff there was so accommodating and sweet. I made a basket full of "mug rugs" and Santa chocolates for them. 

 

The loss of a friend is always hard. My dear sweet friend, Jennifer passed away and left us all with a hole in our hearts. She was an amazingly talented and prolific quilter. She left leaving a pile of unfinished projects and we (members of our local guild) all helped to finish quilts for her family. My friend, Meliss spearheaded the project and she thought I might like to finish the hand applique on this one. She was of course right. I enjoyed every stitch as I thought of Jennifer and her loving, kind spirit. I also had a few laughs with her, vowing that I would try to finish more of my own UFO's in the future! 

 

This is us at last year's Christmas party. I miss you my friend! 

 

I've been working diligently on the Tiny Nine Patch Challenge hosted by Taryn Falkner on Instagram. I've finished one quilt and am on to quilt #2. Made in the potholder method (of course). 

 

This next top is at the quilters, but when it returns, It will be heading to New York City to remind a friend of his roots in Maine! 

 

Maine will be hosting the 2025 AQSG (American Quilt Study Group) seminar in October. We are all very excited to have the opportunity to share our beautiful state with so many happy quilt enthusiasts! I have made 24 thus far and can't seem to stop. No worries as what we don't use on the tables will go to the auction at our state show this summer and proceeds will benefit quilt study! 

 

 

 

 

It was great to use up so many of the orphan blocks that have been hanging around for way too long! I wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope to spend a little more time reading and enjoying blogs this year!

 Enjoy the day!