From Fodder To Flimsy

It's a flimsy!

Happy Blocks

42.5 x 42.5

Fodder - n. raw material, as for artistic creation.

This month the theme in my sewing space to move things forward is "strings, crumbs and fodder".

A long time ago someone gave me some frames for 10 Happy Blocks - two 5 inch pieces and two 9 inch pieces of matching fabric.  I've kept the pieces in a baggie and decided I should empty that baggie. I decided I needed 25 blocks in pinks and blues for a small comfort quilt. 

I looked through my 2.5 inch width scraps for frames for 15 more blocks. 

Fodder

Then I looked through my 5 inch squares and 5 inch width strip pieces for center squares. 

Then I made blocks. 

And assembled a top. 

And sew on...

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If it isn't one thing it's another. 

Our mailbox and the neighbor's mailbox were run over by something big last night. I picked the mailboxes up out of the ditch and left the neighbor's box near the posts. I put their very wet mail that was also in the ditch back in their mailbox and went into town very early this morning (6 am) to get a new mailbox and post. 

It's A Finish! Peaceful Pineapple

It's a finish!

Peaceful Pineapple

68 x 68

The pattern is Shiloh from the book The Best of Fons and Porter Scrap Quilts and was inspired by a civil war era quilt in the Smithsonian. 

In 2023 when hubby was in and out of the hospital and I had to stay close to him while he was recouperating I looked through a bunch of quilting books and bookmarked and then started several quilts.   This one was started in December 2023. 

This was one of the quilts that I thought would work well with some patriotic print scraps. After I used up most of those I added in other red, white and blue scraps. I finished the top in June 2024.  I didn't think the name "Shiloh" fit my quilt so I first started calling it "Patriotic Pineapple" since it is a Pineapple Log Cabin quilt in the patriotic colors of red, white and blue. Later I looked up the word Shiloh and saw it was a "Hebrew name meaning peaceful or tranquil" so liked "Peaceful Pineapple" for the name of my quilt. 

I big stitch hand quilted it with blue and white perle cotton #8.  I started the hand quilting back in February when the theme in my sewing space to move UFOs forward was "Log Cabins and variations". 

And I've been working on it while once again hubby is experiencing health issues and pain. I've been trying to get help for him and coordinate care between dental, medical and oral surgeons and am growing increasingly frustrated. The words "osteomyelitis, osteoradionecrosis of jaw (ORNJ), bone fragments" describe what he is currently dealing with. 

Binding the zigzag sides was not fun but I finally got it finished too.  

The back.

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

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I mentioned that my husband is once again experiencing health issues. He can't talk because of his jaw problem so I've been doing all the talking for him and a lot of talking I have been doing! I mentioned my frustration and I have to say one way I deal with that so I'm not angry (which is not good for my health) all the time at the sad state of healthcare(less) today is to sew or read or garden. 

I'll give one example of what I deal with...

Hubby can't swallow and has a G-tube. Whenever doc prescribes something new I always say "do you remember he has a G-tube so it needs to be in liquid form or able to be crushed?".  Then when I pick up a new prescription I always ask the pharmacist "can this be crushed and put in a G-tube?".  "Yes" is always the reply and I get a look like I'm crazy to ask.   Then I get home and read the drug insert and see "do not crush", "do not put in G-tube".  Oh, the frustration! 

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On another note Kathy S. sent me a surprise box of goodies. Going through scraps is another good way to soothe the soul! 

It's a Finish! Orphan Justine

It's a finish!

Orphan Justine

36 x 48

The top was assembled last November from orphan blocks with mostly purple with touches of yellow and orange. I put some smaller blocks together into larger blocks and framed some blocks so all of my blocks finished at 12 inches. All of the blocks were given to me by different folks.

I quilted it with swirls on my sewing machine. 

The back and binding. 

And sew on...

Monday Musings at Brenda's Songbird Designs

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A little quilting marathon is going on here in March . Soon I will have boxes of comfort quilts to send off to two of my favorite charities that provide quilts for kids  - Wrap-A-Smile  (WAS)  and      Quilts Beyond Borders.  (QBB).

Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) partners with Rotaplast International.

 Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

Quilts Beyond Border (QBB) quilts go to many different initiatives both foreign and domestic...foster care, refugees, Indian reservations, orphanages, women's recovery centers...you will just have to go read the QBB blog because I can't remember them all.

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A few things are starting to pop up in the gardens. And a few things like my tulips are being eaten by rabbits and deer. We could use some rain because the ground is very dry. I see some predicted for the week starting on Tuesday. 

Species tulips

Rhubarb

One sedum that hasn't been nibbled yet. Deer and rabbits must have not seen it while on their rounds. 

You can't see them very well but his is my new bed of black and white Tulips in my Perky Goth/Moonlight garden. They have been eaten down by deer or rabbits. I hope to get out to spray with Bobbex today before the rains come. 

Iris Reticulata (Dwarf Iris)

Scilla has popped up all over the place. 

Another type of species Tulip. The critters missed eating this one!

Crocus around one of the little Gazing Balls the fairies put there. 

And sow on...

 

It's A Finish! Orphan Ignatius

It's a finish!

Orphan Ignatius

36 x 41

This orphan block quilt is a row quilt. For this one I picked out orphan blocks with some black in them. All of these orphan blocks were given to me by others. 

I made rows of blocks of the same block size.  I finished the top in November 2025.

I quilted it with loops of gray on my sewing machine. 

Kind of blurry because it was windy when I took the photo but here's the back and binding. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

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A little quilting marathon is going on here in March . Soon I will have boxes of comfort quilts to send off to two of my favorite charities that provide quilts for kids  - Wrap-A-Smile  (WAS)  and      Quilts Beyond Borders.  (QBB).

Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) partners with Rotaplast International.

 Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

Quilts Beyond Border (QBB) quilts go to many different initiatives both foreign and domestic...foster care, refugees, Indian reservations, orphanages, women's recovery centers...you will just have to go read the QBB blog because I can't remember them all.

****

FYI - Yesterday's blog post was about some quilts I made with some patients of the Feb. 2026 Rotaplast mission in Chattogram, Bangladesh. 

 

It's a Finish! Orphan Layla

Orphan Layla

36 x 48

For this one I used orphan blocks with red, blue and yellow. All blocks came to me from other folks

I combined four six inch Snowball blocks to make a 12 inch block. The Stars on yellow background started out as 6 inch Happy Blocks (framed squares). I used them as centers for Sawtooth Stars. 

The top was assembled in November 2025.

I quilted it with swirls of yellow on my sewing machine. 

The back and binding.

And sew on...

A little quilting marathon is going on here in March . Soon I will have boxes of comfort quilts to send off to two of my favorite charities that provide quilts for kids  - Wrap-A-Smile  (WAS)  and      Quilts Beyond Borders.  (QBB).

Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) partners with Rotaplast International.

 Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

Quilts Beyond Border (QBB) quilts go to many different initiatives both foreign and domestic...foster care, refugees, Indian reservations, orphanages, women's recovery centers...you will just have to go read the QBB blog because I can't remember them all.

****

FYI - Yesterday's blog post was about some quilts I made with some patients of the Feb. 2026 Rotaplast mission in Chattogram, Bangladesh. 

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Finished a book! Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln by Janis Cooke Newman. Historical fiction about First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. I found it interesting reading and did some follow up research  Googling of Mary. As one Goodreads reviewer wrote: "To sum it up, the woman had a healthy sexual appetite, loved to shop, travel with her husband, and speak her mind. If that means insanity, majority of women in United States today belong in the looney bin." 😊

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Oh joy! I received a box of scraps and orphans from Nann and a box of scraps and fabric pieces from Barbara yesterday. You know I use my little ruler to measure width of each scrap so I can use them to their best advantage. Oh, what a good time I had going through everything. Oh, the makes I can make! I am thankful for scraps that keep me sewing.

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Species tulips. 

Slowly some things are starting to sprout up here and there. It is surprising to see any flowers with this weird Spring weather. One day it is in the 70s and the next it is in the 20s like this morning at 21 degrees. 

 

Sock Monkey Strippie Finish

It's a finish!

Sock Monkey Strippie

36 x 45

Someone gave me some strips of Sock Monkey fabric. 

Someone else gave me some crumb blocks that just happened to have a Sock Monkey in one block. 

They were meant to be together so a Strippie was born. I had enough of the green stripe fabric to add some strips to the mix. 

I assembled the top in November 2025.

I quilted it on my sewing machine with some loops and squiggles. 

There's another green stripe on back and I had enough of that for the binding too. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

A little quilting marathon is going on here in March . Soon I will have boxes of comfort quilts to send off to two of my favorite charities that provide quilts for kids  - Wrap-A-Smile  (WAS)  and      Quilts Beyond Borders.  (QBB).

Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) partners with Rotaplast International.

 Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

Quilts Beyond Border (QBB) quilts go to many different initiatives both foreign and domestic...foster care, refugees, Indian reservations, orphanages, women's recovery centers...you will just have to go read the QBB blog because I can't remember them all.

****

FYI - Yesterday's blog post was about some quilts I made with some patients of the Feb. 2026 Rotaplast mission in Chattogram, Bangladesh. 

 

Quilts I Made With Patients in Chattogram, Bangladesh

I've had a little quilting marathon going on here in March. One of the places I send quilts is Wrap-A-Smile.  

Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) partners with Rotaplast International.

 Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

In February I spied three of my quilts with Rotaplast patients in Chattogram, Bangladesh. That was a February 2026 mission. I am always so thrilled to see quilts in action.! 

I have added pics of the front and back of the quilts I made as well as the patient who got the quilty hug. 

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