Dandy Boho Stars
6 inch
33 out of goal of 225
I usually set a theme for each month to help me move UFOs forward. This month is "Free Range" meaning there really are no specific goals - just whatever suits my fancy. I set "Free Range" for April because, depending upon weather, it is a month where a lot of time is spent in the gardens and very little time is spent in the sewing space.
However, I am going to have a little quilting marathon. Hopefully I will finish up a lot of smaller quilts this month. Word went out last week that Wrap-A-Smile is in urgent need for more quilts for upcoming Rotaplast missions. So, the last couple of days I pieced a few backings and pin basted a few quilts.
On breaks from quilting this month I want to work on my Dandy Boho Stars UFO - the traditional block Dandy in a Boho color scheme of grays, browns, sky blue, electric orange and saturated purples. I've made several quilts using a 12 inch block but this is the first time I'm making six inch blocks. I started making blocks last year - a surprise gift (someday) for someone I love who loves Boho. I have a lot of scrap chunks in those Boho colors tied up in a couple of boxes but I never seem to getting around to cutting and making blocks so I thought I would give it a try this month even if it is to cut and kit up pieces for blocks.
Rolling Stone or Broken Wheel
9 inch blocks
I have 29 blocks towards a goal of 63.
Again, I have some scrap chunks in reds, aquas and purples tied up for this quilt. In between quilting this month I also hope to make or cut pieces for more blocks.
Hummingbird (aka Periwinkle) Blocks
8.5 inch
I have 21 toward a goal of 63.
Since I don't have a quilt ready for hand quilting in the evenings I will work on a few applique projects I have in the works.
Minnie's Hummingbird appeared in the July/August 2011 issue of Quiltmaker. It was made by Minnie Jacoby Schultz c. 1930.
I loved this vintage quilt and in 2019 I made a couple of blocks following instructions in the magazine. Well, they turned out a little wonky and I decided I did not like making them so I figured I didn't need my version of that vintage quilt.
Then a couple of years ago I came across an appliqued version of the block at Susie's Scraps and gave it a try. The block is easy to make with that method and so once again someday I might have my version of the vintage Hummingbird quilt. (Note: I am using 3.5 inch squares and not 4 like in the tutorial. I am also using 9 inch background squares and not 10.5 like in the tutorial.)
This month I also want to clean up/empty out this box of 2.5 inch width scrap bits and pieces. The little bits just keep accumulating and now is the time to do something or somethings with this box of bits. Since I took this pic a few days ago I have sorted through pieces and have been cutting some different lengths.
So if I'm in my little sewing space this month I guess these are a few of the things I hope to work on. It's always good to have a few goals, I think even if I'm free ranging.
And sew on...
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REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)
I finished a book! Every Precious and Fragile Thing by Barbara Davis. I've read a few of her other books - Echoes of Old Books , The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls and I thought they were all pretty good but I thought Every Precious and Fragile Thing was boring and seemed to ramble on. The story was okay but it could have been a much shorter book. I read on my Kindle in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. Usually the books I read keep me awake when I should be sleeping; however, this book had me snoozing after a few pages so it took me awhile to finish.
Speaking of snoozing...I watched the Amazon Prime movie Holland with Nicole Kidman that is billed as a thriller. It wasn't. The reason I watched is because one of my brothers was an extra in the film (an optometrist in the bar at an optometrist convention) but his scene evidently hit the cutting room floor. Holland was filmed in Nashville, TN in 2023 and my brother lives near there. He's retired and thought he might have a bit of fun "starring" in a film with Nicole Kidman. He didn't know until he watched the movie when it came out a few days ago that his scene was cut.
