Penguin Party quilt top in-progress, made from aqua and pastel flannel fabrics

craftygoals: April 2026

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Happy April! We made it through Gray February and Cold & Dreary March; we are LEGIT into spring now and I’m so happy!!!

Debrief: March #craftygoals:

  1. Guild Show & Tell Quilt: Seeing that it’s April and I’ve yet to succeed in this area once again, I’m starting to think this may not be my year for making progress on this in this way? I’m even struggling to attend my guild’s monthly meetings! The kids are super duper busy and their activities inevitably conflict with guild meeting almost every month. I’ll keep trying, but I’m definitely not beating myself up over this. I’ve only got two and half years left of minor children parenting; I’ll lean into guilds and the like once this chapter has closed.
  2. Secret Project: Is off the ground! More on this when it feels right to share.
  3. Penguin Party Quilt: A LOT of work done on this! Getting close to completing the flimsy top!
  4. Easter Say-It Sew Along Banner: Never got to it, boo.
  5. Renaissance Graduation Quilt: Was able to put a little bit of work in on it, nothing much.
  6. Rachel’s Graduation Quilt: I have received a number of signed blocks back, but haven’t done any sewing on it. I still need to distribute some more blocks for signatures.
  7. Smitten EPP Quilt: Put in a few work sessions on it. Doesn’t appear like it accomplished much because it’s in that stage of work…sigh. Slow and steady, consistency, etc…it’ll get there eventually.
  8. Jingle Bell Socks: Made a lot of progress on them! First sock is finished.

April #craftygoals:

Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:

Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge Sew Along: It’s my hope to get completely caught up by the end of the month. I’ve sewn up five of the released ten blocks thus far, and there will be another three released in April, so eight blocks over the course of the month. Two a week, if conditions are favorable.

Block 1 in the RBD 2026 Block Challenge Sew Along sewn in pinks, blues, and green
Block 2 “Spin Around” by Amy Smart in the RBD 2026 Block Challenge Sew Along sewn in blues, and green
Block 3 “Starry Bloom” by Cherry Guidry in the RBD 2026 Block Challenge Sew Along sewn in blues and pinks
Block 8 “Turning Point” by Sandy Gervais in the RBD 2026 Block Challenge Sew Along sewn in navy and pinks
Block 10 in the RBD 2026 Block Challenge Sew Along sewn in pinks and blues

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Sew Along: I am caught up on this, and will hopefully complete the four blocks that are released in April on-time. Goodness, am I enjoying this sew along! I am using a goodly portion of my lime green scraps, but am worried that there were too many scraps to begin with and I’ll still have enough leftover for another four quilts. Oh, I also hope to get all the setting blocks sewn up in April, but it’s not the end of the world if they’re not completely done. I did get them all cut last week and will probably just use them as leaders and enders.

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 1 "Idyllic", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara
Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 2 "Twinsies", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara
Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 3 "Cabin Life", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara
Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 4 "Spring Wind", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara
Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 5 "Little Love", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Renaissance’s Chef Clothing Tailoring: Renaissance started pastry school! She has to wear a chef uniform and the pants are a disaster. I’ll need to spend some time hemming the length and maybe taking in the waists.

Rachel’s Prom Dress Tailoring: We are awaiting its delivery and I’ll then push forward with whatever tailoring needs to happen. Odds are there will be torturous hemming. Last prom dress ever. [insert bittersweet Mommy feels]

Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:

Machine Stitching:

Jelly Bar Quilt blocks in-progress, made with pink and green cat fabrics
  • Graduation Quilts: I’m still collecting signatures, and I don’t technically need Rachel’s until June, so we are doing perfectly fine with hers at the moment. There are three people who have expressed interest in signing blocks for Ren’s quilt and I need to get that done so that I can finish up that step and plough through towards completion on hers.
  • Penguin Party Quilt: Getting really close to finishing the top, so it’d be good to complete that soon. No rush at this point in the year. I don’t know when I’ll get this sent out for quilting; might need to wait until after graduation and all its craziness. (Tangent: I discovered a new-to-me local quilter! I’ve reached out to her and she is super nice and looking forward to working with me in the future! Yay!)
Penguin Party quilt top in-progress, made from aqua and pastel flannel fabrics

Hand Stitching:

English Paper Piecing: I always hope I’ll be able to put in some time on the Smitten EPP Quilt, especially since the weather has turned so nice. Maybe I’ll remember to put the bin into the car so I can work on it while waiting for the kids to come out of practices. I always think I’ll be able to work on stuff at Nathaniel’s track meets, but I end up talking with other parents and y’know, social interaction is healthy and good. As previously stated, there aren’t many years left in this stage of parenting, so I’m going to lean into it all while I still can. There are many empty nest years ahead of me for extra sewing.

Knitting: Keep making progress on the Jingle Bell Socks. Maybe make progress on a Christmas project I’m kicking around in my head.

Handknit sock in-progress in red, white, and green self-striping yarn

Nicer weather, gardening, track meets, prom prep—lots going on in April! I like to start with a big list of goals because it’s my vibe, but I’m totally OK with just enjoying the spring weather and finally being able to be outside in the sunshine again.

Block 10 in the RBD 2026 Block Challenge Sew Along sewn in pinks and blues

March Check-in: Riley Blake Designs 2026 Block Challenge

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It’s the last Tuesday of the month, and if you’re participating in the Riley Blake Designer Block Challenge Sew Along, that means it’s the catch-up and showcase day for the blocks that you’ve made thus far. So here are the blocks I’ve made:

Block 1: Four Corners, by Lori Holt

Block 2: Spin Around, by Amy Smart

Block 3: Starry Bloom, by Cherry Guidry

Block 8: Turning Point, by Sandy Gervais

Block 10: Plus One, by Amber Elliot

I am behind on the schedule, but I have sewn up five of the ten released blocks. It’s a new color palette for me and I was getting really nervous that I had accidentally imagined that these colors would work with each other, but as more blocks go up on my design wall, the less anxious I feel about the palette. I think it’s going to work out very nicely in the end.

The story behind the color palette is: My front room’s couches are a weird shade of green that I originally thought was an aqua/teal blue when I picked them out in the showroom eight years ago, but have had to concede that they are indeed a bluish-sage green of sorts, which does not match my otherwise aqua and teal décor in that part of the house. So I’m pivoting my color palette in that part of the house, and this quilt will be a part of that transition. I’m still figuring out what works, color-wise.

I stumbled across two images of throw pillows designed by Caitlin Wilson, which use that weird shade of green in a color palette that looks really pretty to me, so I decided to embrace it. I’m already a collector of blue and white china patterns, which are featured in her particular decorating aesthetic, so I’m going to accept this happy discovery as kismet and move forward with it enthusiastically.

I am using Riley Blake Confetti Cotton Solids in the following colors to match the colors in the pillows:

  • “Couch Green”/Sage Green: Raindrop
  • Jade Green: Cozy
  • Navy: Oxford Blue
  • Powder Blue: Boy Blue
  • Medium Periwinkle: Periwinkle
  • Dark Periwinkle: Forget-me-not
  • Dark Pink: Grapefruit
  • Light Pink: Peaches ‘n Cream
  • White: Cloud

I will be substituting my own design for one of the blocks because I’m just not into it. It hasn’t been released yet, so I don’t know when that change will pop up on my schedule, but it’s the one block that looks like the sun rising behind mountains—no offense to the designer of that particular block, but it just doesn’t match well enough to the other blocks to make me happy and I’m going to lean into the fact that I am the boss of my own quilts and can make substitutions when I want.

The sew along will end at the end of May, so we’re getting there…I’ll need to up my sewing time on this! There will be another three blocks released in April, so the goal is to have those three, plus the five I’m behind on, sewn up…so I guess I’m shooting for two blocks a week for the next month. Fingers crossed!

Patterns for the blocks are free and can be found here on the Riley Blake Designs website.

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 3 "Cabin Life", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Sewcialites 3 Sew Along: March Check-in

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I am having so much fun participating in this sew along! I haven’t done a sew along years, but have had my eye on some in recent years and I’m so glad I decided to just go with it and jump in this year! We all know I love Fat Quarter Shop, and part of that love stems from their well-written and well-organized patterns and sew alongs, so it’s fun to be caught up in the fun of something like this again. It’s giving big Farm Girl Vintage vibes from way back in the day.

The sew along is still rather new, so if you want to join in you totally should!

Like all quilters do at the beginning of a new quilt, I had to decide on a color palette. I like to add constraints and restrictions when I’m figuring out my color palettes, and I also really love to use community sew alongs as an excuse to work through a problem area in my scrap bins. I’ve noticed, over the past few years, that my green scrap bins have been bursting at the seams, but whenever I go to work through my green scraps, most of them are a yellow-green color, which isn’t a color I like to work with that much. For this sew along I decided I’d try to work through as many of those yellow green/lime green scraps as possible.

As I thought about a cohesive color palette that incorporated yellow-greens, I had a flash of inspiration: Cherry Limeade. Citrusy colors and fruity visuals. It’s always fun when a color palette excites you. I committed and haven’t regretted it one bit. I am LOVING this quilt.

The sixth block pattern will be published today, but I wanted to do a round-up post at month’s end, so I’ll just be showing the first five blocks I’ve made up until now. Block 6 will happen…sometime next week, probably, given the craziness of this weekend’s schedule.

Block 1: “Idyllic”

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 1 "Idyllic", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Block 2: “Twinsies”

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 2 "Twinsies", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Block 3: “Cabin Life”

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 3 "Cabin Life", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Block 4: “Spring Wind”

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 4 "Spring Wind", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Block 5: “Little Love”

Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Block 5 "Little Love", sewn by Cara Brooke of That Crafty Cara

Thoughts on the Setting Blocks

Looking at the final layout for the finished quilt, I’m aware of the setting blocks and realizing I’d probably prefer to make them ahead of time, rather than waiting for the release of the official block pattern at the end of the sew along. The setting blocks are easy enough to reverse engineer: They’re just two 5-inch squares sewn together and then attached to a 5 x 9.5-inch rectangle. So I’m hoping to start sewing up one or two each week along with whatever new block pattern is released. Then I won’t have a crazy amount of extra blocks to sew at the end.

You can download the patterns for the blocks on Fat Quarter Shop’s website.

Links to specific patterns:

There’s also a very active Facebook group for this sew along, if you want to join: Sewcialites Lounge, and they are so much fun to interact with throughout the week. If you’re looking for an upbeat community of sewists, you’ll find them there!

craftygoals: March 2026

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I am so tired of reporting that I was sick and it affected my ability to move forward on my crafty goals each month, but alas, such is what I need to report. Yet again. Ugh. February kicked my butt, but that’s pretty normal for this time of year EVERY SINGLE YEAR, so I’m not too terribly upset about it, just annoyed. I caught that nasty flu that was going around and that took me out for two weeks. And then, because I was lying around for two weeks, my back spasmed once I got back on my feet and I was down and out with that flare-up for ten days. I finally got to moving around somewhat normally, enjoyed a couple days of productivity, and then BAM(!) migraine for two days. Then another migraine for six days that require an ER visit to shut down. ARRRRGHHHH. So, y’know, basically four weeks of no real progress on anything. I remain optimistic that my luck will trend upwards in March. Always optimistic…

Debrief: February #craftygoals:

  1. Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt: Can’t quilt when you’re sick. Sigh.
  2. Secret Project: I’ve made a lot of progress on this, but it’s not ready to unveil.
  3. Penguin Party Quilt: Did make progress here and there.
  4. Rachel’s Graduation Signature Quilt: I’ve gotten a few of the blocks signed, and am in the process of getting the blank blocks sent out to various people. I am killing this.
  5. RBD Block Challenge: I am almost done with Block #1. Let’s just ignore the fact that SIX of the blocks have been published. Progress is progress.
  6. FQS Sewcialites 3 Sew Along: I am done with the first block! Yay me! I’ll get to working on the second block this weekend. I haven’t photographed it yet, sorry.
  7. Jingle Bell Socks: Coming along nicely in the stolen moments.

March 2026 #craftygoals:

Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:

Guild Show & Tell Quilt: I’d still like to finish the Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt to show, and I’ve got the Sew Many Stars BOM Christmas Quilt on my list for March. I’m so far behind, so I have only the faintest glimmer of hope to get both of these done, but hope I will!

Secret Project: I had to push it back a couple of weeks due to the illness and injury, plus I grossly underestimated how much behind-the-scenes learning I was going to have to do to pull this off, but it should be ready to unveil sometime in March. So excited!

Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:

Machine Stitching:

  • Penguin Party Quilt: I’m going to commit: I want to finish the top for this THIS MONTH.
  • Easter Say-It Sew Along Banner: Easter is April 5 this year so I want to sew this up in March so everything is ready for the big day.
  • Renaissance Graduation Quilt: Hoping to make more progress on this. I’m still waiting on some signatures, so I’m doing the best I can.
  • Rachel’s Graduation Quilt: I don’t know if I’ll get to touching this, but it’d be great if I could get some signatures back so I can start assembling the blocks. It’s largely dependent on others’ efforts/timeliness, so I’m keeping my hopes low so I don’t feel disappointed if nothing happens this month.

Hand Stitching:

English Paper Piecing: It’d be good to get work done on Smitten. It’s a weird time of year, whatwith the weather changes and garden needing more attention, so I have no idea how this will shake out.

Knitting: It’d be great if I could finish the Jingle Bell Socks.

Embroidery: I don’t have anything in the works for March.

There’s a lot of stuff to get caught up on in regular life before I can really get into the craft room, so this might be a low achievement month. However, sometimes things come together easy and then I get to do lots of crafty stuff, so we’ll see. Gardening needs to start happening too…it’s that time of year! So much fresh goodness coming our way with more light and sunshine as well. We made it through the darkest part of year, friends! Good job! Enjoy the upcoming spring!

Sorry there’s no pictures to go with this post, but if I take time to do pics, it takes up time to craft. I’m going to get caught up eventually and then it’ll be Picture City ’round these parts!

Rainbow Scrap Quilt in-progress, featuring scrap fabrics in pink, red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, and white.

#craftygoals: February 2026

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Happy February, everyone! I don’t know what it is about this year, but I feel like it’s gotten off to a productive start!

Debrief: January #craftygoals:

  • Bowling Senior Night Stuff: Turned out GREAT! I’m so pleased with the sashes, and the baskets and bowling pins looked really good, too. Her senior year feels incredibly real now that we’ve done the bowling senior night. Graduation is in our sights!
High school senior girl bowling senior night with personalized sash and gift basket in maroon and gold
  • Lori Holt Say-It Sew Along Valentine’s Banner: I put in so much work on this, and then realized I’d messed a really important step and there was no saving it. I’m not even going to post pictures of any part of this project. So annoyed with myself. I cut up some really cute fabric for it, too.  It’ll stay on the To-Make list though, I really love it. Next year, fingers crossed.
  • Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt: Nope. Hoping to put in work on it soon.
  • Penguin Party Quilt: Got a little bit of work done on it.
  • Smitten EPP Quilt: Also got a little bit of work done on it. It’s in the super boring part of attaching the rows together and it is thankless, no-ending-in-sight work. Slow and steady will win the race. I guess.
  • Jingle Bell Socks: Got a little bit of work done on these, too.
  • Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler: Didn’t touch it. I’m not sure I even know where it is in the craft room, ha ha ha. I don’t know, man, this one might go into the archives until the Christmas spirit strikes again. It just needs to be framed, but it’s not like I’m going to display it anywhere when it’s done, so it’s just not a priority. Maybe I’ll feel like tackling this tiny task after graduation.

February #craftygoals:

Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:

  • Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt: As part of my “Quilt Guild Show & Tell” goal where I want to have a finished quilt to present at each month’s quilt guild meeting, I’m hoping to have this one done in time for February’s meeting.
Rainbow Scrap Quilt in-progress, featuring scrap fabrics in pink, red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, and white.
  • Secret Project: I’m really, really excited about this, and that’s all I’m going to say. Hopefully I can tell you more at the end of the month!

Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:

Machine Stitching:

  • Penguin Party Quilt: As always, hoping to make some significant progress. I WILL FINISH THIS QUILT THIS YEAR.
Penguin Party quilt made with pastel plaid flannels
  • Rachel’s Graduation Signature Quilt: The fabric has arrived and I’ve put out requests for signatures, to which many have responded. I’m hoping to get all the blank blocks sent out to people by the end of the month so they can get signed and returned to me well before I’ll get started with the actual sewing of this.
  • RBD Block Challenge 2026 Sew Along: I’ve committed. The fabric finally arrived. I’ve even cut the pieces for the first block. It’d be great to get caught up on January’s blocks and stay on top of February’s blocks.
A stack of Riley Blake Confetti Cottons fabric in shades of green, blue, peach pinks, and whites.
  • Fat Quarter Shop Sewcialites 3 Sew Along: It starts at some point in February, and I’m hoping to sew along. I’m going to work from my scraps and use up the huge amount of yellow-green/leaf green scraps I’ve accumulated over the years, paired with pinks, reds and yellows. Think “summer fruit” color palette.

Hand Stitching:

English Paper Piecing: I’ll try to get more work done on the Smitten Quilt, but I also think it’s going to go back into hibernation until after graduation. We’ll see…

Knitting: I hope to get more work done on the Jingle Bell Socks. I’m not terribly worried about them at the moment, we’ve got all year.

February is always a good month for getting some crafty work done, so I imagine we’ll see some progress on things. There’s some birthday work to do, and I think I need to start busting out some seed starting things pretty soon, so gardening will start taking up more of my time come March. It’s the last of the cozy winter months, better use it well!

High school senior girl bowling senior night with personalized sash and gift basket in maroon and gold

High School Bowling Senior Night

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I’ve been busy in the craft room preparing for Rachel’s Senior Night for bowling. There were two seniors on the team this year, so I was able to do a little bit of extra special stuff because I only had to produce two of each thing. Rachel is such a princess girly-girl who likes to sparkle, so I decided to just run with it and hit ‘em with the full princess treatment for Senior Night: Tiaras, sashes, and everything personalized and sparkly!

A senior high school girl wearing a personalized Class of 2026 senior sash with gold and maroon letters

I’m not a regular user of my Silhouette cutter so I always feel like I’m discovering how to even use the thing beyond its most basic of functions, but I saw some really cute examples of senior sashes on the internet and decided to give it my best try. Now I can proudly say I understand what “offset cutting” is and how to apply it! I love how the sashes turned out! 

I also put the Silhouette cutter to use for the tags for the signed bowling pins and the name plates for the gift baskets.

High school senior girl bowling senior night with personalized sash and gift basket in maroon and gold

The mom of the other senior supplied the flowers and balloons and it all looked so, so cute!

Senior Year feels like it’s officially underway with this event done and dusted. It’s just going to be a flurry of senior events from here on out, I think. Sigh, another baby bird getting ready to leave the nest. It’s good, but tugs at the heart pretty hard. 

A senior high school girl wearing a personalized senior sash with gold and maroon letters

#craftygoals: January 2025

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Hello January! Hello New Year! I always get bit by the Resolution Goal Fairy this time of year. How exciting to have a fresh page of life to look forward to! I would like to write a 2026 Goals post, but it’s been busy like always and I haven’t gotten to it yet. So, we’ll make do with just January’s goals for the moment.

Debrief: December 2025 #craftygoals:

  1. Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler
  2. Wee Woolly Sheep Ornament(s)
  3. Fair Isle Christmas Balls
  4. Penguin Party Quilt
  5. Say-It Sew Along
  6. Rachel’s Gingerbread Christmas Quilt

I’m just going to make this easy and tell you that I did NOTHING on any of these. December was a rough month and I’m just glad I got the Christmas stuff done that got done. And I think I’ll set aside all the Christmas projects until later in the year; it’s one thing if they just need a little bit of work to finish, but these projects are not in that place. Well…the embroidery only needs framing…

I did do a tiny bit of work on the Penguin quilt in this last week.

January 2026 #craftygoals:

Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:

Bowling Senior Night Stuff: Senior Night is this month and, as the resident Crafty Mom™, there’s some stuff I’ve been asked to do to make it a little more special and pretty. Time to bust out the Silhouette Cameo!

Lori Holt Say-It Sew Along: I really want to make that Valentine’s Day banner.

Rainbow Coin Strip Quilt: I rejoined my local quilt guild; one of the reasons being they have a Show & Tell at each month’s meeting, and I’m setting the goal to show a completed quilt at each meeting. I want to present a completely finished Rainbow Coin Strip quilt at February’s meeting.

Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:

Machine Stitching:

  • Penguin Party Quilt: Call me delusional all you want, but I keep hoping to finish this quilt! 

Hand Stitching:

English Paper Piecing: I’m hoping to work on Smitten a little bit this month.

Knitting: I’ve cast on for a new pair of Christmas socks for myself! When I was reading through last year’s blog posts I remembered how much I liked making my Stripey Christmas Socks, so I decided to order another self-striping Christmas colorway and do it again! I think I’ll call this new pair my Jingle Bell Socks.
#newyearnewsocks

Embroidery: Try to frame up the Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler.

As always, a big list of to-dos! But I prefer to have too much to do rather than too little. Let’s see what we can do in this joyful January month! (If I tell myself it’s destined to be a joyful month, maybe it will happen! #positivemindset)

Layer Cake Crêpe Quilt, a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop, made with "A Very Sweet Christmas" fabric collection designed by Bunny Hill Designs.

The Projects of 2025

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‘Tis the season for a wrap-up post! Let’s take a lookie-loo at what I was up to in 2025, shall we?

King David’s Crown Quilt for Fat Quarter Shop

First up in 2025 was a new pattern for Fat Quarter Shop’s “Classic and Vintage” series of patterns: King David’s Crown. I sewed it up in Corey Yoder’s “Cali & Co.” after falling in love with her choices for background fabrics in the collection. Which is odd, but whatever, the heart wants what the heart wants. I love this quilt so much! It’s so pretty!

King David’s Crown quilt pattern in Cali & Co. fabric, made by That Crafty Cara (Cara Brooke) for Fat Quarter Shop

Fish Friendship Bracelet for Rachel

I’m not sure I ever posted about this, but it happened. Rachel was helping me declutter my craft room and she came across my tattered collection of friendship bracelet instructions from my middle school days. As she flipped through them she saw the fish pattern and commented that it’d be cool to have, so I made one for her for her birthday. Not a big deal, project-wise, but it was fun to dust off that very, very old skillset.

Fish Friendship Bracelet made with orange and blue embroidery floss

Star Climber Scrap Quilt

This is still a project-in-progress, but I’m loving it. Star Climber is another free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop, created especially for scrap-busting.

A Woven Star quilt block made by That Crafty Cara (Cara Brooke) for her Star Climber Scrap Quilt.

Stripey Christmas Socks

Started in 2024, but not finished in time for last year’s Christmas, so I got them done in February. I loved wearing these fabulous Christmas socks this Christmas season! I’m on the hunt for all the different Christmas colorways of this West Yorkshire Spinners’ Signature 4-ply yarn so I can own the entire holiday rainbow!

Handknit Christmas socks made with red, green, and white self-striping yarn.

Layer Cake Crêpe Quilt for Fat Quarter Shop

You never saw this, and neither did the rest of the quilting world because I shut down my blog in from May through September of this year, with the full intention of never coming back. I had a stalker in the last part of 2024 and was granted a restraining order that forbade him from making any contact with me for an entire year. However, in the spring I started seeing some activity in my analytics that suggested he might be checking up on me via the blog and it spooked me, so I made the decision to stop feeding the monster and walk away.

But it turns out that I really love blogging and sharing my creative endeavors on social media, and I resented that I had been forced out of the things I loved by that dude. After some serious therapeutic work, I made the decision to come back online in September because I don’t think it’s fair that I be expected to abandon what I love because of someone else’s poor behavior. It’s definitely a personal, multi-faceted choice, and I do worry that it might be a foolish one, but I don’t want to spend my life hiding my talents under a bush just because someone got weird about it all. How do you continue going on if, every time you get good at something, someone behaves dumb about it and you’re expected to quit your hobby because of their choices? It’s crazy. Nope, no thanks.

So, here it is for the first time ever, my Layer Cake Crêpe quilt:

Layer Cake Crêpe Quilt, a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop, made with "A Very Sweet Christmas" fabric collection designed by Bunny Hill Designs.

I used the “A Very Sweet Christmas” collection by Bunny Hill Designs, along with Moda Bella Solids in Baby Pink (#9900-30). It’s a super fast pattern to put together because the blocks are HUGE. It’s available for free over on Fat Quarter Shop’s website. Thank you, Fat Quarter Shop, for our ten years (!) of working together on projects like this. I’ve really enjoyed it all.

Hemming Rachel’s Prom Dress

I know that hemming isn’t an interesting “project,” but I have to include it on my list of projects because SO MUCH OF MY CRAFTING TIME is taken up with hemming formal dresses for Rachel, and I forget that I did the hemming and then wonder what was up with my time management skills because I don’t seem to get any projects done these days. Except I do; it’s just that it’s tailoring and hemming ballgowns for my daughter.

Teenaged girl in her Cinderella-blue strapless prom dress in 2025.

Marching Band Uniform Repair

I just want an excuse to share this picture with you because I absolutely love it:

Band Mom mends a pair of drum major pants in the back of a truck en route to a parade

One of the drum majors’ pants split right before a parade, so they were tossed to me in the back of the band trailer truck bed and I sewed as fast as I could as we travelled down the back streets of whatever town we were in to get to our starting location for the parade. Ha ha ha, another mom snapped this photo and I was very quick to ask them to share it with me because I knew I’d love it. (Pants were completed just in-time!)

Patriotic Graduation Lei

I made a bunch of music-themed graduation leis in 2024 for my daughter and her band friends, and one of the parents reached out to me this year and asked if I could make one for her graduating daughter, but with American Flag ribbon. I was pleased with how it turned out.

Graduation RIbbon Lei made with maroon, gold, and American Flag-print ribbons

Smitten Quilt

All the individual blocks are pieced! I think I started this during 2020 Lockdown, so it’s been a slow and steady work. I started attaching the blocks into rows this summer, but it will probably take a long while before this quilt is actually done. I tend to only work on it in the summer.

"Smitten" English paper-pieced half hexagon quilt blocks, made with bright quilting fabric scraps

Fourth of July Pennant Banner

I’m realizing, between the patriotic graduation lei, my husband’s Christmas socks, and now this little banner, that I’ve done a lot of Americana-themed stuff this year. I threw this together one day in June because I was decorating for the upcoming holiday and wanted my mantel to be a little cuter, so it happened.

Fourth of July patriotic American fabric bunting made with red, white, and blue fabric scraps and red and white striped ribbon

Reading Nook Cottage Quilt

I briefly mentioned this as a possible crafty goal in 2024. I ordered the fabric while I was completing my Master’s degree back in…2023(?), promising myself that I’d make something nice for myself with it once I graduated. Well, I was busy when I graduated and then everything went crazy, so I didn’t get to actually working on it until the summer of 2025. It’s a pattern of my own design, but nothing special; anyone could reverse-engineer it pretty fast. It’s still a work-in-progress; I decided to set it aside so I could resume working on Ren’s Penguin quilt.

Cottage Quilt in progress, made with "Reading Nook" fabric collection in teal, orange, and purple fabrics

Penguin Parade Quilt

This is the quilt that never ends. I really thought 2025 was going to be the year, but alas, it was not. Fingers crossed for 2026!

Penguin Party quilt made with pastel plaid flannels

Hemming Rachel’s Homecoming Dress

Such a pretty dress, but I was sick while I hemmed it and when she went off to the dance, so I don’t really have any photos of it.

Hemming Rachel’s Daffodil Princess Selection Dress

Oh my gosh, I am sick of hemming formal dresses. I would so much rather make the entire dress than hem a store-bought one. Hemming the dress is the worst part, and Rachel does not enjoy the process of being fitted for a handmade dress, so I no longer get to experience the exciting parts of dressmaking, just the worst parts. Boo. (She did look so pretty in this dress at the Daffodil Princess Selection Ceremony, though! Still proud of her!)

Rachel Brooke, wearing a light pink formal gown, and her family at the Daffodil Princess selection ceremony

Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler

I really enjoyed working on this. It is FINISHED, but awaiting framing. The frame has even been purchased, but between the Thanksgiving bout of COVID, the Montana funeral chaos and all the schedule upsets that accompanied the Epic Washington State Flooding in December, I haven’t yet gotten to framing it.

Rustic Christmas Alphabet Embroidery Sampler in folksy colors

Peppermint Blossoms EPP

I think I’m going to scale down this project. I’m tired of it. It’s cute-ish, but I’m just not seeing a vision for it anymore.

Red, Green, and White Peppermint Blossoms English Paper Piecing Quilt units

Hubby’s Christmas Gift Socks: American Flag Socks

They turned out pretty amazing. He loves them! Such a fun yarn colorway, and I’m really enjoying throwing contrasting heels and toes onto self-striping yarn socks. If only I could remember to also do the cuff/ribbing in the contrasting color as well! It makes my heart happy to see another set of socks in his growing pile of gifted Christmas socks.

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger.

Knitted Christmas Ornaments

I started both the Wee Woolly Sheep and an Arne & Carlos Christmas Ball, but neither are complete due to the craziness of December. Hopefully I’ll pick them up again and finish them by Christmas 2026.

Wee Woolly Sheep knitted Ornament in-progress, made with gray and white yarn.
Arne & Carlos knit Christmas Ball in-progress, made with blue and white yarn.

Looking Ahead to 2026

I am really hoping to do more creating in 2026. 2025 was a tough year that was spent in a quasi-paralysis as I recovered from the complications of my 2024 surgery, the trauma of the stalker, and adjusting to some big life changes. I have high hopes for 2026 because, really, things should definitely trend upwards after all the weird upsets we’ve experienced recently. The law of averages works that way, right?

So, hopefully, part of the reason that 2026 will be better than 2025 is that I’ll do more creating in the craft room. Fingers crossed!

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger and royal blue contrasting heel made with Cascade Yarns Heritage yarn.

American Flag Socks: Michael’s Christmas Socks 2025

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It’s the first Sunday after Christmas, which means Michael’s wearing his brand new pair of socks to church for the first time. I made him a really great pair this year! He was completely surprised by them and has dubbed them his most favorite handknit socks EVER.

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger.

Details:

Pattern: #216 Beginner’s Lightweight Socks, by Diane Soucy of Knitting Pure & Simple

Yarn: Journey Sock Yarn in colorway “Grand Old Flag” from The Painted Tiger, and Cascade Yarns Heritage in colorway #5636 “Sapphire” from Simply Socks Yarn Company. There’s a fair amount of each leftover, but I haven’t weighed anything to give you specific numbers. I also used two spools of Lang Reinforcement Thread #290, purchased from Simply Socks Yarn Company.

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger and royal blue contrasting heel made with Cascade Yarns Heritage yarn.

Needles: US 2 (2.75 mm)

Modifications: None beyond the contrasting heel and toe.

We were discussing his growing collection of handknit socks last year after he opened his 2024 pair, and he mentioned that it would be really cool to have some striped USA socks, but it would probably be really difficult to start and stop with the red and white yarns and how that was too much to ask of me. I tucked that little quip away in my note-keeping app and when it came time to decide what to make him for this year’s socks, I decided to take a quick look on the internet to see if some self-striping Americana yarn already existed out there. I happened upon The Painted Tiger’s version and bought it as fast as I could. So exciting!

Handknit socks made with self-striping American Flag yarn from The Painted Tiger with contrasting heels knit with Cascade Yarns Heritage sock yarn in royal blue.

You know you’ve done a good job when you’ve been knitting for over twenty years and your husband opens his present, after squeezing it and saying, “This feels like socks,” and exclaims, “WHOA! Did you make these?!?!” He was so pleased with the colorway! I’m really happy with his enjoyment of how they look already!

I don’t know if I can top these ever. I’m not too worried about it at the moment; it’s just been great to listen to him fawn over this pair. Merry Christmas, my love.

Note: These socks were originally given the code name of “Cherry Twilight Socks” as I worked on them earlier in the year so I didn’t give away their very distinctive design feature. All posts tagged as “Cherry Twilight Socks” have been updated with the “American Flag Socks” tag.

Sleeves and bottom ribbing of a handknit yoked colorwork sweater, made with gray, aqua, and white yarn.

Finding Color in a Bleak Week: A Love Letter to a Local Yarn Shop

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As previously mentioned, our family has spent the last few weeks dealing with the passing of Michael’s stepfather, Carl. This required two separate trips back and forth to eastern Montana amidst both rainstorms and flooding in Washington and snowstorms and ice-covered roads in Montana.

As one would expect, I looked at these upcoming fourteen-hour long drives and immediately began planning a creative project or two to work on. I find knitting to be my best “in a moving vehicle” project, so on the first trip out I packed both my Wee Woolly Sheep Ornament in-progress, and the materials to start making some Fair Isle Christmas ball ornaments. It turned out that I was too keyed up and stressed to be able to work on those projects, so no real progress was made.

Wee Woolly Sheep knitted Ornament in-progress, made with gray and white yarn.

Wee Woolly Sheep is a fiddly pattern, the Fair Isle Christmas balls are too chart-heavy…neither is good for truck knitting.

Arne & Carlos knit Christmas Ball in-progress, made with blue and white yarn.

We had to make another trip back for the actual funeral, so I decided to pack something easy to work on: The Better Days Sweater, which I started at some point during the COVID shutdowns. It’s at the point where I just have to work the body of the sweater in plain stockinette stitch, so I figured I could handle that in the truck.

Sleeves and bottom ribbing of a handknit yoked colorwork sweater, made with gray, aqua, and white yarn.

Well, I could have if I had had the correct size of needles. #strikeone

And if I hadn’t cast on only enough stitches to fit a child’s torso. #striketwo

Derailed further by the fact that the sleeves are long enough for an adult, but with a number of stitches cast on for a kindergartener. #strikethree

“No worries,” I told myself, “I’ll just find a local yarn shop in Billings and buy some new needles and then take care of business.”

The closest yarn shop to our hotel in Billings was Yarn Bar, so we set out for it amongst the ice and snow. Rachel accompanied me into the shop and we both stopped in our tracks upon entering because it was so beautiful. Shelf upon shelf of rainbow hues and tweedy goodness, all brightly lit and displayed with obvious care. A rack of knitted baby sweater samples to stroke, cute hats on mannequins. Fun and happy colors everywhere you looked.

After all the stress of travelling, all the care and worry about the funeral preparations, all the anxiety over the weather…I walked into a yarny wonderland and felt all my troubles lift for just a little bit. It was a sorely needed balm of color and joy that warmed my heart and stoked the embers of inspiration that have been lying too ashen and neglected for too long. I could have sat in that shop all day.

I was responsible and only bought the needles I had planned to buy, but I really wanted to take a lot of their tweedy yarns home, and I spied another Christmas colorway of the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-ply that I made my Stripey Christmas Socks with earlier this year. I might have to go and order that after the holidays in preparation for next Christmas.

It was such a warm and inviting space to visit, I absolutely loved it and wish I lived closer so I could frequent it often. It had a lot of the same feel as the now-closed Churchmouse Yarns Bainbridge Island location and the old Black Sheep Wool Company in Salt Lake City before it was transferred to new ownership. I love that homey, traditional ambiance of those types of yarn stores. It’s the traditional wools, tweeds, and good old-fashioned colorwork patterns that really do it for me, knitting-wise. There’s just not a lot of stores that go in that direction anymore.

I was so glad to have had the experience of stopping by Yarn Bar and feeding my soul with all that color and those yummy yarn vibes. I wish I’d taken pictures of the shop, but Michael was circling the block while I completed my quick errand, so I had to hurry away. Oh, it made me so sad to leave that beautiful place, but I kept that feeling of happiness-in-color in my heart as we traversed the blue and icy Montana landscape for the rest of the weekend and on the long journey home. I have new ideas in my head for some really pretty projects that I can hopefully get going on after the holidays.

How good it is to be creative souls that, in the midst of bleak weeks and stressful moments, can just pop into a shop for a moment to be soothed by the materials and tools that we work with to create our art. Such a blessing.

Which is more than I can say for my attempts to resurrect my Better Days Sweater. Truck-ice-skating down the freeway hampered my desire to knit, so I gave up on the idea for the trip home. Now that I’m firmly situated on a stable surface, I’ll be picking it back up soon.