
What Are You Working On?
I walked into a quilt shop yesterday, and the owner asked me a question.
“What are you working on?”
I had to think hard.
I’ve been working on a lot of things, but I don’t have any big finishes to show for it. In this case it’s easy to feel like you’re not getting anything done. I think it helps to step back and give yourself credit for what you’ve accomplished. Here are some of my recent projects.

Wonky star blocks for exchange
I signed up for an exchange on Instagram. The guidelines were to make wonky stars of any size with whitish backgrounds, and mail to 14 swappers by January 15. I had such a good time making these! I put them in the mail yesterday, and I’ve received two already. The swappers were from all four corners of the country and everywhere in between.

Blocks I made at quilt retreat on January 5 and 6
One of my local guilds has a retreat the first weekend after New Year’s. It’s really more of a day camp because most people live nearby and don’t stay overnight. But it is two full days of sewing and you can really get a lot done. A local shop owner offers a project each day that is optional. I made these little scrap blocks and am having a great time thinking of setting possibilities. I used scrappy Christmas colors so the finish can go into my Jingle Bells trunk show. Does your guild need a holiday program? Give me a buzz!

Patchwork Forest quilt top
I pulled out a bunch of green and blue tree blocks and sewed them together just before Christmas. Then I sent it off to be quilted. They were made with Amy Smart’s tutorial at Diary of a Quilter. So easy and SO much fun! This quilt goes into my trunk show called Make Extraordinary Scrap Quilts.

A Really Big Welcome
I finished up this pineapple quilt recently, too. I combined the ideas behind several different pineapple blocks I’d seen and blew it up large to make a statement. It’s about 50 x 65 and I’m really happy with it.

Started quilting, had to rip.
I started quilting this Christmas sampler but didn’t have a clear idea of what I was doing, so I ended up taking it all out. Removing machine quilting is not much fun. I did it while sitting at the hospital with my DH, who had knee replacement surgery recently. I’m a little gun-shy about starting to quilt it again. I basically just need to fill in the spaces, but I feel like meandering/stippling is a copout. So I’m stuck.
What are you working on in the new year? I’d like to hear about it!
Tags: new year, quilt blocks, scrap quilts, stash sewing
Anne Wiens
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Like you, my friend, I have many irons in the fire. I just posted (Jan 4) a new quilt “recipe” on the Moda Bake Shop blog, am finishing up another for later this month. I’m working on demo samples for my LQS’s Super Sew Sunday on Feb. 4, and a guild program in a couple of weeks. I also have cut out the prototype for the quilt I designed for my Worldwide Quilters’ Day retreat in March. Otherwise, not much happening in my studio. 😉
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