Wrapping up 2025 and Planning for 2026

In 2025, for the first time, I used the services of a long-arm quilter.  This enabled me to finish eight quilts, a high number for me.

Here are two I haven’t posted yet; both are intended as donation quilts for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an organization that builds beds for kids that don’t have one.

This one is based on this quilt from Pinterest:

A quilt of fun improv blocks with kids’ fabrics like pirates, puppies, and Cat in the Hat.

The back and binding.

This one is the fourth of some I Spy quilts I started back in 2021!

This was a large crib-size top that I extended with borders and corner blocks.

And here are the other quilts I finished this year:

Brown String Theory quilt, quilted by Patti Roebuck.
Scrappy Triangle quilt, 2017 to 2025.
Reclamations, 2025, quilted by Patti Roebuck.
Red and yellow String Theory quilt, started in March 2022.
Blue and cream String Theory quilt, started June 2023.
This cowboy-themed quilt was started

Now you might notice that most of these quilts are basically squares in different sizes.  So it’s ironic that my favorite project for the year was early on, when I enjoyed making more interesting blocks, such as Dresden Plate, Drunkard’s Path, and Card Trick, as part of participating in the Dust Off A Quilt Book blog hop. But I didn’t let myself continue to play with more intricate blocks, until I finished up the tops I already had.

Dresden Plate — machine-stitched, fused, blanket stitched with metallic copper thread.

I also completed three small art quilts for the online group, The Endeavourers, plus a sashiko panel that I will add to my Dust Off A Quilt Book blocks for a nice sampler quilt someday.

A costume for the theme, Circus.
The silk fabric with some sashiko embellishment, and a stuffed, embroidered flower.
Remembering summer drinks made with Fizzies tablets.
Mosaic, fused art quilt based on an antique brooch.

For 2026, I have projects planned for each month, a mix of large and small, new techniques and familiar ones.  But, taking a tip from Shelley Robson of The Quilted Forest, I am just committing to making some progress on each project, not necessarily finishing it. That way it will all stay fresh and fun.

I want to move on from these big square blocks into something more intricate.  And right now I am engrossed in Kathy Doughty’s book Mixing Quilt Elements, and I am hoping to incorporate a touch of her liveliness into a quilt or two of my own.

And I think I say this every year — I want to do more reading, research, and writing about textiles!

 

Category : Quilting
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