Earth Was Once A Garden Place • Quilt Finish

March 21, 2026March 25, 2026 Elizabeth E.25 Comments

One Sunday morning, mulling over the stunning news from the day before, I drove to church along a residential road. I had a view of the low mountain range in my city, the hills turned verdant green from the winter rains. The sun was bright and clear, the sight was glorious. A favorite hymn was playing as the choir sang “This earth was once a garden place, With all her glories common.”

The song finished, I went into church, but the idea of a place so beautiful and fresh lingered.

I wrote in my journal that night: “All day I couldn’t help but think about Eden, and how much we mortals seem to have missed the boat. To live with ‘glories common’ would be the best….I thought then — realized then — that perhaps it was I who was below my best abilities in bringing about ‘all glories common.’ “

I paused, reflecting: the best of the earth, the most beautiful flowers, the clearest streams and tallest mountains — our glories. Shared all together, without rancor, viciousness, greed, cruelty and just plain old revenge and stubbornness. It felt like too big of a task; I closed my journal and went to bed.

With this experience as backdrop, I sat in the quilting room the next morning, trying to tackle one of the prompts in the Stay At Home Round Robin. I knew I wanted to figure out how to write those words of the hymn, and to let this quilt be a garden quilt, a reminder that I could bring about my own version of Eden in pieces, in bits, in my best moments. I struggled with the “how to” of the words, working it out letter by letter. Many times I was discouraged. With encouragement from friends and from my always-supportive husband, I finally finished and pinned the word borders up around the existing quilt.

Then I looked at the center: it didn’t work at all. So I took that out, went to remake a new one but couldn’t find the pattern. So I drafted up my own, remade the center and carried on. (There’s a metaphor here somewhere, I think.)

So here it is: Earth Was Once A Garden Place. And it can be again, day by day, moment by moment, with gallons of forgiveness, bushels of forbearance, and volumes of truth and charity. It’s that dailiness that can be the hardest: to not cuss out the driver who cut you off, to be more patient with those you live with, to speak up when necessary and to find stamina to do the hard tasks in our lives. I often turn to quilting to have a respite, as well as to be a part of a community of others who are exercising their creativity, planting their seeds, growing their quilts and creations.

Over time, working steadily at the task, we may yet find a way to have our glories common–

Earth Was Once a Garden Place Greatest Hits

First, a huge thank you to the co-hosts of the SAHRR for 2026 (names and links at end of post). It was wonderful! The final Link-Up Party of all the participants’ quilts can be viewed *here.*

Beginning: choosing the center
Round 1: Hourglass
Round 2: Double
Round 2, Part 2: I made it a Double
Round 3: Animal Kingdom
Round 4: Curves
Round 5: Two Color
Round 6: Quilter’s Choice

This is the SAHRR 2026 Final Quilt.
I’ve revised and cleaned-up the free tip sheets I made for this journey, plus a couple more new ones for the final quilt. Click to download. Please do not copy or digitally distribute, but send anyone who wants one to this website to get their own. (NOTE: The tip sheets will live here on this post; the earlier versions will soon be removed.)

Many thanks.

#1 Free Download: Double Square Border

Double Border_OPQuilt Tip Sheet Download

#2 Free Download: Trees for the Neighborhood
(Houses are from my pattern Merrion Square Mini Quilt, enlarged to the size of the finished trees)

Making Trees_OPQuilt Tip Sheet Download

#3 Free Download: Curved Leaves All Around, aka Orange Peel Blocks

Orange Peels_OPQuilt Tip Sheet Download

#4 Free Download: Making Letters/Words

Making Words_OPQuilt Tip Sheet Download

#5 Free Download: Center Propeller Block 9″

Propeller Block_OPQuilt Tip Sheet Download

Quilt # 315, 62″ square

The founder of the Stay at Home Round Robin is Gail. The other cohosts are listed below:

300 and Beyond · Quilts · SAHRR 2026

If You Need Me, I’ll Be In The Sewing Room. Sewing.

February 20, 2026 Elizabeth E.23 Comments

This is the fantasy I had envisioned.

Our prompt for SAHRR Round Five is a two-color whatever: block, decoration, embellishment, anything quilty. And I wanted words.

I’ll explain the words when I present the quilt on its final QuiltFinish post, but suffice it to say they have meaning for me at this point in my life. Lots of words, it looks like, and how to get them there? I didn’t want to cut them all out and appliqué them, so I decided to take the Lori Holt approach, that I made in one of her quilt designs:

I checked all my notes, and cut the bias. I’m using the Dritz Bias Tape Makers, but first I do a test:

The one on the right is a 12. The one on the left is a 9. I’m pretty sure the Bee Happy is like a 7, which is why the curves are so smooth, and not bumpy like these. Obstacle #1, and in the spirit of the 2026 Italian Winter Olympics, can she get around it while slaloming downhill, looking at a deadline in 4 days? I did notice that the Linky party had NO entries until this afternoon, so maybe others are also swamped?

Obstacle #2: the printer. Why is it always the printers? It kept printing on both sides, even though I clicked the little box. I soon learned I had to click to Single in the Output, then the Tile Option, then race back and click the little box. Let’s just say we replenished our stack of scratch paper. Then I had to line them all up, by that I mean figure out where the center line was, the top line, the baseline, the x-height, yadda yadda…here ya’ go:

Yes, some are in black and white. Don’t ask.
No, I won’t be mimicking the typeface. I’m just using it for a general guideline.

Let’s just say I have a lot of work ahead of me as I have a lot of curvy letters. Do I use the monofilament-machine-zig-zag method of appliqué? Do I hand appliqué these? Do I switch to a narrower bias strip? Do I forget it all and just make some nine-patch blocks?

Do you ever get discouraged? Couple that with one of those weeks of too-many doctor appointments (or, as my sister calls them: tune-ups), planned events, and Other Complicating Factors, so that whatever time I did have is now greatly diminished, and I wondering whatever possessed me to think I could make a quilt from scratch (albeit with prompts) in six weeks? Is this state of crazy also part of the Stay at Home Round Robin?

Well, I’m linking up to the Linky Party, but my quilt and I are in states of duress, and I’m wondering if I’ll make it over the finish line in one piece, like the wonderful downhill run of Mikaela Schiffrin. Or the glorious freeskate of Alysa Liu in Women’s Figure Skating? I can only watch…hope…and sew.

The SAHRR schedule:
*January 14: Center Blocks, led by Gail and shared by each co-leader
*January 21: 1st Round: Brenda @ Songbird Designs
*January 28: 2nd Round: Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
*February 4: 3rd Round: Emily @ The Darling Dogwood
*February 11: 4th Round: Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
*February 18: 5th Round: Gail @ Quilting Gail
February 25: 6th Round: Anja @ Anja Quilts
[An asterisk* means that prompt has been posted.]

Final Quilt is to be revealed March 25 (if I get there in one piece, that is).

300 and Beyond · Carrefour Quilt Show · European Patchwork Meeting · Free Quilt Pattern · Quilts · SAHRR 2026 · Sewing

Curves take Stay at Home Round Robin #4 by Storm!

February 16, 2026February 17, 2026 Elizabeth E.11 Comments

This is where I left Round Three of the Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR 2026), our last round. The new prompt for Round Four was “curves.” I’d been writing up my posts from the quilt show I attended in France last year, the Carrefour European Patchwork Show, and kept seeing some curvy eye candy from 2025 and 2024:

And I’d also been working on a new quilt (my Blossom pattern):

And these two borders (from earlier quilts) were running around in the back of my mind, too.

And if you can throw a rainbow in somewhere, why not? This was the sketch I drew up.

I am a fan of cutting my leaf/petal shapes out of freezer paper, putting the shiny side up, then ironing the seam allowance up over the edge.

Sometimes, if I cut the paper too liberally, I have to shave off the points to get them to fit. You can see the cuttings from this pair. I learned that it’s easier to sew all the background squares together, then appliqué the shapes.

Finished, and putting away my recent birthday present from my husband: red scissors. I often carry around a small image of what I’m working on, as I sew in many places. This round it was my son’s home, a long car ride, and a doctor’s office where invariably someone asks what I’m doing.

SAHRR Tip Sheet Round Four Download

Here’s the handout from this week, with the size I worked up (3 3/4″ petals) and a 3 1/2″ size (more common). Click on title to see the handout, and click on download to get one for yourself, free.

Even though I measured and measured, I still had to add on a coping strip on two edges. I think it looks okay, though. (Update 2/17/26: a daytime photo, plus two detail shots.) Dimensions: about 43″ square.

Making Curves is the theme for Round Four of the Stay at Home Round Robin. I’ve seen some pretty terrific curves this round,

Many thanks to the hosts and organizers of this fun experience. Only two more prompts to go!

The SAHRR schedule:
*January 14: Center Blocks, led by Gail and shared by each co-leader
*January 21: 1st Round: Brenda @ Songbird Designs
*January 28: 2nd Round: Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing
*February 4: 3rd Round: Emily @ The Darling Dogwood
*February 11: 4th Round: Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life
February 18: 5th Round: Gail @ Quilting Gail
February 25: 6th Round: Anja @ Anja Quilts
[An asterisk* means I finished that section.]

Referenced Posts

Carrefour European Patchwork Show Index/Main Page

Sunny Flowers Quilt (Blockbase+ Launch)
Sunny Flowers Quilt: tips on making a leafy/petal border

Twilight Garden

300 and Beyond · BlockBase+ · eQuilt Universe · Free Download · Quilts · SAHRR 2026 · This-and-That · Tools of the Trade

This and That • February 2026

February 5, 2026February 9, 2026 Elizabeth E.17 Comments

Update on the SAHRR for 2026: The theme for Round Three was “Animal Kingdom,” so I spent a long time scrolling through my BlockBase+ software (really, it’s Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns in digital form–you should have this). I looked at all the names with something from the animal kingdom and found the one in the upper right corner: Bird’s Eye View.

After all that I sewed for last week’s double-double Round Two, I opted for SAHRR Lite. The yellow border is a sketch — to see if I like it. (I do, but I’m waiting to see what the Round Four prompt is.)

Here’s a free handout to make a 5 1/2″ finished Bird’s Eye View block, if you don’t have BlockBase+.

Handout Round 3 block Download

(I don’t have an illustration for you, but if you click on the title: Handout Round 3 block, it should pop up so you can see it. Then click the Download button to download it for free.)

I rough-cut the rays, then seamed them together. Placing the center line on the seamline, I pinned the pattern down and cut around it. I did use a giant plastic circle to help coax that outer seam allowance into place, pressing the seam allowances over it. I hand-appliquéd the circle. And yes, I didn’t end up using this version in the quilt, but instead made another.

Since this is a This and That Post, here’s the first thing for February: glasses. I’m at the three-glasses stage: one for regular walking-around-life, one for the computer (middle), and a new pair of sunglasses (they’ll come with tinted lenses). I only get the sunglasses every few prescription changes, but definitely the clock is not running backwards for my eyes. I had a new optometrist for this exam, with a brand-new machine, and I was totally impressed with her enthusiasm for All Things Eyes.

I updated my Mercantile Links at the bottom of my blog, and included Harts Fabric. They have a super selection of lots of clothing patterns (including Merchant and Mills) and this new feature if you buy fabric: they’ll pick your matching thread. Whoopee! for those of who have no decent fabric stores now that JoAnn’s is gone.

Because of SAHRR, I’m meeting some new bloggers and Ms P Designs is one. I really liked their guidelines for their PHD. You’ll have to read it to know what I mean. I participated in this kind of thing about six years ago and it really helped me clean out the backlog of projects I’d accumulated. I know there are other Linky Parties out there as well. If you are overwhelmed with Projects Half Done, join one. Because of this post, I dusted off my 2026 list:

I picked some that were new, some that are in process, and some that I need to design. One quilt is on the list because this year is the 250th anniversary of our country, and I wanted to think about how to celebrate it. Obviously with some new stamps…

…as I can certainly celebrate 250 years of the Post Office! Number 4 on my list, above, is about making a red, white, and blue flag day quilt and celebrating those things about my country that I love. I’ll be picking and choosing, and writing about them until July 2026. Here’s another set of beautiful stamps, complete with some cloth:

(You already have read about my affinity for stamps. When I travel overseas, I also buy stamps in whatever country I’m in!)

This stumped me this week. I used this (Kona Wasabi) in an earlier completed quilt and I was trying to recreate that quilt. I didn’t have any of that yellowy-green from Kona as I’ve switched to Painter’s Palette Solids.

QUILTY SOLID TO THE RESCUE!!!

Steph Skardahl, a Very Talented Quilter, put this app together and it’s a-may-zing.

So the original query was if Kona Wasabi was similar to Lemon Ice in Paintbrush Studios’ Painter’s Palette Solids:

I was able to compare it in her “Harmonies” section, which gives readouts for Hue, Saturation and Value. Thank you Steph for this really helpful app.

I have an iPhone (Apple) and this is what the landing page looks like in the App Store. So happy to have this and it’s free!

He always makes me laugh.

Another clever crocheter is here. Go read it for the comments. She asks the people responding to speak about current events as if they were talking about crocheting. I think if we all adopted this language we might not be so grumpy with each other so much.

A little HOORAY for this milestone, and yes, it is already on my 2026 Planned Makes list. I actually have made one more, but I don’t count them until I cut out the back and put it in the box. The original post, with free handout and pattern is here.

We are now eating the front yard’s mandarin oranges! It’s so hard to wait every year until February, but it is now, and we are enjoying them.

So why was I on the hunt for something similar to the Wasabi solid? I gave away one of my favorite quilts and was happy to do so, but I missed it. What made it special was the fabric for the borders, an out-of-print Anna Maria Horner (now known as Anna Maria). Gone. But as I was strolling the vendor aisles at Road to California, oh-my-goodness! There was a whole bolt of that fabric!

It was karma, as I already had a stack of AMH/AM at home, so I was good to go. (I will post about Road in the next couple of weeks, never fear.) And now, with a bunch of petals of Lemon Ice cut, within a couple of days, I was cooking:

Hmmm. Missing one.

I finished it just as the sun went down and rushed out to my back patio to try and catch the last few rays of sun.

On the patio. It’s from my pattern Blossom:

(The original quilt, above.) I also want to make a spring version in a smaller size. The pattern has three sizes of this block, with two different borders. It can be found in my pattern shop, and for this February, it is on sale…and without a coupon! It expires at the end of February. Okay, we are almost finished with this post.

Another wonderful quilter, discovered through another online collaboration, Janine of Rainbow Hare made this wonderful combination of wee blocks. She is also in SAHRR. We have a lot of quilty friends out there!

Sometimes I forget to hold space for my quilting, for creativity. I tend to pack things in, rushing from one thing to another. While the thought above relates to how we treat those close to us, I think sometimes giving my creativity a chance without harsh judgement can be a challenge. Sometimes I need to relinquish control and let serendipity find me, as the Queen Anne fabric found me at Road to California, on a day I was just feeling less than subpar, overwhelmed by all the beautiful quilts as well as by the current events in our country. And then, just like that — the spark came, the space opened, and a quilt was made.