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.
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 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.
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!
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+.
(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:
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.
Find your people. Find your creative space. Find those quilts that touch your heart —
We Stay-At-Home Round-Robiners are now on Border Two, and the prompt, from Kathleen McMusing was ““Make It A Double.”
I carried this fully into my life when we decided to rip out the ceiling in the main bathroom and get rid of the fluorescent lights (replaced with LEDs) AND, making it a double, decided to revamp the garage laundry room. Here’s the before and after. We also ripped out the linoleum flooring, and I kind of like the rough, crazy pattern, so we’re leaving it for now. I can only do just so much doubling in one week.
So while hammering, sawing, sheet-rocking, mudding, painting, electrical stuff was going on, I was trying to concentrate on the week’s SAHRR prompt. Kathleen suggested blocks with the word or idea of double. So I created a double block border:
I was inspired by Yvonne’s border last week, with how she spaced out the hourglass blocks, and decided to try something similar. Just sort of simple: a double-block spaced out with low-volume strips. And then I made up a PDF Tip Sheet for you all. Underneath this illustration is a PDF file to download:
Click to download the PDF file. Note: the original post did not include the correct Tip Sheet with the trees. This one, that has the word “Two” at the end, does. Please download it again if you don’t have the complete handout.
But, yeah. Not quite happy with stopping there, and I remember that Kathleen DID say to make it a double, so I went on to think about a second border — a doubling up on this round.
I worked up a little sketch in my Affinity Designer program (free, from Canva), kind of thinking about the idea of round robins and going around the neighborhood. I used to teach at a lot of Quilt Guilds in Southern California (where I live), from Before Covid Time and Through Covid, and taught this pattern to a lot of guilds:
I pinned it up on my design wall, and kept it there while I worked on the houses. These are slightly bigger than what’s in my pattern (but the instructions are all in there, plus a version of Far Away Doors). But this version needed a tree, or four. So in the free tip sheet above, are instructions for some of the trees in this border, too.
I have a climbing tree, and a nesting tree, and a pine tree in the Tip Sheet.
In process. Remember last week when my husband said it was wild, and I said it was going to get wilder? Yep.
Here’s where I left it (approximate size: 38″ square). I will sew the neighborhood to the slender green border, but I’m missing something for that upper corner. I had an idea (see the sketch at the top of the post), but after a week of double-construction and double-double borders, I was ready to let it rest, and see what our prompt is for Week Three.
I was also thinking about neighbors and neighborhoods and was impressed with how carefully and quickly the Minnesotans came to stand by each other as they are going through these difficult times. And we were asked to take dinner to a friend whose husband grabbed the business end of a live 220-volt electrical wire; they are also going through difficult times. I’m trying to be a good neighbor where I live.
Lastly, l’m looking forward to reading all of your posts in the next couple of days. Can’t wait to see what you all are doing.
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 