Orange is the New Pink

A busy few weeks led to less sewing, but random progress was made.  To get to one of my trainings I had to go right past a LQS that services Berninas.  That made the decision easier, and I dropped off my machine on the way back.  I also finished dealing with the fabric from my MIL.  Most is put away, but the strips still need to be trimmed down to a standard width, which is a good job when I need something mindless.

More orange scraps than I thought.

Since I had some clear space, I started to work on this month's RSC.  I wasn't sure it I had enough orange scraps to make a crayon with no repeats, but I was successful.  The tip needs to be cut to size and added on, but progress is good.  However, in the middle of sewing I had a thought that orange was not this month's color.  I double checked and sure enough - it should have been pink!  Oh well, when the month is orange I will make a pink crayon.  

Orange crayon almost finished!

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days last two weeks = 11/14

15 minute days/April = 22/25

15 minute days/2026 = 100/115 

Success Rate 2025 = 86%

No stash movement.   

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0.0

Used year to date: 29.96 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 14.97 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at  

Donna at  

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy 

Scrappy Spools are Stacking Up!

More of the same this week.  I have worked my way through almost all of the Scrappy Spools that I had prepped, so I need to get more of those ready to go.  I haven't taken a photo in a while, but here you can see the progress.  I started the year with just one of each style block.  I am having fun picking through my smallest scraps to find just enough to make each block work while sticking to a deliberate overall look.  

When I am not sewing I have been unsewing.  Some of the fabric I brought back from my MIL was orphan blocks or trimmed ends and things like that.  She doesn't have access to cotton like we do here, so not everything can be repurposed for what I sew.  So when I don't have papers to grade, I am unsewing while I watch TV in the evenings.  

While unsewing the cat fabric, I was reminded me of the orange & blue blocks that I don't have a plan for.  Maybe they could work with the cats??  I think the idea is right - pieces blocks with a solid block, but the theme is wrong and the cat scraps are too narrow.  But it does give me some more ideas.

I also got most of what I brought back from her in February put away - finally!  Just a few stacks left that are strips that I want to cut down and put in my drawers of pre-cut strips and squares.

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 7/7

15 minute days/April = 11/11

15 minute days/2026 = 89/101 

Success Rate 2025 = 88%

No stash movement.   

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0.0

Used year to date: 29.96 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 14.97 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy 

Shouldn't Have Been That Hard

I finally finished the bean bags for the corn hole set that will be a wedding gift for my niece.  The board was already painted grey and I planned to have navy bean bags to go with their backyard, but it turned out I didn't have any fabric that would work with navy and grey for the second set of bean bags.  I kept trying different fabrics, but nothing worked.  So I finally gave up on navy and just went with gray and black and that worked.  That's a big check off the list.  Hmm.  As I am writing I realized I just wrapped the box and didn't get a photo. Maybe tomorrow when we gift the set.

Fabric on the Table ....

It was a long weekend, so I worked on cleaning up the sewing room a bit.  I found more fabric that I brought back from Guatemala.  I worked on organizing it right away.  It was a lot of random pieces, so I'm making a guess on yardage.

Fabric on the Floor!

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 7/7

15 minute days/Mar = 25/31

15 minute days/April = 4/4

15 minute days/2026 = 81/94 

Success Rate 2025 = 86%

Some stash out for the bean bags for the wedding gift corn hole set.  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0.94 for 8 bean bags with lining 

Used year to date: 29.96 yards

Acquired recently: 5 yards more from Guatemala 

Acquired year to date: 35 yards

Stash movement for 2026: 14.97 more yards acquired than used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at  quiltingpatch

Angela at soscrappy 

March PhD Report

 Head over to Ms P Designs USA 2026 PHD March Report to see what others are working on.  It's inspiring!

TRUE UFOs

#1 Baby Bricks - needs quilting and finishing  - SOME PROGRESS  I made the backing, but with my regular machine not working, this is on hold again.

#2 Blue & Orange - have 13 blocks and some coordinating fabric, need a plan  NO PROGRESS but I did find more orange & blue fabrics to add to the mix

#3 Blue Strips - started in 1996! Have 1 strip and some cut out pieces, need a plan  NO PROGRESS

#5 Christmas Sampler - need to find the blocks and make a plan  NO PROGRESS but I did find the blocks when pulling our Christmas reds to use in the RSC red crayon!  There are not as many I had thought.

#6 Chunky Churn Dash - started as a leader & ender in 2025, plan is to just keep making blocks.  The blocks are doubled and tripled up by similar colors, so it is hard to see.  NO PROGRESS This is stalled since I am focusing on using the scrappy spool blocks as leaders & enders.

Chunky Churn Dashes and New Flag Scrappy Spool Blocks

#7 Flags - bought at a thrift store years ago for 50c, never touched.  I realized I will never make any more of these flags.  We are a multi-national family and a USA quilt just isn't likely to happen.  However, when I saw the pictures of my UFOs, I realized I should be able to easily convert these to the flag block for the Scrappy Spool quilt.  I went ahead and unsewed them  and already made them into the remaining flag blocks for the Scappy Spool block.  The leftovers are the right size to get worked into other spool blocks or chunky churn dash blocks.  I am so pleased with this solution - WIN WIN! 

#8 Frame Cross-Stitch - the stitching was finished in 2025, now to frame it .  After some research into options, we dropped it off for professional framing.  Little S chose the frame and no mat.  I can see that it is not even in the frame, which is disappointing after having gone the "professional" route for better quality.  But done is good.  COMPLETE

#9 Kaffe Fassett style scraps - from my MIL's stash, need a plan, leaning towards a chandelier quilt  NO PROGRESS

#10 Lighthouse blocks - have 2 blocks and fabrics, need a plan  NO PROGRESS

#11 Ocean Waves - remaking an old quilt, steady progress so far.  I have remade all of the blocks and am starting the setting triangles. For now I like this block placement.  Blocks and setting triangles are joined to form a quilt center.   PROGRESS   - It is a flimsy!  Thinking on borders or not.

Thinking on adding additional borders.

#12 Red, White, and Green D9P - started on a whim with scraps, don't like it, need a plan  NO PROGRESS

#13 Sapphire Jubilee small version - got it sandwiched last year, need to quilt and finish.    DONE  Iset it up for mindless sewing when time was tight and got it done.

DONE!

#14 Scrappy Spools - planned start last year, plan is to just keep making blocks, no set deadline since I want to enjoy the process.  More blocks were added as leaders & enders this month.  QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS

#15 Stuffed Bunny - Grown Up E asked for this years ago, does she still want it?  She does.  I cut out all the pieces and started sewing it together as leader & enders.  Surprisingly, I got it completely finished pretty quickly.

Floppy Bunny and Extra Outfit

Original panel and outfit from previously made bunny.

#16 USA fabrics - My father bought this to make something for my sister years and years ago.  Is she interested?  No she isn't.  Neither is my brother for my nephews.  Hmmm.  I just can't give this up yet, since my father picked it out.  Travel in the US was a big deal for us growing up.  NO PROGRESS

PLANNED STARTS

#1 Alter my dress for niece's wedding by May  DONE

#2 Baby quilts for church as needed  NO NEEDS THIS MONTH

#3 Rainbow Scrap Challenge - I was slow coming up with a plan I liked, but now I am loving it.  I guess as an elementary school teachers crayons should have been a no-brainer!  CAUGHT UP

#4 Carnival Quilt - quilt I always make in class for a school fund-raiser.  FINISHED & DELIVERED!

2026 Carnival Auction Quilt

#5 Rag Quilt for Baby Ana Paula - I had made a formal quilt from a panel that they loved before we knew the baby was a girl.  Their theme is bears, so I wanted to make something else that was more girly, but not a traditional quilt. This was a fun quilt to make.   FINISHED & DELIVERED!  They love it.

#6 Burp Cloth  I also made a more girly burp cloth.  FINISHED & DELIVERED!

MAYBES

Lupine and Laughter - Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt - Little S loves the reveal, and I have been saving the clues.  Maybe after I finish my deadline projects.  STILL A MAYBE