Just Let Me Quilt: January 2024

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Blog Hop Sign-ups For "Give It A Whirl"

The January "White Rabbit" blog hop was a wonderful success and, as always, I hated to see it end.

BUT...there's a new one I'll be hosting that is open for sign-ups. Do you want to play along?

If you don't have a blog, you can play along with your Instagram or Facebook account.

THE CHALLENGE:

Somewhere in or on your project you must include a "whirl".

This can be a pinwheel, Dresden, or anything that looks like it's spinning.

Maybe a merry-go-round or Ferris wheel in the fabric?

How to make a 5" finished pinwheel:

For each pinwheel, place one 5” x 5” light square and one 5” x 5” dark square right sides together. Sew around all edges pivoting at corners. Cut sewn block diagonally from corners in both directions.

Open each cut piece; press seams towards the dark side of fabric.

You’ll have four half square triangles (HSTs.)

Sew HSTs together in two rows as shown below; press seams open:

With right sides together, sew two rows together to create a pinwheel; press seams open.

Trim if needed to 5½” x 5½” square.

Another fun and new "whirl" pattern can be found for free from Sew Yeah Quilting.

Zach, one of the owners, made a great video of how to make "Tango Twirl."

You can find the video HERE and link to pattern HERE.

What is a blog hop?

It's like a "show and tell" online or like joining a quilt guild without leaving home.

Joan from Moosestash Quilting and I post a challenge on our blogs once a month.

Those who want to join in send us an email with their blog, Instagram, or Facebook information.

After we get that info, we assign a date for them to post their project.

We give everyone plenty of time to sew something, usually two months.

We inspire each other with projects, tutorials, or patterns. Anyone can follow along!

Send me an email if you want to join!

Joan's hosting "It Moose Be Love" in February...fun!

You can email her to see if she has any openings left.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Day Four Of White Rabbit Blog Hop

It's the last day of the "White Rabbit" blog hop.

I'm so sad to see it end because it has been so fun!

JANUARY 22

There is a Pinterest page for "White Rabbit" HERE.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Day Three Of The White Rabbit Blog Hop

Day three of all things White Rabbit!

So many ideas have been shared to add to our sewing lists!

Check out all the really cool bloggers who have been creative!

There is a Pinterest page for "White Rabbit" HERE.

The challenge was:

Make something with white fabrics, rabbits, or white rabbits.

Look! Look! Look! It's A Giveaway!

One winner gets to go shopping.

You have to comment to be entered to win a $20 gift certificate from the Quilt Taffy store.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Day Two Of The White Rabbit Blog Hop

Yesterday was full of fun ideas made with white fabric or rabbits.

I hope you visited all the blogs!

So many fabulous "White Rabbit" blog hoppers this week...check them out.

Please leave a short and sweet comment to let us know you've been here.

We all love comments!

There is a Pinterest page for "White Rabbit" HERE.

Look! Look! Look! It's A Giveaway!

One winner gets to go shopping.

You have to comment to be entered to win a $20 gift certificate from the Quilt Taffy store.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

The White Rabbit Is Off And Hopping Today

The White Rabbit is definitely ready to go hopping...are you?

My day is today and I'm ready to share what I made.

The challenge was:

Make something with white fabrics, rabbits, or white rabbits.

There is a tradition for people to say “white rabbit” on the first day of the month (have you

ever heard of this?) The phrase is supposed to bring good luck for the rest of the month.

Even President Roosevelt did this!

My White Rabbit quilt is actually more "Alice in Wonderlandish".

I usually feel exactly like him with the whole, "I'm late" thing.

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

No time to say hello, goodbye!

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!

I am a HUGE fan of J. Wecker Frisch's fabric and can't resist the urge to buy it when I see it.

I might just have a whole lot of it in my stash!

I love her "Mad Masquerade" and "Queen of "We'en" fabrics.

"THE WHITE RABBIT"

60" x 70"

That ginormous rabbit can be found in Bootleg Canyon, Boulder City, Nevada.

"The White Rabbit" hanging out with Big Horn Sheep in Hemingway Park, Boulder City, Nevada.

He was double-dog-daring me to pet him!

Nooo...I don't even try!

I've seen people try to pet them.

I think they have "stupid" written on their foreheads.

They are at the park everyday, but they do not let you pet them.

If you look close, you'll see a white rabbit in the outer border fabric.

I used Urban Elementz "All Decked Out" pantograph for quilting around the center block.

Look! Look! Look! It's A Giveaway!

One winner gets to go shopping.

You have to comment to be entered to win a $20 gift certificate from the Quilt Taffy store.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So many fabulous "White Rabbit" blog hoppers this week...check them out.

Please leave a short and sweet comment to let us know you've been here.

We all love comments!

There is a Pinterest page for "White Rabbit" HERE.

Monday, January 8, 2024

The White Rabbit Is Hopping Towards The Big Day

I'm so excited about the "White Rabbit" blog hop that will be here in two weeks.

I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

The imagination and creativity of each blog hop participant always blows me away.

They are always amazing!

Here's who will be "White Rabbit" hopping soon:

AND...

Moosestash Quilting will be hosting the February blog hop, "It Moose Be Love."

Joan's the queen of a lot of things, including anything moose related.

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

The Difference A Few Fabrics Make

It is always amazing to me to see the difference a few fabrics can make in a quilt.

How fun are these quilts in Carla and Joan's choice of fabrics!

The "White Rabbit" blog hop is this month.

I can't wait to see what gets shared!

Monday, January 1, 2024

Cackling Stitches 2024 Block Of The Month

I was pretty much missing in action from Thanksgiving to Christmas with a stupid bug that had me coughing up both lungs and feeling pretty yucky. I've heard that there were a lot of you out there suffering the same thing, so you know it wasn't much fun. I'm sorry if you were one of them and I hope you're feeling better!

Every year since around 2016 I've been involved in a BOM with various friends. It's been a fun experience creating blocks with all of them! A few years ago, Joan from Moosestash Quilting and Carla from Creatin' in the Sticks, joined their creative ways with mine and started a Halloween Facebook page, Cackling Stitches. Our first BOM was Hagatha's House. We had so much fun with it and kept coming up with new BOM ideas.

HAGATHA'S HOUSE 2021

CREEPY CRITTERS 2022

WHICH WAY TO WITCHVILLE 2023

Next on the BOM list for 2024...

BONA LISA'S SWEATER EMPORIUM

Joan wrote this poem about Bona Lisa...she is so clever!

JANUARY BLOCKS

Joan at Moosestash Quilting

Bona Lisa

Carol at Just Let Me Quilt

Repulsive Ruffled Sweater

Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks

Bona's "In Vest"

Do you want to join in the BOM fun? Check out our Facebook page HERE.

Moosestash Quilting's version HERE

Creatin' in the Sticks HERE.

It's amazing how different it can look with other fabrics.

How does our Bona Lisa's Sweater Emporium BOM work?

It runs from January 1st through August 31st.

All block releases happen on our Cackling Stitches Facebook page HERE.

We even give you the fabric requirements early to help you conjure/gather your fabrics.

You can find it HERE.

It's not a mystery BOM. We show you each of our finished quilts!

On the first day of each month, we release a block pattern (sometimes it's more than one)

that is free for the entire calendar month. After that, those blocks go into our individual

ETSY shops where you can purchase them for $2 each.

New and free block(s) then appear for the new month...and so on, and so on.

Beginning January 1st, the ENTIRE pattern is available in each of our ETSY shops for $15.

We've had so many people ask us if they can buy the whole thing at once, so we decided to go for it.

If you can't wait for each block release or you don't have a Facebook page, this is for you!

We hope you appreciate the time we put into creating this BOM and understand that we keep

the costs to a minimum for you. We ask that you respect our copyrights and do not share the

pattern with others. You're welcome to direct your friends to our Cackling Stitches Group

Facebook or any of our ETSY shops so they can get their own patterns starting January 1st.

Just Let Me Quilt Etsy Store HERE.

Moosestash Quilting Blog HERE.

Moosestash Quilting Etsy Store HERE.

Creatin' in the Sticks Blog HERE.

Creatin' in the Sticks Etsy Store HERE.