We survived storm Fern! So far this winter, we’ve had a dozen hits of 3” or so. This was our first bigger snow of 14.” I’ll show our pet snow boulder before and after to illustrate how much we got!

I do believe that the actual boulder is located in the area of the blue circle, if you picture 14″ of snow on top of it!

I have never seen such a glittery snow. Yes, glitter– the stuff that falls off your kid’s craft project and ends up all over the house. The meadow was completely sprinkled in it! Look at these snowflake pictures my DD got when they landed on her black jacket.

So pretty from the safety of my windows, but honestly the storm brought a warming trend from the negative temps we were having. Mr. SFO always tells me it can’t snow if it’s too cold, but I don’t understand that. It was warm enough to go outside and play in it, but…

Inside, it’s been Carefree Highways, Carefree Highways, Carefree Highways, and I am honestly very tired of talking about it as I’m sure you are of hearing about it. But I am happy to show you we’ve reached the SPA portion of quilting and here it is:

I very carefully tested scraps of my fabric for bleeding. Please do this before washing anything as even “good quality” fabrics can bleed. My tests went well, so I soaked in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes and then rinsed in cold three times. I used Dawn for the wash– this is the detergent you hear about most that reduces bleeding, and I added three or four “Color Catchers” — look in your laundry grocery aisle. They did catch some color. At first, I was alarmed, but the continued cold rinsed cleared it up.

Why do I wash my quilts? First reason, I’m a starcher, and it seems to me that should come out. Also, every embroidery has two layers of stiff stabilizer behind it– I use a type that softens in water. Finally, there was significant marking for quilting that needed more than just a spritz to remove them.

Now it’s time for that brilliant and stark New England winter sun to brighten my stars! I’m currently making white piping while I wait, and I think it looks amazing. I’m going to carefully measure my quilt and cut the piping to size to avoid wavy borders. I’ll probably also measure and pin my binding as I go around. I’ve had a wavy border issues in the past and I’m not sure why.

I did find this one star point was not quilted–can you believe it?! We’ll deal with that later. It’s not possible to put this beast under my domestic, so back on the longarm it will go.

I desperately needed some time off this project, so I’ve been sewing along on Posh Penelope at night. I got 14 sets of petals sewn up at my sit ‘n sew day, but I forgot how many steps were still needed to complete these beautiful blocks!

If you don’t like trimming up blocks, this project isn’t for you—they are trimmed quite a few times. When I finally laid out what I have so far on my design floor, I saw it was totally worth it. The DD thinks this has a hippie vibe– do you see it?

I’ll have fourteen of forty-two blocks by the end of the month. My next self-imposed homework assignment is to cut 14 more for February’s sit ‘n sew. This year, I am going to use the class once a month for dedicated quilts I want to finish in 2026– after Posh, it’s going to be Candy Cane Lane. A dedicated day of sewing, if you can get one, really pushes a project along.

It never ceases to amaze me, the greed I have for new fabric despite frequent lectures from my conscience and the reality there is just no storage space left here in my huge craft room. When I saw on the Marden’s Facebook page they had a delivery of Poppie Cotton fabrics, I sent the DD down right away! This is what she snagged, all at 50% off. By the time she got there, it was almost all gone.

Do you know Poppie Cotton? They have cute fabric and patterns. I previously purchased this Halloween quilt kit which I currently don’t even know where it is! Maybe it could be a sit ‘n sew quilt later this year.

And finally, my next Christmas cross stitch stocking had moderate progress this week. I’ve been scanning in the pattern and blowing it up about three times the size– maybe it’s just me, but they really try to save paper or are just supremely optimistic with the size of symbols they think you can read! I did have to scan and enlarge more areas, so I must be making progress.

I filled in quite a bit more greenery around the horns and a few patches of snow. It makes me chuckle to think I am working on the right season for once!

That’s all I got– by next week, I’m hoping to show my completed Carefree Highways quilt for the last time until I go to the show in April. It’s been hard to see all the finishes people are putting up online as they start their quilting year fresh, while I labor away on one quilt. Quilt envy is real! But it’s really been motivating to think of what I will create next, when I get my life back, soon.

xox
Carol