2023 Sew Alongs

Happy New Year! Ring in the new as well as the old. I'm wishing you a year filled with lots of stitching and many new projects. And perhaps some time or motivation to work on a few old ones too. 

We'll be doing a few new sew alongs in my Facebook group beginning on January 11. One will involve a small, simple, scrappy quilt. TBD (to be determined). And the other will be a sew along for a quilt in one of my older books -  the Soldier's Cot Quilt from my book The Civil War Sewing Circle. This one is exciting. Some of you might remember this one from years ago. Definitely an oldie (2011). I revived it and started making another one last year for my son and finished it just in time for Christmas. Whew. 

This one is slightly larger than the original (I added a row) but it's basically same pattern as in the book. The quilt was inspired by one of the surviving Civil War quilts that was made for and distributed to Union soldiers during the war and is displayed at the Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands, California. Here's a link to the story behind that quilt.

My original quilt. Never been a fan of  the colors but it fits the theme of the book. 

It's a fun quilt. I love this pattern and always regretted that I didn't use better fabrics or colors my my quilt in the book. I like this new one so much better and made sure I used less browns and more blues. 

More than a few quilters asked me about the quilt and I thought it might make a good a sew along this year. The pattern is in the Civil War Sewing Circle book but if you don't have it or don't want to buy it I will create a single pattern that will be available for purchase in my Etsy shop. Probably by next week. The book is out of print now but you can usually find good used copies on Amazon, eBay or places like Thrift Books. Martingale also has ebooks available for instant download.  If you're interested in sewing along with some of my FB members, jump in any time. We'll be doing this as a casual sew along where everyone works at their own pace for however long it takes. Only took me about 8 months, LOL. Pieced it together a little at a time in between everything else going on last year.

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The 2023 small quilt sew along will begin on January 11. It will be very simple and perfect for using up your reproduction scraps and playing around with your favorite colors. I'll post directions in my group then. And I'll also put them up on a new page on my website around then so check there if you're not on FB. 

Here are a few other projects I need to work on this year - 

Dear Jane, of course.  Finish sewing on those triangle borders. It occurred to me I might be having a hard time letting it go, LOL. 

Simple 2 1/2" squares set in diagonal rows, inspired by a quilt made by Linda Collins from Quilts in the Barn fame. This one is made with all Judie Rothermel fabrics. I repeated many of my favorite Judie fabrics, so no, it's not a charm quilt. 

I have another section just like this one but need to make a few more rows then sew them together to finish it into a lap quilt. Start with one square and build rows, alternating lights and dark or medium prints. Fun and easy. Linda has told me she might want to publish this as a pattern someday so I am not giving out specific directions for it. 

                                        Scrappy Stars anyone?? Waaay behind on this one . . . .

I also started making some little red baskets last week, on a whim, LOL. To add to my growing pile of other baskets . . . .  The inspiration and urge to create something new and fresh never ends it seems. Someone is going to have a fun time going through all of my unfinished projects someday . . . . 

So, if you have the time and inclination, tidy up your sewing room, clean off the cutting table and join me in making some new projects as we head into the new year. Buy some new needles or thread or bits of pretty fabric to get yourself inspired. 

Happy Sewing!