Aidan

Meet Aidan!

Green Stars

I made a baby quilt (don't know the baby's name) 

Starting here

I have not met the mother (unless you count meeting on Teams)

Design Wall

So when Lina (not her real name) mentioned that she was going on maternity leave, I asked her if there was color/theme to the nursery.

Striped Binding

Green and Dinosaurs, Lina replied. And THAT was enough :-D 

Dinosaur Centers

I found loads of cute green fabrics in my stash. I love that gnome fabric, which I got from the last Quiltcon.

Many cute fabrics

While I had enough print fabric to make the star centers, I did not have enough for a dinosaur backing.

This dinosaur backing came from my MIL's stash (some of which I inherited when she passed away). Isn't it amazing that the universe provides whatever we need, when we need it.

Here are some more pictures.

You are adorable!

Playtime

Aidan is just the right quilt for St.Patrick's Day and Easter, which will be here before we know it.

Aidan finished at 41" square

Labelled

Aidan warms my heart. Hope Aidan brings joy to the little one!

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Joy is in short supply these days but I found some lately, when Bloomtown Quilt made its way to a baby the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The mom (a friend of my sister) was kind enough to send me a picture.

Aww...

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According to Angela, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for March is Red. I have gathered my red scraps. I am sure I will need more. Thankfully, Island Batik scraps abound.

Reds for March

I will be linking with Angela's Linky Party on Saturday and all my other favorites. See full list on the sidebar. 

What brought you joy, lately? Please let me know. Joy shared is joy multiplied.

Forget Me Not

Say hello to Forget Me Not.

Forget Me Not

Forget me Not is a modern interpretation of an Irish Chain Quilt.  Designed in EQ8 and made with Island Batik Fabrics, Forget Me Not was published in Quilters World Spring 2026 Issue.

The issue focuses on "Modern Quilts with Classic Roots" and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Published

Modern Irish Chain

Made using the fabrics from the Original Aurora Collection (by Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Design), Forget Me Not finished at 76" by 100". The background is Glaze (Island Batik Neutral).

Forget Me Not uses one block, strip-pieced that creates a lovely secondary design when the blocks come together.

 

Basting

I am loving the gentle progression of blues and secondary designs in purple and green.

Fading Blues

The batting is Hobbs Cotton/Polyester Blend. I quilted using my Walking Foot, following the grid in my favorite squiggly stitch. Why do I use it all the time, you ask. Because it is so forgiving. When the seams are not perfectly matched the squiggle brings them together.

Crushing on You

Spring & Picnic Ready

A large quilt, Forget Me Not needed two people to model it. 

Two Model Job

Here they are. They are my friend's kids and they were properly compensated for their efforts.

My quilt models

Love you both!

And one last look, with my favorite model. He is speaking! Seriously, this is a silent role. My quilts do the talking.

Thank you, Paul!

But wait, there is more. Some scraps left over from strip-piecing were too large to throw away. They were promptly made into a small baby quilt. I have named him Sky. 

Sky, 33" by 36"

At 33" by 36", Sky will most likely go to Premie Baby Quilts donation for the Inova Hospital in Fairfax.

No Scrap Left Behind

Cute and bright giraffes on the back should fascinate some little guy! 

Cute Backing

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In other news, I have completed my Green Blocks for February's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

All scraps are Island Batik. 

Sharing with Angela's Linky Party and all the others. See full list on the sidebar.

These are strange times. I can't believe I have been saying that since 2020 or even longer. Each other is all we have. I am grateful for and to this community. Lots of Love & Squishy Hugs.

Rock & Roll Quilt

In May of last year, Mary Helen reached out to me with a request for a T-Shirt Quilt.  I said Yes, but it would have to wait till the end of the year.

I started the day after Thanksgiving and mailed the completed quilt the day after Christmas.

On the banks of the Potomac

The box I received contained about 18 t-shirts, most of them were never worn and in excellent condition. I cut them up - all of them. 

Then came the tiresome task of stabilizing them. I used about a bolt and a half of SF-101. 

Stabilizing T-shirts

Layering & Ironing

Once all pieces were stabilized, the design process could begin.  Of course, the stars would take center stage but the different sizes had to be reconciled.

I used the t-shirt backs to make checkerboard coping strips and used them as a design element.

Checkerboard

 

Captivating!

It was time to move to the Design Wall, although it was impossible to cram all these legends into a tight space.

Design Wall

The blue/white tie-dye t-shirt (Led Zeppelin) needed some white fabric but none of the t-shirts had any white. Paul let me use one of his old t-shirts (frayed crewneck) to make the blue/white coping strip.

Added White

The grid was three wide by four tall and I was aiming for about 60" wide by 80" tall.  Working on one row at a time, I added coping strips as needed.

Flimsy

Thick t-shirt fabric, made heavier with stabilizer does make the quilting a challenge. I switched to a 90/14 needle and quilted from the backing side using the square grid of the printed fabric as a guide.

Backing and Label

Here are some close-ups.

I chose this backing so that I could use the squares as a quilting grid.

I am told that the quilt was well-received.  Mary Helen texted "my friend absolutely loves the quilt"

Mission Accomplished.

In other news, I completed my blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  After considering and discarding several designs, I decided to make super simple log cabin blocks. 

10" Log Cabin Block

Work in Progress

Thank you Island Batik

I will be sharing with Angela's Linky Party and Quilting Jetgirl's Favorite Finish and others too. See full list on the sidebar.

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Last week, we visited Mount Vernon on our way to Richmond. Just a couple of days to get away and celebrate Paul's birthday.

Mount Vernon - Looking at Maryland across the Potomac

Calm before the Storm

In Richmond, we visited the Civil War Museum constructed around the ruins of the Tredegar Foundry. Some pictures from our visit.

 

I texted my daily Wordle to Mari, while we waited for our lunch. She texted back. 

Mari: Did you see the news? 

Me: No. We are visiting the Civil War Museum. What happened?

Mari: Don't see it. Enjoy your day.

We did see the news. It was everywhere. 

So many times, my name is misspelled as Pretti. Every time I hear it, I stop and think - did someone call me?

A former co-worker turned friend bought some zippered pouches and wrote me a check.

I am Pretti

This is a difficult time and I am not OK. 

Hugs to you. Hope you will hug me back.