The Ultimate Sunbonnet Sue Collection

Never let it said that I let a stack of UFO's stop me from starting another.  I have always wanted to make a Sunbonnet Sue quilt, but had looked for patterns that had various Sue's doing different things.  Never found one that struck my fancy, until I found this book at a second hand store that sold quilting supplies and fabrics.  The quilter had made a couple blocks, but the fabric she used was bright bold colors, and not to my liking.   So I set it aside until I found fabric that I thought would look nice.  Since I finished the center of the Insanity Quilt (previous post) and need to cover several hundred hexies for the flower border, I decided to start another project!  haha, that makes insane sense.

The book is called "The Ultimate Sunbonnet Sue Collection" published by Leisure Arts.  I could not find an author's name.  It has 24 of the cutest Sunbonnet Sues and I just could not resist.  Publshed in 2000 and I don't think it is still being published.  Several in my quilt club love it too, so through Thriftbooks, Amazon, Etsy and Ebay they found old copies at great prices.  

 

The fabric line I chose is Cottage Charm by Moda.  I bought a pack of 1/8" inch strips that had all 34 pieces in the fabric line.  I have had to add a couple other fabrics so far - one a brown for the shoes and other various items the pattern used black  but I think the black is too "strong" for the other fabrics.  Also bought some "flesh" tone fabric for arms.

There is also one print in three colors that I am going to use for corner stones - at least that is the plan now.  I am considering embroidering a little flower in each cornerstone.  I am going to use 1 1/2" sashing strips which is just the right size for the fabric block below.  I chose a butter cream kona solid or the background and a light blue for the sashing.

This morning I got the pieces prepped for the first block - a Sunbonnet Sue  with Butterfly Net.  I am keeping a list of the embroidery and embellishments to be added to each block and therefore have to number the blocks and identify them with a name.  Some embellishments, like buttons, will have to be added after the quilt is quilted.

I am doing prepared edge applique technique that I learned from Katrina Hadjimichael, but some small appliques with lots of  points are with needle turn.  That is why the bow is set off to the side.  I drew the embroidery on with a brown ink pigment pen and will do the butterflies and net  by embroidery.

Well that is my kickoff for this project.  Hopefully this week I will have a finished block to share.

 

 

Insanity Quilt - Center completed

 Today I completed the center top of the Insanity Quilt.  There are 3,480 hexies in the center and I am approx 33% done on the quilt.  My next step will be the flower border and I can hardly wait to get started.  Before I can start that border, I need to cover a several hundred white hexies and the green border hexies.

Jasmine Bag - Finished!

 Today I completed the Jasmine Bag by Katrina Hadjimichael.  Its a nice big bag for toting a quilt or other project to guild or a friends house.

Jasmine Bag - Katrina Hadjimichael pattern

 Last night I completed the applique panels on my Jasmine Bag by Katrina Hadjimichael.  On to the quilting step next.  This was a project I took to my Stitchin Friends quilt retreat and so excited to be working on it again after over a year, I think,

Backyard Birds

 My quilt has a UFO Challenge going on for 2026 - but it is a manageable one.  You just list 9 projects that you will work on during the year, setting a specific goal for each project. Each month the project manager (Martee) selects a number and you work on that project during the month.  If you meet the goal you set, you get 2 tickets in the prize bowl, if you worked on it but did not complete it, you get one ticket.  At the end of the year there will be a ticket drawn and that person gets a special prize :)

 For February, the number chosen was #3, and my #3 goal was to complete the quilt top for the Backyard Birds quilt.  I already had all the bird block completed, just needed to do the quilt layout, which involved making 10 checkerboard blocks.  So this morning I met my goal :)

I have decided to make another set of birds but a little fancy ones - using floral and other types of prints.

So far, I have completed two of these birds:

These are really fun to make - Foundation Paper Pieced.   The background is actually a pretty green but just does not show up well in the picturess

Insanity, Backyard Birds and Starry Sampler

 Good gracious, my time is just flying by.  My last post was in November and here it is Feb 3, 2026!  I have been stitching and making progress, just not posting to this blog.   I usually print my blog each year, but the site I have been using is no longer in existence.  I am inquiring with PixxiBooks and hope they will work for me.   

Here is what I have been working on:

Insanity Quilt - I have 11 rows of the center completed which is 61.11% of the quilt center,k but only 22.01% for the total quilt.  I still enjoy working on this quilt and will slowly get it done. Of the 10, 561 half inch hexies in the quilt, I have sewn on the top 2,325 leaving 8,236 to go :)

Backyard Birds - this is one of the 2026 Block of the Month I am chairing for my guild.  I had to get all the birds done in advance in order to prepare fabric cutting charts for each bird.  So far, I have done one workshop of Foundation Paper Piecing and have a make-up session schedule for this Saturday for 5 ladies new to FPP.   I have started putting my rows together and doing something a little differently from the pattern.  The pattern has leaf, twig and worms on alternating blocks between the birds.  I decided to go with a checkerboard block.  I am FPP with freezer paper the vertical columns of these blocks and then sewing the strips being so careful to get a true 1/4" seam:

I also made one Tufted Titmouse block using some floral fabrics primarily to show the BOM participants that they can have a little fun with making fancy birds.  I plan to make one like this each month for the Bird of the Month

We are also doing the Starry Sampler quilt as a 2026 BOM - this is English Paper Pieced.  The are 16 beautiful blocks in the pattern, and we are doing the first 9 blocks.  I have made 8 of the nine blocks and have 5 of them hand quilted.  Plan on putting the quilt together as a quilt as you go.  

Block 6 is in my quilt hoop to be quilted soon, I hope!

I held one workshop of EPP Block 1 of the quilt.  I made a fussy cut block to use to demo how to do the fussy cutting,

Back Yard Birds and Starry Sampler

I have been working feverishly to get my blocks made for the 2026 BOM I am in charge of at my Guild.  The Backyard Birds is a Foundation Paper Piecing project while the Starry Sampler is an English Paper Piecing pattern.  We will begin in January and I am just trying to get ahead of the game  to detect any potential areas of concern. I started sign-up at our November meeting and received more sign-ups than I anticipated, so its going to be a fun year in 2026 trying to stay on top of both BOM's. Some guild members signed up for both BOM's, so they are going to be right busy as well :)

 Below is a picture of the blocks I have completed to date.  I have 4 more birds to make and 5 more EPP blocks.

I have decided to hand quilt each of the Starry Sampler blocks as I make them, and so far have only gotten one quilted.  I am using #8 perle cotton thread and big stitch quilting.  I chose a plain unbleached muslin backing so that the black stitching could easily be seen on the back.

I continue to make progress on the Insanity quilt, but it has truly slowed down as most of my effort has gone to the BOM blocks.  I keep my workstation ready to go whenever I sit and watch TV in the evenings.  Must admit though, I neglect it some as I also use that time to respond to Facebook posts and clear out my messages on the phone, as well as my email.    But with that said, I do try to work a little on this every week.