A few weeks ago, I finished a quilt, napkins and some pillows for the Art on the Porch. I always try to have a few new things, and this was not exception. Most years, these items are the ones that fly…but as the event was on the 4th of July, not much foot traffic came through. However, I still want to share the fun I had and record my finishes.
Apologies for the blank email last week, some of my readers received. It seemed to happen because I made an edit in an older post, but it could also have been a blip in Mailer Lite.
Here are a few shots of the porch with some of the items displayed.
Plaidish
This quilt was too long in the finishing, but it is finally finished! Above is a photo as I started piecing it together at a quilt retreat in May of 2025. When I left the retreat, it was a finished top.
This pattern is from Kitchen Table quilting and you can find it as a free tutorial here or complete pattern here. I made the smaller lap, 50″ x 64″. It takes a bit of time to make it. For me, I decided to make the largest amount of blocks first, the medium (31 blocks). Then I worked my way down the pile, the dark next (20 blocks) and finally the light (12 blocks). It means that you have made half the blocks (almost) by the time you finish the first set. It wasn’t a fast quilt to make, but I did make it over the space of 3 days!
Now, why did it take me so long to finish? It has no destination…so that always slows me. However, the biggest problem was that it was a little large for my longarm, so I needed to go elsewhere to finish it. I brought it to a local quilt store, ….in Scarborough, ME and they did a fine job with it.
It was quilted with a ProSticher design, Blustery Breeze and it worked out well. I had made the binding a long time ago, so that went on quickly. I love the colors in this, we will see where this quilt winds up.
Napkins
As I often do, I made two sets of my double sided napkins for the Art Walk. These are really easy to make and are lovely gifts. I have a blog post here on making them. You can also download a pattern here.
Casco Bay Pillows
Again, I made a few pillows for the Art on the Porch Sale. They, too, are still in my posession, but will go the next time we have a sale. The organizers ran it on July 4th, and I was pretty sure this would be a bad date. It was. But, I did sell a few things and a quilt for a friend, so that was great.
What else is going on?
I am working on designing a few pillows for a neighbor, so you should see those in early August. I also started a State of Maine quilt, something fun to sew on the porch with a friend. The next couple of projects really involve some clearing of fabric, putting some on sale in a Maine Sewing Facebook page, and distributing some of the others. Also, getting back to cleaning up some broken bits on my blog. If you notice anything, please let me know. There was a move that broke some links. We have visitors for some bits of the summer and a little travel, so I expect content to be a little slower these months, but you do never know.
Coming Up on the Blog
Ft. Gaines Pillows
State of Maine
2 Charity Quilts
Linking Up
Fabric Stash
Adding my table runner and one set of coasters…here is the totals for July so far.
Prior YTD Fabric Used = 35 yards
Prior YTD Fabric Bought = 13 yards
Current Month Fabric Used = 13.5 yards
Current Month Fabric Bought = 0yards
Net Fabric = -35.5 yards!
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Kathleen your art looks beautiful on your porch! It must have been a bad date, because those napkins and pillows should have been snatched up! I love the colors you used on Plaidish. I think I already downloaded the pattern, but I went ahead and did it anyway! Hope you are enjoying your summer. We are not enjoying the heat, but the summer is going well. 🙂
Bummer that the sales didn’t go as well this year. Your Plaidish looks so cozy. I have that pattern but haven’t made it yet, since the fabric pull always intimidates me a bit. Your pillows and napkins are such great ideas!
Unsurprisingly, I really love your version of the plaidish quilt; congratulations on getting it finished and I’m sure it will find the right forever home! July 4th does indeed sound like a tough day to have an Art on the Porch sale, so I’m glad you viewed it as an opportunity to stock up and be ready for the next event. It sounds like you are enjoying your summer. We’ll be here whenever you can share more updates!
Neat Plaidish, Kathleen! How wide can you quilt on your longarm? Love the photos of your quilt items on the porch. Have a great rest of the summer!
I made the Plaidish quilt as a PQ prompt at the beginning of this year. Mine was all colours but I love your blue one more! They are time-consuming but worth it.
Art on the Porch sounds like fun. Sorry the sales didn’t go well. I Love the Plaidish quilt! So cute!! Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings. Have a great weekend.
I have no idea why I keep missing your posts! I’ll have to try again to add it to my list. I would have to agree with you that the 4th wouldn’t be a great day for the sale, that’s to bad after one works hard on getting stuff ready. Plaidish-it’s so pretty! I have admired that pattern for a while and just can’t get myself to commit to it, perhaps it’s because I feel I would have to go buy the right fabrics to do it.
Were the Casco Bay pillows made from tea towels? The sharp blues complement the Plaidish quilt. Hope they find buyers !