Category: Projects

.Here it is, the first full week of 2020, and I’m officially starting my big sewing goal for the year.  I want to see how much I can accomplish if I sew for 20 minutes every day in 2020.  I’m calling it my 20 in 20 Challenge.


I’ve been brainstorming about this for a while, and I hope to learn a lot from this challenge.  First of all, I’m excited to work on being consistent all year long, especially in the really busy times when I typically don’t touch my sewing machine.  I believe time constraints are the biggest obstacle to lots of goals, especially creative ones that are more optional than necessary.  Sometimes I’m inclined to discount what I can do with small pieces of time.  I don’t even start because I don’t have a window large enough to accomplish what I want.  So I’m really curious to see how effective I can be in just 20 minutes.

I also hope to develop good transition practices.  I want to sit down at my machine and go for it, not waste any time.  Are there things I can do to get in a groove more quickly?  I’m researching and will be paying careful attention to my creative habits and transitions.

I am sure there will be days when I can sew for more than 20 minutes, and days when I don’t reach my goal.  My plan is to do it Monday – Saturday.  For me, Sunday is the Sabbath and I reserve it for worship, time with my family, and spiritual development.  So if I can sew for twenty minutes, six days a week, that’s 120 minutes of sewing every week!  Two hours a week, means 8 hours each month, and you can see how it will add up.  Especially if I am effective.

Just for fun, I picked up a simple timer that I’ll set every day to keep track of my minutes.


I also decided to add a project as part of my accountability.  I’m going to sew a half rectangle triangle block every day.  It will be my last seam of the sewing session, and the colors I use will depend on what I did with my time.  One color in the block will represent greater than (aqua), less than (green), or exactly 20 minutes of sewing (blue).  The other color will represent if I was sewing from a pattern (red), or creating my own designs (pink), hand sewing because I couldn’t get to my machine (orange), or working on an old unfinished project (purple).  Sundays will be yellow rectangles.  If I don’t sew at all Monday-Saturday I’ll add a neutral rectangle to represent that day.  These are my blocks for January 1-5, below:


The key to this will be keeping myself stocked on pre-cut solid rectangles to choose from, but I do think it will be a lot of fun to have a running record of how I’m doing with my goal.  I hope it helps me use up solid scraps as well!

Finally, I’m going to report back on what I’m learning through the year.  The last Monday of every month will feature a 20 in 20 Monthly Report, where I’ll share what I’m learning about my creative process and sewing for just a few minutes every day.  Don’t worry, every post won’t be about my 20 in 20 challenge.  I have quilts and quilt tops I finished last year that I haven’t yet shared.  It’s going to be a great year!

Nothing says love like a soft, handmade baby quilt, and this one was a delight to make.  The cute mom-to-be was a long ago babysitter for my kids, and now she’s expecting a baby boy of her own.  When I received a nautical themed shower invite and heard that her nursery was similarly decorated, I wanted to make a quilt that would fit right in.  So I made her an anchor baby quilt.


I used my anchor quilt block tutorial to make the anchor.  The gold and white stripe is a print by Victoria Findlay Wolfe that I love.  It contrasts well with the blue solid.


Piecing the quilt top was quick and simple. I bought two yards of the blue solid.  After making the anchor block, I cut three strips from the remaining blue:  20″ x width of fabric (WOF), 14.5″ x WOF, and 12″ x WOF.  From the 14.5″ wide strip I cut two pieces, one that is 17.5″ x 14.5, and one that is 10.5″ x 14.5.

I sewed the 10″ piece to the right of the anchor block. The 17.5″ piece went to the left of the anchor.  I sewed the 12″ strip across the bottom. The 20″ strip went on top to finish my anchor baby quilt top.  Easy as can be!


I used a higher loft batting so I could get a fun, puffy, watery look with my straight line quilting.


The back of the quilt is a cute whale sheet I had in my stash.  I bound the quilt with the last bit of blue fabric.


I enjoyed making this anchor baby quilt for an amazing young mother!  It was also fun to finally use my anchor block tutorial in a way I’d considered, but never tried.  Classy, but simple to make, gifts are always a win!

My Scrappy Friendship Quilt has another story to tell.  Several months ago I sat at a table with some of my best friends, all quilters.  We were laughing and talking as usual, and then the feeling came that I should share a burden I was carrying.  Being vulnerable is scary, even with people we love and trust, but I did it anyway.


My friends were amazing.  They accepted my story with compassion and kindness.


This quilt is made with scraps from all these friends.  I shared how we made it here , and I am increasingly grateful that we did it.  Shared burdens mean more reasons to treasure it.


I quilted my scrappy friendship quilt with straight lines spaced one inch apart.  When I found this colorful corduroy print I decided to try using it on the back.  I’m curious to see how it wears, and if I like the texture over time.  Right now I love it.


Now for a word about my quilt holder.  My second son has long been the guy who holds most of my quilts when I photograph them.  He’s quick to help, doesn’t complain, has strong arms and always makes me laugh.


He also left on a two year mission at the end of October.  One of the last things I did before we drove away to drop him off was to hand him this quilt for a photo.  I needed one more quilt that he’d held for me before he left.  When I handed it to him he laughed, and a tear slipped down his face. My husband took these pictures of him with the quilt, my quilt, made from scraps of my dear friends and sewn by all our hands.


I treasure these photos like I treasure my scrappy friendship quilt.  And I miss my boy but I’m so glad he’s growing up and willing to spend two years serving others and the Lord.  Oh the stories our quilts have to tell!