More Simply Squares Quilts are Finished

I've really been trying to quilt each day. I hope to have a record number of donations this year and know that I typically get more quilting done before summer arrives. At the moment, I have 15 finished tops that need binding. As you can see, most of the bindings are ready - I just need to get the tops quilted. 

There are also quilts that need the binding hand sewn but I have finished three! Yes, the next three Simple Square Quilts are finished and I'm beginning to see a pattern in the way I've quilted them - loops or double loops for all three! What can I say, I enjoy quilting loops! I'm not really working on quilts in any given order - it's just whichever one grabs my attention next.

In the Simply Squares Series, the first quilt is here and the second one here. 

The 3rd quilt in the series, Simple Squares - Bright Yellow with Colored Circles is really bright and fun. It is one of the larger quilts so far in this series. 

The closeup pictures are more true to color.

The back is a turquoise print.

Size:         56" by 72"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 80607 Lemon Ice

                 back - 32975 Lt Turquoise

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Loop de loop

The fourth quilt, Simple Squares - Blue with Colored Circles on White is also larger than some in this series. The size of each quilt depends on the fabric I have.

 

The back is a Grunge - Hits the Spot - Red, from my stash. 

Size:         56" by 72"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 10430 Battleship

                 back - 70001 Cardinal

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Double loops

Simply Squares - Pink with Many Colors is the fifth quilt finished in this series. (There are more coming.) The back is a blue print which seems to have a purple cast. For some reason, this quilt makes me think of bubblegum.

The back is a blue print.

Size:         56" by 56"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 17443 Bone

                 back - 10430 Battleship

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Double loops

I'm hoping to have 40 donation quilts this year. It's just a personal goal so we'll see how it goes. 

Grandson's quilt and donation quilts

I can share our Grandson's Quilt now. He asked for a blanket for his birthday, not a quilt. It took a while, but I figured out that he probably wanted a heavy quilt with Minkee on the back. He sent me a picture of one of his baby quilts that he still liked and wanted a larger one to fit him. Twelve years ago, I made this baby quilt. As soon as I saw the photo he sent, I recalled how heavy the quilt was. 

His 12-year old quilt doesn't look this good anymore! 

He made the request just 9 days before his birthday so I told him it might be late. Since blue was the requested color, I went on a hunt for blue flannel for the top and blue Minkee for the back. I decided to make this really simple when I bought every blue flannel I found. I decided on a diamond layout and added a bit of red for interest. The center seemed to need something, so I added his name. The darkest navy flannel looked dull so I replaced it with navy Minkee (the dark diamond).

The quilting is a large loop de loop. 

I had 2 dark flannels, 2 mediums, and 2 lights. Replacing the darkest with the Minkee was a good choice.

The back is navy Minkee. 

This quilt is heavy, like a blanket, with a flannel top, a thin batting (Dream Cotton Natural Request - Thinnest Loft, which I use almost exclusively), and a Minkee back. And Leo was quite happy to get it just 5 days after his birthday!

Size:         64" by 72"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - Steel Blue 38201

                 back - Navy 32965

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Loop de loop

Maze is a donation quilt. I saw a maze quilt and wanted to try making a one. I used graph paper and ended up with nine blocks, all the same. Each block is rotated in the quilt so the maze path interconnects.

The colored fabric is leftover fabric I had in my stash. The white path through the quilt begins/ends in the upper right corner and the lower left corner of the photo. I extended the white  into the binding so the beginning and ending are easy to find. The path is big enough to drive a matchbox car on. (That's what my boys would have done!)

The backing is navy with little squares of different colors.

Size:         57" square

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - Light Grey 17543

                 back - Blueberry 30281

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Large meander

Blue Diamonds is another donation quilt.

When I got my Stripology rulers a while ago, I wanted to make some diamonds. I grabbed a few blue scraps and began cutting. All of a sudden, I had enough diamonds for a quilt so I made Blue Diamonds. The light diamonds are light blue. I just used any scrap from my leftover blues.

I decided the back needed to be exciting. And I think it is!

This quilt is easily reversible. The binding is navy.

Size:         54" by 64"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - Battleship 10430

                 back - Ruby 70187

Batting:    Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:   Meander

There's lots of quilting going on here - just like I like it!

Lots of quilting with one finish to share

I've been doing a lot of quilting but only have one finish to show. There are a couple of others but they are gifts so I'll wait to share them.

The finish is the second Simply Squares Series Quilt, Turquoise with Yellow.

The Simply Square Series Quilts are all donation quilts. I'm hoping they will make a dent in my stash while allowing me to have more quilts to donate.

The back is a turquoise print with lots of color shapes while the binding is a navy blue.

Size:         56" by 56"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 80607 Lemon Ice

                 back - 32975 Lt Turquoise

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Large 3Cs motif

I spent last weekend on retreat with friends. We had a great time as usual and were all glad to make it home before the blizzard hit Sunday night! 

I finished a few quilt tops during the retreat. The first top is a Simply Squares Quilt, Red with Navy Polka Dot. The navy is not as dark as the photo appears.

I also put together Simply Squares Quilt, Red with Navy print. Again, the navy is not as dark as it appears.

This Take Five Quilt will also be a donation. It's been years since I last used this pattern.

Another donation quilt is this Double Irish Chain.

While at the retreat, K gifted me some flannel to use in donation quilts. One of her friends received this flannel from someone and K thought I would use it. I'll try!

Yes, there are 8 good sized pieces and none of them go together! I'm trying to match up cottons from my stash with each flannel.

When I finished the last gift quilt today, I decided to use the sports flannel print from the first photo of flannels above, and make Flannel Quilt Series - Blue with Sports Print.

The blue is cotton from my stash.

When I stated the Simply Square Series, I envisioned 3 or 4 quilts. I think there will be more. And now there is a Flannel Quilt Series. I think I need more hours each day to quilt!

Health Update: We are both doing pretty good! 

A Great Quilting Start to 2026 - More Finishes!

I have a donation pile of 7 quilts already for 2026 and it's still January! Yay!!! (One was finished December 30.)

I decided to use some squares for some quick quilts this year. Using leftover fabric, I paired a print with a 'solid' for each quilt. I'm hoping to diminish my stash and gain some extra donation quilts. Blue with Paint is the first Simply Squares Quilt. 

I used a striped fabric for the binding. It seemed to have the perfect colors.

I used a red fabric for the back.

Size:         56" by 56"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 38201 Steel Blue

                 back - 70001 Cardinal

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Very large meander

I wanted to do something with different grays. I saw a photo of a quilt with string blocks set in opposite directions in a monotone. I decided that would be a good background for a large flower. I made Grays with a Flower as a donation quilt. 

When I cut the various gray fabrics, I cut straight pieces in varying widths, 1" to 2.5". I added in a few fabrics that had rosy reds since the flower fabric was rosy red/pink. And now there are some pinkish pieces mixed in with the grays - when I laundered this quilt, the Color Catcher did not pick up any color but a few of the gray fabrics did. They seem to be dyed well and have not changed with a few washings. Since the dyeing seems to be very even and just on entire pieces of fabric, I'll go with it.

The back is a bright rosy pink that blends in well with the front. 

 

The small border (white with pink), the large border (dark grey with white), and the flower petals (pink with white) are all from the same fabric line.

I'm not sure if you can see the quilting. Here are a couple closeups.

Size:         58" by 68"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 10430 Battleship

                 back - 70187 Ruby

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    flower center - spiral,

                 flower stem - serpentine stitch,

                 flower petals and leaves - lazy eights,

                 background - meander

When I realized that I had a lot of 2.5" squares that were multiples, I collected them to make 9-Patch Postage Stamp. I made this over a period of time and tried to use some brighter colors. 

Bright sun is coming in the window
on this below zero winter day.

I quilted my favorite for these postage stamp quilts - a loop de loop with a loop in each square.

The back of this donation quilt is a navy print with blue, turquoise and purple.

Size:         55" by 66"

Thread:    Glide 50-wt, top - 17543 Light Gray

                 back - 32965 Navy

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    loop de loop with a loop in each square

I kept seeing this quilt on Facebook and eventually bought the pattern. Luminary was interesting and fun to make. 

I did add the borders on the two ends to make the quilt a little larger. The colored pieces in the strip are left over from the diamonds and trimmed to be the same width.

The large star is made from diamonds - I sewed strips together, sliced them across the seams into strips (no measuring), sorted these strips into piles, and then sewed the pieces together. Diamonds were then cut from each piece. The small pieces in the diamonds are all different shapes and sizes.

You can easily see one end of a diamond and
maybe figure out where the other end is.

The back is from my stash and I thought the colors were perfect. 

I love interesting fabrics on the back of quilts.  This quilt will be donated.

Size:         49" by 66"

Thread:     Glide 50-wt, 32975 Lt Turquoise             

Batting:     Dream Cotton                                           
Quilting:    Meander

Health Update: We saw the doctor again.We still had Covid or another virus. She decided we should quarantine for another week and take heavy doses of a steroid. That meant I did not go to my retreat but as I felt better, I was able to do some quilting, especially handwork.These quilts all just needed the binding hand sewn. Our week is up and we are both better. We've been told that it will take a while to feel really good but we know we are feeling some better every day. (We still are on some meds.) As of today, we can rejoin the world so I think I'll go to the grocery store. ;)