Crackers & Jam & Winter Solstice!

Things are coming together faster than I thought they would!

Of course, those little cracker blocks have many more small pieces and took longer to stitch/trim/de-paper than these blocks –

Before I knew it I thought I had all that I needed and the layout process began yesterday!

I’m so excited to see how these babies are going to work together!

I started with the cracker blocks, not knowing what their layout would be.

I knew I wanted an alternate block as making a whole quilt out of nothing but these mini crackers would be – well, CRACKERS!

I received my last blocks from my Addicted To Scraps column back from quiltmaker, and in that pile was this block – it doesn’t look like much on its own. It’s not a star, it’s not dynamic by itself – but those corners! It has connectability!

And it gave me a way to dig into Scrap User’s System strips, and also the lesser loved charm pack squares that had been sitting around with no purpose.

I went to my EQ8 to quickly mock up what I was thinking. I usually do this in grayscale because who has time to color each individual scrappy block differently when they’d rather be sewing?

It gave me an idea of what the layout would look like, but it wasn’t in full technicolor until I started laying things down:

Yep! I think this is going to work!

Until I got to the last two rows and found I was still 3 alternate blocks short.

I cut these out before coming home.

It won’t take long to stitch these up and I’ll be back in business and setting this quilt together.

It’s a happy space for lesser loved charm squares!

And somehow I have one to many of the big cracker block?

And one extra unit?

Into the orphan box these go. At some point I’m going to dig into that big box and make a crazy no-holds-barred orphan quilt from them all.

I’ve been saving left over units, extra half-square triangles and pieces/parts. I just need the courage to stop all the other projects and dig in.

Back to the alternate block: Yes, it was from a 2025 Quiltmaker issue. I don’t remember which one, and I don’t recall the name I gave it.

My pattern for this quilt is planned for a 2026 release. So please stay tuned.

Quiltmaker quit updating my Addicted to Scraps page in January of 2024. They stopped sending me issues when issues came out. There have been so many changes, which is one of the reasons I felt it was time to retire from doing the Addicted to Scraps column. I made this announcement last summer/fall if you missed it.

It’s been a good run, and I’m grateful for the years I had with them.

Photo share from an email by Pauline:

Attached is a picture of the lap quilt I just gave to my son using Lozenges leaders and enders from 2016. It is made from 63 neckties that I made him over 25 years. They were cotton quilting fabrics.

I’d love to put it on your Facebook but can’t remember how. Can you do it for me?

I follow you every day and love what you do. You are inspiring. I’m going to be 90 next year.

Pauline Charles
Cornwall, PA

A photo of her scrappy back!

Wonderful finish, Pauline!

You can find the pattern/tutorial for our Lozenges Leader & Ender challenge under the Free Patterns tab at the top of the blog.

I have mine hanging over the foot board at the end of my bed. It’s another fun one for using up larger hard-to-cut-small prints!

I will also gladly post Pauline’s photos for her. I love seeing your finished quilts and reading the stories behind them. These are the things that connect us one to another!

I don’t post on Sundays – it’s my one Screen Free day. And believe me, there are weeks where I just count the days down until Sunday. I think we all need that kind of a break on a regular basis with all the world news is throwing at us 24/7.

I awoke on Sunday morning, dressed, came downstairs to a glowing light coming in through the sliding glass doors to the porch off the dining area next to the kitchen.

Winter Solstice! Happy Yule!

I broke my own Sunday guidelines to post this to my other socials:

Welcome Yule!

The first day of winter may be filled with darkness, but also brings hope as each day that now follows brings more and more light.

Today we acknowledge that even in the stillness of the dark and the quiet of the cold, there are brighter and warmer days ahead.

May the light of the sun shine on your family and loved ones this Yule season.

Happy Winter Solstice!

From the day that the time change drops us back an hour – until the Winter Solstice – I don’t know about you, but I count down the days until the light begins to return.

This has been even more so since my drivers license is only allowed for day time driving. I feel like a teenager on restriction as my ability to go places, be places on my own is curtailed for a season.

From here – we get a bit more daylight every day.