Come Stitch With Me

Can you believe it’s 2025 already?

Do you map out an entire year of quilting projects or do you just go with the flow? Last year, I attempted to plan out my year of projects similar to Kimberly Jolly at Fat Quarter Shop. It was nice to have one binder with everything in it, but the reality is I only made about 1/3 of the projects I’d written in there. Why? Because several other projects called my name louder than the projects listed on a page in my binder. That’s okay.

This year, my focus is going to be finishing what I started.

• Continued detashing of fabric, supplies and books.
• Rehome all kid craft materials leftover from teaching.
• Finish assembling all partially done quilt tops.
• Select 3 tops I want to submit for entry into an upcoming juried quilt show and get them completed, including the label, by year end. I will do the quilting myself.
• Get current on BOM and QAL blocks.
• Complete EQ online classes 2 & 3.

My main priorities right now are to complete the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, finish up the 5 or so quilt tops in various stages of assembly and clear out the kid craft materials leftover from teaching Monday enrichment classes.

Sew with friend days and retreats will be perfect for getting/staying current on BOM and QAL blocks. For now, community service efforts will be limited to making placemats and pillowcases for my guild since our partners indicated they have enough quilts on hand. I’ll continue to practice my FMQ on existing tops and use those quilts for Sadie’s therapy dog visits. My home also needs one new bed quilt, refreshed kitchen table linens and accessories. Fat Quarter Shop is sponsoring a QAL featuring Lori Holt’s Vintage Christmas quilt. This particular quilt has been on my “to-make” list for some time and is the only “brand new” project I plan to undertake in 2025.

A fun, personal challenge is going to be to see how long I can go without spending any personal money on quilting supplies. Santa brought me a 6 month Sew Sampler Box subscription and family members gave me gift cards to some of my favorite places to get sewing/quilting goodies. I’m certainly up to the challenge!

May your needle always stay threaded and your dates with Jack few in 2025.

Today, I received an email about a 2026 quilt tour of America’s Heartland to include stops at Missouri Star, the International Quilt Study Center, Iowa Quilt Museum and the Dignity statue in South Dakota. A quilt shop hop plus museums and other stuff along the way is included. There’s also an optional 3 day retreat at Missouri Star hosted by the tour guide along with the quilting instructor. Cost: $3,495.00 per person double occupancy. The fine print shows that airfare, many meals, all beverages, and gratuities are not included in the fee. You’ll also want money for shop hopping along the route, as well! The retreat at the end is $700.00. If you decide to do everything, you’re probably looking at a $5,000.00 + for the entire trip.

All of the attractions listed on this tour are definitely worth a visit. That said, I’d rather spend $5000.00 on international travel rather than domestic. Why? Simply because I can DIY my own version of a published domestic tour for a lot less money. My sister-in-law and I did Missouri Star, Missouri Quilt Museum, an Amish community, Winterset Iowa (Iowa Quilt Museum and explore local town for a couple of hours), quilt show in Omaha, International Quilt Museum and fair amount of shop hopping over 5 days and 4 nights. Airfare for both of us, hotel and car rental totaled about $1750.00. I probably spent another $500.00 on food, gas and quilty goodness. My sister-in-law spent that much on quilty souvenirs alone! Notice that total expenses for both of us for a similar trip were less than the land only portion for one person in the America’s Heartland trip.

For the amount of money saved by going DIY versus the tour price, I could easily take 1-2 additional trips. If money’s tight and you really like the itinerary, there are ways to reduce costs even more. Get creative. Drive instead of fly. Take a cooler with snacks & drinks. Stay outside major areas where accommodations tend to be less expensive. Utilize every coupon and discount code you can find. Cash in those reward points and airline miles you’ve been hoarding.

Collect tour brochures for all the destinations that interest you. Make a list of the museums, attractions and quilt shops that look interesting. Spend a little time visiting websites to do some research. It’s free and entertaining. If the destination is less than four hours away by car, can you drive and see the same sights over a long weekend rather than taking a 7 day tour by bus? There are currently quilting tours available for Gee’s Bend, Charleston SC and coastal GA, plus the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and NC. Prices listed for each tour are just under $2900.00 per person double occupancy for the land portion only. Depending on traffic, all of these places are less than a 5 hour drive from Atlanta. I could easily DIY all 3 tours for less than the cost of a single trip with the tour company.

My point is – use tour brochures to fuel your quilty travel dreams. Remember, there are DIY options available to help make those quilty travel dreams a possibility – even in today’s inflationary, tight times.

Here’s to safe, quilty travels in 2025!