Finished! Knitting WIP #1: Fingerless Mitts …

yarn: Voolenvine Yarns (my fave!) Wolke
colorway – Feyre
80-10-10 MCN

Free Pattern from stashlounge.com “fantastic fingerless mitts”

started 11/11/2025

Finished! 2/6/2026

I’m thrilled to get this off my list. And while getting my project bag cleaned up and things put away, my soldotna up and ready for my next knitting session, I ran across my knitting WIP #4 – a pom pom hat kit I got from Jimmy Beans in Reno many years ago. I think I got it when I visited on a family trip in 2015??? I pulled it out when I went through my bins of projects and documented everything on my knitting WIP list and this became the next project on my needles after Soldotna. I just finished my post where I said 3 knitting projects was too much for my small brain and here I am looking longingly at casting on this project. I persevered. I’ll be working on Soldotna and my cozy mini …

Melanie

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Feb. ’26

MFE SAL 2023, an update

My 2026 cross stitch rotation is to do 1/4th of a page and on this page that means 550 stitches whenever this WIP comes up…

Last post:

Now…

Happy Stitching!

~Melanie

—

For those who do not remember… this was the Modern Folk Embroidery (MFE) mystery Stitch a long (SAL) from 2023.

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Feb. ’26

BOM 2025 – William Morris – Update #9

Important info: BOM with my fave LQS, Quilt Emporium, in Woodland Hills, CA. The shop owner, Lisa Hanson designed this mystery quilt with William Morris fabrics and I think it’s super inexpensive for a BOM at $15/month. Even though I decided no more BOMs, I couldn’t help but cave on this one.

Started: 02/2025

Previous posts here, here, here, here, update #4 , update #5, update #6, update #7 and the most recent #8.

After finishing the November block I got started on the December block. This one had a few errors in the instructions. Luckily I caught them before any ripping had to be done.

I still need to finish the handwork for the September block and get the hexis done for the October block. September is part of my homework and will get done when it comes up in my queue. I plan to start the October block at our next mini retreat.

Blocks Made

Keep on quilting!

Melanie

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Jan. ’26

2026 Quilt Queue

In 2025, I posted this queue at the end of every 1st month of the quarter. So, 1/31, 4/30, 7/31, and 10/31. It’s a little depressing because I haven’t had much desire to do any actual quilting for the last few years. Being president of the quilt guild took a lot of my time and then my dad passed, and I got divorced. And with all those changes, I decided to move rooms around. My craft room is still piled high with boxes as I’ve not been able to get myself together to organize everything. It’s partially due to the fact that my family room still has piles of things (mainly fabric from other quilters, needlepoint and cross stitch stuff). I’m having trouble going through them and removing those things that I won’t ever play with. Anyway, the only way I can start actually using my craft room is to start actually using it. Regardless of whether it’s ready or not. I have a little corner cleared out where I sew on my main domestic machine. And I recently unearthed my Q20 so I can start quilting again.

I still have the finished door banners to add to this list.

The quilt queue:

Jan Krentz – Broken Diamond Star – flimsy 4/2021

Scrappy Stars Around the Corner – finished top! 8/7/2021

Kimberly Einmo’s mystery quilt from Craftsy circa 2014-

I know it doesn’t look finished but I promise it is. I just haven’t taken a pic of the flimsy yet.

Wendy Mathson’s Storm at Sea / Snail’s Trail – flimsy 12/5/2022

Storm at Sea / Snail’s Trail Wendy Mathson December 2022

Edyta Sitar’s Laundry Basket “Alaska” – finished in 2024 but just added to this list in Q3 2025

Happy quilting my friends!

Melanie

Posted by Melaniesquilting. Categories: Quilting. 1 Comment

Jan. ’26

Quilt In Progress: 250 Years of Jane Austen – Chawton Block, another update

Here is where I’m at now… the block is still not entirely appliquéd down. all are done except the blue flowers.

I do enjoy working on this but my hands can only do so much handwork before I need to do something else. I try to spend about 15 minutes a day so it’s progressing nicely. Handwork just takes longer.

Keep on quilting!

Melanie

Started: October 2025

Kit purchased from Quilty Pleasures in Simi Valley, CA.

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Jan. ’26

Knitting WIP #1- Fingerless Mitts …

yarn: Voolenvine Yarns (my fave!) Wolke
colorway – Feyre
80-10-10 MCN

Free Pattern from stashlounge.com “fantastic fingerless mitts”

started 11/11/2025

I looked through my posts and I see I mentioned this new start on my knitting WIP lists but was negligent in giving its own special new start post.

I am almost done with these and then I’ll focus on Soldotna. Having 4 knitting WIPs is a little much for me even though I am only really working on 3. But even 3 is too many. The fingerless mitts is more of like a travel knit – something small and easy to transport and not something that I truly enjoy knitting. but I also can’t have sitting around waiting for me to travel, or go to a doctor’s appointment. I really want to work on Soldotna so I am focusing on finishing this WIP since I’m so close. I only have to do the thumbs at this point.

Melanie

Posted by Melaniesquilting. Categories: Knitting. 2 Comments

Jan. ’26

A finish – a doll quilt

My sewing room is still a mess. I started this mess last year when my son and I switched rooms. He took my office/sewing room and I took his bedroom. His bedroom became my office and bedroom. My bedroom became my sewing room. My now sewing room is the master bedroom of the house so it’s bigger than my previous sewing room. My office/bedroom is pretty much put together. But my sewing room is still a big mess.

All my fabric and craft stuff is in the middle of the room. A few months ago, I unearthed my sewing machine so I have a place to sew. And I have a “personal” table that has a small wool pad for ironing and a small mat for cutting. But when I need to cut bigger pieces I have to go to the living room to cut because my new to me cutting table is still in the garage. There’s currently no space for it in the sewing room.

Some of the mess is due to some projects that need to be finished and if you remember my quilt queue list- there’s probably 9 quilts that need to be quilted. I think some of the mess can be cleared if I get those quilts quilted and moved out of the way. So I unearthed my Q20 so I can start quilting again. In the process of unearthing the machine, I found this doll quilt that I quilted a couple of years ago. All that had to be done was bind it. Our guild collects doll quilts to be given to an organization who gives the quilt along with a cradle made by the local woodworkers and a doll to children in need. And when I finished this doll quilt, they had already met the need for that year so it got set aside. Well I finished the binding and it’s now ready for this coming Christmas.

And my q20 is now clear of stuff so on my next free weekend I can quilt something.

don’t freak out but here’s the mess that’s creeping up behind me..

the Q20 is behind that tower of bins. and there’s a bed back there too. When we have a guest, they sleep in my bedroom and I sleep in here.

Happy quilting.

Melanie

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Jan. ’26

Cross stitch: 2025 Nutcracker – an update

I’ve finished 2 rows. Part of my cross stitch rotation is doing a row of this WIP when its turn comes up and I’m loving it. It’s just enough to inspire me to play with this project and then not get bored with it.

The shop I kitted this up at didn’t have one of the called for beads. And the pattern didn’t distinguish which bead belongs to which in the key. They both share the same symbol but one is white and the other is shaded. I looked at the sample on the pattern and I figured out that the white beads are with the white symbols and the gray beads are the shaded symbols. I finally got around to ordering the missing beads and have decided to get started on the beading when I get a little further down in the rows. I don’t want the beads to get squished within a hoop so I think I will use a bigger hoop and when I get further down switch to a smaller hoop. I don’t know if it will work but I should get the grayish beads before the next time this project comes through my rotation so I’ll plan to try then.

Here’s where I was the last time I reported on this.

What it will be when it grows up…

Important info:

Fabric: 28 count Lugana “Whisper”

Floss: Called for DMC

2×2

New start

Keep on stitching,

Melanie

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Jan. ’26

BOM 2025 – William Morris – Update #8

Started: 02/2025

Previous posts here, here, here, here, update #4 , update #5, update #6, and the most recent #7.

On New Year’s day, a few of us got together at a friend’s house to get caught up on some of our outstanding blocks. I had September’s prepped and ready but I didn’t feel like doing handwork. October is a repeat of July’s hexis so I jumped right in to November.

I would have gotten it done the same day except that when I got to one of the latter steps, I needed some pieces that were not part of the original cutting instructions. Luckily I had enough fabric to do the cutting but it’s not fun to get up after settling down in front of my machine to cut more fabric.

The September one is still prepped and ready to be sewed down. My friends did their August block much better than mine and turned out so much nicer.

Blocks Made

Keep on quilting!

Melanie

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Jan. ’26

Xstitch Update – Rebel Stitchers’ “Disagree”

I’m having so much fun with this cross stitch WIP that I’ve made this part of my regular rotation. I recently decided to do a column at a time. At the top I was doing a motif at a time but then as I worked my way down I changed it to a column at a time. I’ve finished the first column and I will move on to the next WIP in my rotation.

Jan 2026 – it’s hard to see but the color of the thread is a dark red/black gradient. It’s beautiful in person.

New start post

Details:

Fabric: Live & Dye LA “Dusk” Lugana 32 count

Floss: Live & Dye LA “Naughty”

2×2

Happy Stitching!

~Melanie

Posted by Melaniesquilting. Categories: Cross Stitch. Leave a comment

Thousand Needles

Quilting, Scrapbooking, Gardening and whatever else catches my fancy

Finished! Knitting WIP #1: Fingerless Mitts …

Like this:

MFE SAL 2023, an update

Like this:

BOM 2025 – William Morris – Update #9

Like this:

2026 Quilt Queue

Like this:

Quilt In Progress: 250 Years of Jane Austen – Chawton Block, another update

Like this:

Knitting WIP #1- Fingerless Mitts …

Like this:

A finish – a doll quilt

Like this:

Cross stitch: 2025 Nutcracker – an update

Like this:

BOM 2025 – William Morris – Update #8

Like this:

Xstitch Update – Rebel Stitchers’ “Disagree”

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