It sounds like the horror movie playing at the local cineplex: Attack of the WIPs! And to be honest, there are moments it feels like a horror movie, too.
Don’t get me wrong: I am a finisher. To keep things interesting, I like to have many projects going at once—a dozen works for me—but I almost always get around to finishing them. Some projects are put down because the two of us have hit an impasse. Others take a backseat to higher-priority projects.
Because we’re in the early weeks of 2026 and the new year is a traditional time to take stock, I pulled a few WIPs out of my closet ...
Now Showing in Theater 1: I Heart Rainbows
Back in November, my guild held its fall retreat, and I took a bunch of WIPs. On one hand, this seemed like punishment. After all, I was in the middle of the New Hampshire woods for two solid days with projects that had plagued me for months (or years!). It was a good decision, though. Although I wasn’t working with exciting, new-to-me fabrics and patterns, I enjoyed dopamine hit after dopamine hit as I moved multiple projects toward the finish line.
I Heart Rainbows is one of those projects. Here it is—all I need to do is add the top and bottom borders, and I’ll have a complete flimsy!
I Heart Rainbows is a generously sized throw from my book, Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. In this instance, I sewed 16 blocks (the original pattern calls for 15) to make two quilts: the smaller throw pictured here as well as a baby quilt.
The fabric is Lucky Bugs, and Benartex sent it to me after I met the collection’s designer, Irene of Sugaridoo, at H+H Americas. I love how the sweet prints read as solids, playing to my more modern aesthetic. I will post more pics when this project is quilted and bound!
Now Showing in Theater 2: Little Man
Longtime readers may recognize Little Man. It’s a pattern from Camille Roskelley’s book Simplify, and I’ve made it many, many times. (See all the versions here!) The fabric requirements are easily met by my stash, and the pattern creates an interesting, not-too-small baby quilt. It’s a good go-to quilt when I need one to gift ASAP.
Longtime readers may also not be surprised that I cut this quilt as I was working on its twin, which I gifted a year ago. That is how my brain insists on working: If I am going to cut and sew one smallish project, I might as well cut a second while I’m at it. The problem is, Michelle’s brain, that you then have to find the time to sew and quilt and bind that second project!
Now Showing in Theater 3: Cozy Cottages
There’s a trend among these quilts: It’s the Michelle-likes-quilting-books trend. I do love a good quilting book. In a world where standalone patterns cost $13 or more, a book is worth the $25 or $30 price tag if it contains at least three patterns I’d consider making.
Cheryl Brickey’s Just One Charm Pack Quilts falls into that category. Both it and its sucessor, Just Two Charm Pack Quilts, have a bunch of smaller child- and throw-size projects that I will make over the years.
Here is Cozy Cottages, from Just One Charm Pack Quilts. It’s another WIP that needs a top and bottom border to make it a complete flimsy. I’m going to get to it soon—promise! And it’s another project that has a near-identical twin, because I again fell victim to the if-I’m-going-to-cut-one-project-I-might-as-well-cut-two trap.
I plan on quilting all three of these projects myself. Maybe I’ll get them between my Disney trip at the end of January and QuiltCon in February? Alas, that's probably wishful thinking. I suspect March 2026 will be my month of quilting on my domestic!
How are things on the WIP front in your sewing room? Are you screening a romance, a comedy, or a horror film?!
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