Kawandi Finish

 

Since I got back from LA, I've been continuing to stitch the kawandii quilt. My goal was to finish in time for the BAMGQ UFO Challenge which is due on our Sew Day (which is today).

As I got closer and closer to the center I had to finalize it, added two last pieces into the mix, right before the stitching reached that area of the quilt.

I found the stitching got harder and harder to do as I got into the center. 

The pieces got smaller so there were a lot more edges to contend with and that meant more layers of silk to stitch through.

It has been a fun and challenging project and I’ve really enjoyed learning a new way to make a quilt. I started working on this project in a SBMQG class with Sujata Shah back in 2021

Here it is, all finished! 

I ended my last stitching line with an X just because, "x marks the spot" has always made sense to me.

The corners got a little ravel-y, but they're still looking nice. As Sujata said in class, "the Kawandi looks "naked" without a fula in each of the four corners."

And that's #2 on my BAMQ UFO Challenge list completed just in time to show at Sew Day.

Kawandii Around and Around

 

More stitching got done on my kawandii, I'm circling around into the center. Adding new fabrics as I go.

There are a lot of pins hanging out, which is not the best for an on-the-road project. Ouch.

The tools I'm using, I really love this thread, WonderFil Spagetti 12wt in a nice sage green. 

Hello Again, Kawandii

 

Back to work on finishing my Kawandii. It's my #2 on the UFO Challenge list, so I'm really trying to get stitched all the way into the center.

There's a lot of pieces left to anchor down, and a lot of pins.

I love the big needle that I'm using, it's so easy to handle.

12 UFO Challenge

 In order to be clear about the two UFO challenges I'm participating in this year, here's a post about the 12 projects I put on my list for the 2026 BAMQ UFO Challenge. This challenge came about when one of our members, Christine, was talking about another guild's challenge and how it had gotten her to work on projects that had fallen off her radar. It sounded like a new way to inspire people so I volunteered to help her organize it for our group.

  As I wrote yesterday there is overlap with the 2026 UFO Finishes Challenge, those four will be noted with this symbol🥏👽.

The way this challenge works is you turn in a list that is numbered, and every month at Sew Day we randomly pick one of the remaining numbers from 1-12 to be the project everyone works on and tries to finish before the next Sew Day. The first number chosen in January was #12, the second number chosen in February was #9. I worked on my #12 and finished it, the May You Ever Return quilt. And now I'm working on my #9 project, the Oxbow Tote. As we only have a month to work on and finish these things, I tried to structure my list so that I'd both be challenged and also have some easier finishes.

Here's my illustrated list of 12:

1. Clover Pillowcase - first started in a class in 2023, last worked on in 2023.
   
2. Kawandii - first started in a classs in 2021, last worked on in March 2025.
   
3. Bohemian Wife quilt-🥏👽 started in 2017, last worked on in 2025.
   
4. Snake in the Garden quilt - started in a class in 2007, last worked on February 2026.
   
5. Mini QCR Pumpkins - started in 2019, last worked on ?!who knows?!
   
6. Five by Five quilt - started in a 2022 class, last worked on in December 2022.
   
7. Dave Owen Hastings Class quilt -  🥏👽 started in a 2022 class, not worked on since then.
   
8. Body Pillow pillowcase - back when I put this on my list, it was intended for my older rectangular body pillow. I now have this new one which is twice as long and rather curvy. I'm thinking it would be nice to have a cotton jersey cover, nice and stretchy to bend with the curves, cozy feeling and easy to wash.
   
9. Oxbow Tote - started in 2024, last worked on December 2025.
   
10. Quilted Dog Jacket-pattern bought in 2024, not started yet.
    
11. Bending the Calendar quilt -🥏👽  started in 2012, last worked on?who knows?!
    
12. May You Ever Return quilt -🥏👽 started in a class in 2018, first one chosen and finished!
    

Here's to challenges that inspire and make me actually me spend the time to even go find the projects that I'm supposed to be working on! That's something of a start, right?

Almost to the Center

 

Sew Day for BAMQ was on Saturday and it was as usual a very fun time. I invited my mom to come along and she had a good time seeing all the creativity, showing off the sweatshirt jacket that I made for her ages ago and chatting with people. She was also very glad to offload a big bag of oranges from her still excellent after all these years orange tree. I was glad to be able to include her in a social outing with friendly welcoming people.

Instead of bringing along my sewing machine I worked on the Kawandii quilt that I've been hand-stitching and assembling since 2021 when I took a great online class with Sujata Shah. The above picture was taken at the start of the day before I began stitching.

And this is the after picture, pinned up on the design wall at home. It looks so different flat (or as flat as this can be.)  A lot of progress was made, I can see that I stitched around the whole thing six times, but it's still not done. The rounds are getting shorter as I get closer to the end. As I've made my way almost in to the center I have to find the instructions on how to end everything.  I think I'm remembering that there was something specific I was supposed to do, so wish me luck in finding my class notes from four years ago.

I also took this picture of a super clever 3-D printed magnetic needle cup that one of our new members had. It's from Purple Hobbies, they have a lot of other handy quilting/sewing accessories.  This is a great idea for a portable pin cushion that works well as a pin container and secures your pins in transport, which is always a problem. 

I was showing off the latest and greatest new container that has come off of my DH's 3-D printer, a Knurled Screw-on lidded container. It has a great threaded cap that works perfectly and makes a very tight seal. Possibly water-tight although I haven't tested it. Now we're in search for a good magnet and some foam to put in the bottom of it so I can have a safer traveling pincushion.

More Laps

 

A few more laps were made around the Kawandi at BAMQ Sew Day yesterday. Some more pieces of the silk fabrics I'm choosing from were added as I made my laps. 

As I get closer and closer to the center I have to go back and look at my notes or at Sujata Shah's website for indications on how the centers of these Kawandi pieces are finished off.

But the corners are dismaying me with their excessive fraying. (fraying and dismaying) so I decided to do some experiments with Fray Check. 

This was a new bottle that I hadn't opened, so it required a pin piercing to get it going. I like the fine tip applicator so that it doesn't blob out all over. 

It leaves a mark, but I think it's okay as a color change delineating the change from fabric to frayed edged which I'll be leaving. 

I just hope that it stops the deterioration of the corner pieces. 

Around the Kawandi

 

Another project I brought along to get some stitching done on was the Kawandi that I started in a class with Sujata Shah back in 2021. Here's how it looked before I started working on it, a little wrinkly out of the bag. 

Like counting rings on a tree, I can see I've gone around 10 times.

There's a whole lot of silk colors and types of fabrics to work with in the bag that I brought along. It's a really nice tactile experience to hold and stitch silk by hand.

I did most of the stitching outside on the balcony in the sun.

While listening to the opening day game with my SF Giants hat on. The game wasn't on hotel tv, so I got to listen to my fave Giants radio announcer, Jon Miller call the game. Too bad we lost 😞

Here's how my Kawandi looks after I'd worked on it for a few hours and traveling home smashed up in a bag again. This is displayed in my chair so it's not quite flat here.

Now I've gone around 13 times and started to add another few tiklis (the rose gold squares). The spacing of my stitching lines has changed, I need to loosen it up a little.