It’s SAHRR Parade Day 2026! For those of you who joined in with the Stay at Home Round Robin, today is the day to show us your finished quilt or quilt top. I am so excited to see the variety of quilts! Before I show you my quilt and Eva’s quilt, I want to say a huge thank you to Quilting Gail, who is the founder and main host of this fun sew along. I’m delighted to join with her and my other co-hosts each year for this fun sew along.
- Gail @ Quilting Gail
- Brenda @ Songbird Designs
- Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing – SAHRR Parade Day linky here!
- Emily @ The Darling Dogwood
- Anja @ Anja Quilts
We also had some wonderful sponsors this year, who generously supplied us with prizes. So I want to say a huge note of thanks to each one of them!
- Lumin Fabrics (Island Batik) – 3 Fat Quarter Bundles: Playful Posies, Geometric Symphony and Paradise Palms
- Hobbs Batting: wool batt
- Sew Fresh Quilts: 3 patterns
- Aurifil Thread
- Oliso mini Iron, mat and carrying case
- Fat Quarter Shop: Gift certificate and 2 charm packs
- Devoted Quilter: 2 patterns
- Songbird Designs: 1 pdf pattern
- Grace & Piece Co: t-shirt
- Quilter’s Dream: 8 assorted batts
- Crafty Quilter: 2 patterns
Of course, the sew along wouldn’t be nearly as fun without the participation of each one of you, so thank you, for sewing along with us. Your enthusiasm as you create your quilts was the highlight of my week as I caught up with each of you on your progress.
Okay, let’s get to the quilts, shall we? First up, I want to show you Eva’s quilt. For those of you who may not know, Eva and I met through my blog, and she has joined in with us for the SAHRR for the last four years. She does not have a blog and is not on social media, so I offered to show her work on my blog. Eva is a very creative soul, and she enjoys creating from her stash. This year, her quilt will be gifted to a young girl, so Eva was thoughtful about her fabrics and colors as she created her quilt. Let’s take a look at her quilt top.
Eva’s quilt top measures 60 inches by 72.5 inches. She will hand quilt it, so the ripples you see will be quilted in as she hand sews. She worked with differing weights of fabrics and found that to be a little tricky. She especially enjoyed the final round, using a new improv idea for that border. Eva thoroughly enjoys this group and appreciates each and every comment and encouragement you gave her!
While Eva’s quilt is large, you might remember that I decided to go small this year. My finished quilt is 25 inches square. My center block was 7-ish inches, and the blocks for each border were mostly 2-inches unfinished.
Because there is so much going on in this little quilt, I kept the quilting simple, just stitching random straight lines using various thread colors based on colors in the quilt. Kona Corn Yellow was an anchor color as I worked on the quilt. I wanted something that brought a little bit of cohesiveness to each round.
For the backing, I pieced some leftover fabric from another quilt backing. It has multi-colored dots that look a bit like confetti, so I thought it would work well for this celebratory little quilt.
The tricky part of this quilt was the binding. Initially, I planned to finish it with a faced binding, but there were so many seams in that last border, I wasn’t sure it would lay flat enough to satisfy me. So I decided to go with a regular binding in the Kona Corn Yellow. However, that just didn’t seem to feel right. It just seemed too solid and loud. Then I spied this fabric on my shelf.
I wanted a binding that had a print that would tie in with the commotion of the improv, and this was it. It blends in rather than drawing attention to itself.
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Making this little quilt has been loads of fun, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. The biggest challenge was coming up with ideas for each border, which was much more difficult when your blocks are so small. Using the improv technique made that a bit easier, because not everything had to match exactly. Will I make another SAHRR this small? Time will tell!
Okay, you’ve seen our two SAHRR Parade Day 2026 quilts, and if you’ve joined in with us this year, it’s your turn to show off your quilt! Link up your quilts with Kathleen over at Kathleen McMusing so we can all see your work. If you haven’t sewn along with us this year but would like to see the quilts, you will be able to see them all at that link.
Once again, thank you for sewing along with us! Happy SAHRR Parade Day 2026!
Wendy
Eva’s quilt is just beautiful. I love her colors and fabrics and selections for the prompts. Your quilt is bright and fun. I enjoyed seeing what you would do each week. You are so right about the binding – it is the perfect fabric. Thank you and the other gals for hosting!
Eva’s quilt turned out beautifully! Her color choices worked out so well. You picked a fun backing and binding for your bold and beautiful version. All that yellow makes it such a happy quilt. Are you going to hang your version?
Wendy: I am impressed with the diligence & skill you possess in working with tiny squares!
As always, your solution/selection for the binding is spot on – what a difference a single creative decision can make in the finished project.
And Eva, enjoy quilting your newest piece – hand stitching is meditative & nourishing to the soul. 🙂
Wow what a statement your quilt makes! (Hmm…Statement…Did you name it, or did I miss that?) It’s amazing and really fun to just keep looking at, esp at that size–wow! Well done. And yeah, the binding works really well!
Thank you for sharing Eva’s quilt as well; the colors and design are perfect for a young girl–she’ll love it!
Eva’s quilt is really beautiful. The young girl who receives it it is very lucky. I hope you will show it to us once it is quilted 🙂
And I love your quilt, Wendy, with all it’s vibrant improv. You did an amazing job to keep it so small and your binding is just right 🙂
Wendy, I love your bright and happy quilt! The binding fabric is perfect. The backing is perfect. It’s wonderful!
That is definitely a fun quilt. Love how colorful it is. Eva’s is awesome too.
What a perfect binding, Wendy! Is it a quilt you plan to hang on display?
Eva’s quilt is a great size. How long does it take to hand quilt something that large?
What a joyful finish. Your quilt reminds me of kente cloth.
You knocked it out of the park! 🥰
Your little quilt is so happy. Keep in somewhere in view so everyone can enjoy it. I like the straight line quilting too. And the binding! Eva’s quilt is gong to be enjoyed by the girl she is giving it to.
so many bright colors on this one! great finish
Wendy, I love your SAHRR – it’s so happy! The confetti backing and blue and yellow binding are perfect for it. I had forgotten that your center block is so small – that’s a lot of tiny squares! Eva’s quilt is a beauty, too – lovely colors to go with those adorable elephants, and fun blocks, too! Thanks for hosting us again this year – I always enjoy this project!
Eva, I love you quilt and I know it will be well loved. It is so special that you are hand quilting it, too.
Wendy, those colors remind me of a spring party and a riot of color. The binding and back are perfect, as is the quilting!
Oh, that binding of yours is just perfect! Little spritzes of shape that continue the “this-is-a-total-party-quilt” in your brightly colored creation. I love it! Congratulations on figuring out all those small blocks, figuring out how to make them fit, figuring out how to make it all cohesive: it is so terrific!
Eva, your quilt shows a careful use of color and shape and pattern, especially that fun outer border. I know the person who receives this will treasure it! Congratulations on finishing the SAHRR 2026!
Both of your SAHRRs turned out great! I appreciate that they also are perfect examples of how unique each person’s quilt turns out even though they work with the same prompts. The little girl that gets Eva’s quilt will surely treasure it! You are right, that binding fabric was the perfect finish for your joyful quilt!
Wendy, just love your thoroughly modern quilt. It’s so bright and beautiful. And Eva’s quilt is a keeper also. Love those colors, also. And thank you!! for this happy event – SAHRR 2026. It has been so much fun.
Eva’s is such cute colors! So mod and fun! Great binding and backing choices on your sweet petite quilt, Wendy!
Lovely, Eva! I’m especially fond of the outer border of light blue with the tiny thin rectangles!
So happy, Wendy! My favorite row is the one with the wonky + signs!
Wendy, your quilt looks awesome!! And I totally agree that the binding works well with the quilt.
Eva, Your quilt is fantastic!!! And to think that you’re going to hand quilt it! That increases my admiration of your obvious talent!!
Perfect amount of quilting Wendy! I like Eva’s last border with the little strips of color that pop.
Eva’s quilt and your quilt both turned out great! How different each quilt is. It is so fun to see how we can all create such different quilts with these prompts.
Oh oh oh. Congratulations to both of you on producing stunning quilts. They are very different, but beautiful. Eva’s is calm and serene, ideal for a little girl to sleep beneath and yours, Wendy, is so bold and bright.
Fantastic finish, Eva. And, Wendy, I really love your little improv quilt. You amaze me with those tiny pieces!
I love, love, love your quilt, Wendy! Definitely on the top of my list of favorites. It is so cheerful and bright. And I love all the commotion!
Your little improv quilt is spectacular! The binding and quilting are the chef’s kiss.
I love your little sunshine-filled happy quilt Wendy! That binding was perfect—so perfect in fact that I didn’t even notice it until you pointed it out. What a fun way to approach this year’s SAHRR.
I am applauding – both the quilts came out wonderful! Congratulations to you and Eva on your pieces 🙂
Hi Wendy, please let Eva know that her quilt is so lovely! I learned the hard way that working with small blocks is actually more difficult than big ones! I’m sure that the improv helped but it was probably tougher than if it had been bigger. Your choice of binding is perfect. Thanks so much for helping to host this great party! Have a lovely day.