Orbit Quilt Sew Along - November Show & Tell
- Cass Merrigan
- Dec 3
- 4 min read
And just like that, 2025 is essentially done. How it is the 336 days have passed in what feels like a span of weeks. I don't think I am alone in feeling like the years pass quicker and quicker, the days too. While I have managed to keep up to date with the sewing aspect or Orbit, keeping up to date with the blog has been a whole other thing... but I am here now and only three days late.
Just keep this thought in mind for later when you come to the photos of my Orbit quilt, it was sunset tonight when I remembered I still did not have my November segment photographed. Super unusual for me as I generally love to snap pics as I sew blocks each week. The bushfire smoke filled sun set has thrown a lot of orange light into the photos, my fellow Aussies will know what I mean. First up, Lee! You can really tell how quickly summer hit (not spring, summer) for us down here in Oz. Its a pretty dramatic shift from those lovely purple tones disappearing and the blues / greens / yellows come out to play.
Lee writes - "It gets quicker and quicker as I’ve learnt which colour to grab instinctively- and because October me saved the 21st to stitch in the November row, I was able to stitch the whole month in a straight line without any Y seams." Now for Jenny!
Not only was Jenny super on target for finishing off her November blocks, but she also had time to squeeze in a Duchess make as a "Sinterklaas" gift. I LOVE hearing about other cultures Christmas traditions so I was super excited to learn this new one. Absolutely gorgeous makes, both of them!
OK now it my turn. Let me start off by saying that when I got in touch with Jenny and Lee for this months show and tell they were also asked to count how many blocks they had left on their quilt plans... because on mine I was only having a 28 day December. Problematic?? Yup. Turns out thats all on me, and only me. They both had 31 days allocated for their Decembers, somewhere along the line I must have double allocated days * face palm *. This is a very "Cass" mistake - the Neurospicy brain just struggles to function sometimes. I can see it now, I probably had a fabric order come in the post, got super excited, forgot I had allocated a print already and doubled up. Or something to that effect. One of the many reasons why I make my patterns flexible. Life happens. So two rectangles becomes four squares, bit like the fish and the loaves really. It all worked out in the end.
I have to say I really enjoy the colours that my mood selected this month. Super bold and punchy, and looking at it now... heavily favouring Anna Maria Horner prints. What can I say, her fabrics were the ones that helped me fall in love with quilting.
It has been incredibly hard not to cut into the new Fat 1/16th bundle I just purchased for my Starfall top up stash. 94 Ruby Star Society prints that are just chilling on my desk, along with a nice stack of Doops prints that just got delivered. I ordered them ELEVEN weeks ago, remind me not to do pre orders again... the suspense was killer.
I may not have a whole quilt photo to flex this month, but I am super chuffed with these points so I'll just flex them instead. 2025's Orbit for me, was all about learning a new skill, which was hand sewing. Over the year my confidence has grown, my stitches are more even and I am so much quicker. I've learned not to compulsively iron everything, and to just wait until things are attached so I can nest the seams, or give them a twiddle so they spiral out. To a large extent it has been me learning not to force fabric to do what I want, but taking a moment to slow down and let it go where it wants.
I am so excited to see what this quilt looks like with some borders on it! Then the quilting, I can not wait!!!
Speaking of backing.... some of this may have fallen into my shopping cart. Maybe.
I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't spruik the 2026 sew along, I have really loved seeing Jenny and Lee's quilts come to life over the past year, so I really hope if you are a silent observer that you consider joining in the fun again next year. To make it more appealing we have a block a day, and a block a week option!
Catch you next month possums, Hopefully with three finished quilt tops! Cass xx
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