In 2026, our country turns 250 years old — and I decided it’s a year to go big or go home! We’re going to celebrate in true Sentimental Stitches fashion with a brand-new red, white, and blue quilt you’ll treasure. for years to come.

This special edition of Little Blocks will feature 50 unique blocks — one for each state. Each block will either be an official state quilt block or a design that represents something special about that state.

Now, I’ll be honest — a few of those state blocks include curved seams or details that are a bit too fussy to make in a 3" size, so I’ll make some creative judgment calls along the way. Some states even have more than one design to choose from, and a few include appliqué (and you know I can’t resist tossing in one or two of those!).

When it’s finished, this will be a truly one-of-a-kind quilt — a tribute to all 50 states and the spirit of America itself. Stitch by stitch, it’s going to be something special. 

Here are the little details -

• 50 different state-themed 3" foundation paper pieced quilt blocks, so all our points are perfect! I might surprise you with a bit of applique!

• You’ll receive a 3” block pattern each week for 51 weeks, and your final finishing instructions will arrive on Friday, December 18, 2026. 

• The vast majority of the 3” Little Blocks will be foundation paper pieced blocks. The remainder of the quilt can be rotary cut and machine pieced.

• You know how I love to hide those Little Blocks. within another block. With those sections, you’ll have the option to foundation piece those parts if that’s your favorite method of construction. 

• The finished size of the quilt is 69” x 86” as shown in the pictured layout, but you can always add another border if you want to make a larger bed-size quilt. 

We started on January 2nd, but you can join until the end of the month. It's a one-time fee that covers the entire year.

Sign up HERE

I looked at the blog today and hung my head in shame. I went an entire year and didn't manage even one blog post. I am so sorry. I guess I've gotten so used to sharing news in the weekly emails that I neglected this space terribly. I'm going to try to do better in 2025! It's going to be a challenge because the format I was used to has changed which means I have to learn something foreign and new.

We're well underway in making Little Blocks 2025. Registration closed last week but if you'd like to join us, email me and I'll find a way to get you in and caught up. It's an easy quilt to keep up with this year with only a block or two a week.

I'm anxious for spring to arrive. I keep watch over the lake on our Nest cameras and can't believe how much snow they've gotten. They're almost 30 inches above normal right now. That ought to bring up the lake levels this summer. I was kind of hoping they would stay down a little. I liked having a beach again. The winter season isn't over and there can be lots of evaporation if we don't get spring rains so I'll have to wait and see how things turn out.

If you've read My Life in Stitches here on the blog you can probably guess I'm always on the lookout for vintage Wurzburg Company quilts made from their kits. In the last two weeks, I was lucky enough to come across two of the very old ones. The one above is the Swiss Quilt and I purchased it on eBay. I won't tell you who the seller was because I've already let them know that you don't ship a vintage quilt by smashing it down to the size of a small dog, stuffing it in a trash bag, and wrapping packing tape around it to within an inch of its life. I suggest they do better in the future.

This beauty I purchased from Vintage Blessings through Instagram. It's a very old one and I like it much better without the applique gridwork that was originally included in the kit. I'm always amazed after all these years that I can look at a quilt and know right away if it's a Wurzburg design or not. Jane Wurzburg had certain design elements she favored in her floral applique and also in the faces of her children's designs. My heart aches each time I think of such a talented, wealthy, and prominent lady taking her own life. I've been asked if these will be patterns and to be honest, I don't have an answer. I seem to be so busy with other things I don't know how I'd manage it. I wish I could convince someone like Riley Blake who has beautiful solid color fabrics to produce some of these kits. There are 120 patterns sitting in the storage unit - yes, a climate-controlled unit to keep them safe and thousands of individual applique and embroidery designs that could be used. Maybe I'll take some to the lake with me this year...... maybe.

Lily and Gracie are as tired of winter as I am and seek out the sun whenever possible. It's been cold here but we haven't had as much snow as at the lake. I think they've gotten over my being gone in February but little do they know I'll be heading to Shipshewana, Indiana again at the beginning of April and then we'll start planning for summer.

If you haven't visited the Online Shop recently I encourage you to do that. I appreciate your support more than you can imagine. New things are added at least twice a week and many of the past quilt-alongs are available as complete patterns if you missed participating in one. You can sign up for the email list in the right sidebar. I only send emails on Wednesday and Saturday so I won't be flooding your inbox.

I guess that's it for today - I wish you all lots of happy stitches!

Gayle