The June 2019 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting is out and the busy folks at APQ have been checking things off their Bucket List. What about you?

The quilt on the cover - it was designed and made by ModaLissa, aka Lissa Alexander. It uses Bella Solids - Cherry 9900 230 / Royal 9900 19 / Off-White 9900 200. If you start now, you'll easily be finished by summer.

As for the Bucket List, five more tasks have been accomplished since the end of February.

Let's see how I did with them...

No. 9. Sew a quilt using only your scraps and stash. Does starting this kind of project - two of them - count? I didn't think so. I'll just have to cross this off when I actually finish one of these projects. Though having it on this list just might be the incentive I need to get them done. (Or make them both much smaller.)

I've been cutting these "scraps" of Jen Kingwell's Remix Lollies into sections and strips. I've joined those to make strip sets and... that's as far as I've gotten. Maybe this summer... after Market. Definitely by the end of the year. (I hope.)

No. 14.  Take your handwork to a surprising location. Bingo! I packed a little bag with fabric, EPP hexie papers, thread, needles and other related stuff and I took it with me to Australia. So I didn't actually work on it while I was there - way, way too many other things to see and do. So an A for effort and a D-minus for execution... because I did pull it out a few times and think of stitching.

Everything was still together in the zipper bag. But it was in my carry-on tote bag for the six flights to-from-around Australia so it counts.

No. 17.  Go on a quilt retreat. Done! A sweet friend invited me to join her - and a big group of her friends - at a retreat. If you haven't been to one lately, you should go, even if you have to organize it. We talked, laughed, sewed, got to know each other, laughed over mistakes and even made something new. It was a very nice couple of days. It's been several years since I had been invited to a quilt retreat so of course I forgot to pack a few things... but I'll be better next year.

Moda Cupcakes. Jen Kingwell's Remix Lollies - I really do love them for the variety of prints and color - and Zen Chic's - aka Brigitte Heitland - Modern Backgrounds Paper.

No. 27. Attend a national quilt show. Does Quilt Market count? That's next month. There's also the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival in June. So this one is "pending".

This is Walk This Way from the Red & White Quilts book, published in November of 2018 by Martingale. (I might be teaching this quilt. And one or two other things.)

No. 32. Explore a quilt museum.  This one is also a miss. For now. I will put a visit to the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, Texas on my to-do list for this summer.

I will want to make the trip before June 23rd so I can see this quilt from the Southern Charm Exhibit. This is Wagon Wheels by an unknown artist. (I love that the maker is called an artist.)

While I'll have to work on the tasks APQ checked off, I did manage to accomplish a few other things on the Bucket List.

No. 4. Change your needle/replace your rotary cutter blade/clean your sewing machine. This is an easy one for me because I do all three regularly and frequently. I have a system - I wind five bobbins. When the bobbins are empty and it's time to wind them, I clean and oil my sewing machine, and I put in a new needle. Every time.

For rotary cutting blades, I don't have a good system but as soon as I'm not getting a good, clean cut in a regular cutting situation, I'll change the blade. (Or switch cutters - I might have more than one on the cutting table.)

No. 30.  Visit a new quilt shop (with your best quilting buddies.) Done. Three of them. Amitie Textiles in Torquay. Fifi's Fabricology in Gold Coast. And L'uccello Melbourne in Melbourne. All three were in Australia.

No. 23.  Meet your quilting hero.  (In person or online.)  This one isn't recent but I hope you'll indulge me. In 2015, I went to Wisconsin for a five-day workshop taught by Gwen Marston. This had been on my "bucket list" for many years - to the point where I'd signed up for similar retreats-workshops before, only to have to cancel because... "life".

Even though our quilting styles will always be very different, this was one of the most rewarding, liberating and inspirational experiences - personally and as a quilter.

Through her words and work, I was taught-reminded-inspired to believe that "making" and creating are a personal journey - one that must always be dived into headlong with passion and fearlessness. Whether we choose to explore a single area of quiltmaking, or venture into every style and technique, it's always about telling a story, sharing a part of who we are.

Gwen Marston passed away last week and while the quilting world - and art world - will miss her beautiful spirit, we are blessed to have her spectacular legacy of quilts, books and, yes, the people she inspired. If you don't have any of her books in your library, I suggest starting with A Common Thread, published in August 2016.

That's it for this update.

How about you?

If you missed anything about American Patchwork & Quilting’s Bucket List for 2019, we can help.

• The Cutting Table blog post – Quilting Bucket List.
• APQ Bucket List update on The Cutting Table - Bucket List No. 11.
• American Patchwork & Quilting Bucket List – and download.

Happy Tuesday!