Lack of Productivity

It was, overall, not a very productive weekend. Some weekends are like this.

My original goal was not to leave home until Monday morning. Then I had to do the BOM thing. Then the child needed shoes for picture day this week. And then we were invited over for Easter. And thus my plan to not leave home for 3 glorious days was shot.

While that was annoying, the migraine was the worst. On Friday, it had me in bed at 5.30. On Saturday, I made it as far as about 9.00. On Sunday, it flirted with me, but never stayed. The barometer went nuts, going from 80 degrees to a hard freeze one night. That much fluctuation does some serious damage. I just cannot keep up.

I tried to quilt. I did finish the quilting on the Australia quilt. This week, the goal is to bind the thing. I did more quilting on the Huge Fence Rail. I made progress on BRB blocks and Chiclets blocks. I tried. I really did.

I am now entering a phase of mandatory overtime, coupled with an extremely busy life outside of work. I have no idea how I am going to fit quilting in, but I will because I must. So the goal for the month has changed to try to move each quilt one step farther each week.

1. Australia quilt – bound and done.
2. Huge Fence Rail – quilted.
3. St. Pat’s – sandwiched.
4. BRB – continue on blocks.
5. Chiclets – finish 12.
6. Shirts – cut 4.

That’s as much as I can focus on between now and next Monday.

The most important of these is LOVE

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

The above piece I got off the internet. Here are my thoughts added:

It has been 2000 years since Jesus walked this earth. His actions, words, parables and lessons are as valued as ever. Regardless of your personal faith or creed, you cannot deny that this man spoke great, profound things. If we believe in the words and teachings of more modern-day leaders, such as Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King or Gandhi, we should remember to take stock in Jesus' words and teachings as well. The most important of all of these is LOVE.

Traditions

Traditions. Every family has them. For us, it's watching The 10 Commandments. And tonight is the night. My 11 year old, who actually started this tradition, is threatening to boycott, but I'm not sure if I will let her.

Anyway, the point is, traditions are good and don't need to be formal.

On to quilty content. Yesterday, I took the day off and I was moving along just fine until the migraine hit with a vengeance at 5.30. I did finish quilting the Australia quilt. I made some more BRB blocks, but not enough. I finished prepping some QAYG foundations. I finished the last of the required Chiclets centers.

And I filed my taxes online. So glamorous I know.

So today I will be making easy fun food to watch during the movie, maybe doing a bit in our mini garden, making a FART to the quilt shop and of course more quilting. I do want to quilt on the Huge Fence Rail today. I also will make more BRB blocks. I think during the movie itself I will take the ST. Pat's blocks out, make the top, make the back and sandwich the whole thing. That's a lot of work, but the movie is 5 hours long.

April is #10

3 posts in one day - yes, I know!

Well, April is #10 according to Judy, so into the #4 box we go. And what do we have?

Box 4

4a Diamond Shapes – Die-cut diamonds and no focus. Status: In pieces.
4b Valentines – Lots of nickel charm packs in this one. Status: Most blocks completed.
4c Purse Pack – A package of fun and different fabrics that I bought. Status: In pieces.
4d St. Pat’s LCRR – Making this one for the month of March of course. Status: Blocks completed.

What delicious fun!

My April goals are as follows. I have 2 days off this month, and I have stuff going on for each of those days, but I should be able to get some sewing time in as well.

4d St. Pat’s. Goal for this week would be to get the top done and get the thing sandwiched for quilting
4c Purse Pack. Just fun. I’ll see what I need to achieve the mission.
2b Huge Fence Rail. Quilting in progress.
5b Australia quilt. Quilting in progress.

This would give me 4 finishes and that would be huge.

Other items:

1b Xmas BOM. Into a flimsy.
4b Valentines. Into a flimsy.
Mary’s BRB. Done.
All t-shirts done.
32 QAYG blocks done (have more than 24 I believe).
All caught up on Chiclets.
26 Jeanne’s Diamonds. Into a flimsy.

This is a crazy amount of things, but I am already progressing down the path. I’m off on Friday, so the goal by the end of Easter weekend is to have the BRB and the St. Pat’s quilt both sandwiched. Then it’s a month of quilting.

Q1 in Review

It’s the end of the first quarter of the year and I’ve taken some time to look over what I’ve done and what I hope to get done for the year. I’ve made some modifications.

1. I wanted to make 8 QAYG blocks for all 12 months and make 2 donation string quilts from them. I will actually stop after 48 blocks are made and make only 1 strings quilt. This is in part because I’ve reached my string tolerance for the year, in part because I want to be successful and in part because I need to make string blocks for other things. I will set the goal of June to finish the blocks and then July to complete the quilt.

2. I have not stayed current with t-shirts, but that’s OK. I have 22 shirts total and 6 are done. I will set the goal of June to finish the shirts, which involves cutting out the flag part of the shirt, ironing it to interfacing and then cutting the remainder of the shirt into 1 inch strips. For the back half of the year I hope to finish the shirts into blocks and have a top done.

3. Sadly, I cannot cut myself any slack on the Chiclets blocks. I need to make 12 per month because I really need 144 blocks. 108 for bed quilt and 36 for a shower curtain. My window already has Chiclet curtains on it and frankly I love them. I wasn’t so sure and necessity was the mother of invention in that case, but I’ve decided to go for it.

4. I have added the 6 pay it forward quilts to my list and I will aim to get one done each even numbered month. I am behind already, having missed February, but I will catch up. It is nice to work on new things while finishing stuff up.

5. As of the end of Q1, I should have had 7 UFOs done and I have 3. By the end of Q2, I should have 13 done and I hope to be at that point by then. I use the number of paychecks I have received as my counter.

I am very encouraged about my progress. Things are getting done and that is amazing. Right now I have 2 quilts sandwiched and being quilted a little bit every few days. I have 2 items in my sights to be completed from the April challenge box. I hope to also finish one of the pay it forward quilts in April. I feel like there is some true momentum going on.

Most importantly, I’ve learned to say no. I have an occasion coming up where a quilt would be a lovely gift. But I have other gifting options and to drop my current plan and work on that quilt, which would require me purchasing everything, would frankly ruin my momentum. I don’t mind deadlines; that’s why I do the UFO challenges that I do, but this one would not be beneficial. So I am buying a gift instead.

March Report

I completed 3 items in March. 1 was the UFO for the month, and that’s the Chiclets table runner. It will hang on my cube wall, after I’m done hanging up the red table runner also pictured below. The red mat stays home.

The red stuff was started and completed in March. I’ve decided I can start new stuff but I must finish timely. So far so good.

I used 1.69 yards in March. 0.90 on the UFO and 0.79 on the red items.

Q1 Last Week Push

Not too much is going to go on for this last week of March. I finished the mandatory UFO yesterday, so that takes some of the pressure off.

My goals for the week are:

Finish all fence rail blocks. I’m half way done.
Finish t-shirt stuff. I need to cut 2 and then iron 6.
Work on Chiclets blocks.
Knit stuff.
Crochet stuff.

I’ve also been doing some blue HSTs as leaders-enders for a BRB I am doing as a pay it forward initiative. Yes, 6 more projects this year. But hey, it’s all good.

3 Finishes

I have 3 small finishes to report. The handsewing was done this weekend. Pictures forthcoming. One of them was my declared March UFO - amen.

On other fronts, I am all caught up for the quarter with QAYG blocks. I also did some fence rail blocks for that UFO.

I still haven't sandwiched the Australian quilt and at the rate I am going, it may not be until I also have the fence rail quilt ready to sandwich that I bother. I may even wait for Saturday and Judy's reveal of the April number. Maybe that month's UFO will be ready to sandwich as well and I can just do the dreaded task on everything all at once.

Nothing New

Nothing new. I’ve really been a bum!

Saturday is National Quilting Day and I hope to get a lot accomplished. I need to run to the LQS for a BOM and my child has 2 different events, but somehow, some way, I will sew.

Quick Update

The Girl Scouts turn 100 tomorrow. AS a leader and an adult volunteer in the service area, I've been going non-stop for a few weeks. Today was a small break.

I was able to cut up a t-shirt and make my BOM block. That may not seem like much, but I did these things slowly and leisurely, with enjoyment of the process. It was heavenly.

And in an hour I am meeting up with other GS adults and we will be preparing for the big 100 tomorrow. Maybe tonight I can get in a few more stitches.

Oh, I have been knitting a bit as well.

More Planning

OK, yeah, not much happened this weekend on the sewing front. Such is life. I did make it out to the LQS to get my next BOM block and I bought some batik FQs for a project. And I did a bit of knitting.

Anyway, I did open up box # 2 to take a look in there. 2a Chiclets table runner is pretty easy. One piece of a block on the edge needs to be replaced and then the blocks need to be assembled. Then sandwich, quilt and bind. All very straightforward. I hope to get this ready to the hand binding stage by St. Pat’s.

I also looked at 2b Huge Fence Rail, and there are not as many blocks in there as I had hoped. So I will have to make more, with different fabrics and hope everything plays nice. There are red rails, green rails and purple rails. I hope to get the blocks completed for a color each week. I don’t know what color I’ll start with, but I hope to get 16 of one color done by next Monday the 12th.

I still haven’t sandwiched 11b. I hope to get that done during the week this week. Then I want it to the hand binding stage by St. Pat’s.

What else can I do this week? I hope to cut up 2 more Old Navy shirts. I hope to make more QAYG foundations so that they are ready to sew. I hope to do the BOM block I just picked up. And I hope to knit 15 minute each night. The yarn stash isn’t too bad – let’s keep it that way.

2012 UFOs - March is #8 - Plan of Attack

Oh, oh, oh, Judy released the number a day early! Yippee!!!

This month’s number is 8, which when you do 8 – 6, gives me 2 as the box number. Let us take a look at what’s in Box # 2 .

Box 2

2a Chiclets Table Runner – I made a 4 block rectangular runner that I want to hang on my cube wall. Status: Flimsy.
2b Huge Fence Rail – I made a bunch of these fence rail blocks which are only 3 rails each, but the rails are each 3.5 inches. I want to make this into a quilt and donate it onward. Status: Most blocks completed.
2c 16 String Blocks – Just like it sounds, I have 16 string blocks done. I want to make some more, make a quilt and donate it onward. Status: Most blocks completed.
2d Yellow LCRR – I made this for my DD. Status: Blocks completed.

Since March is going to be a crazy month in my life, I’m definitely going with 2a Chiclets Table Runner as my UFO to complete. I also want to hang it in my cube at work.

As for the other UFOs, I’m not so sure. I know I plan to finish 11b Australia fabrics in March. Maybe I will take a look at 2b Huge Fence Rails to see what’s involved.

Homework goals:

24 Chiclets blocks done
6 Old Navy shirts done
16 QAYG blocks done

Bonus UFO goals:

Top pieced for Orca Bay . I need all of those little pieces out of my life.
Top complete for Jeanne’s Diamonds

Carryover UFO goals:

Finish 11b
Top complete for 1b Christmas 2 BOM

New Project goals:

Pattern done and fabrics bought for Brett and Amy’s quilt
Start cutting and L&E for BRB in blue for Mary

I have no idea how this is all going to get done, and most likely only half of it will, but that’s OK. It’s good to dream.

February UFO is done

I did indeed finish the 1c Seaside Rose sweatshirt jacket and I wore it to a bridal shower. There was a fellow quilter there and she asked me all kinds of technique questions, which was fine. This conversation baffled everyone else, but we were good. The sweatshirt is indeed very comfortable and cuddly. I already know what I want to do for the next two!






My goal right now is to clean off the table I will use to baste a quilt so I can, in fact, baste a quilt. The 11b Australia fabrics quilt is still there waiting to go and I just need to clean off this table. And go buy more spray baste, but that’s beside the point. I want to get that quilt basted and ready to quilt by tomorrow night, so that I can quilt 6 lines each night until it’s quilted. I have a very busy 2 weeks ahead of me and if I have something simple and ready to go, there’s hope.

I also completed:

12 Chiclets blocks, plus 12 more centers
6 Old Navy blocks

And I’m up to date with all of my BOMS.

2012 UFOS - January Wrap Up

Yes, I know I’m behind, but this is the week where I get caught up. I believe that once this post is done, then I am caught up. This one has been bugging me for a while that I had not done it!

January’s UFO was #5. So I went to box # 5 in my life and found the 4 projects, plus of course the homework and the 2 bonus UFOs. Here’s how it all ended up.

5a Snowmen – I swapped 12” snowmen blocks a while ago and also some snow FQs. Status: Nothing done, still a flimsy.

5b Australia FQs – I received these in a secret santa type box and I need to finish this project and donate it. Status: Became the leader-ender project for February. Top and back are both done, soon to be quilted.

5c Bricks & Stepping Stones – I started these blocks trying to make 10 per color of Judy Laquidara’s 2011 Monochromatic challenge. Status: More blocks completed; over halfway I think.

5d Watermelon – A Dorothy Young pattern. Status: Done! This one is all done, despite diverticulitis that would not quit. It is a Dorothy Young pattern called Mosaic Tiles. I love it. I loved it so much at the time I made the top that I made a mini and that one is called Watermelon Seed.
Yes, I know I’m behind, but this is the week where I get caught up. I believe that once this post is done, then I am caught up. This one has been bugging me for a while that I had not done it!

January’s UFO was #5. So I went to box # 5 in my life and found the 4 projects, plus of course the homework and the 2 bonus UFOs. Here’s how it all ended up.

5a Snowmen – I swapped 12” snowmen blocks a while ago and also some snow FQs. Status: Nothing done, still a flimsy.

5b Australia FQs – I received these in a secret santa type box and I need to finish this project and donate it. Status: Became the leader-ender project for February. Top and back are both done, soon to be quilted.

5c Bricks & Stepping Stones – I started these blocks trying to make 10 per color of Judy Laquidara’s 2011 Monochromatic challenge. Status: More blocks completed; over halfway I think.

5d Watermelon – A Dorothy Young pattern. Status: Done! This one is all done, despite diverticulitis that would not quit. It is a Dorothy Young pattern called Mosaic Tiles. I love it. I loved it so much at the time I made the top that I made a mini and that one is called Watermelon Seed.



Homework

12 Chiclets blocks – nothing done
4 Old Navy Flag shirts – 2 started
8 String QAYG blocks – done

Bonus UFOs

25 Orca Bay – The Bonnie Hunter 2011 Christmas mystery. Status: 1 little row and 1 star row pieced together.
26 Jeanne’s Diamonds – The Dorothy Young 2011 Christmas mystery. Status: top done; needs borders.

I also did 2 undeclared items. One was a baby quilt for my DH’s co-worker. It was an Anita’s Arrowhead. The other was a mini of Jeanne’s Diamonds.




Final January totals: 12.59 yards used. 8.99 for UFOs. 3.60 yards YTD. 3 finishes.

Current Status

OK, it’s been a few weeks since I posted and I need to catch up on things. So I’m aiming for one post per day until I get reasonably caught up.

February quilting is not going in any way like I had planned and that is fine! I’ve been working a lot on the homework things. For example, I did get 12 Chiclets blocks done, plus I did the centers for the 12 I am behind. I did get 6 Old Navy t-shirts done. I also completed the top on 11b Australia fabrics, and pieced the backing.

I actually went ahead and ordered the sweatshirt for 1c the Seaside Rose sweatshirt. Last night I cut it apart and made the center front cut. I also started putting fabric down on the jacket. I decided somewhere during the month that this UFO would actually be the easiest to complete, so I went ahead and decided to work on it.

So where do I stand with 9 days left in the month? Pretty good. I know I overplan, but that’s OK. It gives me the variety I crave and the ability to get some things done. I haven’t planned all the way through the month-end, but I have planned for this week. Tonight’s goal is to finish one half of 1c Seaside Rose sweatshirt’s body and to sandwich the 11b Australia fabrics quilt. Then Tuesday through Thursday are finishing the sweatshirt pieces and quilting the quilt. Friday is assembly and binding attachment night for both items. I haven’t done a set-in sleeve in quite a while, so this should be interesting. If I make to this point, both UFOs will only have handwork left, and that is for Tivo time!

The other things I know I want to work on are the 8 QAYG blocks, Orca Bay and 1b Christmas 2 BOM. I envision that 1b Christmas 2 BOM is the UFO I will carry into March. At any rate, it seems like I am on pace to complete 2 UFOs this month, and that is good.

2012 UFOs - February is #1 - plan of attack

So February is UFO #1. Yummy! Here’s what’s in box # 1 .

Box 1

1a Thimbles BOM – A BOM, with an extra block made so I can set on point. Civil War fabrics. Status: Blocks completed.
1b Christmas 2 BOM – I took the instructions for 2 different BOMs I was in and made another block in Christmas fabrics. I need to make the 25th block and set them on point. Status: Most blocks completed.
1c Seaside Rose Sweatshirt – A jacket covered in the Seaside Rose line, with the jacket coming from a sweatshirt. Status: In pieces.
1d Red Strings – Red string blocks and die-cut hearts come together for a cuddle quilt. Status: In pieces.

For 1a, Thimbles is the name of the shop where the BOM came from. I love this BOM. Love. Covet. This one is mine. So this is the one that I will finish this month.

For 1b, I will work on getting it to a flimsy.

For 1c, I don’t plan on doing anything.

For 1d, I’ll take it out and let it percolate. If nothing happens, it’s OK.

Homework:

8 QAYG blocks
12 Chiclets blocks
4 Old Navy shirts

Bonus UFOs

A quarter section of Orca Bay
Completed top for Jeanne’s Diamonds

Catch-Up – now I am behind in my goals (stupid diverticulitis!), but here’s how I can catch up. I can do all or nothing or just one or two.

For the 12 Chiclets blocks, I can get all the centers done for the 12 I missed.
For the 4 Old Navy shirts, I can just do some extra this month.
For Orca Bay , I can get another quarter section together as a flimsy, so to speak.
For Jeanne’s Diamonds, I can finish it.
For 11b, I can get it to a flimsy.

I know I am trying for 2 UFOs a month and in some months I need to complete 3. Right now, I will get 1a done. If I could get any of the following also done that would be good. Two of them would be great. In contention: 1b, Jeanne’s Diamonds, 11b.

Let’s see where this goes….

quick update

A quick update as we head into the last weekend of the month….

I was attacked by diverticulitis this week. It was really bad. Bad bad bad. So that seriously cramped my productivity. However, somehow, some way, I was able to finish quilting all the white thread items on 5d Watermelon Slice. This did make my day. I did handle it about 15 minutes at a time with 45 minutes of rest in between each session, and I did this over 3 or 4 days. But I got them all done, and the machine is now rethreaded for the pink rectangles. Since I’m not 100% yet, I plan on doing 15 minutes at a time for them as well, and should finish with ease this weekend. Since the binding is already on the quilt, I did take some time as well whilst being infirmed and worked on that as well. I would say it’s 40% stitched down. Overall, the goal is to complete the quilt this weekend. This is completely do-able and I’m so happy to have a finish of this size! It has been a long time!

As far as everything else goes, I’m going to clean up my basement sewing space and pack up the rest of January. While I didn’t hit every goal, I got a lot farther than if I hadn’t made any goals at all. So I’m judging the month (in advance) as a success. I’ll still make 5b out as a leader-ender project and get that cut up and prepped and next to my machine while I clean up my space. While I’ve occupied my kitchen table for quilting this big quilt, the mess that is sewing has taken over my main floor, so while I finish 5d Watermelon Slice, I will clean up the downstairs space and prepare it for the machine to return. Then once the machine is returned, I will clean up the main floor as if no sewing went on. It was an experiment and a very successful one, so I will do it again as needed.

Here’s hoping for a restful and productive weekend.

2012 UFOs - January is #5 - week 3 wrap up

Week 3 of the month. What can I say? 10 days with no post - sorry

I went ahead and occupied my kitchen table. I did start quilting 5d Watermelon Slice, which I am declaring as the #5 UFO for Judy’s challenge. I want to quilt the top in 3 different colors of thread – green, white and fuchsia. The green is all done and was by far the largest amount of quilting needed. Since it also included the borders, I went ahead and trimmed the quilt down, thus removing a foot of bulk on each side, and added the binding. Only 100 inches of the binding was made, so I had to make more first – grrr. But now since the binding is on, I can sew binding down during the 10pm news, which isn’t all bad. My goal is to finish by this weekend and since I am #12 on the list, I best hurry.

I did go ahead and sort out all of the Old Navy shirts. I washed them and started cutting. Cutting is a more arduous task than I thought, as I am cutting the rest of the shirts into strips for a crochet project. (Yes, I’m nuts.) So with about 8 or 9 days to go, this is where I hope I end up.

5a Remains untouched and that’s OK.
5b I had hoped to finish this one, but it’s not going to happen. I plan on leaving it out as a leader-ender project.
5c I wanted all blocks done, but about half will be. That’s still better than where we were.
5d Done done.

The 8 QAYG string blocks are done.
The 12 Chiclet blocks are started but will not be done.
The 4 Old Navy shirts will be cut and have interfacing on them.

I have 1 little row and one star row done on Orca Bay . I will not be as far as I want to be.
I have not done anything more on Jeanne’s Diamonds.

I did finish the Anita’s Arrowhead baby quilt for my husband’s co-worker. That used up 3.06 yards of stash.

New totals: 3.60 yards used. 0 for UFOs. 3.60 yards YTD.

January Week 2 weekday update

My week 2 goals are kind of going by the wayside, once I figured out what I wanted to do on each project for the month. It really doesn’t matter, as long as I get all of it done. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

So far during the week, I haven’t actually done too much sewing. Monday involved a Girl Scout meeting. We did a tremendous amount of cleaning on Tuesday, which at least puts me in the right mind to sew in peace. Wednesday just sort of slipped away from me; I didn’t sew. But I did do some fabric searching, and that was involved, as our basement is a complete and utter wreck. After the fabric quest was complete, I was done for the night.

Yesterday I left work early for a snow day and I did get some sewing in. What I did accomplish was pretty good. I had found a lot of parts of things from my UFO list for the year, so I got those all filed into the 6 UFO boxes. I also moved the 6 UFO boxes out of my front entrance and into my sewing room and into their location under my sewing table. I also pulled fabrics to make more Bricks and Stepping Stones blocks, part of UFO 5c. So while I put stuff away, I actually took out more.

On to the sewing. I completed 8 Anita’s Arrowhead blocks, making my count 19. I need 25 to make the quilt 45” and not needing a border. I laid out the 5d UFO entitled Watermelon Slice and stared at it for a long while. I have a quilting plan in my mind, and even better yet, a timetable to complete it. I went through what blocks were done for the 5c UFO, and regrouped by color. I need 120 blocks, which is essentially 10 blocks per color from last year’s monochromatic challenge. Since I want all the blocks done this month, I need to do about 40 per week. So 10 were done (yellow). I completed red and blue last night. I need 10 more for this week, but since it is out and since all the fabric has been pulled to complete this, I may just persevere onwards until all 120 blocks are done. I am using them as leaders and enders for the Anita’s Arrowhead blocks, which I make 4 at a time. I also found a backing for the 5b UFO.

So with all of this being said, my weekend goals are as follows:
Finish Anita’s Arrowhead
1/3 of the quilting on 5d Watermelon Slice
Finish all the blocks on 5c and put all that fabric away

I will feel better when the area is tidy again.

Week 2 goals

Week 2 goals:

5a Nothing. And this will remain this way all month.
5b Get as far on the top as possible. Goal is to finish this month.
5c Do 3 sets of 10. Colors are red, orange and green. Goal is to finish all blocks this month.
5d Pull it out of the closet and study it. Goal is to finish this month.

Make the 12 centers, which are 16-patches, for the Chiclets blocks.
Nothing on the shirts.

Assemble the next 2 rows for Orca Bay . Attach them to the 2 rows already done. Goal is to quilt first section this month.
Finish all the borders for Jeanne’s Diamonds. Goal is to have sandwiched this month.

I have started a baby quilt for a co-worker of DH. I am doing Anita’s Arrowhead and I have 11 blocks made and need at least 20; 25 would be better. My goal is to get as far as possible on this one this week. Goal is to finish this one this month.

Week 1 recap

Week 1 wrap up:

Goals:

5a Nothing.
5b I think I know what I want to do. So I will pull everything together and let it sit there for a while and let it percolate.
5c I want to make 60 black and white 4 patches and look up the colors that were 7-12.
5d Pull it out of the closet and study it. Start quilting on it and be ¼ of the way done with the quilting.

Complete the 8 string QAYG blocks.
Cut 2.5” strips for Chiclets blocks. I have a bunch of fabric lying around and so while I put it all away, I’ll just cut a strip from each one.
Nothing on the Old Navy shirts.

For Orca Bay , I will assemble a little row and a star row. I’m starting at the bottom.
For Jeanne’s Diamonds, I will put the rows together, which will leave me with a completed top without borders.

Additionally I made a mini of Jeanne’s Diamonds and that is sandwiched.

Progress:

5a Same.
5b Going with Streak of Sunshine.
5c Made 60 4-patches and looked up all the colors.
5d Nothing. Boo.

The 8 QAYG string blocks are done.
Strips were cut for the Chiclets blocks.
Nothing was done on the shirts.

I did assemble 2 rows for Orca Bay .
I did assemble the center of the top for Jeanne’s Diamonds.

I did finish the mini Jeanne’s Diamonds. 0.53 yards used in mini. 0 for UFOs. 0.53 total YTD.

Mid-week Update

This is what I got done on Wednesday, while recovering from a migraine...

5b I took the fabrics out of the box and realized that there are 7 of them and they are at least FQ size if not bigger. I’ve decided to do Bonnie’s Streak of Sunshine with them in as large of a size as the fabrics will permit.

5c I found the list of 2011 colors from Judy. I then took some inventory of what I had done. And I made 20 4-patches.

I started to sew a string block to use up a spool that was just about done.

I did sew together one little row and one star row for Orca Bay .

I did assemble the blocks for Jeanne’s Diamonds.

This is what I got done last night...

I cut a whole bunch of strips for the Chiclets blocks. And then collapsed for the exhaustion of a 2 day migraine.

I'm out of pocket Friday afternoon to Saturday night, so here's hoping for a big quilty Sunday.

2012 UFOs - January is #5 - week 1

So Judy picked the UFO number on Sunday (OMG, I was stalking for this number on Sunday!) and she picked 5. So let’s take a look at the 5 box, plus the bonuses plus the homework.

Box 5

5a Snowmen – I swapped 12” snowmen blocks a while ago and also some snow FQs. Status: Flimsy.
5b Australia FQs – I received these in a secret santa type box and I need to finish this project and donate it. Status: In pieces.
5c Bricks & Stepping Stones – I started these blocks trying to make 10 per color of Judy Laquidara’s 2011 Monochromatic challenge. Status: Some blocks completed.
5d Watermelon – A Dorothy Young pattern. Status: Sandwiched.

Homework

12 Chiclets blocks
4 Old Navy Flag shirts
8 String QAYG blocks

Bonus UFOs

25 Orca Bay – The Bonnie Hunter 2011 Christmas mystery. Status: In pieces.
26 Jeanne’s Diamonds – The Dorothy Young 2011 Christmas mystery. Status: In pieces.

So from all of this, I need 2 finishes for January. Here are my goals for this week on this box. I hesitate to talk about the whole month, so let’s just start with the week.

5a Nothing.
5b I think I know what I want to do. So I will pull everything together and let it sit there for a while and let it percolate.
5c I want to make 60 black and white 4 patches and look up the colors that were 7-12.
5d Pull it out of the closet and study it. Start quilting on it and be ¼ of the way done with the quilting.

Complete the 8 string QAYG blocks.
Cut 2.5” strips for Chiclets blocks. I have a bunch of fabric lying around and so while I put it all away, I’ll just cut a strip from each one.
Nothing on the Old Navy shirts.

For Orca Bay , I will assemble a little row and a star row. I’m starting at the bottom.
For Jeanne’s Diamonds, I will put the rows together, which will leave me with a completed top without borders.

Additionally I made a mini of Jeanne’s Diamonds and that is sandwiched. I’d like to quilt it by Thursday night and bind it in the car over the weekend, as we are travelling north.

Sick of Green

I'm sick of green. There, I said it. I'm so stuck in the Orca Bay mystery. I'm trying to finish all of the green clues, since Bonnie's black is my green. OMG, I am so sick of green.

Oh, and Happy New Year.

I shall persevere. I am close to being done with the green. I had hoped to be done with it yesterday, but that did not happen. So today I shall try again to be done.

I went and saw the reveal for Orca Bay and I like it. I'm also glad that I switched the black and green positions in my own quilt. While green is bugging me now, having a quilt with that much black would bug me later with the finished product.

I also need to finish Jeanne's Diamonds, which I also hope to do today.

They're still asleep and I best get downstairs to start HP 6 and finishing up all that green....

Final Friday

Yep, it’s the last Friday of the year. And it’s a nice long weekend.

Goals:

Jeanne’s Diamonds – I have finished all the pieces for this top, and was at the clue where you put the top together when I noted that I really wanted an alternate block in the place where all the negative space blocks were. So I made those last night. But somewhere I cut some fabric both the wrong width and length, so I just stopped sewing at all last night. It was a wise move. So for this weekend I want to have the top finished. I also want to make a mini of this one and finish it, so I can hang the mini on my cube wall under my name plate.

Orca Bay – I know that Step 7 came out today and Step 8 will come out Sunday, but right now my goal is to get caught up. For Step 2, I have 12 done. For Step 4, I have 6 done. For Step 5, I have 200 done (Step 3 included). For Step 6, I have 20 done (Step 1 included). So I’ve done as Bonnie requested and worked a bit on each step as it came out. However, this weekend my goals are to finish Steps 5 and 6, and also the 100 extra units in Step 7 that use leftover Step 5 parts. Any string blocks that I get done will be considered a bonus at this stage of the game!

NYE Mystery – I’ll download the clues and that’s about all right now. We shall see.

January UFO – I’m eager for Judy to pull the number so I know what choices I have! Since a roll of batting is out of the question until late March, I have reviewed each box and there’s enough in each box let me finish stuff without having to worry about my lack of batting. So that’s good. More machine quilting, which may be bad in the short run, but overall, it’s good. So back to the topic – when the number is pulled, I’ll get going this weekend.

IT feels so good to be back in a crafty mood. It had been gone way too long.

2012 UFOs - Read 'Em and Weep

My UFO list for 2012 seems confusing. I have decided to store 4 UFOs per box and I have 6 boxes. So if a month is between 7 and 12, I will just subtract 6 from the number chosen and work from that box. I would love nothing more than to finish a UFO every 2 weeks. That would clear out some backlog. I have more UFOs than fabric, so that’s really how the stashbusting needs to happen. And yes, while 4 * 6 = 24, it would make 26 UFOs to finish one every 2 weeks. So I’m carrying Bonnie Hunter’s Orca Bay and Dorothy Young’s Jeanne’s Diamonds forward as the other 2 UFOs.

So without further adieu, this is how I came up with my 26 UFOs that I claimed to Ellen…All are quilts unless noted. LCRR stands for Log Cabin Round Robin.

Box 1

1a Thimbles BOM – A BOM, with an extra block made so I can set on point. Civil War fabrics. Status: Blocks completed.

1b Christmas 2 BOM – I took the instructions for 2 different BOMs I was in and made another block in Christmas fabrics. I need to make the 25th block and set them on point. Status: Most blocks completed.

1c Seaside Rose Sweatshirt – A jacket covered in the Seaside Rose line, with the jacket coming from a sweatshirt. Status: In pieces.

1d Red Strings – Red string blocks and die-cut hearts come together for a cuddle quilt. Status: In pieces.

Box 2

2a Chiclets Table Runner – I made a 4 block rectangular runner that I want to hang on my cube wall. Status: Flimsy.

2b Huge Fence Rail – I made a bunch of these fence rail blocks which are only 3 rails each, but the rails are each 3.5 inches. I want to make this into a quilt and donate it onward. Status: Most blocks completed.

2c 16 String Blocks – Just like it sounds, I have 16 string blocks done. I want to make some more, make a quilt and donate it onward. Status: Most blocks completed.

2d Yellow LCRR – I made this for my DD. Status: Blocks completed.

Box 3

3a Carpenter’s Wheel – A Dorothy Young pattern. Status: Flimsy.

3b Dear Jane LCRR – Log cabin blocks done with a Dear Jane block in the middle. Status: Blocks completed.

3c Easter Carrie Nation – A Dorothy Young pattern. Status: Flimsy.

3d My Blue Heaven – A Bonnie Hunter pattern. I hate the quilting I’ve done on it. Status: Needs to have quilting frogged and redone.

Box 4

4a Diamond Shapes – Die-cut diamonds and no focus. Status: In pieces.

4b Valentines – Lots of nickel charm packs in this one. Status: Most blocks completed.

4c Purse Pack – A package of fun and different fabrics that I bought. Status: In pieces.

4d St. Pat’s LCRR – Making this one for the month of March of course. Status: Blocks completed.

Box 5

5a Snowmen – I swapped 12” snowmen blocks a while ago and also some snow FQs. Status: Flimsy.

5b Australia FQs – I received these in a secret santa type box and I need to finish this project and donate it. Status: In pieces.

5c Bricks & Stepping Stones – I started these blocks trying to make 10 per color of Judy Laquidara’s 2011 Monochromatic challenge. Status: Some blocks completed.

5d Watermelon – A Dorothy Young pattern. Status: Sandwiched.

Box 6

6a Bird Crewel – A piece of needlepoint needing some finishing. Status: In pieces.

6b Beau’s – I swapped with Nancy , Near Philadelphia for the Miss Mellie quilt and Ashley’s quilt. It only makes sense that I bring everything together for a huge quilt called Beau’s quilt. Status: Most blocks completed.

6c Dog Bandannas – I have many bandannas from my dog and a friend’s. Status: In pieces.

6d Black & White BOM – The BOM won’t finish until July, but when it’s done it will be finished in blue and hopefully go to DD. Status: Some blocks completed.

Bonus UFOs

25 Orca Bay – The Bonnie Hunter 2011 Christmas mystery. Status: In pieces.

26 Jeanne’s Diamonds – The Dorothy Young 2011 Christmas mystery. Status: In pieces.

Homework – Yes, I do also assign myself monthly homework. So for each month, I plan to make/do…

12 Chiclets blocks
4 Old Navy Flag shirts
8 String QAYG blocks

And that is more than enough to do for 2012. I desperately need to order a roll of batting! It feels good to be enthused about quilting again and to have some semblance of a plan.

Addendum: I'm going to track my additional costs of finishing these UFOs. I wonder what that will be this upcoming year....

Weekend Update

Despite having a huge migraine for part of the weekend, I did spend some time sewing.

I did indeed go through my entire set of scraps from the yellow log cabin and pulled out all of the leftovers. I made 350+ inches of binding and sewed them all together on the bias, so all of those triangles are now in the scrap bucket. Any other 2.5 inch logs were cut up the middle and thrown in the yellow strings ice cream bucket. Well, by that point, I might as well just cut the foundation papers and go.

And I’m so glad I did; it was the mindless sewing in the near-dark I could do with a migraine. I got 6 of them done, 6 black ones and a whole bunch of HSTs that had been previously cut out. I’m now out of pre-cut units, but I got far despite the migraine, which is good. I still have 2.0 green strips cut, so more HSTs until those run out. Then I can cut more greens and keep working on QSTs.

One day I’ll be caught up. But for now, I’ve got every step underway.

Actual Sewing - Can You Believe It?

I sewed yesterday for a little bit. I actually cleaned up my cutting table for 15 minutes first. I was so excited, as I found a packet of 80 die-cut hearts that I have been looking for, plus I unearthed my quilter’s reference book. You know the one – it has how to set on point and how many triangles will you need and cut them this way, etc. I was quite glad to see that again.

We’re trying to move back our small family room sofa so that there is more floor space for the PS3 Move that we have. My cutting table butts up against the sofa, so the cutting table has to move so that we can move the sofa. So it will move to where the ironing board is. The ironing board will go away and so I need an ironing pad. A series of bookcases are also going to be moved in all of this, so it’s just a boatload of crazy. We want it done soon, so that we can enjoy the Move, but it is not a requirement for us to host Christmas.

We are hosting Ted’s mother’s side, who are all very forgiving people when it comes to housework. That is right up my alley.

In detailed Orca Bay news, I am using green where Bonnie is using black. So I am taking out 5 hunks of green fabric at a time and cutting 1.5 strips and 2.0 strips, and then of course the corresponding neutrals. Someone did point out that the HSTs for Old Tobacco Road (OTR) were the same size as these, so I’m cutting more 2.0 strips and just piecing those HSTs like crazy and dumping them in an ice cream bucket. Once I get all the QSTs made and counted, etc, I will go back and start pressing and counting all of the HSTs. I want to knock out the OTR ones at the same time and since I have a king sized bed, I want like double the amount of HSTs. So basically I just need to make 1200 HSTs and life will be good. See why I’m not even counting them at this point? I have 22 QSTs sewn and many halves sewn.

I am using black where Bonnie is using blue, so I did cut out 18 foundation papers and started sewing those as the leaders and enders for when I chain-piece all the cut green pieces. I just add a strip to every block I’ve started and make sure the last thing through the needle is a new string block. These are going very quickly. I have not been able to find any black strings so far in my scrap bags, so I am cutting strips from black hunks of fabric.

I am using yellow where Bonnie is using red, and of course since I work, I haven’t started those yet. I don’t think I can have 4 steps going at once. So these will just have to wait. I did just finish an all yellow log cabin, so I have tons and tons of leftover strips that I will use. I will sort through all of my bags and pull them all. The first goal will be to see if the strip is 2.5 inches. If so, and it’s long enough, it will go into the pieced binding. Once I have 350 inches of binding or if the strip doesn’t meet the binding qualifications, I’ll go ahead and use it as a string.

My weekend is already a bit crazy, but that’s OK. The goal right now is to finish the QSTs while sewing on steps 2 and 3.

As for Christmas, I have two small gifties to make for a pair of sisters that are the nieces of a friend of mine. That will be something fun to do next week.

Folding Optional

As we are now in what I am calling the 4 Long Weeks, this week and perhaps the rest have been dubbed Folding Optional. We are literally gone every weekend or we are hosting. One or the other. So since I don’t have the weekends to do laundry, I’m doing it during the week, thanks to the wonderful timer capability on my lovely LG washer. I set one load up to go off at like 4.30 in the morning. I throw it in the dryer as I get up in the morning (I get up about an hour before I actually start moving – it’s called coffee) (and Facebook, truth be told). Then I set up another load to go off at about 5pm and I can throw that one in the dyer when we get home at about 6pm. If I’m feeling super-industrious, I throw another load in that I switch out as I head out for bed.

Everything ends up in laundry baskets. Folding is truly optional right now. There’s nothing I can do about it and I could fold, but then I would be doing housework all the time and not resting, which is really not a very good thing. So, yeah, grab your stuff from the laundry basket.

Keeping this quilty: I am now up to 22 QSTs – 10%! And I sewed some HSTs and left them chained together and dumped them into an ice cream tub. No string blocks at all; I went through 2 bags of scraps yesterday and some of my cutting table and no black strings or scraps showed up.

Bear Down

Yesterday we went to the Bears game. While the game itself was atrocious, there are a few things that I try to notice each time we go.

The classiest piece of Bears-wear that I noticed belonged to a gentleman in the row in front of me. He was wearing a navy fedora with a discreet GSH on the brim. For those of you old enough to understand this, it was the same style hat Papa Bear Halas wore on the sidelines. It was impressive.

I also take note of jersey sightings. I myself wear 34 Walter Payton – can’t go wrong with Sweetness. I did spot the usual amount of 54 Brian Urlacher and 90 Julius Peppers and of course 23 Devin Hester. Some 1985 throwbacks included 45 Gary Fencik (2 of them!) and 72 William Perry. I also saw one that nearly broke my heart – 57 Olin Kreutz, sadly traded away before the season started. There were 51 Dick Butkus or course. But the best by far was 3 Bronko Nagurski. That is downright old school and as they say in The Incredibles, the old school is the best school.

Gary is a guy who sits in our section and for the second year in a row, he was absent. However, his daughter was there (they have the same smile), and I’m here to tell you that 6 beers by the end of the third quarter is not cute. You were spilling your beer and generally looking like a fool. Please, be classy.

And last, but not least, the guy behind me had a cowbell. He’s lucky to still be alive.

To keep this quilty, I have done one QST for Orca Bay . Count ‘em, one.

Gearing Up and Winding Down

Well, I've decided to try metal bobbins in Ed to see if it helps, as the machine came back to me with a metal bobbin in it. That seems to mitigate the problem. I've also messed with the tension more than I ever care to.

I now need to find a sewing machine repair place nearby.

I did indeed finish up my swap and get it mailed. I found the pattern that I needed for 2 little gifties I need to make. My BOM is up to date. So I've started Orca Bay, with green where the black goes, so it's a Green Bay and not an Orca Bay!

I've decided that each week, I will do each step plus 50 from step 1. That will keep the sewing sane.

I've also started revamping the sewing area, which is being done in conjunction with the revamp of the family room (all of us have our hobbies in the family room - it's a zoo). Ted and I talked it through and we have a plan. Now to work the plan.

Today I've started project restock the deep freeze, and so off I go to package up 5 packets of pork chops bought in bulk today.

Machine Woes

There are 4 machines in my life (actually 6, but the other 2 don't have names...).

Old Betsy is up at Kim's.
Ed has just arrived back to me after Kim had him serviced at some place on Harlem that someone swore was wonderful.
Ruby is my Janome Gem that I dropped off today for servicing.
And Edd (yes, it's an Ed thing - points if you get the reference) is in the garage.

Since I just dropped off Ruby today, I've been using Ed. And man is Ed a mess. It's like he was never serviced. He has 22 stitches - now only 2 work. And this evening tension problems decided to rear their ugly heads.

As Flo would say on Good Times - damn damn damn.

It's Almost Here!

Tomorrow starts the Orca Bay mystery! See the button on my sidebar?

The Two Word Fax

If you have ever followed the career of a guy named Michael Jordan, he returned to basketball after the death of his father with a two word fax: "I'm back."

And all of Chicagoland rejoiced. (And the west side really rejoiced; the economic benefit was tremendous!)

And with that, here I am. My quilting mojo has returned. I have rejoined stashbusters. Life is good.

Zzzzz

I is so tired.

Bad grammar and all, I am just so tired. I have no idea why. Life is good. Work is good. I'm getting my mojo back for a few things.

Maybe it's the swimming. We swam tonight.

Off to bed.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Analysis Paralysis

OMG I am nearly the worst blogger out there. Sorry.

I’m suffering from a few mental blocks, which are coming from various sources.

One was a cutdown someone made to me at work. It was so biting, I actually stopped mid-sentence. But it gave me pause to see why he made the comment so I am working on my professional persona (my brand, if you will) right now. That was really hard to process and really knocked me down. On a related note, another cutdown from someone in Girl Scouts wounded me so deep (the words personal attack apply for this one), I took basically a whole year off of Girl Scouts to rediscover my niche. I have found the niche and am working toward actively volunteering again. So yeah, some big hits to the psyche in the past 12 months…

Another mental block is the block of too much. I have too many UFOs out in my workspace. I need to go to my workspace and clean it out and leave 1, count ‘em, 1 UFO out there to finish. If I could finish a few things, I would feel better. If my workspace was clean, I’d feel better.

Which leads to a bigger issue, which is my inspection of my house post-degree and post-recovery from the degree. My house is a disaster. Not a DCFS disaster, but you know, a disaster. My eyes have been opened to the dust that collects on all of the white wood trim in our whole house (it came that way – I don’t believe in painting wood). Opened to the front powder room’s ruined walls from little kid fingerprints and misfires of the soap dispenser. Opened to many, many annoying things. All of which can be fixed and all of which I can fix and all of which is so overwhelming I can’t do anything.

And then there are deadlines. I have a swap that has gone terribly wrong and it is not a one night fix to right the ship. I had a present for my dad that needed to be completed by his birthday, and no, I cannot rest assured that his birthday will be here next year; he has outlived his own father and every day is a gift. So yeah, I dropped everything to finish my dad’s afghan. I love crochet, by the way.

My mini-garden also need some love, but the heat index has been like 115, so I will cut myself some slack on this one.

So where am I? I’ll repeat a line from above: All of which can be fixed and all of which I can fix and all of which is so overwhelming I can’t do anything. I have analysis paralysis. I know I do.

So I need to snap out of it.

But first I have unexpected houseguests coming tomorrow. I really don’t mind; I do not spend enough time with these folks, and so it is well worth it. She is not a judgmental person when it comes to housecleaning and so that helps. But I am doing some housecleaning because I can and I will feel better if I do. But again, it doesn’t get me any closer to quilting. Wednesday, the guests are here and Thursday I have promised a long-overdue date with my DD at the mall. She has ever so patiently waited, and really, I just need to go and enjoy her.

And then this Friday I will collapse. Because I have been on the road for 7 weekends straight. Seriously. I have considered it a victory that I have not dipped into savings for these 7 weeks. Now I haven’t necessarily added to savings either, but I have made do, and that was the point. But yeah, a messy house in need of deep cleaning, deadlines, travel, mental health repair, crafts – I’m tired. And I am not waking up to an alarm clock on Saturday. I’m going back to bed after my body gets me up and resting more. I just do not care.

And then I will tackle things, one bite at a time.

16 years

16 years ago today, at 3.30pm, a tiny company that employed me for over 2 years was purchased by a large, rising, shooting star in its industry. A friend of mine remembered receiving the phone call from the limousine from our CFO telling her to go ahead and cut checks and pay bills; our accounts were now backed by the large corporation.

And then she and I stayed and ran a million dollar check run. Later on, we would run million dollar checks.

Before I left that company 4 and a half years later, it had been purchased again – the guppy had swallowed a whale. And my time was done, as I figured it would be, in my 30th year, and so off I went, riding off into the sunset as the system I supported was decommissioned.

Within 2 years of that, the guppy went bankrupt. And then the guppy went to jail. Within 4 more years, the company was acquired again. The brand name died, never to live again.

So today I touched base with my friend. She has stayed in the industry, even on the same street, doing her thing. I’ve changed industries 4 times, and job functions 10 times in that time span. We talked about how much of our personal history relates back to this one pivotal day. Today at lunch with my husband, we talked of this same day, and its relation to our history. June 30, 1995 was a day for the ages.

Back at it

Well, I am happy to report that since my last post, I feel less worse. While that means I’m not 100% (for example, today I woke up with a sore throat), I am at least functioning better. So I am just going to embrace that and move on with it. I do know that I was consuming a fair amount of soda, and when I figured out that the soda was contributing to my malaise, I went cold turkey. This is not easy, folks. I puffy-heart love soda. I would give my right arm for a Coke. It’s really that hard. And really that necessary for me to give up all carbonation. I told both Ted and Renee that I was giving up soda, as warning all people that are hosting various events I need to attend. I’m going with water only, and milk if I want it. This switch alone has made me feel better, although my coffee consumption is up to replace the lost caffeine.

OK, on to crafty things. I did a cupcake block swap with a yahoo group and I’m waiting for the blocks to return. This was a fusible appliqué only swap; we can sew down using whatever method works for us. I made extra blocks so that I can make a bigger quilt when the come back. I cannot wait!

Otherwise I’m working on yarn gifts for both a birthday and Father’s Day that are coming up here in June. I don’t know what I will work on this weekend, but I’ll figure something out. Believe it or not, I’m in the mood to clean my room this weekend – declutter, switch the wardrobe seasons and prepare the side of my bed with various handwork projects for those few minutes before bed.

What is it about May?

This is the third May in a row that I just feel lousy. I have no idea what is going on! I feel like diverticulitis is coming back, yet again, I'm tired and sluggish all the time and the migraines keep flirting with me. Mentally, I have a great disposition and the switch in assignments at work is a good thing, but man, I am just TOAST.

I have purchased many things to get this garden going and I just can't move. Well, the non-stop rain today is not helping, that is for sure, but still!

Ted is home from his trip and that does help, but I seriously did nothing more than dishes while he was gone and now the laundry has piled up, my room is a disaster because I let Renee hang out in there while Ted was gone, I have sewing to do, I have Girl Scouts to do and I have gardening to do.

Meanwhile, all I want to do is lie around and watch TV!

1 week

What a difference a week makes.

AS I figured, I am much happier in my new role. Not everyone is happy about it, but I will get results and that is what is needed right now. The displaced party isn't very happy either, but neither would I be if the roles were reversed.

Today I ran to Home Depot and bought 3 big pots and 3 bags of soil. I got some starter plants this week from my farmer's sister, and so they need to get going. Renee and I will get some of that done today. There's more gardening to be done, but that will get done over the next 2 weeks. This is all I plan on doing today. I buy only for what I plan to do that day and that is all. That may seem inefficient, but I know myself and that is what I gotta do!

Last night, I did get 10 stars machine appliqued on to their white squares. Today I hope to do the BOM block and some swap blocks. I'm in two different swaps and I need to get these done.

And I'm studying insurance. Don't ask, but on Thursday, it will be done.

Juju

At 2:16pm last Friday, an email went out at my work. It changes my role in a project from one that I struggle with success to one where I can be a success.

This changes everything. Bad juju to good juju. Dreading going to wanting to go. (Caveat: I love my job, but it's project work, and we all don't love every project we're on.)

I wonder if I am the test case for the axiom: If you need something done, give it to a busy person. I envision my productivity going way up in many areas of my life. All because of this change.

And quilting? Watch out!

Today I finished a fashion scarf, crocheted with the half-double crochet stitch using pink satin ribbon. I think the hdc is my most favorite stitch, if there is such a thing.

Still a little impatient

I'm still waiting on that last package. I have to admit that I'm impatient. :-)

I didn't any more sewing done than the hour I did on Thursday's very bad day. I wish I got more in this weekend. It just didn't happen. Oh well. I'm not going to stress about it.

More importantly, I got out and walked both weekend days. My work is hosting a 5k in the community in 5 weeks. I've decided to train (ha ha ha) to walk it. It takes 7 laps around the local park to do 5k. I figured out that if I add a lap every 5 days, I can walk the distance nonstop by the time of the 5k. After walking all over DC (they don't call it Capitol Hill for nothing!!!!), I don't want to lose whatever conditioning I obtained. And believe it or not, I did obtain a wee little bit.

And I sold a baby quilt at our Relay For Life craft fair. And a crocheted towel. $33 total!

So this week, I have no meetings at night. I have an insurance exam to study for, and I of course want to move forward with both spring planting and spring cleaning, but sewing will just need to happen.

Impatient

A watched mailbox never receives packages.

I ordered fabric for my BOM from 3 different quilt shops. I have received notification that all 3 have shipped. I also received notification that my monthly recurring charge from Keepsake Quilting has been assessed. So now I’m waiting for these 4 packages! The anticipation!

Stay tuned.

Yep, I Did It!

I did indeed go downstairs yesterday and clean out my quilting area. DD and I watched an episode of Survivor on the Tivo while she played Wizards 101 on the PC and I cleaned up. She helped me with getting underneath things, as little block pieces had escaped into little nooks and crannies everywhere.

I put the RRCB (Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame) in one bag, and put everything else into another bag. Then I made a pile of the stuff that I listed yesterday and I'll just work on that pile.

I forgot one small thing. Judy over at Patchwork Times is doing a monochromatic challenge and I'm doing my own twist on it. For whatever color she pulls for the month, I'm trying to do 10 matchsticks from Bonnie's Bricks and Stepping Stones pattern. Then by year end I'll have 120 matchsticks ready to be set into a quilt, plus I already have a few extra in the storage place. It will make a nice charity/donation quilt of some sort.

I also ordered the KS Troubles fabric I need for my Buck a Block BOM.

I also went ahead and went to the LQS yesterday with DD in tow. I bought 2 FQ for me, 2 for her, 2.5 yards from the sale room and 6 skeins of yarn from the sale room. Here's where everything is going to go:

2 FQ for me will go toward the Sisters Choice pattern (I already have 2 FQ and will buy 2 each month) for the 9 patches.

The 2.5 yards from the sale room is an 1850's pink that will be the corners to make the stars for the Sisters Choice blocks.

(Lest you wonder, I ordered a package of 2.5" CW shirting strips a while back. That's the rest of the Sisters Choice block fabric.)

DD will take her 2 FQ and do whatever. We'll most likely figure out what whatever is this summer.

The blue fuzzy yarn will become a fashion scarf. I think I may knit this one.
The pink satin ribbon will become a fashion scarf. I most likely will knit this one.
The pink/lavender/white matte ribbon will become a fashion scarf and I have started to crochet that with hdc stitches.

And I've spent enough money and now I'm organized. Today I go to the quilt show and then study more insurance. (I know, I just don't stop with the education thing. Even my boss gives me shit about it.)

Clutter

Well, it’s been 2 months since I’ve updated. Whoops. I get mad at other bloggers who don’t u[date and then here I go, not updating. Well, that serves me right.

Not too much has happened in the last 2 months. I have taken and completed a crochet class through the community college. We also took a family vacation to Washington, DC. That was 10 days, 2111.2 miles, 9 states and DC’s worth of togetherness. It was a much-needed vacation. We also sat down and looked at our financial situation and make a plan. Now we’re working the plan. So, life is good.

Quilt-wise, I was off great guns in January and then it all fell apart. One thing that contributed to it was that all of my crafty time was going toward crochet homework, not like that is a bad thing or anything. The other thing was that my DD’s 10th birthday sleepover was in our basement, which is where the sewing area is as well. So everything was boxed willy-nilly and I have no idea what is where. But lastly, and most importantly, I am overwhelmed by all I want to do.

I have quilter’s ADD; don’t we all? Anyway, my mind is going a million miles a minute and frankly I can’t get anything done. When I was in the crochet class, the instructor Kay was also a quilter. She is in the local guild and also uses a local longarmer. Kay’s logic: there are too many quilts to make to be hung up on the quilting part. I bet I have over 50 quilts stuck at the sandwiching stage because I hate it so much! Kay says that this woman does simple pantos, etc, for a very reasonable price per inch and does not charge a minimum. That sounds wonderful to me.

I am going to go to the quilt show this weekend and check out her work and hopefully talk to her or at least get some contact information. I need to get through the backlog of UFOs so I can create in peace.

The other thing I’m going to do is to pack up all my other projects for now. I’m going to leave out the following:

LCRR scrappy
LCRR yellow
Red Hearts
Sisters Choice
Buck a Block

Everything else will go away. I’m overwhelmed when I go down there to sew, so I avoid going down there. So I need to make it inviting to go in there and that is the only thing I can think of to do. The clutter is weighing me down and it’s not even clutter!

So I may not sew a stitch this weekend but if I can make the space more inviting, I will have achieved the world.

Ready for the Weekend!

Not too much this first week of February. I had 1.5 snow days, so in that time, I worked on killing one scrap bag. I made 14 string blocks. I will keep working on those string blocks as time permits so that I can tame the ziploc bags of scraps. I think I have about 14 of those bags. And no, the string blocks did not empty the bag; I was able to force the remaining contents into an existing bag.

So for this SuperBowl weekend of nothingness (I swear I have no interest in the game), I need to figure out what I am working on. Options include: 600 HSTs for RRCB, quilting the XO quilt and finishing that sucker off, the peach LCRR, and/or Ericka’s baby quilt. The apron is a requirement. So that must be done.

Basically I need to have something ready to hand-bind next week while I keep working on cleaning out my tivo. So I am working on knitting two fashion scarves, hopefully a quilt binding and my homework. I start crochet class on Tuesday!

EOM January 2011

Finishes
Carolyn’s quilt – ready to mail, providing the weather will let me go to the PO
WB quilt – into inventory
Second hand clothes in pink – delivered to co-worker who will surprise recipient
Judy’s monochromatic challenge in yellow – 2 pieces, one for home and one for work
Blue 9-patch – into inventory

Total Stash Busted: 17.80 yards

Not too shabby. I am pleased. I completed 5 things, and there were 4 Fridays in January. I’m at +1.

Now on to February.

I just love to plan and did a fair amount of it yesterday afternoon. We’ll see where I end up.

My goals for finishes:
XO blue quilt
GS banner quilt thing
Apron for exchange
Judy’s monochromatic thing
Ericka’s quilt
Blue D9P
Peach LCRR
St. Pat’s LCRR
St. Pat’s dresser mat

My goals for milestones:
Hugs and Kisses – start quilting in sections
D9P – machine quilt one section
RRCB – completed top
Hidden Spools – started
Kill one scrap bag
LCRRs – remain current

Things in waiting
Christmas BRB
Xmas Lights
Henrietta Whiskers BOM

Stay tuned

Now we’re in Part A of week 4. I’m still plugging away on stuff, but a book report for the child looms over us. So we’ll see where we end up on Monday.

Part A Week 3

Let’s see, we’re in Part A of week 3. I’m falling down on posting, but not on quilting.

Here are my goals and my statuses on them:

My goals for finishes in January include -
Carolyn’s quilt – done, need to label and mail
WB quilt – need to trim threads
XO blue quilt – no better
GS banner quilt thing – no better
Christmas BRB – no better
Second hand clothes in pink – for a co-worker who is having a girl – at hand binding stage

My goals for milestones in January include -
Hugs and Kisses – completed top – blocks done
BOM – months 1 and 2 complete; month 6 started – only month 6 started
D9P – next 20 blocks – no better
D9P – machine quilt one section – no better
RRCB – completed top – no better
Xmas Lights – completed top – no better

Plus to add on for the fun of it:
Judy’s monochromatic challenge in yellow – not started
Apron for exchange – not started
Blue 9-patch – at hand binding stage
Henrietta Whiskers BOM

So how to block and tackle with like 11 days left….

Finish goals – Carolyn’s, WB, Second hand clothes, Blue 9-patch, apron, yellow
If I finish all of these things, I would have 6 finishes, 3 of which were UFOs and 3 of which were current year creations.

Everything else I hope to make progress on. If I don’t, I don’t. :-)

Weekend on Progress

I'm working along this weekend, despite sleeping in until 9am this morning. That was luxurious, I assure you.

So I'm working on Second Hand Clothes for a soon-to-arrive baby. The dark pink I had hoped to use in the 9 patches (the fabric that makes the chain) did not want to be found today. So on to plan B I went, which was a yellow with pink flowers on it. AS of this writing I have 12 of the 16 blocks made and 14 of the 25 solid blocks cut.

Meanwhile, I am continuing to work on Hugs and Kisses. I finished Clue 5, which was the remaining 10 O blocks. Then I started on Clue 6, which is a sashing unit. I have 4 more to finish, which I will do while I sew the remaining 4 blocks for the baby quilt.

What I do is alternate which block I'm working on as I sew. So I will sew a seam for the baby quilt, then the mystery, then the baby quilt, etc. It's more intense than leaders and enders, but it does require that I can keep 2 sets of instructions straight. Sometimes I can, and sometimes I can't. Lately, I can!

Last night we watched The Blues Brothers. I bought the DVD for Thanksgiving travels and they never watched it. So Ted and I sat and enjoyed it last night (Renee does not know what she missed!). I finished sewing down the binding on Carolyn's quilt, so I'm moving forward there. It was so fun to watch, it wasn't worth trying to sew on the machine.

Oh and I got a lot of the yellow scraps sorted out of my scrap bags. It's not all of the scraps, but the baggie is full, so I will work with whatever's in there.

Results Part A, Week 1

Well, Part A of the week is over and it did not go as planned. Work, a migraine and Facebook games had an impact in that. I think my games and I will part ways soon. They are really becoming a time-waster, now that I have time to do whatever I want. Something to ponder.

I did finish all the string blocks last night. I thought I didn’t have any neutral strings at all. I still have bits left over! So that went well.

Here’s the status of Part A items:

Clue 5 – O blocks – still incomplete
Yellow scraps – still not sorted
Carolyn’s quilt – still not mailed

This afternoon starts Part B of my week. Because the baby of the co-worker is due to arrive at any minute, that project rotates to the top. So this weekend’s goals:

Second Hand Clothes – as far as I can get it
Clue 5 – O blocks
Yellow scraps
Carolyn’s quilt
WB quilt
XO quilt – mark and quilt white sections

I’m going to take a break from RRCB until Carolyn’s quilt and Second Hand Clothes are done. Since one is nearly done and the other should hopefully go quickly, it shouldn’t be too bad. B needs its threads snipped and then it can go into the inventory pile. I can accomplish that this weekend.

Part A, Week

Well, Happy New Year! I didn’t realize I hadn’t updated. Maybe because I was trying to get some sleep!

Things still going well on the quilty front. Working on the 30 O blocks – 20 are done. Working on string blocks. Working on binding.

Working on cleaning up my house. Oy, that is stressful.

My goals for the Part B of last week were:

Get Carolyn’s quilt to the handwork stage
Finish blue GFG flower
Keep working on Hugs and Kisses
Keep working on RRCB

Everything was accomplished.

Goals for Part A, Week 1:

Mail off Carolyn’s quilt – means it’s done done
Hugs and Kisses – Finish the 30 O blocks
RRCB – Finish the string blocks
Sort out all the yellow scraps

Again, Part A of my week is done on Friday morning. Part B will start on Friday afternoon (when my work week is done).

last day

Last night I did complete clue 4 of APFOM's Hugs and Kisses. CLue 5 is the the 30 O blocks, which I will start shortly. If I ever get off this couch.

I also kept working on those strings blocks. Now that Bonnie has put up Step 7, I know how things are going to look. I may do a bunch of 600 hst's, then do step 4 a set at a time and make a block as I go. Just may work best.

We're having some weird weather. We are under a complete tornado watch and have already had 2 warnings this afternoon. Despite all of that, I have run out and gone grocery shopping. So we're set, all snug as bugs in rugs.

Penultimate

Hi! It’s the penultimate day of the year! (I don’t get to use penultimate very often, so let me revel in it a bit.)

Last night was another successfully quilting night. Not so much on other fronts. (Oh well.)

I did finish Clue 3 of the Hugs and Kisses mystery and I made 5 more string blocks for step 3 of RRCB. Slowly but surely I am trudging through.

Tonight I hope to get through Clue 4, which is only 22 flying geese. I’m calling them flying doves, because I am reversing the color schemes, which means that the goose part of the unit is white and the sky is scrappy. That’s how I roll.

My other goal for today is to grocery shop. I’m pretty firmly committed to not going out at all on Friday if possible. I’m pretty certain I don’t want to be the driver, that is for sure.

The Year of Simplicity

Ann Voskamp writes from her farm in Canada about faith, farming and life. Ann’s words are amazing. I sit in my cube at work and cry tears of joy reading about how wonderful faith is and how she gropes for it, lost like me (and a lot of others, no doubt). (If there are any readers out there, despite being a city girl from Chicago , I am adapting to those rural ways of central IL, and so I can appreciate Ann’s farming posts.)

Anyway, Ann made 2010 the year of yes. The year of not saying no to her children’s adventures and ideas, not saying no to new adventures of her own. I took this to heart and strove hard to say yes more in the moment, despite term papers and case analyses and presentations. I tried to say yes more even if it meant I stayed home with utter exhaustion, just so that Renee could experience more. My mother said no a lot and I’m not sure why. I try to say yes more.

So Ann has tasked us for the word or theme (or both) for this year. For Ann, it will be the year of here. Being present, being here.

For me, it is the year of simplicity. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I shed many outside obligations on my time. It may be a bit selfish to be so introspective, but I am tired – utterly exhausted, if I permit myself to think about it. I mean, I am TIRED. It has been a while since I have been this tired.

And when I look around my house, which we have lived in for nearly 4 years now, I see improvements that need to be made, pictures to be hung, walls to be painted, clutter to be repurposed. I look at my sewing area and it’s an avalanche of ideas, thoughts, and projects to complete. My mind goes into overdrive. I love to make lists; lists give me strength according to my husband, who probably knows me the best out of anyone on this earth. So I make lists, and then make myself tired just reading them. I need to stop.

So I dedicate this year to the diligent practice of simplicity. No more overextending. No more being away from home 2 or 3 nights per week. No more quilting on a schedule. No more quilting ADD (if you have to ask, never mind) (if you know, can I get an amen?). I commit to volunteering for the Girl Scouts, which is something I can do with my child. I commit to my weight and health. I commit to saying yes. I commit to simplicity.

And that is my 2011. There before the grace of God go I.

12/28 accomplishments

After learning some stressful news yesterday, I decided that sewing was the best thing I could do. There’s nothing I can do about the stressful news; it’s water under the bridge now, so all I focused on was how to alleviate the stress. So I sewed.

While watching the last 2 episodes of the Amazing Race, I sewed 25 more hourglass units for Clue 3, 14 more half-units for Clue 3 and more string blocks for Step 3. (Yes, it’s 2 mysteries at once.) It’s good to have forward progress on both quilts. I’m making the lap size for Hugs and Kisses, so I’m not quite so overwhelmed.

I decided against working on the Second Hand Clothes baby quilt because that would be feeding my quilter’s ADD! I’m going to continue to work on the 2 projects I have going so that I can at least get to the completed top stage. Once one top is done, I will then slot the baby quilt in next. Should the child arrive before I can get to that point, then I will drop everything and sew. But with no school any more and tons of free time, I bet my timing will be fine.

I do still need to get Carolyn’s quilt to the hand binding stage. I will most likely do that on Friday, since I have it off. We need to drive north on Saturday, so I can bind in the car as we drive, but I will most likely rest my back during Friday with some hand binding.

Tonight’s goal if I sew: Finish Clue 3 and more string blocks.

second hand clothes and other things

A quick update for today. Last night, I went down and sewed while we watched “The Princess Bride.” I started 5 more string blocks for RRCB and kept working on the hourglass blocks (clue 3) for Hugs and Kisses. By the time the movie was over, my back was shot. I’m out of condition!

Tonight may very well be sew-free. I have a huge amount of paperwork to get through and I may just tackle that tonight, doing 15 minutes of paperwork and then 15 minutes of Facebook gaming. Maybe not exactly what FlyLady had in mind, but it works for me.

Then I was talking with a co-worker in another department today and his wife is due with their third in late January. The ‘late January’ part I remembered. The fact that she had the first two children two to three weeks early is something I forgot. While I did not make a quilt for either of the first two babies, I will be making one for this one, which is a girl. My co-worker Karen always gave everyone an afghan for their new babies; Karen’s mother loves to crochet! However, Karen passed away in October after a 2 year battle with lung cancer (no, she was not a smoker, and no, no one knows why she got it). So to pick up where Karen left off, I will make this quilt. But it appears that I really need to start this ASAP.

I plan on making the Second Hand Clothes pattern, but doing it from the picture. (Sorry, not buying the pattern, but if I can determine the pattern from the picture, I haven’t infringed on your copyright.) Nancy, Near Philadelphia has done a baby-sized one already, so I know I’ll need 16 of the pieced blocks and 25 of the solid blocks and then the setting triangles. This very well may be my sewing goal for the rest of this week, with the strip blocks for RRCB as the leaders/enders.

It is very nice to just be able to change plans on a whim. No more ‘I only have 3 weeks until class starts, so what MUST I get done in those 3 weeks?’ That is a wonderful feeling to have.

But man, is my house a mess!

Wrapping Up 2010

Many, many things have happened since last I wrote. Many chapters in my life have come to an end, and I’m not certain of the next chapters that are beginning. It’s an interesting time right now.

I graduated from Illinois State University on December 18 with my MBA. My husband, an assistant professor, handed me my diploma. My daughter watched this event, along with my sister, father and my good friend (and partner in crime) Tracy . It was incredible. It was an achievement. It also marked the end of a chapter in my life. But during this chapter, I worked hard and played hard and made some friends. I started the FNSC (Friday Night Supper Club), which meets on the second Friday of every month. There are 7 of us in total, all women, ranging in age from 25 to 50+. We are all at different stations in life, with different family compositions, opinions and lifestyles. It is good to have friends. It is even better to have friends who like to eat! Amy hosts for January, in her new apartment. It will be fun!

A large project at work came to an end. I actually finished the very last component this morning. It was a project I had expressed interest in almost 2 years ago, to be told I was actually being placed in a leadership role for another project in which I had also expressed interest. Eventually, due to various factors coming into play, including people directly asking for me to be on the team, I made it on to the team for the last 9 months of the project. The project was a resounding success and the last 6 weeks have been handling clean-up. And now it is done.

OK, that is really only 2 big things, but it feels like a lot more. Anyway, I’m kind of floating around a bit rudderless right now, as I really have nothing pressing going on.

I have spent some time working on quilting. And planning some quilting. And resting. And cooking.

For the past few days, I have been working on both Bonnie Hunter’s RRCB and Dorothy Young’s Hugs and Kisses. I had been keeping up to date with RRCB, but when step 3 and those string blocks came, it sent me for a loop. I am not a huge fan of string blocks. But I went ahead and bought some doodle pads at the dollar store. And over this holiday I sat down and started making them.

I thought for sure I didn’t have any neutral strings. I even went so far as to buy some 4” and 2.5” neutral strips for Keepsake Quilting.

Boy was I wrong. I have been going through my various scrap ziploc bags (there must be 15 if there’s one) and I have found enough strings for 15 blocks, and I’m not done going through the bags.

A pleasant breakthrough happened when I figured out a way to do string blocks that doesn’t piss me off. I actually sew a leader/ender in between each one and now my life is so much more sane. I did clue 2 of H&K this way and I’m starting Clue 3. My goal would be to keep on sewing H&K with the RRCB strip blocks as something else to do.

I’ve also printed off part one of Bonnie’s Christmas Lights. I want to use a lot of blue in it and call it “There’s always that one blue house,” referring to the one house in the neighborhood that always has blue lights on it. While blue lights are more popular now, when I was a kid, they were really cheesy. Now I’m the blue light lady, at least in my mind.

So OK, I’ve started a bunch more quilts. What about all of those UFOs?

My goal for 2011 is to complete one crafty thing per week. It could be quilty, it could be sewing, it could be knitting, it could be candle-making. It just needs to be complete and a craft. If I achieve 40 things, I will consider it a success. But I have many things in process and I need many things finished.

I’m also hopefully going back to the idea of the 2-part week. The first part is from Monday until my weekend begins, which is usually Friday afternoon. The second part is Friday afternoon through Sunday. It sounds odd, but I have different expectations of each type of time period.

So to start off, my goals between now and Friday, which I actually have off due to the holiday, are:

Get Carolyn’s quilt to the hand binding stage
Finish blue GFG flower
Hugs and Kisses – as far as possible
RRCB – as far as possible

And yes, I’ve thought about January. I can’t number my UFOs like Judy and go with the random number. I have to know what I’m working on. It’s how I function best.

My goals for finishes in January include:
Carolyn’s quilt
WB quilt
XO blue quilt
GS banner quilt thing
Christmas BRB
Second hand clothes in pink – for a co-worker who is having a girl – not even started

My goals for milestones in January include:
Hugs and Kisses – completed top
BOM – months 1 and 2 complete; month 6 started
D9P – next 20 blocks
D9P – machine quilt one section
RRCB – completed top
Xmas Lights – completed top

Thanksgiving

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm home alone, since yesterday at noon. My family went to KS without me, as I've been recovering from a fever. They will be home Saturday night. They will unload, put the right people in the right cars for the next leg of the journey and me, Ted and Renee will head north to Brookfield on Saturday night. We have Bears tickets for Sunday.

But even more annoying is that my sister became violently ill overnight and basically Thanksgiving was canceled at her house. I suggested that we have something on Sunday before the game (now since it's a 3.15 game); maybe that will work.

So what have I been doing while I've been home? Some resting, some cleaning, some cooking and some quilting.

I completed:

BOM blocks, months 3 and 4
Roll Roll Cotton Boll step 1
Hemming of a lot of sweatpants!

And that's just what I've done today. I hope to get some more stuff done Friday and Saturday. My only requirement is that I complete a research paper for class that is currently in draft form.

Oh, and as a point of clarification, my BOM is not just one block, it's 7 blocks - 4 in the dark colorway and 3 in the light colorway and then all 7 of those need to be sashed so the points float. It's involved.

On to November

A few weeks have passed since I’ve posted here – sorry about that. I can say that last night I gave my last presentation of my MBA degree and it is done. I still have work to do in both of my classes, but it is more manageable and hopefully I can work ahead a bit so that I don’t feel quite so overwhelmed at the end.

Anyway, here’s where I am. So, hi!

I hope to sew all of the time now, except for Tuesday the 23rd through Sunday the 28th, due to things like Thanksgiving travels and the Bears game. Even then, I will be doing handwork on the road, so all is not lost.

When last I wrote, I was listing tasks and hoping to achieve 5 of them, one to represent each non-class day. Here’s my new list, and it’s quite long.

Cut GS stocking fabs for another troop
Finish GS banner
Cut and sub cut 30 yards for the 2011 30 yard dash
BOM – Month 1 – fix and finish blocks
BOM – Month 2 – finish blocks
BOM – Month 3 – finish blocks
BOM – Month 4 – finish blocks
Cut stockings
Pink quilt done
Next 20 D9P
Finish WB quilt
GFG – Build T-giving kit
Hem 4 of Renee’s sweatpants
Hem 4 of Renee’s sweatpants

Only 14 things – HA!

OK, here are the things that must be done this weekend without fail: the GS stocking fabrics and hemming 4 of Renee’s sweatpants. Anything and everything else is up to me!

Now that the presentation is over, I really need to take some time to clean my house. My upstairs guest room and my daughter’s bathroom are really just a sight. While normally I can close my eyes to the mess, it’s really bugging me and also I have guests coming for Thanksgiving that need to use those rooms. So I really just need to clean them out. For the bedroom, it’s the clutter. For the bathroom, it’s just dirty (eek).

Trying to Quilt

Well, on Monday I did finish up the first 20 D9P blocks for my super-king quilt and I did finish the BOM blocks. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday I had class, which meant no sewing happened at all.

However on Wednesday morning we received word that our co-worker had lost her battle with cancer. So this weekend will be consumed with those rituals that go with celebrating her life and guiding ourselves as her co-workers through the grief process. I have no idea how much sewing will get done. I can say that I should sew as a therapeutic exercise.

So I will list my 5 tasks (actually 7 and I try to do 5), in hopes that I get to them:

Finish GS banner
All papers out of GFG and T-giving kit built
Pink quilt done
BOM delivered
Next 20 D9P
Cut Stockings
Finish WB quilt
Mark white border of blue quilt

(OK, that’s really 8.) (That GS one snuck up on me again.)

I do know that I will get up to Peddler’s Way for the BOM because I will do that Saturday morning before the funeral to ensure I get it in.

This was written on Friday afternoon. I have indeed made up it to Peddler's Way for the BOM, and the sun shone as we laid my co-worker to rest (despite a morning of torrential rain). So tonight I will try to do some homework, and some handwork.

Baby Steps

I'm now halfway through my final term of grad school. I cannot believe it and I couldn't be happier. Anyway, since the midterms are over and the workload has been planned, I can start to integrate my quilty pursuits back into my life.

So this weekend I made a super-short list of things to do. I wanted to get the badges on Renee's GS vest, weave in the yarn ends of my two fashion scarves, make my BOM blocks, sew 3 flowers of my GFG together, cut out 10 Christmas stockings in muslin and finish a baby quilt. Everything but the last two did get done.

It's good to be back in the swing of things, but that 10 page paper won't write itself, so I will continue with baby steps for a while more.

Nothing New

At least on the quilting end of things. I'm still working on GFG flowers at lunch, so something quilty is going on.

Yesterday we went to Rader Family Farms and did the whole pumpkin patch - corn maze thing. A wonderful way to spend an Indian summer day.

Today we got ready for winter. I always think that Columbus Day weekend is a great time to make sure the yard is ready for winter, so we emptied out 2 of our tomato plant containers, as well as our 2 flower boxes. Another tomato plant that we overwintered last year is still producing and so is the green pepper plant. The producing tomato plant gave us the tomatoes for our tomato sauce this evening! One of the flower boxes grew basil and there were a few small leaves still in there, so they too went into the sauce.

Ted then went through and dug out 2 inches of crabgrass in our front sidewalk section. Not fun work, but necessary. Now we just need to buy some dirt and some bulbs, both of which are frankly FUN compared to digging out crabgrass, and we will be all set. Since Renee is in Garden Club now, she's all about getting those bulbs planted. So since she's off tomorrow, it's possible they will get that done while I'm at work. I can hope.

So no real crafty type work. I have a midterm on Tuesday night and then I must get ready for the BOM, so that's what I'll work on next. Right now I'm glad when my head is above water. Work's been super-busy and that is A-OK as well; I like to be busy. So tomorrow night, since there's a midterm, Tracy will come over for pot roast and studying. Hopefully we will pull each other through this; we each got A's on the other class' midterm.

Meanwhile, I realized that I have a turkey in my deep freeze, so we're thinking of invited some friends over for a game night and a turkey feast!

Whatcha Gonna Do About It?

So I started a new quilt. Again. I know, I know.

We have a king sized bed and frankly we are not small people. The quilt that is on the bed now is 7.5 feet by 9 feet. (5 x 6 blocks - with 18" blocks) While we have the 9 feet going across us, it still is not wide enough with two people twisting and turning all night long. We really need a wider quilt.

Meanwhile, I had to look in nickels bin last weekend. My bin is a 6" cube that a gift came in one time. Anyway, it is full of nickels and frankly the stack is about 10" tall. So I knew it was time to pare it down. I have charm packs in there, nickels I had cut, traded nickels, everything.

So last night, as I was cleaning up my space and trying to get organized to complete the Girl Scout quilt started last weekend, I decided to hell with it all and those nickels are going in this quilt and there's no time like the present!

So I am making a Disappearing 9 Patch (D9P) that will be 10.5 blocks across and 10.5 blocks down (yes a half block is possible). That will give us a quilt that is about 140" square - nearly 12 feet. Yes!

So I started making 20 9 patches last night and my goal this weekend is to finish the 20 blocks, cut them up and put each of the 4 pieces in its own baggie. Then I'll keep making sets of 20, putting them in baggies and at some point I will have enough randomness to go ahead and start putting the final blocks together. I will put the top together in 9 pieces and do QAYG. There is no other way for a quilt this size.

My other goals this weekend are to remember to bring another GFG flower kit to work, cut out 10 stockings from muslin, and finish the GS quilt. Anything else will be gravy.

Oh, and homework too.

On Turning 40

What a whirlwind week! There is a very valid reason why I did not update at all this week.

I turned 40 on Wednesday.

Now, before you think I have inserted far too much drama into the big day, I didn’t. It was a big birthday and my family does birthdays big. But it fell on a Wednesday, Ted was at a conference out of town and I had a mid-term. So it was pretty low key.

Except for the part where my sister came down on Sunday to take me shopping. That was a surprise, but a fun one. I’m glad she came on down.

This weekend, I need to get a Girl Scout banner accomplished. I also hope to work a bit on some other projects, but if all I do is clean my sewing area and get the banner done, I will have achieved quite a bit!