Cannot. Stop. Knitting.

I just can't stop.  It's like there's 20+ years of pent up knitting going on.  I'm not going to argue with it; I am making things that come in pairs, so if this makes sure both items get made, I'm good with that.

Anyway I've made one pair of fingerless mitts from the Tamra's Day Brightener yarn and now I am on the second sock.  Something that small and portable is so easy to knit on during lost / found time.  For example while waiting for pasta water to boil, I can get 5 needles knit - not quite 2 rounds.  Today we are heading north to celebrate a birthday and Mother's Day, so I will refrain from knitting until I am in the car.  And since the pattern, which is free on Ravelry, is a PDF, I was able to download it to my phone and open it with my Kindle app, which means it's with me all the time and I didn't have to print it.  Technology is amazing.

I've decided to buy another set of size 1 dpns, so I can cast on both socks (or mitts) at once and work the same section on both.  I like that idea better.  With a Hobby Lobby coupon, it's a cheap investment.

I also did a lot (whoo boy a lot) of online shopping this weekend.  I went ahead and ordered yarn and a needle for Camp Loopy's first project, which is June.  The second project is July and I hope I can make that while on the vacation I have yet to plan.  The third is August and that month is hard but I am determined to find a way.  My goal was to make 12 yarn projects this year.  I have 2 done.  #3 is in progress and #4 is queued up. the Camp Loopy order had yarn for 3 projects in it, so that will get me to 7.  I have a worsted weight acrylic afghan started (actually 2 of them - different patterns) and I hope to knock at least one out this year.

My yarn stash is about 2 laundry baskets and I'd like it down to one, so that is the goal.

Other online shopping included Market Day (last order that has to last me through the summer), Essential Bodywear (they had a sale), (stupid Oxford comma) and Penzey's Spices.  And an order and Amazon for coffee.  It was a lot of money spent in a really short period of time but I'm good for a while.

No sewing.  Haven't had the strong urge to go back, but hopefully this week.  Gotta get 2 girl quilts done in as many weeks.  Plus I have to finish up my YBR, which I have stalled out on.  Not big deal; it will all get done.

Just Like Cycle 3...

...I'm stalling out.  It's not a problem; just a bit of of a break on the YBR.  The machine started to skip stitches so I stopped one night.  Then I started knitting a sock and became obsessed with that.  So I haven't gone back to sewing.

Tonight I had to pick up my plant starts from the local farming family.  So we planted some of them tonight and will plant more tomorrow and the rest of this week.  Sewing can keep for a bit.

I decided on the sisters quilts I need to make for friends who have just welcomed their second daughter.  Someone on Stashbusters mentioned Irish Chains and a double Irish Chain will be the right size for the baby and a triple will be fine for the big sister.  The big sister's will have purple running through the chain and the baby will have pink.  Purple will work for the older girl, as it is the same color I made her baby quilt.  That her parents absconded with and hang in their bedroom.

It was good to plant.  It is the week of Mother's Day so the exposure is lower for loss.  I don't have any tomatoes that overwintered, so I guess I will have to buy some.  Damn.

Blitzing, Still Blitzing

I got a little wrapped ion making the goal that I forgot to have fun.  So I took a step back and decided that if I still didn't get it done by May 3, it will be OK.  So I started having fun.

So I came home today after working choicetime and started quilting section 1.  I am kind of all over the map with what is done, but as of this morning, 4 sections were quilted, 3 more were at the flimsy stage and 3 more needed to be sewn together.

I watched Episode III of Star Wars and quilted the 5th piece, which was #1, the upper left hand corner.  I then started to piece #3, the upper right hand corner.  And the movie was done.

Tonight I hope to finish #3 during Episode IV, all the way to the quilting.

The plan is to finish up the sections this weekend and starting on Tuesday I will start trimming the sections and getting the quilt together.  Hopefully by this time next week, I will be hand sewing binding.  I've decided that the Reign eps in my tivo will be my hand binding entertainment.

I also started a pair of socks.  And Ted comes home soon.  Amen.

Blitzing Days 3, 4 and 5

So yeah, on Wednesday, which was Day 3 of the Blitz, I had an industry dinner.  I did take about 30 minutes before going and quilted on section 6.  I was so proud of myself.  I made progress, even on a busy day.

Pride goeth before a fall.

I left the dinner feeling horrible.  I tried to throw up when I got home, not once but twice and couldn't because a horrible cough was choking off my windpipe.  I had a fever.  It was bad.

And it was bad on Thursday.  I worked a total of 1 hour from home from my bed.  ("Kathleen has joined the call.  No, I am not sharing my PC, as I am not near one."  Dude, I'm lying in bed on my cell phone.)

On Friday, it was worse.  My temp kept rising and the congestion was progressing.  Each day, I had emailed work very early in the morning with my meeting schedule, my thoughts and how I thought things could play out.  I have 2 primary backups and in a pinch my boss can fill in.  On Thursday, one backup got it done.  She ROCKED.  On Friday, due to serious problems on the project, I was asked to join various meetings via conference call.

Forget it.  I got dressed and went in for 4 hours.  It took every ounce of energy I had, but it was a judicious use of time.  One of the meetings was with my VP.  How can you say no?  Anyway, the project remains stalled and so we made plans to work the weekend.

Yeah, we need a file to review and the file hasn't been generated.  Yup, still at home.

So the point is, no sewing has happened the last 3 days.  If I can sew, I should be at work.  I couldn't do either.

Today is Day 6.  The fever has broken and I am off to the Walgreens for the Rxs that the doctor assures me will make me human again.

Blitz Day 2

Here we are - Day 2.  I might as well make some progress here, since the work project is STUCK.  Like we can't do a darned thing.  It's rather comical at this point.  I can say that because I am not under the gun.  The ones that are do fantastic work.  I just wish they wouldn't hit every bump in the road.  I digress.

Anyway, sections 5 and 6.  Yesterday I spent an hour.  Today I gave 2 hours to the cause.  The first hour, I finished piecing section 5 and all of section 6.  The second hour, I worked on the backing.  My red piece is woefully too small to use for the back at all, so I am winging it.

Anyway, I got the backing prepared and started to sandwich.  I got section 6 sandwiched and realized the that backing that I had prepared for section 5 was a bit short on one side.  So I chose to start quilting section 6 with the remainder of the hour.  I couldn't help myself.

Tomorrow's goals (I have an industry dinner at 6):

Sandwich section 5

Bonus:  Quilt anything

I am happy to report that Thursday and Friday have no after-work commitments, but if the project picks up, then I'm working.  It happens.

Blitz Blitz Blitz - Day 1

My life right now is all about the word blitz.  If one project has a blitz, then 2 more must also have them.  At some point we numbered the blitzes, but then they overlapped and it got all messy.

Anyway, I have blitz on the brain.  And a desperate need for a new quilt on my bed for the spring.  So I have decided to blitz one of my king-sized WIPs.

Here are my stashbuster winnings from earlier this year.

So I decided that I would use all of these FQs in one project.  I am making a YBR for my bed.  A king YBR requires 48 FQs and I got about 30 in the winnings.  So I went through my stash and pulled from every milk crate and added.

If possible, I cut one yard.  Half a yard was placed aside to help piece a back.  The remaining half yard was cut into 2 FWs.  One FQ was added to the pile.  The other FQ was cut into 2 9.5 strips and one remaining 2.5 strip.

The YBR will be an oversized king.  A king has 12 blocks per row and 12 rows, so 144 blocks.  However, you make 160 blocks and have leftovers.  So I decided to make the rows 13 blocks long.  OK, that leaves me with 4 blocks left and I'll use those in the corners.

I then found a red fabric for the inner border, binding and backing.  I'll make the rows and columns to piece the top, add a 3.5 border all the way around, and then make the outer border the 9.5 strips from above.  The 4 leftover blocks will be the 4 corners.

The quilt is going to be huge - 141 by 132.  Yes it's wider than it is long; that's what I need.

So I had 48 FQs.  I sorted them on the color spectrum.  And then grouped them into groups of 4.  Each group made 40 blocks (lap sized on the pattern).

I then copied the pattern, spliced in an additional column and made a copy.

And that leads us to today.  Today I broke the quilt into 10 pieces.

Then I cut it apart.

Next up is starting the sections.  The first goal is the center: sections 5 and 6.  These 2 sections have no borders.  I can use leftover backing fabric to start cutting borders for other sections.

I went through the blocks and made a pile for section 5 and another pile for section 6.  I was able to start sewing section 5 together.

Tomorrow's goals:

Finish sewing sections 5 and 6
Prep backings for 5 and 6
Sandwich backings for 5 and 6

Bonus:  Start quilting

A Finish...and how MQIS works for me

OK, the last post was my fail.  A rather epic fail, I think.  It was the idea that I could hopefully post this finish, except it decided to break my washing machine.

Well folks, here is the finish.

It's 58 inches square.  And it's done.  I donated it to my Relay for Life team for a relaxation basket.  Hopefully it will fetch our team some serious cash.  Yes, I do my own quilting.

Now on to the MQIS part.  Machine Quilting in Sections is a book by Marti Michell and it illustrates the technique of quilting quilts in sections so that more of us home sewists can use the machines we have.  I have decided that I just need to get on board with this and learn this technique.  I have dedicated this year for this purpose.

I decided on this goal this year after thinking long and hard about my life.  Although I am 25 years plus from retirement, my husband and I know that we want to have an RV.  We also have stuff.  So we need to start paring down now ever so slowly.  And since an RV is not a cheap thing, decisions and choices need to be made.  The decision that I have made (at least for now) is that I'd rather have money to retire and have an RV and not own a longarm.  (I also want a condo, but that is another post!)  So clearly I need to learn to quilt my stuff.  Plus I have college to pay for my DD in 5 years or so.  While Ted can get her half tuition, it still costs some serious cash.

Anyway, this was the first quilt I tried this on.  I sandwiched the first row and basically did SITD around most of the parts in each block.  This is FAR MORE quilting than I have ever done on a quilt.  Then I trimmed up the joining edge, and did a 6 layer seam, which from top to bottom, is wrong side up row 2, row 1 quilt sandwich, right side up backing and then the batting.  sew the whole thing together and then bring the row 2 pieces together and quilt that row.  I did that for rows 2 through 4.  By row 4, some of the quilt was being drug through the tiny harp of the machine (I sew on a Jem.  Yes, really.  It's all I could afford with daycare at the time.)

When all 4 rows were on, I quilted through the sashings in the rows and columns - just a quick stitch down the center.  Then I trimmed and attached the binding.  I used white thread on the top and brown thread on the back.

It worked flawlessly.  No puckers.  No tucks.  No requilting.  Some frustration, but beginner frustration.  I was worried about a bump where the rows were attached because it's two layers of batting sewn together.  You have to step on it to feel it and you have to really look to find the bump.

HEre are some random photos of the back.  See if you can find the bump.

You can see it here in this last picture if you find the horizontal center of the quilt and look for it.  Again, you and I would know to look for it, but I don't think others would care.

What I have learned from this quilt:

It might have been smarter to do two halves and then do a center join that has the strip down the back that needs to be hand sewn down.

I can now try more complex quilting per block because I can manage the quilt in the machine.

I was also able to not worry about time on this one.  I didn't care how long it took.  I normally do not look forward to quilting and want it done as quickly as possible.  For this one, I said each strip had to be done within a disc of the Lord of the Rings movie (each disc is between 1.5 and 2 hours).  This is a manageable way to quilt over several days.  I was done withe attaching the binding by the end of the first half of the Return of the King.

For my next MQIS quilt, it will be an oversized king in the Yellow Brick Road (YBR) pattern.  Stay tuned.

Quilter Fail

OK, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and this is no different.

I finally finished a BOM from Country Threads quilt shop.  Jo at Jo's Country Junction mentioned it last year and so I did it.  I used the colors from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for the fabric selection.   (Got it?  January's block was pink because the Rainbow Scrap Challenge said to use hot pink.)  So I got the blocks all done in January.  Then I saw the layout and didn't like it.  At all.

So I've got 4 Fab 4's going at once.  Yes, I know.  Leave me alone.  Fab 1 are 4 quilts to finish.  The BOM is in here.  Fab 2 are all king sized quilts for our bed.  Fab 3 are all baby quilts.  Fab 4 are all string quilts.  So I've decided to only work on these 16 quilts.  (I have serious quilter's ADD.)  So one week I finish a quilt to the hand finishing point.  The other week I work one 1 quilt in each of the 4 Fabs and do one step.  It could be a small step or a large step.  Doesn't matter.

OK so week one, it was this BOM quilt.  Last weekend I laid out the blocks, made a few filler 9 patches, figured out sashings. cornerstones and the backing.  I decided to use the Machine Quilting in Pieces method by Marti Michell.  I took pictures of the process.  I paced myself during the Stashbusters retreat cruise through the Pacific (I got off in Australia and went to New Zealand and go to Middle Earth watching Lord of the Rings.) By the end of the first disc of Return of the King, the binding was on the quilt.  Hooray!

So I then did a quarter of the blocks for a quilt from Fab 2, and thus ended last weekend.

So this weekend, I sewed a quarter of the blocks for a quilt in Fab 4 and picked out 2 seams from Orca Bay (a row upside down right in the middle of that damned thing).  (I still have some FMQ to do on one from Fab 1.)  I hand sewed down the binding of the BOM quilt while watching TV with my DD on Friday night and Saturday nights.

So this morning, I put the quilt, along with 2 color catchers, in the washing machine.

It unbalanced my machine.  I could just cry.

The sopping wet quilt is in my bathtub.  Another load of clothing has been run through the machine and it's fine, but it jostled loose the tube from the dryer.  I can't win for trying!

And so the story of how the machine quilting in pieces went is delayed.  Stay tuned.

Bronchitis FTW!

Yes, folks, I have bronchitis.  However, this is I think the first time I've had it since I outsourced my dog for her retirement.  So it's been a long time.  And it didn't feel quite the same way.

Monday started with me waking up at 5.30am going 'there is no way I can go to work.'  And so I didn't.  Things got moved, backups took over, etc.  Tuesday I felt better and by the time the day was done, I was climbing the walls.  I needed to go back to work.

And then at about 2.30 this morning I coughed the horrible cough of bronchitis.  The grip of death was on my windpipe.  I didn't exactly get much more sleep after that.  So I called in this morning.  Actually I don't call anywhere; I email.  It's not like I can talk or anything.

The doctor's office opened at 7 and they had no room at the inn.  They sent me to urgent care, who opened at 8,  By 9, I was home, diagnosis and McDonald's breakfast in hand.

Meanwhile I had been running a low grade fever.  But of course the batteries decided to die in the thermometer, so instead of going straight to Walgreens after the doctor, I went home, ate, fished out the dead batteries and then went to Walgreens.  I was home by 10am.

I took one hit on the inhaler, breathed deeply and took a nap.

I then went on a conference call, did some reading and grabbed my kid from school because her bus broke down.  She and I ran to the grocery store and now we are home.

Meanwhile I need to study for my hopefully very last insurance exam.  And take my steroids.

On the Needles 02/28/14

I'm still working on the first sock.  I'm not really impressed so once I cast off, I will try it on and I may just rip the whole damned thing out and start over top-down.  Toe-up sucks, man.

I do love the yarn and I am pretty sure I will love the sock.  The last time I knit socks was, ahem, 30 years ago.  That means I was in junior high.  Yes, that is accurate.  However, I was knitting with crappy acrylic yarn then and I could not stand the feeling on me feet.  My feet are super-sensitive; it took my DH 3 years to be able to touch my feet to rub them, only to find that the problem was that there was so much tension in my feet, it explained all the pain.  Now my feet are much happier and I am overall much less sensitive, so I decided to give socks a go again with way better yarn.

There's also something else on the needles, but that's super-secret.

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

Sunday Knitting Update

Here is the sock, Sunday evening.  I started it Saturday evening, so this is 24 hours later.  I am maybe 40% through the foot.  Everything after the first 1.5 inches was done 15 minutes here, 5 minutes there.  Stir the roasting veggies, knit for 14 minutes.  You get the idea.

My goal for this work week is to determine how long the foot part needs to be.  I need to stop making the foot part and make the heel, so I really need to know when to stop the foot part.

Knitting wise, the goal is finish the foot part.  Then I can do battle with the heel starting over the weekend.  

The yarn is called Tamara's Day Brightener and it was a Loopy Legend at the Loopy Ewe.  Needles size 2.  

Socks, an experiment

On Friday, I looked through my new Sock Knitting Companion book and determined I wanted to do toe-up socks with a plain toe, no wraps, etc.  I then saw I needed waste yarn for the provisional cast on, and thus ended Friday night.

On Saturday night, I cast on and got through the toe (badly) and started a few rounds.  However, whatever I did, I have to purl everything instead of knit.  Le sigh.

On Sunday morning, I put the sock next to my living room TV to be knit on when I have free moments.  This morning, it was watching This Week with George S.  I had 20 minutes and so I knit.  I watch the evening news most nights, so I hope to get in at least 15 minutes a day during the mindless part of the sock.

When it becomes time to pay attention again (the heel), I will dedicate time to the effort.  I am hoping that by using this found time, I will get 1 sock done per month.  Which means I should have new Easter socks I guess.

Knitting

Warning, this is not a fun post about knitting.  This is an emotional post about knitting.

I bit my nails as a child.  So when I was 10, and Kim was 17, our mother signed us for knitting lessons one town over.  She even let Kim drive us there and back but of course we had to call and check in.

So I learned how to knit.  I liked the rhythmic aspect of it.  Kim is more free-form and she didn't take to it.  That's fine; our mother thought it was a life skill like typing and sewing and so we learned.  It also helped me stop biting my nails.

So I knit my way through 5th through 8th grades.  I went to a Catholic school and made a sweater for my uniform.  I made gifts and loved to knit.  As some of you may know, we had no freedoms as children, and so while reading was Kim's escape, knitting was mine (at that time).

I entered high school and still knit.  I also could sew and I made some of my clothes.  I had unique things and I grew up in the era of Pretty in Pink, so people got the concept of self-designed clothing.  I made my first quilt in the summer of 1986, after breaking up with my boyfriend.  (As an aside, we have reconnected via social media and he has just learned to quilt.  I remind him to enjoy the process.  He can be hard on himself regarding his art.  He is, as he is with all his art, talented.)

I entered college and I was a train commuter student doing the reverse commute from Chicagoland to the far western suburbs.  I continued to sew, modifying styles (more pants, less skirts) for commuting.  I quilted more and knit less.  I had moved into afghans; I was done with sweaters for a while.   I will state that with the exception of the sweater I made as part of my school uniform, all the yarn I had was acrylic.  100% acrylic.  No good stuff.

So I am in my last year of college.  My father had left, my sister had left (more like driven away in both cases) and I was left with my now dying mother.  She was never a very nice person and made it very clear as time went on that her life had been a big waste and all of us were to blame for that.  I would like to note that my father has NEVER impeded anyone from pursing their dreams.  This was even noted in his eulogy, how strong this trait was in him.  So anyway, I reach Christmas 1991.

Christmas has never been a fun holiday.  As a child I remember the one sided screaming machine of my mother being upset having to see my dad's side of the family.  I remember her desire for the holiday to be perfect and so we had to stay up past midnight every Christmas.  I vividly remember being sick half of my Christmases (which has been confirmed by Kim) and Kim opening my presents (a source of humor now).  I *hated* Christmas.  2 weeks at home cooped up with an angry woman.  She forbade Kim and I to speak to each other, because we would gang up on her and she wasn't having that.

So we are at Christmas 1991.  I know my mother's time on this earth was measured; I worked like mad to make her an afghan.  I figured I could cover her with love.  And I did finish it.  And a few days before Christmas, she said,

"I didn't get anything for you for Christmas, so you can't give me anything."

She knew.  And she ruined it.  Shortly thereafter she said the only reason I knit was to draw attention to myself, to show off what I had made.

And thus ended my knitting.  I stopped cold.  She made me learn a skill, funded the stash, accepted my gifts, wore them, and in a fit of upper-handed rage, cut me down.  It cut me to the core.

I do not want to hear she suffered from mental illness, I don't want to hear about cancer.  I want everyone to know she knowingly said hateful things to her children because she got off on making people feel horrible.  I have lots of examples.  This one pertains to knitting.  People like to tell me it wasn't her speaking; it was the disease.  I really don't care.  I WANT MY FEELINGS VALIDATED.  I am entitled to those feelings and they hurt.

So I packed up my yarn and my needles and moved it all 3 times.  When I arrived here in central Illinois, I went through the stash yarn and donated it all.  I kept the tools - needles, etc.

In spring 2011, just after I finished my MBA, I took a beginning crochet class.  I loved it.  I went and bought yarn and yarn and yarn and sets of hooks.  Yes, it was 100% acrylic stuff, but it was wonderful to be happy with yarn again.  I've made some afghans and potholders.  One class assignment was a set of different potholders in various shapes.  I gave them to my dad for his apartment.  He loved them.  I made some fashion scarves and some winter scarves.  I was working with yarn again.

And then I found Ravelry.  Whoo boy.

And I decided that I would knit again, but only the good stuff.  Unique stuff.  Good yarns, quality workmanship, stitched with love.  I bought some nice stuff from The Loopy Ewe.  Some red, some fun dyed stuff and some other fun dyed stuff.

And now I am trying to make some socks.  Man, it's been a long time.

And while Christmas this year was hard because we knew it was Dad's last, I finally have begun to enjoy Christmas again.  I give full credit to my husband and my child who have worked with me through all of this.

And off I go.  I have no idea what a provisional cast on it, but I need some waste yarn to do it.  So off I go.

Yay!

After much hassle, I have FINALLY figured out how to change the email address for Blogger for this blog.  I desperately need to break up with Yahoo, and this was one of the most critical ones to get updates.  I now have everything converted over to my gmail account, which matches my blogspot blog name, which makes me very very happy!

My Absence

Yes, I’ve been absent.  Very absent.

But I think I have a good reason.  In late July, my dad’s cancer took a turn.  For anyone who has been part of a cancer survivor’s journey, the journey takes many, many turns.  In July, the turn was big.  He entered the hospital on the last Monday in July and he never went home to his apartment again.

It’s been a long journey with many turns.  Getting him into various skilled care facilities.  Dealing with family members (my father is remarried – don’t ask).  Shutting down his apartment.  Walking him through the disposition and allocation of his belongs.  Thankfully he is a man of few possessions, but those he has are precious.  Dealing with grandchildren.  Dealing with money (that would be me).  Dealing with medical institutions.  Trying to make honorable decisions.

He died yesterday in the wee hours of the morning, in hospice in my sister's living room.  My sister lives in a converted 3 flat with a coach house in the back.  Her oldest son is married and lives in the coach house.  That child has a bond with Grandpa that surpasses all of us.  My sister’s younger son is living pretty much in the lower flat, while my sister is in the upstairs flat.  The main kitchen, the living room, etc are on the main floor and that is where Dad was.

I am grateful that we celebrated Christmas on 12/22.  Dad was still awake and alert and cracking jokes ever so slowly.  By Christmas night, he was throwing up dead blood.  Now he is gone.

I cannot stress enough the good work of hospice.  They have made this last leg of the journey palatable, to use my sister’s wording.  We went with a firm that my cousin, who is a doctor, works for.  At the time they were brought in, it was August and Dad was very much aware of what was being discussed.  Our cousin guided him through the discussions and he felt very comfortable that someone was advocating for him (besides his children – he trusts us).  While we didn't call the firm until the 100 days of skilled nursing care was over, they have been nothing but wonderful.

So this is why I have been away.  Some things fell away and this was one of them.  I have decided that in 2014, I will better at this, and some other things too.

Meanwhile I have been quilting.  Not as much, but I have been.  And a situation at work has resolved itself.  It was a tough 2+ years being away from my department and manager, and it is so very nice to be back.

A month? This time it's like 6 weeks!

Or, as it could have been alternatively titled, Where is my mojo?  Oh mojo, where art thou?

I just cannot it in a groove.  There's a great line in the fine Disney movie The Emperor's New Groove: Beware the groove!

I should've been wary of the groove.

I'm not sure how to get back into it.  Well, I know how but no energy.

OK so I need to have a plan.  I have to go to the LQS on Friday afternoon because I have missed one BOM and I need to hit the other one.  I need to sew those blocks up between now and when I go to bed on Thursday night.

So here's the plan:  Sew both sets of BOM blocks by Thursday night.  Finish BRB top that is in pieces on the floor.  Switch out machines.  Perkiomen Dreams prep.

Non-quilty goals:  Get spare room ready for new shelf.  Put away camp.  R's bathroom (don't ask).

Dad goals: Car insurance.  His paperwork.  His banking.

It's a slower GS week so hopefully I can get a lot done.

A Month?!?!? Really?!?!?

Yep, it's been like a month since I've posted.  Sorry about that.  June was supposed to be calmer, but it was not in any way.  July definitely promises to be quieter and so will the first part of August.  However, I just need to acknowledge that this is the way of life!  It's a good problem, really it is.

As I have written before, I am trying to do some deep cleaning and organizing.  So I decided that I needed to finish a chunk before I could sew.  So of course, since I didn't clean, I didn't sew and that was a bad downward spiral.  What I learned from this is sewing must always happen.

And so I took off this past week and enjoyed a staycation.  A lot of sleeping, a lot of resting, a lot of sewing.  Some gardening, some camp pickup, etc.  It was good for me to be home and good for all of us to be home for the back half of the week.

So what have I been doing?  I have been making those super-stars.  I am making 32 blocks.  Since the block construction makes two quadrants at a time, I made two sets.  One set I am sewing into stars as I go and the other set will be played with to make more stars.  Each quilt will have 16 stars and be about 64 inches square.  I don't have backs or bindings.  The background is unbleached muslin and the stars themselves are 3 different 10 inch block sets that came from Keepsake Quilting.  I subscribe to their Bits 'n Pieces club, which means once a month or so, I get a pack of something!  I love this.  Neither of these quilts have backs or bindings.

In June, I picked up the last of the current round of the Thangles buck a block.  I got 2 sets this time and made 3 blocks.  I had 15 pink blocks, so I made one more using scraps and got that top all done.  I have a back and a binding made for this one.  Then I had 21 blue/green ones left and so I made a larger top with 20 blocks and got that all done.  I do not have a back nor a binding for that, so I hope to get that next.

I am also working on a Blue Ridge Beauty for a friend who has had too many people in her life die so far this year.  Too many.  I have over half the blocks done.  Man, that is a tedious quilt to piece.

(I've also started sorting my scraps into color, which works for me.  I started this while watching that cinematic masterpiece Magic Mike.  Don't ask - an old employer was mentioned in it and so all of us are watching it for that one line.)

I also want to fix one boo-boo on the front of my Orca Bay and make sense of a log cabin round robin top.  I have backs and bindings for these.

I had my machine serviced and bought spray baste.

And so where does all of this go?  I realized that I seem to work best when I get 4-6 projects to the point of quilting and then I take the time to quilt them up by taking over my kitchen table.  As long as some of those projects are new, I do well.  UFO's are by far the largest part of my storage problem and this lets me chip away at them.

In May I completed a lot of UFOs.  I hope that here in July I can continue to get projects bundled (to the quilting stage).  I will start quilting if I make it in the top 25 of the UFO list but as long as I am not there, I will keep working towards bundling.  I also need to space out purchases; it would be wise to do.  We need to buy a car in the next few months.

And as for today?  The new Bits 'n Pieces pack arrived!  Red, white and blue triangles!  Off I go!

May report really late

My May turned out pretty darned good, if I say so myself.  20.92 yards busted in this month alone, for 4 UFOs.  Yay!  That was the first goal.  The 4 are:

Easy Street

X’s and O’s blue boy

Blue D9P

Pink Boxy Stars

However NOTHING got done on the other goals.  Oh well.  

I am pleased with what I did get done.  It was a hard month in a lot of ways and now that school is done for DD and GS switches to a different, more relaxed mode for the summer, I can work on some bigger things.  On to June!

2/3 through May

Now we’re two-thirds of the way of May.  And there has been some progress.  How about that?

Insurance studying has not progressed.  Guess what this weekend holds?  By the end of this weekend, I wanted to be at chapter 9.  I will aim to be at chapter 5.  It’s not great, but I will get there.  I also need to plant my garden, as it is finally the proper temp to do so and I got my plant starts from my farmer.  So I think I should worry about that.

For sewing, I am overwhelmed.  Actually I am overwhelmed in many areas of my life.  Many things are started and underway but no completions, so just works in progress and mess everywhere.  I need it to improve.  So for sewing, I am working on finishing the one quilt that needs its binding to be handsewn.  I am also organizing my scraps which are basically in about 20 gallon+ sized ziploc bags. 

I store my fabric that is in active rotation in milk crates under my sewing table.  I put two colors in a crate and each color has a ziploc for those pieces too small to be let loose in the crate.  Right now my goal is to interfile back all the scraps for one crate, plus any larger pieces that are lying around.  Then I will box up 4 to 6 projects into a box, label the box, put the box on top of the milk crate contents and shove the whole thing back under the table.  There are 6 milk crates and I hope to do one per week.  Yes it will take a long time but that is OK.

This week’s crate is orange and blue.  I am about two-thirds of the way through my scraps and already I can see the volume difference by putting away some blues!  I want to get this done by Thursday night, as my sewing week begins on Friday when I get home from work.  Green and red are up next and I know there are a substantial amount of reds to be put away. 

Just getting all the clutter somewhat organized and put away will help me focus I think.  I really need to just focus on some other aspects of my life right now besides sewing, especially since Renee will be done with school and away at camp.  I can really work on getting my house gone through!

So yes, I did have a finish in these past 10 days.  I did finish the pink boxy stars.  All 3 baby quilts were delivered but I have only received one thank you.  We shall see how this goes.

I have also completed about half of the handsewing on Easy Street.  Yay!  I am so thrilled.  I want this to be a May finish as well.  I also worked on some BOM blocks, which was nice.  A little time behind the machine never hurt anyone.

Goals for the rest of this month:

Finish Easy Street

Keep up with BOMs

Orange and blue milk crate

Green and red milk crate

Make sense of the cutting table

Make sense of the sewing table

Super Stars quiltalong -  a simple new start to keep me energized, which is really what I need

May - One Third Done

It’s one-third of the way through May and I have an update of course.

I have slowly started studying insurance, which is a drag.  I have also starting cleaning out the upstairs of my house, which is also a drag.  Bear with me.

On the sewing front, it’s also been slow going.  Part of it is because I am tired.  The weather shift has been hard on me and my migraines and so we are increasing medicine dosages and the like and it takes time to adapt to all of that.  Fortunately my most alert and productive hours are at work, as they should be.  I just wish I had a few at home as well.

The following two quilts are done done.

X’s and O’s blue boy

Blue D9P

I have started the sew down the binding on Easy Street.  I ran out of bobbin thread on the last quilting pass for the pink boxy stars.  Always the way.  So today when I get home from work, I will load up that bobbin, finish the quilting and I will not quit tonight until the binding is attached, and the quilt and the handsewing bag are in the car for tomorrow.  We are doing Mother’s Day tomorrow, so that means a trip to Chicagoland.  Plenty of handsewing time.

Saturday I am gone all day and Sunday technically should be mine, but there is insurance to study.  So I guess my Sunday goals are to wrap up all 3 baby quilts as gifts so they can be delivered on Monday, do 2 BOMs (just picked up those blocks) and the Thimbles top.  Once the Thimbles top is done, I can use those scraps to make the 9-patches for the Sister’s Choice blocks. 

Edited:  This was written on Friday and now it's Sunday.  I'm not done sewing down the binding because I had to be the driver instead of the passenger.  So I am doing that today, along with some cooking. I love to cook and am making 3 things I love and there will be leftovers for the week.

May the Fourth be with You

Yep, it's May 4 and that means it's Star Wars Day.  I was debating which order to watch the movies in, and after I saw the quip that tomorrow is the Revenge of the Fifth, then I know that the order would be the theatrical release.  We watched A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi today, and tonight we are going to see Iron Man 3 not in 3D (3D does not agree with us).  Tomorrow will be Phantom Menace, The Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.  This is great fun.

I have had one finish this month - X's and O's blue boy at 48 inches square.  I have 30 more inches of binding on the blue D9P and that will be done.  Then the pink boxy stars is up and then Easy Street.  I'm watching Project Runway while I stitch and since the season is over, I am able to watch one episode per day and get through the whole season quickly.

I was working in my sewing space today during Ep IV and Ep VI.  I sorted through some thread donations, did 3 BOM blocks (due tomorrow), and did the remainder of the 4-patches for the Bricks & Stepping Stones matchstick units I need to complete.  Believe it or not, those darn 4-patches drive me nuts!  So I am glad that is done.

Tomorrow I hope to finish up pink boxy stars so it can be ready for handsewing and then do the 3 BOM blocks that I pick up tomorrow.  I don't know what else I might do; I may clean and organize.

I found another top and backing that just needs to be sandwiched and quilted.  Guess I'll try to get that to the binding stage this month, just like Orca Bay....

May Goals

On to May.

I have a lot of goals for May, my main two being the upstairs of my house and the next insurance exam.  The story of my life.  But of course I have sewing goals.

I have 4 that will be done done this month.  Considering I am aiming for completing 12 UFO’s this year and I already have 4 done, this will double my total quickly.  It should also put me at about 46 yards for the 100 dash from stash, which is right about where I should be.  I wanted 2 more UFO finishes by the 4^th of July and now I will have at least 4.

Easy Street

X’s and O’s blue boy

Blue D9P

Pink Boxy Stars

Other goals:

Thimbles BOM – finish top to flimsy stage; the back will be a Sister’s Choice flimsy.

Sister’s Choice – will use the Thimbles BOM to figure out how many Sister’s choice blocks I need.  For May, make all 9 patches, which I think is 49, last time I checked my math.

Orca Bay – the last seam is giving me fits.  Don’t even ask.  I would like this to the binding stage.

Bricks & Stepping Stones – finish the blocks.  This is harder than it seems.

Beau’s – make the center, which is the huge 25-patch, the coping border, the inner box (with the column units), the next coping border and the first round of Mellie’s quilt blocks around the outside. Also make more 9 patches and HST’s as needed.

Homework – I am woefully behind in homework, so I will try to ease back into it.  Since I have so many 9 patches to make, those will be my leader-enders for a while. 

LCRR blocks – done and mailed in May.

Just Takes 2 (JT2) – There are 4 Tuesdays in May which normally would mean 8 blocks, so let’s aim for 12.  We get as far as we go.

BOMs – I have 5 that I do.  3 are caught up. 1 is one month behind and the other is not so hot.  The goal for May is the get the first 4 caught up and maintained and do one third of the work on the one I am behind.

I am away from home 8 weeknights this upcoming month, plus one night is our anniversary, so we hope to do something fun.  I should be able to block and tackle this list pretty well if I am diligent.

April Update

Y’know, April has not turned out sewing-wise so far as I had hoped! 

It’s OK.  I had another insurance exam and I will continue to have them in even-numbered months.  So I guess that helps me set expectations until I’m done with them.  I also have the urgent to deep clean again and really declutter.  What I have learned that if I leave the machine I quilt on set up on my kitchen table with quilts ready to be quilted, I alternate 15 minutes of cleaning with 15 of sewing and I get a lot done.  That is how I got through studying for this last exam and now Easy Street is done being quilted.  So I am just going to go on a quilting jag for a while and not worry about piecing except for BOMs where I have to show them my progress.  Don’t worry; in the heat of the summer I will be in my basement piecing non-stop.

So yeah.  I’ll do what I can.  Only one thing got done on my list and that is the Blue Boxy Stars.  It’s done done.

What did get done:

Easy Street – binding is attached.

X’s and O’s blue boy – binding is attached.

Not on the list:

Blue D9P – binding is attached.  When found, this one was just a flimsy.

Pink Boxy Stars – under the quilting needle.  When found, this one was just a flimsy.

And the deep cleaning has begun.

April Goals

On to Q2!  I have high hopes for Q2 in lots of areas of my life and so sewing may take a back seat.  If I can get to the 4^th of July with 2 more UFO finishes I will be pleased.  But of course I want more than that!

Quilts to be done done:

Bricks & Stepping Stones – for a wedding gift.

Sunrise Point

X’s and O’s blue boy

Blue Boxy Stars

BOM jacket – I have a completed BOM that I think would make a lovely jacket.  I want to wear it for a conference on April 18, so I best get cracking!

Projects to work on:

Thimbles BOM -  finish top without borders.  I am making this reversible with a Sister’s Choice.

Sister’s Choice – I can finally start new things!  I will use the Thimbles BOM to figure out how many Sister’s choice blocks I need.  For April, make all 9 patches.

Orca Bay – quilt this.

Beau’s – make the center, which is the huge 25-patch, the coping border, the inner box (with the column units), the next coping border and the first round of Mellie’s quilt blocks around the outside.

Homework.  Since the strings blocks are all done, there’s some shifting here.  That’s fine; keeps me interested.

5 LCRR blocks – I did nothing on these and so I have 15 to do.  Finish and mail these.

Just Takes 2 (JT2) – To complete April’s pdf’s, I would have also assembled one quadrant of the quilt, but not be as far block-wise.  We shall see if I also get through block 36.

Color Challenge Sampler – moving this to BOM status, because that is what it is.

Yellow Log Cabin / LCRR – Frogging 4 blocks would be good.

Batik Weed Whacker – Part of the Pay It Forward (PIF) challenge.  Blocks are started; I just want it done.  This month, all the blocks.

Hopscotch – complete the top.

BOMs – These I’m caught up on. Easy to maintain.

And I need 2 wall hangings for an event on April 21.

Now of course, that I see the list I’ve made for myself, I am indeed nutso.  I’d be lucky to complete this by the end of June, much less the end of April.  But a girl can dream!

March Wrap-Up

So March is at an end and so is Lent.  I’ll get back to my Lenten challenge in another post, so for this post, I’ll talk about me and my March goals.

The following were quilted and bound:

Easy Street Mini

Easter Carrie Nation

Easter Carrie Nation Mini

String Blocks (down in the homework section)

Here’s the status on these 3 that didn’t make it.  At the beginning of March, Ted decided that he wanted to build his 5,000 piece Tower of London Lego set.  I really didn’t mind, and he and Renee each did a tower and they did it together.  However, such a set takes over the kitchen table.  So besides having nowhere to eat for about 3 weeks, I also had nowhere to quilt either.  I tried to quilt using my little Janome Jem, but sadly the large needle broke off and fell into the machine.  IT fell to the floor so its sews just fine, but now I am leery of trying that little adventure again.  So these 2 are exactly as they were on February 28: sandwiched and waiting patiently.

Easy Street

X’s and O’s Blue Boy quilt (unearthed while cleaning)

However on Easter I was able to get some quilting in, so Blue Boxy Stars is almost completed with its quilting. 

I also had 2 quilts in progress.  Orca Bay has its rows put together and only needs a coping border and the pieced border to go.  Whoo hoo – this was a long one!  Beau’s quilt had the goal of having the columns done.  I’ve changed the design once again and I plan to use the column units in a different way, but I did indeed make all the column units I could with the parts that I had from the swap.  I call these two projects successful for March.

Then there’s the homework.  This I was more than 50% successful with.

5 LCRR blocks – I did nothing on these and so I have 15 to do. 

Just Takes 2 (JT2) – I am caught up through March’s pdf’s.  This was no small task.

String Blocks – This was FINISHED!  Done done!

Color Challenge Sampler – Completed February and March so I am up to date.

Yellow Log Cabin / LCRR – Oh, I did nothing at all.

BOMs – These I’m caught up on. Easy to maintain.

Yarn efforts – I made progress on all 3 projects.  I see the finish line approaching for all 3 of them, so that helps.

And I didn’t need the table runner, so I didn’t make it.

So overall, I had 4 finishes, 3 of which were UFOs.  I also had a UFO finish in January, so I am ahead of the pace by 1 UFO, if I am aiming for 1 per month.  This is a good thing.