Changing Gears

I have realized a few things.

I am hosting Christmas this year for at least one gathering.  I split this duty with one of my SILs and this year is my turn.  Then my kid noted that for her entire life, she has travelled on Thanksgiving and she for once would like everyone here.  So back up the entertaining truck by about a month.  (Next up, convincing everyone to come here – ha ha ha.)

Then add in the idea that we moved here 5 years ago this spring.  Grad school is done, elementary school will be done in less than 2 weeks.

And lastly, my kid is off to camp for 7 weeks of the summer.  Like drop off on Sunday-see you on Friday camp.  Like she’s gone during the evenings camp.

All of this has brought me to the thought that it is time for a deep clean.  We never painted or anything when we moved in.  It was freshly painted and carpeted at the time, and so we moved in.  One smart thing we did was put a lot in the garage and it had to earn its way into the house.  But now it is time for a deep clean of everything.  The seasons of life move on and we have a change in our season.  I’m home more and Renee is entering junior high.  The need for play dishes and My Little Ponies and all of that is diminishing.  She loves to create art, lots and lots of art.  Her expressive ways have changed.  It’s time for a junior high room, with bunk beds and posters and creative space.  She is nearly my height, so all of the 42” bookcases can be replaced with regular 6 foot ones (all bedrooms have those loft/cathedral ceilings).  She has started a musical instrument and we need a music space.

You get the idea.

So I have made a schedule of what to clean and when.  It’s all baby steps.  It has to be.  There are also several rooms underway at once in different stages, as I get bored and lose hope easily enough.  But by the time school starts, 3 of our 4 bathrooms will be done (only ours will be left), all 3 bedrooms will be decluttered, 2 of them will be redecorated, with painting if required, etc.  It will be easier with Renee out of the way.  For the record, she has been informed of this, as she will need to live in the guest room while I do her room. 

I’m excited for how it will look when it is done.  I’m also excited about how I will feel when it is done.  Sadly, there are about the same amount of living spaces in the house to do once the ones I’ve targeted are done.  Guess how my fall will be spent? 

So with that I am revising my UFO goal to 12 for the year.  I have 3 done and I missed April.  I have 5 underway right now and I am bound and determined to finish those 5.  I just cannot get it all done, and I am OK with that, as long as some of my goals get done.  A clean house is highly underrated, but definitely a necessity.

So the updates will be about both things now.  I’m so excited for both.

Oh, and I attempt to garden too.  I’m a nut.

PS I've decided I'm going to quilt one of the 5 UFOs underway in sections and join them, plus I got another sandwiched today.

Working Through It

I realized that part of my problem was I had too many things going on sewing-wise.  So I put everything away, took out the box #2 and took out those UFOs.  


The Huge Fence Rails was quilted and now I need to frog 25% of it due to a pucker on the front.  I shall persevere on this one.


The yellow LCRR needs to be put together and have a back made.  Then it's on to sandwiching, quilting and binding. 


The 16 string blocks were my adventure last night.  I slit them in half, added purple triangles to each one, and set them in rows of 5, with 6 rows.  When I went to bed last night, I had 2 sides of the borders on.  


I did keep one UFO out and that was my April item, the big St. Pat's LCRR.  Once the box number for May was announced, and there was another LCRR in there, I decided if I had to sandwich, etc one of them, I might as well get two done.  


I'm trying to balance my housekeeping goals and my quilting goals, plus of course I do work.  So I'm going week by week.  

April month end

April has come to a close and no, I did not finish a UFO.  Boo.  


Judy has pulled the UFO number for May and it is #2.   I have 3 things left in that box and by rights, I should do all 3.  Yep, that's not going to happen, but one of those 3 is underway.  So there is hope.

In Which Life Interferes....

My life, namely my work life for which I get paid, is now rearing its ugly head.  That's fine; I've had stretches in my life like this before.  However, this time work will not get the better of me.  


I'm now planning in 2 to 3 week stretches.  I wrote the list below at the beginning of last week and I'm still working off of it:

So by May 13^th….

Australia quilt done done

24 Chiclets blocks done done

1 column of old Navy shirts done

St. Pat’s quilt done done

Mini St. Pat’s done done

BOMs up to date

Months 1-4 of B&W BOM – blocks sashed

BRB – progress

Xmas BOM – top done without borders

So yeah, it's steps and pieces.  I will not have an April finish in April, but I will persevere.  In prior times like this, I gave everything to work at the great expense of many things, including my hobbies.  Not this time.  I will work and do what they ask, but I will make sure the hobbies get some time too.

So the goal for this weekend, besides finishing many steps for things for work, are:

Australia quilt - trim and attach binding

St. Pat's backing done

BOMs up to date

Months 1-4 of BOM sashed

2 dozen BRB blocks

So off I go.  I'm going to work on the BOM sashing project and then one half-hour of BRB work.  Then I will come back upstairs and work on regular work.  I shall alternate in this fashion for both today and tomorrow.  I fought having work access at home, but since I succumbed, I might as well do the best I can with it.

Inspiration

OMG, I have just had a huge burst of inspiration! I have as part of my monthly homework the idea of cutting out and ironing interfacing on the backs of a decade's worth of $5 flag shirts from Old Navy. I buy a couple of shirts each year at Memorial Day and wear them through Patriot Day. Face it, the red, white and blue never got out of style or season.

Anyway, I have 22 shirts. I have been trying to cut and prep them but it's dull and my cutting mat is all but dead. I did buy a new mat yesterday, as they were on sale. So there's one problem solved. I also bought 3 yards of a navy print with stars on it. I like stars for this quilt; I don't know why. 

Anyway, as I was showering this morning, it came to me. I will make 5 columns. Each one will be 12 inches wide and 75 inches long. They will be QAYG. The odd columns will contain 4 shirts each and the even columns will have 5 shirts each. To achieve the length, star blocks will by used. The joining strips will be red. Once the center is done, then the 4 borders will be added as QAYG in a log cabin attachment fashion.

So now I will start to do one column per month. I must have 2 of each color short to audition for each column, which means I pretty much have to keep up on the shirts. As to the fabric I just bought, I will use it as the backing of the column and the framing fabric for each t-shirt. I do not know if I will have enough to make it a border as well. I should, now that I think about it.

Tax Day!

Although I am an accountant by education, today is not a big day for me. Years ago, one of our governors (who of course is in prison, because I live in IL) took away my ability to do taxes for others and I could not have been happier.

So instead of filing extensions and seeing clients all day, I had a Girl Scout meeting. In case you didn't know, I am a troop leader for a bunch of 5th grade girls who are frankly just wonderful. It was a great use of a Sunday.

Last night, I sewed up a storm. I got 2 dozen BRB blocks done, bringing my total to 4 dozen. I need 12 dozen. I also quilted on the Huge Fence Rail and got really far.

Tonight I am going to quilt. I hope to finish the quilting on the Huge Fence Rail and then to layout and maybe assemble either the top or the bottom of the St. Pat's LCRR. I'm going with a zig zag / streak of lightning setting.

This next week does not look promising for quilting. Each night is packed, whether I like it or not. Monday is Girl Scouts, Tuesday is overtime, Wednesday is a dinner, Thursday is a dinner, Friday is the local circus (ISU has the nation's oldest collegiate circus). So Saturday and Sunday are prime quilting days. I hope by the end of next weekend, I have the St. Pat's quilt all quilted.

Then it would be make and attach bindings to everything.

It's great to get some quilting done. This is where so many projects stall out.

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.