Getting Started on the 2025 SAHRR

The middle of January snuck up on me. I had hoped to have my center block picked out and ready to go before the the first 2025 SAHRR kick off post went up. But that didn't happen. I've been contemplating center blocks since 4th quarter last year. I knew the color palette was going to be predominately green, but hadn't picked the fabrics.  Inspiration struck when Grad Girl and I found a beautiful blue and green Batik in the close out section of the local quilt section.

From that we found the bright blue and the darker green.  I pulled a gray from the stash to use as the background.  Now that I had the fabrics it was easier to decide on a center block. I'd been going through my patterns to find something that clicked, but ended up designing my own center block.  

I'm pretty happy with how it came together, though it's certainly not perfect.  Now we just have to wait till the prompt for the first round is announced on Monday over at Kathleen McMusing's blog. 

I'm playing along with the Chookshed Challenge this year. I realized when the  Mid-Month Check In post went up that I had never specified what my January challenge was.  My goal for this month is my #9, get the center block and first round border finished for the SAHRR before the end of the month.  I've got the center done, now to stay on track with the first border.  

To Do List for the Week of 01/14/2025

January seems to be chugging along much more quickly then it normally does.  Tomorrow we'll be halfway through the month. Wasn't it the first like yesterday?  Maybe it's because a cold has put a damper on my stitching time and I don't feel like I got much done last week. Progress on last week's to do list isn't bad, but I definitely didn't have the most productive week. 

To Do List for 01/07/2025

1.  2025 Guild BOM: Start February blocks ✔ 

2.  2025 SAHRR: Select fabrics, start center block - progress

3.  2024 Guild BOM: Finish borders - progress

4.  Marble Mystery: Finish December, start January clues ✔

5.  Old Town: Continue to work on clues ✔

6.  Wild and Goosey: Continue to work on red blocks ✔

7.  Summer Scrapy Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

Not the best week, but not the worst either. The list for this week is pretty much the same, but there are two projects with deadlines, so those will be priority this week.  

To Do List for 01/14/2025

1. 2025 Guild BOM: Finish February blocks

Found the gray scraps for the main block and one of the sawtooth stars.  Those are cut. I still need 4 other grays for the remaining sawtooth stars and to cut the background fabrics.  These have to be done before next Tuesday's guild meeting. So this will be my priority this week.  

2. 2025 SAHRR (Quilting Gail): Finish center block

This quilt will be a gift to Grad Girl's current roommate.  She likes green, so most of the rounds will be green with blue used as an accent fabric.  The background is a pale gray.  I know what I'm doing for the center block, I just need to cut the pieces and get it assembled before next Monday.  So this is priority number 2 for the week.  

3.  2024 Guild BOM: Add final border. 

Since I have two other projects with immediate deadlines, this has been pushed to the side. Hopefully I'll have time to get the last border on so it can fall off the active list for a bit.  

4.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Work on assembling blocks

Fingers crossed my fabric choices work out. I'm hopefully optimistic seeing how the block 1 is going to go together.  

5. Old Town (Bonnie Hunter): Finish clue 3 and continue to work on other clues

I'll eventually get this mystery put together, but it's not a priority.  I've been adding in a few step 2 and step 3 pieces as I work on other projects.  Just a few more step 3 hour glass units to assemble. Then I'll move on to finishing off step 4.  

6.  Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making red blocks, then start on purple

Just two red blocks left to finish and then I'll start on purple ones till we see what the RSC color is for February.  

7. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

Another long list for this week.  Finishing #1 and #2 is my priority this week. If I can also get #3 moved to finished quilt top, it will have been a really good week. 

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  

Not Much To Show

With the cold I had last week, I didn't spend a lot of time in the sewing room.  Grad Girl and I did have one marathon sewing session Thursday evening.  She started some trivets at the retreat and she wanted to finish at least one of them before she went home.  So we cut the batting and backing for one of the mats. Since I've not done any quilting, I really couldn't teach her. So we played with the machine settings while I tried quilting the mat. She provided discussion and support.  Then I showed her how to bind it.  Not perfect, but Grad Girl was really happy with the outcome. 

It was definitely a very fun collaboration. I still need to work on my quilting skills, a lot! 

I've made some progress on the 2024 Guild BOM.  

The second light blue border is attached.  I just need to cut and attach the strips for the last border and this will be a finished quilt top. 

That's it for what's up on my design wall this week.  Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.

Stitching Stuff: Week 2 of 2025

I'm trying to get back on track with my regularly scheduled activities.  Grad Girl left Friday to head back to Texas.  She ended up staying an extra day due to the snow storm that blew through here on Thursday.  The house was so quiet yesterday. There's no kid taking a nap on the couch in the afternoon with the TV on and no thunder of paws going up and down the stairs.  It was so nice to have Grad Girl home for almost 3 weeks.  She'll graduate either this May or August, so it's the last long school break she'll have. 

I've been fighting a cold the last few days.  On Wednesday I was just too out of it for much of anything, sleeping in the recliner a big portion of the day.  It was just too much energy to think about stitching, that broke my 373 days long streak of daily stitching time.  I'm still not 100% on the health front, but I have been back in the sewing room every day since.  My numbers for the year don't look so bad.  

• 15 minute days/week = 6/7 days
• 15 minute days/2025 = 10/11 days
• Success rate = 90.91%

If I can maintain between an 80% to 90%  success rate this year, it will still be a very good and productive year.  

Now that Grad Girl is learning to sew, Queenie spent more time in the sewing room since both of us were there.  I set up a place for her to sleep on the window seat, which is her preferred perch in the Grad Girl's room down the hall.  Typical cat, she decided there was a better place to nap when hanging out with us. 

  

Apparently my fabric to be pressed bin was far more comfortable.  

How did your second week of 2025 go?  Are you holding firm on all your quilting and non quilty resolutions?  Or have you already fallen off the resolution wagon?  

1. Gretchen 2. Julie in GA 3. Melissa G 4. Karen

5. DonnaleeQ 6. Meloney 7. Quilting Gail 8. Alycia Quilts - Quiltygirl

9. Bonnie in Va 10. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting 11. Andrée at Quilting & Learning 12. Frédérique

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Week 133 Photo Challenge: Power

We all had photos, but My Guy forgot to send me his in time for me to get a post out last week. To be fair he's had a busy couple of weeks in the New Year.  The last challenge card we pulled was a bit different. 

I had an idea for this one, but my photos turned out horribly. So I racked my brain for something else.  I'm not impressed, but I do have a photo.  

Kate: My Daily Power Source

 

A simple power strip, not something that makes an eye catching photo. This one sits by my recliner so I can charge my phone, IPad, ear buds, and Fitbit. Nothing glamorous, but it makes my life a lot easier.  Definitely one of those things we use daily that we completely overlook.  

My Guy and Grad Girl's photo's form a theme.  My Guy's is a long established source of power. 

My Guy: Pumpjack

 

If you've been to Oklahoma you used to see these pumpjacks moving oil out of the ground pretty much everywhere.  As the reservoirs in these oil fields decrease below economical production, you see less and less of them.  

Grad Girl's photo shows what's been taking their place. 

Those fields that used to be full of pumpjacks are now filled with wind turbines.   The northern parts of Oklahoma are really flat and very windy, a perfect place for them.  Not that they don't create their own environmental issues with the wildlife and not everyone wants to have these be the main view of what used to be vast and sweeping plains.  

This week's challenge is more concrete. 

Should be interesting to see what we all come up with.