One Monthly Goal - February Wrap Up

Nothing like pushing things to the wire.  February has been a busy month in addition to being a short one, so getting the One Monthly Goal finished has been a challenge.  

Geometry was just a set of blocks back at the first of the month.  

The final border was added last night, so Geometry is a finished flimsy, which was the goal for February. 

Geometry - self designed pattern

This is number three of four graduation quilts that need to be finished before the end of May.   Hopefully I can get the backing made next weekend and then get this project shipped off to Trudy for quilting by the middle of March.  Then it will be time to get started on graduation quilt number 4.  

Linking up with the end of February One Monthly Goal over at Elm Street Quilts.  Also linking up with UFO 2017 over at Patchwork Times on March 1st.  Geometry was my focus UFO for February.  Though it's not completely done, it definitely got moved along and that's what I'm hoping to do with each of the quilts on my list this year.  Finishes would be nice, but progress counts for something too. 

Weekend Stitching: Geometry is now a Complete Rectangle

It was a whirlwind of a weekend.  We attended the wedding of My Guy's nephew.  Not many of the My Guy's siblings attended but many of their offspring did, so a lot of the groom's cousins were there.  This was a boon for Drama Teen as that's her generation, so she had lots of fun at the reception and the after reception.  (I say her generation, the cousins range in age from about 27 to 17, but this group all "get" each other.  

Not a lot of stitching got done this weekend as we hung out with the family for most of the weekend.  The two halves of Geometry were sewn together. 

Drama Teen and I decided that Geometry needs a narrow black border.  I started working on that last night. My One Monthly Goal was to get Geometry to the finished flimsy stage.  Hopefully I'll have enough time to sew tonight to make that happen, I'm running out of month pretty quickly.  

That's it for me today.  Linking up with:

Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall 

Slow Stitching and Stash Slashing

It was fun hanging out with family.  The wedding was beautiful.  The groom was My Guy's nephew, the son of his youngest sister.  Wow these kids grow up fast, seemingly overnight.  This nephew walked for the first time at our wedding rehearsal dinner, he turned one a week later.  That was 25 years ago.  

I was able to get in just a bit of slow stitching during all visiting.  

So now I've got two corners and one whole side of the binding for Poinsettias hand stitched down. Just two corners and 3 sides left.  Poinsettias is one of my projects on the list to finish for the first quarter of the 2017 Finish Along.  The other two projects are Bejeweled, which just needs binding and Geometry.  Geometry needs backing, quilting and binding.  Not sure that one is going to get done before the end of the quarter, but hopefully it will at least have been sent out for quilting by that point.  

It's been a busy week, with not a lot of time in the evenings.  I did manage to find 15 minutes each evening to stitch, but most nights it was just 15 minutes.  Still I'm at 100% for the year, finding just a bit of time to sew each day.  I'm not doing as well on the stash busting this year, but I've got a bit going out this week with nothing coming in. 

Used this week:  0.64 yards
Used year to date:  13.95 yards
Added year to date:  59.05 yards
Net added:  45.10 yards

The back for Geometry is in the plans for this next week, so hopefully I'll see a big jump in the stash going out by next Sunday. 

We still have some family stuff going on today as people are in town for the wedding, so I'm not sure how much stitching I'll get in today.  Hopefully there will be some sewing room time this evening. 

Linking up with Patchwork Times for the stash report and Slow Stitching Sunday over at Kathy's Quilts.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - A Bit More Aqua

It was one of those weeks.  Just a lot of stuff going on that meant we didn't get home till later in the evening most days this week. We've got some family stuff going on today and tomorrow, so this weekend will be a bit busier than normal.

There wasn't a lot of time in the sewing room this week or on the computer.  I did manage to finish one more aqua fan block for this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

The last large aqua fan block has been started, but I still need to cut the fabrics for the 4 small fan blocks planned for the teal scraps.  Maybe there will be some time Sunday afternoon for stitching and I can get a bit more caught up before Angela announces next month's color. 

Linking up with Soscrappy for this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Also linking up with Oh Scrap over at Quilting is More Fun than Housework on Sunday.  

Weekend Stitching - The Other Stuff

It was a quite weekend.  Drama Teen has fully recovered from last week's stomach bug and spent yesterday studying for a physics test she missed on Friday.  My Guy and I are looking at this as weekend as the calm before the storm.  The next few weeks will be really busy with interview candidates, science fair judging, retirement dinners (between the two of us there are 5 retirement receptions to attend), and then there's the three day workshop on energy that My Guy organizes.  Oh, plus there is a wedding in there somewhere.  We are both looking forward to spring break when things will slow down again.   

Geometry is still in three large pieces which hopefully will become one finished flimsy sometime this week.  The binding did get attached to the front of Poinsettias, so I'll have some slow stitching to work on.  There's not much to show on those two projects, but there has been some progress over on the small design wall.  I finished the first three blocks for En Provence. 

 En Provence, A Bonnie Hunter Mystery (2016)

I'd like to make 12 blocks, but I'm not sure there is enough of the two blues to make that many.  There is definitely enough to make 9 blocks.  So I'm either a third or a fourth of the way done with the blocks.  

Also up on the smaller design wall is the fourth block two from the Meadow Mist Mystery.

  Meadow Mist Designs Mystery
By Cheryl Brickey of the Meadow Mist Designs Blog

There are eight more blocks left to make before assembly can start on this one.  I'm not sure that using the two blacks with the orange was the best choice of fabrics.  Once I get Geometry off the big design wall, I'll lay out the center blocks for this project and see how this project is shaping up. 

I'm still contemplating labels for Bejeweled.

Still not there yet.  The background is too dark, though I really like the teal bow and flower.  I still think it needs jewels somewhere, so back to the drawing board.  

Linking up with:
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall  

Stash Report - Week 7 of 2017

Thankfully it's been a slow and relaxing weekend. Drama Teen is just about back to normal after having a very nasty stomach bug last week.  We spent part of yesterday disinfecting the doorknobs and other surfaces that DT might have contacted, changed out all the towels and asked her to wash her own bedding (I'm pretty sure that's how I caught the last round, by handling all the contaminated laundry).  Neither My Guy or I can afford to get that sick. We both have lots of stuff going on next week, followed by a family wedding over the weekend.  

In spite of my nursing duties the latter part of the week, I did well on meeting my commitment to stitch for at least 15 minutes each day.  So for the year, I have a 100% success rate on that.  Which is better than I've done with the stash report this year.  At least there's nothing coming in this week and a little bit out.  

Used this week: 0.59 yards
Used year to date: 13.21 yards
Added year to date: 59.05 yards
Net stashed: 45.74 yards

The main focus has been on getting Geometry into a finished flimsy and since I counted the fabric in the blocks as I made them, there's just not much else going out.  

Trudy sent Bejeweled back beautifully quilted.  So now it's time to get it bound, but it first needs a label.  I've been struggling a bit with coming up with a theme for this one.  This is what I've gotten so far.

It's a pretty label, but I'm not sure it goes with the quilt and it's not at all right for the intended recipient. I'm thinking it needs jewels of some type.  Hmm, definitely need to go back to the drawing board on this one.  

Linking up with Patchwork Times for this week's stash report.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Swimming Along with Aqua

We were all ready for an early weekend.  Drama Teen missed school Monday, a respiratory virus according to the doctor.  DT felt well enough to go to school on Tuesday.  By Tuesday night she's got muscle aches, a headache, and a very upset stomach.  The stomach bug was bad, she wasn't able to keep even water down on Wednesday and much of Thursday.  Thankfully she was able to manage jello and a bit of Sprite by Friday morning and actually ate a light dinner Friday night.  My hands are raw from all the hand washing the last few days, I definitely do not want to catch that bug.  I'm hoping this is it for illnesses this winter. 

In spite of my nursing duties this week, I did get some Rainbow Scrap Challenge sewing accomplished.  I finally got smart and cut a bunch of the black strips for the fan blocks, so all I have to cut to start a new block is the colored strips. That helped move two of the large aqua blocks to the finished list. 

The large purple fans from last month also got finished up.  

I like the starburst effect when the blocks are laid out this way.  The dark center with the two lighter strips on the sides was a deliberate choice.  Unfortunately, with the limited palette for the aqua fabrics, it's not going to be as obvious.  

Linking up with Angela over at Soscrappy for this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge and with Oh Scrap over at Quilting is More Fun than Housework.  

Weekend Stitching - Gaining on Geometry

It was a nice weekend for just hanging out around the house and getting some sewing done.  Drama Teen went to bed early last night with a sore throat, but no fever.  We're hoping it's not strep throat, one of her classmates she has a couple of classes with had it last week.  It's just that time of year. 

Other than being on illness alert, it was a really nice weekend.  I did get to spend most of Sunday in the sewing room.  Not all of the time was spent at the sewing machine.  I finally got tired of moving Poinsettias from point to point in the sewing room.  It's been quilted for a couple of months, but needs to be trimmed and bound.  

So I cleared off the cutting table and got it trimmed up.  I really like the holly leaf quilting motif.  It shows up nicely in that black border.  The binding strips were also cut and are sitting over the sewing machine for stitching.  While cutting the binding strips I realized that Poinsettias needed a label too.  So I took some time out to design one.  

The other focus in the sewing room this weekend was on getting Geometry into a finished flimsy. 

Progress was made, but it's not a finished flimsy yet.  The top 4 rows are sewn together and the bottom two are as well.  It always takes longer to sew all the rows together than I think it should.  But this one should be a finished flimsy by next weekend.  

Linking up with
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall

Stash Report - Week 6 of 2017

Yesterday was beautiful and warm, in the 80s.  Today's highs are supposed to be in the 50's, definitely a good day for a sewing room retreat. I was contemplating staying in my pjs for the day, but I think not.  Jeans and an old sweatshirt would be warmer.  My sewing room is pretty chilly on these kind of days, at least till the sun gets into the western sky.  

I'm not doing so hot on the fabric diet this year.  I bought fabric yesterday.  There are plans for most of it.  

The blue yardage is for the last graduation quilt. The reds are for this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt, as is the green.  The blue polka dot is likely to end up in the last graduation quilt.  These all came from a new quilt shop that opened in town last weekend.  They are just getting started, so they don't have a big selection of fabrics, but they've got some fun classes scheduled over the next few months.  It would be nice to have a shop in town, rather than having to run to the big city. But they'll only be able stay if they do well, so I'm trying to do my part in helping them get off on the right foot.  (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Here's the damage:

Used year to date:  12.72 yards
Added year to date:  59.05 yards
Net stashed:  46.33 yards

I still have all year to overcome this early purchases, so I'm hopeful of reaching the black before the end of the year. 

This week was also pretty good in terms of finding time to sew.  I managed 7 out of 7 days again this week.  So I've not missed a day yet this year.  Those 15 minute to hour long sessions each evening really do help move the projects along.  All the blocks for Geometry are made, so I was able to start sewing the top together last night.  Fingers crossed that it's a finished flimsy by the end of the day.  

Linking up with Patchwork Times for this week's stash report.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Still Pursuing Purples while Acquiring Aquas

This was one of those weeks where Friday couldn't come soon enough.  Not sure why the week dragged, but it surely did. There are chores to be done today.  Unfortunately, laundry is an absolute must.  But I may declare tomorrow a solo retreat day.  My sanity needs to be restored, it was sorely tested this week.  A day in the sewing room would be a great way to recover. 

There was time this week to make some progress on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks, though I'm still working on last month's purples.  All the small purple blocks are done.  

  

The last of the large purple fan blocks is almost done, just one more black strip.  I was just too sleepy to finish it last night, as I said it was a long week.  The fabrics are selected for February's blocks.  In looking at what was in the stash and how they fit together, I decided that all the small fan blocks will be teal.  

All the large fan blocks will be aqua.

My stash could use some dark and light aquas, it's a bit heavy on medium tones.  But I think these 8 fabrics will work just fine.  

You can see more sky and water colored blocks over at Soscrappy.  On Sunday, check out Oh Scrap over at Quilting is More Fun than Housework for even more scrappy eye candy.

Weekend Stitching: Playing with Geometry

It was a nice quiet weekend.  We're not football fans so the Super Bowl went unnoticed till Drama Teen turned on the end of the game so she'd know who won.  

The sewing room wasn't lonely this weekend.  Though the time spent in it wasn't all directed to sewing.  After adding a couple of new additions, there was a bit of reorganization that needed to go on.  I did eventually get back to stitching and made some good progress on Geometry. 

All the blue blocks are done and I got a good start on the green HSTs.  All that's left are the yellow HSTs.  So this should be ready to sew together later this week.  Drama Teen really likes this one and thinks her friend will love it. This has been a fun and fast project.  

Linking up with:
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday

Stash Report - Week 5 of 2017

We are all glad that last week is over.  Everyone survived the respiratory crud and was healthy going into Friday.  Let's hope it stays that way.  Apparently some type of stomach bug  and the strep are also working their way through the local school systems, so we weren't the only ones at work who missed a few days last week.  

Not much happened in the sewing room early in the week.  I barely managed to get in my 15 minutes those days I was home sick, but I did manage so I'm still 100% on finding time to sew every day this year.  I didn't manage a lot of stitching early in the week and that shows in this week's stash report.  

Used year to date:  11.23 yards
Added year to date:  54.3 yards
Net stashed: 43.07 yards

I'm slowly eating away at those early stash additions.  Thankfully there was nothing new in this week. Actually that's not quite true, there was no new fabric in this week.  There were some updates made to the sewing room.  I've not been very happy with the floor lamp over the cutting table.  It's not very stable and the individual lights don't stay in position like they are supposed to.  So I ordered a second Slimline LED floor lamp for the cutting table. 

I have one of these over my sewing machine and love the light it adds to my dark sewing room.  An added advantage is these LEDs give off light in the natural daylight range, which means if I use them for photography, I don't have to color correct the photos.  The lamp head swivels, so the light can be directed where it's needed.  I used it last night and it really helps light up that dark corner where my cutting table is located.   

The other addition is to help with the organization of projects at the sewing machine.  I tend to work on multiple projects at a time. Right now that list include Geometry, En Provence, the 2017 RSC blocks, and the Meadow Mist Mystery.  I was keeping the block pieces in little bins that sat on the floor by the machine.  But it got to the point that they were creating quite a clutter there on the floor and more than once they got kicked over spilling fabric pieces all over the place. Pottery Barn Teen had a sale on storage bins last week, so I thought why not. If I don't like them Drama Teen can probably use them. 

  

I don't think I'll be giving up this one.  I've got the teal fabric pulls for this month's RSC block in drawer two and what pieces I've got cut for En Provence in drawer three.  I sewed with this last night and love it.  It keeps everything separate, but right by the machine where I can get to it easily.   The second set of bins is still in the box.  I bought those to help with scrap storage.  I'll get that one assembled this afternoon.  Hopefully I'll like it as well.  

Linking up with Patchwork Times for this week's stash report.   

February One Monthly Goal: The March of Graduation Quilts Continues

I've been home with a nasty cold since Monday. That definitely wasn't the plan for the end of January.  Thankfully I finished up January's One Monthly Goal before the crud took over.  Now it's time to contemplate the February One Monthly Goal. 

Drama Teen asked me last year if I would make quilts for her best friends and her favorite teacher for graduation this year.  So she gave me plenty of notice.  One is finished (Zombie's in Paris) and the second has been sent out for quilting (Bejeweled).  That leaves quilts 3 and 4 that have to be finished before May.  The third quilt, Geometry has been up on the design wall since December.  

The blocks are just big HSTs, so they go together pretty fast.  I'm almost finished with the purple blocks.  That leaves blue, green and yellow blocks that have to be made.  February is a short month, and we have a wedding to attend the last weekend that will cut into my stitching time this month.  Considering all that, my goal is to make all the blocks and get them into a finished flimsy by the end of the month. That should set me up to finish the back and get it out for quilting in March.  

I'm also participating in Patchwork Times UFO-2017 this year (the more motivation the better).  Geometry is #2 on my list, so I'm substituting it for whatever number Judy draws for February. 

Linking up with 
Elm Street Quilts
Let's Bee Social
Needle and Thread Thrusday