To Do Tuesday for the Week of 6/29/2021

Work has gone from insanely busy to the normal crazy busy, so I've been able to get in a bit more stitching time this week. There was time to work on the To Do List for the week.  

To Do List for June 22, 2021

• Grassy Creek: Finish quilt, take photos ✔
• Morewood Mystery:  Finish last border ✔
• Cabins and Fans: Continue assembly of row 4 ✔
• Unity: Make HSTS for clue 6 as leaders and enders ✔

Last week four out of four to dos checked off, so a really good week compared to the previous 8 or so.  Can I keep up the momentum for another week?  Only time will tell, but fingers crossed the there is good progress for this next week too. 

To Do List for June 29, 2021

Morewood Mystery:  Use leftover fabrics to design backing

 Morewood Mystery by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs

The quilt top is finished.  The light blue makes a great border.  Now to figure out how to piece the backing.  The goal is to get Morewood out for quilting by the end of July.  

Cabins and Fans: Work to assembly row 5

Cabins and Fans, self designed

The fans blocks are going together according to the plan in EQ 8. Row 5 is the half way point, so I'm hopeful of having a finished flimsy by the end of July. 

Unity: Continue making HSTs and Step 7 blocks

Just 2 more blocks to finish and the top border for round 7 will be finished.  This round has been really slow, but that's OK, Unity is a great leaders and enders project.  It will get done when it gets done.  

That's my list for this next week. Linking up with ChrisKnits for To Do Tuesday.  Good luck with your To Do's this week.  

Finished Finally

 Just a couple more days till the calendar turns over to July and we'll officially be starting the second half of 2021.  My plans for 2021 haven't gone so hot. I started out strong and then April happened.  Work has been insanely busy since, so May and June haven't been great on the stitching front.  Work has bumped down from insanely to just the normal crazy busy, so I've gotten more stitching done the last week.  Enough stitching that June's One Monthly Goal is finished. 

My OMG for June was to finish Grassy Creek (aka Fritillaria).  For reference a Fritillaria is one of these:

Photo from Eden Brothers
 

I've never seen one of these, they don't grow here, but the colors fit well with my version of Grassy Creek.

Grassy Creek (Fritillaria): The Bonnie Hunter 2020 Mystery Quilt
Started: November 27, 2020
Finished: June 25, 2021

It's rare that I finish a Bonnie Hunter Mystery before the next mystery starts. Making only half the blocks seems to be the way to go if I want to finish before the next mystery comes out.  

 

Trudy quilted a repeating leafy pattern in yellow.  It gives the quilt a very nice texture when the light shines on it just right. 

The backing is a red, blue and gold print that's been in the stash for awhile, it blends well enough with the colors in the front.  I used the yellow/gold for the binding.  

I took my standard glamor shot with the quilt thrown over the rocking chair. 

There was a break in the deluges of rain, so I tried to get a shot with the Black Eyed Susans. 

Not a great shot, but it was fun to try something a bit different. 

I think the label worked out well. 

 This is only quilt finish number 2 for the year, so finishing up 8 is going to be a stretch. But at the end of June last year, I only had two quilts finished.  There were 5 more quilts finished before the end of the year. So there's still hope that I can meet my goal of 8 for the year.  But I best get busy!  

Linking up with the June One Monthly Goal Finish, Monday Making and Design Wall Monday.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 26 of 2021

I can honestly say it hasn't been a bad week.  There's still lots going on at work, but the worst of it is done.  I'm hoping by the end of this week, that part of my life is mostly back to normal.  Since I was home on time most nights this week, I actually worked in some stitching time each day. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/June = 23/26 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 151/177
• Success rate = 85.31%

A few more weeks like this and I'll get my success rate moving in the right direction, hopefully for the rest of the year.

Last week I shared photos of the Black Eyed Susans that are blooming in abundance right now.  Apparently the birds really like them too. 

 

How did you do this week at hiding from the heat and getting in a few stitches at the same time?  

1. Julie in GA 2. Chrisknits 3. maggie f 4. Ivani 5. karen

6. DonnaleeQ 7. Shasta @ High Road 8. Meloney 9. Sherrie 10. DawnyK

11. amanda 12. Quilting Gail 13. Nanette 14. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

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To Do Tuesday: 06/22/2021

Stitching time has been hit or miss the last couple of months and will likely be so for a few more weeks.  Consequently, I'm not doing all that well with the weekly to do list.  My last To Do List is from two weeks ago. 

To Do List for 6/08/2021

• Grassy Creek: Continue to hand sew binding ✔
• Morewood Mystery: Finish border 3, start border 4 ✔
• Cabins and Fans: Continue assembly of row 4 ✔
• Unity: Make HSTs for clue 6 as leader and ender ✔

Over the last two weeks, I've made progress on each one of the items on that last To Do List. So though projects aren't progressing as quickly as they did earlier in the year, they are moving along.  Having a list helps, so here's the focus for this week. 

To Do List for 6/22/2021

Grassy Creek:  Finish binding, take photos of finished quilt.

Three of the corners are stitched down and there's about 30 something inches left before the hand stitching is done.  

Morewood Mystery: Finish border 4

The two side borders are attached, so all that's left are the top and bottom borders. 

Cabins and Fans: Continue to assemble row 4

Rows 1 through 3 are all stitched together.  Just a couple more blocks to assemble and row 4 will be completed.  

Unity:  Continue making HSTs as leader and enders

Steps 6 and 7 are going really slowly.  But that's OK, this has been a very nice leaders and enders project. 

So that's my plan for whatever stitching time I can manage this week.  Linking up with ChrisKnits for To Do Tuesday.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 25 of 2021

Happy first day of summer to all who live in the Northern Hemisphere.  I broke out the capris and sandals last weekend.  Our temps went from the low 70s to the mid 90s seemingly overnight. The summer temps are likely here to stay now.  

Work continues to be a challenge.  Both My Guy and I are completely swamped, we had two nights this week we didn't leave work till almost 8 PM.  We both work in the same organization, but different research groups. Not sure why the work load has jumped up so much, but it's been pretty miserable with no end in sight.  Added to that I have some family drama going on that's pulled me away from home over the weekends. So consequently there's been little time or desire to stitch, blog or follow other's blogs. 

At some point, things will line out at work and on the personal front. Till then I'm giving myself permission to be a bit lax on the stitching and blogging.  My goal is to keep the 15 Minutes to Stitch post going to motivate me to do at least that much most days.  I managed to work in some stitching time on all but our 8 PM end of work days.  

• 15 minute days/week = 5/7 days
• 15 minute days/June = 16/19 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 144/170 days
• Success rate = 84.71%

Most days it was just 15 minutes of stitching time, but I at least got that much in.  Sometimes that's as good as it gets and you just have to roll with it.

There has been little time to enjoy the wild flowers this spring. I did make the effort last night at sunset to get in a bit of a walk to check out what's blooming in the fields.  

The Black Eyed Susans are in abundance right now. 

 A lone bee was taking advantage of last call at an Indian Blanket before the sun completely faded from the sky.  

Hope your summer stitching has gotten off to a good start (or your winter sewing if you are down south).  How was your stitchy week? 

1. Julie in GA 2. Ivani 3. DonnaleeQ

4. Meloney 5. DawnyK 6. Amanda

7. Quilting Gail 8. Shasta @ High Road 9. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

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Stitching Time: Week 24 of 2021

I'm a little late posting today.  It's been a busy weekend and with all that's been going on I forgot it was Sunday.  It was a reasonably good week on the stitching front, but the busy weekend schedule meant I missed one day of stitching time. 

• 15 minute days/week = 6/7 days
• 15 minute days/June = 11/12 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 139/163 days
• Success rate = 85.28%

Even so, June is looking a lot better than May did.  I've been making a point of getting in just 15 minutes even on those days we have to work late. 

How did your stitchy week work out?  

1. Chrisknits 2. maggie f 3. Ivani 4. DonnaleeQ

5. Julie in GA 6. Meloney 7. Quilting Gail 8. Amanda

9. Shasta @ High Road 10. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt 11. DawnyK

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To Do Tuesday for 6/8/2021

We actually hit steamy yesterday.  It's been a very cool spring here compared to the high temps elsewhere in the country the last couple of weeks, but the cool stuff may be over for a while.  Work continues to be busy, but things look to be calming down.  I got in more stitching time this week, but I still didn't finish everything on my list.  

Weekly To Do List for 06/01/2021

• Grassy Creek: Sew on binding, finish quilt - progress
• Morewood Mystery: Work on border 3 ✔
• Cabins and Fans: Assemble row 3, start row 4 ✔
• Unity: Make HSTS for clue 6 as leader and ender ✔

Three out of four's not bad.  The hand stitching on Grassy Creek is taking longer than planned.  I really only had 15 minutes of stitching time most evenings last week. But some progress is better than none.  I have plans with my sister this weekend, so I probably won't get much stitching done, so this week's list is going to be pretty light.  

Weekly To Do List for 06/08/2021

Grassy Creek: Continue sewing on the binding. 

Grassy Creek, the 2020 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

I've passed the first corner, so still three left to go.  

Morewood Mystery: Finish border 3, start on the last border

Only one more border strip to pin on and stitch down to finish off border 3. I've already cut and starting sewing together the strips for the last border. 

Cabins and Fans: Continue assembly of row 4

Cabins and Fans, self designed

I have the sashing strips cut so I also hope to get row three sewn to row 2.  I just found an error in row 3, so I'll have to pull out the seam ripper and get that fixed before proceeding with work on row 4.  

Unity:  Continue making HSTs for clue 6.

Unity, 2020 Bonnie Hunter Sew-In-Place Quilt Along

I need to cut some more bits and pieces of the various fabrics before I can make any more blocks. That's on this week's to do list as well. 

That's my to do list for this week.  I'm hoping to make progress even if I can't check anything off for the week.  

Linking up with Chris Knits for To Do Tuesday.  

Getting Back on Track

The two day weekend went really quickly.  The Scientist in Training was home, but had a wedding to attend and a sleep over with the high school buddies, so we didn't see much of her.  Between errands and a nasty sinus headache, I didn't get in  as much sewing time as I would have liked.  I turned the first corner on stitching down the binding on Grassy Creek. 

I had hoped to have a finish this weekend, but I didn't get in much stitching time during the week.  I'm hoping for more progress on that front this week. 

Row three of the Cabin quilt is done. 

Cabins and Fans, self designed

The first two blocks for row four are in progress.  I had to stop and cut more sashing strips. The plan is to get row 3 sashed to the rest and get a good bit done on assembling row 4.  

Linking up with Monday Making and Monday Design Wall.  Enjoy your stitching time this week.  

Stitching Time: Week 23 of 2021

After vacation and a three day holiday weekend, this weekend seems really short.  Is it really Sunday already?  Last week went fast. But it was a much better week on the stitching front than I've been having.

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/May = 18/31 days
• 15 minute days/June = 5/5 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 133/156 days
• Success rate = 85.26% 

It's been a few weeks since I've managed to stitch each day of a week. Most of those days it really was only 15 minutes, but I at least got those in.  I'm hoping work finally calms down a bit this week and my work days get a good bit shorter.   

How did your stitchy week work out?

1. Julie in GA 2. maggie f 3. Ivani 4. DonnaleeQ 5. Meloney

6. Sherrie 7. Jennifer in Indy 8. DawnyK 9. Quilting Gail 10. Amanda

11. Andree at Quilting & Learning 12. Shasta @ High Road 13. Carol @Quilt Schmilt

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June One Monthly Goal

It's so hard to believe it's June already and that the year is just about half over.  There has been some good progress on my UFOs, but just one finish so far. I'm hoping that all the work will pay off in lots of finishes the second half of the year.  I've been playing along with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal for several years, it's the one goal I have met each month this year. 

 So I'm definitely going to set a goal for this month.  I'm close to the second quilt finish for 2021. 

I've started stitching down the binding on Grassy Creek.  I'm close to turning the first corner.  So this is definitely a doable goal.  Maybe I should be more ambitious, but work has been crazy busy, so I'm going to go easy on the expectations for sewing room progress.  

Linking up with the June One Monthly Goal.  Good luck with your stitching plans for the month.  

PHD Progress

The plan for this year was to finish a lot of quilts. Participating in Quilting Gails 2021 PHD (projects half done) is supposed to help me with that goal.  

May was a definitely lacking in stitching time, so my PHD report doesn't show a new finish yet. 

The biggest success so far this year is that I've not started anything new.  I do have some planned starts later in the year, but so far I've avoided the squirrels.  The only change to the list was the addition of another project to this year's UFO list.  I don't expect to finish it this year, but making progress counts for something too.  In spite of the lack of stitching time last month, there was visible progress on all the current projects.  

Grassy Creek has the binding sewn to the front and is prepped for the hand stitching to the back.  

I've got a whole month to get that binding stitched down by hand. Finish number 2 should show up on the report next month.  

There wasn't much progress on the Morewood Mystery.

Just two white border strips were added this month. Not much, but it's still progress. 

Row two of Cabin and Fans was completed and sewn to row 1. 

Good progress was also made on getting row 3 assembled. There was a bit of un-sewing and rearranging of row 2 to adjust the order of the different colors.  So there was more stitching on this project then it first appears. 

Construction progressed just a little bit on the third Step 7 border for Unity. 

Just four more blocks needed to finish off that third border.  

The newest project added to the 2021 rotation is an embroidered panel that will eventually become the center of a medallion quilt. 

This is my travel project. I made a good bit of progress on that 5th butterfly while we were on vacation.  

Though it wasn't the month I was hoping for, there was still really progress on each project.  Some months that's as good as it gets.  

Linking up with the May PHD Report over at Quilting Gail's

To Do Tuesday for 6/1/2021

We had a relaxing holiday weekend.  We didn't go anyplace, we just hung out around the house. Consequently I was able to spend some quality time in my sewing room for the first time in weeks.  May wasn't the best month for stitching. My last To Do Tuesday post was almost a month ago.  My stitching time was just so limited that I haven't bothered to make up a list since. So we'll start from where I left off and just move on from there. 

Weekly (Monthly?) To Do List for 05/04/2021

• Grassy Creek: Make label and binding ✔
• Morewood Mystery: Work on border 3 ✔ 
• Cabins and Fans: Assemble Row 3
• Unity: Make HSTs for clue 6 ✔

It's taken me most of May complete three of the four items on my last to do list. At least there is some progress for the month. That's better than none.  Since life continues to be pretty busy, the goal with this week's list is to just keep moving on all the current projects. 

Weekly To Do List for 06/01/2021

Grassy Creek:  Start stitching down the binding

Grassy Creek, the 2020 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

The binding has been machine stitched to the front. All that's left is to hand stitch it to the backing.  I've got the clips in place and the thread selected, I just need to thread a needle and start stitching.

  

Morewood Mystery: Continue adding border #3

Morewood Mystery by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs

Two of the four border strips are added.  I need to measure the top again before I cut the final two strips for the top and bottom.  

Cabins and Fans:  Assemble row 3, start row 4

Cabins and Fans, self designed

I had to unstitch the second row, flip it and then restitch to the sashing.  The printed layout I'm working from didn't have the final block placement. Now that's worked out, I should be easily able to finish row three and make a start on row 4.  

Unity:  Make HSTs for clue 6 as leader and ender

Unity, 2020 Bonnie Hunter Sew-In-Place Quilt Along

Not a lot of progress on this project last month. Just one more block finished for the top border strip. Just 13 more blocks needed to finish this round of borders for Unity.  

That's my to do list for this week. With life being so hectic, I'll be happy if I can check off even just one thing on my list by the end of the week.  Linking up with ChrisKnits for To Do Tuesday.