Wednesday, November 2, 2022

PHD in 2022: June to October

 I've not written a PHD post in four months because there really wasn't anything to post about.  There was pretty much no stitching from June till the end of August. Over the last month or so, I've finished a couple of new projects and made a bit of progress on my 2022 UFO list.  My report is not stellar, but it could certainly be worse. 




I finished two of three new starts. That's probably my biggest achievement from the last few months.  

Grad Girl asked me to make pillows from two of her embroidery projects. 


Both pillows were finished the night before we moved her to Texas.  I really like how both pillows came out, so did GG.  It helps a lot that her embroidery projects were both beautiful.  

The second new project for 2022 was also a Grad Girl request.  I made grocery sacks for both her and her roommate a couple of years ago.  After moving to Texas, GG discovered that two grocery sacks weren't enough and she asked for a third one. Plus her old roommate was now short one for her shopping, so I was asked to make a second for her old roommates.  Then My Guy reminded me that he wanted grocery sacks too as it's hard to recycle the plastic bags in our community.  So I pulled some left overs and older fabrics out of the stash and got busy.  



Seven bags were made over the last few months.  The pattern is a free download from The Fat Quarter Shop.  These bags were really fun to make and were a great way to get myself back into the sewing room.  

The last new project is Meadow Mist Designs 2022 Mystery Quilt along, Melodic Mystery.  



I got a late start on this one as the first clue came out in early September. Clue 3 comes out tomorrow. I should be done with clue 1 by then, but I'm not even half way done with clue 2.  I'm hoping to be caught up by the time the December clue comes out. This mystery will run into next year, so I don't have to finish it. 

There was also some progress on the UFO side of things.  

Unity was as completed quilt top in April, the backing was assembled last month.  


 I just need to bite the bullet and prep both the backing and the quilt top for quilting. It's my least favorite quilting activity so I tend to stall on it.  Unity is the Bonnie Hunter surprise quilt along she started in 2020 during the pandemic.  

Macaron Mystery, last year's Meadow Mist Designs mystery, is almost a finished quilt top.


Two of the three planned borders have been added.  Macaron should be a finished quilt top by the end of the month.  

The last active project is Bonnie Hunter's 2021 mystery quilt along project, Rhododendron.  


There is no change to the project up on the design wall. I'm assembling blocks as my current leader and ender project. So there's been very slow progress on this project. It certainly won't be finished by the time this year's mystery comes out.  

I'm slowly getting back my stitching mojo in the middle of what's proving to be a major life change.  Most days I have this feeling that I'm missing something, something with a major deadline coming up.  Does everyone get "ghost feelings" like that after retiring?  

Linking up with Quilting Gail for the October 2022 PHD report 

7 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I had those feelings when I was no longer working out of the home - it took awhile and I seemed to fill up my whole day to stay busy. Those pillows are wonderful your daughter did a great job with that embroidery

Sara said...

When you lay out all of these projects, it's obvious that you have accomplished quite a bit. I sewed Trick or Treat bags for the 5 grandkids a few years ago. I noticed in the photos their moms sent that a couple of them were still using those fabric bags. And one granddaughter was carrying one of her pillowcases I made - must have been anticipating more candy collected than her brothers.

ledamewood said...

It took me 3 years to feel comfortable with retirement. I believe it might have been easier if I had chosen to retire, but our division was closed down and I was over 60, so not many options for an executive in a tight job market. I started with yoga, then a quilt ministry and finally found my way. Unfortunately I still have an occasional dream where something has gone wrong at the office. Those still unsettle me, but they happen less and less. You'll get there.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Two completed quilts are better than none, Kate. Beautiful pillows with GG's stunning embroidery!!

Barbara said...

Grad Girl’s embroidery is amazing! Great idea to make pillows from them. I have a pillow I need to recover, and I’ve never done it before. I found a good YouTube video. All your quilts are looking great.

Jennifer said...

I think you’ve made pretty darn good progress considering all that you’ve been through in the last four months. I always enjoy seeing these posts - it’s fun to see the stats and the before and now pictures.

Susan said...

Those bags are great! You've made more progress this year than I did, on anything at all. I finished ONE top that I started in 2021, and it wasn't even very big! But better than none. =)