To Do List for the Week of 12/31/2024

It's the last day of 2024, so this list is really the first to do list for 2025. I had to decide to add this week's list to the 2024 tracking tab in Notes or make a new tab. Since most of the next week is in 2025, I decided it needed to go on a new tab.  Before I get to this week's to do list, how did it go with last week's list?  

To Do List for 12/24/2024

1.  Old Town: Work on clues 1, 2, 3, 4, start 5, 6, & 7 ✔

2.  Butterfly Medallion: Finish the orange butterfly ✔

3.  2025 Guild BOM: Finish writing documentation for January ✔

4.  2024 Guild BOM: Finish sashing and start assembly - progress

5.  Marble Mystery: Finish the December clue - progress

6.  Wild and Goose: Make red blocks ✔

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

It was a long list for a holiday week, much of which I wasn't home for.  So I'm not complaining about 5 check marks and two progress made.  I'm sticking with the long list. I'm just hoping for progress across the board, I doubt I check off everything this week.  

To Do List for 12/31/2025

1.  2025 Guild BOM: Start on February blocks

Those have to be ready for the next guild meeting in January.  I can already tell this BOM is going to keep me on my toes.  

2.  Old Town (Bonnie Hunter):  Continue to work on clues 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6 and 7: start clue 8.   

I've finished clue 1 finally, but I'm still working on all the rest. I've not gotten to the assembly part of clue 7 yet.  It's not uncommon for Bonnie to release a clue on New Year's day, sometimes it's even the final clue.  So I may well be adding in clues 8 and 9 this week. 

3. 2025 SAHRR (Quilting Gail): Decide on and start the center block

This year's quilt is going to Grad Girl's roommate.  I know the colors I'm using: green, teal, blue and maybe purple. But I don't have a theme yet.  Thankfully Grad Girl is home for a bit longer so I'll have her help on picking what to use for the center block.  I've not decided if I'm going with yardage, scrappy or a combo of the two.  I need to spend some time in the fabric closet.  

4. 2024 Guild BOM: Finish sashing and start quilt assembly

I'm still working on the pieced sashing, but getting close to having that assembled.  I may need to take a break from Old Town and focus on this project for a day. I'd like to get it off the active list and onto the to be quilted list. 

5.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish December and start January Clue.

I'm still working on the assembly part of the December clue, but am more than half done with that.  I haven't even starting on the cutting apart section yet.  This is another one I should just spend a day on to get caught up so I'm ready for the January clue when it comes out on Thursday. 

6. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making red blocks

Angela (So Scrappy) has announced pink as the color for January. Since I'm not using pink in this project, I'll stick with it's darker shade for the month.  All the yellow and orange blocks are finished and I'm close to finishing off all the red blocks.  I'd really like to be in a position to start assembly by the end of the year.  We'll see how that goes.  

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

This has been such an easy leaders and enders.  It's been great to see the 4 patches start to pile up. I'm probably a little over half way on having all the blocks I need for assembly.  As this year's SAHRR starts to heat up, this project may get put back in the project box and I'll move Old Town to be my leaders and enders project.  That's usually the only way I ever finish a BH mystery.  

It's a long list.  So if I can make progress on each I'll be happy.  I probably need to spend some dedicated time on a couple of projects to get them off the list for a bit.  We'll see how this week goes and what gets to stay on the list next week. 

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

Best of Life In Pieces for 2024

This was my second full year of being retired.  I learned some lessons last year and made some different choices for this year. Not sure I've got it all figured out, but I'm in a better place this year than I was last year.  I think that showed in my blog posts. With the new year less than two days away, I'm linking up with Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs for her Best of 2024 Linky Party to remember the best things that happened on the blog this year.  

This is Cheryl's 10th year to host the linky party. I've written a post for all of them.  Cheryl leaves it up to us to define the "best of" for the year.  Here's what I consider the best of what was on my blog for 2024:

5.  To Do Lists: I've been playing along with To Do Tuesday since late 2019 (most recently hosted by the Quilt Schmilt). Some weeks the lists are short, some weeks they are long.  For some reason my May 7th to do list had the most views of all my posts this year.  There wasn't anything special in this post, no near finishes. It was the post with my first to do item for Grandmother's Choice, the Barbara Brackman quilt along from 2012. 

I finished all the blocks in August. Now I just need to quilt them. Having a to do list each week really helps keep me on track with my projects.  So that's definitely one of the "best" things for my quilting.  

4. 15 Minutes to Stitch (Stitching Stuff): I've been challenging myself to stitch for 15 minutes a day since 2011. I've hosted a linky party off and on over that time period. When you are a working women, wife and mother, it's so easy to decide oh I'll sew later. But then later never comes because there is always something to do, someplace to be and the ever present, I'm too tired.  Even being retired you can fall into, oh I can do that later thinking, but then later never comes.  So I've stayed intentional about getting in my 15 minutes each day. My last stitching stuff report says I've stitched every day this year as of 12/28.  

Making an effort to get in the sewing room each day pays off in lots of progress on projects. It's amazing what you can do with just 15 minutes every day. Posting my progress on the blog is motivating, so it's one of my "best" reasons for blogging.  

3.  Finishing one of my older UFOs, Scrappy Butterflies (A Flutter). 

    

A Flutter was my first finish for 2024.  Started in 2013 as my Rainbow Scrap Project for the year, it sat until last year when I finally figured out a setting for the blocks.  This is my current couch quilt. When I sent it out for quilting it was the 4th oldest UFO on my list.  So it felt nice to get this oldie, but goodie off my UFO list and into use. 

2. The most fun quilt to make this year was Shadow Demon, my Stay at Home Round Robin project for 2024.  

  

This quilt was for Grad Girl and her very own shadow demon, Queenie.  She helped me pick out the fabrics and she had a say so on what went into each border. It was fun collaboration.  Even better, she loved the finished quilt, so does Queenie.

1. Our Girls weekend when Grad Girl got her first sewing machine lessons is my "best" post for 2024.  

 

I tried for many years when she was growing up to interest her in learning to sew, video games were more her thing then.  But as she's gotten more and more into embroidery, she'd like to make some of her projects into other gifts, like bags and pillows.  She brought her sewing machine home for the holiday. We are signed up for a retreat next weekend. No telling what we'll get up to in the meantime.  

That's my "Best of 2024".  Thankfully, I had lots of posts to choose from this year. It was hard to pick just 5.  I liked all my finished quilts this year, it was hard to pick just 2 to highlight on this post.  Hopefully you'll go by Cheryl's blog and check out a few other "best of" to get a good vibe for what needs to be on your to do list for 2025. That's my plan.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 52 of 2024

 

This is the last stitching stuff post for 2024. It's always hard to believe that we've reached the end of another year.  I've done well this year on getting the posts up, mostly on time. Finding time to stitch each day has also gone well. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Dec = 28/28 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 363/363 days
• Success rate = 100%

Thankfully I had a hand stitching project to work on during the holiday.  I was able to work in my stitching time while we were hanging out with the family for Christmas.  Now I just have three days left!  Can I keep it up for the entire year?  I think so, especially as I have no place to be the next few days.  (No, I didn't miscount. This year was a leap year, so we have 366 days!)  

My spreadsheet is set up by the year, so next week's post will have the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.  I've already decided that I'm not going to try for the 100% next year. I've done it once, that's enough!  

I haven't done any sewing room reorganization this month.  I'll get back to that at some point, but for now, no photos to share there. I have enjoyed having my girl (and her side kick) home for the next couple of weeks. It's good to see the couch being used again. 

Have you been able to stitch a bit over the holiday?  

1. Gretchen 2. maggie f 3. Julie in GA 4. Karen

5. DonnaleeQ 6. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting 7. Quilting Gail 8. Melissa G

9. Andrée at Quilting & Learning 10. Bonnie in Va

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Week 132 Photo Challenge: Learning

With all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday, none of us gave much thought to the photo challenge card we drew on December 13th.  

But now that the holiday is over and every one is in wind down mode, it was easier to find the time to focus on the challenge.  I took my photo before the holiday and decided to just stick with it for the challenge. 

Kate: Pattern Creation 101

I didn't do any staging for this photo, this is how my computer work area usually looks.  Much of December has been spent learning how to draft instructions for the guild's block of the month program that I agreed to lead this year. Adobe Acrobat is open on the left and Power Point is open on the right. This has been my first attempt to create a new PDF file from scratch.  After much trial and error, I decided Grad Girl was right, build the files in MS Word and save as a PDF.  I know how to format documents with photos in MS Word, it was not as easy in Acrobat.  I don't have a drawing program, but knew from years of presentation creation for work that Power Point has decent and easy to use shape manipulation features.  There has been a steep learning curve, but the block instructions for January are now finished.  

My Guy went back to his school days for his photo. 

My Guy: On the Shoulders of Giants

My Guy is a physicist by training (he's pretty much a functional chemist these days).  His graduate work was in solid state physics. He spent a lot of time with the books and in the lab. To be honest, he still spends a lot of time in the lab and with the books.  When your job is to figure out why something isn't working right, sometimes you have to go back to the literature and learn about the system or material the problem is associated with before you can pin point the why and then decide how to fix it.

Grad Girl's photo about learning combines elements from my photo and My Guy's.  

Grad Girl: Dungeon Master Training

Pairing books with the computer is probably the norm for most students these days.  This is definitely not chemistry!  Grad Girl is taking a two week break before she has to go back and start writing her thesis.  She's a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons. She plays with a group of fellow chemists.  But she's really wanted to try being a Dungeon Master, the person who sets up the world and sets up the challenges.  She's starting a game with her college buddies. They'll have to play on line, but all of them are looking forward to it.  It will be one way for her to de-stress while she's working to finish up school.  

So that was our take on learning.  My Guy pulled this week's challenge. 

This should be interesting. I'm going to have to think on this one for a few days.  Hopefully with everyone off this week, we'll all have time to contemplate and get a photo for next Saturday.  

Merry Christmas!

 

To Do List for the Week of 12/24/2024

It's been a busy week, lots of holiday preparations, not much stitching stuff the last few days. I did work in a few stitching sessions in the sewing room before the holiday schedule completely took over.  

To Do List for 12/17/2024

1. Old Town: Work on clues 1, 2, 3, 4 and start 5 - progress

2. Wild and Goosey: Work on red blocks ✔

3. Summer Scrap Quilt:  Continue as leaders and enders ✔

4. Embroidered Medallion: Take a few stitches ✔ 

Last week's list was pretty loose, mostly just continue to make progress on my active projects.  I pretty much did that. The plan for this week won't really kick in until Friday, once all of the holiday visiting is over.  As much as I enjoy the hustle and bustle of family time, I will most definitely be ready for some alone time in my sewing room by the weekend.  

To Do List for 12/24/2024

1.  Old Town (Bonnie Hunter): Work on clues 1, 2, 3, 4 and start 5, 6, and 7.  

I've made good progress on the first 4 clues, but didn't get the chance to start clue 5.  Bonnie dropped clue 6 yesterday. I'll have some serious catching up to do when I get back into the sewing room.  

2. Butterfly Medallion: Finish the orange butterfly

 

Just a bit left to do and it will be finished. I had planned to finish it last night, but My Guy needed something from the store. Which then turned into a stop at Braum's for ice cream on our way back to the house.  Grad Girl can't get Braum's ice cream in College Station, so she indulges when she's home. I should be able to finish the butterfly today and move the hoop to the next section once the last of the present wrapping is done.   

3. 2025 Guild BOM: Finish writing documentation for January

The wonderful guild member who has led the block of the block program for the last ten plus years, wanted a year off. I somehow agreed to take it on for this year.  We are making a rainbow scrappy quilt using the Inverted Star block by Jessica Boschen. If you've followed my blog for long you may remember that I've made a quilt from this block before (here). I choose this pattern because I only need to write one pattern for the blocks and just announce a new color each month.  That I can do.  Writing a pattern for a new block every month is pretty daunting.  We'll see how it goes this year. 

4. 2024 Guild BOM: Finish the sashing and start assembly.

I've started the sashing, but have gotten derailed trying to keep up with Old Town.  I'm hoping to have a fully assembled quilt by the end of the year, which is only 7 days from now.

5.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish the December clue. 

I've made a start, but still have a lot of stitching and cutting to do. But that should go pretty quickly once I'm back in the my sewing room.  

6. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making red blocks

I haven't gotten very far with the red blocks this month. Hopefully I can finish up a few more before I pick up with whatever Soscrappy decides is the RSC color for January. 

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

So it's a long list for the last week of the year. I'm taking a week off my household chores, mostly.  I'm hoping to spend a lot of time stitching along with hanging out with Grad Girl and My Guy. Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.      

Stitching Stuff: Week 51 of 2024

 

This post is a bit late today, holiday prep has been the first priority and with all that was going on yesterday, I didn't even remember to get a post ready.  I did get my 15 minutes in yesterday just before bed, but just barely.

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Dec = 21/21 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 356/356 days
• Success rate = 100%

It's been a busy few days, with some early mornings and late nights. I was tempted to just let yesterday's stitching time slide, but Grad Girl was not having that. She pointed out there are just 10 more days in the year, I can stick it out that long.  It's nice to have supportive family, except when you just really want to go to bed! But of course once I drug out all the stitching stuff, I enjoyed it and stayed up way too late talking to Grad Girl. 

The great fabric closet reorganization has been on hold for the last month or so. At least I've done well at keeping the sewing room mostly cleaned up. So I don't have any sewing room photos to share. But I do have one curtesy of Grad Girl of Queenie's reaction to stopping at Buc-ee's Friday night. 

I can relate to her expression.  Buc-ee's are definitely another level in terms of places to stop for gas, bio-breaks and snacks.  

Hoping all your holiday prep is going well and wishing safe travels to you and your family as everyone travels to their holiday destination.  If you've managed to fit in any stitching time, link up and share below.  

1. Julie in GA 2. Gretchen 3. DonnleeQ

4. Quilting Gail 5. Bonnie in Va 6. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting

7. Amanda 8. Frédérique 9. Andrée at Quilting & Learning

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To Do List for the Week of 12/17/2024

Where did the last week go?  My last To Do List post was last Wednesday, so maybe that's why I'm feeling like the week just evaporated?  It has been a busy week and it certainly seems like I've not gotten much done. 

To Do List 12/10/2024

1.  String Lights: Finish binding ✔

2.  Guild BOM: Make January Block for 2025 BOM ✔

3.  Old Town: Work on clues 1, 2, start 3 and 4 ✔

4.  Wild and Goosey: Make red blocks ✔

5.  Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

The two things I needed to get done, got done, String Lights and the first block of the month for the guild. I made a bit of progress on everything else. Definitely not as much as I would have liked on Old Town, but I at least got one set of HSTs made for clue 4. 

There are no "have to finish" things on this week's list. The holiday activities will start to fill in the days towards the end of the week, so I'm just hoping for progress on a few fronts this next week.  

To Do List for 12/17/2024

1.  Old Town (Bonnie Hunter): Work on clues 1, 2, 3, 4 and start 5

I'm almost finished with clue 1, but haven't gotten very far with the other clues.  The next 2 weeks will be busy with holiday stuff. What gets done, gets done.  I'll just play catch up in January, which seems to be my modus operandi for these mysteries.  

2.  Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Make more red blocks

Since I just work on a couple at a time and those easily fit into my sewing rhythm, I'll keep those in rotation this week. 

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

I'm working on 2-patches for the next set of 10 blue 4-patches.  So I should get a few of those done while working on Old Town. 

4.  Embroidered Medallion: Take a few stitches

This is my travel/family visiting project.  I'm sure it will see some action as we get closer to the holiday.  I'm hoping I can finish the orange butterfly.

I still have gifts to wrap and a bit of shopping left to do before the holiday. Grad Girl's room needs a quick going over before she shows up. So still lots to do before the holiday.  Some days I may just get my 15 minutes of stitching time in and that's OK.  I'll have some time after the holiday to play catch up in the sewing room.  

Good luck with all your stitching and holiday plans.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday. 

The Finial Finish for the Year

I missed posting last Monday.  There really wasn't much to post and with Mom here, it was hard to get both the photos and the computer time to put something together.  So at least you know, I usually put my posts together in real time.  

One thing I did find time to do during Mom's visit, was finish the binding for String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs). 

I started this quilt in May of last year. It was part of the blog hop to support Cheryl's book "Just Two Charm Pack Quilts'. I've participated in Cheryl's annual mysteries for the last nine years and really like her designs.  The fabric is from a kit I purchased in 2013. I've always loved these Timeless Treasures Tonga batik fabrics, but never knew what to do with them. I think they really shine in this quilt. 

The original quilt doesn't use any borders, but Grad Girl thought the quilt needed some.  The quilt is in Texas now.  Grad Girl is gifting it to the Post Doctorial fellow in the group.  He's leaving at the end of December and taking a new position in Germany.  He's been a great resource and provided a lot of moral support for Grad Girl these last 3 years. 

Trudy quilted wavy lines down the "strings".

 

That worked well, especially since that makes it look like the chains are in solution.  That statement may have you scratching your head, but bear with me.  Of course since this is going to a chemist, the name of the quilt has to match the discipline. Right? The group makes and studies polymers, so after a review of the terminology associated with the field, we agreed on: 

Step Growth polymerization produces dimers (2 molecules), trimers (3 molecules), tetramers (4 molecules) and so on.  These smaller molecular chains combine to from the longer polymer chains, thus the term "step growth". The different "chain" lengths of the strings running across the quilt are suggestive of that polymer process, so that's the name we went with. (What can I say, we are nerds to the core it seems).

Step Growth is finish #6 for 2024.  That's double what I've been finishing the three years. So it's definitely been a good year, even if I didn't match my record of seven finishes in a year.  Maybe that will happen next year?

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 50 of 2024

 

When I typed the title for the post, I had to check the calendar.  Yes there are only 2 weeks and 2 days left in 2024!  December always seems to pass at the speed of light.  It was a challenging week on the finding time to stitch front with my mom being here for a few days. But I managed to eek out my 15 minutes somewhere during the day. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Dec = 14/14 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 349/349 days
• Success rate = 100%

I've learned how to sneak in those 15 minutes each day even when I'm busy.  Can I keep it up for 2 more weeks?  Not sure, but I'm certainly going to try. 

No sewing room organization this week. Mom can't do stairs, so I didn't want to be where she couldn't hang out.  So I stayed downstairs and worked on the binding for String Lights while she was here.  

I've reached the time of year where the holiday prep is almost overwhelming.  This picture of Grad Girl's kitty reminded me that one should take some time to just chill and enjoy the season. 

How are you doing with your holiday prep, stitching and chilling? 

1. maggie f 2. Julie in GA 3. Karen

4. DonnaleeQ 5. Frédérique 6. Quilting Gail

7. Bonnie in Va 8. Amanda 9. Andrée at Quilting & Learning

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Week 131 Photo Challenge: Shoe(s)

It's been a while since our last photo challenge post.  At first we struggled with the photos for this one. 

 

We drew this card the Friday before Thanksgiving. With all the prep for the trip to Texas and Thanksgiving dinner, none of us really took the time to focus on getting a photo.  Since then we've had deaths in the family, business trips, end of the semester.  It's just been a busy time.  

I had a hard time getting creative with this particular challenge. When I reviewed my photos, I decided this one was the most interesting. 

Kate: Closet Jumble

I don't have the best shoe storage system in my closet, they are mostly just jumbled up pairs.  So I won't win any awards for organization. But when I look at what's in various layers, it does tell a story. My loafers that were worn pretty much daily are buried, but my gym shoes are on top.  Speaks a lot to how my life has changed the last couple of years.  The texture and stark whiteness of the athletic shoes made this photo the most interesting of the bunch I took. 

My Guy is the odd one out this week. He went in a completely different direction. 

My Guy: Hot Shoe 4

His portfolio for this week also included brake shoes, but I agreed that the camera hot shoe was the best pick for this week.  This is My Guy's first SLR, an Olympus OM-1.  It's a film camera that he used a lot for his astronomy classes in college. He bought it used, but it was his primary camera for years. He didn't switch to digital until a couple of years after I did.  Now, it would be hard to find a place to process the film.  

Grad Girl's subject is more typical, but she was definitely more creative with the setting. 

Grad Girl: My Just Chilling Boots

Grad Girl likes to wear boots when the weather gets cooler.  In Texas, that didn't happen till the week of Thanksgiving. One of the many reasons she's not a fan of fall in Texas. We were hanging out in a coffee shop in Brenham when she took this photo. That's pretty much standard operating procedure on any trip, find a coffee shop, take the books and chill for a bit. 

I had the honor of drawing this week's challenge card.

My Guy asked "What does that mean?" I'm not sure, I guess it's whatever we decide it means. That's how we seem to roll each week with these photo challenges.  

To Do List for the Week of 12/10/2024

It's been one of those weeks where life hasn't gone as expected.  My uncle passed after a short illness, he was 87. My mother really wanted to go to the funeral originally scheduled for the 9th, but she has health issues that make an 8 hour road trip difficult. I agreed to take her, but we'd break the trip up over a couple of days. We made the trip from her house to mine on Saturday.  Then the aunt who was married to the uncle, was found unresponsive by their son. She passed the next day, so their son decided to cancel the original funeral and hold one for both his parents. So it's not been the best week for the family. My cousin, at least from a distance, seems to be holding up as well as one can expect.  

Mom decided she's not up for the full trip (That was the reason for the staged trip, to see if she could travel at all before we tired to drive the final six hours). She's still recovering from a bad bout of pneumonia she was hospitalized for last month and tires pretty easily.  She rested here for a couple of days and I took her home yesterday. On the up side, I had a nice visit with my mother and gave my brother, who lives with her, a break.   

All that to say, I've not been operating on anything like my normal schedule.  Sewing room time was pretty much at a minimum for several days. Definitely not as far a long as I would like on my to do list for last week.  

To Do list for 12/2/2024

1.  Old Town Mystery:  Continue clues 1 and 2, start 3 - progress

2.  String Lights: Make binding, finalize name and label ✔   

3.  Guild BOM: Make finial sashing blocks, start assembly - progress

4.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making red blocks ✔

5.  Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

At least I made progress on every item, most of that happened before the weekend. We all have weeks like that. With the holiday approaching, there are a lot of things on the not sewing to do list. That means a bit less sewing time this week.  So this week's to do list will focus on progress.  My plan is to sew when I can, so I'm keeping this week's to do list pretty simple.  

To Do List for 12/10/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs):  Finish binding. 

I finished the label and got the binding made and attached. I'm in the process of hand stitching the binding to the back. I've turned two corners and have the label stitched down. I'm hoping to finish it today. I have to get this on the way to Grad Girl soon so she can gift if before the post doc leaves.  

2. Guild BOM: Make Jan block for 2025 BOM

The very talented lady that has designed the yearly BOMs for the last 12 years, wanted a year off. So I agreed to take it on.  The January block needs to be ready to show at our December meeting  which is next Tuesday. Thankfully I don't have to have the instructions written until the first of next month, but I have to get the block done this week. 

3.  Old Town (Bonnie Hunter): Work on clues 1, 2, start 3 and 4

I've made good progress on clue 1 and got a good start on clue 2. I didn't even touch clue 3 as yet. Which seems to be my typical BH mystery pattern, start strong then go off course due to life events.  Oh well, the point is to enjoy the mystery and I have been. 

4. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making red blocks

I can sew on a couple as I work on other projects. Some progress is better than none. 

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

The 4-patches needed for this quilt are such a good leaders and enders.  I have a pile of both blue and yellow 2.5" strips, so if I need to increase my pile of patches, it doesn't take very long.  

That's my list for this next week. We'll see how far I get with it.  I'm also way behind on my blog reading. Mom is an early riser so my computer time pretty much went out the window while she was here.  I'm hoping to catch up over the next few days.  

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday. 

Stitching Stuff: Week 49 of 2024

It's just been a weird week. Not sure why, maybe because of all the holiday prep. I just feel off sequence for some reason.  The one thing I have done is get in my stitching time. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Dec = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 342/342 days
• Success rate = 100%

Though I'm getting in my sewing time, I've fallen behind on the Bonnie Hunter mystery.  Which is par for the course.  I need to finish String Lights this week so it can be sent to Texas for gifting.  So this next week is going to be a busy one too.  

How are you doing at keeping up with your stitching time while also dealing with holiday prep?  

1. Frédérique 2. maggie f 3. Karen

4. DonnaleeQ 5. Quilting Gail 6. Bonnie in Va

7. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting 8. Andrée at Quilting & Learning

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November 2024 PHD Report

November was a quiet month, well except for Thanksgiving week. I got a lot done so there's a bit to report for the November PHD report at P Designs USA.  Though you won't see a lot of progress reflected on my PHD spreadsheet.  

No finishes in November, but one new start. But the Bonnie Hunter mystery has been on the list since the beginning.  Besides the clues won't end till the new year, so it's not one that has to be finished this year.  I'm hoping to have one more finish this month, so hopefully I'll end the year with 6 finishes.  That's not too shabby.  

Progress has been my goal all year and November was a good month for that.  Two sets of quilt blocks became finished quilt tops. 

 

Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts) is the first.  I pulled the blocks out back in September, figured out a setting and got it assembled.  It's on the list to be quilted in 2025. 

Squared Away (So Scrappy) is the second set of blocks to finished quilt top that happened in November.  A much simpler setting, it didn't take very long at all to finish the quilt top. This project is also on the list to be quilted in 2025.  

All the yellow and orange blocks are finished for Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter). There has been good progress on the red blocks, but I don't think I'll complete the red ones before the end of the year.  That's OK, there has been good progress on this project. I'm still not sure if this will be a priority project next year or if I just continue to make the blocks a bit at a time.  

One set of 10 blue 4 patches and one set of yellow 4 patches were added to the Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter) this month. That seems to be typical for most months. I'm about half way there in terms of block numbers.  Looks like this will be a really good leaders and enders project for next year too.

 As of the end of November, I was all caught up on the Guild BOM.  The sashing and assembly instructions came out on Sunday.  Hopefully I'll have another finished quilt top by the end of the month.  

All the cluse for the Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs) were complete before we left for Thanksgiving.  The December clue comes out tomorrow.  Hopefully it's an easy clue for a busy month.  

I managed to get about a third of clue one done on the Old Town Mystery (Bonnie Hunter) before we left for Thanksgiving.  Cutting for clue 2 didn't start till we got home, so I'm a bit behind on this mystery.  It's rare that I keep up. The plan is to have clue 1 done before clue comes out this Friday.  We'll see how that goes. 

By the end of November, every project on my 2024 quilt plan has seen some progress this year. 

It's definitely been a very good year on progress. I have five finishes, which is more than double what I've been averaging the last few years. Even if things don't advance as much this month due to the holiday, it's still been a really good year.  I'm in good shape to start off next year with six quilts that just need backing and prep before they can be sent out for quilting.  I'm hoping for one more finish and one last project making it to finished quilt top this month.