Sunday, October 20, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 42


We are in the middle of our girl's weekend.  I spent most of the week getting ready to sew all weekend. So it's been another good week on the stitching front.  


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Oct = 19/19 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 293/293 days
  • Success rate = 100%

I've not done as much sewing on my projects. 




Most of Friday's sewing was helping Grad Girl learn her new sewing machine. She has never wound a bobbin or threaded a machine or used a foot pedal. Her first task was to sew a straight line, she practiced that for a bit. It's definitely been a learning experience for her, but we've had a lot of fun with it. Most of Saturday was spent buying fabric for a special project and cutting the fabric. Today we'll be working on assembly.  

How has your stitchy week gone?   



Tuesday, October 15, 2024

To Do List for the Week of 10/15/2024

We've reached the mid point of October.  This month is certainly speeding along.  I'm not going to think about it for now and just appreciate how much progress there was on my to do list.


To Do List for 10/8/2024

1. String Lights: Make backing - changed direction 

2. Marble Mystery: Finish October clue ✔

3. Guild BOM: Finish October block ✔

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Start assembly - progress

5.  Squared Away: Decide on layout, pick setting fabrics - progress

6. Wild and Goosey: Finish orange blocks - progress

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


Only three check marks, but there was progress on another three.  Grad Girl wasn't completely happy with String Lights, so we made a change in direction on that project.  It was still a good week in spite of not checking off all the items on the list.  

I'm excited for this week, but have a lot to do in preparation.  My sister, Grad Girl, one of Grad Girl's chemistry buddies and I are having a crafting retreat this weekend.  Grad Girl's big exam is on Friday. She probably won't do much on Friday afternoon, she'll be ready for a really long nap. But we'll have the rest of the weekend to hang out and just do fun stuff. 


To Do List for 10/15/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish adding borders




Grad Girl asked for another quilt gift for a one of her mentors who is leaving in December.  String Lights is one of my to be finished projects from last year.  Grad Girl thought it needed borders, I had considered adding them, but had planned to donate this quilt so wasn't going to mess with it.  At any rate, I've got the first border on and the strips for the next two cut and ready to assemble. 

2. Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts):  Finish cutting sashing and border strips. Start assembly.  




Last week's list said to start assembly, but I had completely skipped the cut fabric step.  I'm working with limited leftovers for this quilt so I'm having to go slow and make sure I have enough of my first choice fabrics for the sashing and borders.  I started with the left over strips from the blocks so I can stretch the yardage.  There is enough fabric to finish the quilt with the layout I have planned, but I may have to use second choices in some cases. Fingers crossed it all works out with my first choices.  

3. Squared Away (So Scrappy): Cut fabrics for sashing and borders




I haven't figured out the block placement yet, but I have selected the fabrics to use for the sashing and borders. The plan is to use some 2" scraps to cut various corner stones for the sashing.  I'm not sure I'll get this far over the weekend, but it would be nice to have something else ready if I run into problems with my other projects.   

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

I need to print some additional paper patterns and cut some more black triangles for the flying geese so I have enough for the weekend.  Hopefully I can finish off orange this weekend and start on another color. 

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

I probably need to cut a few more squares from my scrap strips, but thankfully this one is pretty easy to prep for a trip. 

So that's my to do list for the week.  I did reach a milestone this last week.  I've made progress on every quilt on my quilt plan this year. I don't think that's ever happened before. So it's been a good year on the progress front, even though my finishes aren't where I had hoped.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

Monday, October 14, 2024

Last Dance with Diatom

We celebrated my mom's and My Guy's birthdays yesterday.  Mom's birthday was this last week and My Guy's was earlier this month.  My mom is big on celebrating birthday's and realized that she'd never done anything special for My Guy on his.  So this year she wanted to be sure we celebrated both.  We had a fun time, but it's the 4th weekend in a row that we've not been home. 

Even though we've been gone a lot, I put the last stitches in the binding for Diatom the day after we got back from vacation.  It took me a few days to get the final photographs. 




Diatom was Quilting Jetgirl's 2023 quilt along. The blocks are 24" finished. It was such fun to make. I fell in love with Yvonne's all blue demo version so stuck with the same color palette.  My version has thin sashing and a final border. It's one of my favorite finishes this year. 

Trudy did her magic with the quilting, a nice flowing vine motif. 




The backing is a dark blue design from Connecting Threads and it's bound in the same dark blue used on the front. 

This quilt is a wedding gift for a couple Grad Girl met at Oklahoma State.  The new wife is a fellow chemistry graduate student and the new husband is an architect, but he's also the Dungeon Master for the Dungeons and Dragons adventurers group that Grad Girl plays with.  The DM title is important as that's where the name of the finished quilt came from. 




Dancing Lights is a spell used in D&D to create torches to provide light. Grad Girl thought it worked pretty well for this quilt. The poem on the label is Dancing Lights by Mary K. Boye. I've only used the first verse, but it seemed very fitting for a newly married couple and still worked nicely with the D&D theme. 

Completion of Dancing Lights brings my UFO list down to 19, which is where I ended last year.  I'm hoping to finish at least one more quilt this year.  We'll see how that goes.  Linking up to Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.     

Sunday, October 13, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 41 of 2024


It's been busy around here since about mid September.  We've not had a full weekend at home since then.  We were gone for the wedding and then 2 weekends for vacation.  I've done a good job and having things that can be hand stitched when we're on the road, but it does slow down progress in my sewing room. At least I've been able to work in my stitching time each day.


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Oct = 12/12 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 286/286 days
  • Success rate = 100%


It's been such a good year on the stitching time front. I think I can keep the 100% till December, then it gets dicey.  It's been fun to keep my streak going.  I probably won't try for 100% next year.  It's a lot of effort (and requires a bit of understanding from your family) to keep this kind of streak going. But it's been fun. I'm still excited to see where I end up at the end of the year.  

Being away for the weekends has really impacted my scrap and fabric organization activities for September and October. I have nothing to report on either front. 

Did you manage to get in a bit of stitching time this week?  

   

1. Gretchen
2. Julie in GA
3. maggie f
4. Karen
5. DonnaleeQ
6. Quilting Gail
7. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting
8. Bonnie in Va
9. Frédérique
10. Andrée at Quilting & Learning
11. Dq at Dreamworthyquilts

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Wednesday, October 9, 2024

2024 Quilting Ambitions: 3rd Quarter Check In

With the end of September, also comes the end of the third quarter of 2024.  Just three months left in the year!  It's a good time to look over what the plan was for this year to see if there are any goals that need some attention. Quilting Jetgirl has a 2024 3rd Quarter Goal review linky party to encourage us to do just that.   



Progress on my ambitions this year has been a mixed bag.  Here's the progress to date. 

1. Make quilts.  The focus for this year wasn't just on finishes, moving quilts along in the process was also a goal. The plan at the beginning of the year looked like this:



In my original 2024 ambitions post, I stated my goal was to move the bar closer to finished quilt for each project on the list. There was definitely progress on that front so far this year.  
  



Only four projects on my list have bars at the same spot as the original graph. I still have 3 months to move those bars a bit. Probably won't move all of them, but I know there will be progress on at least one more.  Not bad performance for three quarters of the year. 

2. Learn to Quilt:  The plan is to try quilt as you go on a set of blocks to ease my way into the learning process.  I finished all the blocks in  August. 



Diann, who blogs at Little Penguin Quilts, has been working on a quilt as you go project this year.  I can't find the exact posts, but she alerted me to Hobbs 80/20 Fusible batting. I didn't really want to use pins, but don't have any place to safely use the adhesive spray technique.  The fusible batting sounded like a good solution, so that got ordered.  

I've been reading the various books I have on quilting technique, but haven't actually done any quilting yet.  I have some quilt sandwiches made up, the plan is at some point before the end of the year is use those to figure out my machine settings and do a bit of practicing.  So it's been slow progress on this ambition, but at least there's been some progress.  

3.  15 Minutes to Stitch:  The goal is to stitch at least 15 minutes a day, plus host a linky party so others can share how they are doing at finding time to stitch.  My goal was to stitch at least 75% of the days in 2024.  I'm blowing this goal out of the water this year! 




At the end of September, I was still at 100%.  I've spent at least 15 minutes with needle and thread every day so far this year. My best year prior to this was a 92.9% success rate.  I'm on track to beat that. Can I keep 100% for the whole year?  Unlikely, but I'm motivated to try.  

The second part of this goal is to post a linky party every week. So far there's been 39, one of each week from January thru September. Usually I miss posting at least once each year. Hopefully I can keep my 100% metric here too. 

4. Stash Organization:  It's a mixed bag on that front for this quarter.  

Scrap Organization: Almost no progress on this front during the third quarter. There's been no progress on the #2 big scrap bag.  And I've gone backwards on the new scraps in the working scrap bin. I've finished quilts, but haven't done anything with the left overs. 



I really need to get back to the scrap trimming during the 4th quarter.  I've done a bit to empty the scrap bins over the last month or so, so there should be some room for what's in the working scrap bin at least. Any of the 2.5 strips of all those blues from Diatom can go directly onto the pile for the Simply Sensational Summer Scrap quilt that is my current leader and ender project.   

I did better on the fabric pressing and refolding this quarter. 



I'm about 2/3 of the way through the third tub refill.  We were gone for three weekends in September, so I didn't have as much time this last quarter to push towards an empty bin. I've found so many fun fabrics as I've worked through these bins; so many ideas for new quilts.  

The fabric closet has been reorganized a bit.  The addition of the wire cubes on top of the wire rack has give me more space for storing fabric. Though all the extra storage is just about full. 



It's much easier to see what I have now. There is still a bit of space, but that's going to fill up quickly.  Some additional reorganization opened up a bit more space. 
I didn't use all the wire cubes that I ordered, so I did some reorganizing on the left side of the fabric closet.  


I'm really bad about forgetting to take before photos, so this is a partial before photo on the left. The bins that show on the corner of the wire cabinet were over in the corner of the shelf. The fat quarter boxes got moved to another location in the sewing room and I added some of the left over wire cubes. The fat quarter bundles and any other precuts, were moved to the corner. It's a much more effective use of the space now.  

5. Stretch Goal: Consider if pattern editing/creation is something I want to do?  Rather than go this route, I had the opportunity to utilize my technical skills and decided that was a better fit for me at the moment.  So not a fail, I just decided to go in a different direction.  

This year has been a productive one on several fronts.  I never get to all the things on my lists, but I'm happy with the progress so far.  Fourth quarter is going to be challenging. Lots going on, but hopefully that won't derail me too badly.  

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

To Do Tuesday for the Week of 10/8/2024

We got home late Saturday afternoon from vacation. So I had Sunday and Monday to work on the non-hand stitching part of my to do list.  With that in mind, I didn't do too badly with on the list for last week. 


To Do list For 10/01/2024

1.  Diatom: Finish hand stitching binding ✔

2.  Guild BOM: Start October block 

3.  Marble Mystery: Start October clue ✔

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Decide layout, start assembly - progress

5.  Wild and Goosey: Finish orange blocks - progress

6.  Sensational Summery Scrap quilt: Continue as leaders/enders ✔


Considering we were on vacation last week, I'm pretty happy with the progress on the to do list.  Of course, it wasn't a very ambitious list. Though getting in another finish is always exciting.  It's going to be a busy week, lots going on, so I'm going to keep this week's list simple too.  


To Do List for 10/8/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Make backing



  

I finished this quilt top last July as part of the promotions for Cheryl's book "Just Two Charm Packs".  It's on my quilt plan as a to be quilted this year.  I have the backing fabric picked out, so it's just a matter of getting it cut and sewn.  

2.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish October clue




I finished stitching the hour glass blocks just before dinner last night. They still need to be pressed and trimmed. There's one more set of blocks to assemble for this month, but those are pretty simple.  It shouldn't be too difficult to finish off this month's clue before next Tuesday. 

3.  Guild BOM: Finish October block

I've got about half the pieces cut for this month's block.  It won't take long to assemble once they are all cut. 

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts):  Start assembly.




I'm still playing with the blocks on the design wall. I didn't really think about how all my different backgrounds were going to play with each other, so it's hard to come up something that looks balanced.  

5. Squared Away (So Scrappy): Decide on layout, pick setting fabric




Squared Away was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt along back in 2018.  This one is on my to be assembled list for this year.  It's another project that has been sitting on the UFO list because I couldn't figure out how to set it.  But, it's time has come, I'm going to at least have a plan to move forward with. 

6. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Finish the orange blocks

Only three more orange blocks needed for the planned layout. That should be doable this week.

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

So that's the plan for this week. It seems like a long list, but not all of it requires time at the sewing machine.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.

Monday, October 7, 2024

Finish Five

My Guy had lots of vacation time, so he took off last week and we headed to Eureka Springs, AR.  We had much bigger plans for vacation this year, but then a family wedding and a potential refinery project hijacked the dates we had planned to go.  We've been to Eureka Springs several times. We did a lot of shopping, hiking, and eating out.  I took two quilts to bind and finished one of them. 




My version of Rhododendron, the Bonnie Hunter 2021 mystery quilt, is finished.  I've named my version Azaleas since I used purple rather than the suggested pink.  



I used the dark purple, along with a floral print for the backing.




Trudy did a fun floral design for the quilting. 



The binding is the same purple Batik used for the border.  I'm happy with my version. No immediate plans for this quilt, it will probably be given as a gift at some point.   

Five finishes so far for this year, four of which were UFOs.  My list still shows 20 UFOs that need to be finished.  I'm hoping for at least one more finish this year.  There are 5 quilt tops waiting for quilting, hopefully I'll get off to a good start with finishes next year.  

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 40 of 2024

 


Most of this week has been spent on the road and away from home.  My Guy took a week off work and we went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for a much needed vacation.  We had bigger plans for vacation earlier this year, but a family wedding and a potential refinery project left a very small window to fit in a vacation.  It was still a fun week. We shopped, hung out at a few coffee shops, hiked and ate at all of our favorite places. I took some hand stitching to work on.  That's usually easy to pick up and work on for at least 15 minutes.  


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Sept = 30/30 days
  • 15 minute days/Oct = 5/5 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 279/279 days
  • Success rate = 100%


Maintaining the 100% has become a family affair. One day of vacation we got back to the rental late. As we were getting ready for bed, My Guy asked if I had gotten my 15 minutes in.  I had stitched while he was out for his early morning walk, so he hadn't seen me work on anything.  It's nice to have family support, he's definitely a keeper.  

As we weren't home, there wasn't any scrap processing or fabric pressing. So nothing to share on that front.  How did you do at fitting in some stitching time this last week?      

1. Gretchen
2. Julie in GA
3. maggie f
4. Karen
5. Frédérique
6. DonnaleeQ
7. Jennifer in Indy
8. Quilting Gail
9. Deb in Canada
10. Bonnie in Va

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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

September 2024 PHD Report

September was just a weird month for some reason.  I guess because, though it has cooled off some, it was still pretty warm. Didn't feel like autumn at all.  At any rate, the higher temps made the sewing room the place to be so I got a lot of stitching done this month. So there is plenty to report for the September PHD Report linky party over at P Designs USA. Here's my PHD report for the last month.  





The report shows a new start.  But that start was planned at the beginning of the year.  At least that one won't count against my PHD for this year, the clues won't end till next year.  There is a finish to balance out the new start.  Rhododendron Trails (Azaleas) was the 2021 Bonnie Hunter Mystery 




I just barely finished the quilt before the end of the month and managed to get this photo of the quilt laid out on a bed. This is my sixth finish out of 12 Bonnie Hunter mystery starts.  So I still have lots of BH quilts on my UFO list to finish.  I'm sure some of those will make next year's PHD list. It does feel good to have one off the list.  

In addition to the one finish, there was lots of progress on other projects this month.  

There was good progress on the orange blocks needed for my version of Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter)


  
Seven sets of 4 blocks have been completed. Just need one more set of 4 to have what's needed for my version of the quilt.  

It's been slow progress on the Simply Sensational Summer Scrap quilt (Kevin the Quilter).


One set each of 10 yellow and blue blocks were finished in September. It is my leader and enders project, so progress is slow, but it's been steady. I finished a set of 10 of each last month.  Slow progress is better than no progress. 

Another Bonnie Hunter mystery finally reached the finished quilt top stage.  



Chilhowie is the 2022 Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt.  I'm pretty happy with how it came out, that final teal border really helps calm down all that orange.  It joins Indigo Way in the to be quilted closet.  This one probably won't be quilted till next year. I'm hoping by next year I'll have enough skills to quilt the smaller quilts like this.  

Trudy finished the quilting on Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) and sent it back. 



I started hand stitching down the binding on the last day of the month. The PHD report should have one more finish added next month.  

The September block for the Guild BOM was finished.  



I've stayed caught up with this block of the month.  The instructions for the October block have already been published.  It's another 12" block, so it should go together quickly. The finishing instructions in November are going to require a lot more effort. 

The new start is the 2024 Meadow Mist Designs Mystery quilt along, Marble Mystery. 



The September clue was the 9-patches and the flying geese.  Those are done, plus I have all the fabrics cut ready to piece the rest of the clues.  The October clue comes out tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing what's next.  

September was a productive month.  One finish, one being bound, and one finished quilt top.  So definitely not a bad month. I'm hopeful to have another quilt ready to go out for quilting before the middle of the month so there will be finishes for both October and November.  We'll see if that happens.  It's doubtful I'll achieve a PHD this year. That's OK, I'm really happy with all the progress on so many projects this year.  I can try again next year.  

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

To Do Tuesday for the Week of 10/01/2024

It's October! I'm really not ready for that reality. We've got a lot going on this month, so I'm sure it will go faster than September.  Oh well, at least I got a lot done last week.  


To Do list for 09/24/2024

1.  Rhododendron: Finish binding 

2.  Diatom: Make label, binding, trim, sew on binding ✔

3.  Guild BOM: Make September block 

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Decide on setting 

5.  Wild and Goosey:  Continue making orange blocks 

6.  Sensational Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders 


Six for six last week.  I took the finishing of Rhododendron down to the wire. But it's off the to do list for good now. The plan is to do as well with this week's to do list. 

 

To Do List for 10/01/2024

1.  Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl): Finish hand stitching binding




I've just started on the hand stitching.  All four corners left to finish.  But it should be doable to finish it this week.  

2.  Guild BOM: Cut and start stitching on October block

Those instructions should come out today. This is the last block for the sampler. November's clue will be all the flying geese used in setting it all together.  

3.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Start October clue. 

The next clue doesn't come out till Thursday, so I won't finish it this week, but I should be able to make a start on it.  

4. Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts): Decide on block layout, start assembling sashing. 



Before I get into cutting and assembling the sashing, I need to decide which one of these neutrals to use in the borders because that needs to be the third strip in the sashing pieces. The EQ design uses the first neutral, I like the texture of it best.  But I'm not sure I have enough of it.  I have lots of strips left over from making the blocks. Fingers crossed I can assemble enough of those strips to use the yardage for the borders.  

5. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Finish making orange blocks

Only 4 more orange blocks left to finish what's needed for the quilt layout. Once those are made, I'll get to pick another color to continue with, probably red or green. Both of those are close to being finished up as well.   

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

Still lots of 4 patches left to make.  This was definitely the right UFO to tackle as a leaders and enders project.  

That's my list for this week.  Linking up with The Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.

Before I sign off, Grad Girl and I want to wish My Guy a very happy birthday!




He's off today and we have some adventures planned to celebrate.  

Monday, September 30, 2024

Computer Time and a Bit of Hand Stitching

Last week's maladies definitely hampered my progress on all things quilty. Some days, 15 minutes was really all I managed to accomplish.  But there was still progress.  Both design walls are completely empty at the moment. Chocolate Marshmallow goes up next. I did work out the final setting in EQ on one of the days I didn't make it to the sewing room. 



  
This may or may not be the final block layout. I need to get the blocks up on the design wall and play a bit before that's a done deal.  Chocolate Marshmallows was started in 2014. It was a BOM quilt along over at Sea Breeze Quilts.  I've not been able to find the block patterns, I need to check with Amanda to see if they are still available.  At any rate, the plan is to get moving on this project next.  

There's been good progress on getting the binding stitched down on Rhododendron (Bonnie Hunter).




I turned the third corner last night.  Another 40 to 50 inches of stitching left and this will be a finished quilt. That should be doable today.  I'd like to be able to count it as a finish on my PHD report for September.  

The planned finish for October is just waiting for me to start on the the hand stitching. 



Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) is a wedding gift for one of Grad Girl's friends. I'm hoping to have it finished before I go visit her later in October.  

I have lots to keep me busy this week.  Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Stitching Stuff: Week 39 of 2024


This last week went fast!  We were gone over the weekend and then I didn't feel well the first couple of days we were back. A combination of autumn allergies and a massive headache. I got my Covid and flu boosters Thursday morning, so I was moving pretty slow yesterday. I managed to get in my stitching time, but pretty much let everything else go. 


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Sept = 28/28 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 272/272 days
  • Success rate = 100%

It's been such a good year on the stitching front. It's been very motivating to have maintained the 100% this long.  So even when I didn't feel very well, I was motivated to stitch, even if was just 15 minutes.  I've made such good progress on my projects this year. All the sewing time really does pay off. 

I've not made any progress on the scraps or fabric pressing recently, mostly because we just haven't been home a lot on the weekends recently.  I'll get back to it eventually.  

How are you doing at fitting in some stitching time with the change in the season?
  
1. Frédérique
2. Gretchen
3. maggie f
4. Julie in GA
5. Quilting Gail
6. DonnaleeQ
7. Melisa- Pinker n' Punkin Quilting
8. Bonnie in Va
9. Amanda
10. Lea Anne's Twinkler Quilt
11. Andrée at Quilting & Learning

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Saturday, September 28, 2024

Week 126 Photo Challenge: Leading Lines

This last week went fast.  As usual, I was scrambling yesterday to come up with a photo for this week's challenge:




I thought this one would be easier than the challenge cards we've had the last couple of weeks.  The camera came out yesterday and some photos were taken ensuring there was a photo for today's post. Then I uploaded my the photos for the last week and found a couple of options from some earlier shots. 


Kate: White Lines


Capturing the textures was my goal when I took the photo.  But it works perfectly for this challenge.  The lines lead your eye to the center in the upper right corner.  It's definitely a better photo than what I came up with yesterday. 

My Guy's photo is my favorite this week from a visual perspective. 


My Guy: To The Horizon

My Guy probably took this one while he was out for one of his after work walks, so this is close to sunset.  Only he would get so lucky to have the clouds line up like that for a photo. It's like they knew exactly what he needed and just posed for him!  

Grad Girl has been working really hard on getting ready for her big exam next month.  She finally finished the written part of the exam and was able to get back in the lab a bit this week.  And as usual, came up with an interesting perspective on the challenge.   


Grad Girl: Schlenk Lines


What's a Schlenk line?  It's an apparatus used when you are working with moisture or air sensitive chemicals.  Part of the apparatus is hooked up to an inert (unreactive gas) such as nitrogen and part is hooked up to a vacuum to help remove excess air/gases/solvent vapors from the reaction vessel.  You can follow the tubing from the left edge of the photo to the right edge. Definitely a different take on leading lines.  It's always fun to see what Grad Girl finds in the lab to meet the week's challenge.  

Next week's challenge should be interesting.  




Grad Girl will probably have the advantage this week.  My Guy and I will need to get creative. 

Thursday, September 26, 2024

To Do Tuesday on Thursday for the Week of 9/24/2024

Getting a to do list posted for this week hasn't been the easiest.  I was very sick Tuesday and then yesterday had an appointment to get the car in for service. By the time I got home, the ragweed had given me one of those "light hurts your eyes" headaches.  I still have the dregs of the headache, I'm hoping it clears up as the day goes on.  But it's backed off enough I can at least sit in front of the computer this morning.  

Last week's to do list was an easy one.  


To Do List for 09/17/24

1.  Rhododendron: Trim quilt, attach binding to front ✔

2.  Marble Mystery: Finish the September clue ✔

3.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making orange blocks ✔

4.  SSSS Mystery: Continue as leaders and enders project ✔

5.  Learn to quilt:  Read books, watch videos ✔


I didn't do as much on the learn to quilt front as I had hoped, but I did a bit.  I'll take some progress over none.  

The list for this week is pretty long, but hopefully I'll feel up to a bit of catch up on the sewing front today.  


To Do List for 09/24/2024

1.   Rhododendron (Bonnie Hunter): Finish binding




I didn't make as much progress on this as I wanted, but I'm just about to turn corner 2.  It should still be a finished quilt by the end of the month. 

2. Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl): Make label and binding, trim and start binding




Diatom is back from the quilter.  This quilt is for one of Grad Girl's chemistry buddies who got married earlier this year, it's a late wedding present.  Grad Girl came up with the name and I've gotten a good start on the label.  This one won't be finished in September, but should be completed before my next trip to Texas. 

3. Guild BOM: Finish the September block

I've let myself get behind on this one.  But it's a small block and I have the fabrics cut, it should go together pretty quickly.  

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Decide on a setting




This project was started in 2014 and the blocks all finished in 2015. It's been sitting waiting for me to come up with a setting that I like.  When I looked this morning, there are 22 versions of a final quilt in my EQ files.  Either I use one of those or come up with something completely new.  We'll see how that goes.  

5.  Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making orange blocks




Just four more orange blocks to finish and I'll be done with that color for this project.  Not sure I can finish them all this month, but I'll definitely give that a go.  

6.  Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Mystery (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leader and enders project. 




Another set of the yellow 4-patches have been finished. So it's back to blue 4-patches this week. 

That's my list this week. It's an ambitious one, so it's OK if I don't check off all the items for this week.  Linking up with The Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.