Stash Busting Progress

Winter came back yesterday.  Spring will show up for midweek and then we'll be in summer by the weekend.  My Guy and I joke that spring only lasts about 2 weeks here. This year, it's been a day here and there, with winter in between. I'm not looking forward to 90+ days, hopefully we'll get more spring after that. 

Oh well, the nasty weather (cold, hot, and stormy) have kept me in the sewing room.  Even so, I've slipped pretty badly on the time line for the quilts that have deadlines.  Scenic Waypoint was supposed become a finished quilt top by midnight Wednesday.  That didn't happen.  The last two borders got added yesterday. 

I'm pretty happy with how it came together.  Scenic Waypoint was the project I picked to sew along with the Meadow Mist Designs Stash Busting Quilt Along. The bright polka dot fabrics are from a Connecting Threads Quilter's Candy fat quarter bundle purchased between 2011 and 2012.  The black background is another Connecting Threads basic. It's probably not quite that old, but it's been the stash a while. Definitely time to move these oldies, but goodies out of the stash and into a quilt top.  

The other deadline sewing that got done was finishing up a donation block for the guild's veteran's quilt program.  

The pattern for the block was handed out at the February guild meeting, so I don't know the name. It's an 18" block. It won't take many to make a quilt or two. The striped fabric worked out really well, it adds a lot of motion to the block.  All the pieces for this block came from my scrap strip bins. Being able to pull pre cut strips made the cutting part go really fast.  I have strips pulled for a second block. We'll see if it gets made before this month's guild meeting. Not a lot of stash out with this one, but I at least used my scrap bins!    

Linking up with the Meadow Mist Designs Stash Busing Quilt Along Parade. Also linking up with the normal Monday linky parties: Patchwork & Quilts and Sew & Tell Monday.  

September 2025 PHD Report

It's been a busy summer. August and September were especially busy.  August was so busy I didn't have time to put together a PHD report.  Thankfully things have slowed down enough for me to put together a September PHD report and link up with Ms. P Designs.  

No changes to the PHD report.  It's not all bad, at least there aren't any new starts. That will change in October. I will be starting two new projects. Those were planned for at the beginning of the year, so no surprise there. 

Even though the PHD report shows no changes, there was some decent progress on some of my works in progress. 

There's been some good progress on Kate's Choice the last couple of months.  

Back in July, all but one row of blocks was quilted. Since then I completed quilting all the blocks and moved on to assembling the first row back in August.  There wasn't any progress on this in September. I had to switch my priority to the 2025 Guild BOM blocks.  I hope to get back to this project before the end of the year.    

There was some good progress on my long running travel embroidery project.  

I hadn't worked on this project since last December.  It's over half finished now, with just one corner of blocks left to stitch.  I won't finish it this year.  Maybe next year?  

Progress on Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) has been sporadic the last couple of months.  

 

 

I haven't put all the blocks up on the wall since December of last year.  A lot more is done than I expected. The upper half, minus one 3.5" blue block, is completed. A finish for next year? Maybe. I've still got lots of the cool colored blocks to make.   

The Old Town (Bonnie Hunter) blocks see a lot of progress during my late night/open sew time at the quilt shop. 

I was hoping to have this to the finished quilt top stage before the next mystery came out. Just 7 blocks left to make. I've started cutting the pieces for the pieced sashing strips.  I'm still doubtful it will be a finished quilt top, but it will be close.   

After my panic in September when I realized the guild meeting was the next day and I hadn't started the block for October.  I decided it would be wise to finish off all the 2025 Guild BOM blocks.  

The blocks for January through September are up on the design wall, minus some of the sawtooth stars as they wouldn't fit. This is not my final layout, I'll decide that once all the blocks are done. I have November's block finished and have started piecing December's.  I'm hoping to start assembly on this quilt in October. I also need to make a start on the blocks for 2026.  I'm definitely going to work ahead for next year's BOM.  

It's not really a quilt project, but I've been making donation blocks for the guild. 

So far I've turned in 20 blocks, but I only have pictures of one set. The donation blocks are the Bonnie Hunter leaders and enders project she suggested in July.  It's been a nice way to use up some scrap yardage that's just been sitting in the stash.  

Just as there's been no changes in my PHD tracker, the same holds for my project tracking graphic. 

I'm really hoping to move some projects closer to finished before the end of year. Getting backings made would be a good place to start.  Kate's Choice is the closest to being completed. Once I get to a comfortable place with the Guild BOM projects, I'll focus on getting that done. Maybe it will happen this year?  

To Do List for the Week of 9/23/2025

Last week's to do list started off with big plans, but they weren't to be as is often the case, real life had other plans.  My mother is doing much better.  She switched doctors last month and the new one found and treated at least one of the causes of her back pain her previous doctor completely ignored.  She's just not healing as fast as she'd hoped and needed some help getting a few things off her to do list.  I still managed to make a lot of progress my list.  

To Do List for 9/16/2025

1.  2025 BOM: Finish September and October blocks  ✔

2.  Magnificent Mystery: Start September clue - progress

3.  Old Town: Continue piecing blocks ✔

4.  Kate's Choice: Continue assembling rows - no progress

5.  Wild and Goosey: Finish teal and start green/blue blocks ✔

Not a bad week considering I was on the road for 2 days. This week will be more of the same.  

To Do List for 9/23/2025

1.  2025 BOM: Finish November and start December blocks

 

I've also found the sashing and border fabric for this project. It's been washed, but hasn't been pressed yet.  Once I get the last 2 blocks done I'll start assembling the quilt. I can't add in those blocks till they are shown at the guild meeting, but getting as much done as possible before December will be really helpful.  

2.  Magnificent Mystery quilt (Meadow Mist Designs): Start September clue  

I purchased the background fabric for this project last month. I washed it last weekend and discovered that I'm short a yard.  So I'll have hit the quilt shop for another yard so I have enough to finish the quilt.  

3. Old Town (Bonnie Hunter): Continue piecing blocks at late night sew.

 

Twelve of the 25 blocks are finished.  Parts of other blocks are at the sewing machine waiting for assembly.  I'd like to get this to finished quilt top before this year's mystery starts up.  That may not happen.  We'll see.  

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

I need 12 sets of 4 blocks for the planned layout.  The green blocks are in the corners. The plan is to have the darkest greens in the corners, with the 2 light green blocks alongside.  I've cut some additional scraps. Fingers crossed I've got enough of the darker green to get those finished at least.  I just need 8 of those.  

5.  Guild Donation blocks (Bonnie Hunter):  Make as many as possible before the deadline. 

The guild picked Bonnie's 2025 leaders and enders block to build donation quilts with this year. I made 8 yesterday at our Guild work day, but forgot to take a picture of them. As of yesterday, we had enough for 1 quilt and about a third of another. I'm not sure when the deadline is for these, maybe next Guild meeting?  At any rate it's a good block for using up scraps, so I've been working through some of my scrap bins for the fabrics.  

That's my list for this week.  You check out all the other to do lists over at the Quilt Schmilt on the To Do Tuesday linky party. 

May Wrap Up: PHD in 2023

In 2020, 2021, and 2022 my focus was on finishing up UFOs.  I limited my new projects to just 2 or at most 3 each year.  Last year work was really overwhelming, so much so that I lost interest in pretty much everything other than reading and binging on Netflix.  Since I retired at the end of last year, I decided to open up my new project list to more than just 2.  I also joined a guild, which has also added to my new project list. Honestly, I didn't expect that.  At any rate, I can safely say that the first half of 2023 has been all about new projects as my PHD report shows. 

I have finished two of my new starts, both related to the guild which was my donation blocks and a name tag.  

We are supposed to make a pin cushion for the June meeting.  I'm probably going to pass on that one as my newest project has a deadline of early July. I'll need to focus my efforts on that project or it won't be ready.  The only UFOs that have seen any progress are both Bonnie Hunter patterns, Chilhowie and Wild & Goosey.  

Chilhowie is the 2022 Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt along. It's my current leaders and enders project.  Block 4 was finished and block 5 is under construction during May.  I'm more than half way done with the blocks.  

Wild & Goosey is slowly growing.  The goal is to make at least 4 of the 3.5" blocks each month.  Three orange blocks were completed this month.  Dark/bright blue is the color for June.  I can't use really dark blue because it blends in too much with the black, so bright blue it is for this month.  

There has been progress on the new projects this month. 

 

The pinwheels for border 6 of the Stay at Home Round Robin quilt started in January are all finished (Quilting Gail).  I've started assembling these blocks into border strips.  I'm really happy with how this project has come together, just not with the amount of time it's taken for me to get it to this stage.  

Blocks 4 and 5 for Diatom were finished in May. Block 11 came out last week. This is a Quilting Jetgirl pattern and quilt along. I'm hoping to finish blocks 6 and 7 before block 12 comes out next Friday.  This has been such a fun project and I'm really happy with how my fabric choices are working out.  

The one new start in May is for a blog hop to show off the quilts in Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs new book Just Two Charm Pack Quilts. 

 

Electric Quilt is sponsoring a giveaway of this book (closes on June 4th). The link includes a link to all the quilts in the book. I've picked the pattern to make for the blog hop. I'm making my own charm pack since precuts don't usually make their way into my fabric carts. Thankfully my stash is more than sufficient to provide enough squares for 2 charm packs.  I've started cutting my charm pack, just three fabrics left and then the piecing can start. 

That's my progress for May. I'm going to shift my focus to finishing after June. Once I get the SAHRR to finished flimsy, I'll have three quilts that need backs and prepping for quilting. My focus for July will be to get those quilts sent out for quilting.  

Linking up with Quilting Gail for the May PHD report.  

April Wrap Up: PHD in 2023

Before writing this post, I took a look back at my March Wrap Up. April has definitely been a much more productive month since my back and shoulder issues have mostly been resolved.  Even with April being a more productive month, my PHD report hasn't changed much. 

Still no finishes and I added a new project.  The donation blocks have to be turned in this month, so hopefully they won't languish on the list like everything has.  I'm going to need to focus on finishes soon or all I'll have to show for 2023 is new projects!  At least there was more progress in April then there was in March. 

The Stay At Home Round Robin (Quilting Gail) continued as my focus project for April.  

Border 5 is finished and most of the blocks for border #6 are made. There has been steady progress on this project.  Will it be a finished flimsy by the end of May?  Maybe.  

The other project with steady progress in April has been Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter).  

Block 4 is almost finished. My plan is to make 9 blocks total, so I'm almost halfway there. 

Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) also saw a bit of progress this month. 

Over the last couple of months I've added a few more blue, green and purple blocks.  This was my 2019 Rainbow Scrap project.  The plan this year is to just make a few blocks each month in hopes of moving this project along. 

There was some progress on Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) this month.  I had hoped to stay current with this quilt along, but the SAHRR took priority. 

Block 3 is done and up on the design wall. I really love this project and would like to get back on track with it.  Block 9 was released last week.  I'm hoping to have blocks 4 and 5 done before block 10 comes out next Friday.  

The new project this month was to make 8 HST blocks for the guild donation projects. 

I finished 4 of the 8 at the retreat last weekend.  One more was finished the day after, that leaves 3 to finish before the next guild meeting.  

So April was definitely better than March on the progress front.  I need to start focusing on some finishes as mid year will be here before I know it.  Linking up with Quilting Gail for the April PHD in 2023 update.  

To Do List for the Week of 5/2/2023

The beginning of May means the year is a quarter gone. At the end of next month it will be half gone. I've taken a few detours this year with new projects. Before the end of this month I need to start working moving a few projects to the finish line. So I should probably look at changing what's on my to do list. I've been making an effort to work on everything that is listed.  

To Do List for 4/25/2023

1. SAHRR: Finish border 5, make windmill blocks ✔

2. Donation blocks: Make HSTs, assemble blocks - progress

3. Diatom: Finish block 3, start block 4 ✔

4. Wild and Goosey: Finish a purple block ✔

5. Chilhowie: Continue as leader and enders ✔

Four checkmarks, with progress on the fifth item is a really good week.  Those donation blocks took a lot more effort then I expected. Those need to be finished within the next 2 weeks, so they'll show up on this week's list for sure.  

To Do List for 5/2/2023

1. SAHRR (Quilting Gail): Finish 5th spacer border, make windmill blocks

The quilt has gotten big enough that I need to piece the spacer borders.  One lesson I learned this time is that you need to make sure you use a background where you have a lot of yardage when you are making a quilt that you have no idea how it's going together.  I was about to run out of the background fabric, thankfully my background was from the Stonehenge line and I was able to find it on line. 

2. Donation blocks for guild: Assemble patriotic blocks

 

I finished all the children's blocks during the retreat, plus one of the patriotic blocks.  There are still 3 more patriotic blocks left to assemble.  Thankfully all the HSTs are made and trimmed, I just need to lay them out and stitch the blocks together. 

3. Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl): Finish block 4, start block 5

I finished block 3 and have the pieces cut for block 4.  I'm not going to catch up anytime soon, but at least this project is moving forward again. 

4. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Finish an orange block

I finished a total of 4 blocks last month.  Hopefully I can make 4 orange blocks this month.  

5. Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter): Continue making blocks as my leader and enders project. 

Just two more "borders" and block 4 will be finished.  I'll need to cut some more fabric soon so I can start on the parts for block 5.  

That's my to do list for the week.  If I can do as well this week as I did last week, I'll be happy.  Linking up with The Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric for this week's To Do Tuesday.  Happy stitching this week.  

Donation Blocks and Pinwheels

It was a busy week on several fronts.  I finally tackled the garage last week. The need to identify and move out all the flammable chemicals left by the builder in the garage in time for annual community clean up day collection got me started. Then I spent most of the week using the dust pan to kill the brown recluse spiders every time I moved something from a shelf or off the floor.  Buying a new set of leather gloves before I started that project was very wise. A trip to Lowes for spider repellant is on the list for this week. Spiders in general don't bother me, but a brown recluse is a whole different story.  

So after a very through shower, spending the afternoon in the sewing room was especially nice way to defuse all that built up wariness and tension.  I'm not done with the garage, but a break to get that spider repellant definitely needs happen before I go back to that decluttering operation.  The main sewing room project is still the SAHRR. 

    

The 5th border is finally completed. I'm working on the spacer strips that need to go on before the final 6th border can be added.  Just 13 pinwheels left to make before I can assemble that last pieced border.  

There wasn't as much progress on the SAHRR last week because I was mostly focused on getting the HSTs ready for the retreat on Saturday.  I managed to finish 4 of the 8 donation blocks.

These are the blocks for the children's quilts.  I got a start on the patriotic blocks for the veteran's quilts, but didn't get any of those completely assembled.  I have till the guild meeting this month to finish those up.  This is the first time I've done an all day retreat.  Sewing from 10 am to 8 pm is surprisingly tiring.  I came home and pretty much went right to bed.  

That's it for my progress this week.  Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.

To Do List for the Week of 4/25/2023

This week marks the 6th month of my retirement.  It still feels weird when My Guy leaves for work and I don't go with him. I don't miss the politics at work, but I do miss the people and the technical aspect of the work I did. Like any change, it will take a while to settle in.  I'm not sewing as much as I thought I would. Part of that is due to the shoulder/back issues that popped up earlier this year. The other part is the other projects I've taken on such as decluttering, getting more physically fit and pursuing photography lessons. So the quilty weekly to do list is probably more important now as I tend to wander more as my time just isn't as structured as it was with a 7 to 6 job. So it's no surprise to me that I didn't finish last week's list. 

To Do List for the Week of 4/18/2023

1. SAHRR: Continue assembly of border 5, windmill blocks ✔

2. Diatom: Assemble block 3, cut fabric for block 4 - progress

3. Wild and Goosey: Finish a block, cut more purple scraps ✔

4. Chilhowie: Continue as leaders and enders project ✔    

But three check marks with progress on the fourth item is still a good week.  This week's list has one new to do item on it. 

To Do List for the Week of 4/25/2023

1. SAHRR (Quilting Gail):  Finish assembly for border 5, make windmill blocks

Those windmill blocks are amazingly time consuming.  But I'm more than halfway done with those.  Three of the border 5 strips have been sewn to the top. The last strip is almost sewn together.  There will be another 1" finished border to add between border 5 and 6. Hopefully I can get started on that this week.  

2. Donation Blocks: Make HSTs, assemble blocks

Two of the eight sets of HSTs are completed.  I'm hoping to have all of these stitched and trimmed before Friday.  We'll see if I actually get that far.  The donation blocks are various combinations of the HSTs laid out in a 16 patch block. 

3. Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl): Finish block 3, start block 4

 

Block 3 is almost assembled, but I still need to add the frame to it.  I've got a ways to go on this project.  A new block comes out on Friday and I'm not anywhere close to being caught up.  This project will move up once I finish assembly of the SAHRR project.  

4. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Finish a purple block

Block 3 is finished, I just haven't got the paper completely off the back yet.  

5. Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter): Continue to make blocks as leaders and enders

Block 4 is coming along.  I need to make sure I've got enough parts and pieces so I can continue to use this as a leader and ender during the retreat this weekend.  

That's my list for this week. I'm linking up with The Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric for this week's To Do Tuesday.  Good luck with your to do list this week. 

And More Pinwheels

I almost didn't post today. There's not really much new to share, I'm still working on the pinwheels for the SAHRR.  

Only three new ones up on the design wall, but there are another four under construction over at the sewing machine.  More time was spent cutting triangles and rectangles then sewing them together this weekend.  The top square in a square border is all sewn together. Since this picture was taken it's been pinned to the top and is over at the sewing machine waiting to stitched. 

I did spend some time on Friday searching the stash for fabrics to use for the donation blocks for next week's guild retreat.  I needed 4 children's prints and 4 patriotic prints, plus a tone on tone white.  This is what I pulled out of the stash. 

These fabrics are old. The children's prints are between 15 to 20 years old. I had to dig for those. The patriotic fabrics are left over from a QOV that was finished almost 10 years ago. Definitely stash that needs to find a new home. The donation blocks can be any layout of 16 HSTs.  I've gotten the HST triangles cut. The plan this week is to sew all the HSTs and get them trimmed so I can assemble the blocks during the retreat. Fingers crossed I get that far before Friday.  

That's it for me this week. Linking up with Monday Design Wall and Patchwork & Quilts.