The Best of 2017 at Life in Pieces

As the year winds to a close, Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs is hosting a linky party to highlight your five best posts of 2017.  

How you define "best" is up to you. My top five are below.  You can click on the blog title to see the full blog post.  

1.  Largest number of views (468): Christmas in March, which featured the completion of Poinsettias. 

Poinsettias
By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue
of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

This was my long term leaders and enders project.  It's not perfectly done, but it turned out perfectly for me.  This quilt was gifted to a co-worker as a retirement present.  

2.  Most comments (27):  But First Coffee from October

Scrappy Coffee Cups (aka But First Coffee)

Block patterns from Karen F. Srebro and Janet McCarroll

publised in Block Magic and Block Magic Too by

Nancy Johnson-Srebro

But First Coffee is my first every Rainbow Scrap quilt started in 2012.  It was recently gifted to My Guy for Christmas.  He loves it.  I had told him earlier that it was a gift for someone else in the family and he responded that it didn't need to go, it could stay and live with us.  Little did he know that was my intention.  

3.  Most Facebook likes (661):  Progress on Mystery Stuff:  En Provence 

 En Provence, A Bonnie Hunter Mystery (2016)

I reposted the finished En Provence on Facebook.  I don't do much on Facebook, so was really surprised at all the likes and comments on the post.  I really like my version of En Provence.  Hopefully it will be an early finish in 2018. 

4.  Most Pins on Pinterest (8) Finished My Geometry Assignment

Geometry
Self Designed

Geometry was one of four graduation quilts commissioned by the Scientist in Training for friends and teachers.  Both of us were really happy with how it turned out. It was a big hit with the future math major who received it too.   

5.  My Favorite Post:  Finishing Blooms and Butterflies

Blooms and Butterflies
Back Porch Bloom block by Lea Anne Brummett,
setting by Kate

Blooms and Butterflies was a quilt for me.  I love the crisp white with the scrappy blue and reds.  It's been very nice to cuddle under this winter. 

That's my Best of 2017.  Linking up over at Meadow Mist Designs.  Now it's time for more hot tea while I check out the other Best of 2017 posts. 

Stash Stuff for Week 39 and 2017 Ambitions Update

October marks the beginning of fourth quarter. The count down to the end of the year begins in earnest now, or at least it seems that way to me.  Back in December of last year, I posted a list of quilting ambitions to Jetgirl's 2017 Planning Party.  With the count down to the end of the year kicking into high gear it's time to check on where I'm at on those ambitions for this year.  Since this is normally just the weekly stash report, I'll start with that so you can stop reading if you've hopped over here from Quiltpaintcreate for the weekly stash report. 

Quilt Ambition #3 Manage the Stash/Organize the Sewing Room

Used last week: 0.94 yards
Used year to date: 48.44 yards
Added year to date: 335 yards
Net added year to date: 287 yards

Stitching time was at a premium during third quarter.  I switched positions at work to one with more responsibility, which means a lot more working from home in the evening.  That's really cut into my stitching time. Add in vacation and getting the Scientist in Training ready for college, it was a really busy quarter.  The goal is to use at least 70 yards for the year.  That means using 21 yards between now and the end of the year.  Probably not happening based on what my fourth quarter typically looks like.  On other end of the stash management plan, I pretty much shattered any possibility of using more than I buy this year.  After two years of very limited buying, I had no will power for another year like that.  A fabric diet is definitely in the cards for fourth quarter.  That's it for the stash report, the rest of the post covers all my other stitching ambitions for 2017.  

The big organization project for this year has been to whip the stash closet into shape.  This is what it looked like back in July:

This is what it looks like now:

I'm almost finished with the second shelf.  All that will be left after that is to tackle that top shelf.  So I've made good progress on that front this year.  

Quilting Ambition #1:  Finish a Few Quilts  

While the stash management hasn't been the greatest, I have done really well on this ambition.  There have been six finishes so far. 

Poinsettias, Bejeweled, Geometry, The First Amendment Quilt, Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt plus Blooms and Butterflies are all finished.  When I was putting this together last year, there were three quilts I had to finish for graduation in May.  That was pretty much my goal, finish those three.  To have six finished is a smash success in my book.  My record is seven in one year.  I should at least tie that this year.  There are three quilts I'd like to finish before Christmas, that would put me at 9 for the year.  Check back in January to see how well that went.  

Quilting Ambition #3:  Participate in Challenges and Quilt Alongs

Quilt alongs and challenges are such fun.  Since I don't belong to a guild (the one here only meets during the week while I'm at work), these projects keep me engaged with the blogging community of quilters.  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge has been a long running favorite.  I've been working on those blocks since January.  

The Magnolia Mystery kicked off last month over at Meadow Mist Designs.  I've kept up, so far anyway.  I'm hoping to finish September's clue before Cheryl posts the next clue on Thursday. 

I've got 50 of the HSTs finished.  Just 22 left and I'll be caught up. 

The other planned quilt along is Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery.  If she's doing one this year, the fabric planning posts should be going up sometime this month.  I need to finish off last year's mystery quilt before then. 

Quilting Ambition #4:  Make Time to Sew

I've been doing really well on that front this year.  I've managed to stitch for 15 minutes 245 out of the the last 273 days.  So 89.7% of the time, I meet my goal.  That's an "A" if you round up.  Definitely the best year I've ever had on finding time to stitch.  Lately it really has been only 15 minutes a day, but that is better than nothing.  

Quilting Ambition #5:  Work on My Blogging Skills

There were several parts to this goal.  The first was to blog at least three times per week.  On average, I managed three posts per week this last quarter.  Most weeks I get in three, but there are few with just two. So I'm doing OK on this goal.  

Another goal was to write four tutorials this year.  I've managed two.  So to meet this goal, I'll have to come up with two for this quarter.  I'll have to put some thought into that.  

Another goal was to improve my photography.  I didn't put any metrics with that goal, so I'm not sure what I was thinking.  I've been trying to pay more attention to the lighting when I take photos. I've been less than happy with some of my finished quilt shots, so that's definitely an area I need to make more improvements in.  

The final part of the fifth ambition was to write a post each quarter summarizing where I was.  First quarter's post is here, second quarter's is here. And this concludes the third quarter post. 

It's been a pretty good year on a lot of fronts.  I know some think it's a bit extreme to have goals for your hobby.  It's so easy for me to get caught up in the "I've worked all day, I'm too tired to go sew."  I usually perk up once I get to my sewing room.  These ambitions have helped me get up those stairs most days. 

Stash Stuff and a 2017 Quilting Ambitions Update

This post is a day later than planned.  Let's just say that July didn't start off as planned and leave it at that for now. 

June was not a nice month.  The washer went out, a job change required quite a bit of overtime the last half of the month.  Both problems are now solved.  I was going to say that stitching didn't go so well, but it really wasn't a bad month on that front, other than my 15 minutes of stitching time went out the window for a week while I dealt with the fall out from the job change.  The end of June also marks the end of second quarter.  So it's a good opportunity to check how I'm doing on my 2017 quilting ambitions that I posted to Quilting Jetgirl's 2017 Planning Party.  

Since this is the stash management report, I'll start with that and if you are not interested in the rest you can stop there.  

Quilt Ambition #3:  Manage the Stash/Organize the Sewing Room

Used last week: 0.41 yards
Used year to date: 38.79 yards
Added year to date: 215.55 yards
Net added year to date: 176.76 yards

The one advantage of being really busy with work is that I've not had much time for fabric shopping, so the incoming numbers stalled this month.  That's a good thing.  Even so it's not likely I'll meet my goal of using more than I buy this year.  Fabric usage is on track.  I've used more than half of the 70 yards that is the goal for this year.  

Organizing the sewing room has seen a few fits and starts. I found a good way to organize the fabric pieces for all the in progress quilts.  I showed that off here. Now that my deadline sewing is done, I've been spending more time working on organizing the rest of the sewing room.  I still haven't done anything with the scraps.  But I have done a bit in the fabric closet.  Here's how it looked last July.  

July 10, 2016

Here's how it looks now:

As of June 18, 2017

Not a lot of progress, but this chore takes a while.  I'll keep chipping away at it. 

Quilting Ambition #1:  Finish a Few Quilts

I've done really well on this goal.  There are four finishes so far this year:  Poinsettias, Bejeweled, Geometry and The First Amendment Quilt.  Three of these were high school graduation gifts.  They were finished in time to gift them the last day of school. 

The graduation quilts:  Geometry, Zombies in Paris and Bejeweled

They were a big hit.  I got hugs from all three girls (and none of them are big on giving hugs). 

There should be at least two more finishes this year.  The 2016 Meadow Mist Mystery  is being bound and Blooms and Butterflies has been shipped off for quilting.  That will make at least 6 finishes for 2017.  Definitely not shabby.

Quilting Ambition #3:  Participate in Challenges and Mystery Quilt Alongs

I've gotten a good start on the blocks for the 2017 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Though I still need to finish up the yellow blocks for June. 

The Magnolia Mystery from Meadow Mist Designs starts up in a few days.  That will be the next quilt along for 2017.  There are a couple of other mystery quilt alongs that are very tempting. I'm contemplating if I can start one or both of those two.  I probably won't start either because the UFO list is still pretty huge, but I can dream anyway. 

Quilting Ambition #4:  Make Time to Sew

The goal is to spend at least 15 minutes each day stitching.  The second quarter of 2017 hasn't been as good as the first, but I've found those 15 minutes more days than ever before. 

Days with 15 minutes of stitching:  165 days out of 181 days 
Percentage success:  91%

More fabric out and more finishes this year.  Pretty sure that's tied to this one goal.  

Quilting Ambition #5:  Work on Blogging Skills

My goal was to blog three times a week.  I didn't do so hot on that each week during the second quarter.  Some weeks I managed 5 posts, other weeks just 1.  On average I posted about 3 times per week for the year.  Not sure yet if I consider that success or not. 

I've written 2 of the 4 tutorials that was in my goals for this year.  On track with that one.  The last goal was to improve my photography skills.  I've been more conscious of staging my photos this last quarter.  Not sure that equates to better photos, but it's something different I'm trying.  

It's been a really good year so far.  I'm happy where I'm at in my ambitions for the year so far.  Now to keep up the momentum over the hot summer months and into the fall.  How are you doing on your stitching goals for 2017?  

Linking up with QuiltPaintCreate for the weekly stash report.   

Weekend Stitching - Finished My Geometry Assignment

It was a beautiful weekend here, sunny and warm.  We were out and about on Saturday getting Drama Teen's senior portrait taken.  Here's one of the good shots.

Since one of the goofy shots was in yesterday's post DT asked for equal time for one of the better shots.  

Sewing time was a bit limited this weekend due to all the graduation preparation stuff going on.  However, I did find enough time to finish the binding on the third graduation quilt. 

Geometry, self designed
Started: December 17, 2016, Finished:  May 7, 2017

It's a very fun quilt.  Trudy quilted a different design in each color.

Trudy as always did a beautiful job with the quilting.  Drama Teen is very happy with it. We both hope her friend will like it.  The current plan is to have a hang out party the afternoon of the last day of school and we'll do the gifting then.  There's so much going on with graduation that it's best we do it before then.  

Geometry is the first finish off my 2017 Finish Along list for the second quarter.  It's my third finish for the year.  It feels really good to get another one off the WIP list.  My UFO count still sits at 17 as this quilt was started and finished within the year.  But getting it off the WIP list means it won't make it to the UFO list.  So at least the UFO count isn't going up.  Hopefully once all the graduation quilts are done, there will be time to work on shortening the UFO list. 

Linking up with:
Monday Making at Live Love Quilt
Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times
Main Crush Monday on Tuesday at Cooking Up Quilts
2017 Finish Along (2nd Quarter) at Cut and Alter

Weekend Stitching: Too Much of a Good Thing?

The sewing room was pretty busy this weekend.  I took Friday off as a much needed sanity day, so managed three pretty solid days in the sewing room.  By yesterday evening, I will admit to being just about sewn out.  But it was a very productive weekend.  The binding got sewn to the front of Geometry.

A few stitches got taken on the back side as well.  So this graduation quilt is just about done.  There was lots of progress on the last graduation quilt as well. 

The next to last set of borders are ready to go on.  The strips for the top and bottom borders are cut, but not sewn together yet.  So the First Amendment Quilt is getting close to being a finished flimsy. I always forget how long it takes to add on borders.  All the measuring and cutting involved takes up a lot of time.  Hopefully this one will be a finished top sometime this week.  

I will be glad to see the last of the graduation quilts go off to Trudy for quilting.  Thankfully the end is in sight. 

Linking up with:
Monday Making over at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times
Main Crush Monday on Tuesday over at Cooking Up Quilts

A Sanity Day

It's been a zoo at work.  Two big projects are in the works, one of which wasn't planned for at the beginning of the year.  I'm pretty much caught up on both of them at the moment (well one is as far as it can go till we get final approval to go forward).  Since it's been so crazy and looks to be even more so over the next couple of weeks, I decided a sanity break was a must.  My boss graciously approved a day of vacation at the last minute so I'm taking today off.  My Guy is going to work and Drama Teen has school, so I'll have the house to myself today.  My therapy of choice for all this insanity is a big dose of sewing room time. 

Another reason for feeling slightly insane is the fact that I've got lot going on this month and there are two graduation quilts still on the to be finished list.  The plan for today is work on both of those projects.  The binding is all made for Geometry, so it just needs the label made.  Drama Teen approved the final version, so I'll print that on fabric today, get it soaked and rinsed.

This is the label without DT's message to her buddy.  It will also need to be framed with black fabric before it's attached to the back. It probably won't be dry enough to work with today, but if I get it done today, it will be ready to go tomorrow. 

The other work in progress that needs attention is the First Amendment Quilt.  

It needs three more friendship star blocks to complete the third border.  I'm hoping to get at those done and a good start on borders 4 and 5 today.  

Hopefully by the end of the today I'll feel much more relaxed and pleasant.  I know my family would appreciate an improvement in my mood. 

Plotting and Planning for the Second Quarter 2017 Finish Along

The count for the first quarter of the 2017 Finish Along was 2 out of 3.  That was my first venture into the finish along.  Since that worked out so well I'm signing up for the second quarter.

There are two quilts that have to be finished by Drama Teen's high school graduation in May.  The first is Geometry. 

 Geometry, self designed

This one was on my first quarter list.  All it needs is binding. I started trimming the quilt last week.  The binding and label need to be made.  That shouldn't be too hard to get done in the next couple of weeks. 

The last remaining graduation quilt is The First Amendment Quilt. 

The First Amendment Quilt, self designed

It's in pieces up on the design wall.  Once the friendship star border is done, the last two borders are just strips.  It should go fast once I get to that point. The plan is to have this one ready to go to Trudy for quilting by April 15th. We'll see if I make that or not.  

Once the graduation quilts are done, I'm pretty free to work on whatever.  There are two quilts that just need borders and backings before they can be sent out for quilting.  Those two would be easy pickings for this quarter.  The first of those is the Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt. 

 Meadow Mist Designs Mystery
By Cheryl Brickey of the Meadow Mist Designs Blog

I'd like to have this one done before the next mystery starts this summer.  

The last quilt on my second quarter finish list is from a quilt along over over at Podunk Pretties. 

Blooms and Butterflies
Bloom block by Lea Brummett, setting by Kate

It just needs the last couple of borders and it will be ready for it's backing and quilting.  

That's four quilts by the end of June.  That seems doable. Even if all I manage are the first two, I'll be happy with my efforts for second quarter.

Linking up with the 2nd Quarter of the 2017 Finish Along.  

Weekend Stitching: Finished and Not

It wasn't a relaxing weekend, laundry and taxes took care of that.  But it was a productive weekend.  Laundry is as caught up as it ever gets and the taxes are almost done.  Even better, I was able to recover from both activities by spending the afternoons in the sewing room.  After a marathon session of hand stitching, the binding and labeling of Bejeweled got done.  It was early evening and there wasn't great light, but I did get a few preliminary pictures. 

Bejeweled
From the book "All About Strips" by Susan Guzman

It's not a really great photo, the colors are so much more vivid than this shows.  The binding is the deep purple used in some of the "jewels".

The light blue backing also makes an appearance in the front of the quilt.  It will probably be next weekend before I have a chance to get really good photos.  Bejeweled is number two of four graduation quilts commissioned by Drama Teen that need to be done by May.  So I'm half way there!  

Finishing Bejeweled was one of my goals (that post is here) for the first quarter of the 2017 Finish Along.  Poinsettias also got finished. 

Poinsettias
By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue
of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

But Geometry didn't make it to the finished mark.  

 Geometry, self designed

But there was a lot of progress it went from finished flimsy to quilted. It will definitely show up on my list for the second quarter of the 2017 Finish Along.  The label's not made yet, nor is the binding.  There are still 5 evenings of sewing left in the quarter, so it might get done, but most likely not.  

Linking up with:
2017 Finish Along at Cut and Alter
Main Crush Monday over at Cooking up Quilts
Monday Making over at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times

Weekend Stitching: Filling an Empty Design Wall

It was a fast weekend, but they all seem to be that way these days.  Saturday was pretty much an all sewing day.  Sunday morning was chores, but there was enough time to get Geometry prepped for quilting before we headed out to set up the 5th grade science demos 

Now that Geometry is all pressed, folded and packaged, the big design wall is empty.  By the time we got home from getting all set up for the 5th grade demos, I was pretty brain dead.  It didn't seem wise to make a start on a new project.  So I finished off the last block #2 block for the Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt.  I've got enough done to be able to lay out the center of the quilt. 

  Meadow Mist Designs Mystery
By Cheryl Brickey of the Meadow Mist Designs Blog

The black prints don't show up so well from a distance.  The orange may have been a mistake.  We'll see.  I still have the last set of 8 blocks to make before this one can be assembled into a flimsy.  Those will have to made catch as catch can, the last graduation quilt needs to be the focus in the sewing room this month.  The plan is to get going on that project tonight after work. 

Linking up with:
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall 

One Monthly Goal - February Wrap Up

Nothing like pushing things to the wire.  February has been a busy month in addition to being a short one, so getting the One Monthly Goal finished has been a challenge.  

Geometry was just a set of blocks back at the first of the month.  

The final border was added last night, so Geometry is a finished flimsy, which was the goal for February. 

Geometry - self designed pattern

This is number three of four graduation quilts that need to be finished before the end of May.   Hopefully I can get the backing made next weekend and then get this project shipped off to Trudy for quilting by the middle of March.  Then it will be time to get started on graduation quilt number 4.  

Linking up with the end of February One Monthly Goal over at Elm Street Quilts.  Also linking up with UFO 2017 over at Patchwork Times on March 1st.  Geometry was my focus UFO for February.  Though it's not completely done, it definitely got moved along and that's what I'm hoping to do with each of the quilts on my list this year.  Finishes would be nice, but progress counts for something too. 

Weekend Stitching: Geometry is now a Complete Rectangle

It was a whirlwind of a weekend.  We attended the wedding of My Guy's nephew.  Not many of the My Guy's siblings attended but many of their offspring did, so a lot of the groom's cousins were there.  This was a boon for Drama Teen as that's her generation, so she had lots of fun at the reception and the after reception.  (I say her generation, the cousins range in age from about 27 to 17, but this group all "get" each other.  

Not a lot of stitching got done this weekend as we hung out with the family for most of the weekend.  The two halves of Geometry were sewn together. 

Drama Teen and I decided that Geometry needs a narrow black border.  I started working on that last night. My One Monthly Goal was to get Geometry to the finished flimsy stage.  Hopefully I'll have enough time to sew tonight to make that happen, I'm running out of month pretty quickly.  

That's it for me today.  Linking up with:

Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall 

Weekend Stitching - Gaining on Geometry

It was a nice weekend for just hanging out around the house and getting some sewing done.  Drama Teen went to bed early last night with a sore throat, but no fever.  We're hoping it's not strep throat, one of her classmates she has a couple of classes with had it last week.  It's just that time of year. 

Other than being on illness alert, it was a really nice weekend.  I did get to spend most of Sunday in the sewing room.  Not all of the time was spent at the sewing machine.  I finally got tired of moving Poinsettias from point to point in the sewing room.  It's been quilted for a couple of months, but needs to be trimmed and bound.  

So I cleared off the cutting table and got it trimmed up.  I really like the holly leaf quilting motif.  It shows up nicely in that black border.  The binding strips were also cut and are sitting over the sewing machine for stitching.  While cutting the binding strips I realized that Poinsettias needed a label too.  So I took some time out to design one.  

The other focus in the sewing room this weekend was on getting Geometry into a finished flimsy. 

Progress was made, but it's not a finished flimsy yet.  The top 4 rows are sewn together and the bottom two are as well.  It always takes longer to sew all the rows together than I think it should.  But this one should be a finished flimsy by next weekend.  

Linking up with
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall

Weekend Stitching: Playing with Geometry

It was a nice quiet weekend.  We're not football fans so the Super Bowl went unnoticed till Drama Teen turned on the end of the game so she'd know who won.  

The sewing room wasn't lonely this weekend.  Though the time spent in it wasn't all directed to sewing.  After adding a couple of new additions, there was a bit of reorganization that needed to go on.  I did eventually get back to stitching and made some good progress on Geometry. 

All the blue blocks are done and I got a good start on the green HSTs.  All that's left are the yellow HSTs.  So this should be ready to sew together later this week.  Drama Teen really likes this one and thinks her friend will love it. This has been a fun and fast project.  

Linking up with:
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday

February One Monthly Goal: The March of Graduation Quilts Continues

I've been home with a nasty cold since Monday. That definitely wasn't the plan for the end of January.  Thankfully I finished up January's One Monthly Goal before the crud took over.  Now it's time to contemplate the February One Monthly Goal. 

Drama Teen asked me last year if I would make quilts for her best friends and her favorite teacher for graduation this year.  So she gave me plenty of notice.  One is finished (Zombie's in Paris) and the second has been sent out for quilting (Bejeweled).  That leaves quilts 3 and 4 that have to be finished before May.  The third quilt, Geometry has been up on the design wall since December.  

The blocks are just big HSTs, so they go together pretty fast.  I'm almost finished with the purple blocks.  That leaves blue, green and yellow blocks that have to be made.  February is a short month, and we have a wedding to attend the last weekend that will cut into my stitching time this month.  Considering all that, my goal is to make all the blocks and get them into a finished flimsy by the end of the month. That should set me up to finish the back and get it out for quilting in March.  

I'm also participating in Patchwork Times UFO-2017 this year (the more motivation the better).  Geometry is #2 on my list, so I'm substituting it for whatever number Judy draws for February. 

Linking up with 
Elm Street Quilts
Let's Bee Social
Needle and Thread Thrusday

Rainbow Scrap Challenge: Pretty Pitiful Progress with Purple

We enjoyed day one of our three day weekend on Friday. Or at least I did.  My Guy finally succumbed to the respiratory virus that both DT and I have had.  He was pretty miserable.  He slept and I played in the sewing room.  Most of my effort was focused on getting the backing cut and pieced for Bejeweled.  But I did sneak in enough other stitching to finish off one more small fan block.

  
It's hard to see the scale in this picture, but the small fans are only 3.5".  For some reason I've been having problems getting the pieces lined up properly on these blocks.  I always seem to attach the next "ray" in the wrong orientation and have to un-sew a bit.  If that hadn't happened, there be a large block to show this week.  

The other purple scrappy project that's been taking priority in the sewing room is Geometry.  Geometry uses up left over yardage from several other projects, so that makes it a scrappy quilt too, at least in my book. 

The purple is left over from the Zombie in Paris Quilt.  The red was also used in Allietare and the orange in Cowboy Orange.  So though the black math fabric was  purchased specifically for this quilt, the rest of the fabrics came from the stash. I still have the blue, green and yellow blocks to cut and stitch.  But this project has been a really quick one.  That's good because there is still one more graduation quilt to go and it's not started yet.  

Linking up with Soscrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and with Oh Scrap on Sunday over at Quilting is More Fun than Housework.   

Weekend Stitching: Angles and Formulas

Sunday went fast.  The whole weekend went fast.  I'm not ready to head back to work.  At least it will be a short week.  The plan is to take our 19/30 day on Friday, so that's something to look forward too.  

I did spend the day in the sewing room, but I did more cleaning and organizing than I did sewing.  I'm a bit sore from all the lifting and crawling on the floor.  I finally realized that the reason my cutting table had a big drop off from one side to the other was because the hinges were loose.  A few minutes with a screw driver and that was fixed.  One of my storage solutions for my fat quarter sets wasn't working, so I finally bit the bullet and did some reorganization of the fat quarter storage.  I didn't get that all done but I did make some progress.  

In the end, I didn't get to the backing for Bejeweled.  By the time I got the sewing room sorta put back together, it was almost time for dinner.  I'll have to fit in the pressing the backing fabric and piecing the back in the evenings this week.  I did end up with about an hour of sewing time, so I worked on getting the blocks made for the third graduation quilt. 

Geometry is going together pretty fast.  All the orange and red blocks are done.  I made a start on the purple HSTs last night.  My Guy really likes this one.  Drama Teen does too.  The black focus fabric has mathematical expressions all over it.  DT was saying it was weird to realize that she knew what most of them were and what they were used for.  I'm assembling this one as four patches rather than in rows.  That just seemed to work better in terms of keeping the blocks in the right positions.  A couple of the orange pairs have been sewn together.  Hopefully working it that way means that by the time the blocks are all done, most of the assemble will be done too.  

It was nice to have a clean sewing room and make a little progress on one of the graduation quilts, even if it wasn't Bejeweled.  I still have time this month to get that one out the door for quilting, which is my OMG.  

Linking up with:
Making Monday
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall

Enough Dithering

I've seen the posts referring to a quarterly finish along for at least a couple of years.  With my ever changing schedule, I'm just happy if I make progress on a project, I don't worry as much about finishes.  However, this year, there are 4 quilts that need to be finished by May.  They were commissioned by Drama Teen and it's very important to her that I finish them on time.  So I'm pulling all the stops out this year to find ways to stay on track and finish the remaining 3 quilts.  I've been dithering about committing to a finishing challenge.  Which is really a bit silly considering, I've committed to Drama Teen that all 4 will be done by graduation.  So why not use very bit of leverage and hopefully engage a whole group of cheerleaders by joining in the 2017 Finish Along.  

I'm not going to get all 3 finished during the first quarter of the challenge, but I'm pretty sure if I stick with it I can finish two.  The farthest along by far is Bejeweled.  

 Bejeweled, From the book "All About Strips" by Susan Guzman

The final border needs to be sewn on and this project will be a finished flimsy.  It will still need the backing made and to be prepped for quilting so it can be sent out for quilting.  This one will definitely be a finish by the end of March.  

I've got a start on the third graduation quilt, Geometry. 

Geometry, self designed

But I need the design wall free so I can make sure my focus fabric ends up facing the the right direction on all the finished blocks.  This quilt will be all large HSTs, so assembly should go pretty fast once I get the blocks made.  This one should also be doable by the end of March.  

I've not even started on the 4th graduation quilt yet.  The design is done, but the fabric hasn't been pulled.  I'll save that project for the second quarter of the challenge.  There is one quilt that just needs to be bound, Poinsettias.  

Poinsettias
By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue
of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

The quilt still needs to be trimmed and the binding made.  But I think this one can be worked in sometime between now and the end of March.  That would give me three finishes for the 1st quarter.  Which is much better than I typically do this early in the year.  

I'm linking up for the 2017 Quilt Along  via Abigail's Cut & Alter blog.  Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!