PHD in 2025

This year will be my seventh attempt to earn a PHD. Ms. P Designs USA is again hosting the 2025 PHD challenge.  The rules are simple, 1) finish twelve UFOs and 2)Finish all new starts (unless they are mysteries/BOMs that run into 2026).  I've never finished more than seven quilts in one year. I'm hoping that all the progress last year will help me finish 12 this year. Even if I don't get that far, if I can reduce the total number of UFOs this year I'll be happy.  

Last year's efforts reduced the number of UFOs that just needed assembly, that leaves me this year with six quilt tops to be finished, two projects that need assembly and lots of projects that still need the blocks finished.  I've already planned for three new projects this year as I've learned, focusing only on UFOs isn't fun.  The plan is to pull one quilt top per month get it out for quilting and one project that needs the blocks finished. I'll work in the ones that just need assembly somewhere in there.  

The finished quilt tops have shown up on other posts this week, but I'll add them here as reference for later. 

Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts), Squared Away (SoScrappy), Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter), Malted Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs), Indigo Way (Bonnie Hunter), Betty (Meadow Mist Designs)

Quilts to Assemble 

Kate's Choice (my quilt as you go project) and the 2024 Guild BOM. 

Projects that still need the blocks constructed. 

Celtic Solstice (Bonnie Hunter), On Ringo Lake (Bonnie Hunter), Good Fortune (Bonnie Hunter), Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter), Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter), Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs),Old Town (Bonnie Hunter), 2025 Guild BOM.

A sub goal for 2025 would be to get all my versions of Bonnie Hunter mysteries into quilt tops by the end of the year.  There are 4 on this year's PHD list.  it would be nice to get them all made into finished quilts, but that's not likely. 

I'm planning 3 new starts for next year, the 2025 SAHRR (Quilting Gail), 2025 Meadow Mist Designs Mystery and the 2025 Bonnie Hunter Mystery.  Hopefully I can hold the line at those three. If I can do as well on finishes this year as I did last year, the number of UFOs should go down.  At least that's the plan.  Here's my PHD Report tracking card for this year. 

 

 And here's my project tracker for this year. 

I'm dreaming big this year, I've never had more than 12 projects on my PHD.  I won't finish all of these, but if I can make progress on each one, it will have been a good year.    

Weekend Stitching: What's Next, The Down Side of Multi-Tasking

We talked with the Scientist in Training last night.  She said she was really sad at how fast Sunday came this week.  The semester is going so fast, but yet the weeks seem to drag.  Yep, that's how I'm feeling about this winter.  Half way through February, but boy getting from Monday to Friday at work has been a chore!  

It was nice to spend some quality time in the sewing room over the weekend.  By Sunday though, I realized it was time to stop and take stock of what each project needed to keep moving it towards a finish. 

First up was Inverted Star.  The SIT finally wrote a message for the label.  So that got printed up, rinsed and laid out to dry.  So it should be ready to use today.  Next step was to figure out what to use for the binding. 

Since the quilt is for on of the SITs buddies, I let her choose.  She went with the darker blue. 

The binding strips are all cut and I've started sewing them together.  

The Christmas Mystery quilt finally made it to the post office last week (between work and the weather, that wasn't an easy task). Trudy is now contemplating how to quilt it.  I need to finish the label, so it's ready to go when the quilt comes back in another week or so.  

The last round of borders is going on Christmas Angels. The quilt has gotten too big to photograph on the design wall so no photos.  Just two more strips and it will be a finished flimsy.  So it's time to raid the stash for a backing fabric.  

The stack of Good Fortune blocks is growing.

Good Fortune, 2018 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

I was contemplating changing the layout to a 5 x 7 block setting with sashing to help the black blend in.  If I do that, the border blocks which have already been made won't fit right.  I don't have enough blocks for the 5 X 7 setting, so for now I'll make enough blocks for that setting and then reassess.  I really need to play with the potential borders in EQ so I know how many blocks to make and where I'm going with this project so it doesn't stall.  


Next up was to figure out where I'm going with On Ringo Lake, my leaders and enders project.  

On Ringo Lake
Bonnie Hunter 2017 Mystery Quilt

I've got 22 blocks finished.  I need 32 for my on point layout.  I have all the nine patches needed for the centers, but need more flying geese and HSTs.  I need to cut the fabric to finish those remaining 10 blocks.  I also still need to make all the sashing pieces too.  There was a stack of black squares that had been cut to the wrong size for the flying geese.  Those were trimmed up to use on the sashing strips.  I'll stitch on the sashing pieces till I get a chance to cut a bit more fabric to finish the blocks. 

Hopefully if I stick to my new to do list, there will be a couple of finishes to celebrate soon.  Linking up with:

Monday Making
Monday Design Wall

Weekend Stitching: Steady Progress

It was a good weekend to stay in and sew, which is pretty much what I did. British Baking on Netflix and a few cups of coffee, made for some very relaxing stitching time.  

First on the list was round two of borders for the Christmas Angels quilt. 

Christmas Angels, Pattern by Kate

The quilt is really straight, the photo was taken at an odd angle as the quilt has gotten to big to photograph easily.  Just one more beige border and it will be time to add the final dark green border.  So I'm on track with my February One Monthly Goal.  

The Good Fortune blocks had to come down to put up the Angels flimsy. 

Good Fortune, 2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

As the number of blocks on the design wall increase, the better I like it.  I've decided to go for a 5 X 7 block layout.  So I'm just over half way done with making the blocks. 

Lastly, I finished the 4th red Wild and Goosey block.

 Modified Wild and Goosey
Based on Bonnie Hunter's pattern in Addicted to Scraps

So I could lay them out to see how one block is going to look.  I'm really happy with how these are working out.  I need to get started on making some yellow ones this week.  

That's pretty much it from the sewing room.  I am hoping to take my bonus day off this Friday, but with everything going on at work, that may not happen.  Fingers crossed there.  

Linking up with:

Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall

Weekend Stitching: This and That

It was nice to have a slower paced weekend.  The Aleve hasn't worked miracles, but I was able to sleep through the night last night and can walk without pain today.  Fingers crossed that sciatic nerve problem is in remission for now.   Even better, being able to navigate the stairs meant there was actually some progress in the sewing room this weekend. 

First off the list was the Christmas Mystery quilt. 

The flimsy has been de-threaded and pressed.  I need to check out what other boxes are in the attic, this one is a bit big. This mystery quilt should make it to the post office sometime this week.  

Now that the Christmas Mystery quilt is ready to go out for quilting and Inverted Star is not yet back from the quilter, it was time to work on number 3 on my 2019 quilt plan, Christmas Angels. 

Christmas Angels
Pattern by Kate

The first two side borders are on.  I've got the top and bottom border strips ready to go.  These skinny red borders will be followed by a beige border and the quilt will be finished off with a dark green border.  The borders should get done this month and maybe the backing.  Not sure it will get prepped for quilting, but it will definitely be closer to being finished. This quilt was started in 2013, it's definitely time to get it off the UFO list.  

I'm still slowly moving along with the Good Fortune blocks.

Good Fortune
2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

I've decided to reduce the size of this one to 5 blocks by 7 blocks.  I've also been playing around in EQ, adding a black or purple sashing helps the incorporate the black into the design better.  So I will probably go that route.  Not sure what I'm going to do about the borders.  I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I do hope to be able to use some of the border blocks that have already been made, but we'll see how that goes when I get that far. 

Good Fortune is probably coming off the design wall this month and going inactive as there is a new project waiting in the wings. 

The Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt along over at Little Bunny Quilts kicks off today with the posting of the fabric requirements.  Alison has hosted a number of quilt alongs and I've always passed, but this one looked like fun.  

Now it's time to get ready for work. Bummer.   Linking up with the usual Monday linky parties. 

Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall

Last Monday Check In: One Monthly Goal, PHD, and 2019 Strategy Progress

It's the last Monday in January, seems like a good time to see how my sewing room strategies for 2019 are working.  I really want to move some UFOs off the list this year.  

First up, the January One Monthly Goal was to get Inverted Star sent out for quilting.  

All that got done and the box actually made it to the post office.  It should come back in a couple of weeks.  Fingers crossed this one gets finished before the end of February. 

With Inverted Star sent off, I moved on to the second quilt on this year's UFO Challenge, The Christmas Mystery quilt. 

Mr. Nutcracker got a face and the backing was pieced.  The back has been de-threaded and pressed.  It's ready to be shipped out for quilting.  The next step is to prep the finished flimsy.  That should happen this week.  So there's still a chance this one also gets finished in February.  

In other stitching, I got a start on this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge Wild and Goosey blocks.

There's been progress on this year's Bonnie Hunter Mystery, Good Fortune. 

Good Fortune, 2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

I've actually gotten a few more blocks made, but apparently there hasn't been a new photo of that progress.

Lastly, a few more blocks of On Ringo Lake, the current leaders and enders project, have made it to the design wall. 

On Ringo Lake
Bonnie Hunter 2017 Mystery Quilt

There's been good progress this month on multiple fronts, but I've not made much visible progress towards my 2019 PHD.

All my report shows is one new start.  

Fingers crossed there's two off the list by the end of February.  

Linking up with the usual Monday linky parties. 

Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall
One Monthly Goal  

Weekend Stitching: Good Fortune (Maybe Not)

The weekend got off to a rough start with some type of stomach bug.  I didn't stray too far from the recliner most of the day Saturday.  But by late evening I was feeling well enough to wonder into the sewing room and trim up the backing for Inverted Star.

Now the backing is ready for it's final pressing before it's packaged up for Trudy to quilt.  I hope to get that done this week.  Next weekend I'll clean up the back of Inverted Star, give it a good press and then package it up to go out. If I can manage that, it should be back so I can finish it up in February.  

Sunday I focused on getting enough blocks of Good Fortune up on the design wall to see if I was going to like my color palette. 

Good Fortune, 2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

I love the blues, greens and purples. And I love the secondary pattern.  I'm just not sure about the black.  Is it too stark?  The black is really a tone on tone,  unfortunately it just reads as solid black in the photograph.  I didn't cut out all the black pieces, just enough to finish a few blocks, so other than having to unsew 4 blocks, I can still make a change.  I'm considering a darker purple, dark blue or maybe even a pale pink or magenta.  It depends on what I've got in the stash. Or I could decide to just leave the black.  I'm not going to have a lot of time to sew the next couple of days so my focus will be on getting Inverted Star out the door, so the plan for now is to leave the blocks up on the design wall for this week then make a decision on a path forward next weekend.  

Have a wonderful week.  Check out all the other weekend progress at these fun linky parties. 

Monday Design Wall
Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune 

Weekend Stitching: Mystery Sewing

Hard to believe it's the last day of 2018.  I'm hoping to spend a good part of it in the sewing room as I've not really had a chance to do that yet.  I've been tackling the closets while My Guy has been dealing with the decluttering the kitchen cabinets, so it's been a productive holiday break.  

I did get in a solid afternoon of stitching yesterday.  The focus was clues 5 and 6 of Good Fortune. 

I'm hoping to make more progress today.  Bonnie's been known to post the reveal on New Year's Day, so I'd like to have enough pieces to get a few blocks made right off the bat.  

I'm able to concentrate on Good Fortune because this month's One Monthly Goal is finished.  The binding was finished as of last Friday.

Boo! (Halloween Mystery)
designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)
Started  September 8, 2018, Finished December 28, 2018

This was a fun and quick project that used up some odds and ends from the stash.  The bats got crystal button eyes cause My Guy said they needed something. 

Those worked out pretty well. Trudy add some fun details during the quilting. 

A spiderweb in the corner complete with spider.  

And pumpkins in the last border that show up much clearer on the back. 

I didn't have enough of the jack-o-lanterns fabric for the whole back so pieced in that yellow strip, which isn't quilt so pale in real life. 

And the label's been stitched down too.  

Boo! is finish number 4 for 2018.  Since this project was started in 2018, it's not on the UFO list, so that number didn't go down. But getting it finished means it won't go on the list. So it's all good.  Boo! was one of the quilts on my 2018 Finish Along List.  So I'll be linking up when Q4 FAL Link UP opens in January.   

It was a bit odd working on a Halloween quilt over the Christmas holiday.  But now it's all finished and ready to use for next Halloween. 

I'm hoping to end and begin 2019 in the sewing room.  Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year with lots of new projects, finishes, and dwindling UFO lists.  

Linking up with:
UFO Busting
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday
One Monthly Goal
Bonnie Hunter 

Weekend Stitching: Mystery Stitching

This was one of those weekends where I'm glad to go back to work so I can rest.  We discovered mice in the house the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They were all caught in pretty short order, but not till after they had made a nest in the recyclables.  We pitched all that, but we kept catching whiffs of mouse all over the kitchen, living room and library.  So we did some deep cleaning this weekend.  We moved furniture, Mr. Cleaned the wood floor and baseboards in the kitchen, then steam cleaned the carpets in the living room and library.  I think we got all the smelling residues they left.  

The deep cleaning didn't leave a lot of time and energy for stitching this weekend but I got a bit done.  The last two borders were added to the Christmas Mystery quilt.

Christmas Mystery designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

This was such a fun project.   I plan to hand embroider eyes and a mustache on the nutcracker before the quilt gets sent out for quilting.  I'm not going to get that done before Christmas unfortunately.  But I'm planning to get this one ready to go to out for quilting before the end of the year.  

The only other stitching that got done this weekend was on Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery.  I worked out a procedure to get both the half chevron block and the HSTs from the green rectangle and neutral squares using one of my rulers and Bonnie's instructions.  

I didn't get very far, but at least all the neutral squares are cut, so all that's left is to stitch up my quota.  

Holiday preparations are going to suck up a lot of my evening time this week.  So I'm not sure how much I'll get done.  I need to bind one quilt that's intended as a Christmas gift, so my plan is to spend my 15 minutes each evening getting that done. That may be all the sewing I can fit in this week.  

Linking up with

Bonnie Hunter's Clue 3 linky party
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday

Weekend Stitching: More Good Fortune

This is one of those Monday's where I wake up and wonder what happened to the weekend.  Mostly due to the annual shopping marathon we did yesterday.  We start early and try to get done before the crowds get really bad.  Now most of the Christmas shopping is done.  There are still a few odds and ends I need to pick up, but I can pick those up here in town or get them when I go shopping with my sister later this month.  

What little stitching time I had on Sunday was dedicated to making a start on clue 2 of Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery. 

The marathon shopping left me so wiped out that after finishing this set I was at the point that more stitching would probably be accompanied by as much un-stitching so I quit.  But so far I'm happy with my fabric selections.  The blue fabric has been in the stash for years. The color is not a true blue but looks more teal when compared to other blues, so I've had a hard time finding a project it works in.  It's working out great in Good Fortune. 

Saturday was the Christmas Mystery Reveal day at the quilt shop.  So I spent most of Friday night and Saturday morning trying to get the borders completed.  I did manage to get the first round of borders on before the show and tell.  It was so cool to see all the different versions of the mystery. I came home and tried really hard to get the final border on so my Christmas Mystery would be a finished flimsy, before I dived full on into Good Fortune. As I was getting ready to cut the last border it became apparent that the fabric was directional.  So it took a bit of careful prep and calculations to get all I needed out of the limited yardage I had left.  So all that got sewn on was the two sides.

Christmas Mystery designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

The poinsettias fabric has been in the stash forever, so it was good to see it move into a project.  The blocks, other than the background, are all made from scraps and leftovers.  The red sashing is another well aged stash fabric.  That's my justification for making mystery quilts, they have to use only stash fabrics and left overs.  I'm really happy with how this quilt turned out.  The shop announced that next year, the plan is to do a patriotic mystery in May, a fall themed mystery in September/October and another Christmas mystery in December.  I definetly see more mystery in my sewing room next year.  

Linking up with Bonnie Hunter's Monday Good Fortune linky as well as the usual Monday show and tell linky parties.

Monday Making
Monday Design Wall
Main Crush Monday

Weekend Stitching With Good Fortune

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the family, but it was nice to have the house to ourselves Saturday night and we all just chilled out.  The Scientist in Training had to head back to college just after lunch on Sunday.  She's got three more weeks of class before Christmas break.  Once she got on the road, I headed to the sewing room to make a start on this year's Bonnie Hunter Mystery, Good Fortune. 

All but one fabric was already pressed and ready to go, so it didn't take very long before the first set of strips were cut and ready for stitching. 

I kept the beige neutrals that Bonnie worked with, but changed the red to a purple/violet fabric from the stash.  After a round of strip sewing, more time at the cutting mat, a bit of seam matching and more stitching, the pile of 4 patches started to grow.

I'm no where close to done with this clue, but that's OK.  I won't keep up with all the clues as my schedule is just too hectic this time of year.  My goal is to get enough parts done of each clue so that I can make a few blocks once Bonnie gives us the final reveal.  If past practice holds, it will take me all of next year to get the quilt finished.  

This weekend I was also sewing to another deadline.  The Christmas Mystery quilt needs to be in finished flimsy form for the final meet up at the quilt shop next Saturday.  I finished stitching the last block while spending time with the family, so the blocks were ready for sashing. 

Christmas Mystery designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

All that's left is to sew the top row to the rest of the blocks.  I should be able to get that done and the borders on before the meeting on Saturday.  I'll be stitching up the Good Fortune 4-patches as I finish off that project.  

Today will kick off Bonnie's mystery quilt linky party, so I'll be linking up there and with the normal Monday linky parties:

Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall  

Weekend Stitching: A Sewing Room Break

I'm very lucky that My Guy is very supportive of my quilting obession hobby, but he's been wistfully noting that we've not gone anywhere in awhile (he has what his mother called itchy feet).  So we tested our empty nester wings, took a couple of days off work, rented a cabin and ventured out to the Beaver's Bend Folk Festival  and Craft Show over the weekend.  The music was really good and the park was beautiful.  

It was very close to peak color, with the cold that seeped in overnight, what's left of the leaves will be gone.  But the leaves were gorgeous over the weekend.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

And my most favorite shot of the weekend.  

Now that I've got that out of my system, lets talk quilty stuff.  There's not much on that front.  We were gone all weekend, so there wasn't a lot of time in the sewing room.  I'm still stitching down the second wreath for the Christmas Mystery Quilt.  I did finish off last week's block before we left. 

Christmas Mystery designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

After messing with Ruldophs antlers, this block was a breeze.  Here's all the blocks we've done so far.

Christmas Mystery designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

This is going to be a fun quilt when it's all together.  I did make it back to town just in time to stop by the LQS on our way home to get the two blocks for this week.  I hope to make a start on those tonight.  

The only other sewing related thing that happened before we left town was selecting my fabrics for Bonnie Hunter's Good Fortune mystery quilt along that starts a week from this Friday. 

I wasn't a fan of the red and orange, so I changed those out for magenta and black.  I'm going scrappy with the neutrals.  Hopefully these will all play well together.  

Linking up with the usual Monday parties, you can check those out here:

Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall