PHD in 2024: End of the Year Wrap Up

It's always an adjustment to move from the previous year to the new year.  Mostly it's a mind reset, but it did take me the better part of the morning to reset my quilting tracking spreadsheet for the new year.  That first meant making sure all of the quilty stuff that went on in 2024 was captured. With that all done, it made pulling all the information for my end of the year PHD report easier. 

The year ended with six finishes, six projects moved to finished quilt tops, progress on the rest of the UFOs on the list and six new starts.  So I broke even in terms of finishes and starts for the year, there was no net change in my UFO numbers. But I finished double the number of quilts in 2024 than I did in 2023.  So I'll take that as successful year even though I didn't earn my PHD for the year.

The finishes this year ranged from some of the oldest on my UFO list to one of the new starts. 

First row: A Flutter (self designed), Blue Birds (self designed), Shadow Demon (self designed)

Second row: Rhododendron (Bonnie Hunter), Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl), String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs) 

The projects that became finished quilt tops also range from some of my oldest UFOs to one of this year's new starts.  

First row:  Chocolate Marshmallow (Seabreeze Quilts), Squared Away (So Scrappy), Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter)

Second row: Malted Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs), Indigo Way (Bonnie Hunter), Betty (Meadow Mist Designs)

There was good progress on a few other projects this year as well.  

Grandmother's Choice (renamed Kate's Choice) was supposed to be my quilt as you go project. It hadn't been touched in twelve years. I finished all the blocks, but didn't do much on the learning to quilt part of the project. There's always 2025 right?   

I didn't do as much on the Butterfly panel this year.  One butterfly and some of the fill in foliage got finished.  This is my travel project. It went on a few trips, but this year I was able to take quilts that needed to be bound on a number of trips away from home. So I still got a lot of hand work done, just not on this project.

Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) has been on the active list for the last couple of years. I make a few blocks each week.  This year all the orange blocks got finished. I only need to finish 3 more of the red blocks to be done with that color.  That should happen this month, then I'm left with all the cool colors to finish. 

The Simply Sensational Summer Scrap quilt (Kevin the Quilter) wasn't on my PHD list for 2024, but it became an active project when I needed something that would empty out my scrap bins a bit and be a good leaders and enders project.  I need over 200 of the blue 4 patches and over 100 of the yellow. There's ten 4 patches in each stack, so I'm a long way off from that.  So this will probably be my leaders and enders the rest of the year.  

Of the six new starts for 2024, one is a finished quilt (Shadow Demon), one is a finished quilt top (Betty), the remaining 4 are in various stages of completion.  

I hadn't planned on doing the guild BOM, but it was such a different design that I decided to go for it. I mostly kept up, except for December.  All the blocks are made, all that's left is assembly and cutting all the sashing and border strips.  This should make it to finished quilt top before the end of the first quarter this year.  

Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs) was going along pretty well until December. I've made some progress on the last clue but, didn't get it done before the January clue came out this morning. This morning's clue includes the instructions for final assembly and I'm excited to see how my version comes together.  

Old Town kicked off in late November.  A month and a half later, I've finished clue 1. Made decent progress on clue 2, but am way behind on all the other clues. There is some of each clue finished, but not enough for more than one block I'm guessing.  We'll see what I can get done before Friday's clue comes out.  

The last new project wasn't planned for at all.  But when I agreed to take on the guild BOM this year, it meant I had to have the January block ready to show at the December guild meeting.  I've made this quilt before, but with the same background for all the blocks. This time I'm going scrappy on the background as well.  

That pretty much wraps up my 2024 in the sewing room. I'm hoping for a successful 2025.  Linking up with Miss P Designs USA for the 2024 PHD Wrap Up.  

November 2024 PHD Report

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 2024 PHD Report

It's been a very weird autumn. October was cooler than September, but not by much.  My sewing room was my preferred location for most of the month. That means I have lots to blog about for the October PHD Report posted over at P Designs USA.  

One more finish in October brings my total to 5.  Not too shabby for me. I'm hoping for at least one more finish before the end of the year.  It won't be my best year ever for finishes, but definitely better than I've done the previous 3 years.  

Diatom (Dancing Lights) (Quilting Jetgirl) was my finish for October.  This quilt was started in 2023 and was on my "to be finished list" for this year.  It's a wedding gift for some of Grad Girl's good friends. I'm thrilled with how it came out.  It was hard to part with, but it's going to a good home. It was gifted last weekend and she was assured they would definitely use it to cuddle under this winter (assuming it's going to get below 80 at some point in south Texas).   

In addition to the finish, there was good progress on several other projects this month. Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts) was started in 2014. It's on my "quilts to assemble" list for this year.  I finally decided on a setting for the blocks and got started on assembly.  At the end of October, all the sashing was made. Since then the rows have all been sewn together and I've started on the borders.    

Squared Away (So Scrappy) is another project on my "quilts to assemble" list. This project was started in 2018.  After dithering about the setting for years, I finally took a good look through the fabric closet, found a couple of fabrics that would work with the blocks. That pretty much decided the setting.  The sashing, corner stones and border strips were cut for our Girl's weekend.  I've since worked out the block layout but haven't started sashing the blocks yet.  

There was just one orange block left to complete for Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) at the end of the month.  I started back on the red blocks and will probably work on those till the end of the year.  

There was some progress on the leaders and enders project, the Simply Sensational Summer Scrap quilt (Kevin the Quilter).  Another set of 10 blue 4-patch blocks were finished and another set of yellow 4-patches are under construction. This one has been slow going, but that's what happens with leaders and enders.   

Grad Girl asked if I had a quilt she could give to her group's departing Post Doc.  She looked over what quilt tops I had done and picked out String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs) as a good option. But she thought it needed to be a bit bigger and really needed borders. The borders were added, the backing made and both pieces prepped for quilting.  It's been packaged up and shipped out for quilting.  This will probably be my last finish for 2024.  

 

The October block for the Guild BOM was finished pretty early in the month. The November clue covers one of the pieced borders. 

October's clue for the Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs) was also finished pretty early in the month.  So I'm ready for November's clue when it comes out tomorrow.  For some reason my digital camera has a hard time capturing purple accurately. The photo on the right is closer to the actual color of the fabrics than the one on the left.  

By the end of October I had made progress on each one of the projects on my 2024 quilt plan. 

Not all the projects show a change in status in my bar graph, but that's OK, I can see progress in my photos. It's been a good year so far and there are 2 months left in 2024. Well, maybe just a month and a half with all the holidays.  Even so, there is still time to make some progress on several projects before year's end.   

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.  

August 2024 PHD Report

With all the hot, hot days in August, the sewing room was the nicest place to hang out most days.  Consequently there was a lot of progress on the various projects.  Now that we've moved into September it's time to link up with P Designs USA for the August PHD Report.

Another finish added to the chart with no new starts. That's definitely a good month.  So I'm up to three finishes for 2024.  The latest finish was my 2024 Stay at Home Round Robin (Quilting Gail) project. 

 

This quilt, named The Shadow Demon, is destined to live at my daughter's apartment and be snuggled by her black cat, Queenie.  It was such a fun project to make and turned out better than I expected.  Grad Girl is thrilled with it and that's the best thank you there is.  It's also nice to finish one of the quilts that was started this year.  

Just one finish, but there was good progress on a number of other projects in August.  

A few more orange blocks filled in the center of Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter). 

It takes so long to get all the blocks up on the design wall, I'm just going to stick with summary shots of all the blocks of the color I've been working on. Since September is dark neutrals, I'm going to continue with the orange this month as all my blocks have black in them.  Still a long way to go before all the blocks are finished, but I'm happy with the progress so far with this project. I'll probably need another year or two to get all the blocks done. We'll have to see what next year's quilt plan looks like, it could become a primary project to finish next year.  

Not a lot of progress on the new leaders and enders project, The Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter). 

I've been alternating making yellow and blue 4 patch blocks.  So far one blue and one yellow set of 10 have been added to the project box.  

It's definitely been a year for catching up on Bonnie Hunter mystery quilts. Back in February all the blocks for the 2022 mystery, Chilhowie, were finished as a leaders and enders project.  It went back into the project box as I was in the middle of several other quilt alongs. In August, Chilhowie came back onto the active list as my next quilt top to finish. 

The sashing is finished and I've started on the borders.  Chilhowie won't be finished with all the pieced borders Bonnie used.  My plan for the left over blocks is to use them on the back.  

Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) became a finished quilt top during the month. It's next on the list to be finished.

The backing fabric has been washed. Hopefully, the backing will be pressed and cut soon.  

The 2023 Bonnie Hunter mystery, Indigo Way, became a finished quilt top during August. 

I'm not sure it will become a finished quilt before the end of the year. But I am thrilled to have it to the finished quilt top stage before the next mystery comes out.  

The August block for the Guild's 2024 BOM was finally cut out and pieced. 

Just two more blocks and then the setting pieces left to make, so just three more months of clues left.  

The project tracker is definitely showing more color/longer bars. 

One more finished quilt and two more finished quilt tops are the primary reasons.  I had hoped for more finishes this year, but it helps to see the progress in other areas.  There should be one more finish in September and hopefully another one in October. That would get me to five this year, so better than the last couple of years for sure.  

July 2024 PHD Report

July wasn't nearly as busy as June, so there was a lot more time for playing in the sewing room.  Enough playing that there is finally an update to the PHD report. 

Just two finishes so far this year, but I'm doing better than last year when my first finish wasn't till September and the second finish wasn't till November.  

The finish for July was the 2023 Stay at Home Round Robin (Quilting Gail).  

I'm really happy with how this one turned out.  My Guy really likes it. That's a good thing because it's his new TV recliner quilt. He won't need it for a few months, but he'll enjoy it once the fall chill settles in sometime in October.  

A finish is always nice, but it takes good progress on the project list to move things in that direction. There was plenty of movement in the current active list. 

The oldest project on my works in progress list is Kate's Choice (previously known as Grandmother's Choice).  

Just two blocks needed to finish the 5 by 6 layout.  I had some thought of doing an inner ring with the lighter blocks. The layout needs a lot of work, but no point in getting serious about that till the last two blocks are finished.  Both are in process, I just didn't quite get the far before the end of the month.  

The teal blocks filled in a lot of holes in the top quarter of Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter).

The upper left quarter of the quilt is filled out, now to make some progress on the upper right quarter.  I'm going to need to be careful with the placement of the darkest blue and purple blocks.  But so far I'm happy with how this project is coming together. 

A new project got added to my works in progress list, The Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter).

The SSSS quilt is the new leaders and enders project.  The mystery started in July of 2019, but I only worked on it for a month.  I've got 50 yellow 4 patches and 90 blue 4 patches.  I need almost 200 of each colorway for the final layout.  I wanted a project that would help empty out some of my scrap bins. Pulling out all the blue 2.5 strips made a big different in that bin. I don't use yellow a lot so not so many strips of it, but I have lots of yellow fat quarters to use for those strips. This will make a good leaders and enders project.  

The completed Rhododendron Mystery quilt top (Bonnie Hunter) has been hanging in the closet since April waiting for it's turn to be finished up.  

The back is pieced and prepped for quilting. The plan is to prep the Rhododendron quilt top this weekend and get it out to the quilter sometime next week. This will likely be my finished project for September.

Grad Girl requested a wedding quilt for a very good grad school friend. They met in undergrad at OSU and are craft buddies (at least they were before both got insanely busy with grad school).  After offering Grad Girl several options off my UFO list, she settled on Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl). 

The blocks were finished just over a year ago.  Diatom is on my quilt plan for this year, but I just hadn't gotten that far. I played around in EQ and decided to add sashing and borders to this project to increase the size a bit so it would be a better couple cuddle quilt.  I got as far as cutting the sashing strips, but that's it. The plan is to get this quilt assembled, a backing made and send it out for quilting in September in hopes Grad Girl will have it by Thanksgiving. We'll see if that works or not.  

Indigo Way (Bonnie Hunter) has moved from being the leaders and enders project to having the blocks sewn together.  

As is typical, I'm not doing the borders the same as Bonnie's version. I had to make 8 more of the triangle in the square blocks plus four corner stones before I could start on the pieced border.  Indigo Way should be a pieced quilt top by the end of the month.  It may not get quilted this year, but I'll be happy just to have the quilt top finished before this year's mystery gets going.  

The 2024 SAHRR (Quilting Gail) came back from the quilter late last month. 

Trudy did a beautiful job with the quilting.  I've got the label designed, but not printed. The label is going to be a surprise, so I won't be posting about that till after Grad Girl has the quilt. I still need to make the binding. The plan is to get going on both those things this weekend.  This will be my August finish.  

I  finally got caught up with the Guild BOM.    

I'm not thrilled with the darker gray that I used for these blocks, but I'm too far along to fix it.  Hopefully it will look OK once all the blocks are made.  

All the progress this month shows up in the bar graph as a bit more color. 

Every category has a bit of progress over this last month. A new category was added to include the SSSS quilt that wasn't part of my original quilt plan for this year.  I expect one more finished quilt and at least two finished tops for August.  So look for longer bars in at least some of the categories next month. 

Linking up with P Designs USA for the July PHD Report.