End of the Year Review: 2020 Quilting Ambitions

Happy New Year!  When we went to bed early this morning, we could see the ice forming on the trees.  But when we woke up this morning, this is what we saw. 

It's still snowing, though it has slowed down some. I'll definitely take a snow storm over an ice storm any time.   

I stitched up to just a few minutes before midnight last night in hopes of hitting some key metrics for the year.  I didn't get any more finishes, but I'll start 2021 on a good foot. Before moving on with my 2021 ambitions, I should look at what did and didn't work with my 2020 ambitions.    

2020 Ambition #1: Finish 12 Quilts

I played along with Quilting Gail's PHD in 2020 to keep me focused on this goal.

 Here's my completed tracking sheet.  

There were 7 finishes in 2020, the most recent happened on 12/30/2020. Talk about cutting it close!  I didn't meet my goal of 12 quilts, but finishing 7 is a personal best I've only managed three other times (2010, 2011 and 2017).  

Finished quilts includes Twinkle Stars (started in 2015), Winter Quilt Along (2019), Mosaic Mystery (2019), Storm at Sea (2019), 2019 Christmas Mystery (2019), Frolic (2019) and Daisy Chain Mystery (2019).  

What did I learn from the PHD challenge last year?  That focusing on fewer projects, 2 or 3, rather than my normal 5 or 6 helps push more projects to the finished column. 2020's word was "Finish".  This year's word is going to be "Focus". 

The other "ah ha" moment from last year was realizing that there is something to momentum when completing a project.  If you look at the completed list, 6 of the quilts were started in 2019. Some of those were on my 2020 PHD list, but several weren't. It's just easier to keep working on a recent project. So my three 2020 starts are on my 2021 PHD list right at the top. 

The other part of the finishing quilts ambition was to limit new starts.  I allowed my self three new starts, two beloved mystery quilt alongs and one other project if something caught my eye.  I met that goal, with Unity, Morewood Mystery and Grassy Creek the only starts for 2020.  

2020 Ambition #2: Host 15 Minutes to Stitch, Work in 15 minutes of stitching time 85% of the days in 2020   

There were 51, 15 Minute to Stitch linky parties in 2020.  I missed posting one linky party the first week of work from home back in March. It was just such a stressful week and I hadn't wrapped my head around the implications and realities of the pandemic as yet. I couldn't even convince myself to start up my personal computer (A large part may have been just dealing with the stress of spending so much time on my work computer with all the virtual meetings that week).  Almost 10 months later we all have our fingers crossed that the vaccine will bring an end to all the pandemic restrictions and stress.

I managed to fit in at least 15 minutes of stitching time 324 days out of 366 (remember 2020 was a leap year), for a success rate of 88.5%.  My ambition for stitching time for many years was 90%, but that's really, really hard to meet if you have job that requires travel (I had two business trips early in the year) and a job where unexpected projects added to an already full plate requires long work days (which is what happened in December).  I still finished seven quilts last year.  So while it's important to get into the sewing room regularly, it's also important to focus on just a few things at at time.  

From a quilting perspective, 2020 was a really good year.  Maybe in part because other parts of 2020 weren't so great. Fingers crossed that 2021 is much kinder, gentler and much less anxiety filled than 2020.  

Last Push for My 2020 PhD

I've been following along with Quilting Gail's 2020 PHD. 

The goal is to finish 12 UFOs, plus finish any quilts you start during the year (other then quilt alongs that won't finish before the end of the year). I'm not going to finish 12 quilts this year and I'm probably not going to finish the one quilt I started that doesn't carry over to next year.  Here's my report card so far this year. 

There's one more finish on the list and one more new start.  But Grassy Creek, Bonnie Hunter's 2020 mystery, won't finish till next year so I don't have to worry about getting that one done by the end of the month. Same with the Morewood Mystery, it won't finish till next spring. 

The one new finish is the 2019 Christmas Mystery quilt. 

That brings my total finishes to five.  

Frolic is next up on the to be finished list. 

Frolic, 2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

The quilt is trimmed, label made and assembling the binding strips is in progress.  So getting in a sixth finish is really likely.  

Daisy Chain was mailed out to be quilted the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and didn't get delivered to Trudy till yesterday. 

Daisy Chain Mystery, 2019 Little Bunny Quilts Mystery
by Alison of Honey, Bunny & Doll Designs

I'm not sure if this one will make it back in time for me to finish it this year.  The label is mostly done, I just need to know if it's a this month or next year finish before I can finalize the label.  I haven't decided on the binding yet. If I can decide on that, I could make the binding and then be ready to go when it does come back.  

Red, White and Blue Stars become a finished quilt top last month. 

Red, White and Blue Stars, Self Designed

I still need to piece the backing.  This one may get sent out for quilting before the end of the year, but it's too late to get it finished for this year.  

I've made good progress on Unity. 

2020 Bonnie Hunter Sew-In-Place Quilt Along

The first flying geese border is almost assembled.  But there's one more flying geese border to make and then one more full round of blocks, plus one more top and bottom border.  I'm not going to get all of those done before the end of the month.  But at least I've kept this one moving. 

Only three new projects started this year compared to the seven new starts for last year is an improvement. I finished four quilts last year and have already finished five for this year.  So my UFO numbers will go down for the year rather than up as they did last year as I've finished more than I started. I need a few more years of that to whittle down my UFO list to something more manageable.  I'll be playing along with the 2021 PHD in hopes of that. 

PHD in 2020 Progress

Just two months left in 2020.  The end of the year always just flies by it seems.  As it's a new month it's time to take stock of the progress towards my 2020 PHD (projects half done)

The tracking sheet has been updated again this month, but this time in the right direction. 

There's another check mark in the finished column. Storm at Sea is finished and has been much appreciated as the new quilt on our bed. 

Storm at Sea (Streams)
Paper Piecing Class by Carrie Randell (Quilter's Hideaway)

Storm at Sea is finish number 4 for the year.  If you just look at the tracking sheet, the plan to finish stuff doesn't look like it's been working that well. Though I'm not where I'd like to be, the year should get better before it ends.  

The 2019 Christmas quilt is currently in the binding stage. 

I just need to finish sewing the binding to the front and then I can get started on the hand stitching to the back.  This will be finish number 5 for the year. 

Frolic was cleaned up, pressed and shipped out for quilting last month. 

I don't know if it will be back before Thanksgiving our not.  But this should be finish number 6 for the year. 

Daisy Chain needs a backing made. 

I did a quick stash dive and came up with this stripe. This has been in the stash for a while. I know it was purchased in Tulsa several years ago, but it doesn't really fit my current quilting style, but it has the same color tones that are in Daisy Chain so it should make a nice back. So now the back just needs to be stitched up, cleaned up and pressed to be ready for shipping out for quilting. Daisy Chain would be finish number 7 if I make it that far. 

The Red, White and Blue Stars blocks are all sashed and the center of the quilt is all sewn together. 

Red, White and Blue Stars, Setting self designed

The borders should go on this month. This one will likely come down to the wire. It might or might not be a finish in 2020.  If I could pull that off, then it would be finish number 8.  

So though I'm not going to earn my quilty PHD this year, I'm still really happy with all the progress that's been made. You can check out everyone else working towards a PHD this year at this months 2020 PHD Link Up over at Quilting Gail's.  

Stitching Along

 I was definitely ready for Saturday to get here.  The plan is for a nothing but stitching day to celebrate the end of the work week and the beginning of October.  Just three months left in 2020. Though I will be glad to see the end of this year, there's not much time left to finish my 2020 PHD. 

There is an update to my tracking spreadsheet, but it's not a new check mark in the finished column.  

The Morewood Mystery quilt September clue had me cutting into the fabric to make last months blocks.  I count a quilt started once I cut the fabric, so it had to go onto the tracking sheet as a new start in 2020.

 

This mystery quilt is a planned start, it was part of my 2020 quilt plan.  This quilt along won't end till sometime in 2021, so not finishing this quilt doesn't count against my PHD progress this year

So one addition, but no check offs.  But there's been good progress in the last month, so there's hope for some finishes before the end of the year. 

Storm at Sea is back from being quilted.  Trudy as usual, did a wonderful job with it.  Now I need to make the binding and label, then get them attached to finish off quilt number 4 for the year.  This is my October One Monthly Goal. 

The Christmas Mystery quilt has been sent out for quilting.

It should be back ready for binding before the end of the month.  So it's possible there will be two new check marks in the finished column by November. 

A backing was pieced for Frolic.

The backing and quilt top need to be prepped for quilting. That should happen this month.  So fingers crossed that puts another check mark on the PHD tracking spreadsheet before the end of the year.  

Borders were finally selected and stitched on to the Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt. 

Daisy Chain Mystery
2019 Little Bunny Quilts Mystery
by Alison of Honey, Bunny & Doll Design

Next step is to search the stash for something to back it with. Not sure that will happen this month, but it's on the list.  

Progress on Unity has been slow. 

Unity, 2020 Bonnie Hunter Sew-In-Place Quilt Along

 

I'm still stitching HSTs and making Friendship Star blocks for step 4. 

September saw enough progress to add a new UFO to the "in progress" list.  

Red, White, and Blue stars is my oldest UFO.  The blocks have been made for a while, but I could never decide how to set them.  After a few new stash additions and photo mock ups, I finally ended up sticking with my original fabric choice.  Hopefully this project will be a finished quilt top by the end of the month.   

So no new check marks this month. But it's looking promising that there will be a few added between now and the end of the year.  Linking up with the Quilting Gail for the 2020 PHD Challenge.  

Momentum

 What a week!  I'll be glad to see the end of this one.  My Guy is finally feeling much better and thankfully his test came back negative. Thank you for all the moral support and crossed fingers. I'm really looking forward to the holiday weekend. A few days off work will be nice. After this week, a sewing only day is definitely in the cards.  I should decide on my September One Monthly Goal before then.  

Next up on the 2020 Quilt plan is Daisy Chain.  

Daisy Chain Mystery
2019 Little Bunny Quilts Mystery
by Alison of Honey, Bunny & Doll Designs

It just needs two borders added, a tan and then a black, to be a finished quilt top.  I've gotten the first two border strips cut, at least one should be stitched on tonight.  This seems like a simple OMG, but borders always take longer than I think they should. 

I've also been working hard on getting my PHD this year. 

My spreadsheet hasn't changed since July. 

But I've been building momentum on those quilt finishes. Storm at Sea is out for quilting. 

Storm at Sea
Paper Piecing Class by Carrie Randell (Quilter's Hideaway)

The 2019 Christmas Mystery Quilt has a back pieced and ready to go, it just needs to be prepped for quilting.  

2019 Christmas Mystery
designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

Finally, Frolic is finished. It just needs a back. 

Frolic, 2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

If I can keep up the momentum, these four should become finishes this year. That won't earn me my PHD, but it's a tie for the most quilts I've finished in a year. I'll take that.  

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts for the September One Monthly Goal and with Quilting Gail for the 2020 PHD.  I hope you'll stop by tomorrow for my 10 year blogiversary.  

Status of My One Word Challenge for 2020: Finish

After almost 20 years of cutting up perfectly good fabric into little pieces and sewing them back together into quilts, I still love doing it. At the end of last year though, my UFO list was eating at me.  I love every quilt on that list, there's not any I don't want to finish. But I am struggling to get quilts off the list.  So for 2020, I decided to give the one word challenge a try. The word you pick is supposed to remind you of what you want to achieve during the year so as you make decisions you move towards the idea and not away from it.  Here's my word for 2020. 

I really want to finish quilts, get them off the UFO list so I feel freer to do new things. Luckily there's some fun linky parties that are making it easier to focus on the getting to the finish.  One is To Do Tuesday over at Home Sewn by Us.  Setting a weekly to do list has helped keep the focus on moving at least one project closer to finished each week.  

I'm also working towards getting my PHD in 2020 with Quilting Gail.  

There's been no change in my report since the middle of July

Only three finishes to date, but also only one start. One of my other strategies that came from the Finish part of the equation was to limit new projects.  There's only been one to date, but I have selected fabric for the Morewood Mystery that started last month.

I've not cut that fabric yet, so it doesn't count as started yet. I'm still tweaking the selection, but I'm pretty sure that 3 of the 4 fabrics will go into the new mystery.  

Lastly the One Monthly Goal over at Elm Street Quilts keeps the focus on one project for the whole month.  

For August the goal is to get Storm at Sea cleaned up and ready to send out for quilting. 

Storm at Sea
Paper Piecing Class by Carrie Randell (Quilter's Hideaway)

I keep putting this step off. Cleaning up the top and the backing isn't the most fun on my list of things to do. But if I want the next finish, that's exactly what needs to happen.  I've got the next 2 days off work, so I'm hoping to get a good start on August's OMG.  

The 2019 Christmas Mystery quilt just needs a back pieced and Frolic just needs two rounds of borders added to be a finished flimsy.  That will make six finishes for the year if I can get that far.

So my one word challenge seems to be going reasonably well for 2020 (it may the only thing that that is this year).  Having several supporting regular linky parties certainly hasn't hurt. 

Mid July PHD Progress

Hard to believe that we've already passed the middle of July and it's just a couple more weeks till the brutal heat of August will be blasting us. Not that July's heat has been fun, the humidity has made it like breathing molasses when outside. It's definitely been a month for staying indoors and hanging out in the sewing room. That's been good for making progress on my 2020 PHD. 

Finally there's been a change in the PHD report.

Mosaic Mystery (Farfalla) became my third finish for 2020.  

Farfalla (Mosaic Mystery Quilt)  from Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs

So I'm a quarter of the way through my 2020 PHD program.  Not an amazing amount of progress considering we are half way through the year.  But any progress is good, so I'm encouraged.  

The other part of the earning your quilty PHD is to finish any new starts.  There's only been one of those this year. 

Unity, 2020 Bonnie Hunter Sew-In-Place Quilt Along

Progress on Unity has been slow, but it's been steady.  I'm still working on step 3, but am almost halfway through it.

I'm not a one project at a time quilter, I like working on several. But this year I am trying to limit active projects to just three or four at the sewing machine in hopes of moving more quilts to the finish line. One of the other active projects is Storm at Sea.  The quilt top is finished and the missing backing was solved by purchasing a new one. 

  

The plan this weekend is to get this washed, pressed, trimmed up and packaged to send out for quilting. I'll tackle the clean up and pressing of the quilt top next weekend.  That's going to be a chore because it's such a big quilt and of course it's got a white background, so loose thread clean up is going to be important.  

I've also been working on finishing off Frolic, the 2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery.  

The last set of borders are under construction. I'm hoping to have a finished quilt top by the end of the month. 

Since there was a finish this month, I've dusted off another UFO to start moving it towards the finish line.  Since the 2019 Christmas Mystery quilt just needs borders, it was an easy one to pull off the pile. But figuring out what to use for the borders has been a challenge. I really want to use what's in my Christmas stash, but I wasn't finding anything that worked for me. This was the best I could come up with. 

2019 Christmas Mystery 
designed by Carrie Randall (Quilter's Hideaway)

I don't actually have these fabrics, I pulled fabrics out of EQ palette that matched in tone what I had or thought worked better.  What kept tripping me up was that second border.  What if I take that out? 

I like that much better.  Eliminating the second border is definitely the right direction.  Now to play with what's in the stash to see what works best.    

Linking up with Quilting Gail's Mid July PHD Report.