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.  

The Finial Finish for the Year

I missed posting last Monday.  There really wasn't much to post and with Mom here, it was hard to get both the photos and the computer time to put something together.  So at least you know, I usually put my posts together in real time.  

One thing I did find time to do during Mom's visit, was finish the binding for String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs). 

I started this quilt in May of last year. It was part of the blog hop to support Cheryl's book "Just Two Charm Pack Quilts'. I've participated in Cheryl's annual mysteries for the last nine years and really like her designs.  The fabric is from a kit I purchased in 2013. I've always loved these Timeless Treasures Tonga batik fabrics, but never knew what to do with them. I think they really shine in this quilt. 

The original quilt doesn't use any borders, but Grad Girl thought the quilt needed some.  The quilt is in Texas now.  Grad Girl is gifting it to the Post Doctorial fellow in the group.  He's leaving at the end of December and taking a new position in Germany.  He's been a great resource and provided a lot of moral support for Grad Girl these last 3 years. 

Trudy quilted wavy lines down the "strings".

 

That worked well, especially since that makes it look like the chains are in solution.  That statement may have you scratching your head, but bear with me.  Of course since this is going to a chemist, the name of the quilt has to match the discipline. Right? The group makes and studies polymers, so after a review of the terminology associated with the field, we agreed on: 

Step Growth polymerization produces dimers (2 molecules), trimers (3 molecules), tetramers (4 molecules) and so on.  These smaller molecular chains combine to from the longer polymer chains, thus the term "step growth". The different "chain" lengths of the strings running across the quilt are suggestive of that polymer process, so that's the name we went with. (What can I say, we are nerds to the core it seems).

Step Growth is finish #6 for 2024.  That's double what I've been finishing the three years. So it's definitely been a good year, even if I didn't match my record of seven finishes in a year.  Maybe that will happen next year?

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

To Do List for the Week of 12/10/2024

It's been one of those weeks where life hasn't gone as expected.  My uncle passed after a short illness, he was 87. My mother really wanted to go to the funeral originally scheduled for the 9th, but she has health issues that make an 8 hour road trip difficult. I agreed to take her, but we'd break the trip up over a couple of days. We made the trip from her house to mine on Saturday.  Then the aunt who was married to the uncle, was found unresponsive by their son. She passed the next day, so their son decided to cancel the original funeral and hold one for both his parents. So it's not been the best week for the family. My cousin, at least from a distance, seems to be holding up as well as one can expect.  

Mom decided she's not up for the full trip (That was the reason for the staged trip, to see if she could travel at all before we tired to drive the final six hours). She's still recovering from a bad bout of pneumonia she was hospitalized for last month and tires pretty easily.  She rested here for a couple of days and I took her home yesterday. On the up side, I had a nice visit with my mother and gave my brother, who lives with her, a break.   

All that to say, I've not been operating on anything like my normal schedule.  Sewing room time was pretty much at a minimum for several days. Definitely not as far a long as I would like on my to do list for last week.  

To Do list for 12/2/2024

1.  Old Town Mystery:  Continue clues 1 and 2, start 3 - progress

2.  String Lights: Make binding, finalize name and label ✔   

3.  Guild BOM: Make finial sashing blocks, start assembly - progress

4.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making red blocks ✔

5.  Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

At least I made progress on every item, most of that happened before the weekend. We all have weeks like that. With the holiday approaching, there are a lot of things on the not sewing to do list. That means a bit less sewing time this week.  So this week's to do list will focus on progress.  My plan is to sew when I can, so I'm keeping this week's to do list pretty simple.  

To Do List for 12/10/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs):  Finish binding. 

I finished the label and got the binding made and attached. I'm in the process of hand stitching the binding to the back. I've turned two corners and have the label stitched down. I'm hoping to finish it today. I have to get this on the way to Grad Girl soon so she can gift if before the post doc leaves.  

2. Guild BOM: Make Jan block for 2025 BOM

The very talented lady that has designed the yearly BOMs for the last 12 years, wanted a year off. So I agreed to take it on.  The January block needs to be ready to show at our December meeting  which is next Tuesday. Thankfully I don't have to have the instructions written until the first of next month, but I have to get the block done this week. 

3.  Old Town (Bonnie Hunter): Work on clues 1, 2, start 3 and 4

I've made good progress on clue 1 and got a good start on clue 2. I didn't even touch clue 3 as yet. Which seems to be my typical BH mystery pattern, start strong then go off course due to life events.  Oh well, the point is to enjoy the mystery and I have been. 

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

I can sew on a couple as I work on other projects. Some progress is better than none. 

5. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders.

The 4-patches needed for this quilt are such a good leaders and enders.  I have a pile of both blue and yellow 2.5" strips, so if I need to increase my pile of patches, it doesn't take very long.  

That's my list for this next week. We'll see how far I get with it.  I'm also way behind on my blog reading. Mom is an early riser so my computer time pretty much went out the window while she was here.  I'm hoping to catch up over the next few days.  

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday. 

To Do List for the Week of 12/03/2024

We were in Texas for most of the week, so I didn't have a lot of time to sew.  Consequently, last week's to do list was pretty simple.

  

To Do List 11/26/2024

1.  Old Town Mystery:  Finish clue 1 and start clue 2- progress

2.  Embroidered Medallion: Take a few stitches ✔

3.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making red blocks ✔

4.  Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

With all our holiday travel I only had one day in the sewing room, so I'll take three check marks and progress on the 4th.  

I should have more time for hanging out in the sewing room, but not a lot more. I do have Christmas stuff that needs to get done too.  So we'll keep the list pretty simple for this week too.  My goal this month is to just make a bit of progress here and there on what I've already got going.  

To Do List for 12/03/2024

1. Old Town Mystery (Bonnie Hunter): Continue to work on clues 1 and 2, start 3

It was late when I got to my sewing room yesterday.  I finished off a few more flying geese for clue 1 and started cutting the fabrics for clue 2.  I'm hoping to be more caught up by the time clue 3 comes out this Friday.  

2. String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Make binding, finalize name and label.

The quilting is all done, I'm just waiting on it to come back from being quilted.  I've played with the name and label a bit.  The 6 sided shapes strung in a chain look like benzene rings, which is similar to the molecules Grad Girl's research group uses to make various polymers, hence the rename for the quilt.  I've not run any of this by Grad Girl as yet. Once I do that, things will probably go in a completely different direction. 

3. Guild BOM: Make final sashing blocks and start quilt assembly

The sashing is HSTs, so those are pretty simple to make.  I'll work on this in between all the BH mystery clues.     

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

I checked last night, I need 14 more red blocks to finish out that color. At my current sewing rate, I won't finish those this month. But I'll be that much closer when I pick up the color again next year.

5.  Simply Sensational Summer Scarp Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

There are a pile of yellow 2-patches that are ready to be sewn into 4-patches.  This has been such a great project to work on as a leaders and enders.  There are still a lot more to make, but I should probably take the time to see exactly how close I am on total blocks.  

I have to remind myself the goal is just to make progress during this busy holiday season. Thank goodness for on line shopping!  I'm hoping to make some headway there today.  Before I get to that, I'm linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday. 

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.   

To Do List for the Week of 10/29/2024

It was so nice to be home all weekend. The sewing room got a bit of a clean up and I got my project boxes reorganized.  My to do list for the week was pretty short and simple. But some weeks you just need that.  

To Do List for 10/22/2024 

1. String Lights: Finish borders, cut and piece backing ✔

2. Chocolate Marshmallows: Start assembly ✔

3. Wild and Goosey: Continue making blocks ✔

4. Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders/enders ✔

So 4 out 4 this week. It's been awhile since I've been able to check off all my to do items.  I did keep the list simple and that helps a lot.  I'm going to stick with simple for this week's to do list.  

To Do List for 10/29/2024

1. String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Package and mail out for quilting

The top is now pressed and de-threaded.  Those dark threads do show through the light background, so they had to go.  As much as I hate prepping quilts for quilting, String Lights needs to be finished up quickly. I need it before Christmas. Fingers crossed if it goes out this week, it should be back in time for me to finish it.  

2.  Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts): Continue Assembly

Not much change from yesterday's post.  Getting String Lights ready to ship out slowed down my progress on this project. The plan is to get enough done this week to be able to start the borders by next week. 

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

The orange blocks are almost done, just a few scraps needed to finish the last one.  I'm considering how to assemble this project. It would work well if I start with the center yellow blocks and then add the others as borders, like a medallion quilt.  Not my normal assembly method, but it might make sense for this project. I'm thinking once I have a color completed to start sashing those blocks.   

4. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

I'm working on the next set of 10 yellow blocks. Still lots more 4-patches to make for this scrappy quilt. 

Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  Good luck with your to do list this week.  

Following the Quilt Plan

The 2 year anniversary of my retirement was last Friday.  Has it really been that long?  I've enjoyed most of it, I've had some health challenges over that time that made me very glad I wasn't working.  But some days I do miss the fun technical stuff from the job, but most definitely don't miss the politics.  Looking back, last year really was about getting my back issues under control and just figuring out how to navigate not going to an outside job every day. This year has really been about navigating my sewing room.  I've been making a quilt plan for 8 years.  This is the first year I've made progress on all the projects on the plan.  So it's been a good year on that front.  

There were three projects on the plan that I hadn't touched at the beginning of October.  One of those was String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs). 

  

 

The pattern as written didn't have borders, but Grad Girl asked if I had any quilts close to finished that she could gift to the post doc who works in their group.  He's been a great mentor to Grad Girl. He's leaving at the end of December. She liked this one, but thought it needed a frame, plus it needed to be a bit bigger, so I added borders. We both liked it better with the addition of the borders. 

The backing is pieced and prepped for quilting.  

I'm pulling my backings from stash and this teal polka dot works well with the colors in the top. I'm in the process of de-threading and pressing the top, about half way done with that. String Lights should go out to Trudy for quilting sometime this week.  

Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts) is another project from the quilt plan with visible progress.  

That sashing is slow going as it has so many strips, but I really like how it's going together.  Chocolate Marshmallows was on my first quilt plan back in 2016.  It's definitely time it was moved along!  

The last project for my 2024 quilt plan that saw some progress was Squared Away (So Scrappy).  This project was on my 2019 quilt plan as needing assembly. It only took 5 years to figure out the setting.

The sashing and border strips were cut before our girl's weekend. I was overly optimistic on how much sewing would happen during that trip. But it is at least kitted up ready to start on once Chocolate Marshmallows is assembled. 

Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Patchwork & Quilts.  

To Do List for the Week of 10/22/2024

It's a long drive from College Station to home. I didn't get in till after 9 PM list night. That's late at my age.  Traffic is never fun, but all the road work made it so much worse.  It was worth it, Grad Girl, one of her friends, my sister and I all had a fun girl's weekend. I'll post about that separately.  On the progress front, I ended up not doing much that was on the to do list.  

To Do List for 10/15/2024

1.  String Lights: Finish added borders - progress

2.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Cut fabrics, start assembly - progress

3.  Squared Away: Cut fabrics for sashing and borders  ✔

4.  Wild and Goosey: Continue making blocks - no progress

5.  Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

Only two check marks, with progress on two others. It really wasn't a bad week.  We ended up running around town and just hanging out more than I expected during our girls weekend. It was still fun, so I'm not disappointed with last week's effort.  Now that I'm home, it's time to figure out what to do in the sewing room this week. 

To Do List for 10/22/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish borders, cut and piece backing

The first two borders are attached. Just one more border to add.  That should be easy enough to finish.  I'd like to get the backing made this week as well.  Hopefully I can get that far.  

2. Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts): Start assembly

All the sashing strips, corner stones and border strips are cut. All I need to do is start assembly.  

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

I'm still hoping to finish up all the orange blocks before the end of the month.  Red is the next color I'm going to tackle.  I did cut a few more red scraps last week before I left in hopes that I'd actually get that far during our girl's weekend. 

4.  Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as the leaders and enders.  

That's my list for this week.  Much simpler than last week. My plan is to concentrate on getting String Lights ready to go out for quilting.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.  

To Do List for the Week of 10/15/2024

We've reached the mid point of October.  This month is certainly speeding along.  I'm not going to think about it for now and just appreciate how much progress there was on my to do list.

To Do List for 10/8/2024

1. String Lights: Make backing - changed direction 

2. Marble Mystery: Finish October clue ✔

3. Guild BOM: Finish October block ✔

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Start assembly - progress

5.  Squared Away: Decide on layout, pick setting fabrics - progress

6. Wild and Goosey: Finish orange blocks - progress

7. SS Summer Scrap Quilt: Continue as leaders and enders ✔

Only three check marks, but there was progress on another three.  Grad Girl wasn't completely happy with String Lights, so we made a change in direction on that project.  It was still a good week in spite of not checking off all the items on the list.  

I'm excited for this week, but have a lot to do in preparation.  My sister, Grad Girl, one of Grad Girl's chemistry buddies and I are having a crafting retreat this weekend.  Grad Girl's big exam is on Friday. She probably won't do much on Friday afternoon, she'll be ready for a really long nap. But we'll have the rest of the weekend to hang out and just do fun stuff. 

To Do List for 10/15/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish adding borders

Grad Girl asked for another quilt gift for a one of her mentors who is leaving in December.  String Lights is one of my to be finished projects from last year.  Grad Girl thought it needed borders, I had considered adding them, but had planned to donate this quilt so wasn't going to mess with it.  At any rate, I've got the first border on and the strips for the next two cut and ready to assemble. 

2. Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts):  Finish cutting sashing and border strips. Start assembly.  

Last week's list said to start assembly, but I had completely skipped the cut fabric step.  I'm working with limited leftovers for this quilt so I'm having to go slow and make sure I have enough of my first choice fabrics for the sashing and borders.  I started with the left over strips from the blocks so I can stretch the yardage.  There is enough fabric to finish the quilt with the layout I have planned, but I may have to use second choices in some cases. Fingers crossed it all works out with my first choices.  

3. Squared Away (So Scrappy): Cut fabrics for sashing and borders

I haven't figured out the block placement yet, but I have selected the fabrics to use for the sashing and borders. The plan is to use some 2" scraps to cut various corner stones for the sashing.  I'm not sure I'll get this far over the weekend, but it would be nice to have something else ready if I run into problems with my other projects.   

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

I need to print some additional paper patterns and cut some more black triangles for the flying geese so I have enough for the weekend.  Hopefully I can finish off orange this weekend and start on another color. 

5. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leaders and enders. 

I probably need to cut a few more squares from my scrap strips, but thankfully this one is pretty easy to prep for a trip. 

So that's my to do list for the week.  I did reach a milestone this last week.  I've made progress on every quilt on my quilt plan this year. I don't think that's ever happened before. So it's been a good year on the progress front, even though my finishes aren't where I had hoped.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.   

To Do Tuesday for the Week of 10/8/2024

We got home late Saturday afternoon from vacation. So I had Sunday and Monday to work on the non-hand stitching part of my to do list.  With that in mind, I didn't do too badly with on the list for last week. 

To Do list For 10/01/2024

1.  Diatom: Finish hand stitching binding ✔

2.  Guild BOM: Start October block ✔

3.  Marble Mystery: Start October clue ✔

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows: Decide layout, start assembly - progress

5.  Wild and Goosey: Finish orange blocks - progress

6.  Sensational Summery Scrap quilt: Continue as leaders/enders ✔

Considering we were on vacation last week, I'm pretty happy with the progress on the to do list.  Of course, it wasn't a very ambitious list. Though getting in another finish is always exciting.  It's going to be a busy week, lots going on, so I'm going to keep this week's list simple too.  

To Do List for 10/8/2024

1.  String Lights (Meadow Mist Designs): Make backing

  

I finished this quilt top last July as part of the promotions for Cheryl's book "Just Two Charm Packs".  It's on my quilt plan as a to be quilted this year.  I have the backing fabric picked out, so it's just a matter of getting it cut and sewn.  

2.  Marble Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs): Finish October clue

I finished stitching the hour glass blocks just before dinner last night. They still need to be pressed and trimmed. There's one more set of blocks to assemble for this month, but those are pretty simple.  It shouldn't be too difficult to finish off this month's clue before next Tuesday. 

3.  Guild BOM: Finish October block

I've got about half the pieces cut for this month's block.  It won't take long to assemble once they are all cut. 

4.  Chocolate Marshmallows (Seabreeze Quilts):  Start assembly.

I'm still playing with the blocks on the design wall. I didn't really think about how all my different backgrounds were going to play with each other, so it's hard to come up something that looks balanced.  

5. Squared Away (So Scrappy): Decide on layout, pick setting fabric

Squared Away was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt along back in 2018.  This one is on my to be assembled list for this year.  It's another project that has been sitting on the UFO list because I couldn't figure out how to set it.  But, it's time has come, I'm going to at least have a plan to move forward with. 

6. Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter): Finish the orange blocks

Only three more orange blocks needed for the planned layout. That should be doable this week.

7. Simply Sensational Summer Scrap Quilt (Kevin the Quilter): Continue as leader and enders.

So that's the plan for this week. It seems like a long list, but not all of it requires time at the sewing machine.  Linking up with the Quilt Schmilt for To Do Tuesday.

PHD in 2024

This will be my 6th attempt to achieve a PHD in quilting projects.  I've yet to manage that.  I doubt it happens this year either, but I won't know unless I try.  There are new hostesses for the PHD in 2024, Sharon Anderson and Susan Hatcher of Ms. P Designs USA.  Here's my list of this year's UFOs for the PHD in 2024.  

My strategy this year is to work on a new quilt or a quilt that needs the blocks assembled plus a quilt top to be finished or a quilt top to be assembled.  I've left new quilts off my list in the past and when I don't include something new, it gets harder to finish the older projects.  So I'm going to start a few projects too.  Unfortunately the first two overlap during the first few months of the year.  We'll see how well I keep up with both.  For reference, here's a pictorial view of the projects for 2024. 

To be finished (quilts that need backings, prepping for quilting): L to R: Scrappy Butterflies, 2023 SAHRR (Quilting Gail), String Lights (Just Two Charm Pack Quilts)

Quilts to be assembled (blocks are finished, needs sashing and/or borders): Rhododendron (Bonnie Hunter), Chocolate Marshmallow (Seabreeze Quilts), Squared Away (So Scrappy), Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl)

Quilt blocks to be assembled (projects were block construction is still ongoing): Malted Mystery (Meadow Mist Designs), Indigo Way (Bonnie Hunter), Chilhowie (Bonnie Hunter), Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter), Grandmother's Choice (Barbara Brackman)

I really doubt I finish all 12 of these projects this year. My goal is to make progress on each one.  

If I can move each bar farther down the chart, then I've had a good year.  The most I've ever finished in one year is 7 and I've done that twice.  It would be fun to beat that metric, but if there is good progress across the board, I'll be happy.

Good luck with your PHD list this year.