2020 Quilting Ambitions

As 2019 comes to a close, I've been looking back at my 2019 Planning Party Post to see how I fared on this year's quilty ambitions, I'll summarize those tomorrow.  I've reviewed enough to decide on the quilty focus for 2020.  I'll share these plans at the 2020 Planning Party hosted by Quilting Jetgirl.  

I'm going to keep it really simple this year in hopes of making really good progress on my goals.  

2020 Ambition #1:  Finish 12 quilts in 2020

My record for quilt finishes in a single year is 7 quilts, so 12 is really a stretch goal.  I really want to work down the UFO/WIP list.  There are currently 26 active projects on my list. That's the largest total in the ten years that I've been keeping track.  

I'm going to play along with Quilting Gail's 2020 PhD program in hopes it helps my focus on project completion.  Here's my 2020 list. 

2020 Ambition #2:  Continue to host the 15 Minutes to Stitch Sunday linky party and get in 15 minutes of stitching time six days each week (or 85% of the time) 

In previous two years the goal was to work in 15 minutes/day every day.  That hasn't resulted in more finishes, though I'm sure it has contributed to progress on projects.  But with work and the various life events that happened this year, trying to fit in stitching time seven days a week every week was often stressful. Hopefully walking back the time commitment won't affect my progress much.  The intent with this goal is to just be consistent about getting in sewing room time.  

I'm leaving it at just two goals this year.  I really want 2020 to be the year of UFO busting.  Good luck with your quilty plans for 2020.   

Wrapping up the June One Monthly Goal

It's been pretty much a do nothing Saturday.  We woke up and found three college girls asleep in the living room. The Scientist in training was home for the first time since summer semester started. This was the first chance since Christmas that the high school girlfriend pack has been able to meet up. So that meant I couldn't do too much of anything around the house. Which was 100% OK with me.  Work was just weird and wired this week, I was ready for a day of down time. 

It's the next to last day of June, which means it's past time to finish up this month's One Monthly Goal. 

My June goal was to finish off the Christmas Angels quilt. Actually, stitching down the binding got done last night, but I had to wait till we had good lighting in the library to get the final photos. Even with good daylight, the colors look a bit flat.  It really is much brighter in person.  

Christmas Angels (Heavenly Hosts)
Pattern by Kate
Started July 6, 2013, Finished June 29, 2019 

 Looking at the starting and finishing dates, almost exactly six years from when I started cutting the fabrics to when I finished the binding. 

Trudy's quilting is always gorgeous.  It's hard to tell in the photo but the thread is actually a gold color and has just a bit of shimmer to it.  Very festive, without screaming Christmas. 

Christmas Angels was number three on the 2019 Quilt Plan, which was supposed to have been finished in March.  Better late than never.  The last two finishes have been Christmas quilts.  So I'll have one for me to decorate and one for my SIL to use this holiday season.  

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts for the June One Monthly Goal. This is finish #3 for 2019 and takes the UFO count down by one, so it seems like a good fit to also link up with Tish's Adventures in Wonderland's  UFO Busting post. Christmas Angels was also on my Second Quarter 2019 Finish Along list. So I'll be linking up with the 2019 Finish Along - Second Quarter when that post comes out next week.  

Daisy Chain Mystery - Enough to See it Works

It's been a long stormy week in Oklahoma. We've had storms just about every evening since Monday night. Tuesday morning there was only one road open between downtown and the rest of the community due to river flooding. The water rose all day Tuesday, they let us out of work a bit early to ensure that everyone could get home in case the water overtook that route. The tornadoes missed us, as did the baseball sized hail that took out the windshield of one of my coworkers as she drove home Wednesday night.  The Scientist in Training had been in Florida visiting friends, thankfully none of her flights were delayed and she got home a few hours before the Wednesday night storms.  I've been AWOL from all blogging activities as we've had the router unplugged in the evenings due to the severe weather.  We lost a cable box earlier this month due to lightening, so we've been careful to unplug stuff during the more recent storms. 

Stitching time has been similarly limited this week.  But I did finish enough blocks of the Daisy Chain Mystery quilt to see how the pattern was going to play out with my fabrics. 

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

I'm pretty happy with out it's turning out.  Thank you Alison for such a fun mystery quilt. You can check out more versions of this quilt over at Little Bunny Quilts.  I need to finish off two more of the star blocks and a several more of the alternate blocks before I can start assembling the quilt.  Then I'll decide if I want to add any borders or not. 

Linking up with Tish's UFO Busting party this morning.  I'm hoping to get Daisy Chain done before it ends up on my UFO list.  For those in the US have a great Memorial Day Weekend.  

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: Holiday Stitching?

Merry Christmas Eve!  We are hanging out with family today, doing a bit of cooking and a lot of laughing.  Unfortunately part of the family has to work today, so we won't see them till tonight.  I have plans for some handwork while we all visit, that will be about it for stitching today.  

Between all the gift wrapping, card addressing, and house cleaning there wasn't a lot of time spent in the sewing room this weekend.  I did get some holiday stitching done, Halloween stitching, not Christmas.  

My Guy said the bats needed eyes, so I found some crystal buttons that add just a bit of sparkle and hopefully help those bats look more like bats.  I've turned the second corner on getting the binding stitched, so there should be one more finish before the end of 2018. 

The only progress on the Good Fortune clue #5 was to get the instructions printed out and a decision made on how I'm going to make the blocks.  I'll get back to that on Wednesday after our holiday celebrations with the family are over. 

Wishing everyone a joy filled week.  

Linking up with:
Monday Design Wall
Monday Making
Tish's UFO Busting