February One Monthly Goal: The March of Graduation Quilts Continues

I've been home with a nasty cold since Monday. That definitely wasn't the plan for the end of January.  Thankfully I finished up January's One Monthly Goal before the crud took over.  Now it's time to contemplate the February One Monthly Goal. 

Drama Teen asked me last year if I would make quilts for her best friends and her favorite teacher for graduation this year.  So she gave me plenty of notice.  One is finished (Zombie's in Paris) and the second has been sent out for quilting (Bejeweled).  That leaves quilts 3 and 4 that have to be finished before May.  The third quilt, Geometry has been up on the design wall since December.  

The blocks are just big HSTs, so they go together pretty fast.  I'm almost finished with the purple blocks.  That leaves blue, green and yellow blocks that have to be made.  February is a short month, and we have a wedding to attend the last weekend that will cut into my stitching time this month.  Considering all that, my goal is to make all the blocks and get them into a finished flimsy by the end of the month. That should set me up to finish the back and get it out for quilting in March.  

I'm also participating in Patchwork Times UFO-2017 this year (the more motivation the better).  Geometry is #2 on my list, so I'm substituting it for whatever number Judy draws for February. 

Linking up with 
Elm Street Quilts
Let's Bee Social
Needle and Thread Thrusday

Leader and Ender Progress for February

When I switched from sewing clothing to making quilts there was a bit of an adjustment period as the work process are a bit different.  I'm a relative slow sewer, I was always the one in class who finished each step last.  Which is OK, it's not a competition, I just never seemed to get much done while I was in class.  But there are two processes that really help on the productivity front.  Chain piecing really speeds up the assembly process, while leaders and enders allows you to make two projects at once.  Both techniques have made a big difference in how I approach quilting projects.  

It's the third Tuesday, so it's time to join Cathy of A Quilting Chick by reporting on the progress of the current leaders and enders project.  At this time in January, two of the Poinsettia blocks were finished.  

Poinsettias By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue of
American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

In the last month, another two blocks have been assembled. 

Poinsettias By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue of
American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

It's been fun to see each block come together.  The quilt has 9 of these blocks, so there are still 5 left to assemble, as well as the sashing that goes between the blocks.  Block 5 is partially assembled and will probably be completed by the end of this week. At two a month, it's still going to be a bit before this project is completed.  That's OK, it's not a race.  I am hoping to finish this one up before Christmas this year and that is still a ways off (thankfully!).  

You can see more leaders and enders projects over at A Quilting Chick.  Linking up the mid week WIP with:

Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation