Week 6 of 2019: Stitching and De-Stashing

Where did this week go?  Friday is the 15th of the month, so we are already almost halfway through February.  Work has been definitely unfun the last week, but at least the sciatic nerve pain is almost gone.  The challenge with getting in my 15 minutes this week was just having the energy to climb the stairs to the sewing room.  How have you been doing on getting in at least 15 minuets to stitch each day?

It wasn't a bad week, but I just met the 15 minutes a couple of nights, bed was just more attractive than staying up and stitching. 

15 minutes stitching days/week = 7/7 days
15 minutes stitching days/Feb = 9/9 days
15 minutes stitching days/2019 =  38/40 days
Success Rate = 95%

Even just 15 minutes can add up during the week.  You can share how well you did with finding stitching time in your day at the bottom of the post. 

There's a bit of stash going out this week. 

Fabric out this week = 0.47 yards
Fabric out in 2019 = 8.15 yards
More in than out for 2019

Another week and I should back to more out than in for 2019. Linking up with Quiltpaintcreate for the weekly stash report. 

There were a couple of nights where there just wasn't energy to stitch, so I spent some time with EQ working on a setting for the scrappy butterfly blocks.  That project is number 9 on my quilt plan for this year, but I'm still not sure how I want to set the blocks yet.  Here's my top two options at the moment. 

I didn't finish coloring all the flowers in the second mock up, but the flowers would all be scrappy.  The blocks in the mock up are just place holders, there is a paper pieced rose from Jikta Designs that would go in those slots.   The first design is my favorite so far, but I'm not 100% sold on it, so I keep playing. Hopefully by the time I get to #9 on my list, I'll know how I want to set those blocks.  

How successful were you at finding time to stitch this week?

1. Chrisknits 2. maggie f 3. Meloney

4. Marti 5. Mary-Kay 6. Shasta

7. MaryR @Urban Quilter 8. Amanda 9. Deana

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February One Monthly Goal - Still Dithering

Tomorrow is the 7th of February and I've yet to choose a One Monthly Goal for February. 

I'm having a hard time deciding between three different goals. 

1.  Inverted Star is quilted and just needs to have the label completed, the binding made and then sewn on.  Here's the Scientist in Training approved label. 

Unfortunately, the SIT is studying for her Organic I exam on Friday this week, so it's not likely I'll get anything from her before the weekend.  But then she has a physics test and a differential equations test the following week, so I may not get anything out of her till the end of the month.  Maybe it's best to decide on what to use for the binding, get that made, but not try to get this one completely done by the end of the month.  So what else is on the list as a potential OMG?  

2.  Christmas Angels needs the borders added, backing made and to be prepped for quilting. 

Christmas Angels, Pattern by Kate

It's been crazy at work, plus it's a short month.  I could probably get the borders added by the end of the month, but not the backing and the prepping.  Or I could go completely off script for February's OMG.  

3.  Get all the pieces cut for a new mystery quilt along over at Little Bunny Quilts. 

The cutting instructions come out the 18th, so I'd still have time to get that done by the end of the month. But the push for this year was to focus on the older quilts on the UFO list.  So hmmm.  

So what's my February OMG?   I'm going to stick to my plan to focus on getting projects moved off the UFO list.  The most doable thing that adheres to the 2019 plan is getting the borders on the Christmas Angels quilt. So that's the goal for Febuary 2019.   If I get the backing made, that will be a bonus.  

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts for the February One Monthly Goal.  

Daisy Chain Mystery - The Fabric Pull

I love a good mystery, book wise and quilt wise.  Alison of Little Bunny Quilts kicked off the Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt Along yesterday.  Resistance was futile, I'm in!     

The fabric requirements were posted yesterday, everything from baby sized to queen sized.  I'm going for the 60" square throw size.  Picking fabrics for a mystery is both fun and terrifying.  One of my rules for participating in mystery quilts is that all the fabrics have to come from the stash.  The pull for this quilt came together pretty quickly. 

The beige with white flowers in the upper left corner is my background.  The black paisley is the focus fabric, the red check next to it is the accent fabric.  All the fabrics across the bottom are the "assorted scraps".  I'm not sure I'm going to use all of them, but I have plenty to play with.  All but the brown plaid in the lower right are left overs from other quilts.  It will be nice to get them out of the stash and into a finished quilt.   

Cutting instructions come out on February 18th, so you have plenty of time to raid the stash.  Hope you decide to stitch along.  

Weekend Stitching: This and That

It was nice to have a slower paced weekend.  The Aleve hasn't worked miracles, but I was able to sleep through the night last night and can walk without pain today.  Fingers crossed that sciatic nerve problem is in remission for now.   Even better, being able to navigate the stairs meant there was actually some progress in the sewing room this weekend. 

First off the list was the Christmas Mystery quilt. 

The flimsy has been de-threaded and pressed.  I need to check out what other boxes are in the attic, this one is a bit big. This mystery quilt should make it to the post office sometime this week.  

Now that the Christmas Mystery quilt is ready to go out for quilting and Inverted Star is not yet back from the quilter, it was time to work on number 3 on my 2019 quilt plan, Christmas Angels. 

Christmas Angels
Pattern by Kate

The first two side borders are on.  I've got the top and bottom border strips ready to go.  These skinny red borders will be followed by a beige border and the quilt will be finished off with a dark green border.  The borders should get done this month and maybe the backing.  Not sure it will get prepped for quilting, but it will definitely be closer to being finished. This quilt was started in 2013, it's definitely time to get it off the UFO list.  

I'm still slowly moving along with the Good Fortune blocks.

Good Fortune
2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

I've decided to reduce the size of this one to 5 blocks by 7 blocks.  I've also been playing around in EQ, adding a black or purple sashing helps the incorporate the black into the design better.  So I will probably go that route.  Not sure what I'm going to do about the borders.  I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I do hope to be able to use some of the border blocks that have already been made, but we'll see how that goes when I get that far. 

Good Fortune is probably coming off the design wall this month and going inactive as there is a new project waiting in the wings. 

The Daisy Chain Mystery Quilt along over at Little Bunny Quilts kicks off today with the posting of the fabric requirements.  Alison has hosted a number of quilt alongs and I've always passed, but this one looked like fun.  

Now it's time to get ready for work. Bummer.   Linking up with the usual Monday linky parties. 

Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Monday Design Wall

Week 5 of 2019: Stitching and De-Stashing

Thank goodness for weekends.  I needed this one.  Work has been super stressful, which is probably contributing to the sciatic nerve issues that have slowed me down this week.  It's been hard to climb the stairs after work, so my stitching time has been more focused on playing with quilt designs.  I can stand at our bar height table and play on the computer. Necessary as sitting has been painful too. How have you been doing with finding 15 minutes to stitch each day this week?

I did manage the sewing room a couple of nights, with that and the design time here's how the week worked out.

15 minutes stitching days/week = 7/7 days

15 minutes stitching days/Jan = 29/31 days

15 minutes stitching days/Feb = 2/2 days

15 minutes stitching days/2019 = 31/33 days

Success Rate = 93.94%

You can link up at the bottom of the post to share how your stitching week went. 

A lot of the time in the sewing room was spent prepping The Christmas Mystery quilt for quilting, so what time there was in the sewing room wasn't at the machine.  I did get in a bit of actual machine time yesterday. 

Fabric out this week = 0.11 yards

Fabric out in 2019 = 7.68 yards

More in then out for 2019

The plan this week is to get the borders on the Christmas Angels quilt, so usage should go up for next week.  Linking up with Quiltpaintcreate for the weekly stash report. 

Some of my design time this week was focused on the lay out for all the Wild and Goosey blocks.  There are a lot of little pieces in these blocks so it takes a while to color them all.  Here's version one. 

Hmm, not sure I'm a fan.  I'll play a little more to see what else I can come up with.  

How did your stitching week go? 

1. Chrisknits 2. Meloney 3. Julie in GA 4. maggie f

5. Marti 6. Amanda 7. Shasta 8. Jennifer in Indy

9. Deana 10. Angie 11. Christina's Handicrafts 12. DesertSky Quilting

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