To Do Tuesday For Week of 1/4/2022

Sadly it's back to work for me today. I've enjoyed the last week. We've done some deep cleaning around the house, hung out as a family, I've gotten some concentrated time in the sewing room and made really good progress on last week's To Do List. 

Weekly To Do List for 12/28/2021

• Cabins and Fans: Mail to Trudy for quilting ✔
• Potions: Start making test tube blocks ✔
• Macaron Mystery: Work on Clue 6 ✔
• Rhododendron Mystery: Work on Clues 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 ✔
• Unity: Continue making flying geese units as leaders and enders ✔

Five out of five is the best I've done on a To Do List since the week we took off for Thanksgiving.  Hopefully I'll have more time to stitch on weekends, at least till spring gets here.  My To Do List for this week is probably a bit ambitious. As long as I can check off one item with progress it will be a good week.  

To Do Week for Week of 1/4/2022

Potions: Make test 8 tube blocks

Potions: pattern by Flying Parrots Quilts

This quilt needs to be finished by May, so it will need to go out for quilting in April. That's three months to make all the blocks and assemble the quilt.  All the test tubes need to be done by the middle of the month so I can move on the the beakers the last half of the month.  I don't normally write my goals to be so specific, but I'll need to keep up or it won't be ready in time.  

Macaron Mystery: Start the January Clue

Macaron Mystery: Meadow Mist Designs 2021 Mystery Quilt Along

The December Clue is finished, just in time for the next clue to come out on Thursday.  I may have to let this one slip a bit so I can stay on top of the Potions quilt.  We'll see. 

Rhododendren Mystery Quilt: Work on Clues 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

Rhododendron Mystery: Bonnie Hunter 2021 Mystery Quilt Along

I'm close to having at least one block for Clue 5 assembled.  I'm way behind on all the clues but the first one, but do have a bit of each clue finished.  This one may have to take a back seat to Potions as well.  We'll see what Clue 6 looks like on Friday.  

Unity: Continue making flying geese as leader and enders

Unity: Bonnie Hunter Stay at Home Quilt Along

The first border for Clue 8 is ready to sew to the rest of the top.  I've been doing more assembly work than just the leaders and enders bit, but that may have to stop till I get Potions done.  I'll keep up the leaders and enders bit, but may have to stop assembling the stars.  

So that's my to do list for this week. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum from being in the sewing room for a week.  Linking up with Linda over at Texas Quilt Gal for To Do Tuesday.  

PHD in 2021: December Wrap Up

Year three of Stitching Gail's 2021 PHD program went pretty much like the first two.  I didn't manage 12 finishes, I didn't finish what I started, but at least my UFO count stayed the same.  

There were three finishes this year, I only started 3 of 4 planned starts, and I made progress on 5 other projects.  So it wasn't a horrible year.  

So though it's not PHD worthy, I'm happy with the progress in 2021. 

Cabins and Fans finally made it to the Post Office and Trudy is working her quilting magic on it.

 

Hopefully I'll have a finish before the end of January.  

Unity, the Bonnie Hunter Sew in Place quilt along from 2020, is moving along slowly.  

The top border is almost done.  Since the end of the year, I've finished the last star.  Unity should be a finished quilt by the end of this year. I can safely count on at least 2 finishes for 2022 

The Macaron Mystery from Meadow Mist Designs is almost caught up. 

The square in a square blocks are almost finished. Those should be all finished up the Thursday when the new clue comes out.  

The 2021 Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt along, Rhododrendron, isn't in nearly as good of shape. 

Step 1 is the only clue that's finished.  There was progress on steps 2, 3 and 4 before the end of the year.  I've since made some progress on steps 5 and 6, but I'm a long way from caught up.

Potions was started just before the year ended. It's a graduation present, so needs to get started so it can be finished by May.  

I managed to finish the first test tube. These are going to be fiddly blocks. I'm probably going to have to put some of my other projects on the back burner to get this one finished in time. This needs to be a finish before mid year, so that brings the total to 3 probable finishes for the year.  That would be at least as good as 2021.  

A few more alternate blocks for Scrappy Butterflies made it to the design wall. 

These blocks have been returned to the project box for now.  Potions took it's place in the rotation. Hopefully I can get back to this one later in the year and make some more progress.  

My embroidery project didn't progress much over this Christmas.  

I was finishing reports and then got sick the first week of Christmas vacation, so I didn't have much of a chance to do any handwork while we were off visiting family this year.  I won't be looking for a traveling handwork project any time soon.  

The other project that I made progress on in 2021 is Chocolate Marshmallow (Quilt along from Seabreeze Quilts). 

Back in August I finally decided on a setting. I don't have enough of the dark brown print to do that dark border, so I went searching for an alternative and found one that's almost an exact match to that brown print.  I struggle to figure out how to set some of my finished quilt along blocks, so having the setting all worked out and the fabric in hand means this one is ready to start once I get that far in my PHD list.

There were three finishes.  

Picnic Stars (Red, White and Blue Stars) which was self designed

Fritillaria (Bonnie Hunter's 2020 Grassy Creek Mystery Quilt along)

Wrapped Sweets (Meadow Mist Designs 2019 Morewood Mystery quilt along.

So though I didn't meet my PHD goals, there was still good progress on several projects this year. So I'm going to claim success and cross my fingers that I can do as well in 2022.  

Stitching Stuff: Week 1 of 2022

 

It seems wrong to claim week 1 after just a day of 2022 has passed. But I did check and this has to be week 1 to get 52 weeks of posts.  But there are the last 6 days of 2020 in this week too.  I was on vacation this last week, so my stitching time was vastly improved the last few days of 2020.

 

• 15 minute days/week 1 = 7/7
• 15 minute days/week December = 11/31 days
• 15 minute days/2021 = 271/365
• 15 minute days/2022 = 1/1
• Success rate for 2021 = 74.3%

I'm off to a good start for 2022. That year that was 2021 had a lot of challenges, even so it wasn't my worst year for stitching time. Finding time to stitch 75% of the time isn't all that bad, my worst success rate was 52%.  I'm hoping to do better this year at handling the stress and keeping my working hours closer to 9 hours a day rather than 12, which was a way to frequent happening last year.  I gave back 3 days of vacation and carried over another 5 days to 2022 because there wasn't time to take them. I'd have lost all 8 if the company hadn't increased the allowance for vacation carry over last year.  So I'm going to try to take more mini stitching vacations this year.  We'll see how that goes.

The Scientist in Training joined me in the sewing room a couple of nights this last week. 

It's hard to believe it was about this time last year that she asked me to help her pick out an embroidery kit at Hobby Lobby so she could see if she liked it.  The answer was yes she likes it and she's really good at it. I smile now at how frustrating she found making those first few French knots. She'll turn 23 this week.  Not sure how that happened. She finished her graduate school applications this week. We won't see her as much next school year, probably just at holidays.  That will be an adjustment.  

So how did you end 2021 and start 2022? Were you able to get back to the stitching stuff after all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season?  

1. maggie f 2. katie z. 3. DonnaleeQ 4. karen 5. Melissa G

6. Colletta's Kitchen Sink 7. Ivani 8. Jennifer in Indy 9. Terri in BC 10. Melisa - Pinker n Punkin Quilting

11. Julie in GA 12. DawnyK 13. Quilting Gail 14. Amanda 15. Carol @ Quilt Schmilt

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Photo Challenge: Sushi and Something From a Video Frame

The weekly photo challenge post is going up just a little late today.  Someone didn't get their photo for this week taken till after dinner tonight. I'm still in catch up mode as far as the posting the challenge photos. This post covers weeks 26 and 27, which will bring us up to date.    

Week 26 was unexpected. 

Both My Guy and the Scientist in Training are pretty big fans of sushi. Me, not so much.  Consequently it's not a dining option we explore very frequently.  We were in Oklahoma City for Christmas and had lots of dining options, but as close as I would get to going for sushi was going to the chicken place across the street. 

Kate: Sushi in Lights

But the neon sign for Sushi Neko was pretty cool and worth a photograph.  The neon sign in the back is from the Will Rogers Theatre, a well known landmark in the city. It was built in 1945/46. It's not an operating theatre these days, it's an event center, but the signature neon sign is still there.  

My Guy found sushi at the grocery store, though he didn't bring any home for lunch.  It's definitely colorful stuff.  

My Guy: Just Roll With It

There is a sushi restaurant here in town. The Scientist in Training met up there with her roommate for dinner one night after Christmas. She fed both her craving and took advantage of the photo op.  

Scientist in Training: Sushi with Friends

Week 27 had all three of us scratching our heads. 

None of us were sure exactly what that meant. We all came up with a photo, you'll have to decide if any of us hit the mark or not.  

I was pretty clueless about this one and racked my brain for most of the week. Till I found a potential subject during my dusting spree this week.  My video "scene" was inspired by the opening scene in Citizen Kane.  

Kate: Opening Scene

My Guy created his own video shoot. He raided the Christmas tree for the Barbie and the SIT's LEGOs display for the photographers.  I think it's pretty cool.  

My Guy: Glamor Shot

The Scientist in Training went more authentic. If you Google "Director's Hands" you'll see what I mean.  If she'd taken this shot a little later in the day, there would be snow in the scene.  

Scientist in Training: Directors Hands

Did any of us hit the mark with the week 27 challenge?  I like all our photos for the last 2 weeks.  Though My Guy's Glamor Shot is probably the most fun of the set.  

So what's the challenge for week 28? 

That seems almost tame compared to the photo prompts from the last two weeks.   

Happy New Year!