GET IT DONE 2013 - MAY GOALS & Status of APRIL Goals

GET IT DONE 2013 - MAY Goals
DONE     1) Make 2 blocks on Craftsy 2013 BOM (April & May) (NewFO).  I started on this in April and finished 3 blocks, using purple/lavender scraps.  It is an interesting project with a lot of "teaching" going on.  I would definitely recommend this for beginning quilters--a good way to stretch and grow.

2) Make 4 blocks on Annual S/P Challenge Quilt (NewFO).  (The S/P stands for Sandi/Pat; Sandi is my long-distance quilting buddy.  We started our sewing/quilting friendship before I moved to "the mountain.")  I need to "just do it" and get started on this.  Sandi has all her blocks ready for the blanket stitch around the individual applique parts.  I have ideas on how I want to make the pattern "my own"--I would like to incorporate piecing, applique, and machine embroidery.  It is always interesting to see how different our quilts look even though we use the same patterns!

3) Machine quilt/bind 4 quilts from my LA-UFO stack.  Well, here I go again--how many months has this been added?!  I have so many quilts "in me, just waiting to become reality" that I neglect my growing stack of finished tops.  I will be attending HMQS in May so perhaps I will get motivated to stretch & grow--and feel more secure in my skills or at least more willing to try them!


GET IT DONE 2013 - Status of April Goals
DONE     1) Machine quilt/bind T-Shirt quilt.  I made 2 pillows, also--one has a pillow form inside and the other doesn't.

 

2) Machine quilt/bind 4 quilts from my LA-UFO stack.  NOT DONE

DONE     3) Finish piecing Red Basket Xmas quilt (UFO). 

ADDED:
DONE     4) Hemstitch & crochet edging on 7 burp cloths. 

STASH REPORT - Week 17, 2013

Used this Week: 10.7 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  107.7 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.5 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 106.2 yards

 

I finished the backing for the red Christmas basket quilt; that quilt is now transferred to the Longarm UFO stack.  I "found" the blue print fabric I am using in my crocheted rug--plus some more flannel.  The flannel is a big enough cut to use for backings.  I don't know why those fabrics were in a separate Rubbermaid tub, but they were.  I guess that is proof that I need to clean/organize my quilting studio again!  The blue print is cut into strips, ready to be crocheted into my rug (which is still really small!).  It is laying on the table in the dining room, ready to be used--the table seems to be the place I can work best on the rug as I can lay it flat and make sure I'm not crocheting too tightly.  Anyway, the blue fabric is being counted.

I found an error in the red Christmas basket quilt after I posted the pictures last week.  What is it about pictures that make errors jump right out at you?!  I thought I had been watching carefully for that particular error--and there it was!  If you knew me well, you would know that I hate ripping out parts of quilts.  I have a friend who will put a quilt together, decide she doesn't like one block, rip it out, and redo the quilt.  And another friend who will make sure all the people on an appliqued quilt are facing the same direction.  Not me--oh, no!!  But sometimes an error is so glaring that I can't ignore it.  Sigh...  So, I ripped that section out on Monday and redid it--all is now right in that little quilt's world.

My accomplishments for the rest of the week were non-existent.  I got out the pattern for the quilt that Sandi (my long-distance quilting buddy) and I are doing this year--and looked at it to see if I could increase the size of the blocks and make a larger quilt.  Yes, I can do that.  Then I looked for the Christmas blues/silvers that I had decided to use--found some silvery greens but no blues--must have used them all in the blue Christmas basket quilt I made last year.  (I know--I'm an over-achiever or an idiot--to make the quilt twice, once in reds and once in blues.  But only the center motif is the same.)  So, I quit to spend more time thinking about how I want to do it.  Sandi has all her blocks ready to banket-stitch around the edges--am I late or what?!  I'm still trying to figure out what I can do so I will have fewer pieces on the applique blocks!!

But I had a very enjoyable week.  Last Saturday evening we had the FUNdraiser for the "little brown church in the dell" (actually, down the Valley!)--roasted pig with all the trimmings and a live auction of several (about 60!) donated items.  Father Flo, our priest from the Philippines, made an appetizer with shredded pork that was really outstanding.  But it was the time with friends that really made the evening great.  This past Friday we went with a group to a museum/dinner/show--another outstanding evening.  This evening we are attending an 80th birthday celebration for a friend.  If I don't watch out, I will become a social butterfly and Sandi will have her entire quilt completed before I get one block done! 

 

 

STASH REPORT - Week 16, 2013

Used this Week: 13.67 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  97 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.5 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 95.5 yards

 

Yea--I finished the red Christmas basket quilt + binding.  I still have the backing to piece; that yardage will be counted next week.  I used the Hunter method of figuring yardage by the size of the quilt X 1.5.  On this one, that was pretty close; I was keeping track of most of it and then forgot to write some down.  If anything, the 13 yards is just a bit low--but that's OK.  I really like the way the quilt turned out--very simple and traditional beyond the center applique.  

I finished the T-shirt quilt for my grand-niece; I also made 2 pillows with navy t-shirts that I felt were too dark to include in the quilt.  I would have liked one more vertical row; but without using the navy shirts, I did not have enough for another row.  Oh, well...  I'm sure she will appreciate it.  It will go in the mail this week.  Jessie graduates May 11--I had a whole month to spare!!

STASH REPORT - Week 15, 2013

Used this Week: 0 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  83.35 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.5 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 81.85 yards

 

Well, nothing to report--none in, none out.  This week I machine quilted the T-shirt quilt--just a medium meander so I could hit all the seams and the corners.  I also got it bound--so it's ready to be sent to Kansas.  I want to make a couple of pillows though before I package and mail it.  I wish I would have had a few more T-shirts so I could have added one more row to the length.  The pillows will be made with navy T-shirts--I felt they were too dark to add to the mix as most of the shirts are light to medium in color.  Anyway, I'm glad the quilt is done and am ready to start the pillows tomorrow.  I will post a picture when the pillows are done.

 

Still, it was a productive week even with no fabric usage--sort of.  I've finished with the burp cloths--yea!  I think I only had 2 out of the 9 that had the same edging; I just tried different things.  I used crochet thread that I had given my mother (it returned to me after her death last summer).  I'm showing 7 of the 9 I made; DH likes the one with the green variegated thread the best.  That thread was size 30--not one I could work with very well at night (sort of like 22- and 32-count needlework fabric)!!  You can't tell from the picture (poor lighting), but all had pink flannel with pink flowers and a bit of green on the top layer; they are each folded in half for the picture.

STASH REPORT - Week 14, 2013

Used this Week: 4.25 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  83.35 yards
Added Year to Date: 1.5 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 81.84 yards

 

Got a backing made for the T-shirt quilt, but haven't done anything else in the quilting studio this week.  I will need to get busy next week if I want to accomplish my goals for April--why do the days disappear so rapidly?!

 

Mr. Moose has been walking around the neighborhood.  I haven't seen him yet, but Carol said he is looking pretty ragged--which probably means he is suffering from the mange or tick fever.  It is so sad as our moose population is decreasing, and they are such magnificent animals.  I think we have also disturbed their habitat with the prevalence of snow machines and 4-wheelers (am I showing my age?!).  It is raining gently, and we expect either rain or snow for about a week.  We need the moisture as our snow pack was below normal this winter--the forest floor is showing in several places.  Mud month here we come!

GET IT DONE 2013 - APRIL Goals

GET IT DONE 2013 - April Goals
1) Machine quilt/bind T-Shirt quilt. 

2) Machine quilt/bind 4 quilts from my LA-UFO stack.

3) Finish Red Basket Xmas quilt (UFO).

Well, April will look a lot like March!! 


GET IT DONE 2013 - Status of MARCH Goals

DONE     1)  Design/piece T-Shirt quilt for my grand-niece (UFO). 

2)  Finish Red Basket Xmas quilt (UFO). 

DONE     3)  Design/piece Embroidered Undercover Kids quilt (UFO). 

4)   Machine quilt/bind 4 quilts from my LA-UFO stack. 

ADDED:
DONE     5)  Piece Forest Floor quilt (NewFO).