Closing Out 2022

     This week I have tried to finish projects or bring them to a completed top. The GD's Christmas placemats for 2022 got quilted. They don't look very different from the tops I showed but now they are quilted.  I finished them pillowcase style with no binding.

The Quilting Life 2022 BOM is a completed top.

Pat Sloan's “Hometown Charms” Block Wednesday just needs borders.

       Looking back at my 2022 yearly quilt goals I am satisfied.

How I did on my goals for 2022:

1. finish UFOs
   I started the year with 26 UFOs on my list and 12 have been finished. Today there are 14 unfinished; however, good progress has been made on 7 of those.

2. decrease stash fabric

   My stash is moving in the right direction and decreased more in 2022 than in 2021 (net decrease 62 yds). I still have plenty of fabric.

   Stash fabric used or added:

   this past week- Used: 2.25 yd Added: 0 yds
   So far this year- 145 yds Added: 53.75 yd
   Net decrease 91.25 yds

3. control and use scrap fabric

   This is probably the goal that I am least pleased with my progress. Even though I spent a few days dedicated to working with scraps, they are not under control and I want to do a lot more with them.

4. make charity/comfort quilts

I made and donated 2 QOV tops and finished one of them.

I finished 8 comfort quilts for church and pieced 5 more tops.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Happy New Year! Prayers that 2023 will be a great year for all.

I'm linking up with Alycia for Finished or Not Friday.  Check out the inspiration. 

Year End UFO Progress

     With a few holiday activities on the calendar I spent minimal time sewing this past week. I redid the black Celtic knot with a solid color and like it better. Since all the Celtic Fantasy appliques have been fused I started making some test thread samples to decide which colors to use for the blanket stitch to secure them. I didn't get very far. This is how one quarter of the pieces look.

     I added the final border on the Carolina Chain top so it is ready to be sandwiched at the next church quilt day. 

    Next I pulled out another UFO project. I'm calling these blocks Dogtooth Stars. They started with leftover units from a Bonnie Hunter mystery several years ago. I now have 15 blocks pieced.

With a plain alternate block they will make a setting 5 by 6 for 30 blocks. Here is my EQ plan.

I am trying to use only my stash so I may end up piecing the alternate blocks.

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 0.5 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- 143.5 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 89.5 yds

Hope you are getting projects finished for the end of the year.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Progress – Not Much

     Hope you are enjoying this festive time of year. Sunday after church I had lunch with a friend and she gave me this lovely poinsettia. I have not put up many Christmas decorations so it adds wonderful color to my living room.

     My quilting machine has been silent the past week; however, I did work on a couple of projects. I worked several days on appliques for Celtic Fantasy. The black Celtic knot is not fused and that is good because I don't like it. My artist sister says the print looks gray and it needs to be a stronger black. I needed a good black so a quilting friend let me shop her stash of black to redo them.

     As a batch of holiday cakes were in the oven baking, I pulled out Carolina Chain blocks in progress and finished sewing the center quilt top together. A border of matching fabric is cut and waits to be sewn on.

    That is it for the week and probably for the year. I don't expect any more projects to be finished in 2022.

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 1 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- 142.75 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 89 yds

Hope you are enjoying some special events this holiday season.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Holiday Happenings Take Center Stage

      This time of year there are many special events with family, friends and church so that quilting/craft time is limited; but, the special times are being treasured. The past couple of weeks I had a few days with GDs when they decorated their annual gingerbread houses. This year Mattie actually did the construction and had freedom to create some unique houses from parts. She created a dormer and a 2 story house.  Here they are during and after decorating.

    

   

    GDs also drew their annual Christmas squares and I pieced them into placemat tops. I still need to do the quilting.

Besides enjoying time with family my goals were to:

1. Control pile of scrap fabric. Done. I cut up piles of scraps for my scrap user system and created a kit for a charity quilt.

2. Quilt a comfort quilt for church. Not touched. It is still waiting but we do have a pile of finished quilts at church so there is no rush. Instead, I put the binding on a QOV. It might look familiar. I pieced the top and Bonnie from guild quilted it.

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 2.375 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- 141.75 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 88 yds

I have 2 more holiday gatherings this week which take time from quilt projects so my only goal for this week is to add more appliques to Celtic Fantasy.

Hope you are enjoying some special events this holiday season.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Making Progress

     I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends as I hope many of you did. Even with the Thanksgiving holiday I made progress on my couple of goals and more.

Progress on last week's goals:

1. Cut out GD-Lily's jumper and start sewing. -  Finished. Sorry I forgot to take a photo when she tried it on.  It fit well. 

2. Quilt on cat quilt -  Finished. It even has a label and been washed so it is ready to gift.

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 0.5 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 139.375 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 85.625 yds

    The kaleidoscope is a finished top. I didn't have enough of one fabric for a dark outer border but I had leftover 5” strips so decided to use them to piece a scrappy border.  It makes the top larger than planned but that is okay.

    This week I have plans to do some holiday things with granddaughters. Each year they decorate a square for Christmas placemats.  We also decorate small gingerbread houses so I am not planning to work on a lot of quilting projects.

Goals for this week:

1. Control pile of scrap fabric

2.  Sew binding on QOV

3. Quilt a comfort quilt for church

I'm linking up to Alycia's Finished (or Not) Friday.  Check out the inspiration.  

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Weekly Progress and Goals

     Like many parts of the US my area has had a week of cold temperatures. This morning got down to 29 degrees which is unusually cool for SC this time of year. Before the freezing temperatures killed garden plants. I picked all the good size green tomatoes and processed them for a delicious batch of Green Tomato Muffins. They taste like zucchini bread.  I baked the muffins for 30 minutes.

The cooler days made for great sewing/quilting days.

Progress on last week's Goals:

1. Start adding appliques to “Celtic Fantasy” background units-   Done.

So far I have fused appliques to 2 areas.  It is looking a lot more interesting. 

2. Sew a few more Kaleidoscope rows together.     Done.

Four rows are sewn together. I have been pinning to match best I can.  Only 2 more rows and a border to be added.

3. Enlarge vintage jumper pattern for GD-Lily          In process.

I have traced the old pattern and know how much to add. I watched a video on YouTube by Nancy Zieman showing what to do. Now I just need to do it.

     On another project I chose a backing from my stash, sandwiched the cat top and started quilting. So far I have done straight lines with walking foot to stabilize.  I want it finished before Christmas for a gift so I need to continue the progress.

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 4 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 138.875 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 85.125 yds

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday I may not get a lot of quilting accomplished this week, but there are some I need to make progress on.

Goals for this week:

1. Cut out GD-Lily's jumper and start sewing.

2. Quilt on cat quilt

Hope you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends or family.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

“Celtic Fantasy” Progress and Goals

    Hope you enjoyed a peaceful Veteran's Day and relaxing weekend. After the remnants of the tropical storm/hurricane moved through here, weather has turned cooler and feels like fall. The rainy days were great for sewing time.

    I have enjoyed tracking my Yearly Goals and seeing how I decrease stash fabric. 

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 5.75 yd Added: 0yds

So far this year- Used: 134.875 yds Added: 53.75 yd

Net decrease 81.125 yds

As far as progress on last week's goals, I did well.

1. Cut out units for “Celtic Fantasy” quilt. Done

All the fabric for the 6 background templates are cut out and those that fit are on my design wall. The appliques should really transform the look. Here's hoping that they will. I have not taken Ricky's class but have watched his videos and have the book so hope I am up for the rest of the construction.

2. Layout Kaleidoscope blocks and start piecing together top. Done    2 rows have been pieced together but this is not a rush project.

 

Goals for this week:

1. Start adding appliques to “Celtic Fantasy” background units

2. Sew a few more Kaleidoscope rows together.

3. Enlarge vintage jumper pattern for GD-Lily

     I don't know whether my cacti are supposed to be the Thanksgiving or Christmas variety; however, they are all full of blooms now.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Remember Our Veterans

    The weather here is not cooperating for a Veterans Day parade; however, they are remembered and appreciated. I love Alycia's latest Quilt of Valor mystery, “Long May She Wave” and look forward to making time to finish one to share with a veteran.

   On other projects I have a few small finishes and progress on a couple of larger ones. I have spent most of my craft time piecing; however, one day I will make time for the quilting. I finished several fall themed mug rugs and put them in the mail with Thanksgiving cards. Here are the most recent 2 embellished with silk leaves.

    Wednesday at church quilt group I put all my kaleidoscope blocks on the design wall and have them pinned by rows ready to sew into a top.

    Next I made progress on the “Celtic Fantasy” quilt. It is quite the process designed by Ricky Timms. Some weeks ago I made the 6 large freezer paper templates with are repeated in each quadrant and I have designed the templates for the Celtic appliques. The process goes like this. 1- iron the freezer paper template to the right side of the fabric, rough trim.

2- stay-stitch close to the edge and mark registration lines in the seam allowance before a neater trim.

All except the center template are made 4 times. Paying attention to the grainline uses a lot of fabric for the odd shaped pieces.

Here are the first 2 fabrics on the design wall. It doesn't look like much yet because the appliques will be the focus.

I have several quilts with more regular curve piecing.  I hope I will not struggle too much with these irregular curves.  That is why it is important to do the stay-stitching and registration marks. 

Thank you to all our veterans.

I'm linking up with Alycia's Finished (or Not) Friday.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Not Much Quilting

    The week flew by again. Is that just the holiday season? I mostly did a little on many different sewing/quilting projects and nothing big. Time a couple of days was spent with GD Mattie to finish 14 Thanksgiving coasters. They are simply felt and burlap.

    I caught up with Pat Sloan's “Hometown Charms” block Wednesday but I didn't take a photo of them all on the design wall before I took them down.

    I caught up with A Quilting Life's BOM. Here is the November block. I am excited that there is only one to go.

Here are some of the other blocks.

    Instead of working on the “Celtic Fantasy” or quilting a comfort quilt, I tackled scraps for church group. I used my Accuquilt Go Qube dies to cut lots of units for scrap quilts.

Progress on my goals for this year continue:

1. no progress on UFOs

2. no stash added or decreased

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 0 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 129.125 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 75.375 yds

3. I did work on controlling scraps from church group

4. I planned kits for church comfort quilts as I cut scrap units

Goals for this week:

1. Cut out units for “Celtic Fantasy” quilt

2. Layout Kaleidoscope blocks and start piecing together top.

Hope you enjoy this busy season of year.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Happy Halloween

   Tonight is Halloween and I am posting late to include a cute photo  of the family in costumes.  In case you don't recognize they are the Scooby-Doo crew.  They had fun.  

The past few days have been family time. My younger granddaughter had half days for school the end of the week so we got to spend the rest of the day together. We played badminton, horse shoes and some indoor games.

Saturday I had some sewing time on my own and finished the 15 light kaleidoscope blocks so all the blocks for the lap quilt are pieced. Sorry no updated photo. 

Wednesday at church quilt group, I worked on the layout for a set of Carolina Chain blocks and pinned the rows in sets. Saturday I sewed all the diagonal rows.

I also quickly finished a couple of simple Halloween placemats.

Sunday both sons, DIL and granddaughters were all together for supper. It is not often that we are all together. Wish I had taken a photo.

There was no change for the stash report.

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Is It Monday Already?

     Last week sure flew by. I stayed busy with some yardwork and errands but did manage to get in some sewing time.

     I made progress on Celtic Fantasy applique motifs and then started checking which fabric was going where and did I have enough. I scanned some fabric into EQ so I could get a better idea. Since the Dragon Con fabric is one-way and only one yard, I need to change where it will go. I'm still planning.

     I pieced the last column of flying geese for a project but didn't go on to the next step. I used scraps to piece one more fall mug rug and mailed it to a friend. Then I worked on piecing scrappy kaleidoscope blocks for a comfort quilt. I have all the dark blocks finished and the light blocks just need the corner triangles. This week I hope to get those sewn on.

     One errand took me to my local Hobby Lobby where my goal to reduce stash took a hit. They are reducing the size of the fabric department and some beautiful fabric was reduced for sale. I could not resist and bought 12 yards. The great thing was it only cost $42. The prettiest piece of blue was $4 a yard and the rest was $3.

They are making lots of changes in the store and I'm disappointed that they will no longer be carrying cotton quilting thread.

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 0.5 yd Added: 12 yds
So far this year- Used: 129.125 yds Added: 53.75 yd
Net decrease 75.375 yds

     I had hoped to get some quilting done on a comfort quilt; however, instead I pieced a sample NICU quilt, cut a few NICU kits and planned some simple quilts to give our group some easy ideas for more.

Goals for this week:

1. Finish kaleidoscope blocks

2. Visit with family

Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Weekly Goals and Progress

     It is already afternoon and I'm just getting around to planning the week.  I started not to call this post a progress report because very little progress has been made on quilting projects; however, then I remembered a few things that got done.

I did quilt and finish 12 fall mug rugs that will go to shut-ins.

I worked on a few simple NICU quilt patterns and started a sample to show my church quilt group. Here are the strips for the top half.

I resized one Celtic motif for the Celtic Fantasy quilt so that it fits the area better. Several more need to be done.

I continue to make progress at reducing my stash fabric

Stash fabric used or added:

this past week- Used: 1 yd Added: 0 yds
So far this year- Used: 128.625 yds Added: 41.75 yd
Net decrease 93.875 yds

Goals for this week:

1. Work on Celtic applique motifs
2. Piece final column of geese
3. Quilt SQG comfort quilt

Hope you enjoy the fall season.  Stay safe and healthy while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.

Not Much Progress

    In this last quarter of the year, I hope to do better on my goals but I didn't this past week. I got side tracked and only made progress on my one piecing goal. I pieced one more column of geese so just one left to sew. Then instead of working on the Celtic applique motifs or quilting, I chose to work on small things. I am caught up with A Quilting Life's block of the month. 

 I also caught up with Pat Sloan's “Hometown Charms” block Wednesday. I chose not to make a boat and instead used block 3 from her “Home Is” pattern.

    I sewed one day on kaleidoscope blocks for a comfort quilt. Using the church group stash fabric really gives it an old feel.

    No countable stash fabric was added or used except scraps. I used lots of fall fabric scraps to improv piece 12 Autumn mug rugs. For a faster finish with no binding, I used the pillowcase method. Here is the stack in progress. These will be gifts for shut-ins.

   Not sure how much I will accomplish this week with a couple of meetings and a visit with a sister in the mountains.

Goals for this week:

1.  Work on Celtic applique motifs

2.  Piece final column of geese

    Before I go, here is a photo of Dosi in her Scooby-Doo coat/costume ready for Halloween.

Enjoy the fall weather while enjoying some time sewing and quilting.