Design Wall Monday and Stash Report

I'm making progress on the Summer Crossroads. My goal has been to complete at least one block per day during the week, and finish a row by the end of the weekend. So far I have four rows completed and four rows of blocks ready to finish. Then just four more rows to complete the main section of the quilt. Right now I feel that I will actually finish this one this quarter as planned. I probably shouldn't say that out loud though and risk jinxing it.

I thought I'd join soscrappy's Twinkle Star Column Along. It seemed like a good way to use up my scraps: make pretty blocks while using up one color at a time instead of using a bit of one color here and one color there. But I found that I just don't have enough big scraps to do that star. I might be able to find enough large pieces to do one Twinkle Star block each month, but most of my scraps are narrow, so I'm going to make single color string blocks. Boring, I know, but maybe I can do something interesting with them at the end. Here's my blue Twinkle Star block for January. (I shouldn't have tried to take a photo at night as the flash bleached it out. I did a auto correct which seems to have only brightened the corner colors.)

Also on my design board is this piece of panel cloth. I've probably had it twenty years and of course have none of the fabrics I bought with it at that time. So I've had it on the board, studying it from time to time in hopes that inspiration will strike. So far, it hasn't.

As far as my stash goes, I'm working on it, but still showing more in than out for the year. Drat that after-Christmas sale!

Linking to:
Scraphappy Saturday 53 at soscrappy
Monday Making 3 at Love Laugh Quilt
Main Crush Monday 1 at Cooking up Quilts
Moving it Forward Monday 6 at Em's Scrapbag

Design Wall Monday and Stash Report

I've made some progress on the Summer Crossroads quilt. After finishing the donation quilt, I turned my attention to this quilt, and my goal was to complete at least one block every day and join a couple of them. Yesterday, I finished the top row (10 blocks). A quilting friend suggested putting the blocks together in small sections instead of long rows. She said it was easier and less likely to show any unevenness. What do you think?

The stash report has showed very little change since the only thing I'm doing now is making blocks out of fabric that has already been cut, but I have had to cut fabric for a few more blocks and some sashing strips.

Linking to:
Design Board Monday at Bits 'n Bobs
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilts
Main Crush Monday at Cooking up Quilts
Moving it Forward at Em's Scrapbag

Scrappy Stars

Begand and Finished 2016

Q1 2016 Finish-Along Goals

I hate to keep repeating myself, but I want 2016 to be the year of the finished quilts. I still have plans to start one or two, but my priority is on finishing the ones I've already started.

There is a group of quilters who have a quarterly sign-up list to motivate and give accountability for those of us trying to set goals to finish those UFOs. So today I need to put in writing the things I want to complete before March 31, 2016. Once it's in writing, there are no take-backs, so I don't want to bite off more than I can handle.

1. From another post, my goal for January was to finish the Donation Quilt. I'm almost finished, so I have no doubt I will finish that long before the end of January.

2. Another almost finished UFO is my Around the World from the Couch.

3. Another close but not complete is this Double Irish Chain. My goal for this quarter is to get the top complete. I can't pin or quilt it for quite awhile.

4. And here's the one I'm going out on a limb to complete, but again, just the top. The Summer Crossroads Quilt. The quilting will have to wait until the frame can be set up.

Linked to:
Clover and Violet Q1 Finish-A-Long Goals

Design Wall Monday

I'm making progress on the quilt as you go Donation Quilt, but I don't like the borders at all.

The first end rippled badly so I starched the next two and they were better. But what I really dislike are the green stripes down the sides. I'm trying to decide whether to tear it off or just let it go.

Linking to:
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Board Monday at Bits 'n Bobs
Main Crush Monday at Cooking up Quilt
Moving it Forward at Em's Scrapbag

My January One Monthly Goal on Design Wall Monday

On the design board today is the quilt as you go started by my quilt group. A few months ago, I put the blocks together and then handed it off to another member to put on the borders. I called her to see if I could get a picture of the finished quilt and she said she hadn't gotten to it, so it's back with me to add the borders and finish.

My January goal is to completely finish this quilt, since it is a QAYG and doesn't require moving everything in my sewing area to get it quilted.


We have plenty of blue fabric left, and just a little green. We thought the blue would make a great border on the top, but that means we would have to use a different fabric outside the blocks instead of the blue as we originally planned. The light green isn't bad, but I'm not sure there is enough.

I haven't been able to find instructions on a website or video on how to attach the borders, so this could be interesting.

I'm no longer going to be making a separate post tracking my stash, but will stick it onto a post at the beginning of each month. I still find it helpful to see what I've used, but it wasn't helping me to link it to another blog. I inventoried my stash of quilting cottons this weekend and adjusted my report to match. My goal this year is to only use fabric from my stash and not buy any fabric.

Linking to
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Main Crush Monday at Cooking up Quilts
One Monthly Goal at Red Letter Quilts

UFOs and a New Plan

I'm looking forward to this year because I have a new plan to deal with UFOs in 2016.

 Since I have to fold up my sewing table and cutting table in order to get out tables to pin quilts, or to use my quilt frame, I am going to finish piecing all the tops before I begin quilting.  That means I probably won't have many finishes before next fall.

So here are UFOs from 2014 and before:

1. Baby Bow



2.  Gairdin Walk



3.  Around the World from the Couch



4. Depression Blocks



5. Christmas Among Friends



6. Denim Cathedral Windows



7. Ameliorate Sampler



8.  Jacob's Ladder



These are UFOs started in 2015:

9.  Summer Crossroad



10.  Double Irish Chain



11.  Starry QAYG



12.  Sweet Sixteen



These are UFOs that will be hand-stitched and not likely to be finished in 2016:

13.  Colorful Butterflies



14. Star Travel.



15.  Antique Tiles. I made these for a swap that never happened.  So now I have to do something with them.

16.  There will be at least one quilt started in 2016.  I need to make a quilt for the trailer.  I have a modern pattern in mind and already have the fabrics.

Linked to Design Board Monday at Bits 'n Bobs.

2016 Goals

This year is already going by too fast, and it just started! New Year's Eve began with a Sherlock marathon on PBS, so I stayed up most of the night recording them. I'm not sure it was worth the effort though. I've seen the show a couple of times and liked it, but by the end of the last show, I didn't like it quite as well. Maybe it was the late hours, or maybe it was the direction the show took in the end. Anyway, I've got them on DVD now so I can watch them in the trailer when we have limited or no tv reception.


(Tonight, PBS is doing a Doc Martin marathon and I LOVE Doc Martin, so I'll be up until 2 a.m. for it too.)

Yesterday, I planned on wrapping up some end of the year paperwork and then quilting all day. None of that happened. I got a late start on the day since I had stayed up most of the night. If I hadn't set my alarm for 9:30, I probably would have slept past noon. Then Hubby decided he would put up a couple of cameras for our security system. And since that isn't a one-person job, I had to help pull wire and bring things to him in the attic. I finally got in a half hour of quilting after 8 p.m.

I wasn't going to post any goals or resolutions for the year, since by February, I often forget I've even made any. But I've been thinking lately of what I'd like to get done this year so thought I may as well write them down. I even looked up last year's goals to see how I did.

Last year's goals:
1. I am going to make a blog post every day for the month of January, even if it's just one sentence. Hopefully, that will get me back in the habit of posting and inspiration will follow. I actually did that! Good thing I decided to do it in January instead of July. I remember that it was hard though. Sure won't be doing THAT again.

2. I am going to list my unfinished projects on the sidebar with deadlines for finishing.  Wonder why I didn't do this one? Guess I was so busy trying to think of something to say every day that by February I had forgotten.

3. I am going to start a new project every month and not leave it unfinished. Bwahahahaha!

4. I am going to keep track of my projects so I can see what is worthwhile and what is a waste of time and money. Gee, that was a good idea. I wish I had done that one.

5. I am going to host a home improvement blog party for a month this spring and see what happens. Hmmm, I knew I wanted to try a linky party, but forgot I set a topic and date.

6. I am going to clear the clutter and finally hang pictures on my walls, and maybe even find those long lost gift cards. And last, but not least, the old 'clear the clutter' resolution. Well, THAT didn't happen. I'm surprised lose weight wasn't on my list, because I didn't get that done either.

So, in light of all the broken resolutions of 2015, what should I propose for 2016?

1. I would like to lose weight. Or rather, I'd like my clothes to fit a little looser, and I'd like my knees and hips to quit hurting. Now I could go shopping and just buy bigger clothes, but my knees and hips would still hurt. And I'm not sure losing weight will stop the pain, but it beats knee surgery as my first option, so I'm going to try. Plus, back in November, I promised my doctor that I would start walking 30 minutes every day and eating better. But I really only promised because he was blocking the door while he was lecturing me about my weight. Once I was out of his office and drinking my Cherry Pepsi with real sugar, I kind of forgot about it again.

2. I think I'll repeat #4 above, except to say that I will keep an excel spreadsheet for projects every day during the month of January and then re-evaluate.

3. Limit resolutions to a workable number, like 3.  See how easy goals can be?  I've already achieved this one!

------- Here are the UFO's that I said I would finish in 2015:
1.  Showtime!     Finished.



2.  Baby Bow Tie.  No work done on it at all in 2015.



3.  Gairdin Walk.  No work done on it at all in 2015.



4.  Around the World from the Couch. Worked on, but still not finished.



5.  Friends Who Haven't Met.  Finished.



6. Depression Blocks. Didn't touch it in 2015.



7. Christmas Among Freinds. No work done on it in 2015.



8. Denim Cathedral Windows. No work done on it in 2015.



9. Star Travel. No work done on it in 2015.



10. Second Saturday Sampler. No work done on it in 2015. I don't even know where it is now.



11.  Jacob's Ladder.  Not touched in 2015.



Yikes!  Out of  11 UFOs, I only worked on three of them, and only finished two.  2016 has to be the year of UFOs for me.  There will be another post tomorrow listing my UFOs.  Obviously, there are more because I started and didn't finish even more in 2015.

Here is my one and only start to finish in one year.  Notice how small it is.



Linked to Silly Sunday at Comedy Plus. Thanks Sandee!