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!

Sewing, The Challenge

I tried to get some sewing in this week, but as Hubby observed, I spent more time unsewing than sewing. I wanted to use my new Janome and thought the denim quilt would be a good test for it. Unfortunately, the first set of instructions I found had an error, so I spent several hours ripping that out. A few more trials and I found a method that seems to work. This is where I am now, three meager rows after four days' work.

Then I took a day off so I could can some tomatoes and work on my fabric inventory. While doing that, I came across this Around The World from the Couch quilt. I couldn't decide what to do about borders so put it aside.  I know it looks rectangular in the photo below, but that's just camera distortion, it's really square.

The problem with square quilts is that they just don't fit beds. So after looking at it again, I decided to add more rows to the top and bottom. A search through my scraps and I remembered why I stopped it where I did - I had used all I had of a couple of fabrics. Then, inspiration hit and I thought it would make the right size twin quilt if I took two rows off each side and added a row to both top and bottom. So more ripping. Here it is today with the side rows off and the top and bottom rows ready to sew.

Six out of seven days isn't bad, all things considered. I just wish I had more to show for it.

And now for a confession. I wanted bright fabrics for my denim quilt, and did have a few in my stash, but... I had them earmarked for other projects.

So I bought more fabric.

Just a few fat quarters of brights. But then I saw some all cotton seersucker which makes excellent backing for receiving blankets, and it just jumped in my cart and held on when I tried to put it back on the shelf. So it had to come home with me. I have a weak spot for strays, be it cats, dogs, or fabrics.

An update of my stash buster report and stash inventory:

Join me this week at Life in Pieces to see how others have used their sewing time this week.  It's funny, Kate wrote that she thinks the hot weather they have had has slowed her sewing.  We've had a stretch of the coolest days I can remember having in July.  We've had over three days of a nice, steady rain, and Tuesday our high was 74.  It's been heavenly.  I can just imagine what it's like to live in Seattle or England where it rains all the time.  I have been wondering when they mow their lawns.  My grass is long and green, but the ground is too soft to mow without leaving ruts.

It's Been One of Those Days and a NewFO

Let me backtrack to yesterday. I wrote my blog post and scheduled it to post at 7am because I had a doctor appointment this morning and knew I wouldn't be able to do it before I left. I needed the Geek Squad to look at my computer and see why the security program wouldn't let my printer print and then I was going to come home and update the link to Kate's blog. But it didn't work out that way. The Geek Squad wanted to keep my computer, remove the offending Kaspersky, and clear my computer before loading a new security program. That took 5 hours. Then I had to reload MS Office, reconnect to the internet router, and then load a new security program because they didn't do it after all. Another hour. Then Hubby brought home a new storm door for the back door that keeps leaking when it rains even though we've replaced it and all the weatherstripping twice. It didn't take me very long to do my part helping him with the door; it was cleaning up after burning the chicken I had left on the stove that took a long time. In fact, the house still stinks and I've had all the fans and windows open for three hours.

I've cut out soda, and had cut out sweets starting this week, but this was a night that called for chocolate.

My biggest project for April has been trying to organize my stash.  I'm still working on my sewing room, aka guest room, but having my fabrics scattered throughout the house makes every sewing project so much harder that it is really number one.  While organizing my stash, I found I have too much scrap denim.  So much that the box wouldn't shut.  So last month I made the denim apron, and a few days ago started this quilt project by making the templates and then cut about fifty circles (with regular scissors) until my hand started cramping and my thumb went numb. Oops, I think I need to pace myself. I've still got a lot of jeans to cut but it's a nice, mindless project to do while watching tv. The squares should go quickly; the hardest part will be deciding which fabrics to use.  Right now, it's a UFO, or NewFO as Barbara of Cat Patches calls them. So I'm linking this NewFO to her blog. Maybe that will encourage me to keep going on it.

This is the only project I've started in April, other than the shower curtain, which wasn't much of a project.  I looked back on my April goals, and saw that I had planned to make another apron.  That didn't get done, and I don't think it will get done in May either.  Besides the garden which is breeding weeds like mosquitoes in an old tire, I get to spend some time in St. Louis with my daughter.  I will be sewing curtains for her, so I guess that will be my sewing goal for May.

What projects did you start in April?