January is for RED!

As usual I'm behind the power curve! Ugh! I saw the hints about what January's RSC color was going to be but I wasn't 100% sure. Several days later it was made clear to me but I still lagged behind on what I planned to work on this year. But FINALLY it all came together and I believe I have a plan. Yes, a plan but no scrappy sewing ... yet.

I will be making scrappy, strippy units for a streak of lightning border. At least that's what I think it's called. This border will go on the RSC2020 String-X top. Here's a picture of String-X laid out and ready to sew together. I think my border plan will set it off nicely. There will be a narrow border in between the blocks and streaky border.

I did manage to make some progress on 2020Twisted and there was plenty of red. Unfortunately it was EXTRA RED because I was seeing RED. The first time I sewed these blocks together, I sewed all (yes, ALL) the corner units upside-down. It took longer to rip it all apart then it did to sew up the first time around. After all apart (again) I stacked these units up and went to bed. These absolutely will get sewn together correctly in the morning!

All sewn up correctly now.

I decided to lay them out with friends to see what I've got going. I didn't have enough room to lay out the right side but I think we can get the idea of what's going on here.

Look at all that RED! These blocks will be laid out on point. I've got most of the pieces cut and ready to sew up to make the setting triangles. Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend. I'll be reading plenty of RSC blogs over at Angela's SuperScrappy link. So much fun happening over there!

And so PHD2022 Begins

Another year, another list of UFOs. Wish me luck! Ha! In  case you don't know what a UFO is in "quilt-ese", it is any quilt that has been started and has yet to be completed. I'll be joining Quilting Gail again with a list of my 12 UFOs which I hope will strive to complete this year. You may notice that a few of them are repeats from 2021. Unfortunately I did not complete my PHD (Projects Half Done) last year so some of them made the list again for 2022.

Each month, Quilting Gail will be hosting a Linky Party for all PHD 2022 Challenge participants to share their progress and root each other on. If you care to join in or have any questions about this challenge, you can find ALL the details at her link HERE. 

Here's a peek at the twelve projects I hope to finish this year.

2020 Twisted Mystery
Lots of blocks made with more to go.
Final assembly as yet to be determined.

Another 12 Days of Christmas
First block almost done with 11 to go!
Offered by Susan @ SuznQuilts

Autumn Jubilee 2021
Top completed; needs to be quilted
Offered by Carole @ My Carolina Home

Cactus Flower
Pattern by Judy Niemeyer

Calla Lily
All blocks & borders completed except pillow top.
My oldest UFO.

Gardenhurst
One block done and the second barely started
Pattern by Irene Blanck

Guild 2021-22 BOM
Six blocks done with three (?) to go.

 

Heartfire
Many blocks done, many more to go?
Pattern by Lynn @ Sew'n Wild Oaks Quilting Blog

Irish CourthouseH
27 blocks completed, many (?) more to go
Pattern by Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville's Quips & Snips

Maple Leaf
Top completed. Needs to be quilted.
Pattern by Norma Whaley @ Timeless Traditions

String X
Blocks are done. Needs borders & quilting.
Free pattern from Bonnie Hunter @ Quiltville's Quips & Snips

Xmas Placemats
Partially assembled.

And there you have it! Of course I've already got big plans with a couple of SALs (Uptown with Sentimental Stitches and 2022 Twisted Mystery) and playing along with RSC2022. I noticed that I missed RSC Red Month for Heartfire and I want to do a string border for String X.

Thanks for reading along this far and I hope to share progress with you on these UFOs all through 2022. Here's to a new year with a new PHD list! Thanks again to Quilt Gail for organizing us and hosting the Linky parties.

October PHD Report

I'm taking the liberty of sounding positive with the title of this post. I don't have much to share since I was gone for the last two weeks of the month but I will share what I did manage to finish/work on. First the quilty things.

I did get ALL of the applique blocks finished up for Afternoon Delight. This was the last block of forty total. Pshew! 

I also got a start on the Double 9-Patch blocks. There's a ton of these to do and will make fabulous leaders & enders. *wink*

I made progress on Twisted 2020 blocks. The blocks on the left will join the ones on the right that I finished last month.

This adorable project from Timeless Traditions was started and finished at quilt retreat this month. Score that one for me!

Now for the knitting ...

I started AND FINISHED this new hat. The pattern is called "Change Your Mind" by Joji Locatelli. You can see the details on Ravelry HERE.

Fits just right! I actually wore it this morning due to frosty temperatures on my walk this morning with Gracie. (The new header picture at the top of the post was taken this morning.)

I started knitting Caramel Sauce Socks (also by Joji Locatelli) but only got this far.

These will get finished shortly.

So what will I be working on this month?

1. Caramel Sauce Socks - need to be finished
2. Afternoon Delight - more Double 9-Patch blocks sewn
3. Twisted 2020 - more blocks sewn together to make progress on the quilt center. Then a decision will need to be made on how much more to add
4. Christmas Pillow - zippered back needs to be added along with a pillow form
5. Timeless Traditions Fall Mat - quilted and finished
6. Hope - let the quilting begin!
7. Twisted 2021 - progress ... any progress ... would be good!

So there you have it. October is over for this year and November is upon us. I don't feel like I made much progress last month. I plan on changing that for this month! I hope you made lots of progress last month with lots to come in November.

Have a great month!

October is HERE!!!

Hello to all my quilty friends and welcome to Fall. The leaves have started falling and we've got a storm on the horizon. That means plenty of warm, sticky breezes blowing the leaves off the trees. I was just up on the roof this morning blowing out the gutters in preparation. But enough of that, let's talk quilts!

I managed to finish up all the orange Irish Courthouse Steps and was thinking I was done with RSC September Orange.

All of a sudden it dawned on me that I hadn't done an orange Lotus block. When I looked in my pile of those blocks, I saw that not only was there not a September orange block, there wasn't a turquoise/aqua Lotus block either! Oh brother! Where was my head???

Last night was Friday Night with Friends. I joined Cheryll at Gone Stitchin' and other quilty friends virtually for the fun. First up -- find a nice square of aqua, another one of orange, and two background squares. Then I took them to my starching table to dry overnight. I'll be attacking those sometime this weekend. If I was smart, I would have also starched up an extra background square and a light, bright green for the RSC color for October. Guess I'll do that later this week while I also look for candidates for the October Irish Courthouse blocks.

So what did I work on after I played in the starch? I finished the last three Falling Star blocks for Twisted 2020. I shared all of them HERE yesterday if you need to take a peek as a reminder. Then I pulled out all the pieces for the Star Power of Twisted 2020. Because it's scrappy, I had to sort the block parts to at least try for no repeats when I sew the blocks together. Here's the pile for the 1st eight blocks ready to be sewn.

Here are the remaining unorganized parts. Apparently they will make slightly different Star Power blocks. There is a total of 13 Star Power blocks.

When I finished that, I had to break from my sewing space because not only was the Cardinals baseball game on but the season opener for Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods was starting up. Could I just sit and watch? Of course not! I pulled out the Afternoon Delight applique block that I had been working on a month ago. I made it around the third heart-shaped corner and more!

Only the bottom right-hand heart to go and then the center, inner circle.

Did you get a chance to visit Carole at My Carolina Home yet? She's running her annual Autumn Jubilee again this year. Click on the button on my right sidebar to check it out. I'm very excited and have done a little fabric pull in anticipation of the table topper. I picked most of these up at Rosemary's Fabrics & Quilts the other day at her garage sale. Perfect timing to find these!

What are your plans this weekend? Whatever you choose to do, I hope it's a good time! I'll be linking up and exploring the other Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilters to see all the green goodness over at Super Scrappy.

WOOFA & PHD September Report

I looked back on last month's WOOFA & PHD post to see what I planned on working on in September. I pointed out how close I was to finishing the applique blocks for Afternoon Delight and that I wanted to work on the Twisted 2020 quilt. Checking my progress on each of these I've discovered that I never touched the applique! I was shocked! This is how I left it last month and this is how it still looks this month.

I think it was because September's handwork was my knitting project! I am happy to say that I finished these mittens. They are ready to be gifted. They were really fun to make but a bit intense. (Sadly this pattern is no longer available on Ravelry.)

Front Sides

Back Sides

So what did I sew during September besides my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks? I worked on getting the pieces sewn on Twisted 2020 and assembling the Falling Star blocks. Ta! Da! (As you can probably see, there are three blocks not 100% sewn together but I laid them out anyway. Wouldn't this make a stunning Quilts of Valor?)

During September I also prepped for Halloween by making an apron and finishing up BOO! (Pattern available at Sewing With Susan.)

Actually finished this at the end of August but never shared it.

What will I work on this month? Here's my list:

• As you can probably guess, I'll be working on actually getting the last of the Afternoon Delight applique blocks done.
• I'll also be working on the 2020 and the 2021 Twisted quilts.
• Did you happen to notice the new button on my sidebar for the 2021 Autumn Jubilee? I'll be working on all sorts of Autumnal projects there too. You should check it out and see if you would like to join in with Carole & friends!
• I've started another pair of socks with JojiKnits Fall knit-a-long. The socks are called Caramel Sauce.

I'll bet I find other fun stuff to work on too but I'll end my "official" list right there. What have you been working on? Are you ready for the Fall Season?

Retreat Wrap-Up

The last two days were so much fun as always. Spent them with about 7-8 once-a-month quilting buddies. We gather together in the parish hall, safely distanced, and share our quilting experiences and life stories. It's a wonderful time for all especially due to the constraints of the past year. Blech!

So what did I work on? I put in a lot of time on Twisted Mystery 2020. I'm hoping to finish the top by the end of the year. On Friday I finished up 44  of the dark blue and gold units (bottom pile). I think I did about 30 while at retreat. Forgot to count what I'd already finished. Then I did the 8 dark blue and gray units and completed 24 of the 40 gray and gold units. They are made using the Studio 180 Corner Beam ruler and, while they take a bit more cutting of the pieces and then squaring them all up, they come at perfectly!

On Saturday I actually finished up the gray & gold units and after lunch decided to put that project box aside and work on some of my guild's blocks of the month. I counted up what I already had -- yay! 6 already done. I recently learned that there will be a total of 16. I knew I was behind so I printed up six patterns & bagged up 5 to take with me. I actually managed to sew up three! I sewed this one first.

Then these two simultaneously.

Look! I worked in some bright blue for RSC!

Last night I came home to more of this, binding Shark Bite, a Bonnie Hunter Leaders & Enders projects from several years ago. Maybe I'll hit the finish line today!

Have a great week, everyone!

Linking up with SoScrappy and all the other Rainbow Scrappers. 

RSC Blue -- Not Quite Yet

Angela has chosen light/bright blue for the month of April. I'm anxious to dig into my scraps to see what I can come up with but that was placed on a back burner for the time being. Instead, I've concentrated my efforts on the April/Easter cross stitch project.

Last time I showed it, it looked like this. I still had the outlining to do on the entire tree, the bunnies in the foreground, the egg cart, and the bunny sitting by the quilt. Stitch, stitch, stitch!

Ta! Da! I finished it last night while watching Blue Bloods. Right down to my initials & year!

This morning I cut the self-adhesive mounting board and got the project trimmed & stuck on. After inserting it into the shelf, it is now hanging just inside the front door. To the right is a monthly hanger that my cousin gave me many Christmases ago. Below that is the weather station. The cross stitch will hang until May 1.

So happy to have this project completed 100%. The pattern was from a1989  calendar that my mother gave me back in 1988. This one was actually designated for March that year but that's OK with me. I've already done February, May, June, and October. One more will mark the halfway mark. Not sure if all 12 are in my future though! Haha!

The rest of my time has been eaten up with quilting Shark Bite. At 88" square, it's been a monster to maneuver under the needle of my little machine. There is a deadline of April 13th so I'll really be focusing on that one next. Plus it's on my PHD list. For my April PHD project, I'd like to have Awesome Land to finished top stage. I started some of the sashing so it really shouldn't be that big of a deal to meet that goal. Of course it's also a bed-sized quilt!

I did manage to sew a little bit with some blue scraps but it's definitely not light or bright. I'm working on a guild  group (called Twisted Mystery) project from 2020. I'm not sure of what the actual title of it is so I'll have to eventually come up with my own. I'm doing it in patriotic colors and so there is blue, just not light or bright. Here's a picture of the stack I worked on this week.

I'm really learning how to use the Deb Tucker/Studio 180 rulers. They take a little extra time but the piecing comes out perfect! Good thing I'm getting familiar with these rulers since the Twisted Mystery quilt for 2021 uses several.

So my WOOFA .... is going to be Awesome Land which will also satisfy a PHD project. Shark Bite will satisfy both a PHD project and also a 2021 UFO Challenge project at my LQS. I'll need to start looking through my blue scraps too. So much to do, so little time! Ha!

Whatever you're working on, I hope you have light/bright blue skies and sunny joy within.

Linking up:

• Angela at SoScrappy for RSC
• Gail at Quilting Gail for PHD

WOOFA(P) & PHD

The first of March means it's time to look back to see what was accomplished in February. Short month. Some progress but nothing monumental. I will be linking up with Quilting Gail for the PHD (Projects Half Done) and with Cheryll at Gone Stitchin' for WOOFA(P) (Work On Or Finishing A ... UFO (Project, Pattern, Problem, etc.). Both are designed to get us quilters on the right path to a completed project!

So what did I work on? I finished the wool mat project Reindeer Dance, which had been started in January. It hit a standstill when I ran out of the embroidery thread and had a little difficulty finding the same thread. You can read all about this project HERE.

While I was waiting to locate  more  of the needed thread for Reindeer Dance, I started another wool applique pillow titled Peace Love Joy. It, like Reindeer Dance, was purchased some time ago from Primitive Gatherings. The top is now completed. Just needs the zipper sewn in and backed. Of course then it will need a pillow form stuffed inside. I'll get it all done this week! For now, here's a picture of the finished front.

The Joyful Quilter presented a challenge to us for 2021 called Table Scraps. Each month, using the designated color of the month from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, we are to make a table runner, table mat, mug rug, etc. February's color was yellow so I made a 17" square table mat using a new-to-me ruler. I think it turned out adorable and I love it! The back of it is a yellow print with little bees! You can read about the progress of this mat HERE.

For both WOOFA(P) and PHD, these count as starts & finishes. However, none of these were on my official PHD list. I don't have anything finished for that list but I did make progress on two of the projects. I worked on Awesome Land. It was nothing but a pile of blocks from RSC2020. I've started sewing on scrappy background sashing pieces.

I also worked on the 2020 Twisted Mystery quilt. I made 48 total of these units.

I started 52 of these. I think I have 18 of the 52 sewn but still need to be trimmed up.

Progress on Shark Bite was made. I picked out the fabric for the backing! Isn't it gorgeous? To get Shark Bite to the finish line is the goal for the 2021UFO Challenge, due in April. Just getting it layered up and basted will be a job inself! Ugh! Here's the backing I'm planning on using.

So let's see. I started a project in January and finished it in February. Started a project in February and finished it in February. Started a second project in February and it's basically done. Maybe 97%? I also made some headway on two of my official PHD projects and got the backing picked out for a third. Really not too bad for such a short month.

See you in a month with hopefully some finishes!