December 2015 goal

Gee, I really fell off the goal-setting wagon this year, didn't I ? No wonder I haven't gotten any complete quilts finished this year?

My goal for the month is to:

A: quilt the baby's star sampler

B: cut and piece the finishing blocks and sashing for Pat Sloan's Mystery quilt. (And hopefully piece the quilt top together.)

I should be able to handle that, right?

Oh, and please give a prayer and a thought to Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. 74 years ago, today.

ALYOF-September goal

I honestly have no clue what to set my goal for. I feel like I've got such a mountain of projects that I'll never get through it all.

I haven't even blogged or posted on Facebook, because I've been busy but not progressing much on projects.

However, I still want to finish a project for the Peteetneet Quilt Show this month. I think my best bet for that is still the Swoon.

I better go find out when the quilt show takes entries!

I really want to participate in the Sew Fresh Quilt-Along for Dog Gone Cute! It just started this week. But, we all know how fast I am....the Elephant Parade top and backing are finished, and it still needs layering and quilting!

ALYOF August 2015 goals

How the heck is it August already, and my birthday next week? I don't get it.

I really fell off the goal-making wagon this year. It's not that I haven't made them; it's just that I keep missing the deadlines for the linky party at SewBittersweetDesigns. Sigh.

My number one goal is to finish quilting the Swoon quilt. Just machine quilting a few of my finished tops, actually. I really want at least one quilt finished to enter my local quilt show in September.

My August to-do list in order of priority and deadline:

1--Cut Kate Spain Christmas charms for the swap. Get them mailed.

2--make mug rugs for the swap (Aug 17)

3--finish quilting the Swoon

4--August Pat Sloan BOM

5--Get my husband to hang my design wall!

6--layer and quilt the baby's star sampler

7-Layer and quilt Sunnyside ModaLove

8--Layer and quilt Elephant Parade

9--make J's bedroom curtains before it gets cold outside

Ok, I know that's a lot, but it's a running list that I need to get done. And that's not all, either. It's not counting all the new projects I want to start.

ALYOF: May 2015 goal

I'm going to get my Swoon quilted!

And hopefully the Elephant Parade. Last night, I finished the rows. Now I need to add horizontal sashing and border sashing.

Oh and maybe make neck pillows for the boys' car seats for our summer trip.

Linking up with Sew Bittersweet.

http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=5450

ALYOF--April goal

Hello,

I feel like I've fallen off the wagon and can't catch up. I missed the last two months of goal parties wth Sew Bittersweet Designs!

Goal for April:

Finish the quilt top for the Elephant Parade QAL.

Second goal:

Quilt the Swoon !

And of course, keep up with the Pat Sloan BOM....Pat just posted April's block.

ALYOF January 2015 goal

Happy 2015 !

I'm going to keep going with Sew Bittersweet Design's A Lovely Year of Finishes. It's nice to make a goal and see progress.

My main goal for January:

Finish the blocks for the baby's star sampler! I've got three more.

(After this one:)

ALYOF: December Goal

Wow, one week into December already!

I have so much that I want to get done!

It's hard to believe another year is almost over.

So here I goal:

--Piece the baby's stars

--piece together the ModaLove quilt tops with Solstice and Sunnyside.

--I need to conquer the bulk and start quilting the Swoon quilt again. (I doubt that's going to happen this month.)

My Christmas wish list this year:

--a design wall (I want to get foam insulation board and cover it with a Fons and Porter Design Wall fabric)

--an ironing cover for my cutting table --Check! It's on the way.

--maybe an ergonomic rotary cutter

Linking up with ALYOF at SewBittersweetDesigns !

November goal

Hello November! Wow. 

Main goal:

Piece the rest of the blocks for my baby's star sampler.

Have some fun along the way!

I totally seem to be making lengthy "masterpieces" all the time....I want some fun, easy, quick projects. 

I'm planning on making some mini ModaLove stars from mini-charm packs.

I want to cut into my Solstice layer cake to make a MBS (Moda Bake Shop) Christmas tree.

I'm linking up with Sew Bittersweet Designs.

http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=5179

ALYOF - September Goals

Hello,

How did August just rush by, and the first week of September?

I've made some good progress on machine-quilting the HST quilt. So here is my goal:

Finish machine-quilting this quilt!

Incidentally, have you been following the Moda Love blog tour? This year's pattern is free and it's very similar to the star center of my quilt. It's made out of HST that you can make from three different sizes: a 10" layer cake, 5" charms, and 2 1/2" mini-charms....the pattern includes all three sizes. I love it! You know me and stars!

http://blog.modafabrics.com/2014/09/moda-designer-blog-tour/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=moda-designer-blog-tour

Also, it's my goal to finish the appliqué and put the top together for Vai's quilt (Hawaiian-style appliqué).

And of course, I'm linking up with Sew Bittersweet Designs.

http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=5048

ALYOF--August goal

Ha! It's August, and that means it's my birthday at the end of the week!

Ok, so I need to decide on my goal !

1--Finish the appliqué and the top of the Hawaiian-style memorial quilt for my cousin Vai. I need to get it done as fast as I can, since I just don't know how long she has. (yes, I need to tell her story).

2--Machine-quilt the HST star medallion quilt.

3--finish the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks. I think I have just three left.

AYOLF: July Goal

Hello,

Do you ever get discouraged, thinking you don't have much done so you don't have anything to share? Yeah, me too.

July goal:

Since I only partially completed my June goals, I will continue into July.

--Piece more Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks

--Cut blocks for the baby's star sampler.

--Stitch the Hawaiian appliqué block and decide how to finish it.

(Piles of fabric for the baby's sampler and a sneak peek at the back of the Hawaiian appliqué.)

ALYOF--June Goal

Yikes! How is it June already?

There is so much that I want to do!

June is going to be my "finish unfinished piecing projects" :

Cut the rest of the blocks for the baby's star sampler quilt.

.

Finish piecing the blocks and piece the tops for the Hugs & Kisses and Pieces of Hope projects.

Finish piecing Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks.

Oh darn, I don't have anything finished to enter in the Peteetneet Quilt Show this year. It's the local small quilt show in my town. They'll probably be taking submissions next week.

April goals

Hi!

Linking up with Sew Bittersweet Designs to post my goal for April!

Primary goal:

Complete the teacher gift quilt tops.

I'm using the Pieces of Hope layer cake and Hugs n Kisses by Quilt in a Day, and the bonus HST blocks from the Autism Swoon quilt.

Whee--I'm cutting into a layer cake! Yum!

Secondary goals:

1--Depending on how many and how the teacher gift quilts stack up, I'll probably just make fabric bucket bags with the autism fabric for the techs/aides.

2-- Cut all the patches/pieces for the rest of the blocks for the baby's star sampler.

March goal

I'm not sure what goal to set for March. I just don't have a lot of time, and there's so much I want to do.

All right, I'll try this:

1--finish 3 more blocks for the baby's star quilt

But what about:

--A teacher gift quilt?

--Sylvia's bridal sampler blocks?

--try to start quilting the Swoon again?

February 2014 goal, year plans

I've been putting off this post because its hard to snatch time and have hands free, while taking care of a newborn constantly. And I'm just not sure what I will be able to accomplish. 

February goal:

Finish and publish my Maltese Cross block tutorial. 

Other goals I want to finish this year:

1--Finish quilting the Swoon

2--backing and quilt the fire station quilt

3--finish piecing Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

4--Piece the baby's star sampler

5--Brown Bear quilt kit

6--Primrose Path quilt kit

7--Charming Stars baby quilt

8--curtains for J's room

9--try a jelly roll quilt

10--Teacher thank-you quilt (Quilt in a Day's "Hugs n Kisses" layer cake pattern, and also use the bonus HST from the Swoon quilt) --that one has a deadline--

11-Finish the Quilt U Be Mine round robin.

12--Dumb idea I just got: Figure out a police badge quilt block (yesterday there was the funeral of a local sheriffs deputy that was shot in the line of duty)

Oh geez what a list. And I still have a newborn and I'll need to go back to work in April.

Again, linking with Sew Bittersweet Designs's A Lovely Year of Finishes!

http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=4495

January goals

I'm still here and the baby is still incubating! That's great, because I'm already farther along than I got with little J.

With this birth pending, I have no idea what I will be able to do with sewing and quilting. But I will try and set a goal.

1--Deliver a healthy baby at full-term! (that means 37 weeks to me!) That might be all that I accomplish!

Ha ha ha.

1-a-- Complete one or two blocks of the baby's star quilt.

1-B--Complete at least two blocks from my Patriotic Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. I really need to finish those remaining blocks! Especially because two of the blocks that I haven't finished yet, are ones that I want to include in the baby's quilt. So I can kill two goals with one, because they are the same blocks!

December goals

Hi all!

I can't believe 2013 is coming to an end soon!

And my pregnancy is coming closer to an end, too.

Main Goal:

1--Finish the Swoon pillow.

Secondary Goals:

1--the one thing I might definitely get done is pillowcases for S. I've got some great Disney Cars flannel that he would love, that will go great with the quilt and pillow because of all the red!

2--Keep quilting the Swoon quilt. I don't know how far I'll get.

Its really hard to see, but I'm doing all the stitch-in-the-ditch. I've been working each night and a bit in the morning, all week. It's a big, heavy quilt under my 5-7" of machine arm space, and I spend more time adjusting and moving the quilt than actually stitching.

There's more I want and need to do, but I'm just not feeling well, and the numbness and tingling in my hands have spread to all fingers and thumbs of both hands. I can barely grasp anything and can barely feel what I pick up...I keep dropping lots of things.

3--I need to start printing cutting instructions for the blocks for the baby's quilt. And start cutting the block patches out. I just don't know if I can do it. 

Can anyone help me with the cutting?

(Fabric, and some cutting instructions in the file folder, patiently waiting.)

4--I sure would like to make a few cuddle wraps to swaddle my baby when he gets here. That might not happen.

November Goals, one finish already!

November blew in with a chill--3 inches of snow yesterday, Daylight Savings is over, and we woke up to a cold, chilly, Monday morning!

And I feel a celebration coming on (ok, my little guy watches a lot of Team Umizoomi on Nick Jr):

I finished a quilt top!

My hubby's fire station quilt top is now finished! Here's a sneak peek:

My main goal for November: Get it quilted!

A--what designs to quilt where

B--how I'm going to quilt it! Am I just going to try and use my Bernina, or try to hunt up a longarm to borrow or use?

This is the largest quilt that I have made so far, at about 73 x 92".

C--what fabric I'm going to use for backing!

Look at all that lovely negative space in the borders! Gotta keep going on my Craftsy classes for Quilting Large Quilts in a Small Machine, and Angela Walter's Dot-to-Dot Quilting. Last night I was watching Dot-to-Dot and sketching:

Other goals for this month:

1-- Today, I need to cut charm squares for the Kate Spain Charm Swap.

2--Piece more Swoon blocks.

3--Gather templates and print foundations for the baby's quilt.

4--find some dark grey for the baby's quilt. Here's why:

Here's my plan on Quilt-Pro software. It's the program I use to plan and design my quilts.

I've decided on the grey/yellow palette. I'm having a hard time finding a good darker-medium grey for accents and sashes.  I ordered some fabrics, but the grey isn't dark enough.

I've wanted to use Michael Miller Fairy Frost for some time, so when I saw it on sale at Kim's Fabric Outlet on Facebook, I jumped at the chance.

Look at the extra goodies I got, too, the Riley Blake Dots, and the blue snowflakes, and that grey swirl.

She sent me the wrong grey--too pale! She sent the one I ordered, below in the middle, but it still wasn't as dark as I'd hoped. Then I got looking at the scrap of fat quarter I had leftover from the firetruck bumpers (on top of the black below) and realized that was about how dark of a grey that I wanted. *sigh* More searching is necessary. Maybe some Kona solid--to break up all the sparkle.

Anyway, a lot to do, but I'm trying to make it manageable. And as long as I can work through all the numbness in my fingers and wrists, I'll be ok.

October Goals

It's time to post my goals for October.

Linking up with Melissa's Sew Bittersweet Designs.

Melissa asked us to list ONE goal to accomplish for October. 

1-- Finish the quilt top and backing for my husband's fire station quilt.

Silly Melissa! How can we just post one? We all know we have multiple projects going on at once!

So here's the rest:

2--purchase fabric for the baby's quilt.

3--build the rest of the blocks for the Swoon quilt.

4-- decide on and make little brother's Halloween costume. (big brother wants to wear his Kung Fu Panda costume again.)

September finish

Time to check in for the end of September with my monthly goals! September has flown by. I'm linking up with Sew Bittersweet's Year of Lovely Finishes.
http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=4034

1--appliqué the rescue vehicles wheels. Yay! All finished!

I removed the paper foundations prior to starting the appliqué satin-stitching. Not a good idea, I learned! 

The fabric started puckering underneath the wheels and the wheels themselves drew up a bit.

I had lots of scraps of tear-away stabilizer left from machine-embroidering the block of the month, so I tore off strips and used a glue stick to stick them on while I satin-stitched.

Here you can see on the left, that I didn't have stabilizer and the fabric drew in. On the right are the stabizer strips, and the fabric laid much flatter with less draw-in.

2--I know I said I'd complete four whole Swoon blocks, but it took a different direction. Instead, I was able to finish all the HST and flying geese units for all the blocks. That's a lot of prep work for 8 big blocks. So, I count that as a finish and an accomplishment!

I like putting each block (with all its patches and units) into separate baggies. It really helps keep myself organized, and from getting mixed up with so many pieces and units.

Also, I hate waste, so I created lots of bonus HST from the flying geese. Here they are in a big Baggie. I asked Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville, the scrap queen, for help with block ideas from HST. As always, she delivered! She sent along a chart she found on Pinterest, and another reader of hers pointed me to Quiltmaker Magazine's article on the same topic. Wow, I can't believe I missed that one--until I saw it was at the back of the issue. Check it out on page 75 of the March/April 2013 Quiltmaker magazine.

Thanks Bonnie and friends!

I still have a few days until the end of the month, so maybe I will be able to sew together a whole Swoon block or two.

Although, I need to take a break for a couple of baby shower gifts.