Goals for February 26 - March 4, 2023

 This week my goals are finishing all of the February Goals that I haven't yet.

1. SAHRR - binding

2. CQ - finish last three panes

3. One Garment - cut out and sew

4. Hedge Hugs - baby quilt

5. One gift - make one for each scrappy basket

6. Sister Time - next bowl fillers

I've been busy with my projects this month, but not all of them. There is more wood to move and stack. Spring is coming quickly. We've had some really nice days. Spring bulbs are breaking ground and crocuses are blooming.

 

 

 

Those grow wild all over our property. This is our second spring and I still love the surprise of them.

 

I'm off to work on the next project. Have a good week.

Goals for February 19-24, 2023

 

Goals for February 19-24, 2023

1. UFO/OMG - Tiny Houses Quilt

DONE!!

 

 

 

The whole quilt

 

 

 

The center

 

 

My label - I took the design from one of Elefantz's patterns.

 The back. I used a wave stitch and did lines.

 

 

 

The tiny ants from the June block.

 

 

December block (sorry it's sideways).

 

 

May block.

 June Block.

 

I began stitching the blocks in 2015. It sat for a while before I sandwiched it. I used poly batting, because at the time it's what I had on hand and it needed to be used up. I had it on a hand quilt rack to be hand quilted, but just never got into it. Honey Do even bought me a tv to keep me company while I worked on it. Just never did. I packed it up when we moved. Last month, I asked my sister to choose a box from among the UFOs, and this is the one she chose. So glad she did, because now it's no longer a UFO :) 

 

2. SAHRR - rounds 3 and 4

I horribly behind. I will be working on this today. 

 

3. Daisy Days - finish block 2 DONE !!

- begin block 3 DONE !!

None of the flower centers are done because I'm debating about putting little yellow  buttons. If I decide to go that way, they will be put on last. If I don't, then I'll be stitching centers at the end.
 

4. CQ - stitch one pane per day - Progress made

Progress is slow, but with only five more panes, I should be able to finish the block this month.
 

5. One Garment - cut out pattern

Nothing. Fabric and pattern chosen, but not sewn yet. I still have a few more days before month's end.

 

6. Baby Quilt - Hedge Hugs Block 2

 

Progress - all the pieces are cut out and ready to go.

7. Sister Time - Woolie Gnomes #4

DONE!!

This little guy is just adorable. We had snowflakes left over from the mittens wall hanging we did last month. I thought they would make the perfect addition.

 

And a second project finished with Sister!!

 

 Isn't she adorable?! And she went together very quickly. I took an afternoon to choose the fabrics. We spent last Friday afternoon, after our field trip, to cut out and stitch. I spent the evening stuffing and finishing.
 

- field trip :)

DONE!! 

It's a non-descript store front, but once you get inside it explodes with color!!

 

 

This is what you walk into . . . bright, clean, colorful, eclectic!!

 

Pretty cottons. I managed to find one for my Shoebox partner :) Also, lots of hand dyed wools. I love having more than one source.

 

Threads, all kinds, including silk embroidery and Shashiko.

 

 

 

And gift items.

 

My sister and I had a good time. It's very relaxing and everyone is very friendly and helpful. I didn't get a picture, but there is also a very nice sized classroom with lots of quilts on display. The proprietress, Sue Spargo, travels a lot and is very well respected. Her classes sell out very quickly. Maybe, someday . . .

 

Okay, that's my week. I was a little more diligent this week with doing the ten minutes a day home organizing that is being hostessed by Joy . You are linked. She has a new stitch along just beginning you should check. I also spent about an hour a day stacking wood so that it can dry and season for future use.

 

 This is the unprocessed wood we purchased recently. We are widdliing away at it. Then Honey Do goes up on the "hill" and spits wood. Enough that I do a couple of loads a day. It's a good project to work on together and definitely benefits us in the long run. He's finally feeling comfortable about what we have :)

 

Have a good weekend. New goals on Monday. 

 

FNSI and Sister Time

 I missed the announcement, but I didn't miss taking advantage of a day and evening of stitching. Click on the button to see what everyone else was working on.

The day started with a field trip with Sister. We went and checked out a new to us shop.

Sue Spargo

The outside is pretty non-descript . . . wait until you see inside !!

 

It's clean, bright, colorful and so much fun. It's divided up into rooms. And there is so much to look at. Definitely a store we will go back to.

Once we got lunch on the way back to my house. After lunch, we started working on the Woolie Gnome.

 

This is block 4 of 12.

 

Next up, catching up the Crabapple Hill stitch along for February. 

I have done this for several years and I love her designs beyond what's free.

This is such a pretty design. It's much smaller than previous years and may be one of the reasons I love it so much. Also, It's very feminine and is going to be fun to finish after all the stitching.

 

And my final stitching for the day . . . 

Block 3 is well underway.

It's been a pretty productive, fun, relaxing day. Hope you enjoyed your day of stitching as well.
 

Bog Writing Challenge and Weekly Goals

 Most Impactful Class

Home Economics in high school because it got me comfortable making things on the sewing machine and in the kitchen. Actually, it's a lot more. It's confidence building and it's skill building. It also has a way of expanding into other areas of your life: relationships, gardening, etc.

Confidence to try new techniques and learn new skills beyond what the machine can do. There is hand sewing, embroidery. These go hand in hand with machine sewing.

Skill building has helped me make garments, quilts, gifts, mending, and some very minor alterations. All our machine skills can be done by hand and at one time in our history, they were.

And of course, these skills spill into our daily lives. You just have to look around.

Goals for February 12-18, 2023

1. UFO/OMG - Tiny Houses Quilt

2. SAHRR - rounds 3 and 4

3. Daisy Days - finish block 2

- begin block 3

4. CQ - stitch one pane per day

5. One Garment - cut out pattern

6. Baby Quilt - Hedge Hugs Block 2

7. Sister Time - Woolie Gnomes #4

- field trip :)

Busy week, here's hoping it all gets touched :)

Scrap Happy

 It has been a busy month in the sewing room. Many of my projects use fabrics that I have, have had for years. So many of them are at the scrap stage. And that's not a bad thing.

 

First, one of many scrap vortex blocks. Many of these pieces are leftover cuttings from projects I've been working on. You'll recognize some of them as we go through what I've been working on.

 

 

First projects are these adorable scrap baskets. All the fabrics are left over from other projects or remnants that I picked up.

The blue and grey geometric in the first basket was used in a quilt along that was different stars. The brown in the second has been used in a couple of different quilts.

 

And here are the members of this group. You are linked and can visit to see how much scrappy fun they have had in the last month.  Thank you Kate for hostessing.

 

Gun 

Eva

Sue 

Lynda 

Birthe 

Turid 

Susan 

Cathy 

Tracy 

Jill 

Jan 

Moira 

Sandra 

Chris 

Alys 

Claire

Jean 

Jon 

Dawn 

Jule

Gwen 

Sunny 

Kjerstin 

Sue L. 

Vera 

Nanette 

Ann 

Dawn2 

Carol 

Preeti 

Debbierose 

Noilin 

Viv 

Karrin 

Me (you're here) 

 

thank you for stopping by.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 10 - Blog Writing Challenge - Weekly Goals February 5-11

  Day 10

Top Five Books

I LOVE books !!

All kinds of books . . . novels, biographies, cookbooks, craft books.

I'm going to take this challenge to mean craft/quilting books, since this is a craft/quilting blog :)

1. Tilda books 

These are my favorites for crafting. I've made numerous projects from them and one of my favorite quilts is a Tilda quilt. I love Tilda fabrics too, just have a really hard time cutting into them. I like Tilda's style and can find big or small projects to work on. Sometimes, I just like looking through the books.

Tilda's author is Tone Finnegar

2. Stitchery books . . .

Lynette Anderson and Annie Downs to name just two.

Jennifer Reynolds of Elefantz is a great designer and I have done many of her patterns. She doesn't have a book, but still a favorite.

3. Kitchy books . . . 

Cute and Easy Quilting and Stitching by Charlotte Liddle

 

Stitch Kitsch by Jennifer Heynen

 

Pretty Handmades by Lauren Wright of Molly and Mama

 

A Sewn Vintage Lifestyle by Verna Mosquera

 

Sew by Cath Kidston

 

I always make sure to shop the used books at the library. I can get good books for as little as fifty cents. I don't buy as many these days, but I always look :)

February Goals - February 5-11

1. UFO/OMG

Tiny Houses Quilt - finish quilting - Yes, quilting has begun

 

2. SAHRR - Round 3 - Didn't get to it

3. Daisy Days - Block 2

tint and begin stitching - Tinting is DONE, stitching is almost done

decide on finishing fabrics - not yet

4. Crazy Quilt - finish block 1

Not finished, but continued stitching

 

5. Sew One Garment

Cut out pattern - not yet

6. Baby Quilt - Hedge Hugs

prep block 2 - not yet

7. Read one book - in progress

8. One Gift per Month - DONE - basket #2

 

I liked the first one so much, I decided to make a second as this month's gift.

9. Sister Time

Woolie Gnomes - block 2

finish stitching - DONE

 

- Block 3 - prep and begin stitching

Done - except embellishments

 

And in other productivity . . . 

 2022 Crabapple Hill Stitch Along. 

It's all about birdhouses and was called The Neighborhood. 

My sister and I both loved the design. 

She did it along with me.

December Calendar Girl

She is the final one in the series and my favorite.

2023 Crabapple Hill Stitch Along

"Time to Stitch"

 

I am really enjoying this little project. I'm up to date on all the stitching. Each little block is a day and then there is a day or two for the rose, bird, etc. Meg has already said the stitching will run over into March, but I don't mind :)

The design is a free download you can get from the link above. The supply list and tinting instructions are included. The various stitches are on her facebook page. 

In other happenings . . . 

Wood !!!

Honey Do found a local source for unprocessed wood. Landscapers and tree service companies cut them down and have to pay to have them disposed of if they don't already have a sawmill lined up to make boards. This is two loads and each is four to five tons. Honey Do spent part of the weekend cutting the logs into more manageable size pieces. Sister helped us on Saturday and we moved five loads to the splitter to be further processed. Sunday, Honey Do sawed and I hauled and relocated the three loads of what he got processed. It takes a minimum of 18 months for the wood to be dry enough to use in the fireplace, so this is future planning and making sure we have enough when the time comes. The fireplaces are at least 50% of our heating bill. So we have to plan ahead and it would be foolish to think the energy costs would decrease.

This is a pretty long post, so I'll post next week's goals in a separate post. 

Have a good week.