Did 2019 Measure Up?

Before January gets away from me, I am taking a moment today to check my success rate for the goals I made for 2019. I actually had two separate goals list - one was the normal type of list (like I did yesterday) and one was a "bucket list"  (and bucket list, part 2) from an online list published by American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.

From my regular list, I planned to make quilts with 9-patches, large pieces, churn dash blocks and stars. I feel pretty good that all these things were accomplished.

Memoire a Paris; made in January 2019

9-Patch Exchange Quilt with the Frankfort Girls

Double 9-Patch UFO; made 2 quilts!

Moda Love; BIG pieces!

Weathervane quilt; BIG pieces!

Jelly Roll quilt incorporating 4-patch blocks.

Churn Dash mini-quilt.

Probably the biggest accomplishment of 2019 wasn't even on a list. Getting that long arm machine out of the basement, up to the spare bedroom and WORKING! was a monumental accomplishment. Then to think that I actually quilted several quilts on it impresses me even more. Wow. I still pinch myself at times.

Now, about that bucket list from APQ magazine. The list - 50 items! - is far too long to cover in its entirety, so I will mention the ones that I really regret not accomplishing:

***I wanted to make a quilt using solids, even bought fabrics for it, but never followed through.
***I wanted to make a 2-color quilt.
***I wanted to make a quilt which combined 9-patch blocks and snowball blocks.
***I wanted to finish a Christmas project before Christmas; remember that Roman Holiday mini-quilt I was hand quilting? Still not done. *bummer*

Let me list a few bucket list items that I accomplished! These are worth mentioning:

***Learn to applique.
***Make an embroidery project.
***Finish a UFO - I finished 3!
***Donate pillowcases to a charity. Another charitable donation was the OSU t-shirt quilt I made for my husband's college fraternity. I have a future post about that quilt planned.

That about sums up 2019. Now on to accomplishing great things in 2020. This year promises to be even better and more productive.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Bucket List - Part 2

Back on January 10, I shared the first half of the Bucket List published by American Patchwork and Quilting (APQ). Click here to refresh your memory, if you like.

Seems as though now is as good a time as any to take a look at the other half of the list.

Eight items from this second half of the bucket list have been checked off. Potentially, I could check a couple more. I think that Moda Love quilt I made earlier this week would qualify for #34 - Finish a Christmas project before December. (Still should quilt it, though.)  I could also check off #40 - Learn a new embroider stitch.

Sweet Sharon gave me this embroidery project for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I just took my first stitches last night. Cool! It is small enough to keep me from being overhwhelmed, and seemingly simple, too.

Item #44 - Finish a UFO - will definitely be something I accomplish this year. I know the first one I will work on, too. Fondly (but not very imaginatively) referred to as Beige and Burgundy 9-Patch, this UFO is possibly 25-30 years old. Gahhh!

I have 18 blocks constructed and plenty of remaining fabric to construct more. Why did I quit oh so many years ago??? As I sewed the tiny 9-patches into the 9-in-9 blocks, I discovered that my cutting of the plain squares was inaccurate, resulting in some really wonky blocks. Instead of fixing the problem, I just chucked it away for a quarter-century. Gee-whiz! Talk about avoidance!

I see some other items on that list which can easily be accomplished. Several are already in the plans for 2019, and I will be sure to write about them here when they happen.

If you are anywhere in the Midwest USA, I hope you are keeping warm on this frigid day! Being indoors and working amongst the quilts is a wonderful antidote for the cold.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Bucket List

I'm at it again. Every January I seem to get all psyched up to do a lot of fun stuff, participate in quilt-alongs, try some fun things with other quilters on social media, and whatnot. So, with that brief explanation of my first-of-the-year mindset, let me tell you about this bucket list I found.

The BH&G magazine, American Patchwork & Quilting, has posted a bucket list on Instagram - and I suppose in the magazine, too - and possibly other social sites - that looks like some fun for the year, if I can make myself maintain my focus.

Using the hashtag #APQBucketList, the magazine editors have created a list of 50 items for a fun bucket list of quilting activities that are meant to stretch participants into trying and learning new things. Why not? I ask myself. Let's take a look. I printed off the list and will keep it in a plastic sleeve as I check off items.

The list contains 50 items, and I am very much interested in doing many. They range from trying new techniques, to traveling to new shops to participating in on-line activities. Right up my alley, and of course, I have already done quite a few of them. Let's take a closer look - 50 seems like a lot to cover in one post; I will just look at numbers 1-25 today.

Of the first 25 items listed, I checked off 14. I used an acrylic template to make all the elongated hexies for Lake Effect (#1) and am hand stitching those hexies (#25). I have previous experience with paper piecing, using my stash, curves, taking a class, reading a pattern before beginning, joining a quilt-along, retreats, labels, pincushions, and charity quilting. I checked off #14, take your handwork to a surprising location - I did that for years when we were going to track and cross country meets. Add in vacations, many locations. I checked off #23, because in the last few years, I have been able to meet several quilting heroes - Laurie Simpson (Minick and Simpson), Corey Yoder (Coriander Quilts) and Carrie Nelson (Miss Rosie Quilts). All fun and memorable. All recorded here on the blog, too. Click their names for my link; click the name in parentheses for theirs.

Looking at the ones I have NOT checked off, probably the one I NEED to do the most is #3 - Organize your fabrics and scraps. Waaaaa! I have spent the better part of my life trying to get organized. Sometimes it just seems hopeless. But that January optimism strikes again, and I have already begun clearing off some major piles in the sewing room. Given a year, maybe I can make some headway on #3. This will also help with item #5 - identify a problem area in your sewing space and find a solution. Scanning down the list to #24 - make a quilt using only solids. Hmmm. I like this, and have actually planned to do this as I bought a nice variety of solids last April. I can definitely see this one being done

One item that likely won't get done - #6, attend a guild meeting; I have enough meetings, so I won't go out of my way to attend more!

And some items I do all the time, but I didn't check just to make myself accountable for continuing to do them - #4, change needles; replace blades; clean machine; #8, sew every day; #20, take a picture/journal about each quilt - that's what I've been doing on this blog since 2009.

I will visit items 26-50 soon. If you'd like to print off the bucket list for yourself, go the APQ website. The icon is featured near the top of the page. The IG page uses the #APQBucketList, which I will try to add to any pics I post there.

Happy Quilting, Friends!