Potential Quilting Goals

Earlier in the month, I mentioned that I'd not really given myself over to making any meaningful quilting goals for the new year. However, in recent days, a few ideas have niggled at me rather strongly. If I do make a list - and I suppose that by posting here, I am in a way making a list - these quilts will definitely rank high in my efforts.

1. Grist Mill - This appeared on last year's list, and I still want to make it. I will be using my stash of dark navy and mustard yellow prints. Here's the pattern, which I've borrowed from my friend Terry. Won't this be a pretty quilt?

2. Wensleydale - Back in August or September, I bought the pad of foundation papers and made one block. Oh, gosh, it is so pretty! I have watched a few videos which contain tips for making these blocks, and I am ready. I will use florals similar to the sample block shown below.

3. Aurora - This pattern is from Laundry Basket Quilts. On last year's list, I made the goal of using "all the blues" but did not have a pattern in mind. Now, I think I will pair Aurora with these blues and neutrals to make this quilt.

4. and 5. - Continue diligently on Lake Effect and Grandmother's Flower Garden. I've written enough about these two projects; I must remain focused on the task of completion.

6. Year after year, I continue to put "use Winnemucca fabric" on my goals list; and again, I am adding it. I've never followed through before because I could never be satisfied with a quilt pattern I wanted to use. Now, I think I have an idea. What if, while I am making Grist Mill (above), I cut out the same pattern using my Winnemucca fabric? It would be sorta' cool to see what it would look like. I might play around with this idea for a bit; whether I use Grist Mill or not, I really, really do want to use this fabric.

7. Smoked Cheddar - I shared the history on this quilt in a recent previous post. Click here to read all the details.

I should probably stop here. If I go on, I run the risk of making so many plans that I don't have time to "play." And I definitely will play. I want to make clothes for Cate and Reagan, plus I've got 2 teddy bears to finish. I also want to make a Kaffe Fassett quilt with Sharon. Who knows, we might go crazy and make two!

AND. And. I must get that long arm machine going again. It's got a quilt on it now and the tension is all off - again - so I have to address this and move on. Too many quilts await!

I think I will be busy. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Checking My List

Santa has taken care of his list, so now I will check and double-check my list - that one I make each January with goals for the year.

 

I found this cute cartoon on several Instagram and Facebook accounts. I thought it would be apropos here for this post, since I do have several goals that are NOT going to be met.

Overall, in 2023, I have made fewer quilts and quilted fewer quilts. It disappoints me that my numbers are down, but when I examine the reasons why, I can't say that I have any regrets. Two factors played into my shift in focus: a granddaughter and a winter house. My attention has been happily diverted to two very exciting alternate interests. 

Below are my '23 goals which I posted on January 6. Each item is more fully explained by clicking back.

My long arm goals were good in that there was a push to do them all, but mostly I just worked on achieving the first one. I did quilt most of the new quilts made, but not all. I consider this progress, and I still have lots of room for growth on the long arm machine.

Alpine was both pieced and quilted this year!

I finished 5 of the quilting goals - 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. Number 11 covers 7 more quilts, all shown here (if it's updated; I'm behind on doing that). Many of the "numerous quilts" consist of baby quilts, which are super fast, but still they count, right?

Existing stash - a jelly roll quilt.

Perhaps most disappointing is that I did not get Lake Effect to the completed flimsy stage. I am so close, too. I am taking it with me to Florida; hopefully I will be reporting progress from the sunny south.

Lake Effect - it's getting there!

 For yet another year, I am hoping to come up with a quilt for using the Winnemucca fabrics. I just want to make a good choice, so I am dithering over that. I also seem to be really conflicted about finishing those Blockheads projects. Oh my. Please, stop me if I ever say I'm doing another quilt-along!

I am definitely in the planning stages for my 2024 Goals. I hope to have them ready in early January.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Post-It Note Reminders

In my last post I shared the little trick I'd been using as a reminder of essential items on my to-do list.

Most of the quilts referenced on these little notes are ones that I definitely want to make. My reasons for wanting to make them are as varies as the quilts.

I've already made 'pine tree' - Alpine. My reason was that I wanted a memory of all the tree-covered mountains we've seen on recent vacations.

'Fall leaves' - I've got a couple of reasons for wanting to make this one. I have a lot of fall-colored scraps I could use (love using scraps!) and I love the fall-color in Ohio. Since I don't really have that many fall-inspired quilts, this one will be nice to add to my fall decor line-up. I'm feeling the need to get cracking on this one as fall is just a few weeks away.

Back in September of 2021, I actually made two leaves for experimental purposes - I like these! I could see a whole quilt of lovely leaves like this. I have these stored in a tub with a goodly stash of appropriate scraps just waiting to be transformed.

'Blue-gray-floral combination Irish Chain' - now that is a lot of information for a small note, but I needed all that in order to help myself remember the idea.

These three fabrics - a hefty amount of each - have been stored together for at least a year. I knew they were perfect together but it took me forever to decide on a pattern. After all, the perfect combination of fabrics requires a perfect pattern. And I think I found one in searching all the on-line sources of inspiration - yet another Double Irish Chain. I've made several DICs over the years, and this one will be different because I plan to use the little print as my background and the solids will be the chains. Somewhere I saw a picture, but I can't immediately locate it. I will keep looking.

'Winnemucca fabric' - This is simply to remind me to use the fabric I bought last year on vacation. We were headed out to Oregon to see our son and went through Winnemucca, Nevada. Needing a gasoline stop, we also looked for a local quilt shop. We found one and I bought a wonderful combination; once again I am searching for the "perfect " pattern for this fabric. It will probably involve stars of some sort.

I think I've swiped the neutral out for some other project, but the remaining 4 fabrics are stored together awaiting their future creation.

The next post-it,b'Blue dot...' has been officially named Posies and Polka Dots which is my current project under construction. You've seen progress shots in the last couple of posts, and if my week goes as planned, it will be a flimsy by Thursday.

The bottom Post-It Note references a calico layer cake I want to use. I bought it last year at Mae-Lynne Makers while on a quilting retreat at Needles and Pines, which means I took advantage of the retreat discount .*smile*

This method of plastering my sewing machine with these reminders really does keep me on track and focused on the projects I most want to complete. Yes, I get interrupted from time to time - especially with baby quilts! - but I have the notes just a glance away to reset myself.

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Plans and Reviews

The project plans for August are taking shape, and I'm eager to share them with you. Mostly, the plans for the month will involve quilts I've had on my yearly goals list and projects "uncovered" when I went digging for that black/gray fabric back in June.

Let's just review those '23 goals, and see how we're doing...

The print is a bit small, but if you click on the list it can be enlarged. It is also linked to my original goals post back in January.

Our tendency as quilters is to fixate on how miserably we are doing at completing our goals, and I could certainly do that, too. However, I am pleased to say that I've been successful in staying on task as far as the goals list is concerned. Now, I may not be on track to complete very many items, but I am sticking to the list - mostly.

I attribute one simple thing to my staying on task - Post-It Notes. I often make the list and then forget the list - I post it in January and then - out of sight, out of mind - I don't see it again unless I think to go back to look at it.

This year, I wrote several of my most-want-to-make quilts on notes and plastered them to my machine. Works like a charm! I see every single day the things I most want to do!

In fact, two of those notes have been removed because they are done! These two notes have been removed from the front of my machine.

 Below is the pine tree quilt. It's inspiration was our trip through the Rocky Mountains and those never-ending, awe-inspiring vistas of jagged, tree-lined mountains.

Pine Tree Quilt, aka Alpine, was finished in late June. It still needs to be quilted, of course.

 The other "finish" took a bit of a turn and became two quilts. I thought I wanted to use my Wm. Morris remnants to make a diamond quilt. But when I pulled out the remnant tub, I realized that I mostly had darker pieces left, and I didn't think the diamond pattern would suit. So I put the Morris fabric aside, and pulled a gazillion floral prints. That became my diamond quilt which I started in Florida back in January-February. I finished the flimsy in April (I think) but I don't see a post about it in my archives. *smh*

To use the WM remnants, I decided to make economy blocks. This suited me, and I proceeded. I have no post that I can find in which I shared this flimsy - I don't even have it on my list of quilts for '23. (I tell you, I am failing big time at keeping this blog up to date and accurate!)

I need to get this flimsy out and do a proper photo shoot of it - I don't think this is the full flimsy, but it's the best I can find. *again,smh*

Anyway, I took one idea - WM diamonds - and turned it into two quilts. 

The one I'm currently working on is  Posies and Polka Dots. I last actively worked on this in November. Then I put it away for the holidays and the Florida months, and basically have only dreamed of it since. How nice to have this back under the needle!

The two pics above show different layouts - can you detect the difference? I couldn't decide which version I wanted, so I have spent a lot of time thinking about this while I make more blocks. I needed more of all three varieties, and that has been very satisfying to work on.

I have rambled enough. I do have an August wrap-up collage to bring tomorrow, plus I'll talk more about those Post-It Notes  -  and who knows what else??

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Diving Into a Monday Morning

Now that we are back home in Ohio, I need to reacquaint myself with my goals for the month. My compass point is way off kilter. 

 I've reread this post from early March and laugh at the loftiness of my goals. I knew when I wrote those that we would be going back to Florida; what was I thinking?

From that ambitious list, a couple items can easily be accomplished. Quilting the baby quilt should be simple and fast. I'd really like to get that done and delivered to its new home.

Also, finishing that floral diamond quilt top can be a priority. I am so near the end of it and it makes sense to complete it. Besides the time away, this squaring up stage I am in has slowed me down a bit, but I will persevere.

 Major guilt is setting in over my lack of attention to Lake Effect - I really need to redirect my brain on that little project. I was so gung-ho on it at the beginning; now I've lost my verve. Laying it all out and doing a big-picture reassessment will help me get back in  my Lake Effect groove.

Now, let me return to our vacation home for another installment of before-during-current. You saw the family room in this post. The front door enters into the kitchen and dining area; the front room shared on Saturday is just beyond the kitchen.

Do you get a mid-century vibe looking at this kitchen? The curved bar and those "belly-button" door pulls are hard for me to get used to. The curved bar is staying, but I plan to paint the pulls so that they are not so dominant. (Opinions yay or nay are appreciated.)

Every cabinet above and below had stuff in them - pans and dishes, mostly. Naturally, all had to be emptied, washed and sorted - some items were donated; others we kept. Get a look at that really old wall paper in the back of these cabinets - it remains. We washed everything, whether I planned to keep it or not. What a task without a dishwasher. And before anything went back in the cupboards, shelf liners were cut and placed. Time consuming, but necessary.

 

I used this nearly-complete set of china found in the kitchen cupboards to fill the china cabinet mentioned in Saturday's post.

So here's the best "current" shot I could find on my phone. I wasn't as diligent about photographing our progress as I had hoped.

The green walls are gone; they and the ceiling are now painted 'Snowbound' by Sherwin Williams, the color we used throughout the house. The bit of green still showing around the counter is where we will be hanging a backsplash, so we didn't bother with the tedious work of painting that area. Also to be done later - the cabinet doors and the pulls. I have put down more colorful rugs, too, but don't have a picture of them.

The only way I can think to end today's post is to share that our granddaughter Cate is - as of today - 5 months old! She continues to warm our hearts and fill us with loving devotion. What a blessing she is!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Finalizing 2023 Goals

My goals are set for this new year.

Actually, I am making two separate goals lists - one for sewing new quilts and one for long-arm quilting.

A recent long-arm finish!

 

Long arm goals - 2023

1. Quilt every new quilt as I make it.

2. Quilt at least 2 per month from the older quilts in the closets.

3. Move handles to back of machine to try pantographs.

Quilting goals - 2023

1. Winnemucca fabric - pattern TBA - see ideas, below.

2. Floral Layer Cake - pattern TBA - see ideas, below.

3. Finish blue polka dot and floral quilt

4. Finish blocks for at least 2 Blockheads

5. Diamond Quilt using Wm. Morris remnants

6. Pine Tree Quilt

7. Maple Leaf Quilt

8. Lake Effect - complete the quilt top this year

9. Blue stash combination - Double Irish Chain

10. Effie's Woods quilt for Cate

11. Numerous quilts made from existing stash

This is the Winnemucca fabric - so named for the Nevada town where the quilt shop is located. I have used the neutral for something else, so that is no longer available, but I'd really like to make something with the remaining fabrics - stars? chains? maybe stars and chains?  I can check the stash for other neutrals, if needed.

Here are some inspiration pics I like found on Pinterest; I'm leaning toward the chain quilt; skip the complication of stars, ya' know?

Here is the floral layer cake I want to use. I got into an unexplained floral phase last year, and I have a growing stash of these types of darling little calioes. I may pull all and make a broken dishes quilt or a pinwheel quilt. 

That's enough for my brain to think about for now. Believe me, though, a gazillion more ideas are floating around in my head; it seems the more quilts I make, the more I want to make! This may be "quilt pox" - have you heard of this?

I need to review the 2022 goals to see how I fared.  I will also expound further on other items on this new year's list. Plenty to say, don't 'cha know?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

September Collage & October Goals

As we begin a new month, I always like to review the one just past and establish a plan of action for the the one ahead.  So let's do that today.

The September collage contains a lot more running around than quilting, but that's okay. It was a fun month, even if it might not have been the most productive as far as quilt-making is concerned.

TOP ROW: My brother-in-law, husband and I took a madcap trip to Kansas City to see the Guardians play the Royals at Kaufmann Field. It was a nutty thing to do, driving 11 hours to see a baseball game and then turning around the next day to drive home, but we had a great time, our team won in extra innings and all went well. The following weekend we celebrated our daughter Erin and her hubby Jeff as they are in the last month of pregnancy - our granddaughter will arrive later this month! Pictured is my mother and preggo daughter Erin, and aunt-to-be, daughter Emma. The final picture in the top row is taken at a nearby orchard where my neighbor and I spent a morning picking apples. When I saw this multi-generational family of Mennonite ladies tugging an overflowing apple wagon up the hill, I just had to snap a photo.

MIDDLE ROW: Finally, I finished the William Morris flimsy on the very last day of September. It is still hanging on the design wall just so I can gaze at it! To mark the first day of fall, we joined our friends on their pontoon boat on nearby Rocky Fork Lake. I grew up with this lake just across the county, yet I'd never boated on it. The weather took a chilly turn that day, so we were bundled up, but it was a gloriously relaxing day with friends. The quilt pictured next is one I made up after seeing an internet picture. Made with solids and Kaffe Fassett florals, I plan to quilt it this week.

BOTTOM ROW: The hexies are a trial run at seeing how they look sewn together. I am considering options, but for now it appears to be destined to be the center of a tablecloth. The next two photos are taken from my front sidewalk. One night we had the most interesting mixture of clouds over the sunset that produced the look of golden-tipped trees above the shadows. To the east, it looks as though the leaves have turned golden, but it is the sun shining on them. The last picture is a sunset from a different evening. Looking west toward the sunset, we had a glorious display of colors to end the day. Later I learned this was likely the lingering clouds from that destructive Hurricane Ian.

Here's a wider view of golden tree tops. It truly looked magical.

Now what do I have in the works for October? I've had to give this some careful consideration, actually. We have that grandbaby coming at the end of the month, and for 4-5 days mid-month we are planning to drive toward New England to see fall colors. Yes, tree-peepers. We missed the good color last year by being there too early, so we are gonna' try again. My quilting will have to fit around those two events - no problem!

1. I am taking the hexies with me on our New England road trip. Easy stitching in hotel rooms and on boring interstates. When we get into the pretty country, though, I will be totally immersed in the views.

2. I will continue hand quilting the quilt from History Day, Fall Foliage. It's just straight stitching and it shouldn't take long if I just stay at it.

3. Do 3-4 quilts on the the long arm machine. I have two ready to go with their backings prepped, as well. By the time I get those first two done, I will have a plan for the what comes next.

4. Sew the blocks together for my green/cream snowball quilt. I have sorta' been ignoring it, and it needs to be finished.

5. Put borders on my red and white Irish Chain. I have been wavering about doing it, but Sharon did add them to hers. Oh My! They really add so much. I will share pics of Sharon's soon. Here is mine sans borders.

It is good to have a plan. Too often I fly by the seat of my pants and consequently don't get much done. It helps to be able to refer to a list like this. Oh that urge to make new projects is still one that might grab hold, so don't be surprised to see me deviate from the list every now and then. For example, I still want to make a pine tree quilt and a fall leaf quilt. Hmmm....

Hope you have a productive month - one that sees you tick a few items off your list and allows you to create some new magic along the way!

Happy Quilting, Friends!