Remember That Little List?

Awhile back, I made a brief list of WIPs and UFOs that I hoped to tackle for the week. Let’s see how I did.

☑ First on my list was to finish the blocks for Tag Sale and get going on the quilt top construction. I can happily report that all the blocks are made and I am sewing rows and columns together.

☑ Next on the list was to finish the little wrap-dress for Cate. Yes! I did indeed finish it, and it has been delivered to her. I now need to get some bloomers made with the leftover fabrics.

 

 

☑ Third on my list was to do some long-arming, and I am happy to report that I did finish the spring flowers quilt that was on the frame. I have attached the binding and am ready to hand-stitch it down. I will share it in full when finished.

 

Fourth on the list was to get some baby quilts worked on, but I really can't claim any progress here. I don't have proper backing for the 2 tops that are sewn, and I have too many things cluttering my cutting table to cut out yet another one for a baby girl expected in August. So we wait on baby quilt progress.

☑ Last on the list was to work on Lake Effect, and yes, I did! Whoopee! I need to join the leafy vine at all 4 corners of the applique border. So I fiddled around and got started on one. I am totally inventing this - in other words, the pattern is a mere suggestion at this point. I know I can do it.

Making that list really did help me keep my focus on the essential tasks at hand. I might not have addressed every iron in that fire, but I made headway on most of them. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Taking Stock of Works In Progress

It's Monday morning, and I need to get organized! 

I find myself in the position of having too many irons in the proverbial fire. So many projects clutter my brain space (and my workspace!) that I just need to step back and take stock of it all. My most effective method is to make a list. It both frees up brain space and sets me on a path to finishing these WIPs (Works In Progress) and PHDs (Projects Half Done).

First, finish Tag Sale. I have all the big 9-patches and small 9-patches made. The small 9-patches now need to have the economy triangles added, and I am in the process of doing that. (Photos above.) Then I will make the 4 star blocks to complete all the blocks for the quilt. Follow that up with completing the top and then adding borders. It is all very straightforward.

Second, finish Cate's dress. I cut out a little wrap dress for granddaughter Cate, and I could actually finish it in the time it takes me to write this blog  - that is how simple it is. I bought a digital download on Etsy, so for this first use of the pattern, I want to really understand the one part that could be trouble: turning it right side out. I will share, so stay tuned.

Third, do some long arm quilting. I put a quilt on the long arm machine before Christmas and it is still there. I made one pass of the machine only to discover some wonkiness in my stitches. All the hustle-bustle of Christmas and then the packing for Florida took my attention away from fixing the problem. I must now address whatever issue was involved here, and then get this quilted and bound.

Too many quilts are waiting in the wings to be loaded and quilted! In other words FINISHED!! I'm feeling a greater urgency to finish my quilts, which leads me to the next item on the list.

Fourth, catch up on baby quilts. I have two baby quilts made and ready for the long arm and one more baby quilt needing to be made. Nieces and nephews are having grand nieces and nephews, plus my own children's friends are having babies. I am a bit behind, as per my usual.

Fifth, Lake Effect. 

Oh, Lake Effect! I want you done, yet I rarely take you out of the basket! 

I almost don't want to admit how long I've neglected this quilt - surely multiple months, sadly. I go so long between spurts of working on it that I forget what I was working on and then when I do take it out again, I spend half a day figuring out where I was. Duh. So dumb. 

Okay, This gives me some focus, and I promise to make progress (a little or a lot!) on ALL of these this week!

Of course, plans are afoot for a couple brand new quilts, but those will definitely be waiting until I accomplish some of the tasks listed here. Oh, how I love to start new projects! No wonder I have so many WIPs and UFOs. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

Here's The Plan

We are one-third of the way through September already and I have teased about my upcoming plans long enough. Here's what's on the horizon for me - hopefully all by the end of the month.

The biggest project on tap is dismantling one of our bedrooms and bringing the long-arm machine upstairs and out of the basement. I never have enjoyed spending time in the basement, and it was not something I could see changing sans extensive remodeling. Since our kids don't really come home for overnights anymore, it just seemed that two guest rooms was one too many. Now this bedroom will be dedicated to the Tin Lizzie.

The bedroom furniture was Grandma's and came here after her death in 2015. It consists of a bed, two dressers and a nightstand. All of these will be going to my sister's house in the coming week. Additional items in this room include a cupboard for quilt storage (shown below) and an old sewing machine table which is used as a bedside table.

Scrolling back through the blog, I am sure you'd see the sewing cabinet. Actually, a bit of it shows in the mirror in that first picture. There is no machine inside it, although at one time it did have and I actually sewed on it. Ages ago. 

So after the furniture is out, DH and I will paint the walls and steam-vac the carpet. Then I will move the long arm up. I am totally amped about this change. I know I will be quilting here very soon.

Other projects include finishing a Halloween table cloth that I started a couple of years ago. I have never been one to go crazy with decorating for Halloween, but I saw a really cute table cloth on Pinterest that I wanted to replicate. I stopped because I didn't have Wonder-Under. Geesh, woman! Go get some! It will be such a fast and easy finish. I am determined to do just that before month's end.

The orange pumpkins will be appliqued around a round brown cloth and made to fit my round kitchen table and/or my round porch table. Here's a link to the inspiration picture from Pinterest.

Other projects include quilting this baby quilt for Graham, my newest grand-nephew who was born late last month. I have yet to meet the little fellow, but the quilt must be finished!

As cooler weather is surely on the horizon, I want to get back to that white denim jacket - the one I am embellishing with embroidery. (First mentioned here.) I'd like to get it to a point where I would actually wear it; I can see myself continuing to add to the embroidery even as I wear it.

Of course, stitching on Lake Effect will be ongoing. I am ready to cut the long borders and trace the applique designs on them.

I will continue this new project I have started - Diagonal Madness. I have managed to make some progress on it this week - minimal, but still progress. It has been quite a treat to sift through all my KF fabrics and mix and match them for the 4-patch blocks.

And finally, I need to put the binding on the OSU quilt, which DH needs by the 21st. Not a pressing deadline, but I don't want to put it off too much longer.

That rounds out my month, project-wise. Always plenty to keep me busy. In addition, there are many things around the house we are doing, plus the school work will be picking up as we work into the meat of the semester. 

Speaking of school, it's time for me to move! Two classes this afternoon, then grocery shopping. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Slow Down April!

This month is going faster than I am.

I'm at that point in the month where I should be boasting of finishes or at least checking a few things off the April to-do list. Ever since retreat, though, I have had the attention span of a 3-year-old. Nothing has engrossed me enough to maintain my focus.

This is not good.

I went back to the list of April goals. Gee-whiz, I'm really off.

The top item on the list was my April UFO - the 9-patch strippy. I have carried it around a bit, but have done next to nothing on it. I spent about a half hour picking out seams so that I can resew to more accurately match the blocks. I need to just take this one step at a time and finish it. It won't take that long - if I just focus.

The second item on the list was to make the last 3 Swoon blocks - haven't even cut them out.

Next was to finish the 2 baby quilts - The first one is ready to be quilted and I have ordered the 505 Spray Baste. Below is the second one, pretty much as I left it about two and a half weeks ago. I did rearrange the order of the chevron rows so that the OSU print is centered across the middle of the quilt. Plus I have sewn about half of the rows together. The reason I stopped? I used some really cheap gray which was melting as I pressed; so I need to pick out those units and replace them with the better-quality gray. There's a lesson in the necessity of buying quality fabric.

Other items on the April list:

I did get a good start on Stars and Chain at retreat. I have not worked on it since coming home, but I accomplished a good bit of it while there.

I did finish blogging the series Antique Delights. That was an easy one.

I have found myself on a new 'kick' here in the past few days - English Paper Piecing - EPP, for short. I am collecting templates and cutting fabric for some hand stitching I want to do next month.

Also, you can see in the picture below that I have spent some time sketching out a pattern for the wall hanging that DD Emma wants for her apartment. I like how it is looking and I really do think I can churn it out pretty fast, provided I can focus long enough to do it.

So much for accomplishing the items on my list. If I start new stuff and can't focus on old stuff, I will be hard pressed to check off anything. I suppose I could make excuses:

*I can't focus because I have a book to read for book club.
*I can't focus because it's the end of the semester and lots of essays need to be graded.
*I can't focus because it's spring in Ohio and the wildflowers are so lovely right now.

I have a plethora of excuses, but the fact of the matter is I have just been unable to decide where to turn my attention. What I really want to do is start something new - as in, cutting out EPP fabrics.

Gee-whiz.

Do you ever go through stretches like this? I sure hope I am not alone in my inability to focus. How do you pull yourself out of a scatter-brain slump and get back to making things happen?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Two Clarifying Lists

I am a list maker, and yesterday I made two lists on a single sheet of paper that improved my mood in untold ways. It was quite a clarifying experience, actually. Getting so many of my random and scattered thoughts pulled together in one place and ordered effectively proved to be illuminating.

As I was finishing my morning coffee, I was reading some blogs that I check regularly and happened on one that dealt with time management. Always looking for helpful tips in this area, I clicked it and got as far as list making, which was item 5 on the 10-item list. (I couldn't even tell you what items 6-10 dealt with!) 

I grabbed the nearest pad I could locate and proceeded to jot down 2 lists. These random projects need my attention, but when I don't have a clear plan, I tend to spin my wheels. I never get anything accomplished when my thoughts are so scattered. The lists provide the focus that I so desperately need. I plan to tack this list up on the wall or bulletin board, add to it as needed, and refer to if frequently, checking off items as I go.

One side of the page was labeled UFO List. I have 19 items on the UFO list. Dang, I gotta get busy! And I am so very eager to do just that - get busy on finishing these! The sad fact of the matter is that if I thought about it a little harder, I could add another 5 or 6 or more to this list.

The one drawback of having so many items on a UFO list is finally deciding which one to work on first. I can be quite indecisive at times. This is where I hope the Frankfort girls will help out. We are tossing around ideas for next year - 2017!! - and repeating a UFO Challenge is something we are considering.

The list on the other side of the page is called New Ones to Start. Oh, how I love starting things!! It is what leads so naturally to a long UFO list, unfortunately, but starting new things - oh what delightfulness!

This second list is much, much shorter, and I suppose that is a very good thing. I will try to keep this reigned in as much as possible. I do always leave myself some wiggle room for things that just pop up - the rather impromptu activity that is always so much fun.

Last evening I finished the borders on the last t-shirt quilt; now all that is left is to prep the backing. I do have the batting ready to go, and it all should be in the hands of my quilter by week's end. Hooray!!

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the projects you've started as well as those you hope to start, try making a list. It sure has benefited me and my state of mind.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Prepping

Being a "prepper" has a new meaning in 2016. Back in the 1980s a prep was a fresh-faced teeny-bopper with an affinity for plaid, Izod sweaters and neatly matched accessories. Today, a prepper is someone who is saving back necessities for some future apocalypse.

We quilters have our own definition of prepping - pulling fabrics and patterns, pressing and cutting, and any other necessary work to prepare for making a quilt. Or quilts. Some quilters like to prep several quilts all at once to be ready for marathon stitching sessions.

Since finishing Elisa's big quilt on Thursday, I have been rather at a loss as to where to land next. I made a list of several things which are of a rather urgent nature, but instead of actually redirecting myself and attacking them, I have been aimlessly moving from one to another.

Most significantly, I suppose, I have pulled fabrics for a little gift I want to make for someone special, which you see above. Do you approve of these fabrics together? They have been in my stash for a long time, and none of them were actually purchased to go together. Based on color, though, I like how they look as a group. I think that some quilters are very attuned to keeping like-styles together, and I can understand that to a degree, but I also want to use my stash. Sometimes one can't be as "pure" about fabric combos. I can tolerate inconsistencies in this regard, and so I do believe I will be very satisfied with this little grouping.

(Remember 'Stars in a Time Warp' that Barbara Brackman did a year ago? The intent with that quiltalong was to use 2 fabrics from different eras or styles to make a star. It was fun to see what folks did - I made a couple - and it has made me more conscious of how I combine fabrics.)

Back to my topic - prepping ... So I have the aforementioned little surprise to finish. I also need to be prepping 2 quilts and maybe even a 3rd for hand quilting.

The first is Erin's Diamonds, which I mentioned last week in the post about Grandma's quilt frame, which now at least has been draped over the rails, waiting while I stitch the backing. Must get that prepped! Remember the urgency I mentioned??! All the focus last week was on Elisa's quilt; gotta' get my gears shifted.

The other one - or possible two -  will be needed for next Saturday's History Day, where I will be demonstrating hand quilting. The quilt - or quilts - have been pulled and backing has been selected, but neither are ready to go. More prepping.  Click the link to see the quilts I plan to work on.


Basically, I am admitting to being in pretty much the same state I was in a week ago with the very notable exception that Elisa's quilt is done. And while that is HUGE! - I must hop to it on these other important matters!

I didn't even mention the 2 t-shirt quilts I have waiting in the wings. More prepping.

Oh dear.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Farewell August and a To-Do List

Agh! Time is just flying by too, too fast! Four months from today we will be preparing to bring in a new year for crying out loud. Good grief.

As I wrap up August from my little corner of the world, I find myself looking ahead to some really fun sewing. All of these projects await me after I get Elisa's quilt finished and delivered.

Today's post will serve to itemize (in no particular order) my plans for what remains of the current calendar year.

1. Lorraine/Savonnerie is still hanging on my design wall; I intend to finish this quilt top.

2. Bind Eventide.

3. Bind Scrappy 16-Patch.
4. and 5. Two t-shirt quilts for customers.

6. Make a KF Trip Around the World like the one above that Sharon is making.

7. Finish the UFO - Meadow Lily.

8. Prepare the backing and put Erin's Diamonds in the old quilt frame that Grandma gave me. I plan to "big stitch" quilt, so I hope to make quick work of it. Erin helped me select the fabrics for the backing, so it is ready for action.

9. Sharon and I have made a plan to use our Roman Holiday scraps; I will be going for a sampler quilt, but would be willing to alter that plan once I get into the scraps to see what looks feasible.

10. Emma has asked for a wall hanging for her apartment; she wants green as the predominant color and prefers that it be rather abstract in its composition as opposed to a star or something traditional. My brain is working on that; perhaps my hands will get to it before too long. At this point it is all rather nebulous.

Don't I sound industrious? Whoa. I can only hope to accomplish all of this!

A girl's gotta' dream, I guess.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

25 Things To Do...

... Instead of playing Scrabble or Spider Solitaire on the Internet:

1. Sew buttons on DS's shorts and pants. DONE!
2. Finish hand-quilting brown/pink quilt.
3. Put Civil War patterns from last year's Brackman-sponsored quilt-along into sleeves and binder.
4. Finish hand-quilting Schnibbles.
5. Make book covers.
6. Work on Wendy's pillow.
7. Work on Robin's pillow.
8. Sew batik leftover strips into a quilt top.
9. Make Farmer's Wife block(s).
10. Make Civil War block(s).
11. Stitch decorative designs on white jacket.
12. Finish curtain for closet.
13. Make little book bags for twins. DONE!
14. Cut out blue/beige quilt.
15. Cut out floral stars quilt.
16. Cut out Thimbleberries red, gold, blue quilt.
17. Cut out red and white quilt.
18. Cut out pastel triangle quilt.
19. Finish Adam's t-shirt quilt.
20. Work on Lone Star quilt. DID SOME!
21. Begin Pink Lemonade doll quilt-along. FABRICS PULLED!
22. Clean off sewing room dresser.
23. Finish 5-pointed star quilt.
24. Get a package ready to send to Amie for her postage stamp quilt.
25. Work on Mom's signature quilt.

Happy Quilting, Friends!