It's time for me to plan the week and assess how I have done on my goals.  I have 5 quilts I am focusing on right now. I try to work on one task for each quilt at a time working through all five before moving on to the next set of tasks.

1.checkered past -The next step was to make 40 sashings. I sewed 1 1/2 inch creams to 1 1/2 inch shirt strips on the treadle. I pressed and subcut them to the size of the block. tada

2. fish school - this is a year long project for the quiltville leader/ender challenge. I have made a goal to sew 10 blocks before I can move on to the next quilt. I got this far by using them as leader/ ender working on checkered past.

3. scrappy mountain majesties - I have cut new blocks for an old ufo, so, the next step is to sew the blocks together.

4. boho heart -I finished week 4 of boho heart and I am working on week 5. I sat and made lists and decided how I am going to proceed and made a few kits. The thinking is the hardest part - haha

5. tiger quilt - I added a white border to tiger tiger, I have a polka dot ready to add as the next step.

I bumped into a couple of customer quilts I need to do before I can get back to moving my own quilts along.

MY next on the longarm

1. on the go - donation quilt

2. wonky courthouse - hunter

3. hourglass leader ender challenge - hunter

4, end of the rainbow rsc

5. row rainbow rsc

 I noticed that I have a lot of 2 inch squares that are not matching for easy breezy. So, when I saw this new block, I knew I could use the non- matching 2 inch squares. Any chance to get scrappy is fun for me. I found this at Suzies-scraps.com, scrappy snowballs.

This has been such a fun, fun project this Spring. We ordered this raised bed from Amazon. I was hoping to get something for our older gardening years. Why is it that we are getting shorter, but, the ground is getting further away. We filled the bottom with sticks followed by wood chips from the recycle place, and, then, topped it with compost from the bulk compost place. It came in a box and hubby had to assemble it. The hardest part was deciding where to put it. We aren't going to ever move it once it is full.  Hubby deeded the planting to me. Oh the possibilities.

before compost

should I name it?

This seems to be a project for in between finishing a rug and what rug to do next decisions. I generally just do what comes to mind in each of the circles, but, this time, I thought it would be fun to use up leftovers strips from the project I am working currently. I might even add miniatures of the bigger pictures. I think in these circles, I will do Mr. Scarecrow rug. 

Here is where I left it in 2019.

I am linking to:
to do tuesday

oh scrap

boms away 

wednesday wait loss

needle and thread Thursdays

I still have 100 more easy breezy blocks to go for the size I want to make. I am slogging through them each day. I try to make at least 2 per day, but, sometimes I run out of any combinations, and, I go foraging in the scraps to cut for awhile, until, I am tired of cutting.  This may take some time. By now, I have a system for making them.

The tulips have been lovely this year, and, didn't mind the snow storm. I am trying to move the rock back from in front of the red tulips to where you see it. We just can't keep as much weeded and cared for like we used to do. As we get older, we will just have to make things easier for old people to do. As soon as the tulips finish blooming, we will move them as well. Then we will mow in front of the rock with the rest of the yard.

Our Friday small group met at the library, and I took the opportunity to use the floor for a design floor.

 I had finished the blocks last year for this Bonnie Hunter free pattern called Florabunda. The color for February  for the rainbow scrap challenge at so scrappy is yellow. And this is one of the UFOs that I am working on for yellow.  I was very disappointed at it looking at it on the design floor. It looked ugly.  So, I spent time thinking how I could not finish the quilt, and, not let all the work go to waste. I waited a day to pull it out at home. Yellow is my favorite color. I had fun finding florals in my stash. I like the design of a Jacob's ladder. I like scrappy, even ugly scrappy. SO what was the problem. 

I decided to stick with the program and finish it. I have a few rows together, and, I like it. I guess it can never leave my home since it looks fine here.... for a scrappy quilt.

Other projects from my friends.....

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Sunday I posted about the corn stalk on my Mr. Scarecrow rug. I am slowly making a rug for fall. This rug will have an un hooked background that is overdyed with brown.

Facing the long boring skinny part, I had to play games with myself to keep going. I decided that I would hook one wool strip every day, hoping that once I started, I would get excited and keep going.... no luck, yet

day 1

day 2

day 3

day 4

Day 4 included more than one strip yipee

day 5

more here and here

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky _

oh scrap

boms away 

needle and thread Thursdays

I need to keep going on grassy creek mystery quilt at quiltville. I made the first part of clue #5 at retreat. I just need to make flying geese and the clue will be done.

my grassy creek mystery quilt at quiltville

clue 1 clue 2 clue 3 Clue 4 A Clue 4 B

clue 5 A

clue 6

clue 7

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 I have been working with tiny 1 1/2 inch squares that are sitting next to my sewing machine. I collect them, until, I think I can make either waffle stamp blocks  or postage stamp psp20/21. I am always amazed at how many are in the stack. The stack of squares doesn't look like much, but it moves 2 quilts along. I have the solid pieces already cut and waiting in a drawer nearby.

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While I am working on my focus projects, I do a little piecing as leader/enders. It helps break the monotony of millions of hsts, and adding loooong rows to tops I am trying to finish. I am bouncing between rainbow scrap challenge quilts, grassy creek mystery quilt, and country roads top. country roads isn't moving along as quickly as I had hoped. The mystery quilt takes time. I really like the piecing, so, I don't mind.

It has been a cold dreary week here, and we haven't been out and about. We need to get moving. We live in a spot in Indiana that is more dreary than other parts. I think it is the car manufacturing that keeps a cloud cover over our little area. If we drive 40 miles in any direction, the clouds disappear.

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I have tried to set some goals for scrap management. Scraps are everywhere, and, are taking over my quilting life. I enjoy cutting scraps, but, when it comes to putting them away, I realize I have no more room for them. I need to use out of what is already cut and ready to go, so there will be room for more. 

1.That is why a few boxes just need to go to the attic, and wait for a better time.

2. when this basket is full I have to deal with it. It is about 14 inches across and 7 inches deep, and, it holds a lot of scraps. Any more than that, I would likely just procrastinate. 

it is already starting to collect scraps...like a magnet

3. make a list of all the quilts I want to cut out and what to cut.

    shirts ohio star -5 1/2 inch strips

    snails trail - 

    pineapple- 3 inch strips

    and any new ones.

My lastest cutting

I had a big milestone yesterday - I added the finished in 2021 tab to the top of the page. I felt hopeful. Not that I can't add one last quilt to 2020.

I think I need to spend the rest of this year cleaning up from all the projects this year, and, try to get a bit more organized for next year. First, I need to reclaim my cutting table. I find, that I will travel around the house to cut, since the cutting table is a mess. It's embarrassing, but, I am sure it will be fun rediscovering missing items.

John Bytheway's 5-Minute Fireside: "Have Yourself a Level 3 Christmas"

I had a sew day last Thursday, and, I decided to work on a baby quilt I have had cut for a couple of years. I love cynthia Brunz's wiggle time pattern and wanted to try something with these fabrics. I discovered that I had cut 2 strips wrong, and, that meant, I didn't have enough fabric to finish it. I think it will be ok if I mix background fabrics.

Even though, it is not Thanksgiving yet. I baked bread, and loved the smell of that in the house. It just seems like  the holidays. We bought a turkey, yesterday, for 31 cents a pound at Meijer. It will just be hubby and I, but, it was such a great price. We thought about skipping it this year, but our youngest wanted turkey and noodles, the next day. 

And I am so grateful for his help with the trees down #give thanks

peter vs. the tree

Coming home from a quilt retreat is a challenge to unpack and get back to normal. I crammed a lot of projects into my weekend, and my bags. I wanted to pull them out, one by one, and, make sure everything is taken care to put where they belong.

The first project I worked on, was the big easy Christmas. This was my one monthly goal for November. I had it quilted before I left. I used the big tables at the retreat to trim it, and, then, I attached the binding by machine to the back side of the quilt.  I tried a new idea for the front of the binding. I used steam a seam lite  1/4 inch to the wrong side of the binding. Then, I ironed it to the front. I felt that the adhesion was good, but, I wanted to take it home and use my home machine  ( not my featherweight) to sew it in place. That was part of the experiment, also, to see if the jostling to get home would keep everything in place. Now, that I am home, this quilt is part of my retreat clean up. I am working on attaching the binding by machine. So far, I am very pleased with the results and the ease of doing it with the adhesive tape.

I had the top done for the traffic jam quilt the first day of retreat. I found a back, and prepared the binding. I hope to move this to the top of the "to be quilted" pile for this month. It was my one monthly goal for October.

At the end of any quilt gathering, someone always bags up the scraps on the freebie table, and, gives them to me. They know that I love getting new scraps, and that I will probably make them into something... eventually. I try not to take anything from the table until the end, so that, others get a chance first. Later, you will see what I did with the turquoise strip in the bag.

happy scraps

I worked on the Joann block of the month - pieceful paisley. My shine top was finished and the irish double chain was webbed. I need to iron shine, piece the back, and prepare the binding. I will pin 2 rows when I watch tv and then, sew them upstairs in the morning until that is a top. I do't like to pin rows, so, I bribe myself.

 I didn't get a single one of my One monthly goals for October done. No, not one. I did finish 3 quilts, but, they were not on the list - 4 patch x , Aunt Mary's double chain, patriotic boxy stars.

That makes November goals easy to decide. But, I think I need to keep it simple. It is crunch time for long arm client Christmas quilts.  I need to make sure I can get them done. I will try to sneak this in for quilting after thanksgiving.

1. quilt big easy Christmas -   I don't have a start date for this one, it was a class at a quilt store that has been closed a long time. I was in love with the Christmas fabric. One of the owners had made a quilt with the fabric and offered the class. I have the back pieced and the binding made.

big easy Christmas

I have used my sewing time to sew, here and there, whatever is close by the machine. I have spent 2020 with a finishing mindset, and I am missing plain old patchwork piecing. However, that can turn into too many new quilts getting started....again.  One thing stays the same, I love scraps, and I  love that they find their way to me through the kindness of friends.

I am linking:

I am linking to:

to do tuesday

chameleon color linky _

oh scrap

One monthly goal

I have an abundance of shirts whole, and in parts. I found a great idea for a block using shirt fabric, and, started cutting. The block uses a 4 1/2 inch center and 10 -2 1/2 inch hsts so I cut and cut and cut...and sewed and sewed and sewed.....

I used my slotted trimmers for the hsts.

oops I am angled challenged

It doesn't use as much from a shirt as I expected, so I have 2 sets of 100% cotton shirts for sale in my etsy store here and here. I will never be able to use all I have in my lifetime. Email me if you want to negotiate a price.