May and June update

Well I've been a slacker in the realm of blogging and also in the realm of sewing -- I find myself under motivated recently. 
I have managed to add 2 more scrap bins to my growing collection -- Green and Yellow (somehow i have no photo of the green one)

I am really loving how they are looking together and now that the first side is full that will be motivation to push on the next 6 months and finish up the other half 

-- not to mention that it gives me floor space back where the boxes have been. I may use this space and display my machine collection in the near future. 

I also made a few charity quilt tops that I look forward to being able to finish up soon. 

I managed to work on a few traveling quilts and made a slew of bee blocks. 

May Blocks 

June Blocks

I am steadily working on my tessellations quilt and hope to have it finished very soon -- I got it laid out in the beginning of June and numbered all the blocks so now it's just about putting the top together. 

I've been good about limiting my fabric buying but did manage to get a bundle of Tula Pink Spirit Animal that will be coming out later this year and an Acacia layer cake --- thanks to my gal Mallory. Spirit Animal is stunning and I can't wait to figure out what to make with it. 

I'll be setting new quarterly goals soon and my biggest one will be to get something completed and alleviate this sewing funk. 

3rd Quarter goals

2017 has been a year of limited accomplishments so far but I am hoping that the 3rd quarter will be better than the first half, so here's all the things that I have in the works currently. 

Patchwork Swoon -- needs binding 

Guild mini quilt swap with Houston guild -- due September, I have a plan and the fabrics.

Guild Holiday Swap item -- due October but I want to get it in early 

complete the charity quilt tops that I have been making from scraps -- 5 currently need quilting 

Plus Side quilt for Granny -- needs assembly 

Swiss cross Quilt for Teri -- needs quilting 

Tessellations Quilt -- complete assembly and quilting

Lucky 21 -- needs quilting 
Down the Rabbit Hole traveling quilt -- needs my contribution
Spiderwebs quilt -- needs quilting 

Alison Glass extra geese mini quilt -- needs quilting

Moda Modern Building Blocks abbreviated version -- needs assembly 
Kitten Head quilt -- blocks being made from scraps monthly 
3-6 more scrap bins 
Squirrel Mini quilt for Gina 

Pattern testing for Karie Jewell 

Botanics Pendant Quilt -- fabric is cut and marked

Weekender Bag -- the outer panels are made 
Migration Quilt -- I am the Queen bee this month 

Double Star Quilt -- I am the Queen Bee in September  

Tabby Road Project 
Spirit Animal project 
3 more tunics 
All Squared UP with Priory Square 

Broken Herringbone Quilt 

AMH Scrappy Quilt 

Grandma's Surprise 

Metro Hoops 

Taffy quilt with Color Theory 

I'll be linking up all these 25 ambitious goals for the quarterly finish a long. It really looks like I need to book some time on the long arm at my local shop or head to a friends house and bang some of these out because the pile of 10 to be quilted looks quite daunting. 

2nd Quarter Completion Check in

Well it's time to look back on the last 3 months and see what all goals I managed to complete from my initial link up here. I am not super hopeful that I had many completions this go round but who knows I might be in for a surprise, I did start the quarter with nearly 30 goals. 

Things I did complete. (even though I missed the link up)

1. Secret sister sewing for stash bash
2. Mallory's Elephant quilt  
3. 65 Zippy Pouches for Stash Bash 
4. 3 more scrap bins -- Brown, yellow and green 
5. Red tunic top 

Things I am still working on completing 

1. Patchwork Swoon -- needs binding 
2. Swiss Cross Quilt -- I got the top and backing made but it's not quilted yet  
3. Tessellations Quilt -- blocks are all made, a layout has been determined and I have started assembling rows but it's not complete  
4. Lucky 21 Quilt -- assembled, backing made but unquilted.
5. Plus Side Quilt for Granny -- all the blocks are assembled  
6. Down the Rabbit Hole traveling quilt -- needs my contribution
7. Spiderwebs quilt -- top is assembled, backing is made, needs quilting 
8. Alison Glass extra geese mini quilt -- top is complete, needs quilting. 

No progress 

1. Moda Modern Building Blocks abbreviated version 
2. Jen Kingwell Holiday Pillow 
3. All Squared UP with Priory Square 
4. Weekender Bag -- only the outer panels are made 
5. Broken Herringbone Quilt 
6. AMH Scrappy Quilt 
7. Botanics Pendant Quilt 
8. Crafty Carrier -- this one may need to be made before retreat if I end up taking the featherweight machine.  
9. Grandma's Surprise 
10. Kitten Quilt from Scraps
11. Gingersnap quilt 
12. Metro Hoops --
13. Taffy quilt with Color Theory 

April -- the month of doing what I want

April Challenges this month didn't line up with my goal lists so I decided it was the month to work on things at random and make progress as best that I could on other goals. APQ put up the challenge number of 11 this month --- I only have 10 goals on my list so I took this month to focus on getting things ready for retreat and doing some serious over packing. 

The scrap challenge this month was multi colored scraps -- I don't have my scraps sorted into a bundle of odd balls so I just choose to work on brown since that is the least amount of scraps and i knew it would be a busy one later on so whipped up my scrap bin before mid month. 

I knew that I also wanted to get the bee blocks knocked out early this month (-1 yard) so that I wouldn't rush them after the retreat so I made, Greek Cross blocks for the triple block bee --- so fun, 

Fizzy Blocks for the Bee Hive 

and an assortment of HST for the stash bee -- she's making a larger project with them and requested that we not stitch them together. 

I was most excited this month because of the upcoming retreat and did a bunch of prep work for projects to work on then and gift items that were for my secret sister and other friends that were going to be there. My biggest project this month was the 65 zippy pouches that I made as gifts for everyone (-35 yards).

I also completed the binding on the Abstract Elephant and gifted him to Mallory. (-10 yards) 

My secret sister also received an Hour basket and a small pillow to decorate her sewing room and some fabrics I knew she'd love. 

(-5 yards)

 While at retreat I did but a little fabric that i will be using in upcoming tunics and for quilt backings. You can see more of the retreat projects and progress here.

The end of the month was spent recuperating and completing my rounds on the traveling quilts that I am a part of (-1 yard)

And making a special puppy block for a dear friend that just lost her sweet girl Jenny 

While April only had a few finishes there was a great deal of progress made on 3 quilts at retreat and bunch of gifted items. My Scrap booking supplies are nearly all gone (except the limited pieces that I am keeping for other things) and my stash is lighter by 50 yards. This puts the yearly total to -84 yards this year -- maybe May will push me over 100 used. 

100 days in

At the beginning of the new year I linked up with Jen for the 100 days challenge. 

The point of this is to link up 3 goals that we have for ourselves that are short term or things that we need to put more focus on for the next little while. 

When I did my initial goals I said I wanted to ... 

1. keep up with the ongoing challenges (bee blocks, monthly UFO goals, APQ Challenge, swaps, ect)
2. have 5 completions in 100 days 
3. Re-home my scrapbook supplies  

So, how did things turn out? 

I'm elated to report that all three of these goals have been accomplished. 

I've been doing well with all my goals and working on several projects that have been around for a while to move these toward completion later this year. I've finished several things already and have some more that are close -- which will be tackled at the upcoming quilt retreat. 

 The biggest of these is the last one and the thing i am most excited about. I am going to be traveling through Asheville in another few days and on my way to quilt retreat, and I have found a new home for the stamping and scrapbook supplies and i know that they will be utilized. I am also glad for the space that this will free up in my sewing room because the boxes have been a constant reminder for the last several years of needing to purge -- not only the items but the drama that is now associated with that hobby for me. 

I love doing this challenge each year and it's always surprising to see what can be accomplished in 100 days.