January 2017 Quilt Update

Any links that you click in this post will open in a DIFFERENT window, allowing you to continue reading this without losing the page.

The previous 2016 monthly update links are located at the end of this entry.  I hope that you make it that far.

Goals:  I am no longer even attempting to comment on those that were not touched.  They'll just stay on the list until they are achieved, even though life jumps in front of them now and then.

Easy Street (ES) - quilted, bound -  Partially quilted - machine is in time out
Old Tobacco Road (OTR)  - quilted and bound -

Roll Roll Cotton Boll - quilted and bound -  Quilted by Allison, needs binding
Mad City Mama (MCM) - quilted and bound - Quilted by Allison, needs binding
Weed Whacker (WW) backing/binding made, quilted and bound -
En Provence (EP) - Clue 7, binding/label made, quilted and bound -
BOM (pink) backing/label made, quilted and bound -

1st -  It's another month and a NEW YEAR all at the same time.  Does this make you reevaluate?  It sure does do that to me.  I don't really go for resolutions per se, but I do think evaluations and goals are always good.  I'm going to continue working on UFO's this year and include more time in the kitchen along with working on being a bit healthier this year.  Certainly can't hurt, right?  I hope you have all done a bit of introspection as well and have some goals for yourself too.  Let's make the world better together.

Our New Year surprise from Bonnie Hunter this morning is the reveal of En Provence.  I take a few minutes to play with a block layout before heading out to spend time with my sweetie.  I tried the magenta in place of the yellow, but I really just like the yellow and went with a slightly paler one and am using a constant.  I like it.



After Mister and I return from Sunday morning coffee, I mention that we need to redo the office and get the new shelving out of my studio so that I can move out there.  That results in a LONG discussion which results in cleaning out closets.  Yep, I'm sure you followed all of that but apparently it was needed in preparation of rearranging the office.  The closet in the office which holds the toys has been redone and a filing cabinet moved in.  The hall closet was cleaned out (swap table items for sure) and there is room to spare.

2nd - Monday means chores.  Is that true for everyone?  I have laundry, some office work, and shopping to do.  I want to do these Portable Portfolios from Annie's at the February retreat and that meant picking up some supplies in addition to getting all the stuff for slippers.  One stop shopping at JoAnn's netted me zippers, magnet closures, vinyl, fusible fleece, sherpa, and a few miscellaneous retreat nametag supplies.

Once back home and settled in, I manage to finish another stack of scraps and that mischief is now managed in addition to getting the parts cut for EP clue 7.


I also wrote on all the labels for quilts that were "in waiting" for that chore to be finished AND appliqued my Christmas blocks for the shams I am making to match my quilt.  I would REALLY like to get these finished before packing everything away.

3rd - It's an EP day.  TA-DA -- I have ALL units finished AND my ornament as well.  Woot woot.  That means this baby is ready to set and for the first time EVER with a Bonnie mystery, I am going to keep going and not set this aside.  I tie off the applique threads and the rest of the day is spent working on my Christmas shams to match quilt and here is the Sham Post if you would like to read about it.

4th -  My sweet Barbara is definitely in need of some maintenance and my sweet Mister has been losing his mind at work lately so comes home exhausted.  That means it is up to me.  I CAN do this.  With Mister's notes and the Singer website at the ready, here I go and soon have a naked machine.  Ugh.  What a lot of gunk.  I follow the directions completely and get her put back together and the entire process takes less than an hour.  Oh, she's purring pretty  now.

Now to sew something.  I have all these scraps from EP laying around so I start on the label and somehow find myself making little mini EP units which then become mini EP blocks.  Those little EP blocks will soon be pillows to match the quilt.  How fun.  I also clean up the yellow, white, and Christmas scraps.  More squares for my stash.

5th -  Allison arrives today for TWO days, yep we are having a sleepover, and that means fun with a capital F.  You can read all about our fun in this POST.  We are still working on EP today and will see how far we get.  When she arrives, the first thing we do is laugh because we have both managed to put our gift containers from Elisabeth into use and yet in entirely different ways.

Allison brought all the leftovers from cutting Beads of Courage bags to me awhile back and I lost them until the big closet cleaning took place.  They are my leader/enders for today as I am working on some supply bags for my daughter's kindergarten class.  I am hopeful that by the time my blocks are made, the bags will be finished too.  At the end of the day, I have 7 blocks finished and quite a few bags.  What a great start.  (oh yeah, the picture on the right is my mini block up against Allison's completed regular one.)

After a fun day -- we are off to Cane Rosso for dinner.  See ya'll tomorrow.

6th - It's day two with Allison and if you didn't read the link to the post above, you really should.  We have such a great time.  The bags are up to 32 and my EP blocks are finished.  I even prepped the remaining bag parts so that I can complete them tomorrow.  No, I didn't quite manage to get them all in as leader/enders.

OH yeah --- it's snowing out today.

7th -  I am on a roll right now and hope that it keeps going.  I have finished all the bags and my Christmas tree is just covered with them.  I also managed to get the border units for EP finished along with them.

What else can I work on today?  How about that pile of yellow scraps along with everything from EP?  Yep -- done.  Now to start on Mister's slippers.  I have three pair to do this month and his are the prototype.

8th -  After some quality time with this blog, I start the strip work on the slippers and tame another stack of scraps.

What exactly do I mean by that?  Well, you dump out a stack of scraps from wherever you have been shoving them.  The next step is to iron them into a somewhat flat state.  Yes, I know that if they are managed as you go, that step doesn't take place, however, a lot of these were gifted to me and they came already crammed into a bag.  The next step is to cut them into manageable strips or squares and move on.  Another stack almost conquered.  I didn't get to the green Christmasy ones.

One last task for today.  I take ALL the bits and pieces of batting that I can find around the house and cut them into bricks that the kids can use with their supply bags.  They work beautifully on dry erase boards.  If time, I'll stuff them into the bags tomorrow.

9th - All morning is spent on the slippers and now I am off to mail the bags to Rhiana (nope they didn't get stuffed, I just put it all in the box as is) and then to meet Amanda at the airport for a short visit during her layover.

We have such a nice time and yes, I brought lunch too.  After saying good-bye for 10 days or so until she returns, I am off to help Mom H. with some things and then end the day with the Land O' Lakes Guild meeting in Lewisville.  This POST will give you all the details of the fun we had at the meeting.

The best part?  Allison brought me my Roll Roll Cotton Boll quilt all quilted and beautiful.  I simply could not wait to show it off.  Yep, kinda show offy.

10th -  I have spent all day quilting on Easy Street -- and I am not feeling the love with my machine.   U finally gave up and went inside to work on EP some more.  I finished the sashings AND managed to get the top webbed.  I feel a bit better about the day now.  The rest of EP will have to wait until Friday with Allison.

11th -  Back to the slippers.  I have finished Scott's pair (yep, I'm running out of time and this first pair now goes to my son-in-law - I guess he is the test pair now) and spent a bit of time blogging about them.  You can find the information in this link to the Slipper Tutorial.   There's still some day left so I grab the fabrics I have for the backing to EP and in no time, my backing is finished.  Okay, calling it a day and going to have some fun with my sweetheart tonight.  Whew.

12th -  Allison and I are having a Thursday get together today and she arrives bearing gifts.  She took my sewing mat fabric with her last week and quilted it all up for me.  Now all I have to do is cut the mat parts out and bind.  Isn't that awesome?  Who will be the lucky recipients this time?  We spend the day enjoying each other and watching Travelers on Netflix.  Binge baby, binge.

Allison is working on two projects -- the blocks from guild and the project for the second February retreat and she has wonderful red fabric EVERYWHERE.

Her blocks turn out so cute --- hmmm, perhaps I should put my parts in the stack for February retreat so that I stay caught up.  Meanwhile, I am working away on the borders for EP.  I have high hopes of finishing it up while she is here but am not going to make it.  After she leaves, I finish up setting EP and put the backs on the pillows from leftover backing fabric.  It's been a good day.

13th -  First things first --- the binding for EP needs to be made and I am trying a flange binding but want to hand sew it down so have to make literally two sets of binding.  I think it will look awesome though.  That's it -- EP is ready to quilt and you can read all about the last steps in this Clue 7 LINK.

Now what?  There is still day left.  Weed Whacker is totally set and waiting on a backing/binding/label before quilting.  Wait no longer my pretty UFO, you are now among the "to be quilted" in my house.  Woohoo.  I do a few blog entries and then try once again to quilt on ES but again, no luck.   Instead, I decide to cut out out the three sets of slippers I still need for January/February.

My afternoon kind of sucks due to a cruel person, but hey, it's Friday the 13th.  I guess that's to be expected and if that is all that happens, well this superstitious (not) person will call it good.

14th -  It's Mugstateer Day!  We only do this once a month and so it feels like it has been forever.  I love the day and feel it is fairly productive too.  Well at least for some of us.  Two seem to have shopped the entire day away.  Hahahaha.  Please read all about our day in THIS POST.

15th -  Oh gosh.  We are halfway through the month already and I don't feel as though I have a lot to show for it.  Gah.  It's Sunday so after coffee, Mister and I work on the office.  You can read all about our fun at THIS LINK.  Yes, it involves quilts too.  After a heated discussion over what we were going to do, I even willingly went to Fry's for extension cords.  Sigh.

16th -  It's another work day as I attempt to put my bedroom together.  If you checked out the link from yesterday, you saw what I accomplished.  I'm tired.

I find some relaxation at the sewing machine as I put together all the slipper insoles that I cut out the other day.

Once those are together, I continue on with selecting the fabrics for two of the pair.  When I was at Rockin' Bobbin last month, I was lucky enough to find several fun blue fat quarters that will strip out nicely and added to them with some leftovers from the bins out back.

17th -  Yes, today is take down Christmas day.  I don't like it at all.  Not just because it is work that sucks, but because if I wasn't leaving town tomorrow, I would leave it up all month.  I do so love it in the house.  However, my time at home this month is rapidly coming to an end and thus -- I must do this today.  It takes me about 3 hours and I have it all tubbed up except the tree itself and the outdoor lights.  Mister gets to do those.

Once I finish, I start stripping the slippers that need to be finished before I leave town.  Yep, nothing like leaving things until the very last minute.  They are looking very cute.

18th -  Okay, this is it.  I have to leave the house around 2:30 for my flight today.  I MUST finish the slippers first thing.  Settling in, it takes me about3 hours to accomplish the task.  Now, before you think I'm a total loon, I put them together wrong TWICE and had to take them totally apart.  I know -- sewing with that tight of a deadline causes mistakes when one definitely doesn't have time for them.  Drat.

As I finished around 10, I have time to work on the woolie kits.  I iron all the drawings onto large pieces of wool and then cut into chunks for each kit.  Into a box they go and that is all I will get done before leaving.  I grab one kit to take along and work on while I am in Telluride.

That's it.  It's time to pack and head out.  I just barely have time for a shower and a snack.  See ya tomorrow from Colorado.

19th -  Good wintery morning.  There is snow EVERYWHERE but my camera hasn't found any of it.  I am at the dental office my daughter is part owner in and waiting for her to get some work done.  We have dropped the kids off at school already and I'm super okay settling in and working on the leftover slipper scraps that I brought along.  Seam ripper at the ready and I find I have a nice little stack that can be used on future projects.

Amanda and I go for lunch and then to see her new house.  I will be spending the rest of this week helping her get moved.  Yep, no rest for the weary after my week at home of moving furniture.

In the evening I do manage to iron the parts for my woolie in place before the iron and everything else gets packed.

20th -  We are kind of on hold this morning as there is a blizzard raging and we are not sure the movers are coming.  Amanda takes the kids to school and works in the office for awhile until we know more.  I, meanwhile, settle in and start the stitching on my woolie.

As I'm sitting here, I notice a pillow that I have seen so many times before but since going to the guild meeting the other night, it all makes sense to me now.  This is exactly the technique that we were shown.  Now my brain is busy.

21st -  We are up on the mountain for a ski event with Ryan (he got first and I don't have pictures because it was snowing so hard you couldn't see anything) and then packed up a load of stuff to move.  I spent the afternoon Amanda's new house unpacking what the movers had delivered yesterday afternoon along with what we brought today.  That's it for me.  Real exciting stuff.  I also finished my woolie as far as I can get while here and started working on an embroidery project I brought along.

22nd -  We are off to Montrose today and Caleb is going along.  Our mission is to get as much as we can for the new house and also Raef's birthday stuff as his party is this afternoon.  We FILL the car to the brim - literally -- see the area Caleb has to ride home in?  After dropping all the new stuff off at the house, we head for the old house and gather up Raef to go to his party.  What a fun time for him and all his friends.

23rd -  It's another no picture day.  I have spent the entire day at the new house, unpacking, setting up the television (so I could watch Seinfeld videos), and building furniture.  I have put together a set of shelves for the mudroom, a desk, a bed, and various other small items.  The internet arrived late this afternoon and that certainly made it a little better as I could now communicate via it.  My cell does not get a signal strong enough to call anyone in this area.  Text messages is all and for those I have to step outside.  It's cold out there so I didn't do much of that.  However, the internet changes all that.  Woohoo.

24th -  Another load to the house provides good karma.  Amanda and I are not sure we can get in the driveway but as we arrive, it is being plowed out by a very nice man who wasn't even asked to do it.  Wow.  We pack up as much of the kitchen and the rest of the boys clothes before heading over to the house.  As we leave, the road that direction is not plowed and we are barely getting through when out of the blue a plow appears and clears the road right in front of us.  Amazing.  I am now back at the new house while she goes to pick up kids.   I am trying to take a very puffy, king-sized mattress pad and turn it into two twin ones.  It requires me to cut it in half and then pin the halves before stitching down the openings.  Not a terrible task but without a table it becomes a bit challenging for sure.

The evening is spent with me building a shelving unit for the boys bedroom and Amanda putting her kitchen together.

25th -  It has finally stopped snowing.  The sun is out and it is absolutely gorgeous outside.

I had forgotten the slippers for Raef's party as they were here at the new house and so I am giving them to him this morning.  He loves them and they are just a wee bit big.  That's a good thing as they will last for awhile.  He just keeps saying, "You made these?"

26th -  Oh dang.  I am heading home today and it's hard to say good-bye to these three munchkins but it's only for a month.  I will be back at the end of March for another week.

Amanda and I pick up a new armoire for her room before I get dropped at the airport and head back to Dallas.  Whew.  She still has so much to do.  I feel for her.  When I arrive in Dallas, I hang around the airport for a couple of hours as two other grands are flying in to spend the weekend with me.  Hello Hyrum and Zyra.

Upon arriving at home, Mister has a treat for me.  He picked up this sweet machine at a sale and she's likely to become the one I use now so that my sweet Barbara can stay as lovely as she is.

That is my first surprise.  The second one is that he has revamped my desk and made it so nice for me.  What a super dude he is.  He even added a shelf to the bottom for my feet as the chair needs to be a bit higher for the monitor.  Nice.

27th -  I am devoting the day to H & Z.  We are off to the aquarium, then lunch, and then to see Moana.

28th -  Mister is with us today as we hang out for 6 hours at the zoo and then go shopping at Central Market before coming home to make homemade chicken noodle soup.  Getting tired again.

I do find a few minutes in the evening to start actually kitting up the parts for the woolies.  Of course, I discover that two parts have not been cut out.  What???  Another day.

29th -  Sunday morning coffee shop and then I am off to the airport to pick up my son and daughter-in-law.  Once they are safely retrieved, it's off to the house to visit for the afternoon before going to a Brazilian steakhouse in the evening.  When we get back home, Zyra has been busy building and painting.  She did a picture and a birdhouse.  Hyrum, was learning to play chess with Grandpa.  He then convinces his dad to play with him as well.  I LOVE that he likes the game.

(What is on my camera lens?  Looks like I have a blotchy face.)

30th -  I am in my house all alone.  That is the first time in a couple of weeks.  Matt and family have returned to Montana and Mister is at work.  I am really tired.  I think I need some more sleep as I got up with everyone at 4 this morning and stayed up.  Bath and nap time.  It's a good day for blog, retreat catchup and emails.  A peek outside shows me that spring is considering an appearance as the quince is in bloom.

31st -  It's the last day of January.  Oh My Gosh.  This month literally flew by.  I have been so busy and yet don't have much to show for as far as finished projects go.

I have a TON to get done for retreat and so I spend the morning drafting a quilt for the beach exchange in September.  HAHAHAHA.  Yep, my priorities are in the right place.  I keep at that until after noon and then focus on retreat.

Packing, finding, packing, searching, packing.  Throw in a bit of Amazon overnight ordering and I'm good.  Sure hope that stuff arrives tomorrow.

The evening finds me cutting the last parts for the woolie and finishing my sample.  That's it.  This month is in the books.

Thank you so very much for checking in with me again this month.  I do this for ME and appreciate you so much for peeking in now and then.  Since it is for me, I keep it ad free and hope for it to stay that way.  It's just a way of holding memories tight.  Check back in now and then (or sign up for email notifications and you'll never miss a post) and please check out the link to OUR QUILT BLOGS at the top of the page for many of the quilt groups are starting to restrict the posting of blogs into the groups.  If you want to still have a long monthly read and time for your tea, join the group.  Thanks for sticking around this long -- I am grateful for everyone who reads each month.

Links to Previous 2017 Monthly Update Posts:

Since it's January, I don't have any --- See ya'll next month.