2019 January Quilt Update

Hello and welcome to the first Monthly Quilt Update of 2019.  Can you believe I have been doing this for 4 solid years now?  Whoa.  No wonder my fingers hurt sometimes.  Have you joined us in our theme for this year?  Do you know what it is?  Here is your hint and if you want to know all about it -- here is your LINK.  Always remember that in this group all links open in a separate window so you don't lose your place here AND there are no ads or popups EVER.

If you are new to the blog, you may be asking, "just what is a monthly update?"  I decided long ago that I just can't keep up with blogging daily.  I just can't.  Sooooo, what happens is I document a day in my life within one post and if something special happens, a separate post takes place.  See, you can stay caught up with a once a month check and then, if you're interested, see the other posts too.  It's a great system for me.



In years past, I have set goals for each month and I will continue to do that simply to keep myself on track.  I AM still in UFO mode around here and trying oh so hard to use or clean out the stash.  It will be an ongoing project this year.  If I want something to come in -- something has to go out.  That is one goal.  The balance change each month (hopefully) and will always show up at the bottom of the update if you read that far - and they are joined by links to the previous monthly updates for the year.

Now, grab a cuppa and sit back for a fun read and perhaps a new idea or two.

1st -

With a new year in front of me, what should be my focus?  Oh I know, resolutions are crazy and no one ever really keeps them past the first month anyway, but I'm not really aiming for a resolution.  No, it's more like the theme of our group.  I am embracing the chaos in my life, but by embracing it, I am trying to tame it a bit at the same time.  I love having it.  I just want to know where things are and not discover items after they've been replaced.  Yes, that happens a LOT.

But first --- how about some fresh scones and coffee to start the day right?

Now, I am plugging along at my project in the living room.  It is a giant monster that keeps growing even though I am trying to manage it.  I am pretty sure the problem is that the studio has been emptying into the living room through this process.  The earnest hope is that both rooms with be clean and organized when I am finished.  Cue the clouds floating by as I dream.

Today's task is two-fold.  First, Bonnie released  Clue 7 for the Good Fortune mystery and I want to get a start on it.  We don't have a reveal yet - how fun and exciting is that?  At any rate, if you wish to follow along with my progress, click on THIS LINK.

Now, part of cleaning and organizing is tackling my strip bins.  As I go through them, I am reminded of the multitude of ugly ones.  They are coming out and being re-homed BUT the 1 1/2" ones are still needed in my Crabapples project.  What does that mean?  Well, I need to sit down and sew strips together and complete all that I need of these buggers so that I can then give them the old heave-ho.  I get all the strip sets finished and some of the units before moving onto something else AND all the ugly strips are packaged up and ready to leave.  If you notice the package on the far right, it is the remaining 1 1/2" strips.  I went through a LOT of them.

I also discovered that I was short 2 blocks of the light triangles.  I have no idea how that happened and momentary fear set in as I was positive that the fabric was no more.  However, as I was looking to clean out bins in the studio, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but almost a yard of it still.  Luck is with me today and the triangles are now all there.  Whew.

And with that -- the 1 1/2" strip bins are cleaned out.  Goodness.  That seemed to be a long process to get here.

2nd - I am one determined gal right now.  Rising early and getting to work right away, I decide that I will work on the strip/cutting/organizing project until noon each day.  I started this on the 26th thinking that it would take about a week.  What a fool I was.  Let's all have a laugh together and then move on.  Today is AQUA.  I am working on the big bin and trying to tackle cutting for one of my upcoming classes at the same time.  By  noon, I have about 600 HST's cut as well a some other parts.  It's a long ways from having the project ready to go, but my time limit has been hit.  Now to sew for awhile.

Another "found" project is Jamestown Landing.  With the Good Fortune mystery using strings, my love for them has been rekindled and I know that I can just settle in and work on the blue border sheets.  If I do half today, that's a good goal.  Fortunately, waaaaay back when I first started this project, I put all the strings in the tub so my fingers are crossed that there are enough with the project so that I don't have to go looking for some in the same color hues.

By dinner, I have finished half of the sheets required and am starting to cut them.

Mister settles in with me to watch television and once again helps remove the papers.  What a guy.  Forward movement on a very old UFO feels so good.

3rd -  I'm stirring the pot a little today by sewing FIRST.  The strings are just too fun.  I finish the entire second half of sheets and get them cut -- they are on the table for paper removal this evening and now I have the neutrals out to get a start on them as well.

But wait - I really need to put in a bit of time on the Good Fortune clue so I move the strings aside and focus on a few units.  Just a few, though, and then I am back to cutting/organizing.  The Tri-Rec rulers are in play and that means itty bitty triangles everywhere.  I'd show you the rug below me, but my sweetheart would have heart failure if anyone saw how truly bad it is.

Making progress on Straits of Macinac, the little stacks of parts is growing.  I'm easily confused so keeping everything out in the open right now - do I really  need all this?  Oh my because I know I'm not done cutting for this one.

It's time for a break and guess what?  Thirsty Thursday calls us.  Nice.  I love this tradition once or twice a month.  It's a great little date night and we spend time together without phones or anything else distracting.  It's perfect.

Upon our return home -- a little television and some paper removal.  The second half of the border pieces for Jamestown Landing are in the done column and I am indeed happy about that.

4th -  Good morning from the war zone.  Yep, back at it again.  Ya'll think it's not that bad --- take a look.

Oh wait, it rounds the corner and goes everywhere.  On the bright side, I am finally starting to box up Straits of Macinac.  It's not finished yet, but getting close.

Now ---- just because it wasn't a big enough mess, I need to sort the strings so that I can put all the aqua ones into the project.  OH WOW.  My love decides that this just has to be documented.  (That pile on the right -- the out the door gang.  Yes, even the strings are being culled.)

With the strings sorted, I think Straits is almost complete and I have finally gotten up enough nerve to tackle some more red.  After the fiasco last month, I have been avoiding the reds, but I know I must start in.

Noticing that I need 1 1/2" squares, another trip to the studio allows me to bring in the tin containing these cute buggers.  Why cut more?  I pull all the reds I need and then sort through the others.  I think I want one of those embroidery thread containers to hold these.  Aren't they just about the right size?

Oooooh, forward progress.  Most of the bins have been gone through.  Strips have been weeded out and the remaining ones sorted and banded by size, then color.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.

I almost forgot --- the REVEAL of Good Fortune was bright and early this morning.  I LOVE it and can't wait to move forward on them both, but it just wasn't in the cards for today.  Heck, I'm still trying to complete clue 7.

5th -  Saturday brings a day with my sweetie.  We have errands to run and today is the day.  Tomorrow has it's own agenda and we'll deal with that when it gets here.  First up today is a new to us coffee shop called 9 Rabbits Bakery.  It is in the Harry Hines area and must be remembered for future meetup days.  Here is the LINK so that you can check out the crazy cool exhibit, Cult of the Machine, and perhaps spot the same quilting ideas that I do.

Even the kids area is into quilting as they are given fabrics to layout and design a quilt.  Where are my grands now?

6th -  No Sunday coffee for us.  The purge has begun.  We are starting in the kitchen.  Oh my, I know what you are thinking, but it's a great place to start and with a granddaughter setting up house, I know where a lot of this will go.  Some to other daughters and the rest to the retreat center for either the swap table or as a donation to the center itself.

Mister and I are at it all day and I try to get a little bit of sewing on the Clue 7.  When I say a LITTLE -- that is exactly what I mean.  I'm tired, Mister wants company watching Bird in a Box, and so that's that for today.

7th -  My sights are set on finishing Clue 7 today and success is mine.

Should I move on?  Of course.  With the reveal out, I start putting the last of the units together so that I can build blocks and use my Christmas Lights block setting as leader/ender as I go along.  Hey, it's making progress, right?

Some work in the disaster zone also takes place and I have finished cutting the additional 400 triangle pairs for Ruby City.  I wonder if I can find some ruby slippers fabric to put on the back of use in the binding.  How fun would that be?

For the evening?  Well, I layout the star blocks for Good Fortune so that I can web and put these together tomorrow.  I also manage to get the string blocks laid out too.  Fantastic!!

8th -  Okay, I have let the red/white fabric amounts intimidate me long enough.  The cutting mat and I are going to be buddies today and I am going to complete this task.  Period.  End of discussion.

By the time I walk away, I have 600 quarter-square triangle pair cut.  Wowzer.  That took awhile and I'm ready to sit for a bit.

The Good Fortune blocks are calling me --- loudly -- and I manage to get both sets of the star blocks and about halfway through the webbing on one set.  It's Mister time.

9th -  I am DETERMINED to finish up with red today so that that tub can be called "done."  How amazing that would be and, frankly, I'm kind of tired of red.  I would like to cut up some other colors for awhile.

I have a small group gathering later this month and we are tackling a project we discovered in Houston at festival last November.  For something new to do, I pull fabrics.  It uses a jelly roll and since these are the only ones I have and I'm trying to "shop the stash", I pull some contrasting fat quarters, the required white, and switch black to grey.  The coordinating fat quarters will go on the back and I'll figure out the second jelly roll and the charm squares as I go along.  More on this later - likely in a complete post of its own as we gather on Lake Athens.

Is the disaster zone getting any better?  It's so very questionable to me.

I can see the cutting mat.  Well, at least a small section of it, and there is not any red fabric on the table either.  Woot woot.

Sewing machine, here I come.  Let's crank out the rest of this first batch of blocks.  Awesome and I love them so much.

10th -  Okay, I've been in the living/dining room cutting since the day after Christmas and I've finally finished a couple of the upcoming class quilts.  I can finally pack them into project boxes and let them sit and age.  Naturally, the LAST class is the first project to be in the ready column.

However, two more follow quickly behind.  Yay.  Progress is becoming evident.

I was complaining about a color change?  Well, I got it.

And this time, I can actually see a bit more floor and flat space in the room.

11th -  What a wonderful gift.  I have sewed all day and a second set of blocks for GF are in the DONE column.

I also managed to play in the white strings and 42 JL blocks are complete as well.

Enjoying freshly baked bread and watching Mr. Church with my sweetheart fills out the evening.  It was a great day.

12th -  The weekend has arrived and with it another errand day before tomorrow's continued purge, but before that even gets started, my early rise gives me some time to myself and a chance to start playing with purple fabrics and work on prepping for my Idaho Square Dance class.

Now, onto the rest of the day, but we do start it out with coffee.  You can join in with this POST if you are so inclined.

13th -  Some more wee morning hours cutting takes place and I have purple bricks of all sizes stacked up before Mister wakes and mentions coffee.

Since we are out at home, a walk down to White Rock commences, followed by a return to my own little version of cutting h e double hockey sticks.

Purple is now complete.  Wow.  Another bin has been thoroughly gone through and my tub for retreat is overflowing.  It's crazy, but I'm loving the organization that is happening along the way.  For example, I have now managed to get all my 1 1/2" squares contained in an orderly manner.  It doesn't look like much, but there are a TON of squares in this little organizer.

More table is starting to show.

14th -  It's just another manic Monday!!!  I have moved onto getting all the papers cut for 7 classes.  Between phone books and some financial papers, I am going through pages like crazy.  The paper rotary cutter is out and when you cut at least 10 pages at once, it goes pretty quick.

Idaho Square Dance is complete.  Well, almost.  It still needs more backing fabric, but I'm calling it done until I go shopping again.  One more into the totally cleaned out closet.

And . . . drumroll please . . . I have managed to finish up Daybreak as well.  Woot woot.  I am checking them off and can actually see an end in sight.  Yes, purple played a role here too, which is why they are completing at the same time.

15th -  My day starts out by taking down all the Christmas decorations.  Oh goodness, it is sooner than I want but with our purging and my own little disaster zone, it's getting a bit overwhelming in here.

I have moved back to neutrals and that is the last tub to clean out.  I have already managed to reduce from 2 tubs to one, but am still going, however Ruby City (a.k.a. Emerald City) is also ready to close and pack up.  OMG.  I cannot tell you how much of a happy dance I am doing.

Well, maybe I can because Sandcastles joins the tubs in the closet as well.  This just feels so good.  All I have left for my classes is the Xing one and it is being done in batiks and that is one tub I have not yet cleaned out.  It's turn is coming, just not today.  Instead, I am pulling fabrics for the upcoming Quilt-A-Long in Our Quilt World.  We will be doing Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Christmas and that means I have the chance to go through the Christmas fabric tub now.  I am pulling for backings to Merry and Bright, Christmas Lights, Ohio Star, Winter Wonderland, and Carolina Christmas in addition to the QAL fabrics.  I have high hopes of going from two tubs to one here as well.

I have found some fun fabrics to use up --- yep, scraps and cut squares from other projects that are being re-purposed along with doing a little pre-cutting for this project.  Yes, perhaps that is cheating, but while the mess is out, I'm getting as much done as I can.

Finally, I can't take any cutting and tell Mister that I need a wee bit of time putting things back together.  That means enough sewing to finish up another 10 JL string squares.  Yes.

16th -  So, while attempting to fall asleep last night, I remembered that I had a ton of scrap squares with little snowmen on them that could be used instead of all those white squares, so a swap out is made first thing this morning.  Yes, I know where the squares are all going to go.

Mister and I then spend time working on closets and have two more cleaned out and one that we had already finished, reorganized once more.  For all that work, we deserve a trip to Garland.

When we return, I stop back at the cutting table for a short while and finish up the switch out that I began this morning.  Now I can move forward once again.

17th -  It's Crazyville again.  I keep losing the room and want so badly to have a nice, calm home again.  Will it every truly happen?  Yes, my Christmas purge has exposed many long forgotten pieces and I am trying to lay out a backing all while cutting like a wild woman.

Some time at the machine nets me this backing.  Now, you don't have to like it --- it's different, I know, but it's the BACK.  It didn't cost me any new dollars and I didn't use up yardage that would be better put in borders or new quilts.  I'm good with that.  It will go on the back of Merry and Bright.

With that being sewn and Mister working on the remaining tree and train in the living room while I make dinner, guess what?  The Christmas totes have all been put away, the batik bin is in the house and we can see flooring.  Hey, hey, hey -- take just one moment and compare the morning picture from today with the next two.  We are talking big change.

Not only flooring --- but an entire living room.  Progress is being made and we are calling it a night.

18th -  Rocky and I are off to Waco bright and early today.  The plan is to meet up with Sherri, Paula, and Karen for a day of fun shopping.  Come along through  THIS LINK and see our fun.

Fun was had --- always.

Thank you, ladies, for brightening my day.

19th -  It's been a day.  That's about all I want to say about it.  After packing up Mom's place all day and an enjoyable dinner with Mister's brother and sister-in-law, I am ready for some much needed sleep.  This full moon says good-night as I crash.

20th -  One last bin to tackle.  The batiks!!  While my love sleeps in a bit, I get to work.  I have one remaining quilt to cut for and so the sleeves are pulled up, rotary cutter is out, and away I go.

Mister is off to help with more packing but I'm staying put at home and cutting, cutting, cutting.  OMG.  I am DONE!!! All class quilts are cut and ready to go.  The batik bin has been purged and repacked.  I cannot tell you how happy I am.

Since I'm still alone, what can I also check off the list?  Ahhhh, the Birthday Fat Quarter Exchange.  I need to prep the envelopes and have everything ready to go.  Perfect and an hour later -- I  am the recipient of another wonderful check mark on my list.  Woohoooooo.

Another early night for me, but my sweetheart wakes me to see the Super/Blood/Wolf moon.  Wow!  To see more pictures, here's the LINK.

21st -  Soooo, I really want to finish putting all the linens away from Christmas and that means that the Christmas Lights quilt that has been laid out there needs to be set.  The center is soon done and I LOVE IT!!!!  Additionally, progress has been made and all linens are put away.  Beds have new quilts on them and all is happy in my world.

22nd -  It's a dentist day, BUT not until this afternoon so I want to accomplish as much as possible before I will only desire a bed.  Borders are going on Christmas Lights first thing.

Inner first -

The middle - yes, it all fits nicely.  I'm just too lazy to lay it out smooth.

And the outer.  Yes!  I have a finished top.  I really like it so very much and can't wait to get it quilted.  I just wish I didn't have to wait until next year to really enjoy it -- but then again, it could take me that long to finish.

I still have more time today so set right to work on the back.  Anything with gold/green/red go into it until I am flat out of those fabrics.  Well dang, one little blue piece will have to finish it out.

Leader/ender for today is the label and binding for Merry and Bright -- that one is now ready to quilt.   Now, it's off to the dentist.  Dang.

23rd -  Our wonderful winter gathering at Sherri's commences today.  Several of us who went to Houston together in November are getting together to work with some new tools on a QAYG project and with a VERY early morning start, Lydia, Rocky and I are on our way.  You can read all about our fun and adventures in this LINK

My blocks are made and I've almost reached today's goal.

Success --- batting and backings are cut as well.  I am ready to quilt tomorrow.

24th -  Day 2 at Miller's B&B.  It's a lovely morning and we are ready to sew.

After lunch, a quick trip into town provides me a chance to show off another great quilt shop.  Here is the Needle Niche Spotlight LINK.  Please go check them out and if you are in the area, it is definitely worth a stop.  As for today, all the blocks are quilted before I close my eyes.  I wish I could say they are all quilted correctly, but done is better than perfect.

25th -  Good morning y'all.  Sherri and I are out walking, the air is CRISP, and the morning is wee.  A couple of miles later, I am ready to sew again.  I'm really sad as I have to go back home today, but it is what it is and I will sew as long as I possibly can. 

My columns are made and horizontal sashings have been cut and pinned into place.  Vertical sashings are ready to go as well.  Now, I must hit the road back to Dallas.

26th -   My day is full of fun and starts with this Red Hat LINK.  Good times, good fun. Plenty of memories being made.

And the afternoon has it's own special breed of fun that you can enjoy along with us through this Brewery Hop LINK.  It's a great time with my sweetheart and we still have a whole day of weekend left.  Awesome.

27th -  Breakfast at North Haven Gardens starts out our day and I have sooooo many ideas flowing.  Here is the LINK to see the beauty and fun along with us.  From there, it is home to relax and enjoy the day.  I have a retreat to prep for so being that.  Read a book that Jen gave me for Christmas (yep, the whole book) and worked on some pictures for this blog.  All in all -- a really nice day in the neighborhood.

28th -  With the purge, we are left with huge bags all over the house.  Today, some leave.  After a drive halfway to Abilene, dinner with Jen and Josh, and a gorgeous view of the sunset, everything is loaded into her car and the drive home commences.

29th -  I'm leaving town for 10 days and want to spend some time with Mom H. before going.  A morning visit is wonderful and followed up by errands, packing, and prepping the last two Whimms blocks for retreat.  No pictures, but a full day for sure.

30th -  Most of my day is spent loading the car, shopping for groceries, making copies for future classes, and updating blogs.  My car is packed to the gills.  Literally --- take a peek.  It is level all the way through the passenger side.  (Sidenote:  after this picture, Rocky stopped by and bolts of fabric went on top.)

31st -  Let the 2019 retreats begin.  By 8 a.m., I am at the center and ready to begin.  Isn't it lovely?

Day one has given me the chance to work on my rag quilts.  I'm going to link to the retreat post next month since it's the last day of the month and the post has not been written.  Keep checking and it'll be up soon.

All blocks are complete and I have laid them out on the design wall.  Tomorrow, webbing begins.  My first rag quilt and so many ladies around to help and give advice.  What could be a better first day at retreat.

Well, dang, another month has flown by and I don't have very many check marks so I am going to forgo the goals at the end of the page this month as depression is not something I like to have.  I focused on a whole different path and am truly okay with that.  Goals will resume next month.  Until next month, keep on creating and remember that our group Quilt-A-Long begins this week.  Carolina Christmas, here I come.

Links to Previous 2019 Monthly Posts:

There aren't any yet this month since it is January.