January OMG 2019

A new year, a fresh start.  It feels good to begin anew.

I am not making big goals for this year.  No new resolutions that I may keep for a couple of months and then leave by the wayside.

I am keeping it simple.

I want to walk on the beach in the sunshine.

I want to read more; especially His Word, as I have let that slide.

And for January’s OMG (One Monthly Goal), I want to work on the Leavenworth quilt.

I blogged my virtual play time with the Leavenworth Nine Patch block back in January 2013 here and here.

*You can also find those blog posts by clicking on the Quilt Blocks tab at the top of my blog.

Sometime after that, I actually worked up one of my design ideas into a quilt top and pin basted it. I showed it on March 27, 2015.

So my goal for the month is to machine stitch in the ditch so that the quilt layers will be stabilized and I can remove the pins (and thus lighten some of the weight).  The quilt is approximately  74″ x 88″, so it is a large size for machine quilting on a domestic machine.

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts OMG (One Monthly Goal).  Check out what others have chosen to work on this month; it can be very inspiring and motivating!

December OMG 2018 Goal Update

It is time to be accountable and declare what I accomplished with my December OMG (One Monthly Goal).

Because of Christmas and the e-commerce explosion (I work at a post office), I kept my goal light…I really did not expect to accomplish much.  I thought I just might have time to machine quilt half of The Case of the Secret Garden (a Linda Franz/Inklingo mystery from 2013).

But I put my nose to the grindstone, and quilted at every opportunity that I could, and I am so happy to report a finish!

If you click on the link above, you can find links to the beginning of this project, and each clue that I worked on it, as well as find where it originated on Linda Franz’ website, Inklingo.  

Some of the pictures aren’t that great (it is hard to take good pics indoors in the midst of winter), but they show that I finished this baby!

By clicking on a photo, you can see it enlarged.  This quilt was machine quilted on a domestic sewing machine.

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal (OMG). Click on the link and see the other goals that were accomplished for December!  

December OMG 2018 Goal

Funny how what goes around comes around.

For my December OMG, I decided to focus on a UFO called The Case of the Secret Garden.

I dug through the blog to see when I last worked on this project.  It appears it was also my goal for December OMG 2017.  Hmmmmmm.

If you click on the links above, you can find links to the beginning of this project, and each clue that I worked on it, as well as find where it originated on Linda Franz’ website, Inklingo.  Linda began this enjoyable mystery in the year 2013.

So, why did I wad this project up in a corner?

Partly because I went through a tough time (why do I throw my creativity aside when I need it the most…another mystery), and partly because I changed my mind about my fabric choices.

I like the fabric choices.  I don’t like the fabric choices.  I like the fabric choices.  I can’t stand the fabric choices.

Oh brother!

But then, my Mom and a couple of sisters visited for Thanksgiving.  One of my sisters said, “I really like this!”

Nothing like a little positive motivation!

So this top is pin basted, and I am in the process of machine quilting it.

I hope to complete the quilting, of course, but realistically, because it is December, and the busiest time of the year, my goal is to complete half of the machine quilting.

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal (OMG). Click on the link and see the other goals for December!  Maybe you would like to add a goal!

Twister Table Runner

I have done so well with my monthly sewing goals (in my estimation at least) that I decided to find a quick and easy project to do.  Just for the fun of it.

I settled on the Twister Table Runner pattern by Shelley Robson of Pieced Tree Patterns.  I saw it made up with Halloween fabrics (very cute), and realized how easy it would be to create seasonal table runners with this pattern.  It would make quick and easy gifts. 

I resized the pattern, since my dining table is a large one, and I had a festive candy cane fabric that I could feature for the Christmas season.

I used blue chalk to mark a grid for quilting.

Fun to make, versatile and not terribly time consuming!

RSC18 August

Orange and brown are the colors of the month announced by So Scrappy and The Academic Quilter.

I am making three blocks a month, and I’ve chosen the 5 inch size to use for the Squared Away Sampler project.

If you would like to participate in the RSC18 Squared Away Sampler project click on the link to read all about it.  You can also visit The Academic Quilter for great tutorials on making the blocks.  There is a chart of various sizes so you can choose what size blocks that you would like to make.  

I guess I didn’t hear that brown part, because I am now noticing that I didn’t use it.  

Oops.

Here are all of my blocks so far:

I am sure glad that orange came to the party!  I wasn’t so sure that my stand out red block was going to be able to play, but she has brought her friends!

I will be linking up with So Scrappy.  Check out the link and see what others have done with orange and brown this month!

July OMG 2018 Update

July has gone by very fast!  At least for me it has.  I’ve had a great time visiting with family this month and enjoying the summer days!

Not a lot of sewing has been accomplished, but it is time to share how I did with meeting my OMG (One Monthly Goal) for July.

Goal 1 was to piece three 5 inch blocks for the Squared Away Sampler project.  I completed this goal and you can see my progress by clicking here.

Goal 2 was to free motion quilt 6 blocks for my President’s fabric memory book.  (You can read about that here.)  I am happy to report that I completed 10 blocks!

I had intended to use the blocks as practice for all sorts of free motion quilting designs, but changed my mind.  Instead, I want to keep it simple.  I am echo quilting, as well as meandering and a bit of pebbling.

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I have pieced together a few more leader/enders to make bow ties with.  I am pinning them in groups of 10 so that it is easy to count how many I have.

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal (OMG).  Head on over to see what everyone else has done with their July goals!

Bow Tie Leader/Ender

Bonnie Hunter introduced the term Leader/Ender many years ago.  It is a method of continuous piecing and she describes it well in her blog post here.

Each July, Bonnie announces a new Leader/Ender challenge, s0 she will be making that announcement very soon.

However, there is a challenge that she announced wayyyy back in 2011…the Bow Tie Leader/Ender.  This one has been on my ‘someday’ list since Bonnie announced it.

You know what?  ‘Someday’ never comes!  So I am making this one happen.

Except for the cheddar, I am cutting parts from scraps.  The cheddar is yardage that I just had to have.

No stress, no deadline…just for fun.

I like it.