Design Wall Tuesday

Last week I was able to get Royal Gardens quilted and trimmed!  It looks awesome!  I just need to prepare the binding and get it on.  The shop hop that I did with my husband was a lot of fun (he even enjoyed it!).  I hope to be doing a post on that later this week.

My goals for the next two weeks are achievable I believe.

My first goal is to finish Royal Gardens.  I need to prepare the binding, sew it on one side, and then hand sew it on the other side.

My second goal is to finish the Snowflake table runner from the Christmas in July blog hop.  I have it layered, I just need to quilt it with my Bernina, and then get the binding on.

Both of these items are entered into my Church's quilt show, which is taking place on March 17.  I have some quick deadlines again.

My third goal is to work on cutting out Ring of Stars.  It is a belated wedding gift (I will not say how old, but I'm sure I will slip in the future).  I would love to get the whole thing cut out, and start sewing the triangles together, as it is my Breakfast club homework, due on the 17th also.

My fourth and final goal for the next two weeks is to draw and figure out calculations for several quilts that are in my head while I am on travel.  This is a great on the road project, and it will help extract these ideas from my head, plus who does not love coloring?

In addition to my quilting goals, I have some home goals, which include cleaning out the freezer, cleaning the oven, and cleaning/organizing the linen closet.  Let's make it two great weeks!

Linking up with:
Design Wall
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday

-Christina

15 Minutes of Stitching - Week 9

Let us see how this week went on the 15 minutes of stitching front.

Days spent stitching this week: 5 out of 7

Days spent stitching for February: 24 out of 28
Days spent stitching in March: 4 out of 4

Days spent stitching for 2018: 46 out of 63

Rate of Success: 73.0 %
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

I'm still hovering in the C range this week, which is okay, I will boast it up and get to the B range by the end of the year.  I have a lot of faith in myself.  I was exhausted last week from everything I had accomplished the week before, so I took it a little easier, and ran out of time some nights to get my 15 minutes of stitching in.  However, this week I am roaring to go, and I hope to make it a successful week again.  During last week I was able to finish quilting a queen size quilt, and I worked on squaring up the backing and putting more zippers on with safety pins.  Good thing I did not poke myself with the safety pins too many times, because sometime this week I get the joy of taking them off the backing fabric and prepare them for the next time I use them.  I hope everyone else's week was successful!

Linking up to:
Life in Pieces

-Christina

Of the Woods

"Of the Woods" was finished two weeks ago and given away for a co-worker's baby shower.  I used the Bradley Street pattern from the Moda Bake Shop created by Suzanne Jackman.

The fabrics were chosen based on how my co-worker is decorating the nursery, which is a woodland theme with accents of coral/pink due to the gender of her baby.  The fabrics came from all over the place, mostly from Easy, but some did come from my local quilt shops.  I threw in some Bambi fabric also, because who does not love Disney?

I am extremely pleased with how it turned out.  The backing I was able to find complimented the quilt, and I am extremely proud of my quilting.  The dark green, is perfect for the binding as it gives it a nice frame around the quilt.

The quilting was done by me on the LQS's long arm that I have the opportunity to rent time on.  I had not free motioned for a while, but it was like riding a horse.  The hardest part after waiting so long was getting it loaded on the machine properly.  I did a simple swirl flower all over the quilt, with the occasional loop thrown in.

This finish is #40 on my Quarter 1 Finish A-Long list, and my first finish for the year!  It feels great to have completed something.

Linking up to:
Crazy Mom Quilts
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Busy Hands Quilts

-Christina

Big Bed Quilt A-long - February Check-In

Stitched in Color is hosting a big bed quilt a-long, encouraging us to move along/complete a quilt that is a large size for a bed.  I have choose to finish one project and make progress on another bed size quilt.  For the month of February, my goal was to finish the top of Royal Gardens, which is a Queen size quilt.

My goal for February, I was able to complete, and then some.  I was able to start quilting it, and I hope to finish quilting this next week.

For the month of March, my goal for the big bed quilt a-long is to finish Royal Gardens, and to start cutting out the next bed size quilt that I want to get done.

Linking up to:
Stitched in Color

-Christina

February 2018 OMG

I finished my February 2018 OMG!  I'm 2 for 2 this year in completing each goal I set.  It feels great to be a great success rate still!

My February 2018 One Monthly Goal was to complete the quilt top for Royal Gardens, which I will be entering into a local quilt show in the middle of March.  I finished it, and even started quilting it last weekend!

I love how it turned out, the colors are gorgeous, and the borders went on pretty well, as it was my first time applying borders by measuring the quilt top, rather than just sewing on a long strip and squaring it up.  After 4 borders, I think I have the hang of it.  To quilt it, I'm doing a custom design that I am doing to challenge and expand my horizons, and it is turning out pretty good.

Now to think of what my March OMG will be.

Linking to:
Elm Street Quilts

-Christina

Design Wall Monday

Wow!  What a week.  This is how I currently feel...

(photo from here)

I pushed hard this last week to get the 2nd baby quilt done, and get four borders on Royal Gardens plus a backing to start quilting.

Did I make it?  Based on the photo above, yes I did.  I was able to thanks to my wonderful husband who was very supportive of it.  Come back soon as I will be showing the finished quilt on Finish it Up Friday.

My goals for the week are much simpler than last week, as I have lots of cleaning to catch up on.  

The first goal is to re-square up and put on zippers on all four sides of the backing for Royal Gardens.  I started quilting it on Saturday, however I do not think I got the bottom edge totally square.  Also, I'm putting zippers on the sides so I can turn it 90 degrees on the machine and sew the vertical borders horizontally so they look good too.

My second goal is to finish quilting on Royal Gardens, square it up at the shop (not cutting through the zippers), and prepare the binding.  I have the fabric all picked out, so it is just doing it.

My third and final goal for the week is to work on cutting out Ring of Stars.  It is a belated wedding gift (I will not say how old, but I'm sure I will slip in the future).  I would love to get the whole thing cut out, but realistically I hope to get half of it cut out, specifically the blue part, which is the red in the original pattern.

Next weekend/week is also the San Diego Country quilt run, which I will be doing with my husband on Saturday. The theme this year is fun on the farm, and I'm excited as I've seen a sneak preview of the blocks and they are cute.  I'll post next week as to how it goes, and what I bought at each store, which will not be much due to no fabric buying, but of course I made a few exceptions.

In addition to my quilting goals, I have some home goals, which include cleaning the kitchen, cleaning out the freezer, cleaning the oven, and cleaning/organizing the linen closet.  After some good rest tonight I should be good as new to get everything done this week.  I hope everyone else has some great goals/working on a great project for the week!

Linking up with:
Design Wall
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday

-Christina

15 Minutes of Stitching - Week 8 2018

This week went great!

Days spent stitching this week: 7 out of 7

Days spent stitching for February: 23 out of 25

Days spent stitching for 2018: 41 out of 56

Rate of Success: 73.2 %
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

I'm in the C range now for my rate of success!  I plan to keep inching up and hopefully getting an A by the end of the year.  I'm getting the hang of making sure to incorporate 15 minutes a day, what helped significantly the last two weeks are the deadlines I was facing on getting 2 baby quilts completed.  They are both now competed, and I need to find another project or two to work on for 15 minutes a day.  I need to finish prepping a backing this next week, and I have the next project that I want to focus on partly cut out.  Working on one small thing a day will get this outstanding gift moved to the finish column hopefully by July or August.  I hope everyone is doing well, and finding the time in our busy lives to do some stitching.

Linking up to:
Life in Pieces

-Christina

15 Minutes to Stitch - Week 7 2018

I did it!!!!

Days spent stitching this week: 7 out of 7

Days spent stitching for February: 16 out of 18

Days spent stitching for 2018: 34 out of 49

Rate of Success: 69.4 %
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

I am so excited I did was able to stitch every day last week, and this week is showing to be that I will do it again!  This last week has picked up in sewing because of some deadlines I have created for myself, so I hope I am able to continue this trend, even if it is just 15 minutes a day, which will move a project along that is for sure.  I was able to get the second baby quilt cut out, the squares marked for it, borders cut out for Royal Gardens, and finished the first baby quilt in the knick of time.  Wow!  That is a lot, and a lot of good progress was made.  Let's do this again next week!  Until then...

Linking up to:
Life in Pieces

-Christina

Progress on Two Tops

This post was meant for Monday, but the holiday and activities from last night pushed it off to today, oh well as I can show off progress on my goals for the week.

Last week I was able to get the second baby quilt all cut out, and I got the inner-part of the top for Royal Gardens completed, and I got the borders cut out!  Thanks to my sew-in that I attended on Friday, I was able to lay out Royal Gardens and get all but one seam sewn.

This week I have gotten the last seam sewn, plus the inner part of Royal Gardens is all trimmed with some borders laid out.  This is what it looks like right now, which is what I was able to do today while waiting for bell practice to start.

My goals for the week include getting two quilt tops done.

One is the second baby quilt I am working on, I have all of the half square triangles sewn, and they are currently being squared up.  I hope to get it fully completed, including turning the binding so I can wash it when I do laundry on Sunday, I have some great in front of the TV time this weekend planned.

This is one quadrant of the quilt laid out.  Once I got the quadrant that goes next to it done, the rows should go together pretty easily as the seams nest perfectly!

My second goal is to get Royal Gardens a full and completed top.  I have four borders to put on, two are pieced, as they are laid out in the picture above.

Why get two quilt tops done this week, plus prep the batting and backing?  Because I am quilting them on Saturday at my LQS.  It might be a late Friday night, and I have some time Saturday morning, but thanks to my very understanding husband I think I'm going to get them done, so I can get the baby quilt fully done this weekend, and start quilting Royal Gardens for a quilt show in the middle of next month.

In addition to getting the tops done, I hope to get the kitchen cleaned.  More cleaning will happen next week due to extra quilting time this week.

Linking up to:
Sew Fresh Quilts
Monday Design Wall

-Christina

Progress on Baby Quilts

It was a fantastic week on the quilting front!  I made a lot of progress on the first baby quilt I had as my 1st goal last week.  Here are a few shots of what I was working on below.

One of the last seams for the quilt top.

Sewing down the binding.  I love the background fabric, and lucky me I ordered just a little too much.  I now have some for my stash!  Did I finish it?  Come back on Friday to see the full quilt, I'm very excited to have this done.  Just in time for the baby shower on Thursday!

Now for the most important part, which include my quilty goals for this week.

The first goal for the week is to cut out and start sewing the second baby quilt I need to have done within the next month.  It should be pretty easy to put together, the only thing is I will be sliver trimming the half square triangles because I am going for accuracy as I have some extra time right now to get this done.  I will be quilting this February 24.

My second goal for the week is to cut out Ring of Stars.  It is a belated wedding gift, and it is my quilt for Breakfast club at my LQS, as I am doing independent study.  I have written out my goals for every month in my 2018 Craft Goals page, and I am going to try and stay on top of them as I want to get this quilt done.

My third and final quilting goal is to work on Royal Gardens this week.  It is my February OMG, and I want to get the rows sewn together, and maybe get the top sewn together and a few borders on.  I also need to cut all of the borders, so that is step one.

In addition to my quilting goals, I have some home goals, which include cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the pantry area, cleaning out the freezer, and cleaning/organizing the linen closet.  Wow!  Here is to making it a great week!

Linking up with:
Design Wall
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday

-Christina

15 Minutes to Stitch - Week 6 2018

It was an amazing week, partly because I just finished a baby quilt, but also because I got 15 minutes of stitching in almost every day of the week!

Days spent stitching this week: 6 out of 7

Days spent stitching for February: 9 out of 11

Days spent stitching for 2018: 27 out of 42

Rate of Success: 64.3 %
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

Yipee!  I will take 6 out of 7.  I am raising my average up little by little, and I think I'm going to pass!  The 7th day I was hanging out with friends, and by the time I got home, which was late, and working I went straight to bed instead of sitting in front of my machine.  It is okay because I just finished the big project I was working on, which I will be sharing on Friday!  This week I hope to make it 7 out of 7 days, even with going out of town.  I have some prep work to do such as drawing lines on squares, which makes it a perfect little traveling project to help get my 15 minutes in.  Each small thing adds up to some significant amount of time when in a hurry.  I hope everyone else was successful in the last week!

Linking up to:
Life in Pieces

-Christina

BOM Update for January

Well, January flew by a little too quickly, and I was not even able to start to touch my BOM, Sweet Tooth.  I will try again this month with my goal from last month, which is to iron starched fabric, and cut out the background pieces so I can get blocks finished.

I hope this month was productive for everyone, and I hope to be more productive this next month.  Until check-in time good luck!

Linking up to:
Jo's Country Junction
Sew Fresh Quilts

-Christina

Design Wall Monday

Yes!  It is Monday still.  This past week was productive, I was not able to get as far as I originally planned, but there are some weeks where that happens.  As a result I get back on the horse and try again.

I was able to finish my January OMG without a hitch, and then I started cutting for the next baby quilt.  I was not able to fully finish cutting it out, but that is for this week, plus putting it together.  I was also able to get a few areas of cleaning checked off my list, which makes me feel fantastic!

Now for my quilty goals for this week they include:
Number one priority is to finish cutting fabrics, and get the top done as I need to have it finished by February 15.  I have a date as to when I am going to long arm it, which is this Sunday!  I was able to order the backing last week, and it arrived in record time (thanks Whittles Fabrics).  I just need to get the top done!

The second goal for the week is to iron and cut out the second baby quilt I need to have done within the next month.  I would have loved to get this one put together for long arming on Sunday also, but I have to be honest with myself, and not try and kill myself to get this one done too.  Instead I am letting it go, and get where I can on this one.

In addition to my quilting goals, I have some home goals, which include cleaning the kitchen, catching up on dishes (one more big load), reorganizing craft hill (almost done), clean the pantry area, and maybe trying out the carpet cleaning product I want to try.  Wow!  That is a lot, but I have some amazing support from my husband and I think I can, plus lots of focus.  Back to cutting!

Linking up with:
Design Wall
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday

-Christina

15 Minutes to Stitch - Week 5 2018

This week was a better week than before, I just hope to continue this trend and increase it.  Let us see how I did.

Days spent stitching this week: 5 out of 7

Days spent stitching for January: 18 out of 31
Days spent stitching for February: 3 out of 4

Days spent stitching for 2018: 21 out of 35

Rate of Success: 60.0 %
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

This week went a lot better.  I am still working on getting a 7 out of 7 days, but that is something I can work towards each week.  I am focused to get a baby top done for quilting next Sunday, and I would love to get a second one done.  To get there next week, there will be a lot of obstacles, as I have to get closer to being done with cleaning our place, and I get to hang out with one of my best friends as they are in town this week.  We are going to have a crafty night which I am very excited about.  I have faith everything will work out.

Linking up to:
Life in Pieces

-Christina

February 2018 OMG

My goal for January went very well, granted I finished a few nights before the end of the month, but I will take it!  Now it is already February (isn't the year just flying by already?) and I have chosen my goal.  This will be done in addition to two baby quilts I procrastinated on, and need to get done as the baby showers are quickly approaching before the end of the month.

My February 2018 one monthly goal is to complete the top for my Royal Gardens quilt.  I have it about half put together, and then I have four borders to put on, two of them are pieced.  I think I can get a lot of this done during my sew day in the middle of the month, and then finish it in my spare time.

Here is to having a successful month!
Linking up:
Elm Street Quilts

-Christina

January 2018 OMG Finished!!!

Yipeee! I finished my OMG for the month!  It has been a while since this has happened, and my goal of 15 minutes a day has definitely helped with this.  I was able to cut out my cousin's son's baby quilt.  He is over a year old now, but I have moved it along to hopefully finish it within the next few months.  Here is a picture of the cut out pieces.

It is going to be a simple rail fence quilt.  The binding is also cut and will be ready to go before I even get it all put together.

Now it is time to think of what my February OMG is going to be.  There is a lot of deadlines coming up, so there might be one of those, or I might stretch myself and work on something else along with my deadline quilts.  Decisions, decisions.

Sharing and looking at others at:
Sew Fresh Quilts
Elm Street Quilts

-Christina

Monday Design Wall - A Day Late

After coming down with a nasty migraine Sunday night, I am starting to feel human again.  As a result Monday Design Wall is a day late, but at least it is still happening!

This last week I did not do as well as the previous week.  I was able to get about half of a baby quilt cut out, and I attended my mastery class for my new machine, where we got to play with a bunch of stitches and features on the machine, and made a cute luggage tag.

I was also able to get tamales done!!!  And made some serious progress on cleaning the house.  This week will still have some more, but more about that at the end of the post.

My quilty goals for this week include:
Number one priority is to finish cutting out my cousin's son's quilt, post about finally getting it started, and finishing my OMG by completing this.  (I hope to get this done tonight!)

My second goal is to iron, cut fabrics, and get blocks put together for a baby quilt that I need to have finished by February 15 (maybe even finish putting the top together?).  I have a date as to when I am going to long arm it, which is February 11th, and I think I can get this quilt done before then.  I still need to order the back, which is going to happen this week, before Friday.

My third goal this week is to start quilting either a pillow sham or table runner that I made for last year's Christmas in July's blog hop with Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  During my mastery class for my new machine, we are going to play with the Bernina Stitch Regulator and learn how to use it.  Then put those skills to something you want to work on.  I might as well be productive with a WIP.

The fourth goal/stretch goal for the week is to iron and cut out the second baby quilt I need to have done within the next month.  This all depends upon how much time I have this week between cleaning and family stuff left to finish the 1st baby quilt to then work on this one.

In addition to my quilting goals, I have some home goals, which include cleaning the kitchen, catching up on dishes, vacuuming, putting away Christmas, reorganizing craft hill, and maybe trying out the carpet cleaning product I want to try.  Wow!  That is a lot, but I have some amazing support from my husband and I think I can, plus lots of focus.

Linking up with:
Design Wall
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday

-Christina

15 Minutes to Stitch - Week 4

Let's see how I did this last week.

Days spent stitching this week: 3 out of 7

Days spent stitching for January: 16 out of 28

Days spent stitching for 2018: 16 out of 28

Rate of Success: 57.1%
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

Hmmm, I did not do so hot this past week.  I kept getting comfortable on the couch about half way through the evening and just fell asleep.  That resulted in not doing 15 minutes on a few days, and then Sunday after a day of cleaning and laundry, I came down with a nasty migraine that has knocked me on my feet the last two nights (hence why this post is a day late).  I am roaring to go now, and this week is going to be fantastic!  I have a baby quilt to do that is being quilted the 2nd Sunday of the month, so I have to get busy on making the top.  I hope everyone was more productive then me this last week!

Linking up to:
Life in Pieces

-Christina

Monday Design Wall

Which is actually posted on a Monday!  I must be getting back in the swing of things.  I am getting things cleaned up, slowly but surely, and we finished the pork tamales!  Last round of tamales will be corn, and there are three batches because each batch does not yield as much as the beef and pork ones.

Enough about home stuff, let us see how I did!  Great actually!  I made progress on my Royal Gardens, I cut all of step 5 out, before I went to my sew day.

Then I was able to lay it out during my sew day at my LQS, and I got 4 rows sewed together.  I now have a nice big triangle to my quilt done for the center!  It is going to be amazing when I get it fully put together.

Tonight I was able to start cutting out my cousin's son's quilt, that is a year late, and my OMG for January.  If I stick to my 15 minutes a day, I will be able to get it all cut out by Wednesday night.  Focus.  I was not able to touch my third goal of working on Stitch and Flip wreaths, but that is okay, they will get done soon.  My fourth goal was to calculate how many pieces I needed for my Storm at Sea, which I was able to do, now I just have to start cutting and putting together as I got the templates from my Mom.

My goals for this week include:
Number one is to finish cutting out my cousin's son's quilt.  Post about finally getting it started, and finishing my OMG by completing this.

My second goal is to finish cutting out the borders for Royal Gardens, step 6 in the directions.  This will take a few nights to do if I'm just spending 15 minutes, but can be knocked out in an hour tops if I just focus.

My third goal and final for this week is to iron and cut fabrics for a baby quilt that I need to have finished by February 15.  The date was just given to me as the baby shower at work was just set.  It creates a fast turn around time, but I have almost everything I need, including my layout (I am making it smaller than the original pattern), except the back, which is already picked out.  I just need to order it.

This week I plan to finish all of the tamales I planned to make over the holiday season, along with a lot of cleaning that needs to happen, including cleaning out the fridge, cleaning the bathroom, and putting away my baking supplies.  I'm excited to focus and get lots done!

Linking up with:
Design Wall
Monday Making
Main Crush Monday

-Christina

15 Minutes to Stitch - Week 3

Let us see how I did this last week.

Days spent stitching this week: 3 out of 7

Days spent stitching for January: 13 out of 21

Days spent stitching for 2018: 13 out of 21

Rate of Success: 61.9%
My week runs Monday through Sunday.

I was not very successful this week, I actually dropped down from a C- to a D- (F).  Each evening I would work on something not stitching related, but housework and it just took a lot more time than I had planned.  Week 4 is a new week, and boy are some deadlines coming up quickly.  I am hoping to meet them, but to do this I am going to have to accomplish 15 minutes or more each day.  Time to get started!

Linking up to:

Life in Pieces

-Christina