phd 2021

I have had a hard time this year setting goals for next year. Maybe, because it has been an uncertain year. And yet, I finished the most ufo projects I have ever done in a single year. Now, that I think of it, I might be tired of finishing, but, I have many more to finish. I am not sure how to find the balance between finishing to accomplish, and starting new to enjoy. The more I stick to a list, the less I quilt.

Still, I've made my list for next year and the PHD 21.

1. Double wedding ring. This keeps showing up on my list of goals. It still intimidates me. I want to do the traditional scallop border....

2.frolic mystery quilt. This was last year's quiltville mystery and I had it done pretty quickly, but, I wanted to finish older ufos, and this was sidelined.

3. end of the rainbow. I think the white space makes me nervous to quilt. This was a rsc project for 2019. I really like it and hope to finish it this year.

And, with all the quilts I finished this year, I didn't finish any rainbow scrap challenge quilts. I finished the tops of 5 or 6, but, didn't get them quilted. And there are none on my 12 PHD2021 list. So, I need to fix that.

Oh wait.. I finished birch trees from 2018 rsc

and woven checkerboard from 2019

I think that is why I am trying to not start any new rsc projects this year, but, only finish them. I have a few to carry over. But, Angela has hinted there might be a group project.....I would HAVE to do that.

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday
oh scrap
UFO busting

phd 2021

planning party

birch trees finish

I started this quilt as part of the rainbow scrap challenge in 2018. I made blocks according to the rainbow color of the month. By year end, I had all the blocks finished. I made string blocks, and, sliced them for the "tree" part of the block. By following the scrap challenge, it was never overwhelming to work on it.

It is about 68 x 80. I used a green sheet for the backing.

I have this quilt on my May one monthly goal and my PHD 2020.

I'm linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different     here  and here

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty
UFO busting

I am linking to:

rsc20 super saturday

phd 2020
one monthly goal

May goals

It is a new month ( finally). Time to focus on 3 UFos for the month of May. I want to make a top of the unicorn quilt I started 2 years ago for my Granddaughter. I am winging it for the pattern. I have a unicorn panel and I want to make it bigger.

I think I made birch trees last year as part of the rainbow scrap challenge, and it is ready to quilt.

I have another quilt in the "to be quilted" pile that I want to quilt this month. It was a block of the month with a quilt shop called stars and stripes.
I am working on the unity mystery quilt and the old world mystery quilt, too. And with the new month, there should be a new color for the rainbow scrap challenge.

I'm linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different     here  and here

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap
from bolt to beauty
UFO busting
one monthly goal
phd 2020

birch trees

Birch trees quilt is growing. I have been adding the different colors, row by row. I am really being somewhat random.

I am nearly done with all the blocks I have made. I think I like the size and will not need anymore blocks. Since I had made them for the rainbow scrap challenge, I made a few blocks in each color, and I didn't know if I would have to fill in with some new blocks to get a good color combination. So far, it looks good enough to me.

I think I have a favorite and then I see another color I like better, and then another and so on.

I am linking to:

WOW

midweek makers

Silly Mama WIP

Oh Scrap

birch trees again

The color for the February rainbow scrap challenge is yellow, my favorite color. I didn't have time to gather the yellow scraps, yet, but, I had a chance to work on the birch trees at Friday group. I got this far, and then, some little bitty stubborn thread got stuck in the bobbin case, and I couldn't sew any more. bummer.
I cut some flannel kits until I ran out of flannel that I had brought.
Luckily, I have a great machine repair guy at home, and he was able to take it apart, and get my sweet featherweight up and running again.

Also, this week, I prepared the back and binding for the tokoyo subway quilt. It is all nice and ready for a turn on the longarm. I have a much too long list of quilts that need quilted, so, it may be awhile. But, progress is progress.

I am linking:

 SewCan She

rsc19 super saturday
oh scrap

row by row

I've enjoyed the end of the year for cleaning up odds and ends of projects and their respective piles.
It seems I am a stuffer. When I get to a certain point in quilt making, I stuff the odds and parts somewhere. As the stacks grow taller, I get a little bit crazier.
I have been unstuffing, slowly and without pressure.
I have moved 3 quilts through borders, backing and binding to the quilt closet including soul searching.,  a rainbow scrap challenge quilt.

I have started assembling rows of the birch trees quilt. I finished all the blocks during the year as part of the rainbow scrap challenge. I am glad we have the last two months of the year for finishing our rsc quilts. But, I am a little lost. I have all these ideas for next year, and I NEED a color. I want to start right now, not next week. Now...

I guess I will just go clean something. sigh....

I am linking:

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

green squared away blocks

The first thing I discovered making the October squared away block, was that 1- 2 1/2 in strip was not enough to do a whole block. So, it was back to the drawer and find something to finish what I already had cut.
The red squared away blocks have gone awol. But I am sure, like always, after a bit of clean up, I will find them.
It seems that there is a time determined in the universe of how long I can keep sewing without a proper cleaning, and I try to push it. I am afraid it is longer than my short term memory, and that is a problem.

It's exciting to realize, I have all the blocks to make a quilt. I have seen some great quilts finished already with the squared away block from this year's rainbow scrap challenge. My sincere thanks to the block designer Mari from the academic quilter and Angela from So Scrappy for a great sampler block rainbow style.

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

old quilt rescue

I found this quilt at a flea market. It was hand pieced, but machine quilted and not finished. It needed the binding. I felt like it needed rescued. I wonder how it was previously rescued and long armed but not bound. The colors and fabrics are fun, but they don't seem that old. Were quilters hand piecing in the 60s or 70s?

Quilting is always changing

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

the last birch trees

I made 2 dark green birch trees for the rainbow scrap challenge. I think it is time to start laying out the blocks and deciding on the color arrangement. I may have to take it to the library and use their tables.

And, I am already eyeing what rainbow quilts I might do next year. I found these two while cleaning a shelf. This is an Emily Herrick design that everybody was making awhile ago. I didn't get around to it, Better late than never. I like that it uses 2 1/2 inch strips.

Rainbow baby in quilty magazine May/June 2013. This is a quilt designed by Cynthia Brunz from Quilting is more fun than housework. I've had it marked since 2013, and now, I feel like I know her through the blog.

Am I the only one anxious to plan the next year's rainbow scrap challenge?

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

feeling blue

I had a chance to catch up with my birch trees quilt from last week and the rainbow scrap challenge.

depending on the color next month, I am ready to start laying this out and deciding what colors I need to make to balance the colors I already have made.

I cut the squared away blocks and took them to Friday group. And then there was trouble with a capital T and it rhymes with turned out wrong. Amid the talking and busyness of the group, I realized I was missing some half square triangles in the accent color. fine.. I will just work with what I had and make a variation. smile.. but, then when I laid it out, I realized it was turned wrong anyway. so I threw it all back in the box and worked on oriental pinwheels. Good to have a backup plan.

At home, I thought I would work on a brand new block and, perhaps, get it right. Which I think I did.
I cut more, and still had to redo parts. I am triangle challenged. I can look right at a picture, see it in my head and turn them around, and this one had me fuddled.

SO one down, one to go, and one to try and save.

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

blue trees

I am a little short for the rainbow scrap challenge. this week. I really didn't take the time to get this week's blocks together. I did get them planned.
I only wanted 2 dark blue blocks for my birch trees. I cut the 12 1/2 in background squares

And I sewed a few strips together for the tree inserts.

I have spent a little time each day sewing hourglass units for orca bay and pieces for my double wedding ring. I am not seeing great progress at this point, but I am moving forward. I am still a little blurry with my cataract surgery. I have a big quilt finish I will share on Monday.

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

orange you glad it's not banana

The plan for this month's birch trees was to do two light and two dark orange, but I didn't have another light orange. I am thinking it might be time to start assembling this quilt. I wanted 42 blocks - 6x7, and I might have that many now. A count is in order. And then a plan.

I worked on birch trees at Friday quilt group. Have you noticed how much faster a project goes when in the company of other quilters?

Since Linda and I are also working on our wedding ring quilts. Sue brought her Mother's double wedding ring quilt to share with us. It was spectacular. We are thinking the fabrics look more like the 40s and 50s. Sue remembers that her Mother didn't want to make the center white in case it would yellow, so she chose pink.

It's hand pieced and hand quilted. What a treasure.

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

red birch trees

I took birch trees with me to my small Friday group. We meet at the library. When I arrived, I realized I didn't have my cutting mat, and these need a lot of cutting. Fortunately, the time was not lost, because the library has a closet of sewing machines and stuff for the patrons to use. I guess it was a grant of some kind. I did get to work on these until the power went out from a quick storm. We waited 10 minutes and then called it a day.

I thought I had planned and cut for six blocks in red, but there were only four in my bag. I think the other two were separated as, I excitedly cleaned up my cutting table for my new cutting mat.
I purchased it at the Marion Indiana quilter's hall of fame quilt show. I have 2 of the rulers and really like them. My cutting mat was showing enough wear, that I knew it was time to make a decision any way.

As soon as I find and make those rascally birch blocks, I will be caught up with the rainbow scrap challenge for the month of red.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday


ufo busting

rainbow sewing

The rainbow scrap challenge color for June is turquoise and teal. I had scraps to make 4 of them. My design wall is looking so pretty with all the rainbow block projects. I think if you go rainbow quilting, you never go back.

I have 32 of these blocks made for a quilt. I want 42 when I am done. A little each month is a fun way to make a quilt, especially, when each month is a different color.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

ufo busting

in the pink

For the rainbow scrap challenge, there were 7 blocks this month that needed pink in my Tokoyo subway quilt. It is getting exciting as more colors are added, this block is nearly done waiting for orange.

On this block, pink was the first and only color. At this point all 25 blocks have been started and have color.

I also made 6 pink birch tree blocks.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday