Rise Up and Planning

My doctor boss was out of the office on Monday and I feverishly sewed most of the day to get the Rise Up quilt top finished.  While the HSTs were all made, sewing them into rows was quite time intensive.  I used various parts of the Log Cabin Loonies blocks as leader-enders, pleased to be working on those again. 

I couldn't help myself, I had to make some single fabric arrows with the greens.  Can you spot all six?

Constructing the backing was frustrating as usual whenever cobbling together a lot of leftovers.  I had bought two 1 yard pieces of solid green, but naturally needed three.

At one point the backing was in timeout after a miscut. I had to retire to another room with caffeine and snacks until the backing decided to behave.  At guild, after show and tell, I handed the quilt off to my sister to longarm for me.  Meanwhile I will cut the binding and get it ready to apply before the end of the month deadline.  

It has been four weeks since my shingles outbreak and I'm feeling much better, even good enough to face the disaster of my cutting table scraps and clutter.  I sorted and discarded, filled a bag with strings and chunks to take to guild, and will shove the rest into the precut bins.  There was also a good look through the project bins and rewriting of the WIPS in this year's Bullet Journal.  

The list of 26 (!!) projects was in no particular order, but I do have some favorites and priorities on these pages--which are mostly quilts for  ME.  However, our guild is having a sew-in for baby quilts next month and there are a couple of good options for that from my list.  Primarily prepping fabric and cutting stands out for many of the projects.  Two quilts I "owe" as gifts are top of the list.  Quilt tops I've completed need scheduling time with my sister.  I know she wants me to get comfortable enough with her longarm machine not to need her there when I want to quilt; I'm not confident I'll ever be!

UFO 2017 Challenge Progress

Well, here it is, month nearly half gone and while I have pulled out the project chosen for the month (#3 is my Modern Row by Row Robin quilt), I haven't made much progress on this project that needs additional blocks made and attached to the top, backing, quilting, and binding.

Here's half of a half Log Cabin block to add to my unfinished quilt top.  These blocks go fast and with only 5 to do, should work up quickly.  I have looked through my stash and have no suitable backing fabric for this modern quilt.  I'll hunt locally first for a print I like.  It is a lap size quilt and I'll spray baste when the time comes.  Pondering what solid color I'll use for the binding--possibly black. Meanwhile, I did get another top completed for guild philanthropy. 

Not a great quality photo, which I stole from our guild Flickr feed.  The Houndstooth blocks are 9" finished so it is a nice sized lap quilt.  I'm passing it on for quilting and binding along with extra fabric.  This was not on the UFO list but was great to cross off my to-do list. 

In the after-Christmas sales I found this wooden tree kit at Target for $5.  My winter decor is pine cones and bears since there is no snow in our beach town. 

While the actual colors didn't match the package, and I changed the layout of the pieces a little, it is a nice chunky item with copper dots, sides, and back.  I did have an amusing time trying to get the provided twine through the holes in the assembly process.  I ended up using a cuticle stick to shove it along.

I've also been distracted by a new-to-me type of organizing, the bullet journal.  I was struck by the simplicity as well as the customization that only involves a notebook and ink. My mom gave me a blank journal for my birthday and I've dived in to the analog world of bullet journals. Making lists and notes and doodles has ever been my method but unstructured time my downfall.  I am grateful to have that as a problem!  I look forward to spending more time getting things done.