2020 Challenges

   

All People Quilt 2020 Challenge

January - #2 Fish Bowl

February - #9 Ashley's T-shirt quilt

I have them all cut out, but it seems as if we are missing some.

I'm on a hunt for shirts.

March - #7 Courthouse Steps

April - #1 Christmas Card Caddy

July - #5 Tree Geneology

August - #8 Arrowheads

September - #10 Yo yos

October - #6 Christmas Pieces

HCMQG

January - #9  Ashley T-shirt Quilt

See above

February - #Mount Rushmore

April - #51 Cozy Days Lap Quilt

May - # 78 Harry Potter for Ashley

I doubt I will work on this one yet.

May - #167 Snowman

June - #35 Vacation Quilt

June - #14 T-shirt Quilt - Random from Carol

July - #19 A Heritage Quilt

July - #10 Bear from Mom's shirt

without eyes                                with eyes

August #3 Funk Feedsack pillow

August - #18 Karen's Hexagon Quilt

September - #36 Wool/felt Ornaments

September - Karen's Hexagon Quilt

October - #123 Mr. T

October - #153 Racoon Table Topper or Pillow

Stashbuster

January #6 6.5" 9 patches

January #66 Fish Bowl Quilt

February - #10 Adorn It

February - #99 Karen's Hexagon Quilt

March - #8 A Heritage Quilt

March - Map of Texas Lone Star State

April - #2 2019 Quilt Festival Shop Hop Quilt

April - #46 Christmas Pieces

April - #16 Bee-uti-ful Applique

I've been working on the pieces to prep them for the applique

May - #4 4-patches

May - #29 Brown Class Quilt

June - #1 - 1" HST

June - #60 - Equessense Embroidery

June - #101 Landscape

July - #3 3.5" 9 patches

July - #38 Chili Powder Quilt

August - #5 4.5" 9-patches

August - #51 Copper & Teal Quilt

September - #9 A Little Bit Shorter Tall Tree

September - #32 Camo Quilted Pieces

September - #132 Our Autumn Friends

October - #11 Arrowheads

October - #19 Bloom

Patchwork Times 

The Color Challenge

September - Pink

October - Brown

Placemats, napkins, and coasters.

(see below)

Gift Giving

September -pillows

Given to dear friends (in the front)

 

Sunflower wedding gift.

The two placemats are the same color, but the photo didn't see that.

Postcard swaps

Towel for DD's downstairs guest bathroom

Read a Book

August

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven by Bella Forrest

This is a mystical series where Harley (Smith) Merlin learns to use her powers.

They say this is an adult version of Harry Potter.

Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins by Bella Forrest

Harley is finding out more about herself and other magical powers.

There's so much action and revelations in this book.

It is mystical, like Harry Potter.

Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals by Bella Forrest

There is so much we find out about Harley and the team in this book.

They have some magical kids missing, and they are on the hunt to bring them into the coven safely.

Patchwork Times Learn Something New

I had a piece fall out of the intermittent tension unit on my longarm. 👀

So, I had to replace it.

Well, DH replaced it for me.

Then, it wouldn't sew nicely without thread breakage.

As to be expected, that is a new piece, and the others are years older.

I called Lorena to come and help me.

We even cleaned the check spring tension area and I learned I need to replace the felt pieces in there.

We spent a few hours playing with it, but I am learning how to adjust the tension in the machine and adjust the bobbin instead of the upper tension.

You would think this would not be that much of a problem, but I'm scared of it.

I know I need to get over it.

I've quilted one quilt with the new process and am doing OK.

It's hard to learn something new, but it is good for the brain.

I'm learning how to use my TOWA gauge to make sure my bobbin is wound correctly.

One Monthly Goal

August/September - Chili Powder Quilt

October - Arrowheads

OMG Finished

This was a finish at 1040 pm on 9/30/2020, but the linky is already closed. 

But, it is a finish and that is important.

One more UFO done.

 

Chili Pepper

I finished quilting Chili Pepper.

I don't know why it took it so long?

I quilted flames all over it.

Appropriate for hot chili peppers?

 

Projects

I'm probably not going to get all the October items done for DD's decorations, but she has what was there from last year, so she will be decorated.

I finished the towel.

Instead of embroidering on it, I just added a spooky fabric square.

It is for the downstairs bathroom, so all is well.

We went out this afternoon, so I finished 3 more ornaments.

I only had 2 more prepped, so I went ahead and cut more hexagons.

They are ready to go for the next excursion.

I'm quilting chili pepper right now.

Might get it done and bound tonight.

 

Charity quilts

This is a large Covered in Love quilt I finished today.

I need to make the binding and trim it so I have something to work on tomorrow when we head down south.

The little quilt is for the New Braunfels Quilt Guild charity program.

I finished it a couple of days ago.

Now I get to quilt one of my own.

 

Progression of crates being emptied

So, if anyone has some ideas on how to manage my "stuff", please let me know.

Please don't say "you have too much stuff" or "get rid of it all.

If you have something to say, please be constructive.

Crate #1 is empty.

Crate #2 is empty

I tend to add my jewelry here at the desk.

So, I have these clear boxes with the earrings in them.

I also have the Lilla Rose Hair accessories.

I love using them in my hair because they are comfortable to wear and pretty.

I also added some of the items I need for the embroidery machine.

Crate #3 is empty

Crate #3 had so much stuff in it.

I went through and stored some of the scissors.

I might still need to place some in storage.

I'll pay attention to which ones I use all the time.

I also realized I needed my morning eye drops and such, so they are in that steel container.

I know which ones are which, so I don't need the boxes.

Then, you come with the medical things -- blood pressure cuff, thermometer, etc.

There must be a better way to keep those within reach.

I'll have to keep my eyes open for something to use.

I think this is it for today.

I ordered a couple of clear drawers for some of the sewing items I use, but not daily.

They will be here by the weekend.

 

Design Wall Monday

     I'm linking to

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts Design Wall Monday and Monday Making.

This is for a friend of my son's.

I was doing well on working on it before I started the wiring issue in my studio.

Now I need to balance between sewing and organizing.

No progress on this one. 😕

One day I will be able to work on it.

My allergy headaches have not helped me at all.

what a mess

After living in this house for 15 years, I found that I had so many wires running here and there from items I no longer had.

We would be in a hurry and not run the wires nicely.

I had a surge protector spark and smoke last week.

Since my son and I have been talking about fixing my wires for a long time, I asked for a day of his weekend.

I wish I had before photos.

My desk and sewing area without anything but the main machines on it.

I added those gaming mats because they are pretty and they should help with the vibration and noise level.

I decided the hanging items on my drawers were an eyesore, so I took them down.

I added my thread boxes back.

Without much wall space, I need to use the counters for the thread.

I'll need to have my container with whatever leader/ender I'm using at the moment.

They are to the right of the sewing machine.

I am debating on how to house the items I much have near my sewing and embroidery machine.

I would never have imagined all these bins would contain what was on my counters in my desk and sewing machine area.

Since many of the wires ran below the desk, it has been completely cleaned out.

I had to get me mats for my chairs to roll on the carpet.

It is time to steam clean my studio.

I had to buy a new lamp for my desk.

My other lamp would flicker when it was touched. 

I never knew that until we were moving it around.

So, I found this one and it will be perfect for my needs.

Now will be the time to purge the stuff in the crates and only put what I love and need on top of my surfaces.

All I can say is THANK YOU, JON!

I couldn't have done it with you!

 

Finished Bear

 DD wants me to put a bow in the Bear's hair.

I'm not sure about that, so right now I'm calling it done.

I'm glad I bought the eyes and nose pieces.

It makes a huge difference.

Putting them early in the process would have been easier, but, she is done.

Stash Report #39

  quilt paint create links to all our stash reports.

	Used this Week:	.76 yards
	Used year to Date:	193.52 yards
	Net Stash used in September	14.75 yards
	Added this Week:	0.00 yards
	Added Year to Date:	70.18 yards
	New Goal:	200.00 yards
	Yards to the goal:	38.76 yards
	Net Used in 2020	161.24 yards

I'm making ornaments for Christmas.

I made another name tag.

I made some postcards for swaps I'm in.

Everything I finished this week has been small.

A couple of other fun facts are:

Prairie Moon is doing a 350 block challenge:

	Total Number of equivalent blocks:	874
	Perimeter in inches:	90087
	Number of UFOs finished this year: UFO Yardage Used:	29 70.07
	Percentage of yardage used in UFOs:	36%
	Number of Bobbins Used this week:	5
	Number of Bobbins Used this year:	127
	Number of Spools Used this week: Number of Spools Used this year:	0 20

She is also doing a 100-day challenge.

MY list is in the tab above, named 100-day challenge.

I had a good week.

79.I finished my pineapple postcard

80. Halloween postcards.

83. I repaired a gown that I love.

88. I received the eyes and noses for the bear I made and installed them.

38. I cleaned the long arm and fixed my tension issues.

I've worked on some of the other areas, but have not completed them.

Kate at Life in Pieces is doing the challenge of 15 minutes of sewing.

	Days of Stitching:	99%
	Number of Days this week:	7/7
	Number of Days this year:	268/270
	Days Organizing:	92%
	Number of Days this week: Number of Days this year:	7/7 248/270

I am doing my best to balance stitching and cleanings.

Today my son is coming over and helping with the wires around and under my desk.

I definitely need help with that process.

Quilting is more fun than Housework has us working on scraps.

I still have the other projects that I'm working on, but no real progress this week, so I decided not to show the photos again.

These are the ornaments I've finished.

I'm enjoying working on them as I am in the car.

Ornaments

 I've been taking my ornaments with me when I know I'll have to wait.

I took DS to the eye doctor this morning and made three more ornaments.

I think they are cute.

I still need to add the hangers, but this makes 15 done.

That is about half way.

Aren't they cute in their container?

100 days list

 Ok, so how depressing is it that it is 100 days to the end of the year?

Sherrie at Prarie Moon suggested that we start our list today.

Here is her post. 

I've posted my list on my 100 days page.

I've tried to break my list down into smaller pieces, but I'm not good at that.

So, I'm hoping that if I can get a few of the things done in one day that the larger ones will come together and they will even out.

It was difficult for me to think through these things, but I have a list.

How about you?

Long arm

So, I am changing thread and my knot gets tuck in the thread guide.

I help it through and then find this little black thing hanging on the thread.

I figure out where it goes, but it won't stay in.

It won't screw in, it fits but doesn't stay.

Come to figure out, I have to buy this part, the whole thread tension piece to get it to not shred the thread.

So, it is now ordered and supposed to be here on Thursday.

At least it was an easy fix.

Maybe I'll get some longarming in during the weekend.

 

Chili Pepper

The top is together.

I'm asking to see if it needs to be larger.

I could add a black border to frame it and then one of the colors for an outside border.

We shall see what is requested.

 

Bear

I have had this project started for a number of years.

My Mom passed away in July 2017 and I know I've had this cut out since December 2017.

So, I guess it is less than 3 years old.

But, I decided today I would sew this bear together.

The instructions with the pattern were HORRIBLE!

I found a YouTube on making a bear and it was WONDERFUL!

So, I got the bear together.

I still need to find eyes and nose for it.

I might just embroider them on for this one.

Time will tell.

This was my test bear.

I would like to make a few for my kiddos and then for a friend.

It took about 3 hours to finish, so not so long.

I need to get better at stuffing and such.

I want to try another one and see if I use some of my small batting and fabric scraps how it would work.

I know it would heavier, but I'll see how it works.

 

Design Wall Monday

    I'm linking to 

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts Design Wall Monday and Monday Making.

Chili Pepper is coming along.

I need to sew the columns together and then decide on a border.

I've not even touched this one yet.

I'm hoping this week might be the week.

My small guild is having a challenge about coloring your fabric and then doing some quilting on it.

Maybe thread painting?

I'm not sure, but I know I'll be making a pillow cover.

I have pillows on my couch but never change for the season.

So, it's about time to change that and make some pillow covers.

Stash Report #38

      quilt paint create links to all our stash reports.

	Used this Week:	2.60 yards
	Used year to Date:	192.77 yards
	Net Stash used in September	13.99 yards
	Added this Week:	1.70 yards
	Added Year to Date:	70.18 yards
	New Goal:	200.00 yards
	Yards to the goal:	39.52 yards
	Net Used in 2020	160.48 yards

More dog bandanas for October

Birthday presents for DD's friend.

This is a Jo's Club UFO.

No, I am not quilting it, but I am providing it to a friend that does amazing quilting.

She is going to quilt it and hand it in a shop.

I didn't take a photo of the two pieces of red that a friend sent to me.

I needed red, and Tammy helped me out.

A couple of other fun facts are:

Prairie Moon is doing a 350 block challenge:

	Total Number of equivalent blocks:	858
	Perimeter in inches:	89735
	Number of UFOs finished this year: UFO Yardage Used:	28 69.57
	Percentage of yardage used in UFOs:	36%
	Number of Bobbins Used this week:	2
	Number of Bobbins Used this year:	122
	Number of Spools Used this week: Number of Spools Used this year:	0 20

Kate at Life in Pieces is doing the challenge of 15 minutes of sewing.

	Days of Stitching:	99%
	Number of Days this week:	7/7
	Number of Days this year:	261/263
	Days Organizing:	92%
	Number of Days this week: Number of Days this year:	7/7 241/261

Because I have been rearranging my studio and cleaning it up, I have had many hours of organizing time involved.

It feels better already.

Quilting is more fun than Housework has us working on scraps.

This is one my to-do list for this week.

The pineapple center is together.

I just need to press it.

It is very heavy with all those seams. 

I am using my Chinese coins UFO to start the border.

First press, next, add a small border to stop the pattern of the center and then add to the Chinese coins.

I have this UFO that was in a pouch, and I forgot about it.

It's for Christmas Hexi ornaments.

I had cut all the hexes and needed to sew the folded Hexi to make it into a Christmas ornament.

I have made 10 of them so far.

I still need to put the hangers on them.

I'll do that when I finish what I have started.

I'm using up the button I have on hand too.

I'm amazed at how different fabrics handle.

Some fold easily and others are very difficult to fold.