January To-Do

 

Here's how my design wall looked on the first day of the new month and new year. Not so very different from how it looked last month. Metro Twist is pinned up with its backing on the left, but it's doubled over to make room for some of the Old Town square in square blocks. Running Out of Raincloud is still pinned in the very same place, waiting for squaring up and facings to be applied. The Stamp Quilt blocks are over on the far right. In front of the design wall is the City Sampler and Bohemian Wife. The pile to the right is finished quilts that need to either be hung up or put in the storage closet.

I got inspired for finishing some of my UFO's this year from an Instagram post from Sarah Goer for JandiDean's 2025 challenge. I have to admit part of the reason for joining is that I liked the little ufo logo.

I had to pick out 6 UFO's (out of my very long list) to commit to finishing this year for this challenge. Those choices will have a UFO symbol 🥏👽 next to them on this list.

I've rearranged the list into two sections Quilts and Other. Within the Quilts category, there are three stages: Continue Assembly - for quilts I've already started making, Quilting- for quilts that have a top and backing made, and Finishing- for quilts that have been quilted but need binding/facing, labels and sleeves.

QUILTS

Continue Assembly

AG Stamp Quilt - continue to make more blocks using the cut-out stamp block borders and centers from Tula Pink fabrics.

Design and make a quilt for the Sister Artists 3 embroideries - Due in February. 

Old Town Mystery Quilt - keep working on the weekly clues.

🥏👽 Trim to size and then sew the 12 columns of the Temperature Quilt together.

🥏👽 Bohemian Wife -finish assembling the quilt back, sandwich and make the binding

Pantone Project - work on a overall design, either in EQ8 or up on the design wall.

City Sampler put together a backing, make binding, take to a long-armer to be quilted.

Quilting

🥏👽 Trinket

🥏👽 Metro Twist - sandwich and quilt.

🥏👽 Slopes

Final Steps

🥏👽 Running Out of Raincloud -  add facing, sleeve and label.

HANDWORK/BAG/CLOTHING PROJECTS 

Make a Cotton Candy pouch for myself.

Oxbow Tote - cut out and begin the assembly.

Toned-Down Circle Sampler - arrange and appliqué the circles, start embroidering.

Y.E.S. Coat - continue making pieces/blocks. assemble on foundation, cut out lining pieces from the fabric that I dyed.

Snake In The Garden - Finish hand stitching

Kawandii - Finish hand stitching/assembly

More categories and moving things around on a list is of course not terribly productive, but if it helps organize my mind's to-do list, perhaps it will result in more actually getting done during January.

November To-Do

 

November is underway and here's a look at what's on my design wall at the moment. The back I just started making for the Metro Twist quilt top, and the almost finished Running Out of Raincloud quilt. 

Begin Something New

Make a Cotton Candy pouch for the BAMQ swap.

Oxbow Tote - cut out and begin the assembly.

Toned-Down Circle Sampler - arrange and appliqué the circles, start embroidering.

AG Stamp Quilt - continue to make more blocks using cut out the cut out stamp block centers from Tula Pink fabrics.

Design a quilt for the Sister Artists 3 embroideries. 

Continue Assembly

Trim to size and then sew the 12 columns of the Temperature Quilt together.

Bohemian Wife -finish assembling the quilt back, sandwich and make the binding, take to long armer this month.

Pantone Project - work on a overall design, either in EQ8 or up on the design wall.

City Sampler -Put together a backing, make binding. - take to long armer this month.

Y.E.S. Coat - continue making pieces/blocks. assemble on foundation, cut out lining pieces from the fabric that I dyed.

Snake In The Garden - Finish hand stitching

Kawandii - Finish hand stitching/assembly

Quilting

Running Out of Raincloud -  finish quilting, binding or facing.

Trinket

Metro Twist (finish the backing)

Slopes

Final Steps

I'm so close to being to put Running Out of Raincloud in this category... 

Trinket Back Done

 

I'm having a bit of a backlog up on the ol' design wall, the Trinket back pieces were pinned up on top of the January-May Temperature Quilt columns. I had to take all the pieces of the Trinket back down to sew them together. While they were off, I pinned up the Trinket quilt top and then started rearranging on top of that to get an idea of the size required for the backing. It's a lot of layers and pins!

But that's all sorted now, and the Trinket quilt back is assembled. It's a skosh too small width-wise so I'll add two purple borders, one on either side. I like the almost arranged in orderly checkerboard squares but a little bit off-kilter. At one point I had to cut a few more squares for a final column and I added in more whites so either side would have a bit of white balance. They really stick out from the intensely colored squares.

I'm glad that I isolated and "floated" the special teeny-tiny show-off-y paper pieced squares in their own section. I'm unreasonably chuffed (proud I guess) about how they turned out. Showing off, but on the back isn't too braggadocios of me I suppose.

I keep trying to flick that piece of thread off the screen↑↑↑ 

But alas, it's just in the picture. 

Hopefully I can get the Trinket quilt spray basted and layered before the rain starts next week.

Design Wall Saturday

Every now and then I like to take a picture of my design wall, just to keep track of how/what I'm doing. This week I was moving stuff around in my workspace and pinned these pieces up on the momentarily empty design wall for a mini-art show. Four of them are not quilts but are instead mixed-media paper and fabric and thread. 

This was all left up on display for a few hours while I tore my room apart looking for the binding I made 3 years ago for my Blue Squares quilt (still unfound at the moment 😢where the heck is it? 😡) and my two housemates (DH and son) both had viewer comments. It was interesting to hear what they had to say, the things that they noticed and pointed out and which pieces they liked the most. 

To me even as different as all the pieces are from each other, they are all still (to me at least) obviously made by the same person. Which, since several of these are shall we say, experimental at best, is a pretty good result. 

Design Wall Saturday

 A look at what’s up on my design wall. The pinned up quilt top of the Safe At Home along with assorted blocks that will end up on the quilt back. A recent finish from Journey2Nebula. My Lone round Robin in progress and a printed piece from Brooklyn Mojo.