March OMG

It's time to link up again with Patty over at Elm Street Quilts and decide on a project to cross of the list this month.  I'm trying really hard to finish the things I start in 2020, so this month, I want to finish two kid donation quilts that I started last month.

Currently both tops are pieced as well as the backings.

All that is left to do is baste, quilt and bind.  The first and last tasks are easy enough.  It's the middle I tend to over think and trip up on.  So with any luck, by April these two little quilts will find their way to the two small people that will need them.  

If you haven't decided on your project for the month, there is still time.  Join us all over at Elm Street Quilts and let's start crossing things off that list!

February OMG--Complete

I hate when I wait till the last minute to get things finished but I'll take a finish no matter how it comes to me.  This month my goal was to turn this pile of fabric into neat little piles of cut pieces.

Really that seems simple enough and a goal that sounds almost like cheating.  Cutting fabric, such a simple thing.  I managed to drag this one out all month but as of last night I can count this one as a finished.

February OMG

As per usual with me, I'm sneaking this post in as the hour glass sands are running thin.  It's time to link up and join Patty over at Elm Street Quilts with her One Monthly Goal link up.  Honestly, there were so many things on my list I could pick from I had trouble deciding.  However I decided to go with a new quilt project, though I've had the quilt kit almost two years.  

My cousin purchased this quilt kit in hopes that he and I could make it together for his dad.  It is The Bear Creek Quilting Company's The Great Outdoors quilt.

Picture from The Bear Creek Quilting Company

You can get your copy of the free pattern here.

January OMG Finish

I'm over here doing a little happy dance!  For the month of January, I decided to join Patty over at Elm Street Quilts in her One Monthly Goal (OMG) party.  This month, I wanted to finish piecing Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs Mosaic Mystery Quilt.  As of yesterday, my goal was completed.

OMG-January

It's been forever since I've set a monthly goal for myself but I'm back and ready to crack that whip.  I am joining in with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for her monthly link up to encourage us to tackle just one thing for the month (and there is prizes...shhhh).  This month I will be tackling piecing the Mosaic Mystery Quilt designed and hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.

I had set a goal last week to get all of the block pieces pieced and I'm almost there.  

My goal for the month will be to take all the pieces and turn them into a finished quilt top.  This will hopefully allow me to get the quilt finished before the parade of quilts in March.  This also means that this quilt will have never hit my UFO list and that is something to celebrate!!!

Rainbow OMG

Lately, the only rainbows around my house are the ones I hang on my clothes line.  Today the rain clouds parted long enough for David and I to sneak outside and snap some quick shots of finished quilt tops.

For me it would be my One Monthly Goal quilt.  I wanted to make a Quilt for Pulse to help out the Orlando MQG in their goal to provide quilts for the victims of the horrible shooting in June.  I believe the only way to conquer evil is with good and covering everyone with quilts can only make the world a warmer place.  So, my goal for July is to quilt and bind this 60" quilt and send it on its way to a new home where it will hopefully bring love and comfort.

Also, if all goes well, I will be able to quilt my Rainbow Rose Quilt, making July the month that brings lots of color to my world and I have to say, I'm quite looking forward to it.

So today I'm hopping over to Red Letter Quilts and linking up with Heidi to declare my goal and most importantly, make it happen.  Have you declared your one monthly goal?  There is still time!  Search around your sewing space, pick a project and come join the party before the linkup floats away!

Today I'm linking up with OMG and Main Crush Monday.

Labyrinth--OMG Finish

For some reason, I was in fear this quilt was going to break me.  It was my One Monthly Finish goal for March but I allowed myself to fall short of finishing by like an hour and a half of quilting.  I was so mad at the quilt for its non-finish (like it was the quilts fault) I skipped the whole month of April working on it and put it in a (unfair) time out.  May would be its month, when I declared it as my gaol yet again.  So let's recap about this quilt for a second.  Labyrinth is a UFO I pieced quite a few years ago and wanted to wait for a time when I felt I could do the quilting justice.  I dearly loved the blue and brown batiks that went into this quilt.

One of the things I wanted to play with in the quilting of this quilt was feathers.  Stitching those billowing plumes is a skill I have only recently felt comfortable tackling.  Sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet.

When I went into motif planning I had hoped to stick them several places.  I auditioned a little bit of everything in each of the sections.

I sorted through my Aurifil stash to find just the right shades for quilting each section.

I decided on Aurifil #1285 Medium Bark, #5011 Rope Beige, #2775 Steel Blue, #1126 Blue Gray, #2310 Light Beige, and #2000 Light Sand.

Quilting started off pretty quickly with dot-to-dot quilting in the center star and the addition of Kathleen's Magic Shape in the surrounding background area.

I wasn't exactly happy with the first attempt with the feathers at the top of the bracket, but it got easier and closer to what I had in mind the more I stitched them.

One of the biggest challenges quilting this quilt, was the fact that Caroline loved it so much.

It was shortly after this picture, I found myself missing my end of March goal date.  I had just finished quilting the tan/beigh and brown borders and hit a wall.

All that was left was more feather plumes in the large blue border, but I was so disappointed that I hadn't completed it and was getting tired of fighting with it in the opening of my machine, I decided to set it aside for a while.  I folded it and set it on the back of the couch with the intentions of coming back to it in a few days.

Okay, try a month later, way longer than I had expected. But I needed that small break.  As soon as I picked it up and started quilting those borders, I started laughing at myself for giving up so easily.  In no time at all they were complete.  I guess I just needed a small amount of distance to work through my road block.  As soon as those borders where finished I tossed it on the floor for a quick shot of the back.

Even though there were lots of points of doubt as it progressed, I think I achieved the look I was wanting all along.  Labyrinth was almost finished.

After attaching the binding I decided to give it a quick bath to remove some of the blue marks from my water soluble pens.  I ran cool water in the bathtub submerged her and left for about 10 minutes.  As soon as I saw the water I knew I needed to act fast.  She immediately when into the washing machine with about 6 color catchers.  Thank goodness I keep them on hand.

After a good soak and spin she was good to go.

I cannot express how good it feels to have this finish behind me.  One UFO gone from quite a large pile of them. Now to decided on the next one to finish.  I set a goal of finishing four this year, but I am quite hopeful I can cross more off than that.

Today I'm linking up with Linky Tuesday, Main Crush Monday and OMG Finish.

OMG--Let's try this again

Remember this quilt?  I think the bigger question is, hey, Tish, do you remember this quilt?  And yes I do remember it.  Labyrinth was my One Monthly Goal for March over at Red Letter Quilt's One Monthly Goal Party and somewhere along the way I lost steam and didn't quite get it finished.  Sadly, I only  have a small section left to quilt.  I became frustrated with my border feathers and put the quilt in a small time out on the back of the couch, where Oliver and Caroline have been doing their best to cover it with cat hair.  So helpful those two.

So, I have decided to move it closer to the machine and get it wrapped up before yet another month slips away from me.

 The only items standing in the way of Labyrinth's completion are the four table runners I have to have finished by  May 16th (although I should make a few more) and the possible creation of a small machine quilted whole cloth to enter into the local quilt festival.  Which would also have a dead line of May 16th.  So if I did nothing else the rest of the month that still leaves a week and a half to finish this quilt.  Surely I can do that, right?

So even though March's OMG was a flop, I'm ready to climb back on the goal setting horse and give this quilt another go.  So today I'm linking up with Heidi over at Red Letter Quilts to show my commitment to my goal.  Do you have a goal for the month?  Hop over and join the fun.  Fly or flop it's always more fun with friends.

OMG--March

Last month I participated in Red Letter Quilt's OMG Linky Party and had great success.  My goal was to make a Mini Swoon Quilt and I did.

Read more about my Mini Swoon here.

So this month I thought I would give myself a kick in the pants and participate again.  Actually the end of this month scares me a bit.  Back in January, I set a few goals for myself publicly (thank you my blog) and the end of March I should be checking back in to see how things are going.  Some are going great and others...ehhhh.  My OMG goal will at least put me a step in the right direction with my long term goal of finishing a UFO a quarter.  This month I will tackle my Labyrinth Quilt done in batiks.  It's a smaller quilt measuring around 56 inches.

I think this one managed to fall by the wayside over the years, because every time I set down to plan its quilting, I get overwhelmed by all the possibilities, chicken out, and fold it neatly and put it back in the pile.  That will not happen this month.  NO! It will be finished.

So the other evening I pulled out my trusty markers and plexiglas and tried a few things out.

Will any of these designs make the cut?  Honestly, I'm not quite sure yet.  The quilt is trying to talk to me but I haven't quite deciphered what it's saying.  I have backing fabric, batting and my threads have been picked out.

Now all I have to do is finish the December Aurifil mini Winter Stars by Celine Perkins and I will be on my way with Labyrinth.

Hopefully, if you check back in within the next week, I can show you all the fun I had with this little guy.  With my daughter's archery tournament being in town this weekend, I'm not sure how much stitching will actually take place, so it may be a bit longer till I'm finished.  But I promise you will love it.

Today I'm posting my commitment to my goal over at Red Letter Quilts March OMG Linky Party.  What better way to celebrate goals and finishes than with friends?  Hop over and join the party.