2023 Wrap Up

Despite my fervent wishes that this year my work life would be better, it has gone downhill fast.  I'm considering early retirement in the new future. It has taken the wind out of my crafty sails and needless to say, I haven't accomplished much in 2023.

I have been working a couple of ufos, which I posted about earlier and finally finished the binding and both quilts have now been received by their recipients.

My version of Bonnie Hunter's Rhododendron Trail was finished with flanged purple binding and sent to my oldest friend - we've been friends for 44 years - just in time for her birthday! 

Not the best lighting, but it was a dreary November day and I needed to get it in the mail. I modified it from Bonnie's on-point version and eliminated the aqua micro-sashing that she used. I love how it turned out! And yes, I do have a turned block that I didn't notice until I saw this picture after I had already mailed it.

I had the quilting done by Maple Leaf Quilting Company in Cochrane, AB who offer a wonderful service with all-in-one pricing that includes shipping to and from them, thread and even batting. They also sell backings at a reasonable price, so they make it very easy to get my quilting done.

I choose a panto with butterflies to emulate the purple "butterflies" on the front. The backing colour is closer to the photos below.

I did a two-tone flange binding (my favourite way to bind when I'm in a hurry, and added a label with a piece of ribbon from a Fat Quarter Shop bundle.

Then I finished up On Ringo Lake with an aqua flanged binding and sent it to my aunt and uncle for their 60th anniversary. I love these two so much, and they have set such a wonderful example of love and companionship, something I could only dream of having. 

I forgot to take pictures before sending it off, but luckily Maple Leaf posted pictures on their Facebook page so I was able to scoop these.

I choose a panto called River, in keeping with the name of the pattern by Bonnie Hunter.

There was one more finish this year. I had been procastinating but on December 22nd I finally got down to making a small bag for my grandson's girlfriend. I made them come with me one day as I was doing running around (can't leave teenagers alone!), and when we were in the quilt shop, Tess found a fat quarter that was the same design as a baby blanket she had. So of course I had to buy it, and at Christmas I surprised with this:

The inside has her yellow fat quarter. I made both the cross-body strap and wrist/key chain strap so she can swap it out if she wants.

And that was it for finishes this year. I'm hoping that the new year brings some much needed changes, rest and more fun in my sewing room.

 

The best-laid plans - To do list - August 15, 2023

My new weekly to-do list appears to be a bi-weekly post! Not much got accomplished because my newly-part-time hours stretched into full-time plus, with a lot of frustration and dissatisfaction. When that happens, I shut down and get nothing done. Combine that with construction happening around me and very little sewing got done. 

I did get a little cross-stitching done (#3 on my list of August 1st), adding some colour with flowers, but not much more than that. My granddaughter didn't end up coming over, but I might have her tomorrow, so hopefully we can work on her project.

This week's to-do list is much like it was two weeks ago:

To do List for 8/15/2023

1.  Modified Rhododendron Trail (pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville): Prep binding while waiting for quilt to come back from the long-arm quilter (which I got word they are on their way back
!).

2. On Ringo Lake (pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville): Same as above

3. Country Garden Cross-Stitch: Get those darn flowers done!

On a more positive front, the trim work is done in my sewing/craft room (temporarily my office!) so I was able to put the furniture back in place. Now the purge begins.

I got the shelves mostly filled, I can find my sewing machine again and my "office" desk is clear (not so much my cutting desk.)

Now that the trim is done on the doorway, my son-in-law is working in my back room (used for fabric and craft supply storage, with a small kitchenette for coffee, etc.

For the first time in a long time, I now have a clear counter to work on. I've started purging the cabinets, which is easier because each cupboard is organized by type (one upper cabinet has cross-stitch supplies, one lower large cabinet has my scrapbooking kits, another has current quilting projects, etc.) Most of the upper cabinets are display, but a couple need to be cleared out and made "pretty" - I'm looking at you on the left filled with fabric!

Joining up with Quilt Schmit's linky party at To Do Tuesday #32 – Quilt Schmilt!

Terri in BC

To Do List August 1, 2023

 

To Do List for the Week of 8/1/2023

I'm going to try this again! I'm going to use a weekly to-do list to try and make some progress now that I have cut back my work hours (yay, moving towards retirement!)

My workspace is in a bit of a state. My son-in-law is doing all the trim work around the windows in my area, after we had new windows installed last year. He is also finishing the trim work around the doors that never got done a few years ago. So this week's focus is getting the room back in order once he is done (hopefully by the weekend

!)

So this week's projects will be things I can work on either by hand in a different room, or things I can do in small spurts when he is taking a break (and I'm not working!). So here goes.

To do List for 8/1/2023

1.  Modified Rhododendron Trail (pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville): Prep binding while waiting for quilt to come back from the long-arm quilter.

2. On Ringo Lake (pattern by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville): Same as above

3. Country Garden Cross-Stitch: This project came to the surface in the last month, as my interest in cross-stitch revived.  I hope to complete all the greenery and flowers this week.

4. Easy Breezy (L&E pattern by Bonnie Hunter): This is a joint project that my 8-year-old granddaughter and I are working on together, for her. I need to cut neutral blocks for 30 more blocks so she can come over this coming long weekend and work on them. (More on that later!)

 She has made 34 blocks so far! She has chosen all the coloured fabrics herself, I cut a bunch of neutrals for her to choose from.

Bonus: Birdie Stitches (pattern by Corey Yoder): Embroider one block.

Birdie Stitches Block #2 – Coriander Quilts

I've only done this cheery little block so far (Corey's picture) back in 2011, so that means it's been sitting waiting for 12 years!!

In the meantime, I have been using the opportunity of shuffling everything to purge! Most stuff I donate, but I do try to sell a few things so I can recoup a little.

Here is the state of my room as it sat yesterday morning, going counter-clockwise:

(I took this picture before the announcement)

Everything is shoved every which way, and into my overflow room. 

Here is my current work-from-home station! 

I took these pictures so I can see the difference once everything is back the way I want it!

Committing to 15 minutes a day of stitching

If nothing else this year, I want to get back in the habit of spending time doing something each day that I love, and one of those things is anything stitching related. It helps me relax after a tough day at work, and activates the right side of my brain after using the left side all day. In my work life, I am a branch manager of a mortgage and investmant company, so after dealing with numbers, playing with fabric and thread is so much fun!

Kate at Life in Pieces hosts a weekly check-in that I'll be following.  She has counted today as Week 1 of 2022, but since she has been doing this for a number of years, it also captures her last week of 2021.  I'll be starting next Sunday, and counting today as Day 1 of my first week. I'll follow her format plus adding one more tally - fabric in and out!

I used to track my fabric in and out, which helped me curb my purchases and motivated me to use up what I had. I don't bother counting what I already have, I just try to use more than I buy.  So my posts will look like this:

• 15 minute days/week 1 =  /7
• 15 minute days/week (month) =  /31(or 30 or 28) days
• Success rate for (month) = (# of days stitched/# of month) expressed as a percentage %
• 15 minute days/2022 =  /(# of days year-to-date)
• Success rate for 2022 = (# of days stitched/# of days year-to-date) expressed as a percentage %
• Fabric used = # of metres (counted at flimsy stage and when backing/binding added, or donated/sold)
• Fabric gained (purchased, gifted) = # of metres
• Net fabric used/gain

You'll note I have Fabric gained as purchased or gifted - I have two friends who have been destashing and sending fabric my way. I have been sorting through it and donating most of it to good causes. I also plan on selling some select items through a destash group, and will donate the profits. Some of my personal stash has made its way out in the last year, and I plan on continuing to do so.

Since a post isn't any fun without pictures, here is my latest finish and what I'm working on:

Dragon lap quilt (extra-long) for my son-in-law.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it quilted in time due to an allergic reaction that affected my eye. 

December 23rd (don't mind the bed-head!)

December 30th, a week later. 

It's now been two weeks since it flared up, and it is slowing going down. It now looks like I got popped in the eye! Good thing I don't have a partner, people would be looking at him funny.

What I'm currently working on:  I have 3 main projects on the go, all Bonnie Hunter quilts.

Quilt One is her current Mystery Quilt, Rhododendron Trail. I have completed up to Step 3 and currently working on cutting out Step 4. I'm doing the cutting for 2 quilts, as my friend Kim is doing them as well, but gets confused when it comes to the cutting. This is her Step 3 cut, with a sample of how to put them together with Step 1. 

We recently discovered someone's method of sorting parts using paper plates, and it has been a game changer for Kim. She has picked up some older projects and been able to move ahead, thanks to this method.

Quilt 2 is QuiltMaker magazine's mystery quilt - Ruby Jubilee, based on Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps column. 

I'm doing mine in teals and aquas, and you can see my units for the pinwheel block in this photo. Kim is doing hers in solid pinks, as seen in the upper corner. I'll do more detailed posts on both of these.

Quilt 3 I'm completing as a Leader/Ender project in between the other two. It is Bonnie Hunter's On Ringo Lake mystery quilt from a few years back, and my 15 minutes a day project. I have all the units made and I'm now assembling the blocks. I hope to have this flimsy finished by the end of the month.