I like Thursday- looking forward to 2018

Ack! I forgot Thursday was coming up, and didn't have a post in prep! Linking up with Not Afraid of Color with a short post :)

I like the promise of a new year. New habits, new mindsets, the opportunity to think about what worked over the past year and what didn't. This year, I bought the "52 Lists Project" book and will use that to focus, I hope. We'll see how far I get!

I like taking time off over the holidays. I teleworked yesterday, just to be sure I was staying on top of things, but having big chunks of time to quilt, to organize/declutter, and to do things with family (Star Wars this afternoon!!) is precious. My former boss and really influential mentor passed away unexpectedly just before Christmas- I think about all of his plans for retirement and how he never got to do most of those things. NOW is the time to do all the things; retirement will just be a bonus.

I like baking- this is monkey bread I made for Christmas morning. It was DELICIOUS, and I think once a year is about the right time to make it!

edited to add the link to the recipe:   -I used "only" a stick of butter instead of 10 Tbsp, and a less-than-tightly packed cup of brown sugar.


I like how silly my family is. TMOTH got the Karate Kid soba noodles for Christmas.

I like this book series. This was my Secret Santa gift this year- my SS noticed that I talked about how excited I was this was coming out - MONTHS ago - and got it for me for Christmas.

I like finishing UFOs. These four blocks were the start of the Solstice quilt by Pat Sloan, but I got distracted after the first four. They make a nice baby quilt, I think. Now to get cracking on a "big boy" quilt for the baby's brother.

 I like vintage craft supplies. I'm in the process of winding floss onto bobbins. A lot of the vintage skeins have names as well as numbers - this is "Nectarine."

2018 UFO CHALLENGE

Every year, Judy Laquidara hosts a UFO challenge on her blog. You list 12 UFOs you'd like to finish, and each month she posts a number - and you work on that number project in that month. So...here are mine.

1. Crumb blocks. These are set with a kitty playing with yarn fabric. Needs more blocks made and put together.

2. Blue and yellow sampler. The ladies at my evening mini-group helped me past a mental block I had for the sashing, and all I really need to do is set the blocks together and quilt it.

3. Ex-swastika quilt. It's now a zig-zag. Top is together, needs to be quilted.

4. Colonial ladies. Still waffling about sashing on this one - I may take it to the mini-group for inspiration :)

5. Black and white with red 9-patches and snowballs. This one needs more blocks.

6. Olivia panel. Needs to have blocks to be a real quilt.

7.  Teeny tiny HSTs. These are bonus triangles that want to be a mini-quilt.

8. Blood donation t-shirt quilt. I've started cutting up the t-shirts for this one.

9. Frances' mom's blocks. These were a gift; I need to figure out how to finish them.

10. Wholecloth quilt. I count this only as a UFO because it sits in a bag taunting me. This would force me to actually start it.

11. Split 9-patch. I've started setting the blocks together.

12. Orange kid quilt. Some cutting done; fabric is all together in a bag.


And...there are more than 12. These won't be monthly - unless I finish one of the others early and swap them out - and at least one needs to be finished fairly soon!
13. Wedding gift for step-nephew and bride-to-be.
14. Toddler quilt for grand-nephew.
15. Mini-quilt from bonus triangles.
16. GFG. Started in the 80s.
17. Two fall leaf blocks destined for potholders.

18. Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt
19. Snowballs
20. Flannel pinwheels
21. Antique plaid blocks
22. Memaw's  birds in the air
23. Triple Irish chain with stars
24. Snowbirds mini
25. WOTB for Hannah
26. Batik HST quilt
27. Grey with pink stars
28. Mini Double Wedding Ring
29. Christmas quilt from Pineapple Fabrics layer cake
30. Stephen's summer quilt

I may find others and add them- but this is a fair start.

I Like Thursday- looking forward to Christmas

Linking up with Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday!

I like Christmas. (Not as much as Thanksgiving, but it's still a nice holiday.)
Cookie likes Christmas as well; he just doesn't like having his picture taken.

















I like having stretched my boundaries. I don't like the actual step of stretching my boundaries, and there's a HUGE exertion to do so, but the reward is great. I submitted this quilt to a local fiber art show the past weekend- I find out Friday if it was accepted.

I like new shoes. I found these on the clearance rack at my local DSW.

I like this bank. I bought him as a Christmas gift, then started second-guessing myself, so I kept him. Because he's cute!

 I like emptying thread spools. It feels so productive. Even when it's from filling a bobbin.

I Like Thursday- mid-December 2017

I like new starts. I wind up with a bunch of UFOs, but that's OK.
The newest start is a scrappy snowball sew-a-long. 4.5" squares with 1.5" corners, only a few each week. I've fussy cut at least one square; I have a LOT of novelty fabric I can use in this.

I like my birdfeeder. (I don't like the snow, but that's not a topic for this post).
We've had it for a long time now, and the combination of the baffle and the weight bar really does help keep the squirrels out. The deer tip it over now and again, though.

I love cardinals. They always remind me of my mom- in her later years she was quite a birdwatcher. In legends, cardinals are the visiting spirit of a loved one; I think my mom loves my birdfeeder!

I like Christmas lists - this one is from the 12-year-old.

Progress On Ringo Lake

Mystery quilt from Bonnie Hunter-

Clue #3 is a slanty block pieced in pairs:

 I have about 10% of that clue done.  I have about half of the flying geese done now.

And I'm sewing the extra seam for the bonus HSTs!!

I Like Thursday

Happy Thursday, everybody!! Joining up with Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday- #66 for LeeAnna, but I'm a new convert.

I like flying geese. I don't particularly like the process of making them, but I *do* like the finished product.

I like cross-stitch- and surprisingly, I like gridding. I've never done it before, but here's a start on a stitch-a-long that I haven't  quite started yet.

This boy. I don't know why he's peeved at me- probably just because I'm taking the photo.

 I like milk glass. They're nice for holding crochet hooks, and the knitting needles I'm collecting so I can eventually learn to knit.

I like this blue pen! It seems to be starting to run dry already, though, so I'll try other brands. But marking my mini-quilt was SO easy!

On Ringo Lake Mystery Week 2

Week 2 of Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt is a little more ... involved ... than last week.

200 flying geese.

200.

Oy.

I have 20 done so far, and will hopefully get a few more done this week.

And of course I'm saving the tiny HSTs that result from sewing an extra seam...

I Like Thursday

Linking to Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday!

I like Facebook friends who are enablers. One simply asked if anybody else was doing Bonnie Hunter's new mystery, "On Ringo Lake." Well. I haven't done any of the mysteries in the past- and I'm certainly not a member of the Bonnie Cult- but I *really* like the colors in this one, and I haven't in the past. So I started cutting on Friday night.

Saturday morning, I had my first little 9-patch.

By Sunday lunch, I'd completed the first 50 9-patches.

 All stacked up!

I like that my kids like to cook, and aren't afraid to try new techniques (especially this one, the youngest). When we were talking about what to make for Thanksgiving desserts, he first said "Peppermint bark!" and then thought for a few minutes and asked if it was possible to make peppermint bark truffles. So we winged it :)

I like having orphan blocks I can turn into a baby quilt. These are the first four blocks of Pat Sloan's Solstice quilt-a-long. I got distracted after four blocks- but they'll make a nice little quilt.

I like this face. This is Toffee; he's 7 and a complete goofball. He's not breed standard for a golden- he's about 107 pounds and has height to go along with it.

Being tall isn't enough for him, though- I swear he thinks he's a mountain goat. 

He'll stand on anything he can find!

And last but not least, I like my taekwondo class. It keeps me sane after bad days at work.

Starting a Mystery Quilt

Bonnie Hunter, of Quiltville fame, has done a mystery quilt every year around this time for the past few years. They never caught my fancy in the past- but this year's mystery, "On Ringo Lake," uses colors that I actually like and have in my stash. A big THANK YOU to my internet buddy Regina for asking who was doing this one- I don't know that I would've paid any attention if she hadn't brought it up.

Cutting starts:

And then piecing 9-patches:

Pretty soon I have a pile, and eventually all 50 are done:

"I Like Thursday"

My friend LeeAnna from Not Afraid of Color invited members of the Quilt Art listserv to join her in posting what brought us joy over the past week each Thursday.

What better day to start off than Thanksgiving?


My kids bring me joy- most of the time. These two are still at home, and put up with me with good grace. My baby girl isn't home for Thanksgiving, but the internet keeps her close as well.

Alpaca faces make me smile.

This boy. He'd be happy if he had his own personal doorman.

Living so close to DC is awesome. We don't take really good advantage of it, but I'm reminded every time we do what a lovely place it is to visit.

I have SO MUCH to be thankful for, including blogging friends that push me to start blogging again :)

September sewing

So, it's National Sewing Month. I've been trying to sew a little bit every day, and have for the most part succeeded.

I didn't enter any hand-crafted items for the fair this year, because we went to Indiana for the eclipse during the pick-up window.

I got the dining room table cleared off- and then covered back up again- but I think I can clear it off again fairly quickly. I have a couple of quilts that need to be sandwiched and basted so I can start working on them - but they're both fairly large hand-quilting projects. I think I'll do the zig-zag once first to practice for the wholecloth :)