April Goals - OMG / Bee, Myself and I

I've have lots to do, but not much "umph" to do it. I went to the doctor last Thursday for an injection in my right knee, and was told it could take 2-3 weeks for it to become effective. I go on Tuesday to get the left knee done. So unless the shots take effect much quicker than anticipated, there will be little quilting done in April. This means I need to adjust my plans.  Also I'm the queen for both of my bees this month, so I don't have any bee blocks to make...well I have to  make more blocks for Cole's quilts, but they don't have to be sent anywhere.

So knowing I most likely won't be able to quilt, I'm adjusting my goals to fit that plan. For my OMG main goal I'm list Ariella's quilt top. It is close to being finished, with a little push I could get the top done. I don't have picture, because it is still a mystery to Ariella and her mom. But here was the starting point.

I was really struggling with what to do for Bee, Myself and I. Then I decided that I would work on my cross quilt.  Yes, all the blocks are made but I still need to piece the top. Since it is going to be a big quilt and the blocks are only 6 inches, I think I will work on piecing the top in batches. So my goal for April is to get at least 10 four patches of blocks pieced. A four patch of the blocks will be 12 x 12, so that let's me get bigger pieces to work with when I actually start putting the top together.

Now because I'm just plain crazy and two goals isn't enough for me in a month, I'm going to add a couple of more things I want to try and get done. I want to start piecing Callie and Beau's wedding top. I'm hoping  it goes together easily. I also want to start piecing Samuel's memory top, I have to get these off of my to do list. I also want to do more blocks for Cole's quilt, hopefully about 10 or more. And lastly if the injections kick in and my knees feel better I would like to get my tic tac toe top quilted. If the shots work within two weeks, I might have a chance.

I'm hoping to have lots and lots to show ya'll at the end of the month. But for now I'm linking up with Heidi at Red Letter Quilts for OMG April. And I will be back at the end of the month to do a recap of what got finished for both OMG and Bee, Myself and I.

OMG - March Results and Bee, Myself and I

Ok it is time to reveal what I got done this month, which to be honest wasn't much. Last month I spent so much time in the sewing room and this month it seems like I didn't spend any time at all. But that isn't really true, I did get a few things done.

My main goal was to complete 10 blocks for Cole's quilt and I got that done. I also got a few more blocks cut, that I hope to assemble next month. I admit I like the tic tac toe block a lot because it is easy to make and still looks complicated.  Here are the 10 finished blocks. I've typed up my blog post for the stash bee and have everything written out for my bee hive bee. Hopefully a lot more blocks will be flowing in next month.

Now as far as the rest of my list it is pretty weak. I did get my bee blocks done and in the mail on time. And they were lots of fun and pretty easy to make. I think I want to do a disappearing four patch in the future.

I didn't get anything quilted or Ariella's top finished, but I did get my flying geese top pieced together. Since I've not really picked what project I want to work on next for my Bee, Myself and I project, I'm counting piecing the top as my project for this month. I wish I could have gotten a better photo today, but it was just too windy.  Hopefully I will get it quilted soon and then get some really good photos.  I will say I think it is one of my most favorite quilts ever.

All in all it wasn't a lot done, but I'm ok with it. I go on Thursday to have an injection in my knee and I really hopes that helps enough that I can quilt again. But for now I'm linking up with Heidi at Red Letter Quilts and if you want to see what others have done for Bee, Myself and I, check out Granny Maud's Girl.

4 X 7 Sewing Challenge - Final Week & Bee, Myself and I

Ok to be honest there is still one more day left in February, and I plan on sewing, but my goal is to start quilting my tic tac toe quilt and I'm pretty sure I won't finish it in one day. Now this week/month has been very successful for me. I felt several times that 30 minutes a day wouldn't add up to much, but let me tell you it does. I fought having a hurt knee, sickness in the house, lots of doctor appointments, work, exhaustion, and yet I finished lots and lots. I'm combining my 4 X 7 Challenge with Bee, Myself and I because they are both about sewing for yourself.

First let me recap this past week, in a quick manner and then we will go on to a recap of the whole month. This week has been all about the crosses. I did an inventory of what I had, and calculated what I needed. I spent time cutting the last few I needed, sewed, ironed and sewed some more. Most days I only put in 30 minutes, and that was enough for me to finish the all the crosses I needed.

So let's look at what I got done this month. I finished 9 tic tac toe blocks, which gave me enough to finish the top. It is a 5 x 6 layout and measures 60 x 72. I normally like larger quilts, but this one is going to be my chair quilt. I will keep it by my chair to throw over my legs when I get cold. So it doesn't need to be quite as long. I'm spending my 30 minutes tonight ironing the top and back so I can get them loaded onto the long-arm tomorrow.

Next I finished 19 geese blocks, which is what I needed to finish. I still have to get all the blocks up onto my design wall. The flying geese quilt will be a little larger, because it will be in a 6 x 7 layout, which means it will be 72 x 84. I want this one to be one of my "snuggle quilts". I am a little weird and don't like to sleep under lots of sheets/blankets, so I will often sleep on top of my bed with just a "snuggle" quilt. If it is really cold I will crawl under everything, but since I live in Texas, it doesn't get really cold too often. I did make quite a few purple geese, because purple is my favorite color. I love how they look.

And last but not least I finished 38 cross blocks. These have been so much fun to make, and I've made a lot of them. I need 289 because I want this to be a large queen size. The plan is for it to be 17 x 17 blocks or 102 x 102 inches. It is going to take me some time to assemble it, since the blocks are small. My plan is to work in groups of 5 x 5 blocks then make 1 x 5 sections to connect them.  This project has been several years in the making, so I'm not going to rush, but I'm so happy to be able to move to the next step.  Here are the last few blocks I make this month. A funny story about one of these crosses...the dark blue Cotton & Steel at the top, uses a background fabric that says "Texas". What is fun about that, besides that I'm from Texas, is that these crosses started as my turn as Queen in the Compass Bee group. I tried to put something that represented Texas in all the blocks I sent to my bee mates, so I thought it was important that something be in my blocks as well.

So that is my month of selfish sewing for the 4 X 7 Sewing Challenge and at the same time my Bee, Myself and I blocks. I just realized I'm going to have to figure out what I'm going to do next on Bee, Myself and I, because I've finished all of the blocks I needed.  I will have to think about that. I will be linking up with Sarah @ Berry Barns Designs. And if you want to follow Bee, Myself and I, check out Granny Maud's Girl blog.

Bee Myself and I - January

Besides the two bees I joined this year I decided to join Carla @ Granny Maud's Girl and do some sewing for myself. The plan isn't to go overboard sewing for myself, but to try and get some blocks for me, not just ones that I send to other people. If you read my post from yesterday you know that in February I plan on doing quite a bit of selfish sewing, but I had fairly simple goals for January.

First I wanted to complete 10 cross blocks and I got them done. I have to say I will be sorry when I finish this project because I love doing these little blocks. They are easy blocks. If I could get ahead in cutting they make great time fillers when I just want to sew for a little bit. I'm getting close to the end of this project and can't wait to have the quilt on my bed. But here are some of the blocks I did this month. I love the mouse riding the bicycle in the green blocks it just makes me smile

Next I wanted to do 2 tic tac toe blocks. I love how these look, but for some reason I don't like cutting them. So I've already started cutting the last nine blocks I need, so there is a chance I could finish this one in February. It is the smallest of the three and should end up about 60 x 72, so my plan is for it to be my chair quilt while I watch tv. This month I did a red and green block (I called it green because the background is a dark green).

And lastly I wanted to make 2 more flying geese blocks (well 4 half blocks). I picked red and black for this month, not sure why, but I love them.  Flying geese are slowly becoming another favorite block for me. I love how I can make 4 at a time with little or no waste and they look good. I will also say that I love having a bloc-loc ruler to trim them, it makes everything so much faster and neater.

All in all I ok for January on my selfish goals. I hope to have a lot more done in February, but I plan on doing 30 minutes every day, so I should make great progress.  And if you want to see what Carla is doing (and she is doing some great blocks), check out her Bee, myself and I section of her blog.