OMG June Goals

I didn't set any goals for May and basically did very little sewing/quilting. So I'm going to go back to at least setting a few goals for myself. It's not like I will be punished if I don't complete the goals, and if it spurs me on to do more then all the better.

Main Goal. This is the one thing I want to get done for OMG and that would be get my plus quilt quilted. It is actually loaded onto the long arm, but I've not been able to get started on it. But it isn't really big so I should be able to get it done without issue if I can spend a day or two working on it. I don't have a good picture of the finished top, but here it is on the design wall.

#2. Bee Blocks, which is really not much of a goal since I've completed both blocks already. But I want to cut some extra fabric to send with them. And I don't consider them complete until they are in the mail.

#3. Callie and Beau's wedding quilt. I want to get it up onto the design wall and start piecing the top. I don't think I can get it completed this month, but I am hoping to at least get the top pieced or at least 75% complete.

#4. Ariella's top complete and start on Samuel's. I have to make progress on these because I want them off of my list of things to do. If I can get moving on them, I might be able to quilt Ariella's over the 4th of July weekend.

#5. Start cutting on Mecca's quilt. I still have to pick out the background fabric and get it ordered, but I have the FQ bundle, so I could get started on the cutting. It will be the largest quilt I ever made, so I need to allow lots of time to get it done.

#6. Cross blocks assembled. I would like to get another 20 four patches of cross blocks done. Since it is a large quilt, I'm sewing the 6 inch blocks into groups of 4 to make 12 inch blocks. That will make assembling the top a little easier.

#7. Quilt something else. I have a whole stack of quilts that need to be quilted and I just need to get off my bum and get going on them. If I had my choice it would be my flying geese quilt, but I will settle for getting anything else quilted this month.

#8. Clean my sewing room. I know I've not been sewing a lot so it shouldn't be dirty, but it is amazing how much dust gathers everywhere. I've got it pretty much organized the way I want it for now, but I need to do a good clean of everything.

That is my list, and yes it is long, and no I won't complete everything. But I've decided it is better to aim for the stars and miss, than to just do nothing.

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.

OMG - March Goal

I've hesitated to write this post, because I don't know what I want my goal to be for March. I have a ton of things I want to do, but I just don't know which one to pick. My first choice would be to quilt my tic toe quilt, but I'm still having some knee pain and I'm not sure that is possible. So that leaves me a variety of projects, but I have to pick one.

Ok, I'm tugging up my big girl panties and picking Cole's blocks. I'm am the queen of two different bees in April and I've decided to make a quilt for Cole. He and I've talked about it, and he has picked the colors he wants, now I need to get some test blocks done as well as a few more. Since he is a tall boy...ok man, I'm going to need at least 48 blocks to make it big enough, and maybe even 56. Even getting blocks from two bees won't be enough, so my goal this month is to get at least 10 blocks done. That will give me plenty to show for samples and get me started on all the extras I need to make.  The block we've chosen is the Tic Tac Toe block, but the colors are different than mine. I think it is going to be very cool looking and he will be very happy. Here is what it looks like when I drew it up in EQ7.

Now as always I can't leave it at just one thing, I have to have a to do list even if I get nothing done on it. Because it gives me such pleasure to mark things off of my list. So here are the other things I want to get done.

I want to finish Ariella's top, that went by the wayside when I did so much selfish sewing last month, so it is time to pick it back up and get it done. I also want to get my bee blocks done and mailed, hopefully by the 15th. I have to do a Quartrefoil and Disappearing 4 patch blocks. I should have fabric for both, yeah!!! I also want to get my flying geese top pieced. I'm just so excited to have all the blocks done. And lastly I want to quilt my tic tac toe quilt, I've got the top and the backing pressed and hope to load it on the long arm tomorrow.

Ok that is for March, I best get to work because I have lots to do and the first week is already gone. I am linking up with Heidi at Red Letter Quilts.

OMG - February Finishes

I can't believe I almost forgot this post. I've been busily sewing this month and although I got lots done, not too many things against my list.

My main goal was to finish my tic tac toe quilt top and I did finish it...yeah!!! I got it and the back ironed last night and I had hoped to get it on the long arm today, but alas life interrupted me. But I will work on it tomorrow. As I ironed it last night my nephew saw it and really liked the pattern, so I think I'm going to change the color scheme and use the same pattern for my bees this year and make him one. The X's on his will be purple, the O's black and the backgrounds like grey. He was pretty happy at the idea of getting a new quilt. And I promise this is the last time you'll see this one until it is quilted.

Now as always I can't just have one thing on my list. I did finish my bee blocks and I got my selfish sewing done. You can read all about my selfish sewing in the previous post. My bee blocks were lots of fun this month, the hearts were sure easy and the double star wasn't as hard as I had feared.

I did not make any progress on the memory quilts or piecing the backing. Over all I had a good month, I just didn't do a good job of sewing my list. Now I have to figure out my goal for next month, but for now I'm linking up with Heidi at Red Letter Quilts.

OMG (One Monthly Goal) - February Goal(s)

It is time for me to pick my one monthly goal, and yes I will have more than one, because I just can't help myself. I am thankful for Heidi at Red Letter Quilts for leading this process because setting goals really does help me make progress.

I am struggling on picking a goal for this month, not because I have nothing to choose, but because I have so much to do. I would love to pick something to be quilted, but I jacked up my knee and I'm not sure if I will be able to get anything quilted this month. So that leaves a piecing goal and I'm having a hard time choosing only one.  But here goes...

I've decided that my main goal for this month will be to piece my tic tac toe quilt. It was my bee quilt from the Bee Hive last year.  I've received all my blocks but wanted it larger so I've needed to make more blocks. If you read my 4x7 sewing challenge post you know I needed 9 blocks to finish it and I've already done 6 of those, so I just have three left. So I want to finish those and get the top pieced this month. I have cut all the blocks and yesterday I was able to finish 5 of them at one sitting. I'm really loving these blocks.



Now I can't just set one goal, that would be too easy, I have several more things I would like to get done this month. So I'm going to list them here. They don't count on the OMG scale, but they are still important to me.

1. Bee Blocks. I'm part of two different bees, so two blocks to make. I have already completed my Stash Bee blocks, and they were so much fun. They are very simple heart blocks and I made three without any effort at all.  I also have to do a double star block for the bee hive group and hope to get it done by this weekend.  But here is the blocks I finished (just because I love lots of pictures).




2. Finish piecing Ariella's memory quilt. All the rows are pieced I just need to iron it and get the side sashing on it. I almost finished it last month, but my bum knee kept me out of the sewing room the last few days of the month.

3. Selfish sewing. I'm going to focus at least 30 minutes a day sewing for myself as part of the 4x7 Sewing Challenge, so I want to get lots done. It will include my main goal listed above, but I also want to get as many cross blocks and flying geese blocks done as possible so I can get those tops pieced as well.

4. Start piecing Samuel's memory quilt. Since I should finish Ariella's top this weekend I want to move on to Samuel's. I need to finish these, so I'm trying to keep myself on track and work on the every week until they are done.

5. Piece the back for at least one quilt. I'm not sure if it will be Sharla's Norway or my purple quilt, but I want a backing ready so when my knee is better I can get something onto the long arm. The memory quilt all have backings ready, so they will most likely go first, but I still want more ready and waiting.

So that is my list for February, I'm hoping to make great progress on them.  I will be linking up with Heidi at Red Letter Quilts.

One Monthly Goal - January Finish

Ok I don't know what happened to January, it just was just gone. I guess when you are on the downhill slope of life you pick up speed.  Even though it went by fast and we had a ton of things happening, I was able to finish my one main goal for January!!!!  Yeah!!!

Sharla's Box Trot quilt is quilted, bound, washed and on her bed. She loves it. The colors are bright and cheery and it is really long so it makes a great snuggle quilt. Hollywood loves it too, he tries to get it first.

Now for my list of other projects I wanted to get done, I did ok.

1. Bee Blocks - all done and sent out early in the month.
2. Selfish Sewing - I will be posting about this tomorrow, but know I did get some done.
3. Ariella's memory quilt - the rows are pieced and about half of those are attached to another row. So some progress. I would have loved to quilt it this month, but I've been hobbled by a bad knee for about a week and getting not much done at all.
4. Finish Organizing current projects - A lot is done, but I have about one more bin to go.
5. Piece the back for Sharla's Norway quilt - sadly no progress here.

All in all I'm very happy with where I'm at for the month. My big goal is done and progress has been made on other. Now if I can just start feeling better and if Sharla can slow down on her doctor appointments I could get more done.  But I know February is going to be tough, I think Sharla and/or I have a doctor's appointment every week, so my days off will be filled with more driving than sewing.  Today I'm linking up with Heidi at Red Letter Quiltshttp://redletterquilts.blogspot.com/2016/01/omg-its-finished-party-january-2015.html.

One Monthly Goal - January Goal(s)

I'm very sad at the ending of ALYoF as are others, but luckily for me Heidi at  Red Letter Quilts is starting OMG or One Monthly Goal.  The idea is the same, you set your goal(s) early in the month and report back your progress at the end of the month.

As always I have a hard time setting just one goal, but rather than a long list I'm going to try something a little different this year. I am going to set my one goal for the month and then have a small list that I want to work on as well. Hopefully this will help me stay on track without getting overwhelmed.

My OMG is to quilt Sharla's box trot quilt. It has been on the list forever and I do mean forever, but this is the month to get it done!!! In fact it is loaded onto Abby (my longarm) and I had hoped to start on it today, but it will most likely be tomorrow night before I start.  It is a nice sized quilt (65 x 93 or so), so it will take me a little while to get it quilted. But the goal is for it to be quilted and bound by the end of the month.

Now for my short list of other projects to do this month

1. Bee Blocks - I have 2 out of the 3 I need to do already done, and I hope to get the other finished so they can be in the mail by no later than next week.

2. Selfish Sewing - I want to have at least 10 more cross blocks, 2 tic tac toe blocks and 2 flying geese blocks done by the end of the month. And I would like to get the rest of my cross blocks cut, I'm getting close to then end and want to get them done.

3. Ariella's memory quilt top. If I push I think I can get the top done and maybe even quilted by the end of the month. I'm trying to break them down to one at a time rather than the group of four to see if it helps me get them done.

4. Finish organizing my current projects. I have some backing fabric that should be arriving this week and I want to make sure it gets matched up with the other pieces and have everything documented. If I am still missing known projects at the end of the week I'm just going to move on without them. I don't want all my time to be spent searching, I would rather be sewing.

5. Piece the backing for Sharla's turning twenty Norway quilt. If I can get it quilted as well that would be great, but for now I will be happy to have the backing prepped.

That is it, not that I don't have a zillion other projects, but these are my tops ones for January. I even created a Google Keep January board to help me stay on track. I will be linking up with Red Letter Quilts.