One Monthly Goal - July Goal

Ok get ready because I am going to be a posting beast today. I think I have three to do. First up is my One Monthly Goal. I finished my goal for last month, but alas Sharla didn't. So I am 6 out of 6 and Sharla is 4 out of 6. But she is hoping finish her last month's goal this month.

My goal is my Paisley Please quilt. It is a bundle I purchased a couple of years ago on the Flash Sale at Fat Quarter Shop (I love those). Sharla spotted it and called me because it if full of purple fabrics which I love. I decided to use the pattern Easy as ABC & 123, and here is a mock up of it. I struggled to find photos of the fabrics to use, so some of them aren't wonderful, but at least you get the idea. The fabric is cut and matched into blocks, but I've not started sewing yet.

Sharla is going to keep working on her Bistro flimsy with the hopes of finishing it this month. I think the #100Days100blocks2017 has slowed her down, but she is having fun with it. So that is what counts.

We were both hoping to get ahead over the 4th of July weekend, but the shots I got in my knees before the weekend really knocked me for a loop. So I spent a big part of the weekend with my knees up and iced. My knees are getting better each day, so I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend. I am linking up of with Elm Street Quilts for July's One Monthly Goal.  If you want to see what others are doing then check out the linky party.

Friday Finish - 06/16/17

I actually finished this quilt on June 5th, but life has just been busy and I've not gotten it photographed until today. And today's pictures aren't wonderful, but I will take what I can get. The quilt is Hollywood's Zombie quilt, and the story behind it is...Cole calls Hollywood his zombie apocalypse dog. Hollywood is supposed to protect him in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Now I don't do zombies, I don't watch the Walking Dead, really I don't do scary stuff at all. But when I saw a bundle of Riley Blake Zombie Apocalypse fabric on sale at Fat Quarter Shop, I just couldn't resist. I have had the fabric for about 3 years, and it just never worked it ways to the top of my to do list, but it was my June project and so I had to work on it.

I debated about doing something more complicated, but since the real stars of the fabrics were the zombies I wanted to make sure they were really seen. And as much as I'm not into to zombies, these are pretty cute. I went with a simple sashed block pattern that let me get the most out of the 9 fat quarters that were in the bundle.

I love that some of the fabrics gave important zombie facts, like zombies are attracted by loud noises and lights. So I will be hiding in a dark room if there is an apocalypse.

I am very happy to have finished this one early in the month because it gives me time to work on a few projects not on my monthly list. It will be a little bit before it get's quilted, but that is ok, Hollywood is very patient. I am hoping to get injections in my knees later this month which should help so that I can get some quilting done. It isn't a large quilt, only 55 x 55, so it might move up the list of quilts, just because I can get it done easier.

Well that is my finish for today...yeah!!! I am linking up with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF: Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday @ Cut & Alter and Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts. And since this is my OMG for June, I will be linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

One Monthly Goal - June Goal

So far this year I've completed 5 out of 5 of my one monthly goals, and Sharla has finished 4 out of 5 of hers. That means we are doing pretty good. This month I'm thinking we will be in good shape to finish our goals.

My goal is Hollywood's zombie quilt. I don't like zombies, and normally wouldn't pick out zombie fabrics for a quilt. But Cole calls Hollywood his zombie apocalypse dog, because Hollywood will protect him in the event of a zombie apocalypse. So when I found zombie fabric on sale, I just couldn't resist. It was only a 9 FQ pack, so to maximize the size I'm just doing sashed blocks. Here is a mock up what I'm doing.

I got started on mine over the Memorial Day weekend, I have all the rows pieced together and just have to do the horizontal sashing and the outer border. So I think I will be finished in plenty of time.

Sharla is going to work on Bristro, which is the same goal she had for last month. It is her oldest project and she wants it off the books. I think she would have gotten it done last month, but she couldn't decide on a pattern. She went back and forth on which one to do. Then she got sick a couple of times during the month and tackling a big project was just something she didn't want to do. But she is feeling better and she picked a pattern, so this is the month that Bistro gets cut and pieced. She chose the pattern Cheaper by the Dozen, which I think is a great choice.

Last month we had an additional goal of finishing a second flimsy each, but we didn't get that done. But we did start the #100days100block2017, and are keeping current with that project. Overall I'm happy with what we've accomplished and I'm pretty confident we will finish both of these flimsys this month. I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal. If you want to see what others are doing check out her linky party.

Friday Finish - 05/19/17

I'm excited about today's finish because it is the oldest UFO, well that isn't exactly true, I have a couple of tops that are older, but no other UFOs or fabric bundles older than this one. I received a jelly roll for Christmas in 2012 from Tom and Mecca. I knew right away I wanted to make a coin quilt out of it, and so I sewed the strips together, then sub cut those into groups and made the groups into columns and then it sat and sat and sat. I couldn't make up my mind on what to use for the sashing. I thought black, then grey, then white, and then another batik, but just couldn't commit to any of them. Every time I would straighten the sewing room I would find these and think I need to finish that, but then I would go around and around with myself on what color to do for the sashing.

I knew that if I was going to get it done, I needed to put it on my list for this year and it became my May top to complete. Even then I still debated about what color to use for the sashing. I wanted something that would highlight the great colors of the jelly roll, but also blend in some too.

I finally took the strips an laid out on my long arm and then put the Kona Card and Bella Solids card that I have up against them, and finally picked Washed Black by Bella Solids. Then I had to order the fabric, so I started off a little late, but since it was only sashing it went together really quickly.

I finished the quilt on Monday, but the wind was blowing really hard, so no chance to photograph it. Then Sharla was sick, then errands after work and then rain predicted. I tried to snap a couple of photos before the rain came, but the wind was still playing tricks on me.

Every time I fixed one corner another one would curl up, so I gave up and said this is as good as it is going to get. I really love the colors in this and I think it is going to be a nice size lap quilt when I'm done. Since I had already dropped Sharla off at work it was just me against the wind and the wind won.

This is my one monthly goal for May, so yeah I met my goal. I'm still making progress on the #100days100blocks2017 and will show everyone week two block on Sunday. Sharla has battled a bug a couple of times this month, so she she has some work to do, but she is staying current with her 100 blocks too. I will link this up with Elm Street Quilts at the end of the month. And I am linking up with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation, Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, Thank Goodness It's Finshed Friday @ Quilting is More Fun than Housework and Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts. And I'll be back on Sunday to report my numbers for the week and show you our blocks for the week.

One Monthly Goal - May Goal

It is time to set my goal for May (and Sharla's too). We did very well for April, Sharla finished her Lula Magnolia quilt and I finished Callie and Beau's quilt. I finally got to post about Callie's quilt yesterday, because it arrived in Houston, safe and sound. I am so glad that cat is out of the bag.

For May I'm going to finish the flimsy of my coin quilt. Which is my oldest UFO. It was a jelly roll gifted to me by Tom and Mecca in 2012. I made the coin strips almost immediately after getting the jelly roll, but then I couldn't decide on what I wanted to use as sashing between the columns. It got put away and never finished. But I finally decided to use Washed Black Bella solid, because I think the black will make the other colors pop. The fabric for the sashing arrived this week, so I should be in good shape. I decided to use the same black for Hollywood's zombie quilt, so I went ahead and purchased for both. So hopefully this one will be done quickly. Here are the coins laid over my long arm machine.

Sharla switched her pick for May and is working on Bistro, which is her oldest project and it dates back to 2008. It is a fat quarter bundle and right now Sharla is debating on what pattern she wants to use. I'm thinking she will go for Big and Tall or Cheaper By The Dozen because she wants something simple and quick. Sharla claimed the fabric was mine until we stumble across this photo from Christmas 2008 and look who is holding the bundle.

Now to tell the truth, Sharla and I both have extra goals this month. We would both like to finish a second top if at all possible. Sharla is close to finishing her True Colors flimsy, so that goal should be easy for her. I am hoping to finish the third memory flimsy and get the second on quilted. Big goals, but we do have a three day weekend this month that Sharla is turning into a 4 day weekend. So anything is possible. And we also decided to join the #100Days100Block2017 challenge which is making 1 block a day for 100 days using Tula Pink's book 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. I will write more about this tomorrow and hopefully have the first block done (since it start tomorrow). For now I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal. If you want to see what others are doing check out her linky party.

One Monthly Goal - April Goal

It is time to set our goals for April. We have been doing well so far this year just setting one goal each. So we are going to do that again this month. But I am straying from the preset list we made at the end of last year.

For my April goal I'm working on Callie and Beau's wedding quilt. It was on the schedule for August, but since their two year anniversary is coming up this month, I'm going to try and get it finished for them. I have sewn most of the blocks into groups of four already, and have started pinning rows together. But I have to remake some blocks that were lost in the process, not too many, less than 10. I can say it has been fun reading what everyone wrote on the blocks. I want the finish product to be a surprise for them, so here is a photo of the blocks at the wedding.

Sharla is working on what we loving call the Big Blue Flowers quilt. The fabric line is Lula Magnolia by The Quilted Fish from Riley Blake. She bought the fabric on a whim several years ago, and when we were trying to organize the fabric, Hollywood would not leave the backing fabric alone. That boy just kept trying to get next to it.  It is the only fabric he has ever reacted to that way. So I teased Sharla for the last two years that Hollywood wants his big blue flower quilt. The pattern she is going to use is called Big and Tall by Sunnyside Designs. Which is a fairly easy design. Here is a mock up of the quilt, please ignore the silly white lines, but I had to copy the fabric from the internet and they had a tape measure at the bottom. Yes I could have edited them, but it was more work than I wanted.

So those are our goals for April, which are totally doable!! I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal. If you want to see what others are doing check out her linky party.

Friday Finish - 03/24/17

I have finished my City Streets - 2wenty Thr3e flimsy. It is a very simple pattern and the quilt goes together so fast. I should have been finished a week ago, but I was busy getting other things done. I love this quilt, however Sharla isn't as pleased with it as I am. It popped her in the face yesterday as we were trying to get photos of it.  The wind was blowing like mad, and I couldn't even get it on the ground.

We tried several times, but it just wouldn't lay down. So then I tried to hold it up and that was even worse. That is when it got sassy with Sharla and popped her.

I really like how the grey works with the other colors. The grey is Bella Solids Etchings Slate and is a nice deep grey. The quilt measures 72 x 83 1/2, so it will be a great snuggle quilt. I am going to try and get some better pictures of it this weekend, but I just couldn't wait to show it off to everyone.

Over all this makes the 3rd flimsy I've completed this year, and so I'm on track to make my goal of finishing at least 12 flimsy in 2017. I've already started working on the next one, but haven't made much progress this week.  It was one of those where on my days off I was forced to do life things like oil changes, car inspections, getting the car tags and lots of fun other fun things. I do hope to make more progress next week.

For now I'm linking up with  Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation and Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts.  And I am linking to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal Finish March Linkup since was my OMG for March.

One Monthly Goal - March Goal

It is time to set my March goal (and Sharla's). We've both done well so far this year in completing our goals within the month time frame. You will see Sharla's February quilt top tomorrow and I showed mine earlier this month.

For March my goal is to complete my 2wenty-Thr3e City Street flimsy. I've had the layer cake since 2013 and had planned to use it in a completely different way. But when I pulled it out last month I changed my mind and decided to make the pattern City Streets with it. I've ordered and received the background/sashing fabric so I'm all ready to start. It is a fairly easy quilt so I'm hoping not to have any issues with it. Here is the mock up of what it should look like when it is completed.

Sharla is going to work on her Somerset Strip Box quilt. She started this quilt before her eye surgery and was really afraid she would have to undo most of what she had done. But when she checked out the pieces they weren't that bad, so she is moving forward with it as is. The quilt is made with 2 jelly rolls of Somerset by Fig Tree and she has had it since 2014.

Both of these are achievable goals, unless life goes wacky. I have to cut mine, but Sharla's pieces are already cut and partially sewn.  Now time to get cutting and sewing. I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts. 

Friday Finish - 02/10/17

I really didn't expect to have anything to show today. I thought it would be next week before I finished my cross quilt and the week after that before Sharla finished her Summerfest quilt. But then the Super Bowl happened. I'm not a big sports fan, but I normally watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, but they just didn't hold my interest this year. So I started working on my cross quilt and low and behold it was done.

I started working on this quilt in November of 2014. It was the block I chose as queen in my very first bee, Compass Quilters. It was a small bee, and I knew I wouldn't get enough blocks to make the quilt the size I wanted, so I've been working away on it since then. I would put it aside every once in a while, but whenever I had new scraps, they immediately went into this quilt.  It is made up of 289 6-inch squares which means it is 102 x 102, or a very large queen.

Sharla was taking pictures for me, and got the one above as I was trying to get it laid out nicely. As I ironed it I notice a couple of spots where yellows were bunched together, but when I lay it out flat and see it all, I don't notice them as much.  I can still see them, but they don't bother me.

I love the mix of all the low volume fabrics with the bright crosses. I has some of my favorite fabrics in it, along with some really fun blocks from my bee mates. It is funny because one of my bee mates from this bee is the hive mama of my Stash Bee this year and another is the Stash Bee coordinator. The quilting community is a small world after all.

I can't wait to get it quilted and put it on my bed. It is just so cheerful, that it will brighten my day every time I see it.  I also want to thank all my bee mates for their blocks. Although there blocks don't make up the majority of this quilt, they make it even more special because I will always remember my first bee.

Seeing this picture of it dancing in the wind make me smile. It was a struggle to get photos of the quilt because the light backgrounds wanted to blowout, but at the same time I love how the sunlight just makes it pop.

I'm hoping by the end of next week to have another finish to show you, but we will just have to wait and see if that happens. For now I'm linking up with  Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation, Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts , Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio and Sew Cute Tuesday @ Young Texas Mama.  And I will be linking up at Elm Street Quilts at the end of the month, because this finishes my One Monthly Goal for February.

One Monthly Goal - February Goal

Well Sharla and I did so well last month, we are setting our One Monthly Goal for this month. We have picked our projects for the month and already began working on them. As with last month I am limiting myself to one goal for me and one for Sharla and these will be to finish the quilt top only. My goals for finished quilts is done by quarter.

So my goal is to finish my cross quilt top. It was my first bee quilt and I've been working on it since 2014. I know that is a long time but it is made up of 289 6" square blocks, and even with the blocks I received from my bee mates, I had to make over 200 of the blocks. As of right now all the blocks are made and have been sewn into 16 patches. And those 16 patches are pinned into 32 patches.  Here are a couple of the 16 patches. The photos were taken late last night so the lighting suck, but I am so happy to see it coming together.

With the progress I'm making I really think I can get this finished by the end of the month. I am going to try and sew for at least 15 minutes a day for this month and we'll see how far that gets me.

Sharla is going to work on her Summerfest quilt. There is no real pattern for this quilt. It is two layer cakes that are pieced with a vertical sashing. Sharla like easy and fast and this one certainly fits the bill. She is using Moda's Bella Buttercup as her sashing and it looks great with the Summerfest prints. Here is the mock up we did in EQ7.

She has already picked the pattern of which fabrics go where, and will start sewing on it this weekend. She will sew the columns of squares together and then sash it and border it.  I think it is going to be a very bright and cheerful quilt when it is finished.

Ok so those are our goals for February. It is a short month, but I think both are obtainable. If you want to see what others are working on this month, check out the link up page at Elm Street Quilts.

Friday Finish - 01/20/17

I have been making progress, slow progress, but I will take it. This week I finished my OMG for January...yeah I finished it on Monday, so almost by the 15th. The pattern is Big and Bold and the fabric line is Soho Chic. The weather has been crappy all week, but the sun peeked out this morning and I grabbed a quick shot before work. I love the dark rich colors of this one, and I can't wait to get it quilted so that I can use it.

I will be linking up my finish at Elm Street Quilts. I can't even begin to say how happy I am to have completed this top. I am hoping it sets the right tone for the rest of the year and I get lots and lots done.

I also got Sharla's Flirt quilt onto the long arm and began quilting it. But I only got a couple of rows done. I'm hoping to get more done this weekend. I am just happy to be quilting again.

If all goes well I will have another finish next week. So for me it was a very good week considering I didn't get to spend much time sewing or quilting. Today and I am linking up my finish with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation, Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts and Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabric Studio.

One Monthly Goal - January Goal

I got out of the habit of setting goals for myself last year and as a result very little got done. I always have a list of things I want to do, but I stopped throwing them out to the world. Which meant I had less accountability. I know none of you are going to knock on my door and ask what I got done, but once I put it out there, I feel more accountable to myself. Plus Sharla normally tracks me to see how well I do. So I'm going to try and be more vigilant about posting my goals and results each month with others at Elm Street Quilts.

In the past I've had a hard time keeping myself to one goal, but I'm changing that this year. I will only list one goal for the month. If I get more things done, great, but by listing only one thing I'm hoping to stay on track.

My goal for January is Big and Bold in Soho Chic. I bought the kit for this in 2014 and I love the dark rich colors. The pattern is easy and I've gotten it cut and started sewing on it on the first. Here is a mock up of it in EQ7.

My goal is to have the top finished by the end of the month. Which I think is very possible to do. I also have some projects I want to get quilted this month, but for now this is my One Monthly Goal and I will be linking up at Elm Street Quilts.

And as an added bonus I'm posting Sharla's goal for January as well. She is doing City Streets using Ticklish. It is a fun pattern and fun fabrics. I couldn't figure out how to get this one into EQ7, so here is a picture of the pattern and the fabric line. The quilt is designed by Sandy Brawner who used to own the local quilt shop. We laughed when I was cutting these that our projects couldn't be much different, mine is dark and rich, while hers is bright and cheery.

So those are our goals for January. If you want to see others are working on this month, check out the link up page at Elm Street Quilts.