January Progress Report

Wow, where did January go? It seems like we were just watching the ball drop! Here is a summary of what I did in January:

• Finished two lap sized quilts
• Pieced 14 Golden Memories BOM blocks
• Finished piecing the Stars & Stripes top
• Quilted 18 hours and 15 minutes between January 14-31
• Spent $150 more than my budget for the month

My goals for February are:

• Quilt and finish Stars & Stripes
• Quilt and finish Sunwashed or Turtle Talk
• Start a new charity top (using my stash) and then practicing a new quilting technique on it
• Quilt an average of 5-7 hours a week
• Not spend more than my budget for the month.

Mother Nature's Sense of Humor

This morning it was 40 degrees. By 3:30 the temp had dropped to 32 degrees and we had freezing rain and wind. By 5:00 we had a blizzard. Tonight the wind chills are going to be -35. Ahhhh the joys of living in Wisconsin.

Tonight I made another Golden Memories block. I realized tonight that after I get the sampler blocks done, I need to make 31 log cabin blocks. I have a ways to go. I think I might take a break for a while from this though and work on something else after this week.

I still need to get Stars & Stripes loaded on the frame...hopefully soon. That's all for now!!!

Progress 1/26

Yesterday I finally received the Pantograph for Borders and All-Over Designs videotape I had ordered back in mid-December. This morning I watched it and got more insight about lining up pantographs. I wasn't quite up to the task of working on Stars & Stripes today so I finished two more Golden Memories blocks....12 more blocks to go!!!

Progress 1/24

Today I finished two Golden Memories blocks and got halfway done with a third!!! It was a very productive day!

As for the temperature, can you say brrrrr?!?! It was -12 degrees on my way to work this morning (-30 wind chill) and +1 degree on my way home at 2 p.m. It's just nasty!

Progress 1/23

Last night I had started to cut pieces for Golden Memories block #15, but I wasn't paying attention and cut the wrong fabrics (luckily they give generous portions in their BOM kits). Tonight I cut the correct fabric and finished piecing it. Block #16 fabrics are cut, QSTs made, and half of the HSTs are done. I'm almost halfway!!!

Enough With the Cold Already!

I can handle one or two days of cold, but this is going on over a week with single digit temps and minus temps at night. We're suppose to get a little bit of a warm up over the weekend but then it's going to get colder again. Mother Nature, please let Spring get here soon!

On the bright side....When it's so cold outside, I get lots of sewing done because I don't want to leave the house. ;0)

Wherever you are, I hope you're staying warm!!!

New Year, New Habits

During the Christmas break, I worked on organizing my sewing room. I had an eye opening experience. I have WAY too much fabric and way too many PIGS (projects in grocery sacks, i.e., projects waiting to be started). So this year my quilt goals are to:

• Work on using my stash, instead of buying more!!!


• Get started on the PIGS


• Finish the tops that have been waiting to be quilted


• Continue practicing new designs with my Voyager 17


• Reduce my spending on quilt-related items

So far this year, I've finished two of the smaller quilts on my list. I've also been plugging away trying to get caught up on the Golden Memories BOM (pattern by Lori Smith) from last year. I currently have 14 of the 32 blocks completed.

During the weekend I also finished piecing the Stars & Stripes top. I am planning on quilting this top next using the Allegiance pantograph. I am still learning to use my Voyager 17 machine which I bought last fall. My first attempt at using a pantograph wasn't very successful, but I found some instructions on Longarm University which I'm hoping will help me with my spacing problem!!!