Using Accountability Tools - Week 5

 New To-Do List, January, Week 5

1) Add decorative redwork stitching to seams of the UFO Curious George Quilt.

I am auditioning this stitch:

2). Make appliqué block #14 for the Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt.  Here is the original quilt block:

3) Start on the outer border plan for the Benjamin Biggs Quilt. Get four borders cut.  Make template for swags.

Last week’s goals:

Finish Block #13 Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt.  It is half finished, and I plan to complete it this week.  Done

Borders on the cheddar/black quilt, which was on the list last week.  Not done, so higher on the list this week.   Done

Sew blocks together on a UFO that is 14 completed red work embroidered Curious George squares.  It will be a baby quilt.  Done

  

I’m sharing goals with the linky party “To-Do Tuesday”  (Here)   in a plan to be more accountable to other quilters each week.  I shall report back next Tuesday on results of this weekly list, and I will set new goals for the new week.

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, please know that I have a linky party every Monday morning.  Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party and show us what you are working on.

Design Wall Monday - January 30, 2023

Good Morning Quilters!

UFOs have been getting finished here at a fast pace this January!  The cheddar/black fall quilt has its solid black borders attached, and is ready for the long arm quilter.  Here is a picture of it:

Nine blocks by nine blocks which finish at eight inches each.  Borders finish at six inches, making the quilt top 84” by 84” square.

The redwork quilt top has been completed and is ready for quilting.  I am still thinking about the plan to quilt this one…….minimally for sure.

I looked at the corners I created and decided to add some leaves or flowers where it looked a little sparse.  Here, for example, are two corners that I changed:

Before:  

After:

I could add another leaf on this corner, but at some point, I must stop and let it be finished, right?

Before:

After:

I also completed the middle block, #13, of the Benjamin Biggs Wedding quilt 25 blocks that I am working on.  It was busier than most of the blocks so far, and I am glad it is completed.  On to block #14!   There are 25 blocks in all, and I have 14 of them made.  This block has some blue fabric in it - the only block in the original quilt with blue fabric.  I like it.

What are you working on this week?  It is the last Monday in January and I feel we are getting off to a great start this year.  Your blog linkup pictures have been fantastic.   I have to put my blinders on when I read your blogs to keep me from starting more projects.  Beautiful work!  Please join in the Design Wall Monday Linky Party below, and show us what you are doing.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Using Accountability Tools - Week 4

 New To-Do List, January, Week 4

1)  Finish Block #13 Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt.  It is half finished, and I plan to complete it this week.  

Here’s a progress picture:

2) Borders on the cheddar/black quilt, which was on the list last week.  Not done, so higher on the list this week.

3) Sew blocks together on a UFO that is 14 completed red work embroidered Curious George squares.  It will be a baby quilt.

Report on last week’s list:

1) Finish up red work large quilt, completing the vine border.  DONE! 

2) Block #13 for Benjamin Biggs.      HALF-DONE

3)  Sew black borders on cheddar/black quilt.  DID NOT HAPPEN

4)  Pull out another UFO and start finishing it.  DONE. The Curious George baby quilt is out and I’m working on it.

I’m sharing goals with the linky party “To-Do Tuesday” (Here)  in a plan to be more accountable to other quilters each week.  I shall report back next Tuesday on results of this weekly list, and I will set new goals for the new week.

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, please know that I have a linky party every Monday morning.  Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party and show us what you are working on.

Design Wall Monday - January 23, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

This is a happy day!  My long time UFO of redwork squares is a completed quilt top!  I finished the last corner embroidery yesterday.  

Here are some pictures. My blocks finish at 10 inches square and there are 8 across and 8 down, with borders that each finish at 7 inches.  So the quilt will be 94” by 94”.  Benjamin Biggs Wedding quilt is on the design wall, so these pictures are taken with it on the floor.  I will post a picture of all of it when it is a completed quilt.

I am thinking I want minimal quilting on this quilt after looking at pictures of this type of quilt on the internet.  Most have no quilting that is very evident.  In fact, I found this information:  

It wasn't until the turn of the century that women began to use redwork embroidery for bedcoverings. Preprinted squares ready to embroider were sold. Because they originally cost only about a penny apiece they were commonly called penny squares. 

The quilt blocks used for redwork quilts ranged from six to ten inches across. They were usually embroidered then sewn together without any sashing between the blocks. Often a feather or cross-stitch was used to cover the seam line. Later a red or red print sashing was sometimes used. Some of these bedcoverings were quilted while others were simply lined without batting and then tied at the corners of each block.

From the website :  Womenfolk.com

I am getting out another redwork UFO this week to finish up.  This one will be a child’s quilt featuring Curious George.   I have 14 squares made and when I made them, all the alternate squares I was thinking of putting with them seemed to outshine them.   I now believe the quilt shouldn’t have alternate squares, and should be sewn together without sashing or alternate blocks.  Some projects have to be UFOs until I decide the best way to complete them.  lol

Here’s one block:

Our son loved the Curious George books when he was a little boy.  I think children like to see the little monkey get into trouble, and it always turns out ok.  I like the  old quilt idea of decorative stitching on each of the block joins, and I am going to try that on this one.  Maybe a stitch like this one:

What have you started….or finished……or moved along the way to completion this week?  Please join in the Design Wall Linky Party below and show us.  Thanks to all of you who participate.  It is so much fun to read your blogs and look at your lovely pictures.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Using Accountability Tools - Week 3

New To-Do List, January, Week 3:

1) Redwork Quilt.  Finish embroidery on one flower and two leaves to get to the final corner, then draw the corner design, and embroider that.  In other words, finish it up.

2.  Work on Appliqué on the Benjamin Biggs block #13.  Try to get it completed.

3.  Sew solid black fabric borders to the Cheddar/Black sampler quilt to finish this UFO.

4.  Pull out anther UFO from the bookcase and decide what needs to be done to it.

Report on To-Do List January, Week 2:

1) Red Work Quilt

     A) Sew two final borders on top and bottom of quilt   Done

     B)  Draw corner designs for red work quilt Done on three corners

     C) Finish red work embroidery on this quilt Not quite done yet - almost fnished.

     

2)  Appliqué block #13 for Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt   Pattern traced and fabrics selected but no appliqué  on it yet.

3) Finish sewing rows (3) together on UFO autumn sampler quilt and decide on use of 300+ hsts that were packed away with it.  All sewn together, and nixed the hsts border plan.  A solid black border will happen instead.

4). Pencil in the outer scallops line for edge of the Jane Stickle Quilt. Done! It is ready to be quilted!

I’m sharing goals with the linky party “To-Do Tuesday”  (Here)  in a plan to be more accountable to other quilters each week.   I shall report back next Tuesday on results of this weekly list, and I will set new goals for the next week.

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, please know that I have a linky party every Monday morning.  Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party and show us what you are working on.

Design Wall Monday - January 16, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

There is progress on three quilts this week.

The Cheddar/black UFO quilt is back up on the design wall, and the hsts that were packed away with it didn’t work out as a border.  It made the quilt “busier” than it already is, and I think it’s plenty busy enough.  I changed my mind and am going to add a simple black solid border and be done with it.  As a quilt maker, I have a right to change my mind….several times, in this case.  lol

Here is a picture of my audition of a simple solid black border:

I like it and it follows the “kiss” moto…..”keep it simple sxxxxx”.  The hsts will be used somewhere else.

My redwork quilt has seen great progress this week.  I have attached the vine/flower outer border on all four sides and have drafted a corner “leaves” or “flowers” addition to take the vine/flowers around the corner.  In the original pattern the four borders did not connect in any way.  I now have only one corner left to embroider, and am getting close to creating a join pattern for this final corner.

Here are pictures of the four corners, and how the vine/flowers continue around  the corners.   

Corner top left:

Corner bottom left:

Corner top right:

Corner bottom right that is not finished yet:

I’m close to being finished with this one!

And, I decided on the scalloped edge size for my Jane Stickle quilt, and penciled the scallops onto the edge.  It is now ready for a longarm quilter to quilt it for me.

Here is a picture:

I have enjoyed reading your blog posts this week.  Everyone is really busy and it is exciting to read about your projects.  Thank you so much for joining the Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  Here’s the link for this week’s party:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Using Accountability Tools - Week 2

To-Do List Week 2:

1) Red Work Quilt

     A) Sew two final borders on top and bottom of quilt

     B)  Draw corner designs for red work quilt 

     C) Finish red work embroidery on this quilt 

    

2)  Appliqué Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt - Block 13

3) Finish sewing rows (3) on autumn sampler UFO quilt and decide on plan for use of 300+ hsts that were packed away with it.  The hsts will become a border.

4) Pencil in the outer scallops line for edge of the Jane Stickle Quilt.

*************************************************************************************

Results of Week 1 List:

 Weekly goals - 1st week in January, 2023

1).  Red work “penny squares” quilt top:

     A).  Sew borders on the redwork quilt.  Sewed 2 borders on - 2 more to go.

     B)  Draw up the design for the four corners on this same quilt.  Did not happen.

     C). Work on hand embroidery of redwork to complete borders.  Worked on this, but not completed.

2)   Make one block for the B.Biggs quilt (3rd row #2 block)  - made block #12

3)   UFO plan:  Put a project on the design wall and start sewing blocks into rows..

Pulled out a black and cheddar sampler quilt from UFOs shelf and decided on a plan to complete it,  and sewed 2 rows together.  Added more tasks to do in Week 2.

I’m sharing goals with the linky party “To Do Tuesday”  (Here)  in a plan to be accountable to other quilters each week.  I shall report back next Tuesday on results of this weekly list, and I will set new goals for the next week.

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, please know I have a linky party every Monday morning.  Please join in our Design Wall Monday Linky Party and show us what you are working on.  

Design Wall Monday - January 9, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

This week I pulled out an old UFO to see what was needed to finish it up.  I found out….….not much!  The blocks were all assembled, sewn into rows and over half of the rows sewn together.  There are only three more long seams to sew and the quilt center will be complete.  Why did I stop?  

The blocks were made by following Barbara Brackman’s blog  (back in 2012)  about the women’s suffrage movement.  The blog is  (here) but not very active now.

America’s primary suffrage color was gold, often contrasted with black, so that is what I used.   I thought it would make a nice autumn quilt.   Here is the UFO on the design wall right now:

The blocks finish at 8 inches square.  Two blocks that gave me trouble at the time:

The mystery here is that there was a bag with about 350 two inch finished size hsts packed with it.  All the half square triangles are gold solids or prints with black solids or prints.  I don’t know what my original intent was for the hsts.   I could use some of them for a border, and some of them for a small quilt.  Note to self:  leave better notes with my UFOs in the future.  What should I do with them?

I am almost finished with another Benjamin Biggs Wedding Quilt block.  These patterns were free on the internet for a short time from Gay Bomers at her Sentimental Stitches website. Her website now is (Here)   I must have missed copying the pattern for this block, but I have patterns for all of the other blocks.  For this one, I drafted my own pattern.  It will be fine.  I’m not sure what flowers these are supposed to be, but here’s my version of the original quilt block:

My next block for this quilt is the center block, and has a lot more going on in it.  I hope to start it today.

What are you working on this week?   I am excited to look at all the pictures and read all of your blog posts. The new year is a great time to renew our resolve to get our hobby in tip top shape.  Thank you for your participation.  Click on the link below to join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  I appreciate you.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Using Accountability Tools - Week 1

 Weekly goals - 1st week in January, 2023

1).  Red work “penny squares” quilt top:

     A).  Sew borders on the redwork quilt.

     B)  Draw up the design for the four corners on this same quilt.

     C). Work on hand embroidery of redwork to complete borders.

2)   Make one block for the B.Biggs quilt (3rd row #2 block)

3)   UFO plan:  Put a project on the design wall and start sewing blocks into rows..

I’m sharing goals with the linky party “To Do Tuesday” this year, (Here) in a plan to be accountable to other quilters each week.  I shall report back next Tuesday on results of this weekly list, and set new goals for the next week.

I post a linky party,  (Design Wall Mondays) which many of you participate in, and I will continue to post that every Monday, but I am adding this Tuesday post each week until I get all of my UFOs completed.  

Design Wall Monday - January 2, 2023

 Good Morning Quilters!

2023 is here, and with it comes new hope and encouragement about completing UFOs.  My thoughts on approaching challenges in 2023 is:

Simplify and Innovate  Treat everyone (including self) with kindness.

2022 was a year of finishing so many of my UFOs, and making great progress on others.  It was a great encouagement for me to see some finishes.  Last week, I counted up the remaining boxes of UFO projects, and it is still a daunting list.  But since great progress was made last year, great progress can be made this year too!

 I know, I know, there is always the disclaimer in the investment ads:  “Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results” — a disclosure based on SEC Rule 156.   But I think, with UFOs, an emphasis on finishing them has had great results last year, and I can do it again this year.

Two recent finishes (or almost finishes) are happening right now.  (1)  My version of Jane Stickle’s 1863 quilt is ready to send to my long arm quilter.  I showed you a picture (Here)  When it returns, I will add binding and a label.  It’s one of my oldest UFOs….started when the 9-11-2001 tradegy happened.

(2)  A redwork “penny square” quilt that has 64 squares plus a vine/flower border.  The center 64 squares were trimmed to size, assembled, and the borders were trimmed to final size this last week.  I have decided to add the borders to the quilt before I finish designing the pattern for the border corners.  Something simple is planned.  

This project is maybe my oldest UFO.  My friend Dee and I saw it in a booth in Paducah during the big quilt show there, back when I lived in St. Louis, MO.  I bought the pattern there.   We moved away from St. Louis in 2003, and it was way before that.  When we saw the quilt, Dee said she would embroider some squares to help me and she did.  Thank you Dee!  Dee’s cat “Max”, and my dog at the time “Sally”, each have their own block in the quilt. 

I think Dee and I are like the two friends in these two blocks of little girls.  She is so dear to me; I think of her as an extra sister.

 

One other thing I made this week was a snowman.  We’ve had such deep snow and then the temperature rose to 40 degrees, making the snow just right for building a snowman.  I couldn’t resist, as you know I love snowmen!  

Well, one new goal for me in the new year is to make a written list of what I hope to accomplish each week.  I will be making a small “goals” post on Tuesdays, linking up with the To Do Tuesday linky party.  The host of that linky party is changing to Carol (of QuiltSchmilt.ca) this week, and I will link to her blog when I post on Tuesdays.  I am great at making lists, but being accountable and reporting results each week will be new to me.  

What are your recent finishes or new starts as the new year begins?  I am looking forward to seeing and reading about them.  Please join in our Design Wall Mondays linky party below and show us what’s happening.  Thank you for participating.  Design Wall Mondays is going to be terrific in 2023!  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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