Goals for 2013

I plan to continue working on each type of needlework project for at least 30 minutes each week. This is really working out well for me. I don't get burned out like I do when I'm only working on one project. Also, when I get to a part of a project that I simply don't want to do it's not too difficult to make myself do just 30 minutes on it.

Eventually I'd like to have, ideally, only one of each type of project (2 or 3 is probably more realistic). However, I have so many UFOs that it will take years to reach that point. I also plan to only work on one sew-along at a time. That will happen as soon as Deanne Eisenman's project wraps up. I'll continue to do Pam Buda's projects but not take on any more.

My main goal for 2013 is going to be to use up all the acrylic worsted weight yarn in my stash. I long ago decided not to buy any more synthetic yarn, but I still have a lot of the stuff.

To accomplish this goal I'll have to finish the following projects:

Morning Glory afghan
Octopus Garden Blanket
Another crochet afghan UFO
At least one scrap afghan from the leftovers

Once I'm left with just the smallest scraps, I'll use them in one final project. I have a crocheted afghan UFO, Granny's Daughter (more on that when I get to it), that utilizes very small scraps. I won't finish it, but I'll use up all the acrylic scraps that I've saved for it. I can use scraps of other types of machine washable yarn for the rest of it.

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I did some more work on Around the Town by Dawna Baker.

I've started sewing another piece onto the backing for Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

Blackwork:

I'm still working on the same square on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

Cross Stitch:

I've finally worked my way over to the upper left corner on Fish City which is adapted from artwork by Stewart Moskowitz.

Swedish Weaving:

I made a little progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I did some more lazy daisies on the 2nd panel of the Morning Glory afghan designed by Michele Maks.

Knitting:

I finished the embroidery on the 1st side panel of the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent and wove in all the ends. Then I knitted the 2nd side panel and started on its embroidery.

Finishing:

I made the binding strips for Tech Support, a design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™ and pinned the first one in place.

 

Christmas:

Finally, I finished stitching In The Bag, a Mini-Kats™ design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

For my next Christmas-themed project I pulled out the Tiny Stockings ornaments designed by Jorja Hernandez. I'm doing the stocking with 2 birds. I'll work on this through New Year's Eve and then put it away until next year.

 

Gift Basket - Finished

Yesterday I finished Gift Basket, the December installment of the Block of the Month series by Deanne Eisenman of Snuggles Quilts.

That's it for the sew-alongs until early January when Deanne will be posting the next block and Pam Buda will be starting her next project.

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I only lack one seam on Gift Basket, the December installment of the Block of the Month series by Deanne Eisenman of Snuggles Quilts.

I did some more work on Around the Town by Dawna Baker.

On Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs, I sewed another piece onto the backing, but I still haven't pressed the seams.

Blackwork:

I'm still working on the same square on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

Cross Stitch:

I did some work on Fish City which is adapted from artwork by Stewart Moskowitz.

Swedish Weaving:

I made a little progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I finished the green cross stitch diamonds and one row of yellow cross stitches on the 2nd panel of the Morning Glory afghan designed by Michele Maks. I then got started on the second row of lazy daisies.

Also, I finished 2 more squares for the 3rd panel and started a third.

Knitting:

I finally finished weaving in the ends on the center panel of the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent.

I also finished knitting the side panel I had already begun and got started on the embroidery.

 

Finishing:

I finished the quilting on Tech Support, a design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

Christmas:

Finally, I got some more work done on In The Bag, a Mini-Kats™ design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

 

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I got started on Gift Basket, the December installment of the Block of the Month series by Deanne Eisenman of Snuggles Quilts.

I did some more work on Around the Town by Dawna Baker.

On Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs, I finished sewing the first 2 pieces of the backing together, but I haven't pressed the seam yet.

Blackwork:

I'm still working on the same square on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

Cross Stitch:

I did some work on Fish City which is adapted from artwork by Stewart Moskowitz.

Swedish Weaving:

I made a little progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I finished the first row of lazy daisies on the 2nd panel of the Morning Glory afghan designed by Michele Maks and almost finished the green cross stitch diamonds.

Also, I finished the 10th square for the 3rd panel and sewed it to the rest.

Knitting:

I wove in some more ends on the center panel of the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent.

Finishing:

I started the quilting on Tech Support, a design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

Christmas:

Finally, I got some more work done on In The Bag, a Mini-Kats™ design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

 

 

Weekly Update

And now back to our regularly scheduled stitching. :)

Quilting:

I've decided that from now on I'm going to have one quilt project in the piecing stage and one in the quilting/finishing stage, plus any sew-alongs.

No sew-alongs this week. Pam Buda doesn't plan to post her next one until January, and Deanne Eisenman only just posted hers today.

For my piecing project I picked up Around the Town by Dawna Baker again.

For my quilting/finishing project I started piecing the backing for Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs. The fabric I used in this project can't be ordered by the yard, so I had to order a set of 1/2-yard cuts which I'm piecing together.

Blackwork:

I finished one square and started the next on the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.

 

Cross Stitch:

I did some work on Fish City which is adapted from artwork by Stewart Moskowitz.

Swedish Weaving:

I made a little progress on the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I did some more embroidery on the 2nd panel of the Morning Glory afghan designed by Michele Maks.

Also, I have now crocheted 9 squares for the 3rd panel, and have almost finished a 10th.

Knitting:

I wove in some more ends on the center panel of the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent.

 

Finishing:

On Tech Support, a design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™, I pieced the backing (more small cuts of fabric) and basted the layers together.

Christmas:

Finally, during the month of December I'm going to work on Christmas-themed UFOs, starting with In The Bag, a Mini-Kats™ design by Linda Connors of Calico Crossroads®, adapted from the artwork of Kathleen Kelly of Kats by Kelly™.

Here's what I had already done on it:

And here's what I got done this week:

 

Forget Me Not - Finished

Woo-hoo!!! I've finally finished my very first quilt!!! I've done a potholder, some coasters, and a quilt top, but this is the first quilt I've actually completed.

So here it is: Forget Me Not, designed by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts -- I tweaked the setting a bit -- and hand pieced and hand quilted by me. :)

And now we do the dance of joy!!

 

Weekly Update

I got some more quilting done on Forget Me Not, a sew-along by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts. I've got 6 blocks yet to do: the 4 corners and the 2nd and 5th squares in the first column. I hope to get all the quilting done before Sunday. Once I get this thing quilted and bound, I'll get back to my other projects.

 

Weekly Update

I'm concentrating on the sew-alongs since their deadlines are fast approaching, so that's all I've worked on this week.

I got some more quilting done on Forget Me Not, a sew-along by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts. It's difficult to see in the photo, but I've done the middle 2 squares in the third, fourth, and fifth rows, and most of the 2nd square in the second row.

I've finished Gather Together, the November installment of the Block of the Month series by Deanne Eisenman of Snuggles Quilts.