Tuesday Archives: January/February Goals and Progress Report

Ordinarily, I'd be waiting until January 1st to post my monthly goals, but blame Val for forcing my hand. There's a party going on, and I just hate to be left out. Quite a few of you have posted your goals for 2016, and I can only post my goals a month at a time. There's only so much room in my brain for planning. As for 2016, like most of you I'm hopeful of clearing some very old projects off my to-do list this year. 

But let's not be jumping ahead of ourselves because it's time to check-in on the last list of 2015. How'd we do?

Quilting and Flimsies

1. I want to finish quilting and binding the Doors of Ireland, pictured above. Complete!

2. At least get a start sewing together the Quilting Snowladies. Complete!

WIP's

3. I want to complete four more blocks for the Live, Love, Teach quilt. These are the ones on tap for December. When these are complete, I will have finished 40 of the 56 blocks. Complete!

4. There are three more blocks to finish for the Cats of a Different Color quilt, and that will bring the 2015 Rainbow Scrap Challenge to a close. Complete!

5. This month's block for the Block Lotto is a simple scrappy block, and so I'll make one for that challenge.

blocklotto.com
This month we're making the Wonky Strips block. Complete!

So those were the "meat and potatoes" projects for the month. After that, I decided to have some fun.

Just for Fun

6. First on the just-for-fun list is to make up the Scrappy Santa door hanger kit I ordered in November. Complete!

7. Also, I want to make the orange Four Fabric Forest I talked about some time ago. Complete! 

8. If I can get those finished, I'd like a winter table runner for my table. I've had Icy Blues on my list for quite some time, and I'll use this as my project for the Let's Book It challenge since I printed this pattern off eons ago. It's a free pattern from the All People Quilt website. Complete! At this writing, I'm ready to hand sew the binding, and this one will be history. And there's no Let's Book It in December, but Sharon told me I could use it in January. Fair enough...never let it be said that I passed up an offer like that.

Not bad, eh? So with everything complete, let's talk about

9. At least get started on the quilt I'd like to make from my autumn leaves photograph. No progress.

All right, so the contestant wishes to argue with the judges about her bonus points. Some people take quilting so seriously, you know what I mean? Let's listen in:

The contestant (whining): It's true that I didn't even start on the leaves, but I DID do a different project...and I didn't even think of it when I chose this for bonus points...I thought of it afterward. Can't I even substitute a fricking different project for bonus points, huh????!!?? This pageant is rigged, I tell you. Rigged!!!!!

The judges have their heads together in a huddle, discussing, whispering (cue that Final Jeopardy music while we await their decision). Oh WOW! She's lodged an effective protest, and the judges are in agreement with her. She CAN substitute her "Whose Woods Are These?" quilt for her bonus points project!

And with that in mind...

Phew! I thought there was going to be a rumble right here on the blog! (Takes a big swig of water...bonus point negotiation is thirsty work.)

Okay so here's the Tuesday Archives linky party part of my goals for the year. What's on tap for January?

Well...first I have to say that January and February are going to be a combined list of goals. We're taking off on a trip on January 23rd and won't be back until February 7th. I was kind of confused about how I was going to set up my goals, but then decided to combine the lists for both months and aim for finishing everything by February 29th. Yes, it's a leap year! Wahoo! (Yeah, I get excited about little things like that...and besides, it's just one more day of sewing.)

So okay, here goes:

Quilting and Flimsies

1. Quilt and bind the Quilting Snowladies (pictured above). They are so excited!!!

2. Make a flimsy from some bee blocks I almost forgot about from last year. I have some great fabrics to complete this top, and I'm going to call the quilt "Stars and Stripes". I thought I might have a picture of all 12 blocks, but I couldn't find it. These are the two I made for the bee during my month as hostess. There are 10 more made by the other quilters in the hive.

WIP's

3. Continue on with Blocks 41-44 for the Live, Love, Teach quilt. 

4. There are also two blocks that will need to be remade. Since we're traveling, I like to take hand work along, and these two blocks are all embroidery. It seems a good way to keep the project moving along at a brisk (cough) pace while also giving myself a little break. So...I also have a goal of redoing these two blocks:

5. Make the next section for A Quiltmaker's Garden.

6. Add another row of blocks to the Mulligan Stew quilt.

7. Make the next block for It's Raining Cats and Dogs:

8. Make the next section for the Mumm's the Word quilt:

9. Finish the remaining four blocks for the Yard Art quilt...and this one will be celebration worthy, so have that champagne chilling:

Monthly Challenges

10. I'd like to make both the January and February blocks for 

blocklotto.com

11. And I'll get a start on my next project for:

I have a fun project picked out for the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge...this "Happy Campers" quilt designed by Sew 4 Fun. (I looked for the original link to this project, and couldn't find it.)

12. Finally, I still want to participate in the new and fabulous

As mentioned, my January project is done, but we're doing two months of goals here, and so I need a project for February. My focus for the Let's Book It Challenge is going to continue to be small quilts and table runners. I'd like a table runner for my February breakfast bar. Sometimes I'm drawing projects from my bookshelf, and then there's this bookshelf in my closet with my big, big, big notebooks of quilt patterns I've printed off the internet. They're so big, they have a hard time standing up straight!

Anyway...I searched through my "lap and table" book yesterday and found this little cutie from Little Bits of This & That. Sherri was kind enough to post a free pattern for this Be Mine table runner, and so I'll shoot for that in February. I have the perfect fabrics already in my stash.

And that's a long list, but remember...it's two months worth of sewing. 

But you know my list is never complete without some projects for

There are still some quilts in my quilts to be quilted pile...there's all waiting their turn very impatiently. With that in mind, I'd sure like to get these three little quilts quilted.

And that, my friends, is a list long enough to hold any quilter for two months. Now head on over to the party at Val's Quilting Studio and see what your other blogging friends have planned for the new year.