February 2022 OMG Goal

 It looks like January was all about To-Do Tuesdays. I did accomplish many things on my various lists. Remember, I love to write lists. Now to learn to love to check off items from the list when I complete them. February takes me in a completely new direction. I have a manuscript to complete. I have used every excuse imaginable to avoid getting it done. But I realize that actually doing the writing is easier than dealing with all the avoidance. 

My quilting goals often are monumental. Go big or go home. But Baby steps seem to get many further along the road to successful completion. Not me. I do feast or famine. All or nothing. Can an old dog really learn new tricks? Well, this old dog has had to learn lots of new tricks lately. After all, my husband retired a couple of months ago and I am adapting to having him here all the time. He is still trying to figure out what his life will look like now that he no longer milks cows and he cannot be out on his tractor doing fieldwork in mid-winter. 

For OMG monthly goals, I often write down one or many several specific goals and promptly work on anything else but what my goal is. This month may not be any different, but I do like to set goals. This has to be specific, right? Nearly a year ago I bought a new Babylock Jazz II  sewing machine with a 12-inch throat space for the specific purpose of doing machine quilting. I have not actually done ANY sewing on it. Yet. My OMG goal for this month will be to get started on using this machine and getting some quilting started. Baby steps. I have several smaller quilts nearly ready for this. Two of them are printed panels I bought for this very thing.

I plan to quilt along with Angela Walters on her Help How do I Quilt It? Free Motion Quilt-a-Long. I bought the panel when it was released a long time ago. I have a whole box of exciting threads I won here on the OMG draw in May from Aurifil Threads. They sent me no less than 12 three packs of the Endangered Species collection.

I also found an amazing printed panel

called Apricot and Ash Cloud Floral from Fat Quarter Shop. This will be a place for me to learn to machine quilt around faux applique so I can eventually quilt around my real hand-stitched applique quilts. It should arrive soon. I hope. 

But first up will be my oldest UFO from 1979. This Dolls of the World was a kit I bought and painted the pictures onto the fabric. It was awol in one of the cupboards in one of the rooms somewhere in this big ole farmhouse and came to light when we did some serious declutter a few years ago. I have some red rose fabric for the backing. I think there is enough to use for a border also. 

My OMG goal for February will be to layer these small quilts and start machine quilting them. No promises of a finish. But I have to start starting somewhere. And, both big folding tables are empty in the middle of the quilt room begging to be used to stretch out and layer quilts before this room gets turned into a greenhouse again in anticipation of a summer vegetable garden. 

Blessings,

Chris

linking with: quiltinggail.phd-in-2022-

smallquiltsanddollquilts.design-wall-monday- 

katiemaequilts./boms-away

free-motion-mavericks.

wendysquiltsandmore.

alyciaquiltsfinished or not friday

ninamariesayre.on-off-wall-friday.