2019 Completions

I completed 2 quilts in 2019. Yup. Two. Quilting and Binding. This Almost Irish Chain was started way back in 2004. I took all the partially sewn units to Shipshewana with me back in April. My daughter called up one day and announced they had bought a king-sized bed. So I immediately thought of this quilt since it finishes at 106 inches. The biggest quilt I ever made It took only 8 phone calls to find someone who could long arm quilt it right away instead of putting me on a 4-month waitlist. And, she lives about 5 miles from here! This is the photo she sent me.

She used an edge to edge design called Vortex. I love it! It takes a simple pattern and makes it special.

And of course, Dear Daughter that I made for my mother in laws 90th birthday. It finishes at about 70 inches square. It is all hand appliqued and I machine quilted this one myself.

I wonder how many I will complete in 2020.
Blessings,
Chris
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January 2020 OMG Goal

January's one-monthly-goal  will be to complete the last 2 borders for Beyond the Cherry Trees.

Blessings,
Chris
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December 2019 OMG Completion

My December one-monthly-goal was to complete the appliqued cherries and embroidered stems on one more border. 
There are now 2 completed borders and only 2 more to go. 
Those will be my January goal.

Blessings,
Chris
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Twenty for 2020

Yvonne at Quilting Jet Girl came up with a linky party for twenty goals for 2020. This is my totally unrealistic left-brain list in no particular order.

1. Stitch for 20 minutes a day 5x a week
2. Morrell 20 more blocks
3. Lose 20 lbs
4. 20 machine quilting goals
5. Write 20 more chapters for Sister
6. Begin hand quilting BTCT
7. Write for 20 minutes a day 3x a week
8. Work on 20 different quilts.  
9. Read 20 books 
10. Turn computer off for 20 minutes a day
11. Spend 20 minutes quiet time with God
12. Complete 20 units on the doctorate
13. Waterfit 20 minutes 2x a week
14. Stretching 20 minutes a day
15. Bike 20 minutes 2x a week
16. Treadmill 20 minutes 2x a week
17. Bright Jane 20 more blocks
18. Publish SMOWJ
19. Publish Sister
20. Write dissertation 

I will probably have to get a bit more organized than I am right now.
Blessings,
Chris
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Cherries Progress

Last week we had a snowed-in-down-day for us here at the farm and I spent part of the day rummaging through my Morrell fabric boxes organizing the next few blocks to be made. I have not worked on it since the Shipshewana retreat in April. Actually, it seems that I only work on it at the retreat. I wanted to have some blocks prepped and ready to pick up when I felt like stitching something other than cherries. But then, I realized I will never complete the BTCT quilt if I keep finding something other than cherries to stitch on. 

Many bloggers are all aflutter about the 2020 Weather Quilts. I like the idea. I also like the 365(6) Day Circles. I even thought about combining the two. You know make a circle each day for the high temperature on a square for the low temperature. Then I realized that I am pretty much circled out right now. So then I considered making melons kind of like on the corners of the 1857 quilt for the 2020 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. But I am still working on the Corn and Beans UFO and I had considered bringing Bright Jane out to play again. And, if I am going to make 20  more Morrell blocks, where will I have time to make 4 bocks a month for Ella Maria Deacon? I also thought it might be fun to take part in one of the many mystery QAL that keep showing up. Then thoughts of hand quilting Beyond the Cherry Trees dance through my head, kind of like a freight train.

I have not started any new quilts in 2019. I held to the commitment. Barely by a thread some days, but I have not started anything new. Instead, I worked on a few old ones. And I wrote. Lots of pages. Still have many hundreds to go. My prayer team suggested I put aside my manuscript until the new year and I have. Interesting how that seriously de-stressed my head and that is probably why I am reading new blogs and finding all kinds of new quilty temptations out there. Sigh.

We will have 17 here for Christmas dinner on Sat. It is supposed to be pot luck and I was told I would not have to do anything. As if I could do nothing. The cleaning lady is coming in an extra day to help move a few things and set up 14 feet of tables in the living room so we can all sit in the same room. My husband's suggestion. I have stacking chairs in the one guest room no one is living in that will need to be brought down and washed up. They have not been used since the last time we hosted my family here 5 years ago. There were 23. I made 2 turkeys that year. This year I am cooking roast beef and ham. I love leftovers. One of my brothers is doing the smashed potatoes. Another brother and his wife are bringing no less than 4 desserts. I like desserts and she makes great pies. A sister is bringing a vegetable something or other. There will be tobogganing if we get more snow and it turns cold. Also, there will be Lego wars in the quilt room. 

The problem with going to bed at 9 pm is that you are wide awake at 4:45 am. So, I put on a load of laundry so I have something clean to wear to church and washed up yesterday's dishes since I went to bed so early without doing them. The little girls are already up and Gay will not be posting the new Ella Maria Deacon QAL blocks for hours yet. I had pie and a cup of green tea for a pre-breakfast snack. Real breakfast will be in a couple of hours. In the meantime, I have ribs in the crockpot for dinner and there is no line up for the shower. Yet.
Blessings, 
Chris
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RSC Browns

I made 18 units with browns and beiges and creams. I only got the white, cream and beige mixed up twice. I turned on an extra lamp and was more careful after that.  I have really enjoyed working on these blocks. The blocks finish at 8 inches.

When the girls came home from school on Monday, I had Devan arrange all the blocks on the wall. There are a lot of dark colours in there. There are still reds and greens and oranges to do.  I started with the pinks and yellows back in Aug and there are a few more of those colours in the box.

It is not mindless sewing as there are a lot of triangles, but there is a rhythm once I got into it.

Sixty two down and thirty-eight more to go. Maybe.

Blessings,
Chris

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December 2019 OMG Goal

My December one-monthly-goal will be to complete one more border with the appliqued cherries and the embroidered stems. I realized that the 4 borders are the equivalence of 10 blocks. Maybe that is why it has been taking me longer than I had anticipated.

Who knows, maybe I could get all 3 done. 
Blessings, 
Chris


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