17 ufos in 2017

Here is a new linky party. I like Parties. This sounds like fun. Choose 17 UFO's (unfinished objects). Make a list and post it. Then work on each of these projects throughout the year.

"The idea is to SUBSTANTIALLY PROGRESS 17 projects over the year and if that means a finish along the way, well that’s a bonus!"  https://pomegranateandchintz.wordpress.com/17-ufos-in-2017/

I was not exactly planning on working on 17 of my unfinished quilts, but I have many more than that number to choose from. And I cannot list new projects I have not yet started. Okay. So here goes:

1. Simple Simon - 2016
   
2. Brown Crazy Patch - 1994
   
3. $10 Civil War Blues - 2011
   
4. Crazy patch  2002.
5. $10 Civil War Stars - 2007
   
6. Disappearing 4-Patch - 2015
7. 1857 Album - 2016
   
8. Dear Jane 2009-2014
   
9. Serendipity - 2012
   
10. Beyond the Cherry Trees - 2014
    
11. Antique Wedding Sampler - 2015
    
12. Shades of Pemberly - 2006
13. Morrell - 2016
    
14. Think of  Me Dear One - 2010
15. Only2 - 2012 
    
16. Bright Jane - 2014
    
17. Ben Biggs - 2014
    

I plan to complete and quilt the first 7 on the list, begin to hand quilt Dear Jane and make some noticeable progress on the rest. Do you like my new helper putting blocks on the wall?

My omg-one-monthly-goal will be to complete Simple Simon since I did not quite finish it last month.

Blessings,
Chris

Top 5 Posts of 2016

Monica from  lakeviewstitching posted an interesting topic. So I took the time to check out my 5 top posts of 2016. You can find the linky party here at meadow mist designs.

1. http://holycowchris.blos-and-planes.html  

2. http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/01/new-little-boy-grand-baby.html  

3.  http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/10/india-october-2016.html 

 4.  http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/05/omg-june-quilting-goals.html  

5.   http://holycowchris.blogspot.ca/2016/08/ongoing-saga-of-gorf.html  

This pretty much wraps it up for 2016. 

See you in 2017.

Blessings,

Chris

2017 Dreams, Goals, Plans

Quilt Dreams (What I want to do)

• Start 150 Canadian Women
• Start Stonefields
• Start Caswell 
• Make significant progress on Morrell
• Make progress on AWS
• Complete to 100 blocks of Bright Jane 
• Complete the rest of  BTCT blocks 
• Complete Ben Biggs
 

Goals (What I should do)

• Complete doctorate. 
• Complete 6 quilt tops. 
• Quilt 6 quilts. I have a few small flimsy to practice on.
• Not write anymore goals.

Plans (What I am going to do)

• Visit Poland for Easter
• Shipshewana Retreat November with Di Ford Hall
• Do another Whole30 program to find out what foods are aggravating my hands
• Promote my book and sell enough copies to cover the cost of publishing
• Q@F quilt retreat at The Quilt Farm in spring
• Blog at least once a week

Blessings,
Chris

2016 in Review

I did write a goals list for 2016. I tried to be realistic. That did not work. So maybe its time to get crazy. Maybe not.

My goals for 2016 and how I did.

     1. Publish my book. We got stuck in the second revision round for several months and it is now about to enter the publication queue so any day now.

     2. Complete at least 1 of my big applique quilts, quilt it and bind it. I choose Ben Biggs. I got 5 blocks completed. That's about all.

     3. Quilt my Dear Jane Quilt and bind it with narrow binding on all those scallops. Nada but I am now considering doing big stitch by hand with perle cotton.

     4. Lose the 22 lb I did not last year with  my goal of losing 40. Nope. but did maintain the loss from last year.

     5. Have fun more often. Oh Yess!!

     6. Spend more time with the grand kids. One more grand kid added to the pile so lots more time with them and the boys have moved closer so we see them more often now.

     7. Laugh more. Definitely. But cried some too.

     8. Sing louder. I turn the music up louder so no one can hear me.

     9. Buy less new fabric. I did buy less but still bought some.

   10. Do the 40-bags-in-40-days challenge for Lent. Managed to get to day 20. 

   11. Design a layout for each of the three $10 quilts and complete them. Nope but still thinking about it.

   12. Complete coursework for doctorate. Then the dissertation, but I will need some goals for 2017. I did not file any courses and started 2 more in August. 

 So it appears that I did not attain all of my goals but I did more than I might have without any goals and plans.

I started three quilts and completed three.

1.  The 1857 album sampler on impulse in Jan. I had a lot of fun but got bored with the double pinks and lime greens and will call it finished at 35 or 36 blocks not the whole 64. I substituted several blocks and will add my own date and a name.  

2.  GORF 2 a lime green and purple completed and gifted in May

3.  Started the Simple Simon in October. 

 Completed the Blue Roses that I started 2009.

Finally completed the original GORF in September.

 

Ministry trip to India in October.

 New grand baby boy David. He is beginning to take a few steps this week.

That's enough for now.
Blessings, 
Chris

Simple Simon Progress

It looks like I will not meet my One Monthly Goal of completing this top this month. The little girls popped in yesterday for lunch with pizza in hand and begged to sleep over but no one had an overnight bag. Well! They all showed up later with over night bags and Chinese take out for supper. So that was the end of sewing for now. The two little ones were up early and helped Grampa in the barn and the older one slept in and had to be wakened for breakfast. Right now they are on a computer time out so two are in the kitchen painting and the youngest is in the quilt room gluing scraps of fabric to a piece of paper.

I got seven blocks sewn together yesterday and spent hours uploading photos.  I first learned how to chain piece and assemble blocks from Eleanor Burns and one of her Quilt in a Day books. That first log cabin quilt took me two years to make. In that time learned how to use a rotary cutter and ruler. Later I got a mat to put under them.
 

• First I laid out the 18 four patch units in order.

•  Flip row 2 back onto row 1

•  starting at the top, bring the first pair to the machine and sew together

• Chain piece all 6 units and sew off onto a scrap of fabric. I started using scraps for leaders and enders at least 15 years ago.

•  Lay the chained pieces back to make sure they are in the correct order.

•  flipping them top side up

•  Flip the last row back onto the middle row

•  Straighten and clip.

•  Chain piece then lay out to make sure all are in the correct order. Each block has different colours in random order. Except the top right and bottom left corners.

•  Next step is to join each row to the next one by flipping them right sides together

•  and clipping then sewing

•  then the next 2 rows

•  until all the rows are connected then press

•  and one more block is pinned to the wall

Twenty-one done and fifteen to go. I made a mistake with my calculations and need to prepare enough four patch units for four more blocks. Tomorrow. Maybe. The little boys will be arriving for a couple of days.

Blessings,
Gramma Kiss

Daily BLog Post Day 13

As it turns out, I do not like posting every day after all. I once thought I could fill the pages daily with bits of my life. But I took it on as a daily challenge to get into a regular habit. I have gotten quite lazy and do whatever takes my fancy and do not complete many things.

We had a quiet Christmas weekend since we celebrated with our children and grand children 2 weeks ago. My sweet Farmer has come down with a seasonal head cold and I might be doing the same. I have been working really hard on the Simple Simon blocks from Linda Collin's workshop in Shipshewana last month. My OMG this month is to get it to flimsy stage. I just might make it. However, I miscounted and still have to prepare enough four patch units for four more blocks.

I had some internet issues over the weekend and today it has warmed up to a balmy 11C and raining. But we did have our white Christmas. Spending so many hours at the sewing machine has caused a lot of pain in both my hands and now typing is not helping. Yesterday I hand appliqued a few more leaves on one of the BTCT blocks.

Tomorrow I will post pictures of my progress. I have little girls coming over each day for the rest of the week and little boys will be here Thurs for a couple of days.

Blessings,
Chris

Day 11 & 12

Merry Christmas to all my friends in blogland

Veggie Tales Polish Christmas Food Song 

Blessings

Chris