February Accomplishments, March Goal

To  borrow a comment from Judy Laquidara, where did February go?  I can't believe it has passed so quickly.  This month had several significant happenings - my oldest grandson turned 11, the second oldest turned 8 and it has been six years since I fell, broke my hip and had a replacement!  All of those things seem like they just happened not nearly that long ago.

Enough - I digress..

My February was good - I got a good bit accomplished!  

I completed my blue and white stars quilt top.  I don't have a good picture of it and will post it later but take my word for it - it is done!!

2012 Buck A Block top assembled.  I love the colors.

Seasonal wall hangings - I finished two (one this afternoon).

Blocks of the Month for guild - I made a couple but not as many as I wanted to.  I will post pictures next month.

I made good progress on the PIF (Pay It Forward) scarf that I am knitting.  It is about half completed.

Bind PIF table runner.  I finished it too.

I finished stitching the letters for the Christmas cross stitch sampler.  Not really picture worthy at this point.

I didn't make any progress on the birthday present or the baby quilt although I did look at the baby quilt fabric.

I cut out and assembled the Girl Scout quilt top in two days.  Once I got started on it, it went very quickly. Of course, it was not a difficult pattern.

Since my daughter nailed me last month for listing more than four goals, I am going to politically correct this month (although I am pleased with all that I accomplished!!).

March Goals 

1.  Complete PIF scarf.

2.  Start adding beads to Christmas cross stitch.

3.  Make the rest of the blocks for Block of the Month.

4.  Start Christmas quilt that will be a present for next Christmas.

I am heading off to a retreat on Sunday with seven of my friends.  We will work, eat, talk, eat, drink, eat, sew and have fun but I plan to get a lot accomplished.

Check Judy's blog to see how others are doing  Judy's Get It Done - March 2013

February Goals and Update on January Goals

Well, here are my January goals and notes about my progress:

My projects for January are:

1.  complete blocks and assemble 2012 Buck A Block top - the blocks are done and I have assembled 2/3 of the top.  I plan to finish it in the next few days - maybe over the weekend.

2.  complete and assemble Presents top - Done!  Here is a picture of it:

3.  start working on project for my best friend's birthday in March - I worked on it a bit but have no real progress to show.

4.  begin quilt for my great-nephew (he is one month old so I have time to get it done before he knows that I didn't have it ready when he was born) - I have all the fabric together and have looked at it several times but, again, no progress.

Other hopefuls:

I have been doing a good bit of knitting recently so hope to work on a scarf and one or two hats.  Maybe since there is 14+" of snow on the ground I will be motivated to get them well underway. I finished a potato chip scarf for a Pay It Forward that I posted on Facebook.  I also started another scarf (not the same pattern) for the PIF and will continue to work on it.

I also plan to continue working on my Christmas alphabet cross stitch sampler.  It will be stunning when it is completed.  I didn't start it until I finished my daughter and son-in-law's wedding sampler: I made pretty good progress on this project.  I have eight letters left to stitch and then the buttons and beads will be added.

I did accomplish a few other things during January.  I completed a tree block for a bee friend.  I completed the first Block of the Month for 2013 and made good progress on three seasonal wall hangings that were not on my list. I also took a Fair Isle knitting class with my friend Stephanie.  Since I have been working on the PIF projects I have not devoted a lot of time to completing it.  It won't take terribly long and I plan to get back to it soon. I am also coordinating the Block of the Month for our daytime guild with my friend Kathy.  I made five of the blocks. I also worked on my Blue and White Stars top.  This has been hanging over my head for a while.  My friend Kay and I have been working on ours for about two years - there are 15 segments with lots of different fabrics and a large variety of blocks along with a million flying geese!!

Goals for February:

1.  Complete Blue and White Stars top.  I worked on it today and finished the last segment.  It is partially assembled so it shouldn't take me long to finish it.  Then I will make the binding so that I am ready to finish it after I get it quilted.

2.  Complete 2012 Block of the Month top.  Again, I have all the fabric for the borders and should be able to finish it this month.

3.  Complete most/all of the Block of the Month blocks for guild.  We are going to present 16 - one for each month and four bonus blocks scattered throughout the year.

4.  Complete at least one of the seasonal wall hangings.  

5.  Continue working on the PIF scarf.

6.  Bind the PIF table runner that I cut, assembled and quilted at bee work day last Monday.  The binding is on and I will sew it done at our bee next Monday.

7.  Complete stitching letters for Christmas sampler and maybe start adding beads.

8.  Work on birthday present and baby quilt.

9.  Plan and cut out pieces for a Girl Scout throw for Mother/Daughter Bingo in April

I think that is it for now.  It is enough to keep me off the street I guess and maybe out of the quilt stores.

I am out of my boot and able to get upstairs again being slow and careful (no surprise there!!).  I hope to get my sewing machine, etc., back in my sewing room this weekend and then work on getting it straightened out.  I haven't been up there for ~two months and everyone has been great about bringing stuff down and taking stuff up.  Of course, I just kept saying "Oh, put it on my cutting table."  You can guess what my table looks like now.

Have a great month and check Judy's blog to see progress others have made.

On My Needles

Well, I'm a bit late posting this blog but this was my first opportunity to get some pictures of my projects.

I finished yoga socks for my daughter.  They were a surprise so I couldn't post a picture earlier as she follows Judy's blog. She really likes them - so does her yoga instructor. The pattern is a freeby from  Patons Kroy Socks and uses their sock yarn.  They go really quickly since you don't have to turn a heel or finish a toe!! 

I also accepted a Pay It Forward from a friend on Facebook so now I am going to make five gifts for people who sign up for mine.  I have started the first project - a potato chip scarf.  The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted weight.

Finally I am taking a Fair Isle class with a friend next weekend and there was some pre-work for the class.  We grabbed a quick lunch on Friday and then came back here to knit.  The pattern is the Snowflake Cowl from the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts 2012 magazine.  The yarn is Cascade Pacific chunky and it is so soft!!

I am also including a picture of my first quilting finish for 2013 as I got it done last night. It is one of my January projects.

That's it for now.  I have to get serious about putting away the Christmas decorations.  Since I fell at the end of November and tore a bunch of ligaments in my foot my activities have been a bit restricted (try three weeks in a non-weight bearing cast over Christmas and New Year's!) but I am now in a boot so have to play catch up.  It's a cold, rainy day - no real reason to do much else so I'm off to undecorate.

You can check Judy's blog to see what other knitters are working on On The Needles - January 11, 2013

Holy Cow!! It's January!

I can't believe that it is 2013 already!  Where did 2012 go?

For the past two years I have participated in Judy Laquidara's UFO Challenge.  I didn't do as well in 2012 as I did the previous year.  This year, Judy is changing it up a bit.  Each month we are listing four projects that we hope to work on during the month.

My projects for January are:

1.  complete blocks and assemble 2012 Buck A Block top

2.  complete and assemble Presents top

3.  start working on project for my best friend's birthday in March

4.  begin quilt for my great-nephew (he is one month old so I have time to get it done before he knows that I didn't have it ready when he was born)

Other hopefuls:

I have been doing a good bit of knitting recently so hope to work on a scarf and one or two hats.  Maybe since there is 14+" of snow on the ground I will be motivated to get them well underway.

I also plan to continue working on my Christmas alphabet cross stitch sampler.  It will be stunning when it is completed.  I didn't start it until I finished my daughter and son-in-law's wedding sampler:

It took me a while to finish this as it is one stitch over one/one thread (30 count) and there were a lot of color changes.  I am very pleased with the result as was my daughter since she had to wait a few years for it.

I'll be interested to see what I post on February 1.

You can go over to this post to see what others are planning/hoping to accomplish this month:

January 2013, Getting It Done

Happy New Year to all!

Lots Going On

Once again it has been ages since I've posted.  The time just seems to fly by.

Today I am posting about the hat I am knitting for a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer.  She knew she would most likely lose her hair so I volunteered to knit a hat.  She wanted bright colors so I chose these:

Now she can be a red head or a blonde depending on the day.  :)

Here is a picture of the first hat - it is almost completed but doesn't look like much on the needles.

I found the pattern at Head Huggers: Knit Pattern:  The "No-Hair'Day" Hairy Chemo Cap.

Be sure to head over to Judy Laquidara's blog (http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/11/23/on-the-needles-november-23-2012/)to find out what is on others' needles

I did a good bit of knitting this week while waiting to hear about the birth of my great nephew.  He was born on Wednesday and weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz.  He is a real cutie.  His parents took him home from the hospital last night - I certainly remember that first night at home!  They didn't get much sleep and they are all adjusting.  It may take a few days but I know they will all come through with flying colors.

Happy Holidays to all.

On My Needles

Judy Laquidara has started a new challenge - it's called "What's on Your Needles?" and she posts it every Friday.  I have been trying to post for the last few weeks but never seem to get it done.

Today is the day.  I have been knitting a good bit lately and have completed a couple pairs of socks and a baby blanket.  I am currently actively working on a baby sweater for my first great niece or nephew due in December.  I am also finishing up a pair of socks that a friend started but put aside.  Here they are:

The sweater should be a quick finish - it is so small.  The socks are made with worsted yarn and are going very quickly.  Hopefully I can post the finishes and the new baby blanket that I will start next week.  Go to Judy's post to see what others are working on:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/09/21/on-the-needles-september-21-2012/

BTW, we had a very hot, dry summer here in Indiana.  The rains have finally arrived along with cooler weather.  I am delighted - I love cool/cold weather. Here is a picture of the hailstones that we had on our patio tonight.  The storm moved through very quickly with 50 mph winds.  No damage here thankfully.  

Have a great weekend.

Two Finishes

I've had a great weekend.  We came to Maryland on Wednesday to volunteer at the 200-mile relay in which our son ran.  It was a lot of fun and I met lots of nice people.


I brought my small Janome and finished sewing on the binding for a snowman quilt I made for my daughter-in-law.  She bought the fabric a year ago last Thanksgiving and I worked on it during my bee retreat in March.  Then I really got started and sewed down the binding for two quilts - hers and my April UFO!  I am so excited to finish my UFO - I started it in the mid-90's.  It was a block of the month from Quakertown Quilts in Friendswood, TX.  I had to complete the last block in 1999 because there were no zeros or twos on the instructions.  :)  If you look closely you can see that the bottom left hand block is dated 1999. I have looked at it for a long time trying to figure out how to quilt it.  I finally decided that stitch in the ditch was the best so I dove in.  I am very pleased with the results and delighted that it is one more project off my  To Do List.

I was also a good grandma while I was here.  I mended three pairs of pants (for the adults) and repaired Bunny and sewed a wheel back on a car that is loved.  I figure I earned my keep.  :)