One Thing Leads to Another . . . .

 . . . . . unfortunately?!?

 At least, that's what is going on here the past couple of weeks.

Does the whole world know that Northeast Ohio (my home base) was in the totality path of Monday's eclipse?  Family members from the east and the west came to experience it and so I was cleaning and preparing for a short spurt of houseguests which requires three sleeping areas.  I have two guest rooms but to make the third space, my sewing room had to host a cot.

To make space for the cot, I needed to fold down one end of my big cutting table so not only did I need to clear out the supplies that live under that end of the table, I had to clear off at least that end of the table.  While that isn't a difficult task the combination of dealing with a messy box of scraps and the temptation of having that cutting mat cleared off (30" by 36") was more than I could resist.

You guessed it!!  Pro-quiltinating was triggered because tidying up the scraps coincided with a couple of ideas that merged into one project and now seem to be spawning another project.

Here's how it went.  It all started last summer when Robin Pickens introduced a new fabric line -- Wild Blossoms which featured a stunning edge-to-edge print.  In her blog post in March 2023 (click HERE), she shared her ideas for some table runner layouts using that print and a group of 3" blocks she was piecing for the Moda Sewcialites 2 sewalong.   When the fabric became available, I ordered a yard intending to do the same.  

But the 3" blocks weren't happening -- just looking at the tiny pieces put me off.  Then I came across Terry Rowland's colorwash scrap quilt on Instagram (click HERE).  Her blocks reminded me of little single-round log cabin blocks -- so much simpler than tiny piecing!!  Out came my Marti Michell 1" finished strip Log Cabin*** ruler and the box of 1 1/2" cut strips and I was off.  I have finished setting the strip of 3" log cabin blocks in between strips of pale greens and the Wild Blossoms print.  It's around 84" long and 16" wide -- yes, I have a long table.  Now for a backing -- can I do that without leaving the stash??

Have you used one of Marti's Log Cabin rulers -- there are four?  I have to admit I scoffed when she first introduced them but since I was working as an educator for her products at the time, I had to learn to use them and teach with them.  

It took one block to turn me into a reformed log cabin fanatic!

As I was cutting the colorwash blocks for the runner, I realized I had an overflowing box of strips that needed used so why not start a new quilt at the same time?!?  Everything I needed was at hand!!

The cutting is progressing in 20 minutes sessions as I clean up the pile of scraps (and a forgotten box full found under the cutting table) but I'm not allowed to start piecing until I get this star quilt top set together.  (Well, maybe just one block to see how it looks . . . )

After all, it will be a perfect leader/ender project while I piece these 280 hourglass blocks I cut last week???

That project started as an attempt to use up a 5" charm pak of 30's prints but of course one pak doesn't yield very many hourglass units so I had to get out the 30's stash and cut another 156 5" squares!?!  

It's okay I tell myself -- I'm sewing my stash, sewing my stash!!

Besides, I need one block on the design wall to use as a guide for which direction to travel through the piecing . . . . right?

Justified!!

On top of all that, I wrote this blog post -- guess who doesn't like to clean??

Pro-quiltinating rules!!

Mary

P.S. The eclipse was pretty amazing!!  And the first thing I did when everyone left on Tuesday was open the cutting table back up!!

***EDIT April 2025

Marti Michel closed her business in late in 2024 and while some shops may still have a stock of her templates, you can also find them on Ebay and Etsy. 

Quilts to Share

 Sometime in the late 1980's, my husband, youngest child and I were on a short weekend camping trip to Western Pennsylvania.   As I recall the two of them were out, perhaps on a bike ride and I was on my own for a bit -- maybe birding, maybe walking, maybe stitching??  I was in a reflective mood triggered by something I no longer recall, but what I do remember is deciding that if I was going to continue to "work" as a quiltmaker/shop owner/teacher I needed to start being more generous with my skills.   I loved my work and did it mostly for myself, because it was so enjoyable - but I felt at the time there needed to be more than personal enjoyment.

And so began a new commitment to sharing quilts as often as possible.  Over the past thirty-plus years, the count of "quilts to share" that I've either produced myself or organized a group of quilters to produce is a lost number but I'm sure there have been hundreds.

Last week I shared a couple batches of wheelchair size lap robes - an easy size for me to handle in spite of the increasing restrictions of my arthritis!   I can experiment with ideas and block designs in a small way and quilt them without crippling myself -- that means I can keep stitching!

Today another quilt I donated to Homegrown National Park went up for auction!!

It's my version of Pamalamajo Designs Whirly Weeds quilt.

Even though I don't enjoy machine applique, I did enjoy making this quilt since it merged my enjoyment of nature and making and sharing quilts!

I donated it to the first Homegrown National Park Auction which began today and ends on March 17.  The quilt is item #26 of fifty-two (really great) items.

Anyone can bid -- HERE IS THE LINK.

UPDATE - 3/19/2024 -- the quilt sold for $400!!

If you are one of the growing number of native plant gardeners in the USA, you may already know about the Homegrown National Park movement triggered by the books of Doug Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware.  His book, Bringing Nature Home, has opened the hearts and minds of thousands of Americans about the dangers of diminishing natural diversity.

The Instagram account @homegrownnationalpark has almost 70,000 followers.

The Facebook page has 22,000 followers.

And the website is full of native plant resources tailored to every region of the USA.

HERE IS A LINK to my favorite Doug Tallamy talk -- I hope you'll listen if you haven't already heard him speak -- his ideas are compelling and doable and lots of other folks agree!!

Bring nature into your backyard or patio or balcony!

And then "get on the map" -- my 60' by 200' suburban lot is part of the 5000 acres in Ohio where homeowners have started to rejuvenate natural biodiversity by planting native trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs.  I'm on a mission to pass the 75% native plants mark in my own yard by the end of this summer.  My casual observations of native insects -- bees, wasps, beetles, and butterflies -- has increased over the past three years thanks to native flowering plants which makes my yard more fun.  I have more fireflies in summer and more birds year round than adjacent yards thanks to the changes I'm making in my gardens and yard.

Homegrown National Park is a rallying platform for this movement so check it out!! 

Mary

 

Ancient UFO Averted!!

 Have you ever started a quilting project only to realize a short way into it that you aren't enjoying it?  You are frustrated from the starting gun with some aspect of the pattern?  You don't like the color or fabric palette?  You don't like the construction process?

It just happened (again) to me!

I have admired Jen Kingwell's Wensleydale block since she introduced it in her Quilt Recipes book several years ago so when a friend lent me the templates for it, I dove right into piecing some blocks to "get the feel" of it.  I needed "leaders and enders" as I worked on the final assembly of my Summer Garden quilt top so putting together a few Wensleydale blocks seemed a "win-win".  I've also been trying to tame this jumble of scraps laying in the middle of my cutting table, so I began the blocks by pulling from it.  "Win-win" again -- dealing with scraps.

(Leaving the scrap pile in the middle of the cutting table isn't a great solution but it keeps my goal of dealing with the pile front and center instead of ignoring it in a basket underneath the table.)

The first block was ugly -- not enough contrast to suit me.

The second block was marginally better.

And by the time I finished the fourth block, I was beginning to sort out better value choices.

Color and value schemes can be corrected by paying attention to what didn't work on the previous block and experimenting as I go.

Now the  only problem was that I wasn't enjoying the piecing process and that my friends, signals the beginning of an ancient UFO in my experience!?!

So this is where I left things Sunday afternoon -- four blocks laying on the floor beside my machine.

Happily, my sub-conscious designer brain thrust an idea into my conscious maker brain the very first thing Monday morning (a rare but wonderful experience) and after breakfast, I headed to my sewing room, grabbed my 2 1/2" strip box, and eliminated that potential UFO in a burst of sewing!!

Three sewing sessions later and the four blocks have been saved from the orphan block box and turned into a cheerful little wheelchair size laprobe!!  

Today, I'll layer it up and add it to the little pile I'm quilting through this week.  I could make it bigger but right now this size charity quilt is my new solution to UFO's -- this is the eighth one I've made since early December!  It's an easy size for me to quilt -- usually two of my 40 minutes quilting sessions has one ready to bind.

Now to get all those 2 1/2" strips back into their box?!?

(And no, a bigger box is not the solution!!)

Morale of the story -- if it's not fun, change direction!

Enjoy your week!

Mary

Revisiting Pressing Matters

Apparently I've been blogging for just over a decade?!?  As I was working on a couple projects during our gray typical January the past couple weeks, I recalled writing a blogpost about "pressing".  When I went back to revisit it -- there is actually a series of three posts.  

I think good pressing habits make for better piecing and while the tips and techniques I shared in these tutorials aren't the only best practices, they certainly have served me well over the past 30 years of piecing.

The first one deals with the basics that apply to any piecing project.  

 https://maryhueyquilts.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-first-tutorial-pressing-basics-for.html

Over the past couple weeks I've been turning a layer cake into the sampler blocks from the 2021 summer time Moda sampler -- thirteen of the fourteen 12" blocks are pieced along with four 6" blocks and two 4" blocks.  I have to say the wool pressing pads that have become so popular are a game changer! 

One thing you will notice when reading that post is I don't press seams open.  It wasn't a "thing" back in the "old" days when I learned to piece and I have tried it off and on over the past couple years but I'm not a fan.  My piecing skill depends on a side-pressed seam too much.

\All that is left of the layer cake is this pile of scraps!  I was lucky to find a couple of the prints which were released in 2019 to fill in some gaps and make a binding.  I was wise enough to purchase a two yard length of the large scale print from the collection so that will be the borders!

The second tutorial in the series shares tips I learned from teaching mentor, the marvelous Mary Ellen Hopkins.  That woman could stream line any process which fit right into my work ethic.  Chain-piecing was new to me when I started taking workshops with Mary Ellen and this tutorial shares some of what I learned from her about pressing.

https://maryhueyquilts.blogspot.com/2013/10/pressing-basics-for-piecing-part-2.html

I have a side-project going as leaders and enders making these cute scrappy star blocks inspired by a pattern shared by The Stash Bandit (Diane Harris) in the August 2022 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.  The fabrics are being sourced out of my 2 1/2" scrap stash -- squares, triangles, and strips.  No idea yet how large this quilt will be or what it's destiny might be once finished -- I'm just having fun piecing the blocks!

The third tutorial has applied to this scrappy project -- it is my "go-to" method for edge-to-edge block settings regardless of whether the blocks are an even grid or an odd grid -- the method always applies!! And I find it especially useful for those patterns where the designer never mentions "how to press" the blocks!

https://maryhueyquilts.blogspot.com/2013/10/pressing-basics-for-piecing-part-3.html

I'll bet you have some go-to tips I've missed when it comes to pressing -- share them in the comments so we can all learn more!

Looking forward to more guilt-free gray winter days of piecing!  

Mary

Flourishes BOM Update

As promised, here are all twelve finished blocks from my 2023 year-long BOM project.

This was a stash-busting goal -- the patterns with fabric kits have been in my stash for over 10 years and before that, they were in my Mom's stash for about the same length of time!?!

The pattern is Flourishes, designed by the Piece O'Cake duo of Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.  They released it as a BOM with a fabric line at the same time with one of the original quilting cotton fabric vendors, P & B Fabrics.

I worked on one block each month and happily was able to finish each in about two weeks of evening hand stitching.  The pace kept me on track and a week or more break between blocks prevented boredom.

This was the last block I stitched -- #12 in the series and well-placed because by this time, my confidence was solid.  If I'd started with this block, I think all those little circles would have defeated me?!?

Hmmm, why is this picture sideways?

Well, I have no idea -- but I'm blaming Microsoft!  They seem to have intervened and "upgraded" the photo app I use (thanks, so much???) and I haven't figured out how to import my photos from my camera disk.

To get around this issue (which may stem from impatience on my part), I'm importing photos taken on my phone and automatically stored in my Google account.  Actually, it makes this step simpler but I didn't take the time to figure out how to edit them.  Apparently my phone turned some of the pictures sideways and I'm stumped.

But the pictures are clear and the colors accurate and since my mental energy is a bit low this morning, I'm going with it.   

Random thought -- will this make the post more memorable??

The sideways photos, I mean.

I grabbed a light table years ago and have rarely used it until this project.  Every morning, I would trace 4 to 5 pieces onto the prints using the light table.  Then aligning the background block on top of the full size pattern on the light table again, I would position and pin the pieces in place ready for an evening of stitching.

(Upside down, really??)

I used the needle-turned applique method, but one thing I do to make it easier is to finger press all the way around a piece on the (chalk) pencil lines because I find the needle-turning goes more smoothly.  Much to my surprise, I enjoyed not having to make any fabric decisions -- the fabrics in the kits matching the pattern cover exactly! Generally, I like to do my own thing -- picking fabrics that please me but it was a nice change.

Along about September, I began to think about assembling the quilt top and getting it quilted.  These are large blocks -- 20" and in the designers' layout, they are set edge-to-edge on the diagonal.  

We're talking BIG quilt.

So that creates a "quilting" challenge for me -- too big for me to machine quilt and perhaps too much for my hands to hand quilt?  To send it out will be expensive since the design would be "ruined" by an edge-to-edge pattern and would require "custom-quilting" which would be elegant but out of my budget.

Plus who gets the quilt down the road???

The solution I've come up with solves both issues -- make three smaller quilts!

Easier for me to quilt myself and I have three granddaughters, so . . . . 

After laying out four blocks for a smaller quilt, I decided to make three more blocks, so each quilt will have five blocks.  Towards that end, I've been saving all the leftover bits of fabric from the kits that came with each month's pattern.  I chose three of the patterns I enjoyed making for the "fifth" blocks.

This is the first duplicate block.  I've had to do a little stash-diving to substitute for fabrics I used up from the pattern kits but that's not really a problem -- deep, deep stash here!?!

I'm heading off for a few retreat days at the end of next week and the duplicate blocks will be my focus.  My prep work is to applique the stems of each block (my least favorite part) and cut all the applique pieces so I'm sure I have compatible fabrics.  It would be wonderful to come home with three completed blocks but even if I don't, I'll have made significant progress!

Other plans for the retreat include layering a couple large quilts (to take advantage of extra hands that will be available!) and prepping an antique quilt top for a little rework (dissembling and removing basting threads) and perhaps cutting a Moda BOM from the summer of 2022?   

And eating cookies?!?

Are you going to be able to enjoy a retreat this winter?  I enjoy them more now that I've stopped taking my sewing machine.  Focusing on hand-stitching and prep work (layering and cutting) makes the planning and packing easier plus I'm not "nose-down" at my machine for the weekend (i.e., more social time).  If you aren't part of group, organize a couple of your favorite stitching friends and rent a place -- quite a few small retreat venues have popped up in this region and if you have to cook for yourselves, indulge in a few days of eating badly to take the pressure off?!?

Mary

 

Launching A New Year - 2024

 Yesterday in the midst of a quiet first day of the year, I was contemplating that we are almost a quarter of the way into this century!  Just 23 years ago, we were nervously entering a new millennium with more than a little dread of what awaited us.  But here we are -- still moving forward!?!

My family was together for a few crazy hours last week (although Grandma had to put down her Mom foot -- boy, can young ones get wound up!?!).  I hope you were able to gather with friends and/or family for some holiday cheer!!

I spent New Year's weekend with tea and cookies hiding in my sewing zone -- reviewing my 2023 accomplishments and setting some (okay, perhaps too many) 2024 goals.  In 2023, I set four goals plus I wrote out a list of  potential "new projects" in the hope of being less overwhelmed with all the exciting "new projects" that are thrust into my view (daily) by Instagram scrolling?!?

I've reviewed my progress at the end of each quarter, so today's comments will be brief and focus on my satisfaction.  Suffice it to say that two of my goals were accomplished or acceded -- I let go of more quilted pieces than I finished (yea!!) and I finished another half dozen old UFO's!!  Progress on one more of my goals was moderate -- I quilted three of the five tops made in 2022.  Three of my new 2023 projects came from the list of seven projects (but I did cave to "exciting" ideas from Instagram at least three times -- two of which are completely finished so in my mind, that was okay).  The fourth and final goal was something of a fail -- to deal with all the antique quilt tops.  The only two I "dealt" with were ones I sold -- I didn't touch any of the other seven.  

I suspect lots of folks resist setting goals because they expect to fail based on past performance, but I feel like even modest success makes the "setting" worth the effort.  My annual goals are a guidance system that help me re-center.  I write them down in my daily work journal (which keeps me accountable) so it is easy to revisit them regularly both to look for a "new" project and to encourage focus.

So New Year, New Goals!

1.  Try again to deal with the antique quilt tops!?!  Just had an idea -- perhaps a self-challenge where I "draw" one out of a hat to work on for two months???

2.  Quilt the tops I made in 2022 and 2023 -- there are five big ones and five small charity quilts.

3.  Give away fifty yards of fabric -- this is so hard for me, but I definitely have more than I can use?!?

4.  Still eliminating UFO's -- I must be close to the end of this aspect of my work but five popped up in the weekend tidy-up of the sewing room.

5.  Let go of more pieces than I finish -- this goal reduces inventory for the benefit of my heirs???

And face it, it gives me a reason to keep piecing!!

6.  Not quilting but I need to use up yarn -- so use at least 12 skeins/batches from the stash!

PLUS revisit my list of "already on-hand" projects when I get the itch to start a new one.

All this reflection and sorting and planning and tidy-up always results in impulsive sewing!  Pawing through UFO's triggers me and next thing I know I'm laying out blocks and piecing more blocks, making a plan, modifying for a quicker finish . . . 

. . . now that box of squares and 9-patches left over from the 2013 Civil War hand-piecing workshops during the Gettysburg battle commemorations are a wheel-chair size lap and a large lap robe size quilt tops.  I might even be layering them later today??  And just like that one of the UFO's will be crossed off my list.  It's a good start on the goals list!

The yarn stash got some attention, too.  Now there are two new projects lined up that I enjoy knitting -- a pair of High Desert socks and a Musselburg Hat -- both use bits and bobs of yarns plus most of a full skein!  I've knit each pattern several times and once set up, they are somewhat mindless knits that occupy my hands well during webinars and meetings.  Plus they are great gifts to have on hand!

Both patterns are available on ravelry.com if you are interested in checking them out.

Because "goal setting" works so well for my stitching efforts, I also decided to set some genealogy work goals.  I enjoy the discovery process and have definitely embraced it over the past three years but my curiosity often lures me down interesting rabbit holes that distract me so I end up not getting to the end of a particular research effort.  Maybe goals will help??

Time will tell!

So lets launch a New Year and embrace contentment in our lives

Find ways to use your skills and your passions to support the people around you!

Step up to defend people and the earth to leave a legacy of kindness and respect! 

Be courageous every day.

Happy New Year!!

Mary

 

Holiday Blessings!!

Just popping in quickly in the midst of some pre-holiday cleaning to wish each of you a holiday full of peace and contentment!!  Some are celebrate Christmas, some Hanukah, some the Solstice and some Kwanzaa during the month of December but no matter what our celebration, it gets hectic and hard to recall the "reason for our season".   We all want and need to celebrate remembrance and forward looking hope at this time of year regardless of our spiritual foundation.

So blessings to each of you!

Pass it on!!

Mary 

Blog Lazy?!?

Hey there!  I'm still feeling blog-lazy and so another month passed with nary a peep from me.  But I've been stitching and knitting in the background.   

There's been a new Covid outbreak in my realm and even though I've had a booster this fall, I find myself battling "social reluctance" again.  A couple days of not speaking to anyone (but the cat) are becoming a regular feature of the average week again and while it seems to suit me, I know it's not a good habit.  Perhaps you are experiencing the same thing in your corner of the world?

 Over the past month, I've finished a couple of this year's quilt tops which is amazing to me!  "Amazing? Why?" you ask.  My MO has always been "finish the top and put it into a pile".  That drive back in 2021 to quilt twenty-one UFO's seems to still be having a positive impact on my finishing record.  I think this makes six or seven quilts I've made this year from start to finish!  A record for me.

Here's the Dresden Stars quilt I made this summer as part of the tutorial series on the blog.  In the last post of that series, I wrote about how I quilted the first one and my intention at that time was to just copy the designs I used onto this quilt top.  But once I "outlined" the star blocks, everything changed.  What I think precipitated those changes was using a puffier batting and wanting less dense quilting to highlight the loft.

The backing fabric is another long-stashed beauty that I was never going to be able to bring myself to cut up so I split it  lengthwise (the aqua band) and crosswise (a favorite remnant of a dotty print) and made it large enough to back this quilt.

My favorite part of the quilting was creating this design for the border -- I even had the patience to go around the entire quilt and make reference dots for stopping and starting before I started stitching!?!  The looped motif is repeated all the way around the quilt and was easy once I did the marking.

Once that quilt was finished, I layered up the "mini-plaidish" top made earlier in the year and went to work on it.  It took about a week of mini-sessions -- 30 to 45 minutes -- straight lines from edge to edge (so there were only three sets of threads to bury for bobbin changes) to reinforce the "plaid" motif of the piecing.

When I posted the picture below on my Instagram feed, a friend in Maryland commented that she started one from her scraps and got rid of it because she didn't like it.  As I was reading her comment, I realized, I had some moments of "not liking" my version, too.  I find that is often the case with a truly scrappy quilt.  We are so programmed to coordinated fabric palettes for our quilts that it feels wrong if the fabric style or the color palette isn't perfectly coordinated.  And yet when I push through to the end of a scrappy project, the response to it is almost universally positive.   True scrap quilts that have no coordination outside of the "value" of the colors -- light, medium, or dark -- never look good until they are finished in my opinion.

Now I've started a big knitting project -- new cardigan sweaters for the my toddler triplet grandchildren!  Two are finished and one is at the halfway point so unless finding buttons for each one becomes a problem, I'll be finished in plenty of time for Christmas.   But that effort has cut into my stitching time and I'm a bit behind on my year long applique BOM.  This evening, I'll applique the last three pieces to Block #11 (below) putting me just one block from "the end"!!  The "staying" power I've experienced with this project has surprised me -- again not my typical MO.  Too often in the past, I've dropped a project and headed down another appealing path with a new project.  There is still a long way to go -- the top has to be assembled, then conquer my fear of quilting (what if I ruin it at that stage), and doing the actual quilting.

While I was in the sewing room prepping the last few pieces for #11 this afternoon, I pulled the pattern for #12 out -- lots of little pieces!!

But since we sold the patterns with a fabric kit, everything is ready for me to match the fabrics from the kit to the picture and keep moving along.  I'll have this block done by the end of the month!

I'll be winding down my quilting goals for 2023 this month, too.  Some I've met with great success and others . . . . not so much, but there's always next year!  The rest of the month is filled with Christmas Bird Counts, tidying up the house for holiday visiting, and a bit of baking so I can be sure to put on a winter's worth of 5 pounds of scones and biscotti?!?

Check out these yummy, sourdough scones!  The basic recipe is from farmhouseonboone.com -- decked this batch out with a cup of raw chopped cranberries and a dash of Fiori di Sicilia (orange/vanilla flavoring I get from King Arthur Baking).  I'm enjoying this recipe because I can mix the batter up in the evening, shape the scones and put it in the fridge overnight for a "first thing in the morning" bake!!

Hope you make good progress on any holiday gift sewing you need to finish.

Mary

Basics of a Successful UFO Assault Strategy

 It's that time of year again when I'm torn between reaching my annual goals and creating gifts.  This produces an element of self-inflicted stress so I was happy to run across a little handout I created perhaps 15 years ago as part of my curriculum for lectures and workshops helping quilters deal with UFO's.  I listed three points that made a difference in my personal quest and as I read through my handout, I realized that, thank goodness, these are now regular habits for me.  So I decided to review them with you in this month's post with some illustrations of how I am currently deploying these strategies.  

Perhaps one of them will strike a chord for you?

First, change your viewpoint about your UFO's -- think of them as a resource instead of a burden.  If you haven't already noticed in reading my posts, I know what UFO's I have and they are organized for easy access.  As I review my UFO stock regularly, I have found that the older something gets, the easier it is for me to redirect it!  So let's repurpose!!

Case in point -- that 5" charm pak of Christmas fabric that has been laying on the "reserved-for-something-wonderful" shelf (since 2019) has lost it's inspiration -- what was I going to do with it?

Since I had no clue, last week it became 5 potholders -- quick and easy project -- 4 squares for the backs, 4 more squares cut into 2 1/2" squares for the fronts.  They will be offered for sale at a little holiday boutique next week and if they don't sell -- they will become holiday gifts. (Or worse case scenario, they will refresh my kitchen's supply.)  And that charm pak can never trigger guilt again!!

Second, figure out why you stopped working on it!  Understanding that helps me get back to work on a project.  It has become an avenue for perfecting my skills and expanding my creativity, especially when I'm able to repurpose a UFO into something easier to finish while still being useful.

Case in point -- I'm currently tidying up flat surfaces all around the house and in the process of dealing with a small tabletop behind my sewing machine I found a few blocks of a forgotten teaching sample with a stack of matching fabric (to make a bigger quilt?).  

 Realizing how little progress I've made on that goal (the bigger quilt) in 15 years, I spent an afternoon piecing the blocks that were already cut and playing with them until I found an arrangement I like for a small quilt top that will be a quick finish.  And bonus!!  The stack of fabric is back on the stash shelves where it has a better chance of being used!!

Confession -- this is also a fine example of "productive procrastination" as I was suppose to be doing "something else"? . . . . but gosh, it's going to be cute and those blocks have moved OUT of the UFO stash.

Third, work at your craft every day!  20 minutes a day equals 2 hours a week and 30 minutes a day equals 3 1/2 hours a week!  Daily bursts of work were critical when I was working full time and that habit continues to move me forward faster than trying to find big blocks of time.

  (Plus now that I'm retired, 20 minutes usually stretches into 45 minutes.)

How do you think I get so many quilts finished in the course of a year?  Not by spending long hours at the machine.  Currently, I'm trying to knock-off a few tops I've pieced this year so they don't become UFO's!    Most mornings, I begin with 30 minutes of machine quilting.  That's about 15 minutes less time than it takes for my shoulders or neck to start aching.  

The Dresden Stars quilt top I made this summer for the sew-along is my current project and coming along nicely.  Tomorrow I'll start quilting the borders and it should be ready to bind in three or four days.   That means it is time to revisit the "to be quilted" stack and layer up a couple more tops so I don't lose momentum!?! 

Since my current focus is on finishing (no new piecing projects until I get caught up with the quilting!) I did let myself whip up a few little gift items just so my sewing machine didn't forget who I was?!?  Mug cozies (that used up some crazy scrap piecing blocks), little change purses, and some tea wallets for my club sale next week!!

Post script -- diving into my UFO's also seems to be a way to energize myself.  Not only do I "accomplish" something but I reduce the burden of "so much to do".  Taking a break from the excited frenzy of starting new projects and clearing out a few old projects has become a good cleansing activity for me.  But don't worry, a couple new projects are in the wings as I write this!!

I must do something fabulous with these two fabrics!!  Are they one project or two??

Now back to the sewing machine!!

Mary