Happy New Year - UFO's and Stash Report

Aah, New Years Day. 🎆 Time for a reckoning.  I set some targets every year so there's an endpoint where I'd like to find myself.  I don't manage to fulfill ALL of my goals, but taking a few minutes early in the year to think about where I've been and where I'd like to go does help to give me some focus.

This is a quilt I started several (!) years ago.  It's a Bonnie Hunter leader & ender pattern TO THE NINES from one of her books.

Occasionally we have enough sleepover company that I need to put the sofabed to use, but I didn't have a quilt that looks nice in that room AND that fits properly.  So woohoo!  Problem solved!

My target for UFO completion in 2023 was finishing up any THREE ufo's.  I only managed to take two off the list but I'm still happy with that result. 👍 Especially considering that one of them was 25-ish years old.  Good Lord.

As for my stash, like many quilters I probably have more fabric than I will use in my lifetime.  I set a moratorium on purchasing but, well, that didn't work out for me this past year.  In 2022 I generally only purchased fabric that I needed for a specific project.  But in 2023 I got a bunch of stuff at the guild, either for free or dirt cheap.  I also bought some fabric just because it was pretty.  AND I bumped up my collection of reds.  When all that intake happens during a year when not many projects were finished, the numbers tell a sad story.  2023 target was net OUT 50 M.  What actually happened was net IN 1.8 M.

My targets for 2024 will remain the same - finish any three UFO's and a net stash OUT 50 M, along with a minimum of 5 donation quilts.  If you see me in a fabric shop, wandering around with a couple of bolts in my arms please make me put them back!

SLEEP AND DOGS

I used to be able to sleep like the dead.  My head hit the pillow and I'd be zonked out within about three minutes, falling into such a deep sleep that an atomic bomb wouldn't wake me up.  Now, I often DO manage to fall asleep in short order, and then within a half hour something...usually a hot flash, wakes me back up.  Aargh.  So frustrating.  Or, I fall asleep and then wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to dreamland.  Today it was 4 am, so I stayed in bed for an hour, then gave up and got out of bed at 5.  It's a good thing I prep the coffee the night before and don't wake anyone up when I flick the coffee maker on.

This is the vision I took with me to la la land.  10 or 1030 at night is when playtime starts.  Again.

I think Nina was trying to do a Thread The Needle pose, maybe?

I have NO idea what anyone was trying to do here besides creep me out with the whites of her eyes.

I will be spending today sewing with a friend, then we're having Chinese food for supper.

And, speaking of UFO's, maybe I'll get something done with this in 2024.

I hope you have a healthy, happy, and productive year!

Meet NINA ...or What Was I Thinking?

 Coco the rescue from Niagara Dog Rescue in the back.  Nina the rescue from Hamilton-Burlington SPCA in the front.  Two dogs who don't exactly like to wear Santa hats, lol. 😂

DH and I haven't had a puppy in probably 20 years.  Clearly I forgot how much work they are.  Most mornings Nina's been yipping & barking to go out between 5 and 5:30 am.  Did I mention that the dog crates are in the master bedroom?  She has been very good about going back to bed after one of us takes her out, but only for another hour and then she's up.  

We've had her for one month and she's definitely settled in - she and Coco are happily playing with each other.  By that I mean that Nina (being a puppy with only one brain cell) hops at, barks at, nips at, and barrels full speed at Coco, and Coco is more than willing to play along.  

The resemblance here cracks me up.  I guess we should've named her CHEWIE.

In between outdoor bathroom visits (no, not for me!) I HAVE been able to get some quilting done.  These have gone to Martha House, a women's shelter in Hamilton.  The quilt on the far right has been on my UFO list for y.e.a.r.s.  I started it back in the 90's - I didn't like my fabric choices (I was a know-nothing newbie at the time, AND this was a mystery quilt) and didn't like my quilting (again, a know-nothing newbie back then).  When I pulled it out two weeks ago I realized that although the fabric selection is not great, it's not as bad as I thought.  ** I ripped out most of the quilting and requilted it with a nice, generic, geometric design, and it looked ok in the end.  Should I have been surprised that after 25 years I still had enough of the fabric on my shelves to do the binding?

Three of those panels were free - I picked them up at the guild from the TAKE-IT table.  And I got another one at the December meeting!  Uh, obviously I'm not the only one who has fabric they really don't need.

A quilting buddy also dropped off a batch of kids quilts that she's made over the years, so I had quite a stack to deliver.

We had our Christmas dinner last night with 1-800-LUKE and his lovely wife.  Now we can stay in our jammies (probably taking turns having a nap) until Wednesday when friends are coming over to meet Nina.  Technically they're coming for dinner, but the puppy is the real attraction around here right now, certainly a bigger attraction than my cooking.

As I have for the last several years, I'll spend New Years Day stitching with a friend.  This year I think we'll both be working on the mystery quilt hosted by the CQA.  The mystery quilt is open to everyone, whether you're a member or not, so join in! These are my fabric pics.

That black fabric is a one yard piece that I purchased in November at Dollarama.  It was $4.00.  For one yard.  Four dollars.  Who knew that Dollarama sold quilting cotton???  It's in the aisle with wool and stuff and the selection changes...from store to store?  I don't really know.  I was in downtown Hamilton (when I dropped off the quilts) and went to the Dollarama in the mall there - they were selling Star Wars fabric, both the white fabric and the black fabric.  Even though I have so much fabric that I will never use it all, hunting for more is always on my list of favorite things to do.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, hoping that you and your loved ones have a joyful season.

** If you want to be good at something, you have to be willing to be bad at it first.  Quote from, I think, Richard Bach's book ILLUSIONS.  Excellent book.

Things have to look up soon, right?? And random stuff.

 I bought a layer cake.  Well, actually I bought a lot more than a layer cake, but we'll leave it at that shall we?  At least this goes with a border print that's been in my stash for many years, AND I have a pattern that will work with all this stuff.  So it's good!  Well, except for the part where I'm not supposed to be buying fabric.  Ahem.

Even Coco thinks some of DH's t-shirts should go in the trash bag.

The last couple of weeks have been interesting. 

WEDNESDAY Aug. 23rd: I was half way through this quilt.  Then BAM the hydro went out while the quilting machine and the computer were all turned on.  No more work that day because the hydro stayed out until 8:30 pm.

THURSDAY 24th:  Quilting equipment was acting weird and kind of schizophrenic so I reached out to my support team.  They gave me a couple of suggestions which did not help.   Blecch.   Then 9:30 pm BAM the hydro goes out again.  And stayed out until 6:30 am, by which time the basement had flooded.  Because of course the generator decided to act like an asshole.

MONDAY 28th:  We had an outdoor guild meeting.  Just a nice social event to catch up and show off our summer stitching work.

TUESDAY 29th:  DH changes the start/stop switch on the quilting machine, and that seems to be the fix.  Yay!  Broken machines are very stressful.  Apparently the first hydro outage fried that little sucker.

FRIDAY Sept 1st:  I get an email from one of the guild members who was at the Monday get together.  Uh huh, she'd just tested positive for covid.

SATURDAY 2nd:  We had 1-800-LUKE and his wife here for dinner.  I spilled a whole mug of fresh HOT tea in her lap.  Oh, dear God.

SUNDAY 3rd:  The internet is out A.L.L.  D.A.Y.  Puhleeze... people can't live like that!!

Have you been reading news stories about how fast fashion is not sustainable and is really bad for the environment?  You may rest assured that that does not apply to me.

I made a lovely batch of Peach Marmalade.  One of the recipes without added pectin, where you have to watch the temperature and when the jam gets to a certain temperature it's ready to put into jars.  Uh huh...after I gave away two jars I decided to have some myself on toast.  Oy vey...that stuff is hard as a rock.

The Flag of India, First '22 Finish, & New Addition

 This was such a fun piece to quilt!  It's based on the flag of India and was the last "custom" quilt of 2021.

Much of the quilt is hexagons.

Some applique.  Well, actually all of the hexies, the mountains, and the wheel are appliqued on to the background of sea & sky.

Lots of c/c quilting (Continuous Curve) and s.i.d. around all of the elements.

The strippy blues for the water are very effective.

I always love the back of quilts.

FIRST FINISH OF 2022

This one's mine.  Started on New Year's Day and complete by January 31st.

I purchased the layer cake in 2017 while I was on a bus trip to Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, Missouri.  I had NOTHING in my stash that would make a suitable border so I crossed my fingers and went online.  Cherished Pieces had exactly what I needed.  With such a lovely stripe I decided to take the extra time and miter the border.

The panto I used is a new one and I like it - looks a little Art Deco-ey to me.

The bonus - 10.8 meters off my stash report!  Woo hoo!

NEW ADDITION

Let me introduce you to Coco, our new family member.  She's a rescue from Mexico, a border collie cross, 10 months old.  She's been with us for two weeks and is VERY skittish.  She's starting to get a little bit comfortable with me, but she's quite afraid of DH.

The challenge with a rescue dog is the lack of history about the dog's circumstances.  We don't know what toys or treats make her happy.  We managed to find a food that she likes, thank goodness.  She still spends the majority of her day laying around/sleeping.  According to the paperwork that's to be expected. We are looking forward to her coming out of her shell...soon, hopefully!

Because she's an unknown quantity we are keeping her on the leash whenever she's outside.  This means we are getting LOTS OF EXERCISE until the day comes when we feel safe to let her out in the backyard on her own.  For now, we worry that trying to get her back in the house might be an issue.  And could she jump the fence?  We don't know.  So for the time being, better safe than sorry.

IN MY SPARE TIME

Sit down.  Really.  I have started cleaning my house.  For the past two pandemic years there have been almost zero people in the house, besides DH and me.  The Beach Girls are coming for Winterruption at the end of the month (well, fingers crossed about that) so I need to get my shit together. This week I washed down all the doors in the house - 18 of them.  Also the cupboard doors in the potties.  Next I will be cleaning the kitchen & dining room chairs along with the table frames/pedestals, and then the kitchen cupboards.

WHAT I'M READING

I recently finished two rather intense stories.  The Breadwinner, about a young girl in Afghanistan, and The Nightingale, about France during the Nazi occupation.  After those I needed a bit of a mental break, so I'm working on The Unhoneymooners which is rom-com fluff.  It's good though - laugh out loud funny.

COVID-19, STILL

World:  Total cases 393,623,786.  Total deaths 5,735,389.

USA:  Total cases 76,458,488.  Total deaths 902,266.

Canada:  Total cases 3,117,218.  Total deaths 34,635.

Ontario:  Total cases 1,050,000.  Total deaths 11,770. 

The latest Covid bug up my ass is the truckers protest.  Do those idiots actually think the population of this country thinks THEY should be in charge of setting public health policy?  FFS.  Have another beer.

Hong Kong Nights Quilt & Donation Quilts (2019 personal challenge)

This quilt is realllly big.  I had to tip the tablet cattywampus to get a pic.

The maker used a beautiful collection of Asian prints for the blocks.

And I absolutely love the corner triangle she added.  That provides such an interesting touch.

Oddly enough, those print blocks are all cut on the bias.  I was really impressed that they were not stretched out of square when the 3-d flange was added to them, and then additional sashing too.  She's a really, really good piecer. ⭐
The setting triangles were a design challenge for me.  When you actually LOOK at them, they're not triangles, they have a square block inserted at the top.

Backs are so lovely...

2019 PERSONAL CHALLENGE
Last December, I set a personal challenge for myself to complete at least five quilts for donation.  I had such a collection of panels - that was where I started. 
When the contents of my Donation Box were counted up and there were SEVEN ...pretty darned pleased with myself. 👍

AND, the gal who pieced the Hong Kong Nights quilt above, brought along five small quilts that she wanted to donate.  She was happy to have me add them to my collection.

On Thursday last week I delivered all twelve quilts to the Caledonia & District Food Bank for inclusion in their Christmas hampers, then I treated myself to an afternoon out and lunch with a friend. 

Some Pretty Spring Inspiration and Retreat Quilts

This was quilted last month, when I R.E.A.L.L.Y. needed something pretty.  It's Rainbow Trip from the book Garden Fresh Quilts.

The maker chose a lovely panto featuring feathers and flowers which suited the quilt perfectly.  I'm always so impressed by quilters who can tackle a challenging project like this and keep all their pieces where they belong.

RETREAT QUILTS
Every year the Binbrook guild goes on a three day retreat to Crieff Hills in Puslinch.  It's less than an hour away from home so it's a really easy trip to take.  The retreat center feeds us three meals a day and we take care of our own snacks and (ahem) adult beverages.  I also buy a one litre jar of honey there every year.  There's a local apiarist who sells product at the center.  The last several years we've run these as UFO retreats, instead of having a class.  I have so many UFO's I think I only did the class one year, so there has not been much change for me.  We also have Sew Little Time come on Saturday and set up her shop.  I showed excellent restraint this year and did not buy a single bit of fabric.

I promised myself I would not start any new projects in 2019 until I got some of my own sh*t finished, AND got rid of some yardage.  Last month you saw that I finished up two little panel quilts, and here I've done two more.  Yay me!!  These will go in the donation pile for either the Women's Shelter, Children's Aid Society, or ...I also plan to talk to the local food bank.  They put together Christmas hampers and might want gifts for families. These were assembled from my own stash.

Still about the Binbrook guild, one of our very important members passed away last fall.  Her mission over the last several years had been piecing small quilts for St. Joseph's Hospital, for the kids who are in there for some kind of treatment.  The newspaper wrote a story about her when she was up to 600 quilts.  By the time she passed away someone said she'd hit the 1000 mark.  Apparently her sewing room was still FULL of fabric.  A few of our gals helped the family with a rescue mission (so to speak) and the guild members are working through the remaining fabric.

I took two kits:  they'd been prepped with pre-sewn rail fence blocks, and a hunk of fabric already cut for a border.  I pieced the blocks together, added the border and brought the tops home.  Last weekend I got them quilted and bound.  They have a cozy flannel backing which makes them super snuggle-worthy.

STASH
So far this year I've managed:

• use up 32 m. 
• deduct the 8 m. of fabric added 
• net -24 m. of fabric in projects that are COMPLETE.  

That's my rule - if it's not COMPLETE I can't mark it off my stash report.  I have a list of  projects I want to complete this year, which in all honesty is the same list for the third year in a row.  Note to self:  stop watching so much tv.

Aah, WINTERRUPTION

Another February Winterruption with the Beach Girls has come and gone.  And I just want to point out - in this pic there is not a cocktail glass in sight.

The girls arrived Thursday, late afternoon.

• unpack
• cocktails
• supper (which included Happy Birthday To Me 🙉🎵)
• movie

Friday:

• breakfast
• field trip to Ottawa Street, Hamilton .  We went to the toy store, an import store, an antique store, a couple fabric shops, and a consignment furniture shop.
• late lunch/early supper at the Black Forest Inn
• stop in at Vintage Soul Geek 
• walk across King St. to Denningers (damn, I wish they'd had some bacon-wrapped tenderloin in the freezer.  Best. Appetizers. Ever.)
• stop at the drug store and check twelve thousand of DH's lottery tickets from the past year.  OK, twelve thousand is a bit of an exaggeration, but there WERE lots of tickets.  What is wrong with the man, he buys tickets but never checks them???  I took his $46.00 in winnings AND all the free tickets.
• return home, put purchases away, change into jammies & yoga pants.
• settle in front of the tv for two more movies.
• supper was potato chips and assorted junk food.  Healthy, no?

Saturday:

• breakfast
• sewing day
• lunch
• sewing
• bar opens at 3:00 🍷 for appetizers and afternoon cocktails
• supper
• settle in the living room for two MORE movies
• now that we've seen FIVE movies, a little pop-quiz to see who could remember the title of Thursday night's movie.  ❓❓❓ Nope.  I had to look it up.  At least we're all forgetful together. 

Sunday:

• Stupid, stupid, stupid (!) weather forecast for today. 
• breakfast
• the girls were all gone by 9:15 this morning.  I wasn't even out of my jammies yet.

On our "sewing" day I finished the binding on these two little panel quilts that I'll be donating somewhere.

I sorted out the progress I've made on my Nine In The Middle  Leaders & Enders quilt from Bonnie Hunter's book.

From this point on, I will be adding the brown cornerstones as seen above.  Once those are all done I will add the completed sashing strips to the sides of the 9-patch blocks to create these:

Our next get-together will be the semi-annual SOLO meeting in April.  Until then...it will be Messenger chats.

Christmas VacationTo-Do List Wrapup

Chic Picnic - quilted & bound & labeled.  Many of the fabrics in this have special meaning for me, so the whole time I was hand stitching the binding I just felt... happy.

The fabrics are so busy that the time spent to custom quilt this was wasted, but since it's mine... I figure I'm worth it.

I used up some random fabrics on the back.

In keeping with the "word" theme of the quilt, I included my QUILT GIRL comic strip yardage.  (Spoiler alert:  she saved the day.)

I made two kids drag-around quilts which I'll donate to the Catholic Children's Aid.  A big pat-myself-on-the-back for the mitered striped border on the right.

It was a few years ago that a friend gave me the panel, the border print, and a half meter of the stripe.  I had the remnants of a whole bolt of the stripe in my own stash, so I used it on the back.

Sixteen placemats quilted for Meals on Wheels.

I completed eight out of fifteen items on my list, and the day is not over yet.  I've already taken Sadie for her walk (brrr - chilly wind!) and DH has supper under control, so this afternoon I will tackle the mending pile.