So far, so good: January goal met!

I finally finished this quilt top! I didn't think it was going to ever be finished.  All I had left to do was stitch the blocks together and add the borders. Well-who knew how difficult that would prove to be! First I stitched some blocks in the wrong order. Then I got the rows together and noticed that the one seam was close to fraying--so I had to rip out and redo that section. However, now it is complete. I only have to baste and quilt it. LOL Still learning to machine quilt, so that will be down the road.

I am happy I completed my first goal of the year!  Still shooting for one every month.  Linking up to A lovely year of finishes. The picture isn't the best--it has been too cold out to take the camera outside for pictures.

DAGMT 2014

Beth from EvaPaige designs hosts an annual challenge to Drop and Give me twenty (DAGMT). The title says it all, you have to pledge to sew at least twenty minutes everyday in February. (Thank goodness it is the shortest month! LOL) I participated last year and it was a lot of fun! Of course Beth finished like, a million projects! Me? Not so much! But I did get a little further on some projects.  To participate, you need to pledge to the program. Here is my pledge:

I, Kimberly Rennie, lover of starting new projects and not finishing the others I started (unless there is a deadline for a gift),  am joining Quilting Hottie Haven's third annual DaGMT event, and pledge to quilt for at least 20 minutes--though hope it will be more--so call before coming over because the house won't be clean every day of the month of February, 2014. In doing so I hope to clear out the guest room and make room for more purchases from Lancaster in March and  of course I think Beth Helfter is brilliant for coming up with this concept and inspiring me to join.


So are you going to join us?

A new year, a new to do list: Q1

Here is my list for the first quarter of 2014. Most of it was listed last year, but now it includes all of those QALS I had to join last year--started and then set aside. It is an almost complete list of everything I have in the works or plan to work on, except of course those baby quilts and other surprises that pop up throughout the year!

  

1.  These have been cut since I first discovered the Scrappy Trip Along craze on Flickr--back in January 2013!  These strips have been moved from the chair in my craft room to the guest room, back to the craft room when guests arrived and now, I want to actually work on it! I actually got to put two blocks together this past quarter! I love it!  UPDATE:  This strips have now been dumped off the board I store them on, twice! LOL DH refuses to move them for me.  I have gotten two more blocks completed, for a total of four! 

2.  A lap quilt from a pattern titled Three Bean Salad by Miss Rosie.  I loved the colors of the sample so much, I decided to replicate them!  This is partially pieced, one I usually take to the guild sewins.  UPDATE: I have all of the blocks pieced. I laid them out on the floor to see how it would look.

3. A quilt top made during Pleasant Home's Sew Scraps Along 2012. The top is actually all pieced, I just love this picture, so I need to quilt and bind it.

4.  A quilt top started during Thought and Found's Oh my stars BOM last year. I only have about eight of the fifteen LARGE stars completed.

5. I hand pieced this sampler over 17 years ago. It was a class I took to occupy my time while my husband (then boyfriend) went away to college. It needs to be quilted and bound.

6. I actually bought this top at an auction my guild held.  However, I want to do some redwork in the open blocks and then quilt and bind.

7.  I finished this top in February. Now it needs to be quilted and bound.

8. Star Surround QAL.  I am not happy with the yellow fabric for the surround. It was so much brighter when it was folded up! I also mixed up where I placed those color corner pieces. So, I kind of set this aside.

9.  Another QAL that I started but then fell behind.  I don't want all of these projects to just start piling up.

1o. Yet another baby flannel cut out. These were set aside because I needed to get some more blender flannels.  I can't wait to work on this one! Love the patterns. I have decided to add some of darker blue and red to this one.

11. This is one of the first quilts I ever started, over nine years ago!  I have most of the blocks together, I just need to sew them together and piece the border. This one is a wall hanging. I kind of have put off finishing it because I wasn't crazy about the fabrics anymore, but it is starting to grow on me again.

12. Penny Patch QAL---this QAL has quilted along without me! LOL I was doing well until the piecing part, then life got busy and my temporary design wall had to come down so I could get inside the closet that holds the wrapping paper! LOL So, I will need to lay this one out again and finish it.

13. Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice mystery. I started pressing and cutting for this one. However, I don't have enough scraps to work from, so I am going scrappy using fat quarters. With at least 10-20 different fats in each color--that is A LOT of pressing before I can even play! LOL Slowly working away at it.

14. I have had these fabrics set aside for a Swoon quilt for at least a year now. I would love to get it made this year!

15.  The Fat Quarter Shop 2012 BOM.  Obviously, I never even started this one. Now, the 2013 BOM is starting to pile up as well. I really want to get to work on this one!

16. The 2013 Fat Quarter Shop BOM is starting to pile up as well. REALLY want to get started on this one too!

17.  I received this quilt kit two Christmases ago.  It is my first hand applique project and it is taking me forever! I can't wait to finish it and hang it in my craft room.

18.  I received this quilt kit several years ago. This is the first Flea Market Fancy collection along with the Tag Sale pattern. I would love to get this one completed for our bed---before we change the colors in the bedroom! When I received this kit, I really wanted to make it exactly as pictured--I have notes trying to keep track of where each fabric was used. Now, I don't think I need to be that neurotic about it! LOL I actually think I am going to use it as a leader and ender project while I work on another quilt.

19. Yet another quilt kit I received for a birthday present several years ago. I still love the colors and can't wait to get this one finished!

20. This is a quilt along that I started--seven weeks after it began! I was hoping to get the book for Christmas--which I did! So, I am trying to catch up and keep up at the same time.

21-22. I hope to make a couple of these quilts from all of the flannel scraps left from the rag quilts I have made in the past.  I am hoping for at least one pastel and one bright one. But, I am just in the process of cutting the scraps, so I don't know what will end up working. 

Phew!!! I know this is a HUGE list! I know that I will probably only get one or two things on it completed, but I wanted to start the new year with a list of everything waiting to be worked on. Of course, this list doesn't include  several other items and QALs I hope to join in! Still, I hope to work on some of these projects and get them completed.   Thanks to  The 2014 Finish Along and the Littlest Thistle for hosting!

January Goal

Once again, I am going to participate in A lovely year of finishes.  Since I know about it now, my goal is to have twelve finishes this year. For January, I want to have my "Three Bean Salad"  top completed. Right now I have to sew the blocks together and add the borders.

Sorry for the blurry picture! I took it the other night. (That is why the coloring is off a little, also.) However, since I am in the middle of cleaning, I don't have a spot to lay it out for a better picture. I have been working on the blocks at group sews with my guild. I hope to have the blocks together after Monday's open sew.

Happy New Year!!!

I am ready for 2014! Hopefully it is a much more peaceful and productive year.  Today I am posting the mosiac of projects that were finished in conjunction with A lovely year of finishes, 2013.

Luckily, I made the minimum of six completed goals. This year I am shooting for twelve finishes!

Making this mosiac I realized that I made a lot of rag quilts this year.  I know I have a couple more for this year, but plan to work on several other regular quilts.  I love setting the goals and committing them to the groups--it holds me accountable.  Here's to 2014!