New Month - Old Goals

To show you how much I really don't want to sandwich quilts, I started a new quilt top last weekend.  It's part of Kira's Fresh Flowers QAL..  Of course she started on April 1, but I'm really not good at keeping up with quilt-alongs.  I don't seem to have the gumption to start when everyone else does or the patience to wait for all the instructions.  I seem to do much better when I start when it's almost over.  Somehow, I think I'm missing the point...  You know, the excitement of seeing everyone else's pictures on IG as they choose their fabrics, make their first cuts, sew their blocks step by step, and then finally piece the top.  Nope.  I just can't get on the ball to do that.

I'll post more on this quilt later, because I think it's going to be one of my all-time favorites.  In fact, I just love these fabrics. Most of them are right out of the scrap basket (sorted by color, if you must know - I fought it for a long time, but once I did it, I was hooked.)  Anyway, I went shopping last weekend because the drug store was having a sale, and who can resist 60% off???  And those aquas just grabbed me, and I had to use them right now so I started a new quilt. Makes sense, right??

If you haven't seen Kira's Fresh Flowers quilt along, you will want to stop by there and take a look.  I really think this is going to be a gorgeous quilt, and it's a lot of fun to make. 

Sadly, as I said, it's not helping me get my goals accomplished.  It's really time to consider exactly what I expect to accomplish in June.  And since I didn't finish anything in May...  AND since I'm going to go watch the grands at the end of the month...  I guess I'd better get on it.

I'm really hoping to get Shiny Brite quilted and finished.  That one shouldn't be too hard.

And I think I might be able to get the citrus quilt done.

That would get me caught up.  And I really don't want to rush through Single Girl.  I think I'd like to take my time with that one.

So now I have goals.  All of which start with sandwiching quilts.  Alice says I should have a sandwiching party.  Anyone game??   I'll fix dinner...  Guess what's on the menu?

Five Easy Pieces - Part II

Well, I never did get around to posting on the blog this weekend, did I?  I didn't get around to putting away those last few little things in my room so I could take pictures, either.  Guess this weekend wasn't very productive.  With that in mind, I'll share the second quilt top in my Five Easy Pieces series.  This is another of the quilts in my 14 in 2014 goal, and it is also one that I took to Stash Bash.  It came home with four of the five rows completed, but not finished.  I had bought some Free Spirit Aqua solid for the sashing, but I only bought 1/2 yard....   If it had been 5/8 yard, I would have had this finished.  It took less than an hour to complete the sashing once I got home.

Photo courtesy of WestWood Acres

While I was in Utah last Thanksgiving, my daughter asked me if I would be the pattern tester for her new quilt design.  Never one to turn down the opportunity to cut fabric into tiny pieces and sew it back together in lovely designs, naturally I obliged. But we had a little miscommunication, and the fabric I used for the background wasn't what she intended and I ended up re-making the blocks and bringing the original blocks home with me to make my own quilt.   This one actually hasn't been sitting in the WIP basket very long.

The pattern is Shiny Brite, designed by my very talented daughter.  I love how the stars in the sashing echo the stars in the block centers.  It makes a lovely Christmas quilt, sort of reminiscent of Christmas baubles hanging on the tree, isn't it?  The fabric is Just for Fun by Creative Thursday for Andover Fabrics.  As mentioned above, I used Free Spirit Aqua for the sashing (since I didn't have any more of the background fabric) and some red dots I had laying around for the star cornerstones.  Even though Amanda used matching sashing in the original and I loved it, I really like the contrast.  The aqua is subtle, but adds a bit of pizzaz I think. 

I'm really happy with this quilt top.  Can't wait to get it quilted!

13 Finishes...no, 14 Finishes... in 2014

While 2013 was a pretty productive year in the prsd4tim2 sewing room, there is still a huge pile of UFOs or WIPs, or whatever you want to call them.  You can get a glimpse of my quilty adventures on the 2013 Finished Quilts and Projects Page. Yesterday's post recaps my goals for 2013.  And while I made a lot of progress, I didn't finish everything - and I created a lot more WIPs to finish.

With that in mind, even though 14 finishes in 2014 sounds better, since I didn't exactly meet my 2013 goal, I'm hesitant to attempt more than 13 finishes.  Also, I can't seem to come up with 14 WIPs - only 13. 

EDIT:  This just isn't working for me...  It's gotta be 14 in 2014 or it just doesn't work.  I've been racking my brain and I remembered a zig zag quilt I started a couple of years ago that's just sitting there in the basket.  It's really not much more than an idea so far, but there it is.  NUMBER 14!!!

Sooooo, my goal is...  drum roll please

14 finishes in 2014

 Whew!

Here is the list:

1.  Breath of Avignon - this is one of the first modern quilts I started, but I have yet to finish it.  It was made from Breath of  Avignon charm squares by American Jane and white yardage.  The pattern is Avignon Picnic from Moda Bake Shop.  I hope to get this one finished soon.

Edit:  Finished, March, 2014.

2.  Basket Blocks - this is another of the very first projects I started once I discovered modern quilting.  The fabric is Fresh Cottons by Fig Tree Quilts.  The pattern is from the book Just Desserts by Edie McGinnis.

3.  Citrus Quilts - I want to finish the last of the citrus quilts.  I finished 3 citrus quilts in August of last year, but I decided I wanted to make the last one a little bigger.  So, in the most recent round of the 3x6 bee, I asked for more citrus blocks.  I have collected most of those, so I hope to finish this quilt early in the year.

EDIT:  Finished, June, 2014

4.  Single Girl - I'm going to conquer my fear of this one and get it done.  The fabric (a Spirit Layer Cake by Lila Tueller) and pattern (even the templates!) - are sitting in a zip lock bag in the WIP pile.   started it when the Single Girl Support Flickr Group started back in early 2011.  And there it sits.  It's not even cut out.  But this year...  this year I'm not going to let it intimidate me.  This year, I'm going to tackle it!

EDIT:  Top Finished, May, 2014

5.  Starflower.  The pattern is by my own lovely daughter and the fabric is Beechwood Park by Janeen Morrison for Free Spirit.  This one just needs to be sandwiched and quilted - I even have the backing.  So hopefully this one will be a fairly quick finish.

EDIT:  Finished, January, 2014.

6.  Modern Maples - This one was made for the ECMQG Modern Maples Challenge.  The fabric is Juggling Summer by Zen Chic.  While it's called "Juggling Summer", it seemed more autumny to me, so I thought it was perfect for an autumny quilt.  This one is all sandwiched and ready to go...  Just needs to be quilted and bound.  It should be a fairly easy finish.

Edit:  Finished, April, 2014.

7. Spot On.  The pattern is by Camille Roskelly from her book Simplify, and is one of the quilts that meets my goal to make every quilt in the book.  The fabric is also Juggling Summer by Zen Chic.  This one is also sandwiched and ready to quilt, so hopefully will be an easy finish.

EDIT:  Finished, January, 2014.

8.  Bookshelf Quilt - This jelly roll quilt is also sandwiched and ready to go.  Again, should be an easy finish.

EDIT:  Finished, February, 2014.

9.  Faux String Quilt - the pattern is Heximetry by Ali Winston.  The fabric was from the Stripes that Bind bundle from my favorite little quilt shop.  This one needs to be sandwiched, but shouldn't take long to finish.

Edit:  Finished,  April, 2014.

10.  Fat Quarter Shop Block of the Month Club quilt - I have all the blocks done and all the pieces of the finishing kit cut out.  There's still a lot of work to do, but in the end, it will be a lovely quilt.

11.  Grandmother's Flower Garden - I don't know if I will finish this one this year, but I will certainly keep working on it.  Maybe - just maybe - I'll finish it... one day.

 11.  Shiny Brite - While I was in Utah over Thanksgiving, I got to play pattern tester for my daughter, and somehow we picked the wrong background solid.  The good news is that I got to keep the reject blocks for myself.  I hope to finish this quilt very soon - certainly by Christmas. 2014!

EDIT:  Finished, June, 2014

12.  Christmas Quilt - One of the first Bees I ever participated in was the Christmas Fabric Bee.  During my month, I asked everyone to make blocks reflecting the Christmas season.  I received some amazing blocks.  These are also languishing in a zip lock bag in the WIP basket.  I want to get this one completed by Christmas, 2014.

13.  2011 Craftsy BOM - I started the 2011 Craftsy BOM, and then my daughter's wedding craziness started, and I never got back to it.  I hope to finish this quilt in 2014.  I have 4 of 12 blocks done, so I have 8 blocks left to make.

14.  Zig Zag Quilt - I've got a million HSTs left over, and I've been dying to make a zig zag quilt, so this is my chance.  And besides, I really needed #14.

So, here's to 2014!  I hope it is a wonderfully quilty, crafty, happy year for all of us!