New Year Plans

 Yes, Christmas is still two days away, but I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish next year.   I make quilts for the homeless during the year and give them away in October every year.  A friend makes a couple and I quilt them and add them to the pile.  I think this year we donated 15 quilts.  

Today I quilted one on the longarm, although I still need to trim and bind it, so it is not finished.  But while I was working on piecing another, I was thinking about what I want to do next year.  My goal in the next 4 years is to use up my stash of fabrics!  With that in mind, I pulled a bin of scraps from under my big table and decided I would start with them:

I have two of these bins filled with scraps so I want to use them up before I start working on the fabric stash (although I will be using fabric stash to finish blocks I'm sure.)  I also have a Go! Big! fabric cutting system and I pulled the pinwheel templates to start with.  It makes an 8" finished block  - so two colors and 4 wheels.  I usually make the quilts about 60"x 80", so it will take quite a lot of fabric.  The plan is to get the entire quilt cut on the Go Big in the next couple of weeks while using up as much fabric as I can.  I am not adverse to buying coordinating fabric, but I make scrappy quilts, so hopefully can use up a lot of lights to go with the mostly medium/dark scraps.

I already have a quilt cut out of tumbler blocks - all clipped together so I only have to start stitching.  My friends and I get together at our favorite quilt store 5 or 6 times a month, so I will be doing the piecing there usually.

I also have a couple of bins of 2-1/2" strips I want to use up this year.  I've made plenty of 16 patch blocks with sashing for homeless quilts too, so I use my 2-1/2" strips and squares and add to the bins with leftover fabrics from other quilts.  But mostly 2025 will be homeless quilts only - I don't need anymore large quilts!

I'm not going to set a number that I want to finish for the year, but I just want to keep moving forward!

Until next time....blessings.

Merry Christmas!

                                 Blessings

Wednesday

 I worked in the studio for more than 5 hours today.  I placed all the blocks for the next tumbler quilt on the design wall and then took them down and clipped each row together for the next time I start piecing on the machine again.  These are the blocks I have leftover - at least enough for probably 3 more quilts:

Then I prepped a couple of applique blocks -- which is what I usually work on at Sunshine Stitches.  And finally I pulled out the Quiltworx quilt I started a year or two ago and prepped the applique for it.  This is the second section of the quilt called Valley Blossoms.  I forgot to take a picture, but hope to get a bit farther on that part tomorrow and will take a picture then.

Until next time....blessings and prayers for those dealing with Helene and now Milton and the tornadoes that are also accompanying the hurricane.

The rest of Saturday

 After working in the sewing studio yesterday, I came upstairs and decided to finish two pairs of socks that I had cranked on the machine at least 3 weeks ago, if not more than a month.  The toes needed to be grafted  (or Kitchenered).  I managed to finish both pairs:

And that was the extent of my work yesterday!

Today is a day of rest!

Until next time ...blessings.

Saturday

 Today I managed to piece the backing and label it for the tumbler quilt and made the binding,  I folded them together and will load them on the longarm at a later date.  

I started another tumbler using black alternate blocks which I like better:

The black sets off the other colors better I think.  Either way, I'm using up fabric stash!

I have another addiction:  yarn - specifically sock yarn and I received two skeins in the mail yesterday, so I put them on cones this morning.  I need to get cranking!

Until next time...blessings.

Working my way thru

 Today I managed to finish piecing the first top of record of using up stash!

I pulled the tumblers and managed to get the top done today and will piece the backing tomorrow:

All told I think about 4 yards of fabric covers the top.  The backing takes four yards and there's usually enough to bind it too.  

We donated 12 quilts to the homeless on Tuesday, so this is the first for next year - and I hope to do more than 12 this year.

I also cut about two yards of black fabric to start another tumbler top - so that's another two yards out of the stash.

Until next time...blessings.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

 Today I officially started my Operation Cleanout!  I loaded a dozen quilts into my car to be delivered tomorrow to Carpenter's Place for the homeless.

Then I pulled out a bag of tumblers that I've had stashed for at least a year and started a new homeless quilt:

I try to make them about 60" x 80".  This is just what I had pulled from the bag.  I had to iron the rest:

Doesn't look like much, but there is at least 2 quilts in there and maybe more.  I also cut some black fabrics to add to the pile.  

Tomorrow we're delivering the quilts, so Wednesday I'll be spending more time in the studio working on using up stash!

Until next time...blessings.