I Like Thursday #40!

Sorry to be late.  I was gone all day yesterday taking my little 3 year old grand out on her birthday trip with Grandma.  We went to the pool.  She and her brothers are moving 9 hours drive away and I am so sad to say good-bye.

I attended a retreat for work on Tuesday and had a great time.  We were put into random groups and had to photograph ourselves doing weird things such as tap dancing, yoga, on a boat, racing a stranger, etc...  I was nominated to ask a stranger to give me a piggy back ride.  HELLO - EMBARASSING!  I did it though.

Here is me on the back of a woman who served our meals at the retreat.  I don't even know her name.  We are both smiling though.  Doesn't the photo make you feel like we are lifelong friends having a great day?

I challenge you to make a stranger smile this week, but you don't have to ride piggy back!

Check out the other I Like Thursday posts at Leeanna's blog.

To Do Tuesday:

I didn't get To Do Tuesday posted this week, but I wanted to share my goal progress and set new ones anyway.

Last week's goals:

1. Some Windmill cutting ✔ - Yes more than half is cut

2. Some Road paper piecing - ✔ - Yes - they are done in fact

3. Piece the backing for Feathered Goose - ✔ - Yes, basted even and quilting has begun.

4. Piece two Masterpiece blocks ✔ - Yes

5. Fix Black border corners of  Diamond Hill ✔ - Yes

6. Sew binding strips for Feathered Goose ✔ - Yes

This week's goals:

1. Finish quilting Windmill

2. Make binding for Windmill

3. Attach binding for Windmill

4. Some Feathered Goose quilting

5. Make two Windmill Batik blocks

6. Make two houses

7. Piece some Masterpiece blocks

8. Work one hour per day on getting ready for school

August - no no - Wish it were June instead!

The beginning of August is wonderful because it is still summer break for a teacher, but my three more weeks of freedom will pass too soon.  I love my lazy summer days with so much freedom with my time.  Does that make me close to being ready for retirement?  Too bad, I have several more years left in me.

August One Monthly Goal will be the same as my American Patchwork and Quilting PHD #10 which is to finish my Sweet and Simple top.  There are six rows total and three are done.  All of the pieces are cut and ready, so I really think it is doable.

Other goals for August will be:

Make 22 Masterpiece Blocks to finish the dashed looking section.

Make 8 House blocks for Color My World

Make the binding for Pastel Windmill

Finish quilting Pastel Windmill

Continue quilting Feathered Goose

Make a few more Batik Windmill blocks

350 Blocks Challenge, July progress, and One Monthly Goal

One Monthly Goal is complete - yippee!  Another quilt crossed off the list.  This one will be for my son when he gets married. He picked the colors too.

Here is a link back to my original post.

July was good to me in the sewing room.  Every goal on my July list was met.  July was by far my most productive month yet this year and will likely be for the rest.

I am participating in the 350 blocks challenge by Prairie Moon this year.

July blocks made:  85

Total YTD:  275

 30 - Feathered Goose Blocks and a completed top!

24 Road blocks for Color My World

8 Houses for Color My World

22 Masterpiece blocks

3 Windmill blocks 

PHD update:

15 Minutes update:

I Like Thursday #39

 I like...

Small town parades and celebrations -  All of our littles were able to attend with us.  We also headed to the pool but it rained us out.  We were so thankful for rain that it didn't matter.

The town made homemade bubbles using pipe cleaning to blow the rings out of.  They made really big bubbles.

Spending loads of time in the sewing room - This happened yesterday.  All strips are cut and sewn for Windmill.

These are the border strip units all stacked up and ready to cross cut.

Wa la... two Windmill blocks were born.

Check out Leeanna's I Like Thursday group and links here.

I am also linking up with:

Needle and Thread Thursday

Put your Foot Down

Getting some things done!

Yesterday was a full uninterrupted day to sew which is so rare.  There was some fabric selection going on for Color My World houses, and the roads were finally pieced.  

I placed the selected fabric on top of the paper pieced pattern sheets and stacked them up.

Feathered Goose is on the quilt frames ready to baste.  The backing was pieced yesterday and binding made as well.  I had intended to take it to the quilter, but changed my mind.  It isn't that big and won't take too much time - 71" square.

As for binding, there used to be a stack of bindings ready to go here, but now there are only two - Dear Jane is the green one and Feathered Goose is yellow.  All others are attached to finished quilts - hooray!

Scoring the paper pieced patterns for Masterpiece happened as well.  The next round has 44 blocks with half of them scored.  

I received four new rulers in the mail for machine quilting of which I am anxious to play with.  Perhaps Feathered Goose will need them.

Today I hope to get Batik Windmill cut out.  It was on my to do list for July which is nearing an end.

I am linking up today with:

BOMs Away

Midweek Makers

Wait Loss Wednesday

15 minutes and To Do Tuesday

 Feathered Goose top is done which means my Patchwork Quilting UFO number for July is complete.  Hooray! I am 7 for 7 on those monthly goals! It feels great considering that I came into the summer behind. 

15 minutes report

To Do Tuesday

 To Do List from last week...

Paper piece most of what is left of Feathered Goose.  This is my July PHD challenge to get this top done. ✔

One and DONE! There was only one goal and I nailed it and beyond. I am planning to have someone quilt it. I just don't feel like it and want it done. 

This week's goals:

1. Some Windmill cutting

2. Some Road paper piecing

3. Piece the backing for Feathered Goose

4. Piece two Masterpiece blocks 

5. Fix Black border corners of  Diamond Hill 

6. Sew binding strips for Feathered Goose 

I Like Thursday #38

 Check out everyone's I Like Thursday posts at Leeanna's website!

I like lazy Summer days!

I adopted 2 kittens from a family whose momma cat died.  I was hoping my momma cat would nurse them, but she didn't.  I ended up bottle feeding them for a few weeks.

Now momma cat and her 5 kittens have welcomed them into the family, and she is nursing them when they are old enough to not need it.

Here are a few of the cuties in a flower pot and one underneath peeking through a hole.

I found a couple of funny signs online that made me smile.

Wish I would have used this "grounded" idea with my kids.

I also think parents these days should play the disconnect card as needed.

I have not worked on masterpiece this month, but I was visiting my friend last week and finally got a photo of hers.

This one is hers - all finished from a few years ago.  I fell in love and just had to have one in similar colors.

Here is mine with the left side blocks turned wrong (not sewn together yet though) and a few more rounds of blocks left to piece.  It is not laid out properly because I have not yet made the blocks that go before the rounded log cabins.  Mine is definitely darker than hers, but mine is 100% from scraps.

To Do Tuesday once again

 To Do List from last week...

1. Help Mom paper piece some Lakeshore Hasta blocks. YES ✔

We spent a whole day paper piecing together. 

2. Piece 12 to 13 Feathered  Goose black and blue rings. YES ✔

I did much more.  It is getting close.  I have 19 more blue and black rings and 13 red, yellow, and blue circle centers left to do.

3. Cut windmill strips - NO

4. Cut some windmill wedges - NO

I chose to machine quilt Windmill instead.  I rarely enjoy machine quilting, so when it happens, I roll with it.

5. Cut out road pieces - I decided to paper piece them so cutting the pieces was not necessary.

For this week I plan to...

Paper piece most of what is left of Feathered Goose.  This is my July PHD challenge to get this top done.

15 minutes to stitch report

I have been machine quilting Windmill and piecing Feathered Goose.

Here is a little quilting progress.  I will show my piecing tomorrow when I do a report on To Do Tuesday.  I have three more blocks to quilt and then all of the white space between circles.

15 Minutes Report: