February Goals Finished

I think this is the first time I've finished my goals early in the month. Usually, I'm scrambling the last couple of days to get things all done. I think it had something to do with the fact that I was without a sewing machine for a large part of the month. It forced me to really focus--I was limited in what I could do, so I wasn't as easily distracted. 

GOAL #1: PREP ALL JEANS FOR SEWING

I had so many holey jeans they could no longer fit in my very large storage bin. So, the denim project was born. My goal was to turn all the jeans I had into fabric for other projects. I cut and cut until I had huge piles of 5" squares and 2-1/2" strips.

Babco Unlimited - The Denim Project

I have left a small pile of denim fabric: jeans I've cut away all the seams and holes, but haven't cut into any predetermined size. I did this because there are other things I want to make with my jeans that require other sizes cut from the jeans--I just haven't committed to the project yet.

Babco Unlimited - The Denim Project

Besides, I have a bajillion 5" squares. It was starting to get boring. 

GOAL #2: PREP OLD ITALIAN PAPER FOUNDATION PIECES

I was able to fold and prep about 45 pieces of vellum paper for my Old Italian Project. It is a bit time consuming to make sure each fold is perfect (or pretty close to perfect), but it is worth it in the end.

I put on a show and sat at my mom's light box and folded and folded and folded. By the time my movie was over, I had all my printed vellum paper folded and ready for the next stage.

I will be doing this again and again as I need about 194 blocks for my Queen sized quilt. So far I've only sewn 57 blocks. So, I have a ways to go on this. I think I know what will be part of my goals for next month.


I love being part of A Lovely Year of Finishes. It is so helpful to me to make small goals, be held accountable for them, and mark my successes and failures.

Liked up with A Lovely Year of Finishes here.

February Goals

So, thanks to my broken sewing machine January's goals are a wash. Boo! I still don't have my machine back yet. But soon. Hopefully. Finger's crossed. Please let it be soon!

Deep breath.

Since I don't have a machine right now, and I don't know exactly when I'll get it back, I think I need to play it safe on my February goals and pick a few non-sewing goals.

• GOAL #1: PREP ALL JEANS FOR SEWING

I have LOTS of denim to cut up. After cleaning out my sons' closet, I discovered I had an abundance of denim. So, I need to cut them up. It's time to change my holey jeans into piles of fabric. I plan on cutting them into piles of 5" squares, 2-1/2" strips, and scraps for a string quilt. 

Babco Unlimited - The Denim Project

I have lots of ideas on what to do within these piles and piles of denim fabric.

• GOAL # 2: PREP OLD ITALIAN PAPER FOUNDATION PIECES

This is one of my "Long-Term" projects because of how time consuming it is and because I plan on making this a Queen Sized quilt for my bed.

Babco Unlimited - Old Italian Quilt in Progress

One of the reasons this project takes a long time is the time it takes to prepare the foundation paper. It really is ingenious how it all comes together, but takes some time.

I have a stack of Translucent Vellum Paper all printed with the pattern ready for my next step: Folding.

The way this pattern works, you use a light box (or use this iPad/tablet app hack if you don't have a light box) to match up lines and pre-fold your pattern. This way, you can sew on the lines without wasting any fabric. It also has the added benefit of keeping directional fabric intact.


Well, it's off to my sewing room to not sew.

Linked up with Lovely Year of Finishes here.

June Goals - Check!

Talk about cutting it close. I set two goals for June--nothing too big as it's been a very busy month. But still, I'm just squeaking under the deadline I set for myself.

• PREP "OLD ITALIAN" FABRIC

I tuned piles of fabric like this:

Into piles of fabric like this:

Now, all my fabric for this project is prepped and ready to start. I won't have to stop and pull out any yardage needed.

• PIECE BACKING FOR "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" 

I finally did this just today. But today is still June, so it counts.  My backing is all done! I pieced the label into the backing so it will be quilted with it instead of added after the fact. 

So, this is my backing: 

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Back

As a refresher, this is the front of the quilt:

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

Setting goals have really helped me stay focused. And, it is so helpful for me to have something to work on besides my packing, cleaning, and house-selling madness consuming my life right now.

Linked up with A Lovely Year of Finishes here.

June Goals

It's official--I'm moving. We haven't sold our home yet, but we did sign papers with a home builder this past week. This means I won't have a lot of time to sew in the coming weeks as I work with my kids to purge our home of unnecessary things, pack, and prep our home to sell it.

Ultimately, this moves means I will get a real sewing room--a room all to myself! This will be a significant improvement over my current "sewing room." And , I use that term lightly. I have commandeered a small space between the couch in the living room and the dinning table in the dinning room.

Make-Do Sewing Room

And, I've commandeered a space by the couch and entertainment center for all my fabric. My tower can be a little perilous.

Tower of Quilt Bins!

Even though I will be spending a lot of time cleaning, packing, painting, fixing, and more, I still want to have time for me. There are so many quilty things I want to get done this month. I just know I can't make huge goals.

• PREP "OLD ITALIAN" FABRIC

Old Italian Quilt Blocks

I've pre-washed a lot of fabric already. I need to press it, starch it, and pre-cut it into roughly 8-1/2" squares.

• PIECE BACKING FOR "WHEEL OF FORTUNE"

While this was on my list for goals for May, I didn't finish it because I changed my mind on how I wanted to do the backing. I now have all the pieces I need and need to get  moving.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Top

Because I'm in transition, I won't baste this. I want to piece my backing and press the front. 

Linked up with A Lovely Year of Finishes here.
Linked up with Anything Goes Monday here.

WIP Wednesday #26

I feel like I haven't done a WIP post in forever, but it's only been three weeks since my last one. Between Thanksgiving and working I haven't gotten a whole lot done.

I have been steadily working on my Old Italian project. It is very time consuming. My mom and I took the class together, and she has decided to not do it. She didn't like the process. I've already invested a lot of time and money into this project--so I'm pushing forward with it. I've got a pile of about 20 blocks halfway done plus all these:

Old Italian Quilt in Progress

Isn't it fun to lay out what you've accomplished? I can visualize what the final project will look like. Plus, it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

The day after Thanksgiving, I didn't go shopping. Instead, I sat at my sewing machine and did all these for my Pocket Full of Pinwheels:

Pinwheels

I don't like the layout in the picture above, although it was fun to see all the different pinwheels I've made. This picture does give me an idea of what I've got and what I still need to make to fill holes. It's also helping me think of different layouts I want to try.

One of the pinwheels I made was this 3D pinwheel. It was surprisingly easy to make as well as fun, so I made quite a few. It was crazy how many layers of fabric I had to sew through...I was afraid I would break my needle. There are 12 layers of fabric at the center of the pinwheel. 

3D Pinwheel

My favorite pinwheel block is this one:

Pinwheels

This has been an interesting project. This is basically an Orphan Block type quilt--Taking a bunch of different blocks and throwing them together to make a quilt. 

I've always done quilts from a set pattern. Yes, I've made my own little adjustments here and there. But this is the first one I've done where so much is left to me and my own devices. It is a lot of fun to create so much.

Linked up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced here.

Linked up to Show Off  Saturday here.

Linked up with Quilt Story here.