SOYO 2014

Each year in January the Black Hills Quilters Guild puts on a SOYO - Sew On Your Own. Basically it's a chance to get away and sew without taking classes or working on set projects. Each person brings their own projects to work on. This year was the first year it was held at Terra Sancta, a Catholic retreat center less than 5 miles from my house. It was super cheap and close to home, so I just drove home and slept at home both Friday and Saturday nights. I went with my aunt Jane, her friend Joyce, and my friend Nicole H.
My goals for the weekend were put the sashing on Ed's Crown Royal quilt and put the sashing on Swoon. So I knew I had to start with those or I would put them off and not do them. Since there was plenty of room to lay out quilts it was a great time to do it. I spent most of Saturday afternoon putting together CR. I had it this far by supper time and was missing 2 CR bags!!! Grrrrrrr! I tried to convince my hubby to pick up a couple bottles at Sam's but no such luck. So I put it away for the night. Jane had a couple at home and brought them Sat. morning so I could finish it.

So since I couldn't finish, I worked on a UFO of my mom's from the first SOYO we went to together in 2009. This is the top.

I needed a quick project, so I put together this hexie table topper. It was a partial sample from my class in Dec.

Then I worked on Swoon. I initially planned to do a wider sashing, then I read the directions and realized that would be huge, so I did what it called for, without corner stones.

I decided it needed something else, so I put on a border of the main fabric which brought it all together. Love it! Now I can't decide if this is "the one" to have professionally quilted or do it myself.

I had forgotten the borders for this hexie table topper, so I picked them up at home and finished it first thing Sat. morning.

Then another quick finish with borders of the backing for mom's Loralie quilt.

Then it was on to the CR quilt top. I am so glad to have it finished! Now I need to get my quilt frame bigger so I can finish it.

I had thrown these friendship blocks in, not knowing what I was going to do with them. I finally ended up sewing them together in a small wall hanging and there will be one for a table topper since I had 10 blocks.

Saturday afternoon I worked on making the blocks for the Giant Star Burst QAL. I was a little too cocky and didn't lay it out before I started sewing and ended up with this. So Joyce and I started tearing and ripping out the thread. I spent the entire show and tell ripping.

By the time it was over it was ready to put back together. As Mikaela would say So much better, So much better mommy!

Since we were still sewing the night away, about 10PM I started this table topper and got it finished. It matches several other quilt items I have with this fabric. I've had it a couple years, so I am glad to finally have the top done.

I had planned to make this one, but forgot the pattern, so I didn't get it done. Monday night I whipped it together. It's a 2nd sample for my Day Break class coming up next week. I left it separate, so I could show how they are joined.

We all got a good laugh out of having the football game on, without volume during the playoffs. The TV was huge - at least 60" so it felt like we were right there.


Everyone else I was sewing with worked on small projects. Jane quilted this table topper.


Then she made this one. We ended up going shopping for backing for it on Saturday.

Joyce made this table topper.

Nicole made this table topper from my class start to finish.


It was such a fun weekend of sewing with my aunt and our friends. We all left Saturday and didn't return Sunday due to commitments, but we all felt like we got a lot accomplished. I know I was so excited to complete my two goals for the weekend, so everything else was just icing on the cake. I sewed for a total of 25 hours over the two days, which was so wonderful. I'm looking forward to a mini retreat with friends in a couple weeks. I left my projects packed for that, so I'll be ready to go.
I'm linking up with Kelly for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Slow Week & List Making

This week has been painfully slow in the sewing department. Despite not doing any homework last week for my class, I did not get any sewing done either. I did spend some time cutting at lunch one day for a table topper sample. I have made the sample, but am working on "in progress" samples to show how to make each step.
I've taken on a 3rd job to help out my MIL and earn some extra money for Christmas, so I spent a late night and an early morning last week training. This week I am doing the job with hubby while she is out of town. There will be some late nights for us, but it's only for a few days.
Friday night my aunt watched the kids so I could go to club. Three of my closest sewing friends were all at retreat and I was feeling majorly bummed I did not get to go again this year. It was opening hunting season weekend and Paul was out hunting. It's the one time of year he gets to do his hobby, so I put mine on hold. My friend Nicole was there, so we visited, A LOT! We did more visiting with Tammy and her mom than we did actual sewing. I finished three of the four quadrants for the Carpenter's Star.
Last night I actually got a chance to sew them together. I also added the black and pink borders to the top and bottom. It is now the perfect size to fit the piece of minkee I have for the back.

This minkee was the inspiration for the colors I used on the front. It is a quilt for Mikaela for Christmas. This weekend I am planning my own self imposed hunting widow weekend. The kids are going with Paul for my dad and his wife to watch while I work on Sat. and part of Sun. This leaves me free to quilt the night away on Friday night, Saturday night, and most of Sunday. I'll do some laundry and cleaning too, but I plan to get several projects done. I made a list of all I want to accomplish and if I get half of it done I will feel so much better about ending the year on a good note. I have all my homework done for this week as well, so I am free to quilt, guilt free!

This past weekend was a whirlwind and I didn't sew on Saturday or Sunday! This was the first days of sewing I have missed since June 16 when I started keeping track.
The kids and I went to my dad's old house to help with the moving and packing on Saturday. We had supper at my brother and SIL's house. Mathew loved riding on his cousin Owen's tractor.

Sunday the kids and I spent with Grandma Leslie. We did some fun shopping and played. Mikaela tried on some of the new clothes she got from her cousin Molly. She's really into layering all sorts of clothes now. It was pretty cute to see her "dressing up".

Mathew was cheering on his daddy's Chiefs since he hadn't made it home yet. Usually I sewing during Sunday night football, but since it was the Chiefs/Broncos game I watched with the family.

See how sad he was that they lost? Or maybe it was because he has a cold, is teething, and no longer gets to nurse. He's been one crabby baby all weekend.

I am a huge list maker. I make lists and then make lists for lists. I have a notebook I use for my UFO's and I made a list several years ago of all the projects and what I had for the project, what I needed, etc. and each one had a page. I have now whittled the book away to almost nothing. I started a new book in September. There is a page for each month. I set goals and then write down what I accomplish, even if it isn't a finish. It really helped me this year with all the UFO's. I was able to set goals and work on projects that were just lingering. When I finished my October goals, I went through my big UFO list from the start of the year and made an end of year goals list. I dated it October 21, 2013. It had 7 projects/quilts on it. ALL of the projects are completed! Three were baby quilts or bigger, a table topper - which turned into 3, a bag, a book, and a treat bag. I also made a list of UFO's and since then have completed 5 of them! I have completed 3 of my 7 goals for November and have made progress on 3 others.
I also started a list of NEW projects I want to work on pretty soon, which includes 7 projects. So many things to make and do, so little time!
I have a list for this weekend and what my priorities should be, so I stay focused on finishing some quilting while the kids are gone. I also started lists for next year.... I know, I know, that seems so far off, BUT I have plans. This year was the year of small projects, all but 2 of my finishes were under 50" so I could quilt them on my frame. The UFO's hanging out still are big quilts, mostly queen or larger. I should be able to move my frame to my dad's house in either December or January, depending on the weather and schedules. This will allow me to have it at full size. I won't be able to quilt all the time, as it will be a drive to get there, but I'll be able to have it big and we'll have more room for us at the house. So I started a list of mom's UFO's and mine. These are all ones I want to work on next year. My thought was I would have 12 for each of us and finish one of each per month. However, I have only come up with 9 for each of us and some are kind of stretching the definition of UFO.
So this is my rational for all the lists and how I am able to accomplish so much. I have my goals list sitting on my desk at work and I look at it randomly throughout the day and think about what I can get done at night. I typically only sew Monday and Tuesday nights. Wednesdays I teach class and am too tired when I get home. Thursday and Fridays we a lot of times go out as a family, either to do errands or pick up milk for the kids or just shop and spend time together. I sometimes sew when we get home, but most of the time I don't. I usually get to do a bit of sewing on Sunday nights.
Now that Mathew is almost 1 and I am done nursing I have a little more time at home, but I do not have my 2 breaks at work, so I miss that hand sewing time. Sewing keeps me sane!

Christmas Scrap Exchange

This year I invited my quilty friends to participate in a scrap exchange instead of exchanging gifts with everyone. We each pulled a gallon size bag of scraps together and then I exchanged them among everyone in October and in the middle of December we had a Christmas party at Murphy's to exchange the gifts we had made each other out of the scraps. Mathew got to come because he was only 10 days old and Jenn held him as did others as well.

Emilee received a batik sewing machine apron made by Heather.

Heather received a table topper made by Gaila.

Jenn received a notebook cover and a few other little items made by Nicole B. Gaila received the lime green quilt and table topper I made for her.

In the picture below are Nicole H., Nicole B., Jenn, & Gaila.

Jenn made Nicole B. a scrap sack and some other little bags.

Nicole H. received this wall hanging from Heather.

Heather's husband Tim is holding up the other table runner received by Heather and made by Nicole H.

I received the cutest little bag that I put my most used sewing supplies in from Emilee. It's never far from my sewing table.

Emilee also made the cutest apron for Mikaela and put the churn dash block on it. It was so ironic that she googled mini churn dash block pattern and came across the one my friend Jen B. designed. It's a SMALL world!

She also made me this beautiful doll quilt out of granny squares that is hand quilted. It's absolutely beautiful and found a place right near my sewing table. I love it!

This was one of the best exchanges I have ever participated in! Not only did we get our own scraps used up, but in a way we maybe wouldn't have done ourselves. I love the granny square block, but have never made one myself. We really had a great time visiting and enjoyed our party. We're even thinking about doing it again this summer. It was nice to have all those scraps gone, but yet they were made into something beautiful and we all got a bit of a challenge to step outside our box and maybe work with something we normally would not have used.