ALYoF February Goal Met

This months goal should have been an easy one, since it was just a queen size binding I planned to sew on by machine. I however was short of the dark purple I wanted to use for binding, ended up going to 4 different quilt shops looking for it. I finally gave up and used the border fabric that I only had about 19" of and needed 10 strips from, per my fabric calculator calculations. I ended up cutting the binding 1 3/4", sewing it with a VERY scant quarter inch and hand sewing it down.



I figured I had all the time in the world to sew it down at work this week, since it was really cold and we had some bad weather, so I don't like to leave at lunch. Throw in a few stressful situations, lots of discussions with my boss over lunch and I only worked on it two hours. Today was a very low key day at home, so I pulled it out and worked on it while the kids played and watched movies. Paul went ice fishing, so we mostly stayed home. Tonight I finished it up, in bed, while watching a movie after the kids went to bed. I am so happy to have it done. I gave my customer 2.28.15 as the deadline for when I would finish it, so it's nice to have it completed and ready when she's ready for it.

The binding is a wee bit narrower than I normally do, but it turned out to look very nice. Only problem... I only needed 9 strips, so I could have done 2" binding...grrr! This fabric is no longer available so I didn't want to chance it. Bad lighting, but it's a gorgeous quilt. I love the colors and I hope she will as well. Linking up for my February finish for ALYoF, February Goal MET!

Family Pictures Church Directory

Tonight we took pictures for the church directory. They turned out pretty good for two crazy kids, but I tried to get a quick few after we got home. They weren't very cooperative.

We used the timer on the camera, but it was kind of hit or miss.

Paul took one of me with the kids.

Mommy and Mathew

Our only one with all four in it. At least we coordinated, score one for mom!

February Goal for ALYoF

February is already off to a busy start. This month my goal is to finish the quilt I am doing for my customer. It's a custom star quilt. She gave me free reign, only requirement... queen size. I really enjoyed making this as it gave me a chance to do a 6 color star quilt. My February goal is to get the binding on as I told her it would be done by February 28th.



We're experiencing a lot of changes at my full time work, so it keeps me super busy and exhausted at the end of the day. I'm doing the work of 2 right now, so constantly on the go. It makes the day go fast, but the evening seems to disappear. Since it's difficult to comment on blogs from my phone, I don't comment as much as I would like. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up with blogs, until I see there are almost 400 in my queue on bloglovin'. Hope everyone is doing well and I really miss blogging and sewing. If you're on instagram I'm moneikquilts, which I tend to update more as I can do it from my phone.

A Lovely Year of Finishes January goal met

I worked on my A Lovely Year of Finishes project early in the month and got both blankets done. They turned out super cute, so now I just need to gift them.

A Lovely Year of Finishes 2015 January Goal

January is going to be my month to get back in the sewing room. I have a lot of unfinished projects from just last year and I hope to make strides on them this month. My goal for the ALYoF for January is to make a couple minkee blankets for my cousin's daughter and a friend. I hate working with minkee and the baby was born in Sept. so I should get moving!

A Lovely Year of Finishes Goals for 2014

This year didn't feel nearly as productive as last, but with the help of A Lovely Year of Finishes I am feeling confident in what I did accomplish.
January's goal was to finish the sashing/borders on my Swoon quilt - DONE!


February's goal was to complete the Merry Go Round table runner - DONE!

My March goal was to finish quilting and binding Swoon - DONE!

My April goal was to make the BQ4 quilt for Mikaela - DONE!

May's goal was to finish the Giant Scrappy Swoon - which finally found a home in our new camper - DONE!

June's goal was to finish the Amish Rubic Star - DONE!

July's goal was to finish the Giant Star Burst quilt - DONE!

September's goal was to finish the pattern testing - it's done, but still can't show it. - DONE!

October's goal was to finish my mini sample for the store - DONE!

November's goal was to quilt both Bridger and Allie's quilts - DONE!




I'm feeling very excited that I was able to make 10 of the 12 months. The other two months I did complete my personal goals, but was busy and didn't get either the first or last post done. I'm feeling confident I can reach even more goals in 2015 with the help of ALYoF!

November AYLF Goal met!

This month flew by as it's hunting season.  I don't get much time at home, but thanks to my dad and Ann I got a chance to quilt on Sat. I was able to quilt both of the quilts I'm making for our friends kids for Christmas.  My goal was to get the tops done, so it's amazing to have them quilted as well.

 

For the new little boy I made this fat quarter friendly quilt using  I Love Puppies by Heather Mulder Peterson. I used a squiggly minkee on the back. It's quilted with a large meander.

I used Horizon for this modern quilt. I love the solid background and it had little hearts on it. I quilted it with a loop.  I used a lavender minkee on the back.

November AYLF Goal

Since the last few months have been a bit slow, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get more done in Nov.  Paul starts hunting next weekend,  so I'll be a hunters widow,  but I'll also have the kids. My goal is to finish the quilt tops for a couple kids we know. I finished the marbles quilt top last night, so tonight I worked on the little girls modern quilt. It uses 2 charm packs and lots of background.  I probably have 2 seams left, but it's late. If the month goes really well I'll get them quilted, but right now tops are my goal. I'm doing much better at posting on Instagram and Facebook,  so look for me as @moneikquilts to see my accomplishments. 

A Lovely Year of Finishes October goal met!

Last year I think October was my most productive month of the year with 25 finishes, but this year has been a lot different.  Chasing a toddler and a preschooler takes a lot of time and energy.
I'm feeling great that I finished my October goal to piece, quilt, and bind this mini quilt for a store sample. It's laundry day by Kim Diehl.
I also finished a Christmas quilt top for a store sample. I'm currently working on two quilts for family friends for Christmas.  Marbles out of the I♡ Puppies by Heather Mulder Peterson and a Modern quilt out of Horizon by Kate Spain. All the piecing is done and I'm ready to put the tops together.
One of my favorite sewing projects this month was working on a purple radiant star with 6 colors that I'm doing on commission. It's a challenge,  but I've really enjoyed making the diamonds,  now to get it squared up and cut the background.

AYLF October goal

This month I hope to get back in the sewing studio & do some creating.  Tonight I finished a sample I should have been done with a month ago, but it's finished!  Luckily this next sample is miniature & I'm excited to work on it. So tonight I figured I would start sewing the hst's together. Excited to say I got them all sewn! Tomorrow I will cut & press & trim & be ready to sew the top.

AYLF

This month flew by as we had a whirlwind camper buying experience,  put a new motor in the car, and changed daycares. Lots of change, plus an extra class to teach left little time for sewing. I did get my pattern testing done, which was my goal for September in AYLF. I even got it quilted. Hoping October allows for a bit more sewing time.

A Lovely Year of Finishes Sept. Goal

This month is getting away from me faster than the last, but I hope to get this baby girl quilt done.  I'm using the leftover fabric from a quilt mom made for Mikaela.  I'm making lots of snowball blocks, do lots of sewing to be done.

Slow sewing week

This past week and this week have been really slow for sewing! Last week was the fair and we were there a lot. Plus I taught on Wednesday night. I did the Triangle Frenzy class which was a great class, even for a beginner. This 8 year old wanted to sew and her mom didn't know how, so they came to class, the mom cut, I helped the girl learn to sew, and the top was done that night. It was so much fun. The class went great. I even had my first guy in a class and he was the only one who finished!

I was also busy in my free time creating this money bouquet for a bridal shower on Friday. It turned out cute.



We went to the carnival/rodeo on Saturday night and the kids got to ride the merry go round for the first time.

The last couple nights we've been without the kids due to change in plans, so I gathered all my stuff for the craft show, then spent a bit of time sewing. I created these 3 bags over past 2 nights. They turned out super cute and were fun and fast to make. I hope with some modification they will make cute samples for a class.



I finally used up all the Juggling Summer mini charms I won from Jan.