Amazing Progress

Time once again to assess the progress I've made on this year's to-do list. The last three months have flown by, filled with fun and varied activities. We spent a weekend in Pella helping Lindsay with Finn and Oliver while Dustin was in Dubuque for a wedding. We also enjoyed a wonderful day with Henry at Morrill Hall, which he aptly dubbed the "dino nuseum." We cheered on the Husker baseball team at Haymarket Park, the Big Ten Tournament, and the regionals with our good friends Leon and Jeanette. A long weekend with Sara, Ruby, Melissa, and Hank was another highlight—the cousins have so much fun together. Then we flew off to Belgium, Germany, and Austria for twelve days of "Shrines and Steins." It was a fantastic trip made even better by the wonderful people we shared it with.

Now, back to the to-do list. I finished three projects during the first quarter of the year and added two more over the past three months, bringing my total to five completed projects out of eleven.

The first finish was the Tea in the Parlor quilt kit from Connecting Threads. This was such a fun quilt to make because the fabrics were beautiful and the pattern was interesting. I quilted it with an all-over swirly Paisley Flower design using my favorite gold thread, which perfectly highlighted the gold in the fabric. I gifted the quilt to Sara since the colors coordinate so well with her newly decorated living room.

The second completed project was one of my three embroidered-block quilts. It had been ready for the long arm for quite some time while I debated how to quilt it. I could either use an all-over design or challenge myself with custom quilting. Since I had absolutely no success removing the quilting lines from the blocks, I decided to follow those lines with my long arm. I was pleasantly surprised with the results, even though some of the lines are still visible. I'm hoping they'll continue to fade over time. This project also gave me the confidence to try a technique I'd been reluctant to attempt before, and I'm glad I experimented on one of my own quilts. Since my dear neighbor, Elvera, embroidered most of the blocks, I plan to gift this quilt to her children.

In addition to completing two projects during the second quarter, I also made good progress on four others.

Another embroidered-block quilt is now ready for the long arm after I added the sashing and borders to complete the top. My plan is to use a custom quilting design, although this one may prove more challenging than the last since the quilting lines aren't as continuous.

I also made progress on the Christmas tree skirt I'm making for Lindsay. I had several tree skirt patterns tucked away in case I ever decided to make a new one for us, so when Lindsay mentioned she needed one, I pulled them out. The pattern I chose is Tree Skirt Twist by Handcrafts by Jennifer and uses the 5-inch Lil Twister Tool by Country Schoolhouse Design. Best of all, every material I needed was already in my stash—the fabrics for the top, batting, and backing. The project began with cutting 265 five-inch squares. I've already sewn the first five rows together. Once all the blocks are assembled, I'll use the Lil Twister Tool to cut them apart into entirely new blocks. Crazy, I know—but just wait until you see the finished result!

The third project I started is a bed-size quilt for Finn. Since he loves anything involving balls, I found a fun paper-pieced pattern featuring baseballs, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, and volleyballs. I've already purchased the fabric for the focus blocks, sashing, border, and backing, while the fabrics for the paper-pieced balls will come from my stash. I can't wait to start stitching this one.

My fourth ongoing project is the counted cross-stitch Christmas stocking I'm making for Oliver. It has a lot of intricate details, so it's taking a little longer than usual, but it has been so much fun to work on.

Another enjoyable project has been participating in the Panama Quilt Guild's "Road Trip" block challenge. So far we've made the Ohio Star, Rocky Road to Kansas, and Road to California blocks. I'll be donating my blocks to the guild so they can be used in charity quilts.

Ohio Star

Road To Kansas

Road to California

I also quilted nine customer quilts and eight Quilts of Valor during the past three months. My numbers are a little lower than usual, but several of the customer quilts were much larger projects that required extra time. I'm simply grateful that there's always another quilt waiting for me in the sewing room!