April 2023 Recap

April was an exciting month in our house because it meant my daughter made and announced her college decision. I am happy to share that she will be attending Purchase College, a SUNY school in Purchase, NY. She is very excited to attend this school which offers a conservatory-style program for Theater Design and Technology. While she will be going a long way from home, we know this school is the right one for her and can't wait to see what she learns and how she grows! 

She also turned 18! I can't believe that little girl has grown up so quickly. 

Posing with Sherpa, her birthday buddy 

And she had prom, what a month!

Oh, it is such a neat thing to see your children grow and start to become who they will be - she is a lovely person with a big heart who also knows how to take charge. She's comfortable in tennis shoes or high heels and loves diamond painting and true crime podcasts. I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming. 

So, it was a great month to celebrate our oldest, our lovely daughter. The celebrations will continue for a while now as she gets ready for graduation, but in between all her activities, I've managed a few weekends at home and have gotten some stitching and quilting in. 

Let's start with the quilting - I finally was able to spend a few hours in the sewing room and get my Moda Love Charm Quilt top together. This was such a fun and quick pattern and I think it will make a great wall quilt. I used batik scraps (and a few new cuts) to make the start in my top. The pattern calls for the use of a charm pack, but I thought I'd do better using up a little fabric. 

Moda Love Charm Pack top

I also spent a fair amount of time quilting a top that's been on the frame for a while. It started well and then stalled a bit, so it wasn't finished by the end of the month, but here's a little sneak peek of the quilting I am doing. 

Quilting sneak peek - I am loving the texture!

It was really nice to spend a little time in the quilting room doing some piecing and quilting. I've found with my FFO Challenge that I have been mostly working on FFOs this year, so I am going to work on fitting in a few more quilting activities through the upcoming months. 

On the stitching side, I finished up two projects. 

The first is Weekend in Paris, a Dimensions Gold Collection Petites kit that I picked up at retreat on the free table. It was a lot of stitching and took me just about a full year to stitch (on and off in the rotation). It is a little wonky and will need a good soak and block, but I think it turned out really nicely. 

Weekend in Paris, stitched on kit Aida with kit threads

This second is Penelope and Her Peeps from the book Jelly Bean Jubilee by With thy Needle and Thread. I didn't pay much attention when I was selecting fabric for this one and chose a 28 count linen (Flax) which made the end result much bigger than expected. I used Sulky thread on this one with the same general colors as the chart. I think it is really cute in the end and now I will be on the lookout for a good finishing piece for this, as it is a little too big to turn into a pillow. 

Penelope and Her Peeps from Jelly Bean Jubilee

I also did some finishing in April to keep up with my challenge. I started by FFO'ing my shop model, Hello Spring. I finished this in a box from Hobby Lobby that I picked up sometime in the last couple years. I tucked in some Lady Dot chenille around the edge to give it a little pop, and I really like how it turned out. 

Hello Spring by Cottage Garden Samplings, stitched on
14 ct. Light Peach Aida with called for DMC threads.

Then I worked assembly-line style on two flat folds. I finished them both within about 15 minutes of each other, and boy did that give me a feeling of accomplishment! These will be gifts soon. 

Follow Your Heart by Sue Hillis Designs, stitched on 28 ct. Jobelan Summer Sky
with called for DMC threads

Can Do Attitude by Silver Creek Samplers, stitched on 
28 count Navy with substituted Weeks Dye Works threads

Overall, it was a great month with so much to celebrate and some great projects to work on. Hope you had a great April as well. 

Here are my official stats for the month: 

Stash Report with Donna at quiltpaintcreate: 

Fabric added in April - 0 yards

Fabric used in April - 1 1/8 yards

Fabric added year to date - 1 1/2 yards

Fabric used year to date - 5 yards

Net fabric used - 3 1/2 yards (not an impressive total, but definitely the right direction!)

Stitching time report with Kate at Life-in-Pieces: 

Days with at least 15 minutes of stitching = 26/30 = 87% 

FFO Challenge Report (just me!): 

+ 2 new finishes, -3 FFOs

40 stitched pieces waiting to be FFOed (down 1 from Mar)

+1 new quilt top

10 quilts waiting to be finished (+1 from Mar)