March 2019

Boy, the first quarter of this year sure flew by, didn't it? I am glad to report that I have had some great sewing and stitching time in the first quarter and I am pretty happy with my progress against my "12 Things" and my goals for the year. 

In March, I really spread around what I worked on, supported by some weekends with cold and yucky weather that made it perfect for staying in! 

I finished two quilts this month (hooray!) - the UFO I quilted last month got a faced backing and I stitched it down one night while watching TV, the benefits of a small quilt! 

Started Oct 2012 - finished Mar 2019 - paper pieced pattern from Deb Karasik

I also finished the koala quilt that I started in January. I made this for my aunt to gift to her new great-niece. 

Started Jan 2019 - finished Mar 2019

The nose and eyes are minkee and I love the little pop of soft that they give this top. I quilted this with a new-to-me panto called Spiral Square. It's one that so many quilters have and I've loved for a long time and I lucked out when a friend was selling her paper pantos. I really enjoyed making and quilting this top - the pattern came from my book of "someday" patterns and it was fun to make it. It has been mailed and received and my aunt will gift it soon. 

Fuzzy eyes and nose!

I started on a t-shirt quilt that I am making for a work colleague. I have about 1/3 of the t-shirts prepped and will work on it over the next few months. I also worked on my scrap blocks and finished the last three to make my scrap quilt from all the rainbow scrap challenge blocks I made last year. 

Dark purple scrap blocks

I was so excited when I finished the blocks that I decided to lay it out, then I decided to put the cornerstones in place, then I decided to cut the sashing!  Now it is blocking the path in the basement until I get some of it pieced together. 

The blocks all laid out - and I just noticed that I grouped all my darks together...

On the stitching front, I cut out and wound up finishing a wool applique piece for the fall. Isn't this turkey the cutest? It went so quickly and I am glad that I pulled it out and got it done. I have a few more of these kits to make and now am a little more inspired to get them done since this one was so fun. 

I got my March Flip-It done too - I am working to stitch these each month through the year so that I will have a rotating display for my mantel or for the wall. My plan is to finish them and put either velcro or magnets on the back so I can easily switch them out each month. I this these will be a great way to try out Carol's tricks for making cording to give these a nice finish. 

I also took an afternoon and did some cross stitch finishing!! I started with some easy ones - Mill Hill ornaments that I've made over the years. I have a grand idea to find a spring tree that I can hang them on for a cute table topper decoration - no luck so far, but let me know if you've seen one! The camper will go to my Michigan parents who camp most of the summer and have done some awesome long road trips. They gave us a ton of tips when we rented an RV for our summer vacation a few years ago. When I saw this ornament, I thought it would be perfect for them! 

That's all the craft activity and here are the stats: 
Fabric used this month: 3 3/4 yards
Fabric added this month: 3 1/4 yards (some shopping at a quilt show)

Fabric used year to date: 7 1/8 yards
Fabric added year to date: 3 1/4 yards

Net fabric used: 3 7/8 yards

Crafting days = 19, 61% of the days of the month for the third month in a row - must be my sweet spot!  

I'll finish off with a family photo - we didn't have a chance to take a long spring break trip this year, and the weather warmed up too much for midwest skiing, so we headed up to Chicago for a long weekend. It was the kids' first trip there (well, that they remember), and they loved it. We did all the fun touristy things and also saw Hamilton, a real highlight for our Hamilfan family, and Blue Man Group.  It was quick, but a lot of fun! And did you notice how much our son is growing? I think he's about to take over his sister!

View of Lake Michigan from the top of the Hancock Tower

Hope you had a great (and productive) March! My April is off to a bang with the new job starting and lots of activities cropping up for parents and kids - my goal this month is to make sure I keep to my 61% and find ways to squeeze in the crafting time to balance all the busy!