July 2019

Wow, July was such a great month. In some ways it went quickly and in other ways it seems to go on for a long time - I think that's what happens in the middle of summer! I had the first week of the month off work, and managed to do some crafting and exercise almost every day. The whole company was closed for the week which made all the difference - no email and no feeling of needing to jump in and just answer a few questions. This led to plenty of time at the start of the month to catch up on some projects and that carried through the month. 

Let's start with stitching...I actually did some finishing! Hooray! My goal this year is to finish 2 pieces for every one I start and I spent much of the first half of the year working on UFOs, so it wasn't hard to keep to that goal...well, now that I have finished all but one of my UFOs (and I can't even find that one!), I am going to have to keep on it a little more. Here are the four pieces I finished this month - it was my first time framing and although I can certainly make some improvements, I am thrilled with how these little pieces turned out - each one is a 2x2" opening in the frame. 

Then, I pulled out this pillow, which has only needed the bow attached for months, and added the bow. Thanks to Vonna's bow tutorial, I think it turned out pretty well. 

The last thing I finished are my two oldest unfinished projects as far as I can figure - I took some time at the turn of the year to put together a spreadsheet with all my projects and when and how I finished them - these were stitched in 2011 and 2012. I've done a lot between then and now so I still have lots of finishing to do to catch me up! I put these right up on the family room mantel when I finished them and I really like the bright pop of summery color. These are both Lizzie Kate boxer designs, and I saw yesterday that they are still available at House of Stitches (just in case you want to do some shopping!). These were finished into cubes, also a Vonna tutorial. I may still add some ribbon or embellishment to the top, but they are hanging out like this for now.

So, that was some good finishing progress, and I also made some great progress on finishing the stitching on four pieces! Three of the four are Lizzie Kate - my June and July monthly flip-its, and a cute ornament, and the fourth is my Bloom project, which I started before Stitch Maynia last year! I have worked on it on and off and am so glad to have it done. I took it with me yesterday and wasn't able to find a frame that really works well with it, so I will keep on trying until I find something. 

Whew, that's a lot of stitching - the kids and I have been working through the TV series Glee so I have had lots of couch time and I think I've made the best of it! The longer summer nights don't hurt either.

Next up, a little crochet. I finished the crochet work for this back in March-ish, but have dilly-dallied with getting it blocked and putting the buttons on - I spent an afternoon with my mom early in the month and was able to block it at her house and then finished it up a few weeks ago. You can see the pattern better while it was being blocked. I look forward to using this in the fall and winter. It is the Autumn Leaf Cowl and the best part is that I used stash yarn! 

I also finished a crochet blanket square but forgot to get a picture of it - I am working on a second one now, so I will get them together when I finish that one. 

On the quilting front there was one and only one goal at the start of the month - get my coworker's t-shirt quilt done! I made the back, quilted, and bound it and had it ready for her when we got back from our summer shutdown. Good news is that she loves it. :)  I put super soft fabric on the back and it is so cozy, so I hope she will enjoy it for many years. 

The next project on the quilting front was two selvage bags - I started to make one, but then stitched the selvage panel incorrectly, so wound up with two! The pattern is from the book Everyday Handmade, and I found it pretty fun to make, although the prep work for the selvages is pretty involved. In the end, I think they are really cute and now I am looking for a good way to use them. 

 Last up in my quilting projects is my Santorini Houses quilt. This was a pattern from the Moda Bake Shop and I made it several years ago. I have known for at least two years how I wanted to quilt it, but I was chicken...so I put on my big girl panties and got it loaded and quilted. If you click on the picture, you can see a few more details, but I will try to show more when it is fully finished. I quilted the name of each street I've lived on under each set of houses and then stitched trees, bushes, and flowers in between. I am really pleased with how it turned out and now am on the hunt for a good binding. My plan is to have it done in August so that it is ready to bring to my fall retreat for show and tell. 

Hope you had a good July too - all the stats are below :) 
--------------
Stash Report: Great month for the stash report too - I gave some fabric to a friend to use in her classroom and donated a chunk of old fat quarters to the guild, which contributed to a nice jump in the used number
. 
Added this month: 0 yards
Used this month: 12 3/8 yards 
Added year to date: 4 1/4 yards
Used year to date: 31 7/8 yards

Net fabric used: 27 5/8 yards
Linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate
-------------
15 Minutes a Day: The best month so far! 
I stitched, quilted, or crocheted for at least 15 minutes 28 out of 31 days in July, for a 90% success rate. 
Linking up with Kate at Life in Pieces