April goals and country side walks

 The end of April is here and it rains. We had some very nice days in April and we went for a walk past Sunday. I bought my self a simple watch to track my steps as am not walking enough. There are still days that i don't walk enough, but now I can see how much I did manage to do. With the kids at home I spent quite a few days in the office (special permission as still in pandemic mode) and these are the worst. I am locked up in my little office and definitely don't get a lot of steps done. I do get a lot of work done.

 

We tried a new path close to our house, the kids had already walked there with the school; however for me was a first and I seriously enjoyed this walk. 

 

I never get tired of views on the lake

 

On the creative side there were burst of activity, some days none at all and other days progress. In the end, I managed my goals. Accomplishments are good - especially at the end of the month.

My very very pink skull is finished. Last night I added the binding - and took a picture, Clearly more pictures need to be added (and taken) to show this beauty. I am trying to improve my quilting and looked at many different sites, bought a book, joined an on-line course and still have a lot to learn. I also know that I love quilting with my walking foot and work in (more or less) straight lines. I decided to only outline the pink areas as they are busy enough. To add value to the pink and that the skull stands out more I filled up the negative space. In the grey are I followed the lines of the skull, adding lines and lines, stopping to see what else was needed. The black area is in horizontal and vertical lines. Daylight pictures to follow.

I also made progress on the Harmony quilt. I so enjoy hand sewing, a different mind set and pace for sure. A separate post was written on my progress.

 

Linking with Patty at Elm Street Quilts' April's One Monthly Goal

 

Harmony hand sewing in spring

Hand sewing has never been my thing. For a few years I watched the hand sewing QALs organized by Patty at Elm Street quilts and  Kirsten at Simple.Handmade.Everyday... from a distance. Not having time was one reason not to join, not being a big fan of hand sewing played a mayor role as well. This year I decided to jump in ... and I love it. There is something so soothing about hand sewing!! 

 

And now I am all caught up in the QAL; buying the pattern was the first jump, the biggest jump was to start. And then the realization that I actually like this. I have this little thread catcher I made a few weeks ago. Turns out this is perfect to keep all the notions together so I can carry my hand sewing project all over the house.

The four corner units are done - am making the wallhanging as a first step. Although I might make a cushion. And then who knows, I might try to actually make 4 blocks for a quilt. But that is something for the summer as a holiday project.

 

As part of the slowing down went for a walk this Sunday morning before the rain would come. Spring is here and trees are blossoming everywhere. Definitely one of the advantages of living in the country side.

 Linking up with Patty over at Elm Street Quilts for the 11 April check-in.

 

OMG April - Harmony and more

 

1) Harmony quilt

A small hand stitch project on the side is perfect to unwind. For now, I don’t see myself making any big quilt by hand, that is for sure. For April the aim is to finish the corner units and the individual blocks for the rectangle unit

 

2) Very very pink skull quilt

The top is done, backing sewn together, batting bought and over the weekend I basted the all three layers together. This month I need to absolutely finish the quilt as this will be a gift for a sweet girl turning 30 this month.

 

3) Sewcialites QAL

I managed to catch up with all blocks in March (including the ones from January and February). For this month I want to stay afloat and stay on track.

 

Linking up with Elm Street quilts’  One Monthly Goal. My April OMG is to finish two out of three objectives.

 

OMGs of March - Harmony, Sewcialites and cushion cover

 For March I had a mix of goals. The last few months work was crazy, so this mix of little projects was perfect. Out of the four "group of projects" the aim was to do at least two. So how did I do? Not bad, not bad at all; 3 out of 4 goals achieved and for  2 out of these 3 I achieved more than planned.

1) Finish my project for my secret swap #tqsspringswap

Last year I participated in a postcard swap and when was announce for January I jumped right in. Through one of the IG I follow (one makes loads of new creative friends) I stumbled on the swaps organized by tiny quilts sewing. They are loads of fun. OK, so I cannot participate i all that I see passing by, however the tqs springswap was awesome. I managed to finish by cushion cover. One of the fun parts is that I am pushed to try other styles/projects, depending on what my secret partner indicates. For this the indication was red, lots of red and hearts. What I wanted did not work out (exploding heart) because I had cut the strips to thin. The end result nevertheless is soo cute, I think I need to try this again.

2) Catch up with the Sewcialites SAL

The aim was to do at least all March blocks. I was more behind than I thought, a few evenings cutting and a few evenings sewing and I was caught up not only with all the March blocks, but also with the February blocks.

 

 3) Finish the geesey-geesey quilt  

This top is sent to the longarm quilter. I hesitated and then thought, the fabric I used is so beautiful and soft. This merits a special treatment. The binding will then be part of my April OMG. 

4) Harmony quilt 

Ohh I love this one. I never had the patience for hand sewing, one of these traumas left over from primary school where i had to embroider a napkin and after 6 months was still on the first or second flower. The Harmony as a quilt has 4 the same blocks and one block on its own would be a wallhanging. I thought well, if not to try now, then when. If I don't like this I only make one block turn in to a cushion cover for my daughter. I used the left overs from a quilt I nade for her years ago. 

The minimum I aimed for was two units. I have now finished 5 units and am almost caught up. I seriously enjoy hand sewing. Everything slows down, no noise ..... 

 

All in all, a productive month, filled with lots of tiny projects. Linking up with Patty's March OMG over at Elm Street Quilts

OMG March - a mix of projects

 Time to define my goals for this month.

1) Finish my project for my secret swap #tqsspringswap

This month I need to finalize my "object" for the spring cushion swap. I am in the group where we make different things and not necessary the cushion. I have the design worked out, the colours chosen and off I go.

2) Catch up with the Sewcialites SAL

The Fat Quarter Shop is organizing a QAL running over 35 weeks. I am a few blocks behind now, so  the aim of this month is to, at least, make all March blocks. I was pretty side tracked with work and swaps, now need to catch up and at least not get further behind.

 

3) Finish the geesey quilt

In November and December work was crazy. I needed lots of extra sewing to keep up with the stress at work. I decided to participate in the Geesey Geesy QAL organized by Stitched in Color. I finished the top early December and then had no idea how to quilt the top. I have the backing ... so what is stopping me ... afraid to mess this top. So I might send this to a long arm quilter and finish the binding towards the end of the month.

 

4) Harmony quilt

Elm Street Quilts and Simple Handmade Everyday are organizing a QAL, sewing by hand. I bought the pattern, and am already behind. I am not good at hand sewing and this would be a good opportunity to learn.  The idea is to make at least the first two steps

So quite some projects here. So for my March OMG I need to do at least 2 out of 4 projects. Doable? Well yes if I work less.