January's OMG, Latest QAL and More Bullet Journal

 Can you, as a quilter think of anything more exhilarating than the possibilities that a new bundle of fabric holds. Even more thrilling is the start of a new project, the fabric uncut, the placements of the fabric in that first block and in the case of a QAL, a mystery of what the future blocks may hold...

That's what I was feeling Wednesday morning! Pat Sloan's new QAL started called Home Is... I'm not much for applique, but if I want to grow as a quilter I have to work on building my skills. Her first block has a small applique heart on it and if you really don't want to attempt it you don't have to put it in. I chose to challenge myself! Here's my block 

 

and a close up of the applique heart.

I used Aurifil #2425 Bright Pink to stitch around the heart and I'm using Edyta Sitar's Sweet Sixteen fabric for this QAL. Don't you just love those little birdies!

Now onto my OMG for January...

Since I didn't complete my OMG for last month I'm carrying it over. I'm happy to say that I finally finished the third block! Only one left, then quilt, bind and done!

 Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal January Link-up

And that's my OMG this month it is the same as last month, complete the Merry Mini wall hanging... Get it quilted and binding on! I'm feeling pretty good about getting things accomplished this month. I hope it lasts all year! 

I had a few comments and interest on my bullet journal last post, so I thought I would talk more about how I use it with my quilting. I don't spend too much time drawing in it or making it too fancy. I need it to be a way of organizing my thoughts. I get overwhelmed if too much is swimming around my brain and have always found jotting down a To-Do list help settle me. But I would end up with post-it notes and scraps of papers getting lost which doesn't help keep my brain settled. I started to use a journal a few years ago and I'm still working on ways to make it work for me. Here is last years page of how I keep track of what needs to get done or what I decide not to work on or just save the patterns to.

Sometimes it helps remind me of upcoming QALs or let's me see I have way too much I want to do! I can also look at my list and figure out what I have to work on next. I use this along with the Project List that I shared last post. This breaks down the projects into how many blocks are in the quilt or when the next one comes out.

You don't need a fancy journal to keep track like this, just a notebook will do. I started out by using a binder with pages I printed out. It helped me figure out what I want to keep track of, what I don't and how I want to set things up. Last years journal was a little less artsy than the previous year, but I did use it to think up quilting ideas or blocks I'd like to try. I do like looking at some of the drawings I did in 2019 when I had a moment to play. Maybe I'll do more of those too!

If you have any questions I'd love to help! If you are interested in more of my pages let me know and I'll post them next time. I keep everything in my journals...dinner ideas, sew everyday tracker, yoga tracker, and my daily happenings along with quotes and whatever is interesting me at the moment. 

Until next time!

Sheila

For all the animal lovers...                     Me and Duke,

He has helped me heal with his gentle soul.

Sew Much Fun!

I have a few blocks to share with you! First the 20th and final block in Pat Sloan's A Flower Bouquet! But you still can get all her blocks to this and other QALs she has hosted!

Here is the 2nd block of Pat's new QAL Main Street. I really like this block. I put it together late Tuesday night after a long day...and I mixed up the position of the pieces! Never sew when you're exhausted!!!! Even still I like how it looks and I think I'll just leave it the way it is.

And finally Aurifil's Designer Of The Month QAL... I love how this block came out!!! And I'm loving the colors I'm using in these blocks! I can't seem to get these colors accurate. The center is a royal purple surrounded by a deep teal and light teal the four corners are a light purple and the outer blocks are a medium teal and the solid is Kona cotton in Natural. I'm not just doing this years DOM I'm also doing previous years. I'm hoping to get a king size quilt out of it. I'll try to get a photo of all the blocks done so far so you can see all the yummy colors!

That's it for today. I'll be taking a photo of my finished top of A Flower Bouquet. I'm thrilled with the results of that QAL. So chat soon!!!

Sheila

Too Long Away From The Blog!

Wow has it really been over a month! I've been sewing every day, even if it was only a few minutes a day. So I have a lot to show you!

First I'll show Pat Sloan's Out Of This World monthly quilt a long. 

Block #3 Where To Learn

 This month's block we had to make 4 blocks! The first block took a little longer, but the other three came together a lot faster. 

The next months block was Block #4 Space Crazy

I absolutely love this block! I wish the constellations could be seen. But their are more blocks to make and I'm sure I'll be using this fabric again! Pat gave the layout for this quilt a long and I started putting the blocks together. I think it's going to be a fun quilt.

Next I'll show Pat Sloan's other Quilt A Long, A Flower Bouquet.

Here is Block #11 Green Grass

I think this would have been a lot better if I was using other colors, but this is going to be a red and white quilt so I had to make do.

Block #12 Marigolds

 This block made me think of my dad. He loved marigolds and always had them in the garden. I would tease him and called them stink weeds. I now make sure to have them in my garden. They are very beneficial keeping bad bugs away.

Block #13 Veggie Garden

This was an easy block to make. Pat used a few of her scraps for the light areas. I only did one spot and decided I would rather not do that. You can see the one square I did, but I have a plan to hid that when it's through. I'm excited to see it finished!

Block #14 Garden Center

This is one of my favorite blocks...but their is more!

I haven't made block #15 yet, but soon! Here is Block #16 First Blooms

This is another block I just love! Pat give a bonus layout using 4 of these blocks and I'm thinking they would make a great piece for the table.

Block #17 Perennials and Annuals

This has got to be my favorite block! I love how it came together. I'm starting to put these blocks together too. Pat gave two options for the layout. I'm doing the traditional method. I like the look of sashing and cornerstones and I'm using that red fabric in the half square triangles for the cornerstones. Their's only 3 blocks left so I better get busy!

I do have more to show, but this post is pretty long already! I hope you'll stop by again for a visit. Even better sign up and never miss a post! I'm working on some tips to show you!

Sheila