Saturday, December 30, 2023

Up for a Challenge

First off .... this is where I spent my Xmas holidays ..... sick with a cold and sleeping in this chair.  Xmas Eve, my sister picked up fruit from me and made the fruit salad for the morning festivities.  I was supposed to make it, but was in no condition to do the work.  Then, Xmas morning she picked up all of our gifts for the family and later dropped off hubby's and my gifts to us.  A niece sent us videos, so we were able to see some of what went on.  I'm feeling much better now, but still coughing and nose blowing.

 Well ..... I usually don't participate in challenges, but felt with a bit of thought, I would keep up the challenge for the next 10 months.

Lately, I have found that about 5-6 UFO's get completed each year ..... along with some new starts.  

Overall, my UFO list is going down, just not as quickly as hoped for.

Now, for the challenge, this is what I've signed up for:

If you blog and want to join in, then contact Deanna at this link:  https://dreamworthyquilts.blogspot.com/2023/12/chookshed-stitchers-2024-challenge.html  The challenge runs from January to October 2024.

Now for the challenge .... what has been chosen?  Anyone knowing me, knows that I always do things differently.  If I don't then I simply lose interest and that would be unfortunate.

So, without further ado, this is what I'm going to work on.  These UFO's involve a lot of hand work and if I can work on them for more than one month ..... the better to get them finished!

#1- Just Leafing Around
#3 - Almost Amish
#5 - Star
#7 -  Got Circles
#9 -Rail Fence Delight
What about #2, #4, #6, #8 and #10?  The challenge does run for 10 months!!  Here is the twist.   The UFO's shown above will take more than one month to complete.  I just don't want to work on them for a month and then bin them up again for the next month's number.  I want to finish them to top stage.  So, for the even number months, this is what will be worked on with the possibility of still working on one of the above UFO's.

No numbers are being assigned, just listed and depending on the month, something will be chosen and it will be talked about then.

NICU baby blankets
gift or donation quilts
adult bibs
adding hanging sleeves onto quilts
frankenpiecing batting
QAYG Log Cabin

Why am I not putting a number to any of these?  For donation quilts, there are two drop off dates and I want to be able to meet each of those dates and thus pick up those projects suddenly.  

Will I be at the cottage or at home?  No electricity at the cottage but hand work can be done there instead.  In the odd numbers and even numbers, there are hand work projects, so I'm covered for both.

For frankenpiecing batting ..... there are bins and bins and bins still remaining even though a wee dent has been made this year:
Once I get some of the pieces sewn together, they can be used for the NICU baby blankets and also for my QAYG Log Cabin or for one of the donation quilts.  See, thinking ahead!
For adding hangings sleeves onto quilts ..... well, in this pile there are eight quilts and that should keep me busy for a while.  I keep procrastinating doing this job and need a push.
In this bowl are felt tabs that get pinned onto the back of a quilt and then hung up for display.  This work is tedious and once the hanging sleeve is added, then this work gets eliminated.  Not to mention all the pin pricks that happen during the process of pinning, hanging up and then unpinning.
So, that is my wish list to work on for the year.  I will be quite happy to achieve most of them.  My choices will give me the flexibility to work on and finish some projects.

In closing, this is a project that was started at the beginning of this month.  It just needs borders and it would be most welcome to finish before year end.
So, that is where I'm at ..... can't believe another year has flown by.  I always like to have a clean house and freshly made beds for the new year ..... so, must get busy and do a bit here and there.

Bring on 2024!  Do you think we can have some peace in this world for all?

Cherish your day, cherish your life!

9 comments:

Dolores said...

Just wondering if you've taken a Covid test. I was sneezing, coughing and had a runny nose but when I was told that someone I had shopped with had tested positive, I tested myself. Sure enough, it was positive. I'm feeling normal otherwise. There are a few things that I am trying to finish off before I continue on with my quilting. Several tops are waiting patiently.

cityquilter grace said...

a very ambitious list rose marie...i am loving the christmas quilt! glad you are feeling better...my mom was sick with the same the week before christmas...we were very concerned as she is 96, healthy but frail of course.

Jennifer said...

Oh no - that's no way to spend Christmas! Hope you continue to get better for the new year. I thought about participating but find these sort of challenges stressful....and that shouldn't be what quilting is about for us, should it. I'll just continue to plod along.

loulee said...

So sorry to read you were poorly over Christmas. I wasn't so flash myself. It was good to see you on zoom even if only very briefly. I wish you health and happiness for 2024.
You have a great list of things to achieve in 2024, I'm sure you will make lots of progress.

dq said...

You have a fantastic plan and quilts that will take a lot of work! I am so glad you catered it to your needs because I want quilters to feel like this is doable. I love everything you are working on but particularly the red, white, and blue one. It is really stunning!

Good luck and enjoy your 2024 in the sewing room or at the non-electricity location doing your hand work. I hope the lighting will be good for you there. It sounds lovely!

dq said...

I too am sorry you were sick for Christmas, but what a great thing to have great family who took care of things for you and included you as much as they could through video.

Maria said...

Sew many beautiful projects you’ve added onto your challenge list. Good luck with it.
Wouldn’t it be great to have peace all over the world!

Jo said...

Hope you are feeling better but it was a shame you missed Christmas with family. Good luck with all your projects this year.

Chookyblue...... said...

Was no good to be sick for Christmas....... Looks like a great list for the challenge........