July 22– I really wanted to make a quilty progress report for myself now that half the year is over and even July has almost evaporated. Last week, we hosted my son-in-law’s family to visit their first grandchild, so there’s nothing else in the sewing progress column to talk about!

To avoid being repetitive, you can get more details and see my wish list in my first blog post of the year in January. Here they are in a nutshell:

WIPs
My first goal of the year was going to be three easy finishes– get Brio, the Pioneer Woman, and Pressed Flowers over the finish line. Not one of them got a single stitch– 🤣–if you don’t count buying more fabric as progress! I am going to make these a priority over the fall. I was going to gift two of them, but the occasions are now so far in the rear view mirror, it may not even be appropriate!

Things I didn’t even start yet…

I have six of twelve Frivols kits from 2016 completed. I picked this one to make this year for a baby that was due and now has been just born. The tin isn’t even opened yet. I do have other baby quilts ready to go, but this one is so pretty and so simple I just can’t give up on it. We’ll see what happens!

I’d love to be able to say at some future time, “I finished all of the Moda Frivol kits,” but this is really the last one that I am in love with– I’m stitching in order of preference, not by number. Maybe I’ll just open it today.

Success Stories
So far, the year seems disastrous, but now for the success stories!
Harlow got her birthday cake quilt AT her birthday party– a huge win since every other gift this year was MIA.

New grandson Charlie also got his quilt at his baby shower– before he was even born! Proud of that one, too. We needed it as shower decoration!

Check, check, and CHECK! Posh Penelope is a fully finished object. Visit the Maine Quilt Show this weekend and you will see it hanging at the Seams Sew Perfect shop booth– it all started when I took a class there.

But wait, there’s more! The Single Scoop ice cream quilt for my niece’s wedding is a flimsy. Can I quilt it in ten days for an August 1st deadline? I think it will be okay if I just mail it afterwards– it’s BIG and I would have to pay for an extra suitcase instead of mailing costs, anyway. This is the last picture I took before I threw it on the longarm. So close…

Two more UFOs…

These are getting to be longstanding UFOs, but I hope to advance them even if I don’t get a finished top this year.

Night Flight makes a delightful Halloween project every year, and I may get the 8 remaining blocks polished off if I apply myself.

Prairie Meadow just needs assembly– instead of a totally scrappy border, I am going to make one that’s just scrappy blue, green, and teal. I’m really no brown fan.

So a a lot of thinking and even a fabric pull went into that. Does that count as progress? Methinks it does. 😊 I do have all the blocks finished and found, just too lazy to spread them out for a new photo.

Then I added BIG projects to my lineup– a flurry of buying this year, and I am kind of overwhelmed. I’d like to pick one to work on a little at least this year. Decisions, decisions– I love them all!

In the “Not even on my radar at the beginning of this year” is Sweetland:

And I did finish this sweet little baby quilt that was not planned in the slightest.

I combed through the blog archives for this report– oh, so many UFOs I still love and would like to finish!

My newly started WHITECAPS…

Candy Cane Lane, for which I have all the fabric and then some…

My forever applique project…

and Vintage Farm Girl from 2015– like me, it ain’t gettin’ any younger!

When I start to plan how much I could get done in the rest of the year, I am promptly reminded of eight weeks off for shoulder surgery. But what’s the hurry, right? I still feel very much like I have many happy quilting years ahead.

Oh, and I’m giving myself an A+ for my six month checkup, this year!

xox
Carol