February Update & March OMG

Well, it looks like I missed the monthly OMG link-up once again!  I started this post last night but ran out of steam.  I made some progress on both projects, but with a crazy month at work (February is annual report time, which means working days, nights and weekends) I didn't have much time for stitching or hooking.

I did get a start on my tree for my temperature quilt. This thing is large - about 60" tall and wide. 

I had to lay it out on the floor to trace and then baste in place. It took almost a day to do and was very hard on my knees! I am cutting it out as I stitch.  I didn't capture a picture but have about one and a half branches and the trunk stitched.  It is a bit of a struggle to manage all the fabric when doing needle-turn so it is slow, but I am hoping to finish the tree and start catching up on my leaves in March.


Again, work got in the way of meeting my goal on my basket rug, but I did make pretty decent progress.  I am going to stick with this project for March also, and this time am confident I can finish. I am hooking it in a 6-cut, even the background, so it does take some time to fill in, but it is pretty easy-going now that all the motifs are finished. 


I did manage to find a little time to start up one of the new projects on my "want to do" list - Blue Baskets from Piecing the Past Quilts.  I have my first two baskets finished and am nearly done with the second two.  I am off to a retreat this weekend and am hoping I can catch up on this weekly stitch-along.


On a whim - and mostly to celebrate (and get away from) the tough month at work - I decided to grab one of the spots that opened up at Pieceful Gatherings' Spring Retreat in Crystal Lake, IL. I have never been to the shop so am looking forward to visiting, and I have followed the retreat instructor, Lynn Wilder, for many years so am excited to meet her in person and work on one of her latest designs.  I am looking forward to a weekend of stitching!

I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal again this month - let's see if I can remember to post my updates before the end of the month this time!

Trying to Focus: January 2023 OMG

For whatever reason, the start of a new year always tempts me to start new projects. Temptation comes at me from all angles - new quilt-alongs from my favorite designers, challenges initiated in my quilting groups, my annual January rug camp, and even magazines. I usually go for months - years even - without seeing a single project in a magazine that tempts me, but while trying to catch up on reading over the holidays I found three projects I am dying to start, two of which are hand-pieced. I am trying hard to resist temptation but know I will cave eventually. So my goal for January is to make significant progress on a couple of aging projects even if I do start something new.

On the quilting side, I plan to focus on my orange peels.  I participated in a Facebook challenge to stitch one per day from Feb 2022- Jan 2023. Most months I did pretty well, with the exception of December when I spent all my free time stitching binding.  I am on track so far for January. Unfortunately the project I am working on requires 900 orange peels, so even with the 150 or so I had before I started the one-a-day I am only half way finished.  So my goal for January is to step up the pace - aiming for 50 this month - and to start piecing the ones that I have finished into blocks.

On the rug hooking side, I started my Antique Floral Basket rug back in May 2019.  I absolutely love this rug but it is large, I am hooking it with a small cut, and it is a bit tedious figuring out what to put where. My goal for this month is to make significant progress on it while at Eureka Springs.  I would love to finish hooking it, but after taking it off the frame to take a picture I realize that I have a lot farther to go than I thought!

I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts' One Monthly Goal again this year to try to keep myself on track.  I just hope that I don't fall in love with any other new projects while checking out what everyone else is working on!