March OMG Update

I'm double-dipping with this post - posting both a slightly belated Friday Night Sew-In update as well as a progress report for the Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal (OMG) link-up. I hope to have time to catch up on everyone's posts later today - it looks like a lot of fols were really busy this month!

I started the weekend with just one week's star blocks left to finish - or so I thought!  I checked the finishing instructions and found that there were two more star blocks still to do - a total of 50 in the quilt.

So as I have been doing all month, I got to work piecing the little center stars and then sewing the strip sets for the nine patches. I decided to mix the strips for the extra two blocks in with week 12 so I wouldn't have any duplicate fabrics.  

By Saturday afternoon I had finished the last of the blocks. Twenty-two blocks completed in March.  Not bad!

I was so excited to dive into the finishing kit, already starting to ponder how I will quilt this top, when I read the next step. I need to make 72 more little stars for cornerstones.  That's a LOT of stars! So I had to get out my trusty wire rack and start starching fabric again. It's going to take a while to get all of those squares starched, but I managed to get enough ready to sew my first 8.  Just 64 more to make!

I took a little break from sewing binding last night to work on one of my little baskets.  I'm not sure how many years ago I started this project, but I know that I was working on it when I traveled to Australia in 2010, so it has been a while!  I am not sure where I put all my finished blocks and the rest of the fabrics, and don't even remember how many blocks I have finished, but I still love this quilt and would like to get back to it. I think I might even replace one of my other UFOs on my list with this one - is that cheating? 

I need to give some thought to my April OMG project.  Do I stick with Starlite Skies?  I feel like I'm on a roll. Or give myself a break and move on to something else? I will have to see how I am feeling about little stars by the end of the week...

Slow Sunday Stitching - Baskets

I haven't had a lot of time for slow stitching this week as I have been pushing to finish my Grand Illusion Mystery (which still isn't finished, by the way!).  This week I pulled my baskets out from the depths of the UFO pile and, after checking to verify I could still find the fabrics I was using - there was a brief moment of panic involved, but I found them - I started stitching little basket again. I managed to finish two:

This brings my total to 23.  I was convinced I was in the 30s when I sat them aside.  I wish I could say there might be more around here somewhere, but I am pretty sure this is it.

I am not nearly as far along as I thought....  I think I need over 250 for the quilt.  This project is definitely slow... I just have to finish before I stop liking the fabrics!

See what other slow stitchers are doing on Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching link-up.