Part 3: Mini Quilt : Panda-monium

In theory, we are taking turns going 'to bed' with the baby so we both get nights off. In practice, this doesn't work quite as well it should. Still, it has worked a few times -- each of which gives me about 2 hours to work uninterrupted.

I used one of these sessions to finish up the Panda-monium mini quilt.

Sadly, the weather has been completely uncooperative for getting natural lighting pictures of it, so this afternoon I snatched a quick shot while the baby was sleeping.

The most obvious quilting is the exterior echo I did in the background, but I also did some tracing around the white part of the body, the eyes, nose, and on the inside and outside of the bamboo. It's easier to see in person, but I think it looks pretty good. I really like the way the bamboo 'pops' in person.

The scrap I chose for the backing doesn't do much to show off that extra quilting either. I should have chosen something with a smaller pattern, but I was in the get-it-done mindset.

Straight-cut binding to finish it -- and the perfect color and pattern I think.

As with my previous pattern based mini (Hazel Hedgehog) there's certainly a little room for improvement in my precision work... but I love this panda. Not just for sentimental reasons either.

I still need to find a good way to safely display these in the nursery. Everything I've tried seems unsafe for grabby little hands. I'm beginning to think I should hang them from the ceiling or on the closet door or something to keep them farther away -- unless I come up with a really child friendly option. Maybe snaps or Velcro to a bigger 'board' that can be safely wall mounted? Hmmm...

Starburst Block Variations

My local quilting group is working on a new project beginning with a half-square triangle style Starburst block (also sometimes known as a Blueberry Pie -- though as far as I can tell that has some parallelogram / rectangle blocks instead of being all HST).

I'm sure I'm only scratching the tip of the iceberg, but I thought I'd share a few different ways of assembling the block -- beginning with familiar 'starburst' styles and moving into wilder variations.

Whew! That was a lot of fun.

Now, what if we start putting some of those together into tops?

I love the different additional shapes you can create by putting multiple blocks together!

I've also worked up a few layout options for finishing the whole top, but I think this is enough scrolling for one day. I'll pop those up in another post.

2015 Goals -- How Did I Do? (haha)

Well, it's not too dismal. But it's not as good as I'd hoped either...

The 2015 Goal/Dream List:

1. Trip to see Baby C and her family (May?) -- Not happening, though they came to us more than once. Not quite the same, but it'll have to do for this year. 
2. Go visit in-laws (November)
3. Read 5+ non-fiction books: 
1. 'Quilting with a Modern Slant' Rachel May
2. 'The Circus Fire' Stewart O'Nan
3. 'Cut the Scraps!' Joan Ford
4. 'I Love Patchwork' Rashida Coleman-Hale
5. 'Dessert Roll Quilts' Pam & Nicky Lintott
6. "The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West" Lesley Poling-Kempes 
7. "Great with Child" Beth Ann Fennelly
4. Wear nail polish one day a month (or more) Haha, I think between work and pregnancy, I haven't work nail polish since December 2014. I'm looking forward to bringing it back into my life in the future, but this little bit of pampering is just not happening right now. 4/3/15 Okay, managed it once in November. Wow. 
5. Donate or dispose of 100 things from within the house 
6. Renaissance Festival trip
7. Put an extra $50/month toward savings (most/all months)
8. Take a family photo 
9. Mail Birthday Cards (2)
10. Have the piano tuned
11. Get a clothes line
12. Print off 2 years worth of photo books
13. Replace the duvet cover - In Progress! 
14. Zero late fees at the library  Let's try for zero late fees from April on? 
15. Try a new restaurant or cuisine at least twice Wow, seems like this should have happened... did it really not? 
16. Use stash fabric. More of it, anyway. 
17. Attend a live performance (play, musical, orchestra, concert, etc.)
18. Attend 1-2 baby showers
19. Attend 1-2 birthday parties 
20. Rearrange the master bedroom north wall
21. Frames for at least 4 items waiting to be hung (for the master bedroom?)
22. Replace two small living room bookcases with something more useful
23. Find a way to squeeze a dining area into the house
24. Rearrange office??
25. Trip to see Baby W and her family
26. Thanksgiving trip 
27. Update phones
28. Outdoor storage for seasonal items?
29. Find home for massive wall hanging
30. Practice piano and clarinet twice a week or more (at least through April, hopefully longer)
31. Perform (March/April)
32. Trip to see brother-in-law and family (May?)
33. Trip to Kansas/Missouri (September/October) 

Things to Make in 2015

1. Make the Ditto quilt (I own the pattern and the tool, just haven't used it yet) 
2. 2014 cross stitch portrait -- In Progress 
3. 2015 cross stitch portrait? -- or should I abandon this before I run out of room on my wall?
4. 2 or more Welcome Baby Packages 
1. Finish at least 4 bibs
2. Make at least 2 hooded towels
3. Use quilts already made???
5. Complete in progress quilts: - In progress! 
1. Wonky Star Sampler
2. Solids 
3. Scrappy X+ quilt - Top done, back needed
4. 2 quilts for our bed -- ugh, I made progress early in the year, but haven't come up with a back for the second one, and the idea of basting just exhausts me. 

I don't know when I'll get around to making much of a dream list for 2016. Most of my goals right now are so basic they aren't worth typing out -- but I'm sure I have a few more hopes that will come to me as I start thinking intentionally about what I want to accomplish. 

First goal of 2016? To get a goal list written and posted before January is over! 

Happy New Year / 2015 wrap up #1 / still here

Someone asked today yesterday if I'm still blogging.

I answered very truthfully that I have to have done something to blog about it.

And while I am technically doing something every day, I don't have the time or inclination to make this into a diary of daily baby care-taking survival.

Here's the truth: this baby is hard. Healthy, fit, determined to thrive, all those good things. But so very challenging for care takers. We've found that the best adult to baby ratio is approximately 6:1. Those kinds of days are wonderful but not as common as I'd like. Reality is a lot more 1:1 time, which leads to both parties being a little ragged.

Now that I'm getting a few more hours of sleep at night and no longer need to go to sleep at 6 with the baby, my husband and I are working hard to get life to a point where I am not going to bed with the baby every night. That would give me approximately 2 hours of 'just for me' time three nights a week. Written out like that, it seems like hardly any time, but it will be a dramatic change when we get there.

I haven't had a chance to finish my October 2014-2015 reading year write up. And my October 2015-2016 list is depressingly short so far: 2 books, neither of which has yet received my customary "book report." (Those average 1.5 hours per book.) I deeply miss taking the time to really think about what I've read. I'm already noticing a difference in how much I retain and how critically I think about the writing and story.

Every day is a step towards baby becoming a little more independent and me getting a little more free time (I've managed to brush my teeth every day this week, and I think I even washed my hair every day too), but I still feel miles away from getting time to do optional projects like quilting.

Here's what I did accomplished in 2015 calendar year:

Finished 4 quilts

Finished 1 mini quilt:

Finished up 1 quilt with/for the quilt group:

And helped make a second (though it was quilted and finished by someone else)

Read 45 books
Rearranged the house twice
Built my first Ikea pieces
Oversaw a secret santa exchange
Had a baby

Sewed, dyed, and crafted things for the baby

Assembled and gave 3 Welcome Baby packages

Got my scraps way more organized

(under 3" sorted by color, over 3" sorted by size, all locked up in bins. Binding remnants in a bin. Selvages in a basket. It's looking good, except I can't find my brown binding remnant -- which is needed for finishing up a quilt!)

Made progress but didn't finish:

(3 of these tops are finished but have no backs yet, 2 are quilted and just need bound, 1 is partly cut out -- more on that later)


Being unable to quilt much, I spent more time than ever on Pinterest thinking about projects. I've begun choosing patterns and possible fabrics for a couple upcoming Welcome Baby quilt/s I think I need to get made soon(ish) -- though I have stashed backups that will work for most of these projects if life doesn't allow that luxury. I'd really like to make one of them 'new' and intentional, but if I just can't make it happen, I'm not at a complete loss. And there are a few smaller (but possibly just as labor intensive) projects I'd like to start on as time allows -- those quiet/busy books all look amazing, but the time that goes into them!

I have high hopes for a slow progress in 2016. Obviously I've got some works in progress that I could start taking steps on (and some older works in progress that have sat neglected for far too long). I hope to take a bit bite out of some of my '2015 progress but unfinished' projects first -- starting with binding the panda quilt, then finishing the mini quilt.

Here's to 2016 -- and not just surviving, but thriving all around!