December Goals

Here we are at the last month of the year and time to set my goals for the month.  I've enjoyed setting my little goals each month, and other than last month, have done pretty well in achieving them.

December is always a busy month, so I need to keep that in mind with my goal setting.

So, here goes.....

1.    ONE MONTHLY GOAL

I'm quite disappointed in myself that I didn't achieve my OMG last month.  Therefore, I need to set something fun and achievable for this month.

I think it will be to make my two Rainbow Scrap Challenge cushions.  I need to make one more pineapple block on my 30s prints one and then turn them both into cushions.  It will be great to have my RSC projects completed within the year.

2,    RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

Although all the colours have been revealed, it will be good to finish my two cushions within the calendar year.  Then I will decide if I wish to participate again next year.

3.    BLOCKHEADS 3

I was slack and only completed one block in November.  Not only that, there will be five blocks released during the month of December.  Therefore, I will have to knuckle down and do lots of stitching in December to catch up.  After December there will only be a further three blocks to go.  I'm quite excited about completing this quilt. 

4.    CHRISTMAS PROJECT

I'm not sure what I will make, being so close to Christmas, but I'd better make some little thing, just to complete my challenge for the year, without missing a beat.

5.    ONE PROJECT A MONTH

I know I will have something to report for OPAM, as I have my November finishes to report.  It would be nice to have something extra to add to the list as well.

6.    WOOFA CHALLENGE

Having had a big fat fail last month, I do hope to work on a UFO in December.  I will not nominate which project it will be, as I don't want to set myself up for failure.  It would be nice to be my Clam Shell Sewing Roll, but if I still don't feel like working on it, I will find something else to play with.

I will have some time off work between Christmas and New Year, so I do look forward to playing in the sewing room in that time.

Now to my non-stitching goals.

1.    READ A BOOK

I'm quite sure that will happen.

2.    TRY A NEW RECIPE

I never know what this will be at the beginning of the month, but it is fun playing with a new recipe.

3.    GO FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE

I doubt if this will happen, as we don't particularly like riding in the heat.  Then again, you never know what will happen.

4.    GO AWAY FOR A WEEKEND IN THE CARAVAN

Yes, the van is packed, ready to go.  I can't wait.

5.    FRIDAY FUN DAY

I'm not sure if there will be a separate Friday Fun Day, or if it will be incorporated into our little trip.  That's half the fun, not knowing what will take place in the coming month.

6.    GO FOR WALKS

We'll try.  We do lots of walking while we are away and do like walking around at night looking at all the Christmas lights, in the cool.

November Goals - How Did I Go?

The month is drawing to a close and it is time to report on how I went with my goals for the month.

As always, we will start with my stitching.

How did I go?  I think I can safely say that my sewjo flew out the window this month.  I've no idea why, but that is just how it is.

If this was my 6th class teacher's report card it would read "Janice needs to get out of second gear".  Yep, that's what he said.  I may need to heed his comments.

However, as I have always said, this is supposed to be a bit of fun and not turn my stitching into a chore.  Therefore, as I wasn't in the mood to stitch, I didn't.  I have lots of things on their mini design boards, ready to go, so they will just sit there until I feel the motivation to get started.

The main goal I set was to finish the clam shell sewing roll.  I know I will have to have a bit of a think and see how to proceed to do the construction.  The fact that it was all just too hard to think about may have a lot to do with my losing my inspiration.

Now that doesn't mean that I didn't do any stitching.  I did.

Normally I would be sharing four Blockhead 3 blocks, but this time I just have one very simple 6 inch block completed.  The other three are a a bit more detailed.  I'll get caught up before too long, so I'm not worried.  

Some secret stitching took place.  A parcel is currently winging its way to Lou in New Zealand.  There is a Christmas item in there, so I did meet that goal.  Funnily enough, there is a finished item in there, so I kind of met my One Project a Month, but will not officially add to my total until the big reveal next month.

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects came to a stand still, but I'm sure I will get to them before too long.  I'm hoping I will spend some time in the sewing room in the break between Christmas and New Year.  It would still be nice to have some more finishes before the end of the year.

As I reported previously, I didn't join in with Friday Night With Friends and as the clam shell sewing roll was to be my WOOFA project, that didn't take place either.

So, how did I go with my non stitching goals?

1.    READ A BOOK

Yes.  I didn't feel like stitching, but I did feel like reading. Both books were ones we picked up on our last trip away in September.

The English Girl was a bit James Bondish and not a bad read.

Cooper Bartholemew is Dead, was quite different from our usual reads.  It is targeted at young adults, but both Mick and I enjoyed it.  A young man dies by falling off a cliff.  It is put down to suicide, but his girlfriend doesn't believe that would happen.

2.    TRY A NEW RECIPE

Yes.  I blogged about the meatball recipe I tried back here.  We haven't been doing much baking, now that the weather is warming up.

I did make a Strawberry Shortcake, adapting the Apricot Shortcake recipe I have previously made.  It was so very good.

3.    GO FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE

 

No, it didn't happen.

4.    GO AWAY FOR A WEEKEND IN THE CARAVAN

No, we didn't expect to, so no surprise there.

5.    FRIDAY FUN DAY
  

Yes, as I blogged here, we had a great day up in Orange.

6.    GO FOR WALKS    

Yes, but only short ones, and not as many as I would have liked.

Reading this, it all  looks like we didn't do a lot, but we still had a great month.

We had our afternoon at Peel Jam 

We have spent quite a bit of time in the garden.  I will share a separate post on that.

Last weekend we held a garage sale.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Council run Community Garage Sale at Mount Panorama was cancelled and people were encouraged to take part in the Garage Sale Trail.

We had quite a successful sale, which was good.

So, the month didn't go quite as planned, but it was still good to look back on.

My November Goals

It is that time again, time to set my goals for the coming month.

This month I will be paring back my goals a bit, as we expect to be a bit busy.

Here are my stitching goals.

1.    ONE MONTHLY GOAL

The main priority is to set and meet my One Monthly Goal.  As I have now finished the clam shell panel my goal this month is to turn it into a completed Clam Shell Sewing Roll.  This is a process that I find quite daunting, so setting this goal is probably the only way that I will get stuck in and get it done.

2.    BLOCKHEADS 3

There will be another four blocks released this month, so I will endeavour to keep up to date.

3.    RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

This is one that is not on the high priority list this month. I still have to make one more pineapple block and then make three cushions.  If any of this happens it will be a bonus.

4.    WOOFA CHALLENGE

Selecting this project is easy.  I will be working on my Clam Shell Sewing Roll.  There's nothing like having one project tick several boxes.

5.    CHRISTMAS PROJECT

I will make something.  As with most months, I don't know what as yet.

6.    ONE PROJECT A MONTH

 

Hopefully, there will be a completed Clam Shell Sewing Roll to add to my list of finishes.  It would be nice if something else is finished too, but we will wait and see.

7.    FRIDAY NIGHT WITH FRIENDS

This Friday is the night to stitch along with many others.  I hope to achieve more than I did last month........which wouldn't be hard.

8.    SECRET STITCHING

It's that time of the year.......

When I look at the list I just wrote, it doesn't sound much less than normal, but it shouldn't be too onerous. I think I can manage it.

Now for my non stitching goals.

1.    READ A BOOK.

I'm sure I can manage to read something, even if it is a smaller book.

2.    TRY A NEW RECIPE\

We have to eat, so this is something I still want to do.

3.    GO FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Even if we just go for a short afternoon jaunt, it would be nice to get out on the bike.  It is a lovely temperature for riding at the moment.......when it stops raining....Did I actually say that, after the nasty drought we have come out of?

4.    GO AWAY FOR A WEEKEND

I'm pretty sure this won't be happening.  Mick has come out of retirement to do a job which is keeping him a bit busy for a couple of months, so no long weekends away this month.  There is always next month.....and the next..... and the next.

5.    FRIDAY FUN DAY

We will definitely fit in a Friday Fun Day.  Nothing planned, but there is always something fun to do.

6.    GO FOR WALKS

We will also find some time for this. 

Once again, this doesn't look very pared back, but we'll make it work.  I just need to be a bit more organised than the muddle headed wombat that I usually am.

My October Goals Met......By the Skin of my Teeth

I was not going to have a month where I didn't meet my stitching goals.  No way!  Well, I met my final goal at about 7.30pm on 31 October.  As I said in the title of this post, by the skin of my teeth.  I just didn't seem to be in the mood for much of the month, or was doing other stuff.  Anyway, the object of this post is to share what I got up to stitching wise, so let's get started.  If you pop back here, you can see what my goals were.

1. ONE MONTHLY GOAL

Yes, that was my main priority for the month and I blogged about it back here.

I'm so pleased with how it turned out and can't wait for next winter to have it on our bed.

It looks rather snuggly, doesn't it.

2.    RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE

The colour was yellow and I blogged about my blocks back here.

I will still have to make one more pineapple block for my cushion, but am still pondering what colour to use.  I'm also pondering on my drunkard path layout.  It will be interesting to see if I can get the blocks to make an accurate circle.

3.    BLOCKHEADS 3

This month I had to make five blocks.  I'm really enjoying making these blocks in such happy colours.

The block this week completed the third quarter of the quilt.  Just another fourteen blocks to go.  I hope I don't run out of some of my fabrics.

4.    WOOFA CHALLENGE

This month my goal was to complete the clam shell panel of the Stitching Roll.  That meant adding another seven rows of clam shells.  As I said at the start of the month, one row a day would take just a week.  Well, I added the last three rows today and it was the last thing I worked on.  There's nothing like a deadline to keep you honest.

The edges look ratty, but they will get trimmed off in the next process of the construction.

5.    CHRISTMAS PROJECT

As I had left things to the last minute, I knew I would only be making a very simple and quick project.  I had one in mind, but didn't have all the materials to hand, and wasn't going to make a special trip to the shops, so settled on a mini stocking decoration.

It's better than nothing and a new hand made decoration never goes astray on the tree.

6.    ONE PROJECT A MONTH

I try to always have one finish each month, even if it is small, but this month I have three - Trail Mix Quilt, the Christmas stocking and a cushion I made for Mum's birthday.  I blogged about it back here.  

I'm glad I tried the concealed zip on the back, as I will use that technique on my three Rainbow Scrap Challenge cushions.

7.    FRIDAY NIGHT WITH FRIENDS

I stitched one whole row of clam shells down.  Pretty weak, but better than nothing.  Hopefully I will be a little more productive next month.

So, there you have it.  All goals met. When I look at it all, it isn't too bad considering I wasn't in the mood for stitching for much of the time.  It just goes to show that having deadlines to meet and being accountable really works for me.

Thanks to the many people who arrange all these fun little challenges.  I really appreciate all you do. I wouldn't achieve nearly as much without your encouragement.

Trail Mix - Ta Da!

My main goal this month was to add the binding to Trail Mix.  

I made a start on the long weekend at the beginning of the month.

As the weather was glorious I took my baby Stella sewing machine out onto the back verandah and stitched the binding on.  

Other than trimming the excess fabric I didn't do any more until last weekend when I joined in with Chookyblue's Zoom get together for the morning.  I was only able to join in for a few hours and in that time hand stitched down two sides of the quilt.

Finally, yesterday I took it out onto the front verandah and stitched the rest down.  There is nothing nicer than sitting in the sun stitching away. Very relaxing.

This was my view overlooking the paddock across the road.  It is a racing stables, so we see horses as well as the resident mob of about 15 roos.  It's funny that we see more roos now that we are back in town than we ever saw when we lived out of town.  A few of the males are having some fisty cuffs lately as they vie to be the top male.

Mick decided to take a photo as soon as I finished it.  I think I was a bit happy.

Ta da!

Inspiration came from Deana of Dreamworthy Quilts who was making one during our Zoom get together back in June.

Trail Mix is a free pattern from All People Quilt

It is finished at 80 inches square.

My friend Val quilted it.  I love the swirly pattern she used.

The entire quilt, including backing was made from scraps and stash.

The batting is a wool/poly, so should be nice and warm on our bed next winter.  The colours look nice and cosy, so it will be a good winter quilt.

At the end of the month I will be linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal and Kris of Tag Along Teddies for One Project a Month.

Now to decide what to work on next.