WIP Wednesday: Boxes / Squares

Packing

Break time

Down to the last minute!

Bah! I've been meaning to do this for days... So here I am, finally linking up for Rhonda's FAL.
Last quarter I finished 50%! (Ha! That means 1 project.)

This quarter:

1. I hope to finish the other project I set forth in Jan, my Purple Haze Quilt. I did make some good progress on it last quarter - it went from charm squares to a pieced top. I still need to baste, quilt and bind.

2. I joined Sarah's Stained QAL in Feb. I'm at the sashing stage now. So there's piecing the top, basting, quilting and binding to do still. Hidden in that simple list there's also choosing a backing fabric and quilting pattern... Here is my first block:

3. The first QAL I joined was Oh My Stars. I'm still working slowly on it. I highly doubt I'll be done with it this quarter, but maybe... According to when I uploaded this picture to Flickr, I was last actually sewing stars at the end of Jan. How shameful... After that I did at least cut the necessary fabric (and then some, accidentally).

There's about 30 minutes left if you haven't linked up yet!

WIP Wednesday the Fourth

Ongoing:
Stained

Finally, a black bobbin.

A little wonky, but should work out.

New:

I've received the DS fabrics I ordered! I'm leaning toward a kaleidoscope type pattern with a white background, but I'm not completely sure yet. I have a few more prints from FMF on the way - an early birthday present from my husband! (My birthday is Apr 27th.)

FMF

Hope Valley

Finishes:
I got the purple haze top done! I'm counting it as a semi-finish.

No Progress:

Oh my stars
Purse for me
Granny squares
Farmer's wife

Would like to start:
Sew out loud
Single girl (with rainbow charms - received, but not yet sorted)
Foundation paper piecing for the terrified

Stats:
New Projects - 2
Completed projects - 0
Currently in progress - 8

T minus 4

I can count on one hand (or one foot) the number of days I have left at my current job.

I am SO excited!

(Did that even need to be said?) Anyway, after this Friday, I'll have about a week to pack and clean our apartment. I don't really think it will take that long so I'll probably get some sewing in too.

Besides, it would be easier to pack (less chance of missing pieces later) if I assemble my Stained quilt top. I questioned my fabric choices a little when I laid it out the other night.

Excuse the table legs...

The towers looked a little strange to me, especially when next to another fabric with a pale background... but, I pressed on. (Pun intended.) It'll be fine once everything has an outline.

To Do: A belated report

Checking in with the March list:

Must do:
Rainbow Charm Swap - Done. I can't wait to get them back!
Purple Haze Quilt (in order to count for 1st Quarter Finish Along) - I did trim all the blocks and begin piecing the top.

Oh My Stars QAL - I got all the squares marked, but since they've been languishing in their stacks.



Stained QAL - I've cut all my prints! And I began cutting sashing. I'll probably need more, but I want to start piecing.



I made no progress on the things I said I might do...

I did well on my excuse though! I kept up with my class through the end of March. (This past weekend, not so much...)

My additional excuse for not sewing more is: I had an out of town interview and have since spent many hours researching relocation - apts, things to do, etc...

This coming month I expect to be mostly consumed by packing and maybe studying. Although, if I drop the course, there will be more time for sewing and posting. ;)

Tag!

Melinda caught me! (Several days ago actually... I guess it's not surprising. Must have been easy if my slowness to answer is an indicator. And on that note, it would have taken even longer for me to answer had I asked questions of my own and run around trying to tag others.)

Here are her questions:
1. Musicals or plays? And what are your favorites? I like plays best for the most part, but I did really enjoy Phantom and the operas I saw in St. Petersburg. My favorite one there was Eugene Onegin.

2. Do you have any "hidden" talents that have not made it into your blog? Not sure. I've always liked math. However, the online course I've been attempting for the past 4-5 weeks has made me painfully aware that I am out of practice.

3. Are you a reader? If so, what are you reading right now? Yes, I really like books! Most of the time I read novels. I last read A Grown Up Kind of Pretty. Two of my favorite authors are Gregory Maguire and Neil Gaiman.

4. What is your favorite time of day? After work. Or if it's a weekend, probably mid-morning because it feels like I've still got lots of free time ahead of me and can take things at a leisurely pace.

5. Do you save the selvages from fabric? Have you ever made anything with them? I am starting a collection. I haven't used any yet, because I really don't have very many. Is it cheating if I bought some at my LQS's Leap Day sale?

6. What is your favorite quilt you've ever made?

Fronts of shirts

This is the second quilt I ever made. I used tshirts from high school clubs and events that I participated in. It is almost all hand sewn since I didn't want stitches showing through from 1 side to the other where the sleeves overlap. It measures roughly twin size, but it's extra long. I've considering making it a broader rectangle by undoing a row and turning it into a 4th column, but... that's a lot of unstitching and restitching.

Backs of shirts

7. What color comes up most often in your quilts? Hard to say since I haven't made many yet... And I haven't gotten around to sorting my fabric by color, so I can't even say what is likely to be a dominant color...

8. Do you play music while you sew? What songs get you motivated? I typically sew in the living room at one table while my husband plays computer games at another so we put his ipod on shuffle and if something really hardcore comes on that distracts me, I skip past it. Generally this means we listen to Anberlin, ... This week we've been listening to CAKE though since I got Showroom of Compassion.

9. What's the worst injury you've ever suffered? I broke my right arm, very close to my wrist, in 6th grade. I fell while roller blading. Turned out I was lucky not to have cracked the growth plate, but the smaller bit of bone moved 30 degrees out of proper alignment and my orthopedic dr could only get it back 15 degrees before I got my cast. For a while after it healed, I couldn't bend that wrist as well as the other, but as I continued to grow in my teens it straightened out and the difference isn't noticeable now. On the plus side, I consider myself semi-ambidextrous to this day after having had to learn to write left handed. Here's a little story to illustrate: We used to take timed multiplication tests. We were supposed to finish 100 problems as fast as we could. The teacher gave us up to 5 min, but the goal was really to beat 3 min. After a couple weeks learning to write, I was back under that 3 min mark on my timed tests! The teacher used me as an example to those who still weren't finishing their tests. Made my day.

10. Do you come from a large family or a small family? Hmm... it probably counts as small. I grew up just me and my parents, but I have 2 older half sisters who had already moved out. I have 3 nieces who are not much younger than me and we used to go to summer camps and such together.

11. Have you always lived in your current hometown? If not, how far away do you live from the town where you were born? Nope. I've developed a pattern of periodically making big moves. I was born in Austin, TX. We lived in Northern California for about 10 years, then back to TX for 6ish, and then I came to NY for college. I've stayed about 2 years past graduation, but we'll soon be off to Wisconsin! I got a new job!