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July 24, 2023
Getting Back in the Groove from Life In Pieces

Moving Grad Girl took up most of last week.  I got back from Texas late Friday. Moving in 100 plus temperatures really takes it out of you. We didn't get to bed till midnight several nights, way past my normal bed time. Unfortunately My Guy wasn't able to take off work to come help, so it was just us girls. But we managed pretty well.  Grad Girl has some awesome grad school girl friends who came to help with the heavy lifting.  Still, I spent Saturday in recovery mode with a lot of reading and resting. 

I didn ...

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July 11, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 7/11/2023 from Life In Pieces

With the holiday and family plans, I didn't get much done on my To Do List from 6/27, so I skipped writing a post last week.  Even with the extra week, I didn't get everything checked off.  

To Do List for 6/27/2023

1. Just Two Charm Pack Quilts blog hop: Finish assembling rows, start assembling quilt top ✔

2. Diatom: Finish block 9, cut block 10 - progress

3. Wild & Goosey: Make 2 blue or green blocks 

4. Chilhowie: Leaders and enders project 

So there is progress even though not everything got checked off.  

I'm heading ...

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July 10, 2023
More Un-stitching than Stitching from Life In Pieces

Last week was a bit hit or miss in the sewing room.  Grad Girl was home for the week and we did spend some time in the sewing room hanging out, but sometimes there was more talking going on then there was stitching.  She headed back to Texas on Saturday, so my plan for Sunday was to spend my readjustment time in the sewing room.  First off I discovered that the borders for block 9 of Diatom weren't assembled properly.  After a bit of unsewing they are ready to be reassembled properly. 




I think what happened is I was ...

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July 5, 2023
June Wrap Up: PHD in 2023 from Life In Pieces

We are already half way through the first week in July.  So it's definitely time to check out how my PHD report is faring and link up with Quilting Gail for the June version of the PHD Report. I managed to stitch a bit every day last month, so several projects have progressed, but sadly there were no finishes.  

Wild and Goosey (Bonnie Hunter) didn't advance much this month, but I finished a few blocks.  



 Wild and Goosey was my 2019 Rainbow Scrap Project. The goal this year is to just make a few blocks each month. Each ...

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June 27, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 6/27/2023 from Life In Pieces

Another Tuesday, so it's time to think about the quilty to do list and link up with The Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric for To Do Tuesday.  I did slightly better on last week's to do list. 


To Do List for 6/20/2023

1. Just Two Charm Pack Quilts blog hop: Finish assembling rows, cut sashing strips - progress
2. SAHRR: Finish final border ✔
3. Diatom: Finish block 8, assemble block 9, cut block 10 - progress
4. Wild & Goosey: Make 2 blue or green blocks 
5.  Chilhowie: Leaders and enders project ✔

Three check marks and progress ...

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June 26, 2023
Making Progress from Life In Pieces

It definitely feels like summer.  I keep moving my morning walk earlier and earlier because once the sun is up, it gets warm fast!  The heat has definitely been one reason I've spent so much time in the sewing room this week. So there's been good progress on several projects.  

Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) block 8 is finished.  



I've really enjoyed working on this project.  Block 9 is now in the works. 

The last borders were added to the SAHRR.




This was my first try at the SAHRR. I'm really happy with how it came out.  This ...

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June 20, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 6/20/2023 from Life In Pieces

This week didn't go so well in terms of the to do list.  I couldn't sit for very long, even in my magic sewing chair. There was progress, but there aren't a lot of check marks. 


To Do List For 6/13/2023

1. Just Two Charm Pack Quilts blog hop: Start assembling rows of blocks ✔

2. SAHRR: Finish spacer and final borders - progress

3. Diatom: Assemble block 8,cut block 9 - progress

4. Wild & Goosey: Make a blue or green block - no progress

5. Chilhowie: Leaders and enders project 

Two check marks and progress on all ...

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June 19, 2023
Slow Going from Life In Pieces

Is it really Monday again?  We had a really slow weekend. I took My Guy out for Father's Day on Saturday.  We did a Zoom call with Grad Girl so she could see him open what she'd sent him.  I didn't sew much on Friday or Saturday as even my magic sewing room chair wasn't comfortable after I reinjured my back during physical therapy.  By Sunday I was feeling much better so there was some progress on a few things in the sewing room. Most of my progress is on my project for the Just Two ...

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June 13, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 6/13/2023 from Life In Pieces

It was a good week in the sewing room. Of course when it's about the only place you can sit comfortably, you do tend to spend more time there.  My to do list for last week was pretty long so not everything got checked off. 

To Do List for 6/6/23

1. Just Two Charm Pack blog hop: Start subunit assembly ✔

2. SAHRR: Attach spacer border, choose final border fabric - progress

3. Diatom: Assemble block 7, cut block 8 

4. Wild and Goosey: 1 blue or green block 

5. Chilhowie: Leaders and enders project 


I'm grateful that ...

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June 12, 2023
Moving Right Along from Life In Pieces

The one good outcome from my back injury last weekend is that it gave me a reason to spend a lot of my week in the sewing room.  My back is much improved, but I'm still being cautious about tackling some of the bigger housework tasks.  


I made a lot of progress on the project for the Just Two Charm Pack blog hop.  But no pictures of that till July.  Block 7 for Diatom (Quilting Jetgirl) was finished. 



Block 12 came out on Friday, so I'm still behind. At least more than half the blocks are finished now ...

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June 6, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 6/6/2023 from Life In Pieces

It's been a long couple of days. My back is slowly improving.  The only place I can sit comfortably for more than a few minutes is my sewing room chair.  So I went with that to spend most of Sunday and yesterday in my sewing room.  I can sit at the computer desk for about 30 minutes at a time, so I'm slowly replying to emails and catching up on everyone's blog. But all the sewing room time paid off in a fully checked off to do list.  

To Do List for 5/30/2023

1. SAHRR ...

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June 5, 2023
Progress on Both Design Walls from Life In Pieces

I did something stupid this weekend, but I'm not sure exactly what it was. Whatever it was, it threw my back out again.  So I'm back to thermal pads and Aleve. Thankfully, it appears that hanging out in the sewing room is the best physical therapy. Several years ago I invested in an ergonomic sewing table, chair and cutting table.  That has paid off in ways I didn't expect. The combination of stitching, pressing and trimming seems to work the muscles enough to reduce the pain associated with moving.  I'm feeling better this morning, but plan ...

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June 2, 2023
May Wrap Up: PHD in 2023 from Life In Pieces

In 2020, 2021, and 2022 my focus was on finishing up UFOs.  I limited my new projects to just 2 or at most 3 each year.  Last year work was really overwhelming, so much so that I lost interest in pretty much everything other than reading and binging on Netflix.  Since I retired at the end of last year, I decided to open up my new project list to more than just 2.  I also joined a guild, which has also added to my new project list. Honestly, I didn't expect that.  At any rate, I can safely say ...

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May 30, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 5/30/2023 from Life In Pieces

Since I was traveling last week, it was hard to put together a to do list, so I didn't make one.  The one from two weeks ago was pretty simple. 

To Do List for 5/16/2023

1. Prep projects for Texas Trip ✔

2. Enjoy hanging out with Grad Girl 

I made really good progress on the pinwheel blocks while I was in Texas and a little progress on Diatom.  But I definitely prepped more than I was able to work on.  But I'd rather be over prepared than to run out of stitching stuff to do.  Hanging ...

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May 9, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 5/9/2023 from Life In Pieces

I wrote in my last To Do Tuesday post that I really needed to get back to moving some of my older quilts to finished.  But that's not going to happen this month.  Before I get to why that is, here's how it went with last week's list.  


To Do List for 5/2/2023

1. SAHRR: Finish 5th spacer border, make windmill blocks ✔
2. Donation blocks for guild: Assemble patriotic blocks 
3. Diatom: Finish block 4, cut fabric for block 5 - progress
4. Wild and Goosey: Finish an orange block 
5. Chilhowie: Continue as leaders and ...

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May 3, 2023
April Wrap Up: PHD in 2023 from Life In Pieces

Before writing this post, I took a look back at my March Wrap Up. April has definitely been a much more productive month since my back and shoulder issues have mostly been resolved.  Even with April being a more productive month, my PHD report hasn't changed much. 




Still no finishes and I added a new project.  The donation blocks have to be turned in this month, so hopefully they won't languish on the list like everything has.  I'm going to need to focus on finishes soon or all I'll have to show for 2023 is new ...

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May 2, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 5/2/2023 from Life In Pieces

The beginning of May means the year is a quarter gone. At the end of next month it will be half gone. I've taken a few detours this year with new projects. Before the end of this month I need to start working moving a few projects to the finish line. So I should probably look at changing what's on my to do list. I've been making an effort to work on everything that is listed.  

To Do List for 4/25/2023

1. SAHRR: Finish border 5, make windmill blocks ✔

2. Donation blocks: Make HSTs, assemble ...

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April 25, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 4/25/2023 from Life In Pieces

This week marks the 6th month of my retirement.  It still feels weird when My Guy leaves for work and I don't go with him. I don't miss the politics at work, but I do miss the people and the technical aspect of the work I did. Like any change, it will take a while to settle in.  I'm not sewing as much as I thought I would. Part of that is due to the shoulder/back issues that popped up earlier this year. The other part is the other projects I've taken on such as ...

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April 18, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 4/18/2023 from Life In Pieces

Spring is still in that manic stage. One day it's in the 80s, the next we are back to the 50s.  Even so, I'm enjoying the longer days. I feel much more productive.  But even being more productive didn't translate to a completely checked off to do list.  


To Do List for the Week of 4/11/2023

1. SAHRR: Continue assembly of 5 border, make pinwheels. ✔
2. Diatom: Assemble block 3 - progress
3. Wild and Goosey: Finish a block, cut purple scraps 
4. Chilhowie: Continue as leaders and enders 

Still not a bad week, 3 out ...

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April 11, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 4/11/2023 from Life In Pieces

I had a mostly good week on the stitching front. A sinus headache laid me out yesterday so I didn't quite finish everything on last week's To Do List. 

To Do List for the Week of 4/4/2023

1. SAHRR:  Start 5th border, make pinwheel blocks ✔

2. Diatom: Cut fabrics for blocks 

3. Wild and Goosey: Make 1 block - progress

4. Chilhowie: Continue as my leaders and enders project 

Three out of four, with progress on the fourth is still a good week. Especially compared to where I was most of March.  So what does this week ...

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