Reading 1820 Blogs Daily!


July 5, 2024
2024 Quilting Ambitions 2nd Quarter Check In from Life In Pieces

The end of June marks the end of the 2nd quarter for 2024.  It's a good time to check in how I'm doing on my quilting ambitions (goals) for the year. My quilting goals are much like my work goals used to be. I'd write up the goals at the beginning of the year and then forget about them. At work, my supervisor would schedule a midyear goal review, I'd look at them just before the meeting and inevitably there would be one or two goals I'd forgotten about completely.  My quilting goals are pretty ...

read more
June 30, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 26 of 2024 from Life In Pieces


There are 52 weeks in a year, so week 26 means we are half way done with the year.  July starts on Monday.  I'm not really ready to accept that the year is half over, but the calendar doesn't lie.  At least the first half of my year has been pretty good in terms of getting in my stitching time each day. 


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/June = 29/29 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 =  181/181 days
  • Success rate = 100%

I really didn't expect to maintain 100% this far into the ...

read more
June 23, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 25 of 2024 from Life In Pieces



It's been a very busy week.  I've not spent much time in the sewing room, most of my stitching efforts have been handwork and 15 minutes was about all the time I had to play with needle and thread most days. There was a bit more time for stitching during the weekend. Some weeks are just that way. 

  • 15 minute days/week =  7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/June =  22/22 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 =   174/174 days
  • Success rate = 100%

So it was a pretty good week. I've hung onto my 100% success rate, but ...

read more
June 21, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 24 of 2024 from Life In Pieces

 


Halfway through June? Already?  I am not ready for the year to be half over! Though it's been a good year on the stitching time front, my best year ever for getting in my 15 minutes.  


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/June = 15/15 days
  • 15 minute days 2024 = 167/167 days
  • Success rate = 100%

It's pretty amazing that I've been able to keep my stitching streak up, even with surgery and other things going on.  This week will be hard as I've got a busy week. It will be hard ...

read more
June 9, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 23 of 2024 from Life In Pieces


It's been a slow week, other than a doctor's appointment (all restrictions from knee surgery have been lifted) and my weekly coffee date, not much else going on.  So I've definitely had time to get to the sewing room, but unfortuntely not as much motivation.  Thankfully there was enough get up and go to keep the 100% streak going.  


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/June = 8/8 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 160/160 days
  • Success rate = 100%

I did sew for almost an hour most days once I made it to ...

read more
June 2, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 22 of 2024 from Life In Pieces


It was a quiet week. I'm a bit sad the week is over, one of my long time work buddies who retired when I did, is moving to Rhode Island.  His family is there and his kids work in the North East.  The going away party was Friday night. He was part of our weekly discussion group and was always fun to talk with. He'll be missed. 

The sewing machine, rotary cutter and the iron all had good workouts this week. It shows in the metrics for the week.

  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute ...

read more
May 26, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 21 of 2024 from Life In Pieces

 


It's been an uneventful week. I was definitely ready for one of those. I'm back to my regular routine a month after knee surgery.  I'm very appreciative of that development.  I made some good headway on getting caught up on housework and some sewing room chores.  It was another good week on the stitching time front. 

 

  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/May = 25/25 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 =146/146 days
  • Success rate =  100%

My typical sewing time per day is at least an hour, usually it ends up being anywhere ...

read more
May 19, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 20 of 2024 from Life In Pieces


It's been a weird week. On a positive note, my knee is finally lining out.  I can go up stairs normally, still look like a gimp going down.  But you have to enjoy the small victories.  I made it to the gym this week, but did a very light work out to avoid doing something stupid and being really sore the next day. I also got in my stitching time this week.  

  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/May = 18/18 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 139/139 days
  • Success rate = 100%
It's been ...

read more
May 12, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 19 of 2024 from Life In Pieces


Hope everyone has a wonderful day and that your kiddos remembered the occasion.  Grad Girl took a few days off to come home for a long weekend.  It's just not for Mother's Day, her long time best bud graduated from Vet school on Friday and she wanted to be there to celebrate with her. She'll have to head back to school tomorrow.   

It's been a good week on the stitching front. 

  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/May =  11/11 days
  • 15 minute days/2024 = 132/132 days
  • Success rate = 100%
So ...

read more
May 5, 2024
Stitching Stuff: Week 18 of 2024 from Life In Pieces

 


Getting into the sewing room got much easier as the week went on.  I still have to be really careful on the stairs, putting the wrong leg down first on either the up or down trip still hurts pretty bad.  The sewing machine foot pedal has gotten easier to use as the week has progressed. I heard from a guild member who also recently had knee surgery that she's been told that controlling the foot pedal is good physical therapy.  Hmmm, that definitely works for me.  


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Apr = 30/30 ...

read more
April 4, 2024
2024 Quilting Ambitions 1st Quarter Check In from Life In Pieces

With the end of March comes the end of the first quarter of 2024.  Hard to believe we've hit that milestone already.  It's a good time to check how well I'm doing at meeting my ambitions for 2024.  Quilting Jetgirl has a first quarter linky party to remind us to do just that.  




Here's where I'm at with my ambitions for 2024. 

1. Make Quilts. My ambition wasn't just to finish quilts, I also wanted to focus on making progress with all the quilts on my quilt plan for this year.  

Here's what ...

read more
December 29, 2023
2024 Quilting Ambitions from Life In Pieces

Making a plan on what the next year looks like in the sewing room dates back to almost as long as I've been making quilts. When I started, Grad Girl was just 4 and I was working more than full time (lots and lots of overtime), with an hour commute each way. With not a lot of stitching time, it was important to decide what my priorities were each year. Not that I stuck to them, but I at least made the attempt. So why should 2024 be any different.  I'm going to make another list of ambitions ...

read more
December 24, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 51 of 2023 from Life In Pieces


 

Merry Christmas Eve!  I hope all your gifts are wrapped and all the baking is done before the your family celebration tonight, tomorrow, or when ever your family does their thing.  I probably should have put the linky party on hold for a week, but I didn't think ahead. It's a hard week to both stitch and do all the pre-holiday stuff.   With the coming up holiday I expected to miss a few days. That I didn't is pretty amazing.   

  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Dec = 20/23 days
  • 15 minute days ...

read more
December 17, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 50 of 2023 from Life In Pieces


I've been scratching my head since the first week in December if I'd gotten off count with my weeks. There are only 2 weeks left in the year. Based on last week's post, this post would only be week 49.  After taking a bit of look back, I missed a week back in April and didn't catch it.  So I'm back on count with it being week 50.  

I knew as we got closer to the holiday stitching time would suffer.  It definitely did this week. 

  • 15 minute days/week = 4/7 days
  • 15 minute ...

read more
December 10, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 48 of 2023 from Life In Pieces


Just 3 more weeks left in 2023!  That's really hard to take in.  Have you started crafting your goals for 2024?  I've given mine some thought here and there.  I've made a start on my quilt plan for next year, but that's about it in terms of written commitments.  The 15 minutes to Stitch/Stitching Stuff linky party will continue next year.  Some days I still need encouragement to get into the sewing room.  Though scrap and fabric management will be a bigger part of my Sunday linky party post in 2024. Fingers crossed I can ...

read more
December 3, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 47 of 2023 from Life In Pieces

 



I'm never ready for December.  I just never seem to get to all things I had planned to finish before the end of the year.  But to put a positive spin on that, it's also the month to start planning for 2024 and theoretically have the chance to make up for where you fell short this year (funny how it rarely works out that way).  One area that has worked out well for me this year is my stitching time, this week was another good one.  


  • 15 minute days/week = 6/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Nov = 24 ...

read more
November 26, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 46 of 2023 from Life In Pieces


Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is over and we are into the Christmas season already. With it being a holiday week, I tempered my expectations of getting in much stitching time. However, Grad Girl and I did manage a few sitting and stitching sessions over the holiday weekend. 


  • 15 minute days/week = 4/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Nov = 20/25 days
  • 15 minute days/2023 = 278/329 days
  • Success rate = 84.5%

At least I stitched more days than I didn't this week.  I'm still over my 75% stitching goal for the year, so I'm going ...

read more
November 19, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 45 of 2023 from Life In Pieces


Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this Thursday.  At this point I'm not ready. Lots to do between now and then.  Likely my stitching time will suffer a bit this week. It's a good thing this last week was really good. 


  • 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Nov = 16/18 days
  • 15 minute days/2023 = 274/322 days
  • Success reate = 85.09%

My goal for this year is to stitch 15 minutes at least 75% of the days.  Thankfully I'm well over that so have some room if stitching just doesn't work ...

read more
November 15, 2023
To Do List for the Week of 11/14/2023 from Life In Pieces

The weeks always seem to go so quickly as we get closer to the end of the year.  Last week seems to have just sped by somehow.  My ambitious to do list for the week was definitely too long.  


To Do List for the Week of 11/07/2023

1.  Macaron Mystery: Finish hand stitching the binding ✔
2.  Malted Mystery: Finish clue 4, start clue 5 -  progress
3.  Indigo Way: Decide on fabrics for mystery ✔
4.  Scrappy Butterflies: Find backing fabric ✔
5.  Rhododendron Mystery: Finish block/sashing assembly - progress
6.  Wild and Goosey: Make 2 orange blocks - progress
7.   Chilhowie ...

read more
November 12, 2023
Stitching Stuff: Week 44 of 2023 from Life In Pieces

 


Almost halfway through November?  I'm definitely not ready for that, but as I can't change anything about that, I'm just hoping to keep going with the flow.  That was pretty much what happened with my stitching time this week. 


  • 15 minute days/week = 6/7 days
  • 15 minute days/Nov = 9/11 days
  • 15 minute days/2023 = 267/315 days
  • Success rate = 84.76%

I missed one day last week. That was my travel day back from Texas. I got in so late and was just too tired to stitch on anything.  But otherwise it was a ...

read more