Monthly Archives: January 2021

• 4 Comments

•

I have 18 days left in my Quilting the Countdown 100 Day Project, but I just couldn't resist jumping in with the large community of folks starting a new 100 Day Project Today.

I decided I would commit to 15 minutes of free motion quilting a day for the next 100 days. I currently have (at least) four of my own finished quilt tops, one of which is basted. Plus I'll be making four Project QUILTING submissions and two other quilt along quilt tops in the next two months and they will all need quilting. And also, I'll be helping my daughter quilt her project and my son quilt his. While they will actually be doing the quilting, I'm going to count assisting them with their quilting for my project. My quilts often get hung up at the "just needs quilting" stage (followed by getting stuck at the "just needs binding" step). And I'd love to finish some of these older and larger WIPs. The quilting step just always feels like a long and arduous task. I also have a mental hangup about the task of switching the machine over to free motion quilting. This really doesn't take long. I switch the foot on the machine, rethread the machine and put in matching bobbin thread, install my supreme slider, and put on my machingers gloves. [affiliate links] That is all maybe five minutes. But it always feels like such a blocker. Hopefully if I do this for 100 days I'll get over this mental block moving forward.

Today I got started on the small quilt that I had basted. Using Aurifil 50wt Dove (#2600) I quilted this first section. I had exactly 15 minutes of bobbin thread so that worked out well! Tomorrow morning I'll wind a bobbin and continue.

I'll update weekly here on my blog and daily on Instagram @sarahgoerquilts.

Today, January 31, is Day 1. So we will finish this up on May 10. Be sure to follow the community of folks participating on IG led by @lindsayjeanthomson by following #The100DayProject. This isn't a project just for quilters. There are quite a variety of makers and the project doesn't even have to be creativity-based. You can find all the details about The 100 Day Project on their website.

I'd love to know if you're participating and what you've chosen. If you're just learning about the project you can jump in anytime. :-)

• 2 Comments

•

I have been enjoying the consistency of a 100 day Project. It's such a great way to build skills, dabble with techniques, iterate on a theme, or buckle down to focus on getting something done. In my last complete 100 Day project I completed a five mini quilt series of Improv Log Cabins. Currently, I'm working on a WIP from 2015. In both of these I set myself a manageable goal of 15 minutes a day. Some days that 15 minutes sure feels like work, but most days (even those that start out feeling like work) I work past the 15 minutes mark... sometimes for hours.

 The organizers of The 100 Day Project are starting their 8th annual 100 Day Project on January 31. This is a great way to participate in a 100 Day Project with a *really big* community. Makers and artists of all kinds will be starting the project together on Sunday. While my current 100 Day Project (with the community of quilters led by Cassandra Beaver) doesn't wrap up until late February, I'm considering diving in to a new 100 Day Project on January 31. I figure I can probably handle a few weeks of overlap.

Some options I'm considering:

  • dig out another WIP to work on
  • some other art task, perhaps watercolor, doodling, or art journaling
  • something business related, maybe pattern design, video content, etc.
  • a simple improv unit that I can make one a day

 

Will you join in? What are you considering or planning to do for 100 Days? Read all the details about joining the community on Instagram and Facebook. "What can you do? Anything at all! Paint, draw, dance, knit, doodle, sing, brush your teeth."

• 4 Comments

•

We are eleven weeks into the Quilting the Countdown 100 day project. There are 22 days left until QuiltCon. I'm spending at least 15 minutes a day working on my Patchwork City blocks.

I finished three blocks this week. This brought me to 60 out of 75 blocks complete. These finished blocks are Kona Jade Green, Kona Papaya, and Kona Wasabi. My progress this week includes bits of three more blocks as well.

I like to work on pieces from multiple blocks all at once.

For this Papaya block I used the cutting templates as foundation paper piecing templates. While I've done many of the blocks with the templates, some of the piecing is very fiddly and FPP allows for better precision for me.

The quarter rectangle units in this block can also be fiddly to piece. I chose to cut my pieces oversized (in the outer direction) and after piecing the four fabrics together I trim to size. I love that this little 8" block has 13 different fabrics. There's so much to look at.

22 days and 15 blocks left! Thanks for visiting.