Last and First 15 Minutes to Stitch Report

 

2020:  Weeks 53 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

You may think there are only 52 weeks in a year, but sometimes there is a leap year and a short week and then there are 53. What do you expect from 2020?

15 minute days this week -- 0 out of 4

15 minute days this year -- 308 out of 366 days

Success rate  = 84%

 

I didn't plan it right. Usually I am just fine missing weekdays since I can make it up on the weekends, but there are no weekends in these four days, and it didn't seem right to get credit for work done in 2021 in 2020. That means my success rate dropped down to 84%. It's fine, 84% is almost as good as 85% but it is disappointing to lose the 85% I had in my last report.

I spent the last of my 2020 cleaning up the main living areas.  Having focused so much on the basement this year, I wanted to provide some sense of normalcy in the living areas and start the new year right.  I finished the rug rotation project I was doing to make sure Zeus had enough traction as he walked around the house. We had a Zoom family gathering where we opened gifts. We have been trying to get away from giving gifts, but this year, we felt that it would be good to at least send representatives on our behalf since we couldn't be physically present.

 

2021:  Weeks 1 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

I am so grateful to Kate for continuing the 15 Minutes to Stitch for another year. And since there are weekend days in these first few days of the year, I can once again make up for missed days. It is a leeway I give myself and are not part of the actual rules of the challenge.

I resisted starting new projects although I really want to, because I also really want to get some more finished quilts. The quilts need to be able to move up a place in line and they didn't really get to do that last year, as the Quote Quilt took up so much of my time, and new small quilts kept cutting in line. 

I decided to keep making progress on the Quote Quilt and have the batting and back prepared, so it should be a quilt sandwich next week. There probably won't be much to show as I add stitches here and there to secure the layers.

 

I will still be making the mini quilts so you will continue to get eye candy on my blog.

15 minute days this week -- 3 out of 3

15 minute days this year -- 3 out of 3 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

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15 Minutes to Stitch

 

Advent Calendar

 

I posted my end of the year report earlier this morning, and am amending it to report that I finished another mini quilt before the end of the year. This is an advent calendar with 24 pockets. I like all the designs for the days.

I bought the kit at the Connecting Threads sale. I bound it by machine with a decorative stitch.

I am not used to binding on the front so it did wind up wobbly, but I wasn't aiming for perfection when making it. It is a quick and simple quilt to make. 

I want to thank Wendy Caton Reed for encouraging us to make a small quilt every month. Her posts showcase lots of inspiring small quilts and other projects. She is very talented.  I learn a lot from visiting her blog.

2020 Year in Review

This is a recap of my blog posts this year. There were plenty of good things to share.

 

 

The word of the year was Laid-Back. I am so glad that I chose this word this year, as it has helped me keep relaxed and just accept the situation without trying to do more "productive" and life-goal type of things. I couldn't remember last year's word of Appreciate, but this year, I kept Laid-back in my mind throughout the year.

 

January

 

In laid-back spirit, I decided to just move quilts forward instead of making big plans. 

 

 

I made a bunch of yo-yos out of 1930s authentic and reproduction fabric as well as fabric that fits that style. I also sewed the square centers to make them double sided. There are 756 yo-yos in total.

 

 

I also made more blocks for my circle 365 quilt. I started with 269 at the beginning of the year. The photo is block 272. I didn't work on these past January.

 I made this little quilt - Maximum Minimal. I added that flower on the bottom left in February.

I also continued making an index card a day or so. I continued making these throughout the year.

February

 

In February, I was tired of making yo-yos and my sewing machine needed repair, so I brought out the quote quilt and added a ladder. 

I made the hearts quilt.

 I also made this Red and White Silhouette quilt for the Color It Red bloghop.

I also added more motifs to the quote quilt. 

In February, I also started showing collections of my quilts in a new feature I call 

March

In March, I revealed Fancy Squares mini of the month. My sister has given me some great embellishments to add to this quilt so you will see a reintroduction of this quilt at some point.

 

I kept adding more embellishments to the Quote Quilt.

April

 In April, I made a number of masks from a number of different patterns to see which ones were better. I shipped them off to my cousin in Canada. I found it very stressful to make masks.

May

I kept adding more things to the Quote Quilt.

June

 

In June, I added more things to the quote quilt. At the end of the month, my brother had a heart attack and suddenly passed away.

July

 Besides more additions to the Quote Quilt , in July, I made the Pinwheels quilt from blocks I had made a long time ago.

August

In August, I showed you more of my One Index Card a Day.

I kept adding more things to the Quote Quilt.

I made this 1930s Boro Quilt.

September

 

 

In September, I kept adding things to the Quote Quilt.

 

October

 

 

In October, I kept adding things to the Quote Quilt. 

 

I also made some more blocks for Sunshine in Winter.

 I also painted a coffee table my neighbor was discarding. There is another (new?) neighbor on a nearby street who says she has 27 cats. They like to visit my porch and hide out underneath this table. It is always a surprise to see a different cat each time on the porch.

November

I kept adding things to the Quote Quilt.

December

 

 In December, I kept adding things to the Quote Quilt. I also made this Blue Ornaments quilt.

2020

This year has been pretty turbulent, with the on and mostly off job situation, trying to avoid getting or giving coronavirus, my brother passing away, worrying about and trying to find relief for my dog's arthritis, and dealing with so many of my appliances breaking down. 

 

But it has also been good in many ways. I had lots of free time to do more of the things I enjoy, like cooking and quilting. I took online art classes and am more comfortable with water color and acrylic painting and collage and drawing.  I also have made substantial progress in long overdue household chores, especially my basement cleaning.

The word of the year, Laid-Back, and my early choice of picking up the Quote Quilt helped me a great deal. The 15 Minutes of Stitching a Day also kept me going. Even through hard times, I could pick up some fabric and find some comfort.

15 Minutes to Stitch

My oven is working again. I ordered a new igniter switch, and it came right away express mail. But it arrived broken, and they sent the replacement by first class mail. All the videos said it was easy to replace, but it took two other brains and a few days to figure out how to put it in. We had turned off the gas during the first fix, and I left it off in an abundance of caution, which meant I was without a stove too for more than a week.  I got by without resorting to eating out, but once it was fixed, I made up for lost time by baking a pizza and cranberry cookies.

I've been rotating the rugs in my house the past couple of weeks. I want to make sure that Zeus always has traction wherever he walks, so my hardwood and tile floors have to be covered. This means the smaller rugs get moved to the kitchen, and other rugs have to replace the space those rugs took up. I don't like the idea of having rugs in the kitchen, but we have to do what we have to do. This process involved sweeping, vacuuming and mopping the floors, vacuuming both sides of the rug and taping them down in their new position.

2020:  Weeks 51 and 52 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

I forgot to update last week so there are two weeks in this recap. The first week, I made the small Blue Ornaments Quilt which I showed you twice already. You'll see it again in the end of the year recap, so I won't show it to you yet again now.

And this week, I was supposed to hand stitch the fusible pieces on the back of the quote quilt top.  Since I am fusing the second layer to the backing and not the top, I wanted to make sure the little strips I added to the sides are secure. 

Instead I worked on another small quilt. Back when I was cleaning the sewing room, I had picked up this kit and said, "surely, you can give this one up," but I knew that if I made up the kit, I wouldn't have to give it up. Remember my cleaning by quilting philosophy?  

I postponed the cleaning of the sewing room but that particular kit stayed on my mind, and especially at Christmas time, it insisted on getting some attention. It is an Advent calendar with 24 pockets. I will show it to you when it is done. I may have another finish before the year is up.

15 minute days this week -- 14 out of 14

15 minute days this year -- 308 out of 362 days

Success rate  = 85%

 

Even though this is week 52, there will be another post to finish out the rest of the days of the year next Sunday. I want to give Kate my continuing gratitude for hosting this challenge, and am so happy that she is continuing it in 2021. It really does give me great motivation to stitch every day and keeps me accountable.

 

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15 Minutes to Stitch

 

Merry Christmas!

 Here are my quilts that can be used as holiday quilts.

 

And in case you think all holiday quilts are red, here are a few more.

Christmas Trees Quilt in Snow by Shasta Matova

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is part of a series of post that sorts and presents my quilts  with different themes. Thank you for visiting.

 

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Peacock Party

Lots of Additions to Quote Quilt

 Sometimes procrastinating cleaning the basement and sandwiching a quilt can come in handy. There has been an avalanche of new additions to the Quote Quilt .

This quote covers up a duplicate quote. While I don't mind duplicate quotes, this quote has been important to me ever since I first came across it as a teenager. I just let the fabric be this organic shape (trimmed to size) instead of cutting it into a particular shape.

When I tried to think of things that happened during the 2002 to 2020 time frame, I remembered that we had several graduations. I found a spot that had space for these  motifs and the fact that the quote is about study made it appropriate place to put it. Hopefully it doesn't make the graduates feel I am undermining all their years of study!

While I was at it, I included one to represent births. There were some cousins who were born in this time frame. This baby can also represent new beginnings and new years.

This is a pretty picture I found and a fun quote I wanted to add.

This is a star to symbolize Jupiter and Mars conjunction for the first time since 1623. It may look like a sun to you, but if you squint hard enough, you will be able to see the star.

This quick one is for the solving the Zodiac cipher. This quote may seem more upsetting than comforting, but for me, it meant that you might as well do what you want since there will always be a way to complain. The proverb was commiserating and showing that someone understands what you are going through.