February Goal

     It's time to pick a goal for February and as I was successful with my January goal I think I am up for a bit of a challenge.  So I'm going to work on completing my donation quilt.  As you can see here I have started this task so I'm optimistic that I can complete it this month.

     All in all I'm feeling pretty positive today. It's sunny out, and I'm always pretty happy when it's sunny out.  My aunt's apartment is all sorted (well except for a few things that came home with me) so there is no need to keep running back and forth to Toronto every weekend.  This is giving me a bit more down time, and a bit more time to quilt.  So let's see what February brings!  I'm joining the OMG linkup at Elm Street Quilts.

January Goal Completed

     I finished my Wayward Transparency quilt top on Monday evening and snapped this photo on Tuesday morning before I went to work.  Tuesday was my favourite kind of winter day,  very cold but sunny with a backdrop of snow.  It's snowing again today but it's supposed to warm up so it might all melt or turn to rain.  Yuck!

     I joined the Wayward Transparency QAL because I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to learn more about transparency quilts and how to pick and place the colours.  I was tempted to pick one of Yvonne's colour options but then I remembered my intention for this QAL and decided to pick my own colours with my Kona Colour Chart.  I was somewhat restricted in my choices because I wanted to get my fabric from a Canadian source.  In the end I bought some of my fabric from Fabric Spot (just before they closed shop) and some of my fabric from Mad About Patchwork.

     I chose an orange yellow colour way.  The colours from lightest to darkest are Kona Papaya, Kona Kumquat, and Kona Cocoa.  I named the quilt Tropical Smoothie because of the delicious sounding names of the colours. Having eaten my first Kumquat recently, I'm not too sure what this combination would taste like. Those are Kumquats in the photo above and they actually look closer to the colour called Papaya by Kona.  I have heard that there are lots of different types of kumquats however, so maybe some of them are closer to that middle colour.

     It's a really beautiful quilt and I'm happy with it but I'm not sure if the transparency aspect is working.  I'll have to see how it looks when I quilt it.  Thanks Yvonne for another fun and stress free quilt along! Linking with the Wayward Transparency QAL linkup, the OMG linkup and Lets Bee Social linkup.

An Update

     Well we've come to the middle of the month and I thought I would give you all a quick update on my progress with the Wayward Transparency quilt. To be honest I have had very little quilting time this month.  My extended family and I have been very busy every weekend with clearing out my aunt's apartment.  We are almost finished.  We expect to go down again on Saturday to finish things up.
    The month has also been a busy one with meetings but I have managed to finish one of the two B blocks.  

     With half a month left to go and the bulk of the work done on my aunts apartment I think I should be able to find enough time to finish before Yvonne's  linkup closes. For now I'll link up with Lorna at the Let's Bee Social linkup.

First Quarter Finish Along Goals

     Dwight and I spent a couple of hours babysitting the boys on New Years Eve so that their parents could go out to a party.  Our plan was to watch a movie on Net Flicks but we couldn't get it to work so I spent some time thinking about my goals for the first two quarters of this year.
Here's the list for the first quarter.

1.  I'd like to make the bag from the quilters planner and I've chosen these fabrics from my stash for the outside.

2.  Eli needs to have his quilt finished so this quilt has to be a priority.  It needs to be quilted.

3.  But I'm in the middle of quilting this donation quilt so I'll have to finish it first.  

4.  I'd also like to finish the Wayward Transparency Quilt.  Finishing the quilt top is my OMG for January.  So far my progress is not very impressive.  I spent Friday and Saturday in Toronto working with my sister to clear out my aunt's apartment and we will be back next weekend, to hopefully finish the job. The hours to work on it are few and far between...but I do have until the 31st to link up.  May be it will come together quickly between next weekend and the end of the month.

5. and I think Rory's quilt needs to be made as well....although I hold out less hope for finishing it.  I've put it on my potential list for the second quarter as well.

I'll be linking up with the First Quarter Linky for the 2018 Finish Along.  You can link up lots of places but I'm linking up with Leanne at She Can Quilt.  Maybe I'll see you there.

January OMG

     Well welcome 2018!  I thought I would start the year off right and link up to the one monthly goal.  After a difficult 2017, I'm ready to reset and start again.  Like always there are many projects I could pick to focus on for the month, but I'm going to pick a fairly easy project for January.

    Most of you will know that my aunt passed away a week before Christmas.   I will have to make several trips to Toronto this month to help my sister wind up my aunts affairs and empty her apartment.  Sewing and quilting time will be limited.   I'm aiming to get my Triangle Transparency Quilt top finished in time to link up with the party at Quilting Jet Girl.  Here's the one block I have finished so far.

     It's freezing up here in Canada with the Polar Vortex bringing us cold air from Siberia. I'm hoping that these beautiful tropical colours can help to keep me warm.  I'm linking up with Patty at Elm Creek Quilts now and hopefully later in the month as well.

Goal Setting for 2018

 

 

     
     The last 7 months of 2017 were really difficult for me so when I reviewed my 2017 goals I found it ironic that my overarching goal was to have more fun.  It's a good thing I have a sense of humour!
      I thought I would reflect a little on the good things that I can remember from this year.  The best thing that happened in 2017 was that Elisha (rhymes with Elija) Luke was born and he is the happiest baby.  He laughs and smiles almost all the time and he brings me lots of joy, as does his older brother Gabriel. I did a lot of babysitting this year and looking after my grand kids was a lot of fun.  I also had a blast at Quilt Con way back in February.  Throughout the year I kept a gratitude journal so I could remember to focus energy on the small good things that occurred.
     I wasn't able to  make it to the Christmas party at my work but I do know that they had a quizz with prizes and one question was "Which employee would you be most likely to come across dancing in the store aisles".  The answer to that question my friends was yours truly.  I do love to dance so I think my overarching goal this year will be to keep dancing through life...the good, the bad, the ugly.

     Here are the goals.  They are very similar to last years goals.  I will continue to be busy with chairing the community outreach committee of my local guild and with my grand kids so I know that what I can accomplish is limited.

Quilting Goals
1.  Continue playing with colour and fabric and quilting techniques like improv and maybe some bias strips. Step one for this goal will to be to set aside a time each week to focus on this kind of play.  I've got some ideas I'd like to play with and I love this type of work so it needs space. 
2.   Continue to work on free motion and walking foot quilting techniques.  I'm planning on joining Jess of Quilty Habit in her FMQ QAL.  I'm not sure if I'll do a quilt as you go, or just work on the assignments.
3.  Complete at least three of my Craftsy Classes.  Since most of these are quilting classes, this will help me to work on goal number 2. as well.
6.  Complete at least 6 quilts. I've got two baby quilts to finish and I will be making a wedding quilt as well.

Blogging Goals
1.  Continue to aim for 2 posts a week.  This is a big goal given that I didn't manage even one a week last year. But my life circumstances have changed somewhat so it might be do able.
2.  Share more of the community outreach work on the blog. That should help with the goal 1 for this section.

Personal Goals
1.  Spend time with my sister doing fun things.
2.  Go to the Art Gallery in Toronto more often
3.  Figure out some better cooking, cleaning and eating strategies.
4.  Get back to daily goal setting and reflection.

      As usual I'm linking up with Yvonne of Quilting Jet Girl for her 2018 Planning Party.  Oh yes, and I would love an accountability partner if anyone is up for it.

Lisa

Hello out there

   

  Hello out there.  Are any of you left?  It's been so long since I've posted.  It's been a very challenging Fall and I've had a hard time squeezing in quilting let alone blogging, or even reading blogs.  My family has been dealing with health challenges with my daughter in law, and with my aunt.

    My daughter in law is on the road to recovery, however my dear sweet aunt passed away in her sleep in the early hours this morning.  My daughter was the last member of our family to spend time with her and was able to make sure that she was comfortable before she left the hospital.  Gloria was happy to know that Dwight and I were going to visit her today.
My last visit with her was on Friday I read her a few chapters of a book and sang her lullabies because she asked me to sing to her and they were the only songs I could remember the words to.  I planned to bring a song book in with me for today's visit.
    
     Gloria was a very strong and courageous woman.  She was an editor and writer by profession. She spent many volunteer hours writing letters for Amnesty International and volunteering with Chilean Refuges in the 1970s.  In her later years she did volunteer work for the Older Woman's Network. She had no children of her own but considered my sisters family and my family to be her family.  We are really sad to see her go and will miss her terribly.

     Gloria was supportive of my quilting and came to my local guild's quilt show.  She showed off my placemats that I made for her and really loved the quilt that I made for her which you can read about here.

     Most of the quilting I have done over the summer and fall has been done on behalf of the Outreach Committee of my local guild.  I've done mega amounts of cutting, planning, organizing and attending meetings.  The quilts in the photo above are some of the quilts that will be donated  to the Sexual Assault Domestic Violence unit at our local hospital in early January.

     I will be joining the Goal Planning Party hosted by Quilting Jet Girl and I'm hoping to resume more regular bloggin in the new year.