OMG success!

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2018/10/one-monthly-goal-october-finish-link-up.htmlMy suitcase is about packed; the projects are organized; ...5 days of blissful quilting at our Annual Fall Retreat...catch up times with friends who I don’t get to see often enough. Oh how I always look forward to this “mini-vacation”. Our son and daughter-in-law have just returned from Italy and while they were gone, I tore the house apart for Fall Cleaning and even got an old cupboard painted in the great room. The black finish lost its charm a long time ago and living in a log home with so much wood made me want something lighter...This will be the last go round for redoing - I think a new replacement is in the future...
Before...

After...doors on, cookbooks reorganized and everything back in place (oh yes...that is the Packer game on TV - unfortunately they lost to the Rams :-(

Now that committment I made back at the beginning of the month when linking up to Patty’s OMG...
The plan was to have all 143 blocks pieced, squared up and placed in order ready to sew at the retreat
This is an 8 year old project and needs to be wrapped up...

Ta da....mission accomplished...

Oh, my other “personal” goal for this month that I mentioned in my last post...when I joined Weight Watchers (now renamed Wellness Wins) last February, the decision was made not to set myself up in a target goal which could turn out to be unrealistic or in the end, making me feel like a failure. I chose, as a first level to reach, 40 pounds in weight loss. Not sure why - it seemed less intimidating then saying 50 pounds. This month it is now official - my goal of 40 pounds lost has been reached plus a little more. I have been slower than some in our group but whatever I am doing is working for me and that is what counts. It is not a race and everyone is different. I now have set a new level to reach knowing it is possible and enjoying clothes shopping again along with new energy and confidence. Being at the Retreat will be a challenge with all the goodies everyone brings to share but hoping that I will “stay the course” and focus on healthy choices.
Something I thought you might be interested in - our guild does a Friendship Block throughout the year - if you win, you get all the blocks and are then responsible for arranging the next go round. I have won before but still enjoy making blocks to add to the mix. I thought this particular block was striking. It is quite large with nice size pieces and the instructions called for batiks. It will finish to 14”. Looks like a great way achieve a large quilt with easy piecing. Somebody will get some nice blocks with a good range of batiks...

All for now...will report back on any progress made while at Retreat...

Wishing you all a good week.

Pat

Progress report...and snow...

Am I ready for that 4-letter word...s...n...o...w? Not really, but living where we are, I guess it is to be expected. After a solid week of gloom and heavy rains, our temperatures are starting to fall and an on and off mix of the white stuff has been hanging around all day. Night time lows are headed into the 20’s.

With 7 sets of windows in the sunroom/dining area and quarter rounds that almost reach to the peak in our great room, the days of ladders for Mr. Outback and myself are fading fast.

These hardy young men never complained of the 37 degree day as they took care of the summer dust that was layered on our windows. The company they work for has been doing our out of reach windows for a number of years. They are based in a large Amish community to the west of us and always are so reliable and incredibly polite - how refreshing that is in today’s society! During the summer months, they arrive in their traditional blue work shirts and black pants and always a straw hat on their heads. But today being much colder, they wisely chose stocking caps.

Now that my windows sparkle, I can finish the fall house cleaning...and then feel no guilt at returning to my October goal of getting those Settler Trail blocks ready for the retreat. In the evening hours, I have been tackling these blocks and happy to report, there are only 9 left to piece...Linking up to Patty’s OMG (One Monthly Goal) program has been a real motivator.

From www.journeystrength.com - no matter what your goal is...

“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal; A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan; A plan backed by action, becomes reality “ I am so close to one of my personal goals and hope to reach that too by the end of this month...

Happy stitching everyone and may your own goals be reached.

Pat

PS - we took a drive last weekend - this is close by where we live and the colors were so nice.
October, crisp, misty, golden October; when the light is so sweet and heavy...(Angela Carter)

Needing a quilting kickstart...

Okay...It’s October...time to get serious...I have linked up toElm Street Quilts OMG program because being in a non-productive quilting phase has gotten old. There is a need for a major kick-start and since I don’t drink this stuff....

Or own a motorcycle....

Committing to a month of working on a specific project may just be the motivator I need.
In one of my stackable bins, lies the bits and pieces of Settler’s Trail by Primitive Gatherings.

All the individual units have been pieced and squared up with a number of completed blocks ready.

I even have some very cool numbered pins to help keep the rows in order as it will be somewhat of a challenge for me to keep everything straight. One miss-aligned unit and the pattern will be thrown way off...

This project predates the dinosaurs I think...too many years have gone by and it is bugging me that it is still not finished.
My goal for October? To get these bits and pieces finished and ready to sew the blocks together at my fast approaching 5 day Retreat at the end of October. Since this project has been hauled to every Fall Retreat for countless years, I am going out on a limb and stating...this will be the last time.
Wish me luck...I am going to need it!
Pat