To-Do Tuesday #73 and Weekly List Update
Join us today for the 73rd linky party post and the 193rd weekly To-Do Tuesday list and update. It’s also the very last one for 2020! We had 24 friends link up last week! Gladys Taber wrote, “Contentment is a list with half of it crossed off.”
To-Do December 22nd through 28th:
- Seriously, finish the light-blue baby quilt ruler work
- Sew the Herringbone runner into a finished top – √ Done
- Advance the 4-Patch Plus quilt – √ Done
To-Do #1
I hate ruler work. I’m never doing it again and I’m throwing all my rulers away. Okay, maybe I’m storing them in the bag that hangs off my sewing table and not looking at them again for a long, long, long, LONG time. After that buildup, you can’t possibly be surprised to hear that I didn’t finish the ruler work quilting on the light blue baby quilt. Shocking. I did give it a good go though or another fair attempt. New needle and ruler foot as close as possible to the quilt. So close I couldn’t move into the intersection of the different blocks. The thread skipped like crazy. After the fourth attempt in the same block, I decided to bail before the fabric was so severely pierced it couldn’t be salvaged.
I took to my blue water-soluble pen and white chalk to mark the ruler lines. That coupled with my walking foot got the quilting back on track. Amazingly, it is all complete except for the binding being sewn down. It should easily be a finish before the 31st in spite of all the roadblocks it threw at me.
To-Do #2
Here’s another project that I’m not really enamored with any longer. The runner is all together and now needs to be paired with a backing so it can get in line for quilting. Behind PIA #1 in case there is any question about its rank. After my last quilting experience, this one might wait a bit before it is completely finished.
To-Do #3
Advancing the 4-Patch Plus quilt meant Sue adding more squares to the design wall. Yup, that’s all that happened this week with five days in a row with no sewing room action. I’m starting to sound like I’m wearing a bit of a scowl, aren’t I?! Time to turn it around and enjoy the pretty fabrics of this project! Perhaps just a wee bit of sewing happened before the end of the day on Monday – enough to be considered as advancing and have row one altogether.
Stay-At-Home Round Robin
The big announcement for the Stay-At-Home Round Robin (SAHRR) comes on January 1st which is a mere three days away. We hope you’ll join in the fun of a round-robin quilt without any mailing involved. Perhaps you have an orphan block lying about or maybe you have a favorite block you’d like to highlight as the center of a quilt. Give it a wee bit of thought . . . more to come soon!
December OMG
This month, we have been working on the light-blue batik baby quilt. The backing has been found, layering is complete, and quilting has sort of commenced. Fingers crossed – we will be linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts by the end of this month. We thank her for the linky party and inspiration and we’ll definitely be joining her in 2021!
To-Do December 29th through January 4th:
- Finish the newly named PIA baby quilt for our December OMG
- Work on the pretty, mood-altering 4-Patch Plus quilt
- Sew the most recent Pieces From the Past Double Cross block
- Get ready for SAHRR!
- Here is the linkup and just a few easy rules to follow:
- Share your post or Instagram photo in the linky tool
- Don’t share a link to your own linky party or giveaway or promotion for your newest pattern release
- Please point your readers back here with a text link or use the button from the right sidebar
- Finally, please visit and comment on other participants’ messages as your time allows
Click here for To-Do Tuesday #73 linky party!
You will find the link-ups displayed on a separate screen. I hope you check them out and/or add your own link! I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else has made this week and finding some inspiration plus a squirrel project or two.
♥ ♥ ♥
On our website you’ll find the Linky Parties we join on the sidebar for more quilting fun – check out what our friends are up to. Like/follow us on our Facebook page where you can share your photos of what you’re working on. We would love to see them!
Hi Roseanne, I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t like quilting with the rulers. I’m not a fan but then marking and following the marks is not a bad idea. I hope that you enjoy your quilting week. Happy New Year!
I toyed with the ruler idea and ended up just not going there, at least for now, and you’re making me feel even better about that decision! Sorry you struggled with it but quilting really is so much a learning thing so, live and learn I guess? Still loving the fabrics of that Four Patch Plus and you know what? I think we all start to wear a scowl when we go days without our sewing fix. That inner need to create is so strong and it centers us. I have never participated in a round robin so I’ll be interested to read what it’s all about and maybe join in for once? Hope all is well and have a very happy New Year!
I’m glad you went back to your tried-and-true quilting method and had a lot more success than with the ruler quilting. Me—I don’t ever see ruler quilting in my life! Have a good day, Mary.
Love the four patch plus quilt, totally enamoured. Sorry about the ruler, dang it. I have only used a straight ruler so far, but intend to try a curved soon, oh well, will see. Put the table runner away for awhile and most likely then you’ll like it again. That’s what happened to me today, a quilt I didn’t like I am now working on a border for it and liking the quilt!
Sorry to hear of your ruler work frustrations. Sometimes I feel the same. I kind of like freehand because it isn’t expected to be perfect. Rulers show my imperfections. Oh well.
It is great that you finished your other goals. Just stay focused on them instead.
Good job hanging in there with the quilting on #1! Glad you persevered! I love ruler work on my longarm, but have never tried on a domestic, but have used my walking foot some for quilting on the domestic! I really like the 4 Patch! Those colors make me happy too! Happy New Year to you and Sue!
Oh my goodness — this post doesn’t even SOUND like you!! You deserve a hug, AND a cookie, AND a big old glass of wine. I have never encountered or heard of the problems you describe with ruler quilting. I wish I was there to help you trouble shoot through this frustration and get you back on track again. You deserve to be having fun with your rulers and happy-dancing around the sewing room!
It’s been a month for you, hope you get that baby quilt out of your life soon!!
Roseanne I’m glad you did finish the quilting on that sweet quilt using your favoured method since the ruler work was giving you so much grief! Great week even with the holidays taking up so much of our time. Good luck finding squirrels. I can share mine if you’d like. I have too many that I’m trying to ignore 😉
Hi,
Me again, thanks for stopping by my place and reminding me to link up. Totally
slipped my mind. Have a great day!
H,
My To-Do Tuesday is posted. I sure hope your ruler problem gets all
worked out. Love the Four Patch Plus quilt. So pretty and colorful.
Have a great day!
Ruler work is definitely a learning curve (ha! didn’t intend that pun). I find it easier on the longarm, though it took me a fair amount of perseverance and broken needles and chipped rulers (egad – that’s NOT fun when you hit it with the needle). I love how the blue quilt is shaping up. Good luck with the others on the list, and yeah, I know about not being so enamoured of certain projects after a bit…
It sounds like the rulers are going into a permanent time out!! Maybe the best idea. Congratulations on getting past them and almost to the end of this quilt and meeting the goal. I like the table runner but the star of the show is that pretty Four Patch Plus. It is absolutely beautiful. Can’t wait to find out more about the Round Robin. Wishing you and Sue a great rest of the week and a Happy New Year.
That trusty walking foot quilting method is quite versatile! I’m hearing of so many quilters using it in various applications. Great ‘save’!
The idea of ruler work eludes me! I’m glad the little PIA got almost to the finish line! Good luck getting “him” off your list!
I am glad you preserved and solved the problem. Do you have a good dealer? So, I would find out if there is a better ruler foot for your machine. Sometimes, I find the “generic” are problematic, even if it is a westalee. On the other hand you did make good progress. Might play with the Round Robin as my inspiration to move into the new year.
There has to be some knack to holding that ruler and moving the fabric that I have not comfortably figured out yet. I’m still working on it. I like your solution and the quilting is looking good! Walkingfoot quilting to the win! I hope these final days of 2020 go well for you and Sue!
Sorry the ruler work didn’t go so smoothly. Looks like you found a good substitute. Good luck with this week’s list. Have a very Happy New Year!
I think it would be very hard to hold a ruler in place and quilt around it or however it is done – but then I am so used to do it all by hand that I find machine quilting a chore the few times I have done it and that is just straight line or a curvy stitch that comes on the machine
I’m sorry to hear you’re still having so much trouble with your quilting/ruler work, Roseanne! I would want to throw it all away, too – but glad your walking foot helped. The 4-Patch Plus quilt is looking like a happy one – I bet it will see some action this week!
I haven’t tried any ruler work, so I’m sorry that your experience has not been a good one. I’m glad you’ll get the quilt finished though! Happy New Year, my sweet friends!
Your quilting is beautiful, with the regular method 😉 Good luck with your very last to-do list of the year!