2016 Planner Cover

A couple of my 2016 goals, sew from my stash and use a planner to help me  accomplish more, were the focus of my sewing earlier this week.

True confessions . . . I've never really used a planner before. I buy them. Every year. I just don't keep up with using them. This year I decided it was time to truly use one . . . for real.  To actually have a day-to-day plan to help me stay on task. To get more done. So I bought the Quilter's Planner by Late Night Quilter.

Admittedly I got off to a very bad start as far as January is concerned. But with February here, it's time to get in gear. I chose these fabrics. Modern leafy prints that tie in nicely to my blog name and identity. All from my stash. I even found a zipper in my stash so the only thing I needed to buy was the fusible fleece and elastic. So far so good at working from my stash.

Motivating to sew non-quilty things is usually a struggle for me. I think it has to do with following directions. Silly isn't it? After all, I write directions for quilt patterns so following directions for other things shouldn't be that big a deal. I used this tutorial by Amanda of What the Bobbin that was resized specifically for this planner.

I customized the inside front and back pockets to hold three business cards. One pocket for me in the front, two pockets in the back for my daughter and husband's cards. You never know when someone might be interested in jewelry, graphic design or fine art.

One thing that didn't work out quite right was where the elastic fell. I followed the directions but wish the elastic was set just a little farther in. It doesn't catch the pages to hold them open very well without adjusting the planner. I'm disappointed with this part.

I also made a couple of ribbon markers from paper clips. Aren't they cute? I think I'll make a couple more of these. They work better than the ribbon marker the pattern called for. I need to move it into the center so it doesn't pull when I open the planner to different pages. Right idea, wrong position to work.

Now that I have such a pretty cover, I have no excuse for not using my planner.

It also has a zip pocket on the front. Nice for holding extra pencils and miscellaneous items.

I'm thrilled to have this done and excited to put it to good use. I can honestly say that having a written plan for this week helped me stay on task. Yeah!!!

How about you . . . do you like to sew non-quilty things? Do you use a planner? I'd love a tip or two on how you make it work. I can use all the help I can get to stick with my planner goal.   : )

Linking up with WIP Wednesday,  Let's Bee Social,  Needle and Thread Thursday,  Really Random Thursday and Finish it up Friday.

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The Evolution of a Quilt

Do you ever have an idea for a quilt and then just never get it started? I'm talking years here. Maybe it's a rough sketch. Maybe it's just in your head. Or maybe you actually start the project and it evolves into something completely different? That's how I feel about my current project. It sat around forever and then evolved. For the better.

The initial idea sat around for years in the form of these leafy fabrics in my stash and this sketch. I don't buy traditional fabrics like this anymore but I still love their leafy goodness. After all, I love all things leafy.   : )

My intention was to make a wall quilt to use in the family room during the winter months when my decor goes mostly white with a touch of green. See my white post for more on that. I planned to use my leafy print collection including these great large scale leaf prints that I've saved just for this project. I love them!

I've also had another idea tucked away that was inspired by a lovely blue and white checkerboard quilt in a home decorating magazine I saw years ago. One of those images that's makes an impression and stays with you. It was so simple. So clean and crisp. I thought one day I'd make a checkerboard quilt with white and one additional color.

Then along came the scrappy trip quilts everyone was making not all that long ago. I learned Bonnie Hunter's clever technique for making these blocks. Love the technique. Love the look. Here are a few blocks made for a baby quilt.

After seeing numerous lovely Scrappy Trip quilts online, I had an aha moment. Why not use this technique to make the checkerboard blocks. Instead of a random placement of leafy prints they would appear somewhat clustered and create movement within the checkerboard look. I liked how it looked.

I started making blocks for the wall hanging and the idea evolved into a quilt for our master bedroom instead. True confessions . . . I call myself a quilter but I don't actually have a quilt on any of the beds in my house. Go figure. I think it's finally about time I make a quilt for a bed. Since leaves play a role in my bedroom decor, this idea was the perfect fit. Here are some of the blocks laid out on the bed. Checkerboard look I feel in love with. Leafy prints I love. Perfect.

I've been making these blocks on and off now for months, mostly at various guild sew days. I need about 68 give or take. Truth be told, I'm really tired of taking the same thing to sew day over and over, month after month.

This past weekend was the last time I'll be doing these at a sew day. Yeah! I spent the day cutting the final batch of strip sets into segments and then unsewing as the tutorial calls for. Here's a batch of them all ready for the next step.

See this post for my tips on how to keep the segments organized so you unsew the correct seams. Believe me . . . it's quite easy to make a mistake.

As I worked on the blocks for my bed quilt I had another aha moment. I should just bust out the wall quilt too. I only needed 9 more blocks plus some strips for the checkered edge. Why not make both? It seems like a no brainer and yet I hadn't seriously considered it once my thinking shifted to making a quilt for the bed.

Now I'm well on my way to having the wall quilt almost done and the bed quilt is getting closer and closer to completion too. All the blocks should be done by the end of the week. Then I just need to sew them into rows. WaHoo!!! It feels like two quilts in one.

Next month I hope to have two finished quilts to share. Two projects that have been on my to do list for way way too long. That's a really good way to start the year.

Do you have projects that you've wanted to make for a long time?
Why not move forward on just one of them this year?

Linking up with a few parties this week. Another of my 2016 goals.
Let's Bee Social, WIP Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.

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