22 More February OPAM finishes!

I am totally on a roll!  I have gotten so much done this weekend.  Of course, most of it doesn't count as a finish, yet, but it will soon!  I quilted the Cherry House Quilt Along quilt I made (pics to come soon).

There was a quilt top that was abandoned at the shop over 6 years ago.  I've tried to contact the piecer, but she hasn't come to get it in 6 years, so  took it home yesterday to finish.  It just needed to be squared up and have the 3 remaining borders attached, so I did so.  I also seamed the back.  I need a little bit more of the binding fabric, and then it will be ready to be quilted.  We are going to donate it to Colton's Angels for the hospital.

I also pieced a quilt top together for the local high school.  They commissioned me to make a t-shirt quilt for their principal, who left the school for a district job.  It turned out really great, and I can't wait to share pictures with you all when it's finished!

I've also been working on some blocks for Blockapalooza.  I have 3 of the 10 blocks finished, so far.

So, like I said, none of them really count as finishes....yet.

BUT THEN!  I have had a giant IKEA blue bag full of fleece blankets sitting on my living room floor for the past 3 weeks.  At Colton's Angels we cut out and fused little heart appliques onto the blankets.  All they needed before they were finished was to be zig-zagged around.  I volunteered, and took the bag home.  Today, I finished zig-zagging around 22 of the blankets!  It's only about half the bag, but at least they're ready to go back to the shop!

Aren't they cute?  We did blue for boys and white for the girls.  They are going to go in newborn kits with a onesie and pair of socks that the hospital can give to indigent mothers of newborns.

I'm hoping to get the rest of the blankets (12 more, I just counted) done sometime this week.

More OPAM finishes for February

Here are a couple more finishes.  YAY! I'm totally on a roll, yeah?

This is a cute little quilt I threw together for my cousin's new baby boy.  I love the Cat in the Hat fabrics.  I backed it using a yellow minkee, making it extra soft for baby, and quilted it with a large meander in yellow thread.  I used leftover pieces from the fat quarters to make the binding.  It turned out so super cute, and I'm glad I finally got it finished (it only took me a few months! haha)

This is the Fat Quarterly Quilt Along quilt from last fall.  Yeah, it's finally done.  I used Mary Englebreit's Christmas fabric from 2009, called The Caroler.  I was hoping to finish it in time for Christmas last year, but I guess we'll just have to use it this year instead.  I backed it with black minkee, making it extra soft and snugly for those cold winter nights on the couch watching TV/movies, and quilted it with a meander in black thread.  I bought some polka dot fabric that matched for the binding.  

And I'm not sure if this really counts or not, probably not, but I refreshed my wreath for my front door.  I made it about 2 years ago, when we first moved into our apartment.  After 2 years out in the sun, snow, rain, wind, etc, it was looking very faded and sad.  I went to Walmart, bought $9 worth of silk flowers, and stuffed the wreath full.  I really like how bright and colorful it is now.  Hopefully I'll be able to get at least another 2 years out of it before I have to start completely over.

February OPAM Finish

Isn't this so cute?!  I made it today.  We have a soft serve ice cream machine, and it doesn't fit in any of our cupboards, or on our counters, so it sits out in the corner of the dining room by my sewing table.  The top is open, and it's a dust magnet, so I figured to keep from having to dust it daily, I'd make a slipcover for it.

Baby Steps

So, I've decided on some goals for this year....finally!

1) I'm going to diet and work out.  Tried HCG for about 20 days, and it didn't really work.  Sure, I lost 10 lbs, but I plateaued and caved in to some cravings, and cheated a little....okay, a lot.

2)  I've decided that little by little I will declutter and organize and deep-clean our tiny little apartment.  I've already decluttered surfaces (and the inside of the desk) in the kitchen/dining/living room areas, put away all the clean laundry, reorganized the kitchen cabintes (the ones that hold food, at least), and cleared off the top of the wash stand at the end of our bed upstairs.  My goals for the coming week?  The upstairs hall closet, Marshy's room/closet, the rest of the kitchen cupboards, and our bedroom closet.

3)  I want to read 75 books this year.  Last year I read around 50, starting in July, so.....yeah. 75 isn't too bad, is it?

4)  I'm participating in OPAM 2011 again.  What does this mean?  I plan on finishing at least 1 crafty-related item a month....at least 11 this year (OPAM didn't start until the end of January).

5)  I plan on finishing the first 2 parts of my 3 part series.  I started writing it for NaNoWriMo last November, and got 3/4 of the way through the first part, and 1/8 of the way through part 2.

I've decided to stay small with my list of goals.  The more goals you make, the harder it is too keep them.  And right now, I'm planning on keeping these 5.     :-D