What a Week!

There are not enough words to describe the week.  Due to major changes at school, each class on our entire grade level (7 4th grade classes) got 2-4 new students last week.  I got three, one of whom is known in teacher lingo as a "special client"!  To his - and my - credit, we had a good week.  Then the other boot dropped just after dismissal on Friday and due to totally different grade level difficulty, I will be getting a "special, special client" this coming week.  I can't even think about it.  

On top of that my professional development course that is hard to get into and not flexible timewise started on Monday.  It is more complex that I even imagined,but at least I find it interesting!  So every waking moment has been spent on that.  Thankfully this week was academics "light" with the new students and I didn't have a lot of grading or prep.  Also, thankfully, I had a plan in place for sewing.  

Slow and Steady on the Sapphire Jubilee

I set up the quilt to just do spirals and that's all I did!  Usually sewing is soothing, but this week it wasn't.  Maybe it helped me and I didn't realize it.  I will continue with it this coming week.  My sewing took a hit since I was on autopilot, but that's okay.  I knew not to force it but just do what my mind and body needed.

 2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 5/7

15 minute days/Feb = 24/28

15 minute days/2026 = 52/59 

Success Rate 2025 = 88%

No notable stash movement this week. 

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards  

Used year to date: 10.16 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 0 yards

Net used in 2026: 10.16 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at  quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Angela at SoScrappy

What I'm Working On

How did I do on the LIST FOR FEBRUARY 15-21?

• add tips to blue and green crayons  DONE
• prep leaders and enders  PROGRESS
• decide which UFO/PhD to work on next DONE
• get the UFO/PhD ready for after school sewing DONE
• deconstruct dress for wedding NO PROGRESS
• finish sorting fabrics that came back from Guatemala  PROGRESS

It's going to be a busy week.  I'm getting 3 new students due to major changes in our grade level, which is unusual at this time of year.  I had already registered for a professional development training that pays! It starts Monday and has a strict timeline and is known for making us work hard for the money, so I can't slack on that.  With all that in mind, I decided to work on quilting this.  

Smaller variation of Sapphire Jubilee.

It has been sandwiched and ready for months and months.  I had planned to do a giant spiral, and that works well in that I can just sew a few rounds each afternoon without much thought.

TO DO LIST FOR FEBRUARY 22-28:

• work on quilting Sapphire Jubilee as after school sewing
• deconstruct dress for wedding
• finish sorting fabrics that came back from Guatemala

Good Progress

I was starting with nearly a blank slate this week, which isn't always a good thing.  I was determined to not get bogged down over thinking!  

Blue & Green Crayons are finished!!

I jumped right in with my crayon idea for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I finished the crayons and even sharpened the tips! I mostly used the green and blue crayons as leaders & enders for each other.  When I couldn't do that anymore I used the blocks that I had prepped for the Scrappy Spools.  

Scrappy Spools are progressing well.

Since the design wall was overflowing, I cut the side and corner triangles and got the ocean waves blocks joined into a center.  I got more of the Scrappy Spools finished as leaders & enders with that. 

Ocean Waves is a center!

I'm going to think on the Ocean Waves before I do anything else.  It is way better than it was originally, but I think it needs more.  I'm thinking a thin neutral border and then maybe a piano key border if I can find enough similar fabrics to keep the look. 

Prepping more spools.

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 7/7

15 minute days/Feb = 19/21

15 minute days/2026 = 48/52 

Success Rate 2025 = 92%

No notable stash movement this week. 

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards  

Used year to date: 10.16 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 0 yards

Net used in 2026: 10.16 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces  

Donna at  quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Angela at SoScrappy

What I'm Working On

 How did I do on the LIST FOR FEBRUARY 8-14:

• prepare backing for Carnival Quilt  DONE
• sandwich Carnival Quilt with students??  DONE - with the students!
• quilt Carnival Quilt with students  DONE
• prepare binding  DONE
• attach binding  DONE
• choose fabrics for RSC block - DONE
• deconstruct dress for wedding - NO PROGRESS
• sort fabrics that came back from Guatemala - SOME PROGRESS
• cut 40 10" squares for library craft activity  DONE

What a relief to get the Carnival completely finished - and in time!! I changed my plan completely for the RSC.  I'm now making crayons, and it is coming together nicely.  I have the blue (January) and green (February) crayons ready for a nice sharp tip!

These crayons need sharpening!!

LIST FOR FEBRUARY 15-23:

• add tips to blue and green crayons
• prep leaders and enders
• decide which UFO/PhD to work on next 
• get the UFO/PhD ready for after school sewing
• deconstruct dress for wedding
• finish sorting fabrics that came back from Guatemala

Home Alone

We finished the Carnival Quilt this week.  Whew!  That's a big check off the to do list for school.

something is wrong with my phone camera - every photo recently is blurry

The students sewed diagonally through their blocks and then I sewed more diagonals in the border.  I thought I would put the binding on with them or leave a section undone to show them, but I was making such good progress last night I just went ahead and finished it.

pieced backing - frogs & lizards!

Several students asked what I was going to do this weekend since it was a three-day weekend.  I thought I might sew a lot or read.  But what I really needed to do was deal with the accumulated mess in nearly every room.  It turned out that I was home alone today, which almost never happens.  

intense concentration

I doubt if I am the only one that makes a bigger mess in order to deal with the mess!!  I got all the mess except my school things on the dining room table taken care of - even some things that were on the maybe in the future category.  What a huge relief!  Thanks to FB marketplace I didn't even have to drop things off at Goodwill - I just posted them for free and POOF they are gone!  It feels good to start the weekend with a clean slate - literally.   

Blue crayon in the works!

In thinking about what to work on next, I did a complete 180 on my RSC.  I had thought to do butterflies because that is pretty much what I am known for at school.  I even worked out the math, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I looked at ideas for RSC and when I saw the crayons, I knew that was it.  Years ago I wanted to make a crayon quilt.  I cut telephone pages for string piecing and chose strips from my stash users drawers and it is coming together.  Blue was last month, but it is the color I have the most of, so I started there anyways.  

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 7/7

15 minute days/Feb = 12/14

15 minute days/2026 = 41/45 

Success Rate 2025 = 91%

The Carnival Quilt is finished so I can report that stash movement!!  

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 2.63 yards for Carnival Quilt backing and binding

Used year to date: 10.16 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 0 yards

Net used in 2026: 10.16 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces 

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Angela at SoScrappy

What I'm Working On

HOW DID I DO ON THE LIST FOR JANUARY 25-31?

Due to my trip, this got extended into February 1-7 as well.

• have last students finish sewing the borders to their squares for Carnival Quilt  DONE
• have students finish joining blocks into rows  DONE
• have students join rows into flimsy  DONE
• start piano key border for Carnival Quilt - FOUND A STRIPED FABRIC THAT IS AN EXCELLENT SUBSTITURE - DONE 
• choose backing for Carnival Quilt  DONE
• choose fabrics for RSC block  NO PROGRESS

TO DO LIST FOR FEBRUARY 8-14:

• prepare backing for Carnival Quilt
• sandwich Carnival Quilt with students??
• quilt Carnival Quilt with students
• prepare binding
• attach binding
• choose fabrics for RSC block
• deconstruct dress for wedding
• sort fabrics that came back from Guatemala
• cut 40 10" squares for library craft activity

This list is long.  I might have over-planned, but I feel like things are slowing down at school (fingers crossed) and I am ready to spend more time sewing.  Also, the carnival is in two weeks and I'd really like to have the quilt ready and not present an IOU to the winner!

Getting Caught Up

It took all week to get caught up at school after the long weekend trip to Guatemala.  I never realized how much effort I put in each day to staying on top of grading, prepping, planning, etc.  Creating sub plans for three days beforehand  instead of doing the usual school work plus not grading while I was gone, put me WAY behind.  Interims are due on Monday and I am happy to say that I am ready with time to spare!!  

Now I can sew!!  I would love to get the Carnival Quilt finished this week.  With some focus I think I can.  Finding a striped fabric to use as the outer border instead of making a piano key border was a huge stroke of luck.  It will also work well to make the frog fabric wide enough for the backing.

I need to get something new prepped for leaders & enders.  I had been working on the chunky churn dash blocks, but it would be a better use of my time to get a good plan for the RSC and prep that instead.  Prioritizing got the floppy bunny finished in record time in early January, so I need to stick with that strategy.  

It feels so good to be thinking about sewing and not grading papers!!

2026 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days this week = 5/7

15 minute days/Feb = 5/7

15 minute days/2026 = 34/38 

Success Rate 2025 = 89%

The Carnival Quilt is a flimsy so I can report that stash movement!! I still have not sorted the fabric that I brought back from Guatemala, so that report is still pending. 

2026 Stash Totals

Used last week: 3.18 yards for Carnival Quilt top

Used year to date: 7.53 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 0 yards

Net used in 2026: 7.53 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces 

Donna at quiltpaintcreate 

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Angela at SoScrappy