Hexagons Turned "Pink" - Friday Finish

The hexagon quilt went from reading "blue" to reading "pink."  I was just going to finish it relatively neutral, but then Grown Up E wanted it for her godson's sibling.  So I held off finishing until they found out it the gender.  Good thing - it's a girl!  Having Little S home for the summer to unsew is a real help.  She loves to unsew!!

reads blue

My goal was to use up all of the pink stripe for border and backing, so I did some very careful math and just have a 3.5" piece left that isn't even WOF.   

now it reads pink

I have been doing more photo albums/scrapbooking this week and less sewing, but just doing a bit each day got me to quilting finished today.  I have to clear off the table to trim the top and make binding, so that will have to wait for a good stopping point in the photos.   I am pleasantly surprised with this progress!

What I'm Working On

 How did I do for  June 30 - July 6

• work on Little S's baby cross-stitch FINISHED
• finish hexagon potholders for the girls NO PROGRESS unless you count scowling at them!
• cut pieces for leaders & enders FINISHED
• donate random craft supplies to Grown Up E and the public library FINISHED - Lots of stuff went out!!
• cut fleece for project for public library PROGRESS - made a plan to do it the next craft day so I can use their big tables
• clean sewing room especially under the cutting table FINISHED under the table - Oh so satisfying!  Too bad I didn't take pictures.

I usually try to work on the photo albums in the summer since I can spread the supplies out and leave it out.  Over the weekend I started getting organized for that, so my sewing time will be less.  The only urgency I have is to get the hexagon quilt ready for Grown Up R now that the godson's sibling has been revealed to be a girl!  The baby isn't due until January, but summer is a good time to get things finished.  I broke it down into baby steps so maybe I will have good progress!

Borders are too blue for a girl.

TO DO LIST FOR July 7-13

• hexagon quilt - take blue borders off
• hexagon quilt - add pink borders
• hexagon quilt - prepare backing
• hexagon quilt - prepare batting
• hexagon quilt - start quilting
• hexagon quilt - finish quilting
• hexagon quilt - prepare binding
• hexagon quilt - attach binding
• clean off the table top, deal with remains of recent projects

Fun Little Blocks

I was having fun with the blocks for the Sew Scrappy Spools quilt (Lori Holt).  I still have no big plan, but am enjoying the process.  I have only been using fabrics from my precut scrap users systems.  Nothing larger than a 3.5' strip was harmed in the making of these blocks!  These are small, but fun.  I can't help but compare them to the small Dear Jane blocks.  

One of each style block.

When I was sorting and putting away the fabric from my MIL I found some red, red/cream striped, and green 6.5" squares in the bottom of the precut squares box.   It looked like there were enough to do something with, so I planned for a D9P.  I found a fun print that coordinated for motivation.  

Fun coordinating fabric for the D9P

I ran out of the original striped blocks and found a small similar piece in the stash and then another piece that was close enough.  Then I dug in a found a similar green. I used these as leaders & enders when I was working on the Sew Scrappy blocks.  I had just enough fabric to eeek out one more single unit for a 5 x 5 layout.  

Impromptu D9P

The blocks have been joined, but is put away for now.  I have to decide how I will use the Hawaii fabric.  It isn't quite enough for a backing.  Also wondering if I should add borders of some sort.  There is not enough of the fabrics on the front to do anything else with them.  It is already about 54" x 54" which is not a bad size.

15 Minute Report

15 minute days/last two weeks = 6/7

15 minute days/June = 24/30

15 minute days/July = 4/5

15 minute days/2025 = 183/204

Success Rate = 90%

Not enough movement to measure this week.

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards

Used year to date: 73.35 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards 

Acquired year to date: 24.5 yards

Net used in 2025: 48.85 more yards used

Linking up to Life in Pieces to show progress.

"Pick Me, Pick Me" - Friday Finish

Little S's cross-stitch birth announcement was my oldest UFO/WIP/PHD.  Whatever I called it, it still wasn't finished after 19 years.

Since I don't watch TV, there wasn't a time to just sit and work on it, so I called it my travel project.  But then I traveled less and less and was nervous to take a needle and scissors when I flew.  Now my eye sight is not what it used to be.  

All the pieces are ready to go!

But.... it kept showing up on the PHD list with a "pick me, pick me" look!  I did not want Little S to have to finish it herself.  That would be the ultimate disgrace - not only did it take me 19 years to finish, but she had to do the finishing.

So... on a slow weekend I turned on my really bright Ott light, put in eye drops, and got to work.  It turns out that the personalization was already gridded and there were only two sections where the backstitching had not been finished.  I told myself I could do one of those parts each day and I'd be done in a week.

Before

Then a nice thunderstorm rolled in, which was very welcome since we haven't had rain in about a month.  So I stayed in the groove and got all but one of the backstitching sections finished.  That even included restitching two of the personalization sections.  It turns out that my initial stitching was less than accurate, so that made the spacing not quite right.  But I made it work.

Finally Finished!!

It is far from perfect, but I am pleased.  My new goal is to get it framed before the end of summer.

June PHD Report

More finishes to report.  Having a list is definitely helping me stay on track.  

At the halfway point of 2025 I have:

• 8 finishes from the original 14 PHD projects
• 3 unplanned starts with finishes!  
• 1 moved from wishful thinking to planned start
• 2 quilts with progress, but are now waiting for someone else's part

With six more months in 2025 and one of those being a summer vacation month, I think I can finish this list!  Time will tell, but I am on the right track.

Unexpected New Start & Finish - baby quilt & burp cloths for nephew's first baby.

Hand delivered to Guatemala in early June.

To be delivered later this year.

Big Finish - Little S's cross-stitch.  I got that done just under the wire on June 29.  Whew.  I have been putting that off due to poor eye sight, but didn't want to have her finish it for herself!

Oldest UFO - almost as old as she is!

Progress - After I got the borders on the hexagon quilt, I found out that Grown Up E's godson will have a sibling.  She likes this quilt for the new baby, but I will wait until they find out if it's a boy or girl before I finish it.  What I choose for a backing will make a difference.  If it's a girl I might change the borders as well. 

Will it be for a boy or a girl?

Progress - Dear Jane is out for quilting.  That was a big step - more emotional than physical.  The backing only needed squaring and ironing.  The top only needed ironing.  The long-armer said 6 weeks.  I can hardly wait!

Another oldie - 10 years in the making!

Planned New Start - Sew Scrappy Spools by Lori Holt.  I received a gift card from a student, so I finally bought the book.  Seeing "buy the book" on my list each month was definitely a motivator!  My plan was to read the book and think on it and eventually start making blocks, but they are really simple.  They use sizes that I already have in my scrap users system, so I started right away.  I don't know how many I will actually make, but for now I am enjoying picking pieces for one block each day.

Fun little blocks!

Miss P Designs USA is challenging us to get those PHDs done!  I am determined to get my PHD in 2025.  Thanks for the motivation.  Check out other June PHD reports at Miss P Designs USA.

What I'm Working On

 How did I do June 23-29

• iron Dear Jane  DONE
• drop off Dear Jane for quilting DONE
• add border to hexagon quilt DONE
• work on Little S's baby cross-stitch NO PROGRESS
• work on Little S's project bag DONE
• cut pieces for leaders & enders DONE
• clean sewing room especially under the cutting table PROGRESS

Yes, it is at the longarmer.  We will meet again in about 6 weeks!

TO DO LIST FOR June 30 - July 6

• work on Little S's baby cross-stitch
• finish hexagon potholders for the girls
• cut pieces for leaders & enders
• donate random craft supplies to Grown Up E and the public library
• cut fleece for project for public library
• clean sewing room especially under the cutting table

Slow, But Still Productive

Making a larger project bag for Little S was a priority for the summer.  She is in the fiber arts club at college and they have weekly meetings where they sit around and do hand sewing of some sort.  It warms my heart that that is a real thing.  She picked the fabrics and focus and I got it done.  You can check out the details HERE.   

New Project Bag

All the fabric from Guatemala got sorted and I filled a box for Grown Up R.  I added a few pieces from my regular stash that she was interested in and got that mailed this week.  She made her 200th Etsy sale this week.  Woohoo!  

Borders will get scalloped after quilting.

Dear Jane is out for quilting.  As much as I would have like to hand quilt Jane, that just wasn't going to happen.  When I called to make an appointment, I discovered that my favorite longarmer retired.  Arrgh.  So I had to hunt around and find another.  Senor G asked if I was sure I wanted to send Jane to an unknown, Little S told me not to worry.  In addition to "no appointment needed", the rest of the drop off/check in procedure was also very different, but the quality of the samples seems to be fine.  They are a small business/quilt shop and don't have a lot of designs to chose from, but will order Baptist Fans for me.  I thought that was a good sign.

Before borders

I added borders to the hexagon quilt and made a backing.  But then found out that Grown Up E's godson is getting a sibling!  She likes this quilt, so I will wait and finish it when they know the gender.  The backing I prepared is neutral/boyish.  But if it is a girl I will switch and make it more feminine.  I forgot to take a new picture.

I was feeling unproductive this week, but looking back at what I did, I was hardly slacking!  I guess there have been so many BIG sewing finishes lately that I got used to that.  This week I also worked on a few projects around the house that had been saved for the summer.  All in all a good week.

15 Minute Report

15 minute days/last two weeks = 6/7

15 minute days/June = 22/28

15 minute days/2025 = 177/197

Success Rate = 90%

Slight movement in the right direction this week.  I'll take it!

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 2 yds for Grown Up R and 0.71 for project bag

Used year to date: 73.35 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards 

Acquired year to date: 24.5 yards

Net used in 2025: 48.85 more yards used

Linking up to Life in Pieces and Patchwork & Quilts to show progress.