October PhD Report

End of summer and back to school cut into my PhD reporting, but I have been sewing.  I had quite a few new starts since I help our church's outreach to new single mothers by making them baby quilts.  But they all got done and did not join the UFO pile.  And I uncovered what I suspect is my oldest UFO and added it to the list - and moved it forward!

At 5/6 of the way through 2025 I have:

• 9 quilt finishes from the original 14 PHD projects
• 7 unplanned starts with finishes!  
• 1 moved from wishful thinking to planned start
• 2 quilts with progress 
• only 1 quilt that hasn't been touched

With two more months in 2025, I think I can finish this list!  I am determined!

Unexpected New Starts & Finishes -  4 baby quilts for church

The pink quilt is new to coordinate with the jungle quilt.

Then two flower gardens for twin baby girls.  Every block & every fabric has flowers.

red backing 

yellow backing

And completed just in the nick of time for the baby shower:

Groovy pink baby quilt

Easy Finish - This one just needed a binding and I got it done just in time for the October report.

Sapphire Jubilee Part 1

Finish - After I got borders on the hexagon quilt, I found out that Grown Up E's godson will have a sibling.  She liked this quilt for the new baby, so I waited until they found out if it's a boy or girl before finishing it.  It's a girl, so I did change the borders and chose a different backing to make it more girlish.

Ready for Baby Honor!

Progress - Back from the quilter at the end of July.  Still in a pillowcase waiting.  My plan is to work on it over Thanksgiving break when I will have some uninterrupted days.  I need to cut the scallops and bind it.  Maybe I'll start preparing the binding before hand - that would be smart.

10 years in the making!

Oldest UFO - This one is at least 23-24 years old.  The way it was stored I saw it ALL the time. I don't know how it didn't make the original list.  So I finally added the borders and found a backing.  Now I just need to buy batting and get it done.  I should be able to do that by the end of the year.  

Far from perfect, but very pretty.

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 October PHD reports at Miss P Designs USA.

Sapphire Jubilee Part 1 Finished!

This was by far the easiest finish on the UFO list, so I deliberately saved it for when I needed something easy.  Like many others, I started the Quiltmaker Jubilee quilt several years ago.  I made mine a Sapphire Jubilee since I had plenty of blues and prefer blue to red.  I made all the blocks, but the final layout did not speak to me so I set the blocks aside.

The smaller variation.

In 2023 we had visitors who I had not seen in decades.  Our week together included sewing tips and show & tell of my quilts.  That inspired me to get out my Sapphire Jubilee blocks and figure out a layout.  

Back from the Long-armer

I ended up with 2 quilts.  The larger one got all the way to the quilted stage and then got tucked away.  It only needed binding and I even had the leftover fabric still packed up with it.

Finishing up the binding.

I knew this week was going to be very busy and I was caught up on anything else that would be "mindless" sewing.  Perfect timing.  Got the strips cut and joined one day.  Ironed and pinned on another day.  It took 2 days to get it sewn on one side.  Then another day to flip and machine sew on the other side.  That plus more unsewing of the Ocean Waves blocks kept me busy for the week.  

52" x 72"

It worked out mathematically using the existing blocks but is more long and skinny than I would usually make.  Someone will love it.

Plaid flannel backing

Friday was Mad Science Day at school.  Among other really fun stuff, we do "Aliens on the Move" about static electricity with balloons, various types of paper aliens and various types of fabrics.  I always have to round up the fabrics the night before.  As I was putting things away this morning, I realized that it would be much easier just to keep the fleece which is already in squares with the bin of Mad Science supplies.  

Then I had the DUH moment, when I realized I can just cut 5" squares of flannel and store that as well.  Since I was on a roll, I found an old hand towel to cut up instead of taking in a bunch of washcloths each year and then having to wash them afterwards.  Now I am going to be on the lookout for an old wool sweater/scarf that I can also cut up to add to my "Alien Kit" for next year.   What else can I be "smarter" about?!

Both "aliens" are moving!

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days last weeks = 6/7

15 minute days/Oct = 26/31

15 minute days/Nov = 1/1

15 minute days/2025 = 269/325

Success Rate = 83%

 

I looked back to see if I had counted out the Jubilee blocks when I made them and it turns out that I stopped blogging in the middle of part 3.  So I will count the entirety of this quilt as fabric out now.  Then when I finish the smaller variation I will adjust for the part already counted out.  The math will be easier that way. 

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 7.03 yards for Sapphire Jubilee Pt 1 and 0.61 yds for Mad Science squares

Used year to date: 108.41 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 42 yards

Net used in 2025: 66.41 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Mr. D's Quilt is a Top

This is finally a completed quilt top!  I will always think of it as "Mr. D's Quilt".  He was a co-worker in Guatemala who asked me to make the quilt from a pattern in one of my magazines and fabric from the small stash I had then.  I don't remember much else except that he changed his mind and that was fine with me because I really liked it.  But that is as far as it got. 

Pretty good match after all those years.

I think it is 23-26 years old.  So definitely my oldest UFO - unless there is something hiding in the deep recesses of the sewing room!  

Far from perfect, but very pretty.

Since I had nothing of the original fabrics I just went with similar for solid borders.

I worked on my new Leader Ender project and completed two blocks.  Chunky Churn Dash is a free pattern from Bonnie Hunter.  Appropriate this week because we made butter with cream and jars at school to supplement the pioneer lesson!

I also worked on unsewing these blocks.  Maybe 15 years ago, my sister gave me an Ocean Waves quilt top she thrifted.  It was kind of icky so I took the risk and washed it.  The pinks ran so the whites turned pink, and I set it aside. It resurfaced this summer and Little S was willing to unsew, so I had her remove all the white/pink, which was not a good quality or well sewn anyways.  That left me with a stack of "rings".  

I'll likely keep the original layout. Once they are all done, I'll worry about color placement.

Since I currently have nothing urgent, I did some research to figure out the best way to deal with these and have most of a plan.  Then I unsewed the rings into 4 sides.  I have 5 more to go and then I will give them a careful pressing and decide what colors to add as the backing.  

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days last weeks = 5/7

15 minute days/Oct = 22/25

15 minute days/2025 = 263/318

Success Rate = 83%

 

Finally stash movement for Mr. D's Quilt.

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 3 yards

Used year to date: 100.77 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 42 yards

Net used in 2025: 58.77 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Oldest UFO Saw Some Love

I am caught up on the quilts for the church outreach, so I went back to my "to do" list from weeks ago.  I started this as a leaders and enders project a while back and then it got waylaid by the church quilts.  Before I had time to reconsider, I joined the blocks.  I got the blocks all joined, gave it a nice pressing, and hung it in the "to be finished" closet.  Unfortunately I did not get a new picture of it.

I kept this layout and it looks just fine.

Then I considered a new project and actually pulled some scraps for it.  It ended up being my leaders and enders project.

But I had a reality check and realized I needed to work on some UFOs.  The one closest to the machine and maybe easiest to do was this one.   It started as a commissioned project for a friend when we lived in Guatemala.  They changed their mind.  I folded it up and set it aside.   

I went with the darker maroon for the first border.

I remember working on it when we lived in the "yellow house on the corner."  That would have been when Teacher E was between 1-4 years old, so about 23-26 years ago.  Wow!! At the time I thought I was doing precise careful work with small pieces!  Hmmmpf.  Adding the first round of borders on it showed me that that was not the case.  I also noticed that the quality of fabric was definitely a factor, but those were the times I used what I had.  The design was from a magazine, but looking at it now I see all kinds of easier ways to make it - mainly not having bias edged triangles. 

Making progress.

I got a first border on it and have a similar fabric that will make the next border.  

All of this plus some long overdue mending kept me sewing all week.

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days last weeks = 7/7

15 minute days/Oct = 17/18

15 minute days/2025 = 258/311

Success Rate = 83%

 

Progress was made, but no stash movement yet.

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yds

Used year to date: 97.77 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards  

Acquired year to date: 42 yards

Net used in 2025: 55.77 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Got it Done!!

I had a tight deadline to get the pink quilt done by Saturday and then it got even tighter.  I ended up not being able to go to the baby shower, so I had to finish it sooner to drop it off to the organizer.

Groovy pink baby quilt

Pedal to the metal.  Got it done on Wednesday evening and still got my report cards done by Friday.  What a week!

Perfect backing!

I used up nearly all the groovy pink strips from the Greenville trip, lots of random pink, and some purple. For the backing/binding I used nearly all the magenta that has been in the stash forever because it bleeds so badly.  It was perfect for this project, so I washed it three times until the wash water ran clean.

Long, long week and then came Friday.  It was rainy so we had rainy day recess on a Friday that was also the last day of the quarter and the start of a 3-day weekend for the students and the end of a full moon week.  I left school as quickly as I could and made a stop at my favorite thrift store as a consolation prize!

Who knew a small bag could hold 600 squares?

Didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find a bag of precut 2" squares.  I am trying so hard to use up what I have, so I hesitated.  Then I realized that was a lot of neutrals that I could combine with the overflowing 2" strip drawer which is low on neutrals and get things used up faster.  I counted when I got home.  $2 for approximately 600 squares/1.67 yards.  It's worth it just for the labor of not cutting that many squares!

 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days last weeks = 6/7

15 minute days/Oct = 10/11

15 minute days/2025 = 251/304

Success Rate = 83%

 

Fabric moving in both directions this week.

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 4.2 yds groovy pink quilt

Used year to date: 97.77 yards

Acquired recently: 1.67 yards bag of 2" squares

Acquired year to date: 42 yards

Net used in 2025: 55.77 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

Back on Track

The last three weeks flew by in a blur with not much sewing.  I had done so well on the yellow flower garden and already had the red flower garden under the needle and ready to go.  Didn't happen, didn't happen, and still didn't happen.  

Some of it was a bad case of the blahs. Then there was the day trip with my sisters to visit our brother and his family.  Then my birthday evening.  Then another day trip to see Grown Up E and Little S.  Then parent conferences.  All of that really got me off of my regular routine of school, lesson planning, and some sewing.  So here it is three weeks later and I may be back on track!

red flower back quilt front

The good news is that the red flower garden baby quilt done at last.  

red backing 

The church outreach needs another girl quilt, but my husband just took the last one that I had to give to friends in Spain.  So the pressure is on to get one ready by next Saturday.  

I had this somewhat started a while back, so I figured it was the closest to the finish line and just plowed forward. The groovy pink fabric was a $1 bag of precut strips from our trip to Recraft in Greenville, SC.  I didn't have enough of a single pink, so I just kept adding shades as I went.  The determining factor for size was the groovy pink.  I wanted to use it all up and I came pretty close.

Perfect? No.  Cute? Yes!  Having an urgent deadline will get this one moving along and keep me back on track for sewing. 

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days/last 3 weeks = 9/21

15 minute days/Oct = 4/4

15 minute days/2025 = 243/298

Success Rate = 82%

 

I can now count out the red backing and binding.  

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 1.92 yards red backing & binding

Used year to date: 93.57 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards 

Acquired year to date: 40.33 yards

Net used in 2025: 53.27 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

What I'm Working On

 How did I do on the list for SEPTEMBER 7 - 13?

• quilt the yellow backed flower garden DONE
• bind the yellow backed flower garden DONE
• quilt the red backed flower garden STARTED
• bind the red backed flower garden NO
• join baby bricks into a top NO
• prepare a backing for the scrappy baby bricks NO
• start thinking about what project will be next after the baby bricks NO
• clean sewing room PROGRESS

Off to a good start.

TO DO LIST FOR SEPTEMBER 14 - 20:

• finish quilting the red backed quilt
• bind the red backed quilt
• join the scrappy baby bricks
• prepare a backing for the scrappy baby bricks 
• start thinking about what project will be next after the baby bricks 
• clean sewing room
• get the scrapbook project off the sewing table

• 

  Try again next week?

Yellow Flower Garden is All Finished

My plan had been to quilt both tops, then bind both, but once I started on the yellow-backed quilt I just kept working on that one.  By Friday evening, I was finishing up the yellow binding!

This backing started as a strange 2-sided triangular piece that was given to me a while back.  I liked the fabric, but what to do with it the piece?  When I was looking for floral backings for these quilts I thought I'd give it a try.  

An odd start, but a perfect finish.

When I started to unsew it, what I thought was two triangles sewn together was really square-ish folded in half with a decorative strip covering the raw edges.  Parts of it were glued, but in the end I had enough for the backing and just needed a bit of supplemental fabric.  I am glad to have that odd piece out of the stash.  I think it was perfect for this project.

Since I didn't touch the red-based quilt at all, I already have my plan for the coming week.  If I just keep doing a little bit every day, I think I'll have the twin flower gardens done next weekend.

Red-backed flower garden under the needle!

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days/last week = 6/7

15 minute days/Sept = 10/13

15 minute days/2025 = 235/277

Success Rate = 85%

 

I can now count out the yellow backing and binding.  Still moving in the right direction.

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 1.92 yards yellow backing & binding

Used year to date: 91.65 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards 

Acquired year to date: 40.33 yards

Net used in 2025: 51.35 more yards used

Linking up to:

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quiltingpatch

What I'm Working On

How did I do on the list for AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6?

• join baby bricks into a top NOPE
• prepare a backing for the scrappy baby bricks NADA
• cut more blocks for twin baby girl quilts for church DONE
• determine layout for blocks for twin baby girl quilts DONE
• join baby girl blocks DONE
• decide on borders for baby girl quilts DONE
• prepare backings for baby girl quilts DONE
• start thinking about what project will be next NO 
• clean sewing room NO - JUST ADDED TO THE MESS!

  

  red backing ready for its flower garden top

My B Project became the A Project! I made great progress and got both baby girl flower garden quilts all the way ready to be quilted.

red-backed flower garden ready for quilting

TO DO LIST FOR SEPTEMBER 7 - 13:

• quilt the yellow backed flower garden
• bind the yellow backed flower garden
• quilt the red backed flower garden
• bind the red backed flower garden
• join baby bricks into a top 
• prepare a backing for the scrappy baby bricks
• start thinking about what project will be next after the baby bricks
• clean sewing room

  

  Maybe I'll get back to the baby bricks next week.

Baby Flower Gardens for the Twin Girls

My week did not go how I imagined since I sewed what I had thought was my secondary project instead of the primary project.  My idea for the twin baby girls was to use the remnants of a flowered charm park.  There were enough duplicates to have a good start on a plan.  

Matching stacks of 5" blocks + a few extras.

I would use those as a starting point and then add from the stash.  I was on a roll, so I just kept rolling.  I ended up getting the remaining squares cut, tested layouts, 

I used a B&W filter for the first time!!

even added flowered borders.  I had some ideas for backings and got those ready as well. 

The red-based backing from part of a tablecloth

Since I was doing so well, I just kept going and got them both pin basted! 

Ready for quilting.

Considering there were two days I just didn't feel up to sewing, I got a lot done!  Well ahead of schedule for the baby girl quilts. I've got myself set up well to quilt in spurts after school this week.  We'll see how that goes.

 15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days/last week = 5/7

15 minute days/August = 1/1

15 minute days/Sept = 4/6

15 minute days/2025 = 229/270

Success Rate = 85%

 

I got the tops done so will count that fabric as out this week.  I'll wait to count the backings out until they are quilted.  

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 3.7 yards

Used year to date: 89.73 yards

Acquired recently: 0 yards 

Acquired year to date: 40.33 yards

Net used in 2025: 49.43 more yards used

Linking up to: 

Donna @ quiltpaintcreate

Frederique @ quilting patch

What I'm Working On

 How did I do on the list for AUGUST 24-30?

• continue to cut pieces for baby bricks in colors to fill gaps - DONE
• sew baby bricks - PROGRESS - individual blocks are sewn 
• clean sewing room - PROGRESS
• make a plan for the twin girl quilts for church outreach - PROGRESS

I was going to make another short list this week since I feel like I am still working on getting back into the back to school groove.  Little bits of projects have been working so far, so I will stick with it.  But then I remembered that it is a three-day weekend!  So I'll stretch myself and see what I can get done.  Worst case - I add it back to next week's list!

Final Layout ????

TO DO LIST FOR AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 6:

• join baby bricks into a top
• prepare a backing for the scrappy baby bricks
• cut more blocks for twin baby girl quilts for church
• determine layout for blocks for twin baby girl quilts
• join baby girl blocks
• decide on borders for baby girl quilts
• prepare backings for baby girl quilts
• start thinking about what project will be next
• clean sewing room

Scrappy Baby Bricks

I worked steadily on the baby bricks this week.  Since I used scraps only, the color placement turned out not quite right in some color paths.  I am convincing myself that it is fine and done is good and a baby won't care.

I will let this sit while I clean up the mess of the sewing room and think on what my next project will be.  If it still doesn't bother me enough to remake blocks, then I'll start joining them next week.

UPDATE: I rearranged some of the purples and oranges and I think that helps.  I still will not sew them all together yet though. 

Better? Maybe?

Open House was Thursday evening.  I was at school for 12 hours and did not have any oompf left for sewing when I finally got home.  Some days are like that and that's okay.  Still good forward progress.

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days/last week = 6/7

15 minute days/August = 25/30

15 minute days/2025 = 224/263

Success Rate = 85%

 

Still no stash movement, but I am hopeful that I'll get the baby bricks joined this week and have better numbers next week.

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards

Used year to date: 86.03 yards

Acquired recently: 15.83 yards 

Acquired year to date: 40.33 yards

Net used in 2025: 45.73 more yards used

Linking up to: 

Kate at Life in Pieces

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quilting patchwork applique

Baby Bricks for a Friday Finish

I worked away at it little by little all week and got all the block units done.  

Sunday ...

Color placement may not be perfect, but a baby will never notice, right?

Friday!

I'm happy I got this far.  I will think on it over the weekend before starting to join the blocks.

What I'm Working On

 How did I do last week AUG 17-23:

• cut pieces for leader & enders in colors to fill gaps PROGRESS
• clean sewing room PROGRESS
• move leader & ender project from floor to design wall  DONE
• confirm number of baby quilts need to church outreach  PROGRESS

In rereading the list from last week, I realized I am still calling the baby brick project a leader & ender project.  I has definitely moved on to primary focus project.

The number of baby quilts needed for the church outreach is still a moving target, but has gone down from twelve to possibly four quilts. I think her group is in flux, so it's hard to make firm plans for both of us.  Kind of frustrating, but I have some ready to go and it will be fine.  In the previous list there were twin girls for the fall, so I am going to work on those just in case.  The good thing about quilts is that they don't go bad if they are not used right away.

TO DO LIST FOR AUGUST 24-30:

• continue to cut pieces for baby bricks in colors to fill gaps
• sew baby bricks
• clean sewing room
• make a plan for the twin girl quilts for church outreach

Another short list since I am still working on getting back into the back to school groove.  Forward progress of any kind is welcome.

Forward Progress on the Baby Brick Quilt

I am getting settled into the school routine and I had a plan for the week, so I was productive this week.  I got the brick units up off the floor and onto the design wall.  

I tried to think better about placement this time.  Currently I have darks on the top and right leading towards lights on the left and bottom.  

Some colors look very different in the photo than in real life.

I am going through my scraps filling in color gaps for bricks that I already made with the hope that I will not have bricks made that don't fit in the final plan.  We'll see.

Thinking through the color placement.

It took everything I had not to just keep sewing as I cut pieces, but I had a LOT of grading and lesson planning that had to get done on Saturday.  And I knew that if I sewed them all up I would not have anything to do when I needed something simple after school this coming week.

Waiting to be sewn on a school day!

I prepped and/or sewed every day except Friday.  I thought about it, but realized I was so tired I should not be making any decisions and certainly not using sharp instruments!  So, I sat in front of the TV and sorted school papers, which was also a much needed task, but no thought required.

No sewing, just sorting.

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days/last week = 6/7

15 minute days/August = 13/23

15 minute days/2025 = 218/253

Success Rate = 86%

 

No stash movement at all this week! 

2025 Stash Totals

Used last week: 0 yards

Used year to date: 86.03 yards

Acquired recently: 15.83 yards 

Acquired year to date: 40.33 yards

Net used in 2025: 45.73 more yards used

Linking up to: 

Kate at Life in Pieces.

Donna at quiltpaintcreate

Frederique at quilting patchwork applique