Quilting Goals and Resolutions for 2017/January

Sandy, from

 

has chosen the word Balance for us to work our resolutions around this year. She has suggested 2 ways of looking at it...

• How can your quilty life bring more balance to your life?
• Do you need to address some imbalance in your quilty life?

To be honest I feel I have it pretty well sorted. I get to sew as much as I like really. My children have all left home, my husband is retired and also very accommodating. He is happy for me to spend as much time as I want in my sewing room stitching away. (at least he doesn't complain) He is very competent in the house and as well as participating in our weekly house cleaning morning he makes lunch most days, tea quite often, does the washing regularly and the shopping. What a man. (No you can't have him.) My biggest imbalance might be that I neglect him and the family when they are home to sew.

I sew for my own pleasure mostly. I donate many of the items that I sew to a group I support "Handmade With Love" whose profits go to Our Rainbow House, a school for disadvantaged children in Zambia. Our group sponsors 2 children as well as supporting the school in other ways. I also sew quilts for special people in my life. All my great nieces and nephews get a quilt when they are born, as well as babies of close friends. I make a quilt for my siblings and their partners when they turn 70 (4 down, 9 to go ) And then there are quilts for random other reasons. (like I wanted to try the pattern).

My biggest lack of balance I suppose is my desire/willingness to try new things. Despite being a quilter of 15 plus years I am still pretty hit and miss with accuracy. Done is better than perfect is a motto I have probably taken too far at times. I have mastered a few new skills over the last couple of years... inserting zips is one and paper piecing another. Perhaps this year I will add button holes... and greater accuracy. I would also like to master the Longarm at our club and use the laser guide on it to do some pantographs. That might have to do me...

Balance out my skill base with 

1. learning to do button holes
2. increasing my accuracy
3. increasing skills on Longarm.

Arghh - what have I done. I hope I can live up to these. I shall not say I will try to do them. I need to remember my word from the last year "DO" From Yoda... Do or Do not, there is no try.

Wish me luck.

Oops posted this without doing the January goals so editing it now

1. Work on En Provence clues as they come out

2. Set up Excel spreadsheet for fabric tracking 2017

3. Complete clue for Charlotte Hawks Mystery quilt "Surrounded By Scraps"


4. Complete 8 blocks for my A to Z challenge this year. (I plan to make a block starting with each letter of the alphabet. Since April is going to be busy and full of travel I need to start NOW) This is going to be my OMG goal


5 Quilt one quilt on the long arm

6. Tidy the craft cupboard

7 Work on one project on my UFO list

Tuesday Museday - my word for 2015

Sandy at "Quilting For the Rest of Us" is once again running a Quilty Resolutions Challenge and this year she has challenged her listeners to complete this sentence The one thing I have always wanted to do (textile/fiber-wise) that I resolve to do in 2015 is... 

I thought about this for a while and realised that paper piecing has always been something I have skirted around the edges of. I have done a very little bit in a couple of projects (Kombi Boys quilt had a little paper piecing in it. See it here. The windows were paper pieced). Its something I have always wanted to have a real go at but  never have. So Foundation Paper Piecing is my goal for this year.

A few things have confirmed that this will be my resolution for 2015.

I bought a paper piecing class on Craftsy. Its a Jenny Doak class called Mastering Foundation Piecing and I have even listened to the first couple of lessons. I don't thave the equipment that she uses but am getting very tempted by the quarter inch ruler thingy. That would be very useful. I also do use copier paper for my paper piecing and she doesn't recommend this but its handy and cheap and its what is loaded in my printer. 

Also Pam from Hip to Be a Square has joined in a 30 week challenge listed on the Fandom in Stitches website. Its a Harry Potter book shelf quilt with a pattern issued every week for 30 weeks. Its all paper pieced. I had a look and have joined in the Project of Doom (POD) challenge and have completed the first two blocks in the bookshelf.

Actually they are not complete. I want to put some titles on the books so a bit of embroidery left to do.

There are lots of geeky patterns on this website covering a range of interests and subjects. There are lots of Doctor Who patterns. I had explored this website on other occasions and had downloaded a heap of patterns, some paper pieced and some embroidery. 

I decided to have a go at one of the patterns from the Doctor Who file - the TARDIS. I really loved how it turned out.

 Couldn't believe that I managed all these tiny pieces. Its not perfect but I love it and I get a thrill out of looking at it (and the mistakes don't annoy me too much) I am not sure what I will do with it. There are a heap more Doctor Who blocks so perhaps I will make a heap more and make another quilt... or just a few more and make a wall hanging.

Alongside the Quilty Resolution Sandy invited us to choose a word for the year to guide us in our resolution. I chose the word Do. Originally I was going to choose Try and then (in true geeky household style) I remembered the quote from Yoda in Star Wars. "Do or Do not. There is no Try" Hence my word for this year is DO. 

I am pretty pleased with the start that I have made. What about you? Have you made a craft related resolution this year?

October Quilt Goals

Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of us podcast had a challenge at the beginning of the year asking us to come up with 3 quilty resolutions for the year. Well instead of being resolutions they were monkeys on our backs - things we wanted to get done. Each quarter we have the chance to report in on our progress.


My Three were

1 Make a quilt for my great nephew Lukas. He was born in August and I was overseas and since I got back just haven't managed to get to it.

2. Sort my stash to get out all my little bits out of the stash and into my scrap bins cut into the sizes that I use

3.Sort through my 2nd hand fabrics or repurposed fabrics and get them into usable piles.

These were all achieved by the end of April and since then I have been coming up with monthly resolutions 

October Goals
We will be travelling for the next couple of months so don't expect to get through as much sewing. However hope to work on a few

1) Work on my Jean's Jeans Quilt
2)Finish all the blocks for Vanishing Hours
3)Finish prepping Hand work on Tea Shop Quilt. Cut all the squares for the appliques squares. Start work on it
4)Make some mini quilts as gifts.
5) Practice some of the stuff from Photography class on Craftsy

That should do it!

What are your Quilty Resolutions
Linking up with Sandy's linky at Quilting for the Rest of Us

Checking in on my August Quilty Goals and setting my September Goals

August Goals

1. Work on Trip around the world (work out a name for it to make it easier to refer to)

Sunburnt Zebras done and dusted AND labelled!.

2 Start work on Teashop quilt - choose background fabric for blocks, trace off applique pieces. Get things prepped for taking it away to work on whilst travelling

I bought the vlisofix  in Brisbane last weekend and have traced off the designs onto it

  

3 Blue Jeans Quilt - get it prepped to take away on holidays with us. This will be my machine project whilst we are travelling. 

I have all the circles cut out for the quilt. I have decided to make it 15 rows by 17 which means 255 circles for the blocks. Still have to draw the 5" squares on the last 65

4 Disappearing Hour Glass quilt - collect together green and cream fabric for this quilt. This will be my project for Patchwork Group.

The hour glass blocks are all made. Yay

5 Cut scrap pieces. The basket is overflowing

I emptied the basket. Its full again. 

6 Make a seasonal wall hanging from Mum's embroideries

I have made the 4 seasonal min quilts as well as making a mini quilt from one of my embroideries. Its of an outhouse and I am going to hang it on the outside of the toilet door. 

 

7 Do projects from Caro Sheridan's photography class on Craftsy. Watch one other craftsy class. 

Given I now have just one day left in the month as I type this I have to concede that this is one that isn't going to be done this month.

8. Label Disappearing into the Blue

Labelled. Yay.

With one day left in this month I can say I have done pretty well with my August goals. I basically accomplished 7 of the 8. Just the Craftsy class that I haven't completed.

Fixit Guy and I are off on a couple of months holiday at the beginning of October. We will be gone for all of October and November and will return home at a date to be determined in December. So September is my last month of sewing at home for this year. So my goals are going to include getting some things finished before I go and getting projects ready to take with me. I am taking my little Janome Gem Platinum with me and when we are hooked up to powered sites I will be able to sew. Lots of the time we will be travelling so I am keen to have some hand projects to do in the car and also whilst we are stopped in camping areas without power.

1) Jeans quilt. The circles are all cut and 190 of them have the 5" square traced onto them. I want to get the other 65 circles marked and the 255 5" squares selected. Actually I have cut more of the circles than I need for just one quilt and have been given more jeans to cut up so think I will probably make a couple of quilt. One for us and one to give away. This will be my machine project for while we are away.

2) Finish tracing off the applique pieces for the tea shop quilt. Select fabric and get the applique ironed onto background fabric ready for our trip. Sort out embroidery threads to take with us. This will be my hand project

3) continue working on Disappearing Hourglass (Think of calling it Time Vanishes) The hourglass blocks are all completed. I have to cut them up, rearrange the pieces and sew them back together again. I have 6 more sewing days - 7 if I go to the Gemmies again for the day (which I will do if anyone else from our group is going out there) before we go. I would love to have the top completed and sent off to the long armer before we head out. (Edit. I ended up calling it Vanishing Hours. Will use Time Vanishes for another Disappearing Hourglass should I make it)

4) put together the quilt that is currently on my design wall. Its various orphan blocks I have dug out. I am trying to put it together in a pleasing way. It will probably become a donation quilt.

5) Do that Photography class on Craftsy. I have watched it right through. Just need to make myself go back and do the practical bits of it. Sigh. This is the third month its been on my to do list. It will be good to be able to take better photos on our trip. I have found my two digital cameras and the instruction books for one of them so its a start. Sigh.

6) Fangirl has bought her own townhouse. She moves in about a month. Its brand new and needs curtains and blinds. I have offered to help get them made so that is really going to be my priority. These other projects are going to fit in around that. So Make curtains as required for the townhouse.

That had been do me then!!
What are your goals for September?

Checking in on August Quilty Goals

Thought that I would check back in on my goals for this month and see how I am doing

August Goals

1. Work on Trip around the world (work out a name for it to make it easier to refer to)

I renamed this quilt Sunburnt Zebra's - from the joke What's black and white and red all over....  A Sunburnt Zebra. Not only did I name it but I got it finished. Yay.

2 Start work on Teashop quilt - choose background fabric for blocks, trace off applique pieces. Get things prepped for taking it away to work on whilst travelling

Haven't done anything with this yet. I need some more applique paper before I can get too far with it. I eneded up buying three patterns and I want to get them all prepped to take away with me

  

3 Blue Jeans Quilt - get it prepped to take away on holidays with us. This will be my machine project whilst we are travelling. 

Making good progress with this. Originally I was just going to trace out the circles and leave cutting them out till we were travelling but then I decided to go ahead and cut them out. I may even start sewing it before we leave. I've designed a heart pattern to work into the design. Will have to see how it goes

4 Disappearing Hour Glass quilt - collect together green and cream fabric for this quilt. This will be my project for Patchwork Group.

Fabrics for this quilt all chosen from my stash. I cut out the 10" squares of both the cream and the green fabrics. I have made all the half square triangles for it. I will start sewing them into the hour glass block next week. Will have to watch the video a few times so I know what I am actually doing before I cut the hour glass block up and start to make the rearranged block

5 Cut scrap pieces. The basket is overflowing

I got the scrap basket totally emptied out and the pieces put away into my scrap drawers. Now it is full of denim off cuts. Its a never ending job

6 Make a seasonal wall hanging from Mum's embroideries

Haven't started on this one at all. I went to get the embroideries out Thursday and instead dragged out my orphan blocks and have been designing a quilt top using some of them instead. 

7 Do projects from Caro Sheridan's photography class on Craftsy. Watch one other craftsy class

Haven't done this. I have found the manuals for both of my camera's though so that counts doesn't it?

8. Label Disappearing into the Blue

Haven't done this yet. Need to do one for Sunburnt Zebras as well. 

This means 3/4 of the way through the month I have accomplished 4 of my goals so had better get my skates on if I am to accomplish all of them. I also need to start to think about what my September goals are going to be. 

How are you going with your quilty goals for this month.

Quilty Resolutions Update

At the beginning of the year Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of Us challenged us(encouraged us... there was bribery involved :)... well rewards anyway) to come up with three quilt related resolutions for the year. (actually they were quilting monkeys on our backs)

My Three were

1 Make a quilt for my great nephew Lukas. He was born in August and I was overseas and since I got back just haven't managed to get to it.

2. Sort my stash to get out all my little bits out of the stash and into my scrap bins cut into the sizes that I use

3.Sort through my 2nd hand fabrics or repurposed fabrics and get them into usable piles.

I am very pleased to be able to announce that I have fulfilled all three of my resolutions.

Actually when I did my first quarter update in late March here I had already completed the first two resolutions and I had started on the 3rd ie getting my repurposed fabrics sorted. I completed that not all that long after I wrote the post.

Having completed the three of them I am thinking I should come up with a few more. I did try writing goals for the next month a couple of times. I should do that again. Since its the end of June on Monday its a good time to do it. I

My May goals were

May Goals

1. Finish Not So Sombre Stars for Derek

2. Tidy my sewing room (photo of the current mess will be posted here soon)

3 Make the Curtains for the Spare Room

4 Empty Scrap basket again

5 Order Tea Room Pattern (my Mothers' Day gift to myself perhaps)

6 Do at least one of my Craftsy Classes

So now its the end of June how did I go?

1.  I finished Not So Sombre Stars for Derek. Waiting for the signature squares from other people held me up a bit but eventually I got them in and got the quilt put together and quilted. I gave it to him last Sunday in church. I wish I had taken a photo of him with it. ... might have to go visit him to get that.

II 

2. I tidied my sewing room at least once but it  has deteriorated somewhat and needs it all again.

3. I made the curtains for the spare room. Got these finished early May and I am very grateful for them now as Fixit Guy  and I are currently sleeping in there whilst our en suite is being remodelled. Means the builders can get in there a bit earlier and can leave their stuff in there etc

4 I emptied my scrap basket again but it is full again. I will have to have a day cutting them up and putting them away 

5. I have just ordered this pattern. It will be good to have a hand project now that my Fixit Guy is about to retire and we might be doing a fair bit of travelling in the near future. I will be taking my little Platinum Gem with me but can't actually use that whilst we are driving along. Not sure how long it will take to get to me as it is coming from the UK (From Puddleducks, the shop I bought the original pattern from and then lost. More information on this blog post

                                                             

6 Craftsy classes. I haven't completed any although I have watched most of 2 of them. I haven't done the projects. The two I have watched most of are Wendy Butler Bern' Machine Quilting and Caro Sheridan's "Shoot It" I have found myself applying some of the stuff I heard to my quilting and my photography but I do want to do them properly. Sandy sets a high standard as to what she has to achieve before she declares a class done and I want to emulate her... I just don't seem to reach there.

So... for the next month (or 2) what do I want to achieve? What will my goals be. 

July Goals 

1. Finish the top for my Disappearing into the Blue quilt and make the backing. I am going to piece it from leftover fabric I got for the top. Then send it out to get quilted. Its going to be 90"x100" and too big for me to enjoy working on. I'll probably send it to my friend Kym at Professional Quilting Service

2. Trim up the half square triangles and start assembling my Black and White (with a touch of red) trip around the world quilt. (waiting for my special ruler to arrive)

3. Make Gamer Girl's Christmas Stocking (She's my son's partner and she doesn't have her own Christmas stocking at our place. We currently use one of the "spares" for her but she definitely needs her own special one) I want to have it done well and truly before Christmas!!

4. Finish Teddies and Pinwheels quilt (top and back made. Needs pinning and quilting)

5. Finish Twist and Disappear (Disappearing 9 patch with a twist quilt) Needs pinning and quilting.

6. Finish the two Craftsy Classes I have almost finished. Do some of the projects/exercises mentioned in them!!

7. Start Teashop wall hanging when it arrives.

8. Make seasonal wall hanging from the stitcheries my mum made for me

I had better stop there before I get way too adventurous and over commit myself 

Saturday Thoughts - My quilty word

For 2014 the word I chose for the year was Renew. Not sure why I chose that. - wasn't writing my blog at the time so don't have a post on the subject  - so no longwinded self indulgent naval gazing post to go back to in order to check it out. Yeah I know it was only a little under 4 months ago... but still I got old lady brain going here.(You've seen the grey hair I got going now)

So far for me it has largely centred around using fabric that I have in my stash that has a previous use - fabric that wasn't designed to be part of a quilt. This has been the theme behind 3 of the quilts 2 have finished this year and 2 more that I have as works in progress.

In January I completed making a crazy patch tie quilt that I was making for my cousin Syd who turned 70 last month. I gave him the quilt at a family reunion in January (to see the blog post about it visit here) I got a real kick out of making the quilt. I have a pile of ties left - ones that didn't fit into the blue and red spectrum I chose for Syd's quilt. I'll make another one day

I have also been working on my SOMB quilts. Shirt Off My Back quilts that I am making using 2nd hand men's shirts for a challenge that I am involved with. To find out more about this challenge just search my blog for SOMB. Added to the challenge of using the fabric from the shirts we had swapped i added the challenge of only using recycled fabric in the whole of the quilt and with the 3rd quilt in the series completed  I have one more quilt in the series to complete. The top has been made completely using recycled fabric and I am still working on the backing. Its going to be a gift for a friend currently undergoing chemo. I have cut 6.5" squares out of light coloured fabrics- mostly old sheets but some calico whose origins I am not sure of. Friends and family have been signing these squares with messages of love and support. Still thinking about how I will incorporate these into the backing... depends how many I get back. I may just alternate them with coloured squares or then again... might make them into blocks. Will see.

I also want to renew my sewing area. I want to get it all sorted out and freshened up, go through my projects and fabric and decide what I am going to do. I have already started on this by going through my fabric and sorting out the little bits and cutting and sorting these according to size. Larger pieces of fabric have already been sorted by colour. It will be good to have it all tidied up and renewed. Apart from anything else it will bring to mind what things I have - what gadgets, fabric, patterns etc which in turn will help generate creativity and help me to work out what projects I want to work on next.

How are you going with your quilty word for 2014?

Throwback Thursday

 In January 2012 I did a massive clean up of my crafting area. I went through all my cupboards and fabric, sorted things out, found all my projects, sorted them out. I even wrote a list of them. I resolved that 2012 was going to be my year of the UFO. I was determined to bust through as many of them as I could. I also resolved to not buy any fabric unless it was specifically to finish one of these projects. I did allow myself a bit of wiggle room. If it was for a specific purpose I could start a new project so long as I finished it ASAP. No more UFOs.

I found my list that I compiled It was dated 5th February 2012. I have decided to go through my list and see how well I did on my UFO busting attempt.

Projects
Finished Tops
Black and White Straight Circles
Boyo's T'shirt Quilt
Hands That Flung Stars into Space
Hands That Flung Stars into Space scrap blocks
Blue and Pink Nine Patches
Purple Strings

Blocks Completed
Teddy Applique quilt
Pip's T'shirt quilt
Fangirl's T'shirt quilt
Kombi Boy's T'shirt quilt
Massage Man's T'shirt quilt
Bluebird quilt
Christmas Stars
Quilts on the Double Quilt 1
Quilts on the Double QUilt 2
Heart Blocks
Year Quilt signature blocks
Squares and Half Triangles
Orphan blocks

Projects Cut and ready to go
Yellow and Blue picket fence
Christmas Tree Log Cabin
Advent Calendar
Green and White Blocks
Christmas Carol Squares

So - how did I go with all these projects?

Black and White Straight Circles Completed 12/2/12 currently hanging at an exhibition (its 2nd) and used in church a couple of occassions

Boyo's T'shirt Quilt Completed 16/6/12 given to Boyo and now on his bed in Brisbane
Hands That Flung Stars into Space completed 17/6/12 currently hanging at an exhibition (its 2nd too) and also used a few times in church

Hands That Flung Stars into Space scrap blocks completed 15/6/12 given to my girlfriend Maree for her 50th birthday
Blue and Pink Nine Patches not completed
Purple Strings not completed
Teddy Applique quilt completed 28/3/12 and given to my great niece Sofia at her birth

Pip's T'shirt quilt completed 20/6/12 currently on bed in spare room

Fangirl's T'shirt quilt - incomplete - I need more shirts from her but she won't give any of hers up. She threw a good few out before she realised that I would make her a quilt from them.
Kombi Boy's T'shirt quilt completed 15/6/12 and with him in Brisbane
Massage Man's T'shirt quilt- incomplete. Need more shirts for his as well
Bluebird quilt -completed and on our bed. I had it professionally quilted and really pleased with it

Christmas Stars - completed 11/13

Quilts on the Double Quilt 1 completed 2/7/13

Quilts on the Double Quilt 2 completed 20/7/13

Heart Blocks nothing done
Year Quilt signature blocks nothing done
Squares and Half Triangles nothing done
Orphan blocks nothing done

Yellow and Blue picket fence completed 26/6/12

This is it without the outer border and binding.... oops. Don't seem to have a completed one but it is done. Currently on the bed I am sleeping on this weekend

I did find another photo of it with 2 of its 3 borders... still not a completed photo. I will get one

Christmas Tree Log Cabin completed 3/1/13

With Dr Who figures Fangirl stitched and gave to her Dad for Christmas. 

Advent Calendar completed 29/12/12

Green and White Blocks nothing done
Christmas Carol Squares completed 11/13

Out of 24 projects that I listed I have completed 15 which is pretty good. Of the 9 that I have not completed 2 have stalled because I need more shirts to finish them off. Can't really do anything about them.

I haven't used the Pink and Blue 9 Patches or the purple string quilts which are really backs because they haven't really been the right shape or colour for projects that I could have put them with. Plus I tend to forget about them. I really should finish them up and use them as charity quilts if I can't find a use for them myself. They would be good backs for baby quilts.

The signature squares and the heart blocks need to be worked into backings for quilts for myself as they are personal things - made for me by friends. The heart blocks were given to me by friends from a retreat after my dad died so they are special. Again, I just tend to forget about them when making quilts for myself. Need to work on that.

The squares and half square triangles were from a project that I started but have mislaid the pattern to. I will have to find another suitable pattern for them.

The green and white blocks are good for a baby quilt. I have embroideries from my mum that I need to put into baby quilts so might work on them shortly.

How did my resolution to not start anything new go? In 2012 I only broke it 3 times. I made 2 little cake quilts. I am not sure why I started them. I was only going to make one but made too many cake blocks so made 2. I used stash only. One of those I still have and one I gave to my cousin.  The other time was to make a baby quilt for a great nephew. None of my UFOs appealed as being baby quilts and I found a lovely panel and co-ordinating fabric at a great sale. There were 12 panels, which in the end was enough for 3 baby quilts which were completed over the next year or so and given to another great nephew and a friends baby girl.

So overall I was pretty pleased with my efforts in 2012

In 2013 I relaxed my "No New Projects" ban although I did stick to my "No more UFOs" determination and everything I started I completed. I also tried hard to stick to my fabric diet - at least only buying fabric for specific projects, no stash building. That has been a good resolution to stick with.

Its time I went through my cupboards again and had a good tidy up. This time I want to list the fabric that I have bought for specific projects, or which I have bought to go together but for which I don't currently have a specific project. I need to list them up and get myself organised so I know where I am heading. I have a number of embroideries from my mum and some of my stitcheries that I want to make into quilts or wall hangings. It will be good to get organised.

Quilty Resolutions Update

Sandy, at Quilting for the Rest of Us Podcast challenged us at the beginning of the year to come up with 3 quilty resolutions and now at the end of the first quarter she is calling for an update on how we have gone with them.

My resolutions were very concrete
1. Make a Quilt for my great nephew who was born in August
2. Sort my stash to get out all my little bits out of the stash and into my scrap bins cut into the sizes that I use
3 Sort through my 2nd hand fabrics or repurposed fabrics and get them into usable piles

So... how am I going.

1. My great nephew's quilt was made in January and I was able to give it to my sister to give to her grandson when I saw her at the family reunion at the end of January. 

Sorry its sideways... silly blogger stuffing me about again

2. I worked consistently through January sorting through my fabric, refolding it and getting out all the smaller pieces (under fat quarter size or 25cm width of fabric) and cutting them into the sizes I store 1.5", 2.5", 3.5", 4.5", 5.5", 6.5"  In strips, bricks and squares, I also added to this 5" and 10" squares. That was a very handy thing to do as not long after this I participated in the Disappearing Pinwheel sew along and I had my 10" squares all cut. I also used the 5" squares to make pinwheels for the border. For the first time ever I found a place I could put my folding cutting table up and leave it up. It has been great to have it.

Disappearing Pinwheel Quilt made entirely from my stash - all the 10" and 5" squares used in the pinwheel blocks came from my stash already cut to size. Such a time saver

the finished quilt showing the pieced binding as well

3. I sorted through the second had fabric, got it all ironed and stacked up near my cutting table ready for me to cut it into useful sizes. I hadn't gotten to it at all when last Sunday I started to cut fabric for another quilt project, one for which I only wanted to use recycled fabric in keeping with the focus unit of each block, a nine patch made up of fabric from shirts from a swap (part of a challenge from a retreat I went on last year) See WIP Wednesday I was so glad that I hadn't cut all the fabric up as I had planned. The star blocks I was making required some of the pieces to be 2.75" square or 2.75x5". 

The fabric being cut into units for my next 2 quilts. Its all repurposed fabric having been a doona cover, sheet, table cloth, shirt, banner in a previous life

The blocks for one of the quilts I am using the recycled fabric in... the other one has 5" squares in the corner instead of 2.75" ones and has an extra rectangle on the flying geese to make it a 14.5" block rather than a 9.5" block like this one

I am putting this post up now without some of the photos that I want to include because my Fixit Guy is asleep in the room the cord I need to upload the photos with is in. I will try to do it tomorrow and then I will remove this bit but in the meantime... if you want more pictures you will have to come back