March PHD in 2021 Update

Hi Quilting Friends,

Time for my update on the projects that I’ve selected for my “PHD in 2021”!

March has been a productive month, due in part to Spring break. I enjoyed having some extra time for stitching, along with time for yard work, extra sleep, reading, and lots of play and snuggle time with Rowdy. It was very nice. You can see what I’ve been stitching later in this post.

I spent quite a lot of time outdoors during break, working in the garden, and I’ve only sneezed about six times. Those allergy shots have definitely been worth the money. (Oops! My eyes didn’t care for the high oak pollen count, so that hasn’t been nice for the past week. Ugh.) We had quite a lot of clearing up that needed to be done in the wake of our February “big chill”. Some of my plants didn’t survive, and some are dormant for now, but many of them are making a slow and steady comeback. I’m using this as an opportunity to refresh the garden areas, and I’m making a mental list of plants to add to the landscape when I get a chance. So my work isn’t finished, but I’ve gotten a good start.

And now for the stitching update!

Project #1: Make the “Southwest Critters” Quilt

The pieced blocks are all done, with several different color combinations for this block:

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Next step is to put all of the blocks together, and then get to the quilting. I’m currently second-guessing my (too boring) choice of fabric for the sashing , so a visit to the quilt shop is in order. (I know. It will be a hardship. I’ll try to be brave.)

Project #3: Make something with this great coffee print fabric

I have come up with my plan for this yardage, which will be my project for the “Stitchin’ for the Kitchen” blog hop. No previews or clues yet (other than “Kitchen”), since I want it to be a surprise. Come back for a visit on April 20 to see the (hopefully) finished projects. Stitching has commenced, and it is coming along nicely. I’m excited to share this with you!

Project #4: Quilt “Scrappy Christmas Quilt #3”, pieced in 2020

All done! This was my “One Monthly Goal” for March. I can’t decide if I am four months late or eight months early, but it is all good either way. Here are a couple of pictures:

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Project #13: Mariner’s Star table runner and place mats

I have a plan now! I’m excited to continue creating this table runner and place mat set with the pieced stars that I made last fall. My “One Monthly Goal” for April is to piece the four place mats and the table runner. Maybe I’ll do some quilting too, if I have the time to spare.

New Projects

Salt and Sand Blog Hop – Quilted Mermaid Wine Tote

Scrappy Fun and Games

Woot woot! My “Scrappy Trips” quilt is all done! I wrapped up the quilting and binding during Spring Break, so here’s a picture of the finished quilt and my handsome helper:

The red and blue scraps have been calling to me, insisting that I needed to bring them out to “play” because they were feeling crowded in their new scrap bins. The white scraps didn’t want to be left out of the fun, impatient since they don’t even have a scrap bin yet. (So sad! I shall have to remedy that situation eventually.) I relented, even though I hesitate to start yet another project, and I began piecing these blocks:

I don’t really have a plan for them, yet, but I will keep on piecing until I run out of the 2″ wide scraps in these colors, and then I’ll decide on a layout. The block parts are my leaders and enders for other projects, so it may take a while to finish using those scraps.

RSC Challenge Blocks

The RSC2021 color for March was GREEN so I made two Sawtooth Star blocks, one with a gray background and one with white:

And I made 12 GREEN string blocks! I couldn’t believe how many little GREEN 1.5″ strips that I had in my scrap box. So now I have a total of 24 string blocks on hand for whatever project I choose to create.

Here’s my task list spreadsheet for 2021:

And my UFO list for 2021:

Happy quilting,

Sharon

PHD in 2021: March Report

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal April Link-up