May PhD Update

Hi Quilting Friends,

Whew! The school year has wrapped up, and I’m still standing. It always takes a week or so to finally exhale, relax, and get into the rhythm of summer vacation. I’ve already to turned off my early morning alarm, so I’m happy to enjoy some quiet time at home with fewer deadlines. That’s not to say that I have no plans for summer, only that the pace will be a bit slower, the schedule will be more flexible, and life will be more relaxing for me.

I’ve managed to get in some stitching time, despite the whirlwind that comes at the end of the school year. Here’s my update for May-

PHD in 2023 Projects

Project #3 – “Bonus” HST Squares from RSC2021 and RSC2022

Ta-Done! My “One Monthly Goal” for May was to begin quilting this little wall quilt, and a rain-soaked weekend earlier this month gave me a little extra time indoors so I took advantage of the situation. Here’s the photo finish-

Project #10 – Celebrations Throw Quilt

Time now to begin selecting fabrics for the “Celebrations” quilt. I’ve purchased fabric to use for the background, and I probably have stash and scrap fabrics in red, blue, and navy for the stars, chains, and connecting diamonds. If my stash doesn’t yield sufficient fabrics, then I will go visit Susan at her studio and “steal” what I need. We’re due for some “sister time” soon, and she loves to help me with fabric pulls, so it’s a win-win.

Project #11 – Lemons Kitchen Project

I’m replacing this project with a second set of Christmas place mats. I was inspired to create TWO new Christmas designs, and I’m more excited about making them than I am about making something with this lemon fabric.

I may revisit the lemons project later this year, if I have the time and inspiration, otherwise it will remain on hold for a while. Good thing that fabrics have a fairly long shelf life. . .

Project #11 – Christmas Place Mats with Ornaments

I’ve continued working on the Christmas ornament place mats, and they are ready for quilting now. I’ll share a photo when we publish the pattern in Ms P’s Pattern Shop. (Soon, I promise!)

Project #12 – Christmas Place Mats with Gift Boxes

I’ve pieced this second set of four Christmas place mats, so they are also ready to be quilted. I really like what I’m seeing, so far.

My “One Monthly Goal” for June is to quilt one or both sets of Christmas place mats and prepare the patterns for publishing, possibly in July. Perhaps I’ll also have time to stitch the binding.

Ready, Set, SEW!

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal June Link-up

New Projects

Susan and I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon in her studio, and I had my first lesson in operating Rosie (Susan’s Gammill quilting machine). We chose a pretty edge-to edge design with butterflies and flowers to stitch on the “Tulip Patch” quilt, with Rosie doing most of the work. I kept an eye on Rosie, and Susan provided several short pop quizzes to ensure that I was learning correctly. (I made an A⁺ on those quizzes, LOL.)

Quick, easy, and fun! “Rosie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” The “Tulip Patch” pattern is now available in Ms P’s Pattern Shop.

The “One Gift a Month” challenge for May was a bowl cozy. I made a pair of them from a couple of fun fat quarters that have been hanging out in my extensive private textile collection for quite a while-

Ongoing Projects

The “Rainbow Scrap Challenge” color for May was ORANGE.

Carolina Chain

I stitched up four light and four dark Carolina Chain blocks this month.

Rolling Stones

And here’s my pretty ORANGE Rolling Stones block-

Progress Update

Here’s my updated task list for May –

And here’s my updated PHD tally-

Happy quilting,

Sharon

Linking to Free Motion Mavericks

Linking to Quilting Gail’s PHD Report