March PHD Update

Hi Quilting Friends,

March has been a super-busy month! We attended an engagement party in San Antonio at the start of the month, enjoyed a lazy Spring Break, rearranged the furnishings in several rooms at the house (due to purchasing some new furniture), attended a play with our neighbors, dinner and game night with friends, etc. Our younger son just closed on his new home, so we’ll have the grand-doggers at our house for at least part of Easter weekend. (Four dogs is a LOT, but we’re happy to help!) Here are some photos of our March highlights.

Oh, and I’ve turned in the paperwork for my retirement at the end of May! I’m excited about having more time for the activities that I love, including quilting.

How are you progressing on your PHD for March? With any luck, you’re making progress and (hopefully) arriving at the finish line for some of the projects on your list. I am looking forward to seeing your PHD reports for March.

Don’t forget that you are permitted to swap out projects if you change your mind about the original PHD list. It’s easy to be optimistic in January, but by March reality begins to set in for most of us. If your life has become more complex than anticipated, or if you have discovered another UFO that you want to complete this year, it is perfectly fine to change up your PHD list at any time. (You’ll notice that I’ve made a switch on project #10 this month.) The quilt police will NOT show up at your door to question you, so do whatever works for you!

Here’s my March PHD report, a couple of days early to ensure that I get it published on time –

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Project #1- Carolina Chain Scrap Quilt

Ta-done! My “One Monthly Goal” for March was to add the binding and finish Carolina Chain, and it’s all done. Here’s the finished quilt-

Someone commented that Carolina Chain has a LOT of pieces, so I did the math. How does 2,218 sound? This includes the 310 blocks (with 7 pieces per block) and the 48 setting triangles. I started piecing these blocks from my scraps in 2022 and continued piecing them through 2023, just a handful of blocks each month. It was slow progress, but with persistence my scrappy quilt is finally finished.

I used up a ton (around 6 yards) of 2″ wide scraps in the process of making my quilt. The blue setting triangles were cut from pieces in my stash (about a yard total), and the orange plaid binding was yardage (about 0.75 yards) from my stash. I had to purchase backing and batting to finish up the quilt.

Project #5- “April Showers” Challenge Project

I just received an invitation to a baby shower for Nathan’s childhood friend (Jeremy) and his wife (Holly), to welcome their second baby BOY, due in the summer! I have rounded up a design for his cowboy-themed baby quilt, and pulled fabrics from my stash for this fun quilt. (I added fabrics from Susan’s stash as well, since I’m kindly helping her to make space for future purchases).

The blocks are all pieced, the appliques are finished, and the quilting will be completed by the end of this weekend. I know that they will LOVE it. No photo today; you’ll need to come back in April to see the finished quilt.

Project #8- Mint & Chocolate Batik Quilt

I’ve continued stitching blocks, and I’m up to 22 now. Piecing is on “Pause” as I switch to making baby quilts.

Project #10- Purple & Green Orphan 9-Patch Blocks

I found a stack of orphan 9-patch blocks in my purple scrap box, so I’m replacing my original project from the PHD list with this one. I’ve pieced the top and added a purple border. My plan is to create a small nap quilt for Katniss, our outdoor/indoor cat.  This is the quilt top, ready to be basted and quilted.

My “One Monthly Goal” for April is to quilt and bind the quilt, and maybe try out an interesting FMQ design. Ready, Set, SEW!

Stories from the Sewing Room One Monthly Goal April Link Up

Katniss enjoys having a morning nap on the sofa in my living room, so I think that she’ll like it! She’s also very helpful when I’m using the laptop in the studio. (Apparently the keyboard is the best spot for a nice grooming session, but she’s not great at typing.)

I’ll make the “New Design #3” project from my original PHD list soon. It’s a baby quilt for Nathan’s childhood friend (Cade) and his fiance’ (Chrisanne). Look for it on my “New Projects” list. I’ll post a photo when I’m ready to share it, probably in April or May.

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PHD Progress

Here’s my updated task list for March-

Make your own task list with my easy template-

Here’s my updated PHD tracker for March-

Use this handy tracker from our friend Gail to keep tabs on your progress-

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Happy quilting,

Sharon

Here’s the PHD in 2024 logo, in case you want to use it with your posts-

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

Linkup with Monday Musings