August PHD in 2024

Hi Quilting Friends,

Happy August! Oh my goodness, it is HOT out there. We’ve had temperatures in the high 90’s, with only a few rain breaks this month (just enough to elevate the humidity to sauna-like levels). This is our typical August weather pattern in Houston, but knowing that it is normal doesn’t make it more comfortable. Good thing we have electricity and a nice big AC unit.

School started on August 19, and I’ll admit that it felt a little weird (in the nicest way) to not be going back. I’ve found things to keep me busy, including a membership at the YMCA along with my “usual stuff”. Now that the neighborhood swimming pool has closed for the season, I’ll be heading over to the Y a couple times a week to work out with the elliptical machine. (One must stay fit to have plenty of stamina for quilting!)

If you’re having trouble staying focused on your PHD projects, don’t forget that being fit is important too. There are lots of choices, so set aside your sewing a few minutes each day for a bit of physical activity; work out at the health club, take a dip in the pool, putter in the garden, or take the dog for a little walk. The fresh air for your lungs and a nice stretch for your muscles provides a mental break and processing time to ponder your next tasks in the studio.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”.  – Ferris Bueller, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

Here’s my August PHD update-

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Project #3- Lone Star Quilt

Hand quilting continues, slowly, as expected. I find that the rhythm of hand stitching is very calming, so I usually try to relax and stitch for about 30 minutes or so each afternoon. I focused first on simply outlining the blue background squares and triangles, which should help to stabilize the layers in preparation for more dense and decorative quilting later.

Now that I’ve realized the extent of the seam allowances that I’ll need to stitch through to complete the quilting within the star, I’m quilting those sections with my sewing machine. This is certainly easier, faster, and much less painful than hand-stitching through all those layers of fabric. (I occasionally push the blunt end of the needle into my thumb when stitching through thick fabric. OUCH!). I am getting better at guiding my needle in smooth curves, with practice. This is the center star-

One roadblock that I have had with making progress on this project is named Astrid. Astrid apparently feels that it is her right to occupy my lap almost every time I am sitting. Perhaps I can convince Astrid that lying under the quilt as I work is also acceptable, LOL. Freya is another impediment to progress, as she likes to grab the edges of the quilt with her teeth and pull out the batting. Once I realized what she is doing, I started folding the quilt and storing it in a bag between stitching sessions. Dogs! Gotta love them, but grrrr. . . Here are the “usual suspects”-

Project#7- “Gnome for Thanksgiving” Challenge

I’ve started to generate ideas for this project, but it is all still in my imagination. I need to start putting those ideas down on paper during the next month. The blog challenge is in November, so I have plenty of time.

Project #8- Mint & Chocolate Batik Quilt

When the end of July arrived, I was ready to add the binding to “Mint & Chocolate”. Finished! Here’s a picture of the finished quilt, plus a picture of the quilting that Rosie completed so beautifully.

The pattern for this scrappy Hunter’s Star is available HERE.

Project #13 – Home for the Holidays Kit

My “One Monthly Goal” for August was to start quilting “Holidays at Home”. It took me a while to begin working on it, since nearly all of my basting pins were used to pin-baste the “Lone Star” UFO quilt. (See Project #3) Yes, I could have gone to the store to buy more pins, but that’s too easy. This way I was “forced” to make some progress on “Lone Star” in order to work on my August OMG project.

At this time, I have stitched around the red pindot sashing to stabilize the quilt sections, and I’ve finished quilting the center and corner squares, as well as the churn dash blocks. I say that my August goal is Ta-DONE! Here are a couple close-ups of the quilting that I’ve completed so far.

I’m using this quilt practice my quilting skills, including some FMQ and walking foot designs. I’ve been learning more as I watch videos on YouTube, mostly from Angela Walters, and then I practice on my quilt. It’s pretty fun, and it sure beats working for a living, LOL!

My “One Monthly Goal” for September is to continue quilting. Ready, Set, SEW!

Project #14 – Table Runner from Jelly Roll

A dear friend generously gave me a beautiful jelly roll, along with several more pieces of gorgeous quilting fabric, so I made a runner for their table as a “thank you” gift. The runner has four 12″ by 12″ “Bento Box” blocks, surrounded with a solid black border for a finished size of 16″ x 52″. I used pale gray thread to quilt parallel lines at various angles, and then added a black binding.

Here’s the finished table runner; I hope that they’ll like it!

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New Projects

I’ve finished the French Braid Table Runner that I started in July, using scraps from the “Holidays at Home” kit. It will most likely be a gift for someone special.

I stitched a “Rolling Stone” block in ORANGE, the RSC2024 August color of the month.

I also made an ORANGE place mat and an ORANGE zip bag from my orphan blocks, leftover parts, and scraps. Read about them HERE and HERE.

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PHD Progress

Here’s my updated PHD list, with completed tasks highlighted.

And my August PHD tracker-

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Time to share your progress! Please add your link here, and visit the rest of the group to encourage their progress.

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

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Happy quilting,

Sharon