January PHD Update

Hi Quilting Friends,

January always starts with Mr. Fix-It’s birthday, so I made a special dinner and invited all of the “kids”. We hope that Mr. Fix-It enjoys being “over the hill”, LOL.

We rarely have snow in Houston, so the pups were fascinated by the white stuff on the ground during our “snow-pocalypse” last week. Fortunately for us, the power stayed on the entire time and we had no significant damage to our home or property. It was a little chilly, but we have LOTS of quilts to stay cozy and warm.

I hope that your January has been both pleasant and productive! As you’ll see, I have yet to finish even one of my projects but I’ve made progress by completing several tasks from my list.

Finishes are our primary goal for PHD in 2025, and progress is great too! Keep on working toward your goals, one joyful step at a time.  Let’s celebrate!

Here’s my January update-

---

Project #1 – Star Party Sampler Quilt

Quilting has commenced on “Star Party”!  I am reviewing FMQ videos from Angela Walters as I decide on how to quilt each block.  (That’s the hardest part- deciding how to quilt it!) I have quilted all of the 18 blocks –

Every time I choose a favorite block, I quilt another block and then it becomes the favorite. (My current favorite is #9, “Love in the Mist”.  I really love how the curved lines in the center worked out.) Which block do you like best?

The filler sections of stars and “dot dot dots” remain to be quilted, along with the borders.  I’ve made decisions about how they will be quilted, and my binding is ready to be added as soon as the quilting is finished.  A stellar February finish is in the forecast.

Project #3 – “Old Town” Mystery Quilt

I’ve had lots of fun with the “Old Town” mystery quilt! I changed up the recommended color palette to accommodate my personal scrap collection, but otherwise I followed the clues. Everything that I needed for the quilt top came from my scrap bins and my stash, except for the backing and binding fabrics.

Here’s the first block-

And here’s the quilt top, complete with all of the borders and ready to be quilted –

I visited Susan & Rosie to hang out and do some quilting last weekend. I could have quilted this myself at home, but with all of the complex piecing I decided that an edge-to-edge design would be more appropriate than free-motion quilting. And Rosie’s skills will result in a faster and more uniform finish than Princess Nina and I could accomplish!

Susan & I haven’t had “sister time” since the holidays, so this was a good excuse to spend some quality time together.  Not that we need an excuse to hang out!

I have the binding ready to be attached, so a February finish is feasible. Stay tuned!  I promise to post a photo next month.

Did I use up all of my scraps, considering that this project required around 12 yards of scraps? Not even close, although I’m seeing a marked decrease in the volume of light neutral and orange scraps in the scrap bins.

Project #4 – Autumn Throw Quilt

I’ve traced the applique pieces for the leaves and acorns onto the fusible webbing. I’m ready to start creating applique blocks, but I must wait until I’ve found fabric for the block backgrounds. I thought that I had plenty of the pale gold print in my stash, but I don’t. Alas, I’m forced to go shopping. What a hardship!

Project #5 – Christmas Place Mats

The drawings for the new Christmas place mat designs are finished, and waiting for Susan to work her magic to digitize them. I’m going to have SUCH fun when it’s time to start sewing! My fabric has been pulled from the stash, and I’m excited to get started.

Project #6 – New FPP Designs

I’ve designed and stitched the first of our new foundation paper pieced blocks, a big top circus tent! Susan wants to hand-applique the scalloped trim between the top and bottom of the tent, so it isn’t completely finished yet. I’ll update with a new photo when it is done.

Project #8 Scrappy Pinwheel Star Quilt

I’ve chosen to stitch a Pinwheel Star block each month for the “2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge”. Here’s my “test” block-

My overall plan is to design and stitch a quilt from the blocks that I make this year, so this will be Project #8. Here’s my “Pretty in Pink” January block-

Project #15 – SAHRR 2025

Here’s what I have so far for the “Stay at Home Round Robin”. Read more about the Center Block, Round 1, and Round 2, if you like.

My “One Monthly Goal” for February is to continue working on my SAHRR quilt, finishing Rounds 3, 4, 5, and (maybe?) 6. 

Ready? Set. SEW!

Stories from the Sewing Room One Monthly Goal February Link Up

---

New Projects

Nothing in the “New Projects” category this month.

Ongoing Projects

I made one FPP coffee mug block and one Rolling Stone block for RSC2025, both PINK because this was the color of the month for January.

---

PHD Progress Update

Here’s my updated PHD list, with completed tasks shaded in-

Here’s my PHD tracker, updated for January-

---

January Linky Party

Your turn! Add your link, and then visit the others to comment and encourage.

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

We’d appreciate a link back to our blog. Here’s one to copy and paste into your post-

PHD in 2025 January Update

---

Thanks for visiting! We hope that you’ll have another fabulous month of working toward your PHD in 2025. See you at the end of February.

Happy quilting,

Sharon

Linking with Quilting Patchwork Applique