Hi Quilting Friends,
Happy May! Although we’re entering the summer stitching season, I still intend to take plenty of breaks to go outside and play. The neighborhood pool is open for the summer, and evenings are the perfect time for a leisurely bicycle ride.
Our May activities included the baby shower for Caroline & Nick’s little one (picture later in this post), outings to Houston Public Media station and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, high school graduation for Micah (Susan’s grandson), Memorial Day at Lake Conroe, plus game nights, lunches out, book club, and loads of other activities. I remembered to document some of the fun with pictures-
I’ve had plumeria plants for years, but I didn’t figure out how to make them happy enough to blossom until last summer. (The “secret ingredient” is fertilizer; imagine that!) Aren’t they gorgeous!
Each inflorescence produces blooms for several weeks, and the fragrance is intoxicating. My baby plumeria plants are growing quickly, so I probably need to transplant them soon. The gardens are beautiful with spring blossoms!
Now for more PHD strategies! How do you manage your stitching time? What routines have you established to ensure progress? Let’s have a look at time management when it comes to finishing those PHD projects. Here are a few strategies that might be helpful:
- “The Timer”– Set a timer, and then work on your PHD project until the timer goes off. You’ll decide the amount of time per stitching session, but try for at least 15 minutes, whenever you sit down to sew. If you feel like continuing with your PHD after the timer is done, go for it. Why stop if you’re on a roll, right? If you don’t wish to continue, set the PHD project aside until later and move on to something else.
- “The Calendar” – Make an appointment with yourself for a specific day and time interval each week, and then work only on PHD projects during your appointment. You will decide which project(s) will have your attention at each appointment.
- “The Dice” – Roll a pair of dice to determine which project to work on when you sew. If you roll the number for a project that you’ve already finished (Yay you!), just roll again. This takes decision-making off the table, leaving more time to stitch away.
- “The Stick and the Carrot” – Choose two projects from your list to work on simultaneously; one that has stalled out and one that you’re really excited about. Work on the stalled out project (“the stick”) first, and reward yourself as each task is completed by playing with the more exciting project (“the carrot”) for an equal amount of time. You’ll have both projects finished before you realize it.
- “The Deadline” – Set a realistic finish date for the PHD project, with progress goals for each task that must be completed. Progress goal dates may be daily, weekly, or even monthly, depending upon the complexity of the project and the time available. This is usually my strategy for both PHD and “new” projects.
We’d like to learn about your time management strategies so please share them in a comment. And, as always, feel free to “steal” ideas if you see something that might work for you.
Here’s my PHD update for May!
Project #2: “Each Dawn A New Day”
Progress pictures-
I still have some backgrounds to finish up on the bottom of the piece, plus a significant amount of outline stitching to complete. Progress has been slower recently, since I prioritize hand-stitching binding when needed, but I’m excited to continue now that the finish line is in sight.
Project #3: Pinwheel Stars Quilt, aka “Spiral Galaxy”
Finished! I used a lime-ish green print from my stash on the back, and then I spiral quilted this lovely with pale gray thread.
I admit to having some struggles with the spiral quilting, which kept trying to go all wonky on me. I had stitched along some of the seam lines to stabilize the layers, but that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. I ended up taking the stabilizing stitching out, to allow the layers to be smoothed as stitching progressed. It was much easier to quilt after unstitching that basting. I love the texture of spiral quilting, but it really isn’t my favorite on a quilt this big!
So it isn’t perfect, and quilting it was not all that exciting, compared with free motion quilting, but it is finished and that’s something. I’ve named this quilt “Spiral Galaxy”, to celebrate the stars and the twirling pinwheels. You can read more about the quilt HERE, and purchase the pattern for “Spiral Galaxy” if you would like to make this gorgeous quilt.
On a related note, I recently discovered that Michael’s is a local source for the batting that I like, so I can be on the lookout for sales and coupons. My Michael’s order was ready for pickup within a couple of hours. Beats Amazon, which took nearly a week to arrive. (I needed two large packs of batting; for this quilt and for Project #13.)
Project #10: Play with “Toys”, Cubix Runner
I’ve decided to create an elegant silvery table topper for the holidays. I’m not sure yet whether this will be a “keeper” or a gift for someone special. We shall see. . .
Here’s my fabric pull-
The gray and silver snowflake print is from my fabric stash, “Stonehenge – White Christmas”. I also had the white solid Kona cotton on hand. I went shopping at a “new” quilt shop near me and found a wide range of solids, including the “Smoke” and “Riley Gray” that I purchased. (This project is a PHD since I had the pattern, the special ruler, and most of the fabric on hand in January.) I’m pretty excited about making this pretty runner, now that I’ve settled upon a fabric pull.
I started piecing a week or so ago, as a reward for quilting Project #3. Here are the blocks, ready to assemble the runner.
This appears to be in black & white, but it actually is a full-color image. I hope that it will be elegant, and not just boring, LOL. I’ll continue stitching as my reward for quilting Project #13. (“Carrot and Stick”; and now you can see how that works!)
Project #11: Scrappy Zipper Bags X 12
I created a medium scrappy zipper bag this month, in ORANGE. Read more HERE.
I had some time between projects while waiting on my batting to arrive, so I stayed busy by making this medium zipper bag. This brings my total to nine zipper bags so far this year.
Project #12: Honey Bee Bag from Kit
Gaby’s birthday is on July 16, so it’s time for this project to get underway. My “One Monthly Goal” for June is to begin making the “Honey Bee Bag” for Gaby’s gift. Ready? Set. SEW!
Note to self- LINK!!
Project #13: Lupine & Laughter Mystery Quilt
My “One Monthly Goal” for May was to begin quilting “Lupine & Laughter”. I really thought that I would be further along, but the goal was to “begin” and that happened!
I finally began quilting “Lupine & Laughter” on May 21, and I’m making pretty good progress, so the finish should happen fairly soon. My scrappy purple binding is prepped and ready to go. Read more HERE.
New Projects
Nothing new this month, as if there was any time for “new”, but I do have a photo update for Caroline and Nick’s baby quilt. She loves the quilt, and it will be perfect in the nursery. This is Caroline, with her two “helpers” at the baby shower. Baby is due to arrive within the next couple of weeks; I’m excited to meet him or her.
Ongoing Projects
Click the images below to read more about my ongoing RSC 2026 projects.
Coffee Mug Blocks
“Signature” Blocks
PHD Progress Update
This is my updated PHD task list, shaded to show the finished tasks.
This is my updated PHD tracker.
Party Time!
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Have a wonderful June, filled with fun, friends, relaxation, and plenty of time for stitching. I can’t wait to read about how your PHD projects are progressing.
Happy quilting,
Sharon
Ms P Designs USA 