Playing catch-up with maybe too many things at once?

My goals of late have been #1.) Try to get my studio finally organized and set up with lighting for my HQ16 and design boards #2.) get to some of my unfinished projects completed and out of my thoughts so I am free to focus on my upcoming online class via LisaCall.Com.
Sad to admit I might be trying to play catch-up with too many projects at once, because even though I have managed to bind a few quilts, contacted the electrician, have my squares ready to swap with my bee, 2 squares completed for a quilt along I've decided to participate with I just don't feel like I have accomplished much. Oh well, got to keep trudging along and hope not to get distracted or discouraged.

So to keep with my goal to use my stash I am going focus on my blacks/whites and solid red for the Quilt  Along notice the button link on the side panel of my blog.
aiming-for-accuracy-quilt-along

Fabric chosen for first lesson

First block completed

Second block completed
 One block added weekly until Sept.

Fabric from stash that will be used for Bee Project 

One square of strip sewing completed

Each strip square then will become two
Each member of bee will complete two blocks of my quilt top.

Finally quilting the quilt tops I made during my Nancy Crow classes , While working on these old projects I can see how much growth I've made as a quilter, was sad to see how weak my sewing skills were back then, yet glad  to be able to state I have learned so much about my machines and sewing a straight seam. I would love to do a focus on ribbon quilts in the future.

Since this was just a design assignment I decided to try to quilt it on my HQ16 freehand lots of practice needed to accomplish straight lines and continuous quilting, but heck that's what assignments are good for after all. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

One of my NC black and white assignments that a buddy of mine threw in her  indigo dye bath.

Hoping now that I have posted about a few of the things I've been working on I will feel like I have actually stayed on task and have something to show for it. ;-) Ok so back to the list I go…..
Let's get some things checked off, one by one, little by little…..

A very special quilt made just for hugs

So I am unsure how many of you will recall this photo of my mother taken last August 2012 while she was visiting me in PA. My mother had not sewn or quilted for quite a few years so during the month with me she decided she wanted to try again and she completed a few quilt tops, which I promised her I would quilt for her.

I set my mom up in my family room with her own little Elna she had given me 

Mom was very proud of her first completed quilt top and went on to sew a few more.

After we lost my mom last December I made it my goal to complete her quilt tops and I mentioned something about this one to one of my sisters. In 2005 we lost my nephew Chris to suicide. Something the whole family feels forever..But my sister (his mother) had mentioned having a few of his t-shirts that she treasured and wondered if maybe I could create something out of them sometime.
My sister Gina was the daughter that lived in MI year round the last 10 years so much of my parent's care fell on her shoulder's so I wanted to make her something to thank her and to let her know I appreciated all the care she gave my parent's when we other's were not in MI.
It was difficult to cut into those treasure shirts but somehow I managed and I hope I managed to create a special quilt for her, one I think my mother would have loved and I hope my sister Gina will find comforting in the future whenever she might need a hug or two from our Angels above.

Mom's side of the quilt

Chris's side of quilt

Sister holding her new quilt, son's t-shirts.

Quilt top mom made.

Hope you like it Sis...

Thankfully my test run with the dyes were not as bad as I felt

So Thankfully even though I told my husband I not feeling the flow while working on my dyed pieces they did not turn out as bad as I imagined they would.
One has to love the dyeing process / the unknown it always intrigues me…..Keeps me coming back for more…

So here is reminder of the projects hanging on my new drying rack yesterday
Next photos up are the results...

Test one

Test two (sadly this photographed poorly it is really more of a turquoise/no yellow or green in it at all)

Test three

Test Four 

All four test scarves

Now if only I could say I had the flow today with my HQ16 ;-( sadly had some bobbin trouble today for some reason I'm sure I'll figure it out tomorrow but gives me time to go back to shibori stitching
So until next time….May the Sun shine on you all….