What's Next?

It is the beginning of November and wonderful adventures. I flew out to Kansas City Missoura last week to visit my quilt blogging buddy Gail who I met in person last year at Scrub Stitching in Australia. We have been zoom friends for about 4 years. 

She took me to an amazing quilt shop that just had a gzillion new bolts of reproduction. I only had a carryon bag. And we went to Angela Walters shop. That is worthy of a post of its own.

When she asked if I wanted to go to Hamilton, to visit the Missouri Star Quilts well, I just had to say yes. After all, I live in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. We traipesed our way through 14 of the 15 shops. I chose to skip the wool shop. 

It was an amazing 86 F. Not bad, considering we were having daily morning frost back home that week.

It was a quilting kind of visit so I took along 17 Churn Dash blocks to finish sewing together. I had all the hard part done. Just had to sew all the units together. I brought them home and put them all on the big design wall and here they are. Somehow I goofed in the math and made one too many with the white center. So now to locate the rest of the bits and make one more with a coloured center. After that, I can sew them altogether and have a flimsy. 

This is the end of the 2024 chookshed Challenge. I managed to move forward most of the quilts on my list. All except the one I did not want to work on. Serendipity. So, since I did not want to work on it, I pulled out all the project boxes, the pattern binder holding all 100 blocks, and I organized what I still had to do and printed off a couple of FPP papers and now have it ready to focus on the next time I do not want to work on it. I have been playing around with a list for 2025. 

The Chookshed Challenge has us focus on 10 projects, including starting a new one if we want. Well, I want. I want to start at least 7 new quilts. So, I wrote up a list and itemized everything that has to be done in order to be ready to start. That is a lot to do. Before I actually start. Then, because I was challenged to close a few loops, (been reading Redeeming Your Time by J Raynor), I made a brand new list of all the ufo's in my cupboard and alphabetized them in a small notebook, then jotted down all the steps that need doing and some thoughts about moving them forward. I put a 2026 date on several that can wait. 

I have often joined a finish it up challenge with different bloggers hoping to move quilts to the finish line. I do not work well with that kind of pressure. I want to enjoy my quilting, not feel like a failure when I do not. I do have a complete finish I am dying to share but need a couple of tall helpers to photograph the thing. Outside. In the autumn colourfulness. Soon.

I had the second writing workshop here this past Sat and am so excited to now have 10 women who want to write their stories. We will meet again at the end of November to learn how to write a "scene". We all know how to make a scene, well, at least I do. I have had lots of practice. But to write a scene - new learning curve.

My November writing goals are to write something, anything, every single day. Today I have written my morning Pages and the rest of this blog post. Now to document this on one of my tracking sheets. I have several. For writing and for quilting. 

My November OMG quilting goal will be to complete that Churn Dash flimsy. And any other machine sewing I manage to get done. 

Blessings,

Chris

linking with: alyciaquilts.blogspot.

smallquiltsanddollquilts.design-wall-monday- 

 ninamariesayre.off-wall-friday. 

its-time-for-fnwf. 

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