Week of Quilting: Day 1

I happen to have this week off from work, and I am hoping to make the most of it by getting caught up on chores and quilting projects.  I actually have a massive list of projects in progress (don't we all?) and I don't have very high hopes for getting it all done, but I hope to be able to cross at least one or two things off by the end of the week.

Here is the list of projects I am currently doing (or want to do):

-needlepoint tuffet: easily done while watching tv - not a priority this week

-placemats: these are those ones that I'm practicing my FMQ on. I've only stitched 2 out of the 6 and have bound 0

-jacket: I hope to work on this a little but there's no way I'll finish it

-charity quilt: This is due by my July quilt guild meeting so it is my priority

-challenge quilt: This isn't due until the August meeting so honestly I probably won't start it

-clock: I haven't blogged about this yet, but I picked up a freebie books on quilted clocks.  My apartment is in desperate need of a clock so I want to make one using a mariner's compass design.  Probably won't get to it this week.

-denali quilt: Haven't blogged about this yet either, because I am using a copyrighted image and they didn't want me to post pictures because they don't want lots of people asking them for permission to make quilts lol.  I'll still blog about it once I get going, just not show you any super revealing photos so you don't know what image I'm using.  I do think I will get going on this project this week, since I have been on hold waiting for permission.  I just need to swing by the quilt shop to get some spray starch and I'll be ready to go!  I am very excited about this because it will be my first attempt at a landscape quilt

-sew patches onto backpack: I have patches from places I've been backpacking and since I got a new backpack they all need to be transferred.

-hanging strip on cat quilt: I am thinking about entering my cat quilt in my guild's show in September.  However you have to have a hanging sleeve to enter it, so I need to sew one onto the back of my quilt.

So, what did I get done today?

Sewed patches onto my backpack.  This took longer than I thought it would and I really wished I had a thimble.

Washed my cat quilt to get the last blue wash-away pen out.  Unfortunately some of it is still there!  It's subtle, but in the shots below you can see a hint of blue around the thread.  This is pretty frustrating because there's no rhyme or reason to which fabrics it didn't wash out of.

 It's something only I and the judges will notice, but it makes me second-guess whether I should enter my quilt in this show.  It's really a sloppy quilt that I made for snuggling on the couch, not a show quilt.  But at the same time I really want to enter something and this is the only thing I have to enter.  It won't get rejected (I think?) because it's just our local guild show, and I would like to participate.  But I also don't want to show something that, while I had fun making, isn't really my best work.

Also when I washed my quilt today a weird brown smudge appeared, in that center white block.  It definitely looks like something in the fabric reacting to something in the environment, not a piece of chocolate I smeared on it or anything.  Also frustrating.

Cleaned my sewing area!  I should have taken a "before" shot.  I cleared out all of the clutter stacked up behind my sewing table and actually vacuumed.  I found a piece to my sewing machine that I had been missing for many months.  That stack of stuff on the floor by the wall used to be about twice as tall and wide!  I am very happy I got this done.

Pinned the charity quilt for quilting.  It's a wholecloth with a fun design.  No big spaces, but plenty of room for fun fillers.  I need to quilt a little bit of it every day.

And that's all I got done on quilting today.  Not a ton, but everything seems to take more time than I think it will.  At least the charity quilt is ready to go for quilting.  Honestly I think this week I will probably just do that and my Denali projet, but we'll see!