It seems like only yesterday that it was the beginning of the new year. The month simply flew by. I have been busy and I know that always makes time pass more quickly. I started a master to-do list at the beginning of the year and I have crossed quite a few things off my list. Among those are the goals I shared at the beginning of the month.

1. ​Quilt Bread and Butter table runner - DONE
2. Teach first Tucker University class - DONE and fun!
   
3. Bind 4 quilts and donate to guild - Done, sort of. I bound 4 quilts and 2 have been given to the guild. The 3rd one bound is now going to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law as a gift. The 4th one bound will get turned in to the guild at the next meeting on February 14th.
   
4. Blog once a week all year - DONE for January
   

It is a wonderful feeling to have accomplished my goals as well as I did. I have 3 more quilts to bind that will be going to the guild so I'm not too worried about one now becoming a gift instead.
I'll share my goals for February next time. For today I want to share some more videos for the mountain. First up is a montage of a coyote in the woods and an ermine and a grouse along the road just up the hill from our house.

I like to think that Cat Den Mountain is named for bobcats although it could have been due to cougars/mountain lions. Some folks might say it is named for fisher cats but since fisher cats aren't actually cats, I doubt that is the source of the name. So bobcats are especially nice to see in our woods.

Well, that's it from the mountain today. Take care and see you next week.

On Saturday, I taught the first Tucker University class at Four Pines Quilt Chop in Claremont, NH. Lots of half-square triangle, quarter-square, combination and shaded 4 patch units were made. It was a fun and productive day. Unfortunately, in all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures to share. I hope to do better next month when we make V-blocks and variants.
I was able to finish up a UFO this week. This one was a mystery quilt ​published by The Quilt Pattern Magazine newsletter recipients from July 2016 through May 2017. It was called Nine Patch Row Mystery. I had it quilted by Sharon Walty from Henderson Harbor, NY in August of last year. It took me until this past week to finally get the binding done on it.

It is too long for me to get a picture of it hanging. I had to put it on my design wall sideways. Now this quilt will be joining others in my guild's Giraffe Closet. We give those quilts to members of our area that have been victims of a disaster such as fire or other trauma. I know it will find a good home.
​I have 7 tops for small quilts that I need to get quilted. There will either be for nursing home residents for their wheelchairs or for children in the pediatric unit at our local hospital. I'm going to try to get a couple finished before the next guild meeting.
​Until next time, keep on stitching!

It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the new year. Today we are half through the month. Fortunately, I have managed a lot of time to sew this month due to the weather we've had here. Today it is another cold day so I should have plenty of time today to sew.
​One of the projects I have been working on is Timeless With a Twist which is a weekly sampler hosted by Michelle Hiatt of Sew On The Go. Sign up for her newsletter if you'd like to join the fun. The block instructions are very complete and utilize the marvelous tools from Studio 180 Designs. Here are my first 2 blocks.

I plan to make several charity quilts from the 48 blocks of this project. The first one will use 12 blocks and will all include the dragonfly fabric with its stained glass look. The other fabrics will be 5 values of the pink and green. So far I have used 3 of the pink and 4 of the greens. I hope that I can bring the rest of the fabrics into the mix.

​My goals for the month are progressing nicely. I have my table runner finished, the charity quilts bound, class preparations complete and am blogging weekly. I have many other items on my plate. One of those is my guild's BOM for 2018. Be sure to download the first month before March so you don't have to pay for it. Here is the first month's block - New England Star.

Well, that's enough for this week. See you next. Take care.

So far, so good, on my 2018 goal of blogging once a week, with Monday being the preferred day. I messed that up last week but I am here to tell you that week 2 is right on track.
​Last week I told you about One Monthly Goal sponsored by Elm Street Quilts. I was #56 in posting my goal. There are now 169 goals linked up. (You can see them at the One Monthly Goal January link up here.) I am ecstatic to report that I already completed my goal!

I love my Bread & Butter Table Runner. You can buy the pattern at your local quilt shop or from my Store. I used William Morris fabrics but the design looks good in any fabric combination.
​The third goal I listed last week was to get four donation quilts bound. I am half done with that one. Check out my 2 versions of Connecting Threads 2016 Mystery quilt.

These 2 quilts will be going to my guild.
​Like I said at the beginning of this post, so far, so good. I should have my 4 goals completed by the end of the month. I have lots of other items on my to-be-done-before-too-long list so boredom isn't in my future.
​One of those other items is my version of SueNami from Studio 180 Designs. I don't have this one for sale on my website yet but will add that to my list of things to-do-sooner-rather-than-later.

Can you tell that I love paisleys? This pattern was very straightforward to piece using the Rapid Fire Petite Hunter's Star and Wing Clipper I tools.
​So you can see that I've been busy this past week but there is always more to do. Take care and see you next week.

My friend and fellow CI, Karen Overton, is also known as The Quilt Rambler. She has taken up the One Monthly Goal challenge from Elm Street Quilts and I have decided to follow her lead. (You can read Karen's goals here.) At this point, there are over 50 bloggers that have taken up this challenge. (You can see them at the One Monthly Goal January link up here.)
​To be included, one must blog one monthly goal. In this post I will describe 4 goals that I have for the month. The one for this challenge is to layer and quilt my version of Bread & Butter Table Runner. Bread & Butter Table Runner is a marvelous pattern from Studio 180 Designs that uses the Tucker Trimmer I. My version uses William Morris 2017 fabric that I bought at Four Pines Quilting in Claremont, NH.

My second goal is to prepare and teach my first Tucker University class at Four Pines on January 20th. If you are interested, click here to register online with Four Pines. In this class, I will teach how to use the Tucker Trimmer I for making half square triangles, quarter square triangles, combination units and shaded four patches. All of these can be made in 11 different sizes using the single tool. For the class you need the Tucker Trimmer I, Quilter's Magic Wand, Shaded Four Patch technique sheet and the Tucker Trimmer I design sheet. These items can be purchased at the class if you don't already own them.

My third goal is to bind four quilts that I will be donating to my guild's Giraffe Closet. I will be posting pictures as I get each one of them finished so you can admire my handiwork. (Big grin!)

​ My 4th and final goal is actually one for the entire year. I will be trying to blog once every week. I would like to post every Monday but any day within a week will work for me. Hopefully, you'll hear from me again next Monday. Until then, take care!