_I decided as soon as I started receiving my bee blocks in the mail this month to try and get them done as soon as possible as to not have them sitting here after baby comes.  Lucky for me, I was able to finish all of January's blocks and get them in the mail!  Woohoo!  I am excited about this, and no, it doesn't take much to excite me these days!

First up is the first month in my brand new bee, Modern Blocks Bee, this block is for "fordcowgirl_85."  Every block that we will be making this year comes from the 99 Modern Blocks book that I reviewed briefly a while back.  I love this block and the fabric line, so pretty, and this block was really easy to whip up!  This block measures 12.5" x 12.5", as do all of the blocks in this book.

This block is for "jdderrick" in the Quilting newBEES group, and is a Dutch Pinwheel Block, the tutorial can be found HERE.  Another stunning block, and the fabric she provided had such a great feel to it, unfortunately my iron didn't think so, and I couldn't get those darn wrinkles out, or heck, maybe the iron made them,  I don't know, sorry about that.  This block measures roughly 17" x 17".

The next two blocks are for "hehehe922" in the Bee Connected group, and honestly are some of my favorite types of block to make, wonky stars.  Simple enough.  She asked for all sizes and shapes, so for the first I stuck with a regular 12.5" x 12.5" block, but for the second I went a little wild.  I don't remember the exact size, but it was somewhere around 4" x 6" small, and I based this block loosely on the tutorial found HERE.  I really like it, and think a whole quilt with these minis would be fabulous!

Last, but not least are some awesome word blocks for "Kreated by Kari" in the Always Bee Learning group.  She is making a word quilt for her husband that features the Clemson Alma Mater song, and I think it will be spectacular!  These blocks were challenging, but honestly a lot of fun, and now I want to make a word quilt!  They measure 5.5" tall and the length varies with the word.  When I opened the packet, I honestly was a little frightened with this project, but jumped right in and it didn't take long to figure out how to make them, kind of like paper piecing, but not if that makes any sense, and to me the only difficult letters were the "r" and "n" simply because they featured angles, and honestly it took my brain a while to wrap around that, simply because pregnancy brain is in full force right now!  I hope Kari likes them and can't wait to see the finished quilt! Oh and why the second "s" in greatness turned out smaller, I have no idea, but I hope it adds to the charming-ness of the quilt!

Amy over at Amy's Creative Side challenged us last Monday to pick just one thing for the week and get it finished.  I decided to get the straight line quilting done with my walking foot finished on the four panels of my Lily's Quilts QAL quilt, all with the exception that I didn't go into labor.  Well here I am, still pregnant (38 weeks) and with proof through pictures that I accomplished my goal! Woohoo! 

The quilting went smoother than I expected, and I enjoyed it, which is always a plus.  Now I just have to do a tad bit of free motion quilting on the center circles, then start joining these panels via my (and Leanne's "She Can Quilt") method of quilt as you go!  I will be joining the four panels and then adding a border to the whole quilt when finished.  This project is my goal that I set in Rhonda's (Quilter in the Gap) Finish-Along, so I need to have it completed by March.  So far, I am right on target to actually wrapping this project up!  I'm going to try and get as much finished before I go into labor, wish me luck folks!  Thanks again Amy for hosting this challenge and helping me to reach my goals!  I always need that extra little push.

Wow, it has been almost three months since i have done a normal WIP post, and since I am still here, still huge and currently 37.5 weeks pregnant (full term, yippee!) I thought I would do a WIP roundup of sorts. Kind of a reminder to myself of all my current projects floating around my house that I will complete this year!  And yes, I said it, I will complete these this year, or else!  Just kidding, but seriously it is my New Years Resolution!

Ongoing Projects or Works in Progress:
Row 1 - My current project, I have 2 of 4 panels quilted, using the Quilt As You Go method.  This was a Lily's Quilts Quilt Along.  Goal is to have it finished by March.
Row 2 - Bottled Rainbows Quilt Along 5 of 16 blocks completed.
Row 3 (From Left to Right) - Kaleidoscope Quilt Along awaiting basting, Fox Trails baby quilt awaiting cutting, Baby boy quilt for my nephew top halfway pieced, Denyse Schmidt Log Cabin Blocks from the Quilting newBEES group top awaiting piecing.
Row 4 (From Left to Right) - Christmas String Blocks from the Christmas Fabric Bee group top awaiting piecing, Heather Bailey String Blocks from the Always Bee Learning group top awaiting piecing, Postage Stamp Blocks from Scrapbuster Swap not sure what I will do with these, Scrappy Depression Blocks from Scrapbuster Swap top awaiting piecing.
Row 5 - Wonky Christmas Stars from Scrapbuster Swap, possibly table runners and pillows.
Row 6 (or Last Photo) - Good Fortune Fabric Bundle to be possibly used in the Swoon-Along hosted by I'm A Ginger Monkey.  Currently hoping I can figure out how to make this Fat Eighth bundle work with the Swoon blocks!

This Week's Stats:
New Projects - What is new, what is old?  Who knows? I lost track a long time ago!
Completed Projects -  0
Currently in Progress - 12

Dream Projects On Hold For Now:
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Blossom Handbag
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Everything Wristlet
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Miss Maven Ruffled Handbag
Amy Butler's Style Stitches Take Flight Shoulder Bag

_Head over to Freshly Pieced to have a look at what everyone else is working on!

I probably finished these about two months ago now, but just kept working and never took the time to photograph or blog about them (which is usually my problem!)  I wanted a bunch of bright and new burp cloths for my new little guy, so I dug through my stash and picked a lot of fabrics I liked and then went to town!  These are sewn onto cloth diapers, and are my equivalent of a mullet haircut.  A mullet is business in the front, party in the back.  These are the opposite, party on the front, cleaning up business on the back!  Ok, that was my attempt at a little humor.  HaHa!  My son had some serious spit up issues, so I am just going into this one prepared, burp cloths in hand!

Maybe I should say bee block, because there is only one.  I think I finished one early back in November, so with the other groups taking breaks, it only left this one, and honestly I can't really call it a block, but rather a really long strip!  The strip above is an example of Seminole Piecework, and there are a ton of different techniques, this being just one of them.  This strip is for Stephanie at Spontaneous Threads, and she plans to use them to add little special details to individual projects, from my understanding.  Once you understand the technique, it flies together in no time, literally I had this baby done in 10 minutes.  It really is intriguing and the possibilities are limitless!

So what is with the pouch you ask?  Yeah, Stephanie is pretty darn amazing and she made every member of our group a pouch as a thank you and a little Christmas present!  Oh my goodness...AWESOME!  I had to include a close up detail of the Seminole Piecework that is on the center of this pouch, so tiny and amazing!  I love it Stephanie, and I'm sending a super huge thank you your way!

Happy New Year!  I am going to do something that I NEVER do.  I'm actually making a resolution this year.  I am normally the type of person that follows the "if you don't make a resolution then you won't be disappointed when you don't accomplish it" motto.  Yes, I know that is so pessimistic, but that truly is how I feel, and yes, low and behold, I haven't been disappointed in myself for years!  It works, try it! Ha-Ha!  But, this year will be different, and I have known for several weeks now that I will actually make a resolution this year.  Woohoo!

My New Years Resolution 2012:  To finish all the WIPs (works in progress) from 2011. 

Plain and simple, right?  I think so.  So then today, I open up my Google Reader and see that Leanne over at She Can Quilt has posted this list of unfinished projects that she plans to finish up during the first quarter of 2012.  How cool is that, exactly what I was planning to do.  Then I realize that she is posting as part of a quilt-a-long of sorts.  Rhonda of Quilter in the Gap fame is hosting what she is calling a Finish-A-Long.  Perfect!  Basically, you make a realistic goal of what you can finish during the first quarter of the year, post about it now, then link up again at the end of the quarter with your finished project!  Easy peasy!  I'm in, sign me up!

Since this needs to be a realistic goal, and I am expecting a baby sometime in the next 23 days (my c-section has been scheduled!)  I am setting a truly realistic goal.  Just one quilt!  I started this quilt a little less than a year ago, and all four quadrants are pieced, and this one will be quilt as you go, so I will be quilting each section independently.  I picked this project first because I have all the supplies needed.  Quilting thread, backing, border fabric, binding fabric....and oh fudge I forgot I am out of batting.  Oh well, i can get that or send hubs to the store for it!  So there we go, goal number one for the first quarter of the year!  Wish me luck!  Want to join along?  Click the little button below!