March Oh, Hello Done! Goal Complete

Have you all seen the quote “What a long year this week has been!”? Feels like it, doesn't it.

March has certainly been a lion - and with the Coronavirus news changing daily - hourly, I don’t see it slowing down for a while, it’s added to the blustery month March can be. Here in Kansas, our schools have shut down for the remainder of the school year, Masses cancelled, restaurants and businesses changing business models. Lots going on.

Stay kind to one another and engaged - we are all in this together. And, the more we do, the more we prevent! I’m praying daily for quick resolution.

I’m actually waiting to start my new “job that pays the bills” next week. While I was hoping my down time wouldn’t be made a bit more stressful by the virus, I am trying to get lots of rest. Rest that I’ve needed. I think God listened a little too well when I said I needed a sabbatical.

I did go to my mom’s this last weekend and I knocked out my March Oh, Hello Done! goal. I got my cousin’s quilt cut out. He and his girlfriend welcomed a little boy to the world last month.

The pattern I picked for this baby quilt is “Big Sky - The Bear” by Annie Brady for Moda.

I thought the bear was super cute and the quilt’s finished size would be a good size for the little man to grow into.

I’m using the Speckled line from Ruby Star to make this quilt. I had gotten the material last year, but once I set my monthly goals for 2020, I decided to save it for my “thirds” goals. So without further ado - here’s the cuts!

So, some thoughts on the pattern so far. First, I should’ve labeled my material when I bought it for what materials were which - I spent some time going back and figuring out what went where and what cuts were what.

Next, this pattern has a lot of waste (or the instructions aren’t clear and I’ll be going back and cutting more). I feel like I can get another quilt out of what was left over. I do feel like this pattern was written to strictly get you to buy material, not aligning closely to what was needed-most economical. You’ll have even more waste if you go to a quilt store that only cuts on the quarter yard and you round up. However, the cuts did include the binding, so I did like that the binding was included in the colors and I didn’t need to pick out another coordinating piece. So, as of right now, I don’t think this is a pattern I’d recommend picking up based on the waste. However, I’ll evaluate again when I complete the sewing next month. Here’s a picture of the waste I had when I was done with all my cuts.

I’m continuing to work on wrapping up my quilt top for my February goal (use a precut) - it has been more of a challenge than I expected. And by that I mean I’m having trouble - more than normal - with my seam alignment and getting my seams to where I’m happy with how the block turns out.

This week I also finished up my March block for my Paper Pieces BOM, so look for that write up soon (it’s another one my brain struggled with).

Honestly, how much I’ve struggled with a few of these patterns lately is a reflection of how tired I’ve been in general. So, slowing down, not amping up, has been a good call these last two weeks. But, even as I type this, my mojo is coming back and I’m ready to get some more projects done.

How are your quilt goals coming? Will you have time to catch-up with the quarantines? Tell me what you’re working on in the comments below!