Progress but Nothing Finished

I've made progress on several different quilting projects this week but have no finishes.  Here's what I've been up to.

Never underestimate the amount of time it takes to cut 143 3½" blocks!

I cut a few on Thursday so I wouldn't be starting something on a Friday.  Today I imagined spending half an hour or so to have them done.  Well, maybe if I'd had a die cutter, but with a rotary cutter it took longer.  Maybe four times longer--or at least it seemed that way.  At first I thought, "What was I thinking choosing a setting with alternate blocks?!"  By the time I finished I was thinking, "Gosh, I'm glad I have a rotary cutter instead of having to cut these with scissors and a cardboard template."  Above is just a small section.

I thought maybe I could sew them as 9-patch blocks, alternating 9-patch and plain squares on the corners, without a layout, just as I picked them up from the pile.

Then I realized that if three greens or browns or oranges were clustered together, I might not be happy.  So I'll choose where I want them to go, then either sew 9-patches or sew them together in rows.

Scrappy Ohio Stars have also seen some progress. 

I don't think I will need them but since the pieces were already cut I decided to finish them.  I really don't like making blocks and then cutting them to size but it seemed prudent for these small blocks this time.

I cut and stitched three more blocks for the Blue and Lights (plus browns) sampler.

And here they are with all the other blocks.  The new ones are the bottom three on the left column. These may make sense only if you know I chose blocks that had either a square or an on-point square in the center surrounded by a square in the opposite orientation.

And about my One Monthly Goal of finishing the hand quilting on Everyday Patchwork.  My rotary cutter needed a new blade.  Not a problem, I have a pack or two on hand.  Have you ever noticed that the new blades seem to have oil or grease on them?  I didn't want that on the fabric I was cutting so I scrunched up a tissue and pulled it across the blade.  I've done it before, no problem, but this time I somehow let my hand move back into the blade.  It's not a big or a deep cut but it's enough of a cut that my index finger is now sporting two band-aids, one on top of the other, because it was bleeding so much.  I'm not sure I'll be able to hand quilt with those band-aids on.  I may need to edit my OMG for April.

My older daughter and her husband and their five children were here last week for a few days.  Gosh, it was busy but oh so fun to have them here.  And I forgot to take photos!

I've been terrible lately about making notes of quilts I've started and progress on the ones I started earlier.  I just realized how much I rely on this blog (and digital photos with dates) to keep track of when I started a quilt and the progress  I made.  Of course, I love posting and reading your comments, too!  In fact, I think that's the best part of blogging.

I"m linking this post to
  > Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
  > Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework (on Sunday)
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Thanks for visiting and reading and, if you do, for leaving a comment.
--Nancy.