"Spring to Finish" Finished

On April 23 I read about the Spring to Finish challenge and boldly laid out eight projects I wanted to finish by May 31. Some were almost there. Some weren't even started. Some were in between. None of them were more than a couple months old, which is still current in my book. (I heard someone recently describe something as a UFO [unfinished object--as in languishing and not likely to ever be finished] if she hadn't worked on it in two weeks. That's crazy. My limit is closer to two years.)

Now I give you the Spring to Finish Finished! list, in order of completion:

3a. Purse: April 25. Something a little different for me. I'm usually hyper-critical of my own projects like this. (What do I mean by "like this"? Well, something with embellishments, something that has to look pretty. Something that may easily look homemade, rather than handmade.) But I really enjoy this one.

Reward fail: I was supposed to treat myself to something at the shop of the woman who produced the yarn. I have not been able to contact her, so the visit is out.

1a. Odds & Sods socks: April 29. What more can a sock be? Comfy. Cozy. Warm. Still love this sock architecture.

Reward: warm feet.

1b. Cabled Fingerless Mittens: May 4. I was able to work on the second mitten during the Stop AIDS Walk and that was fun. I also enjoyed pulling a name and giving them away.

Reward: Randomly selecting the winning name and her delight at winning.

1d. Purple Mohair T: May 6. A dream since last summer. There were many worries and insecurities on the way about fit and how the mohair would feel, but it all turned out good--love it.

Reward: wearing the "matching" skirt. Not quite as rewarding as I was expecting since the skirt doesn't really match. But it was fun pulling the outfit together.

2. County Fair Quilt Block: May 8. Two practice tries and I still had size issues! But overall I am happy with how it turned out. I'm glad I had enough fabric, and I still love paper piecing!

Reward: We will see in August...will I get a ribbon for my efforts?

1c. Whistler: May 19. What more is there to say? It's beautiful. It fits. It's everything I could have wanted it to be.

Reward: An extra night at the Purl. I haven't done this yet. I've frequently been at the Purl recently but no "extra" nights I would count as a reward. Writing myself a raincheck.

3b. Tablecloths: fail. I had promised four. Two were finished (with sewing help) before this challenge even started. One more was almost completed this weekend. I could have gotten it done if I had pushed a little harder. But at some point I decided I needed to try it on the table it's supposed to fit before I go any further. (Theory is all well and good, but I'd rather try it on and see for myself in the real world.) And there's no sense in ripping out more than I have to! The second one has all the pieces cut out (no small feat in itself) and will be sewn once I have confirmed the first one works.

Reward: no Snickers bar for me, almond or otherwise.

4. Siding: fail. This one was really close. We really did work on it regularly. Last time we stopped we really thought there was only one day left. (I mean after working on it that long, we thought we knew our capabilities.) So one day of work plus a long weekend with two work days should equal a finished project, right? It didn't work out that way.

We worked a very long shift yesterday thinking we were going to get it knocked out. But by 9 pm, I said I was done and we thought we'd finish it today instead. Heavy rains and thunderstorms prevented any work today. (Getting wet is one thing, but lightning is quite another!)  But I'm sure we'll get it done in...wait for it...one more day.

Reward: no burger from the joint down the road, but I'm sure they'll make me one when I have earned it.

So final score is six out of eight projects. Not too shabby. Although I feel the work would have all gotten done at some point, I don't think they would have all gotten done this month without this challenge. And the ones that I didn't finish certainly had more progress completed just because of this list. Thanks for reading along and keeping me accountable.