I don't really feel like getting stuck into the UFOs right now.  I feel like cutting up huge swathes of fabric and stocking the empty project boxes with new pieces.  It's mad to ignore all the existing projects, silly to pull out stacks of fabric and cut more and more strips, insane to plan three new quilts.  But it's also fun, and the only thing that's keeping me in the sewing room lately.
I've cut the background pieces for 35 Sister's Choice blocks,

and I've made four complete blocks (just to test my measurements).

Everything is spot on, so I can get busy cutting up scraps and kitting up the 56 blocks I want to make.  They will be set edge to edge, no sashing, so it will be a decent size quilt but not enormous.  56 blocks should make a dent in the scrap containers.

I'm going to make all the star point units first, then all the nine-patch centres, so it will be simple to use the pieces as leader-enders.  It's what makes Bonnie's mysteries so easy to put together; all the units are made, it's just a matter of arranging them into blocks and sewing them together.

When I was visiting Mereth's sewing room I saw some brown nine-patches lying on a scrap of the blue fabric I used for my Sister's Ninepatch.  The blue and brown looked wonderful together, and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind.  I really miss having nine-patch blocks ready to sew, and the obvious thing to do was to start cutting up brown scraps.

I went through the stash drawers and pulled out anything that was smaller than a FQ, or anything that was seriously old and needed to be dealt with.  The cream and white fabrics have blue prints on them, and are another section of the stash that needs to be whittled down.  A few pieces were sent through the Go Cutter, subcut into squares and I sewed up a trial block.

This is going to be fun.  At the moment I don't know whether I will keep making larger blocks like this, or if I will just set the 3" blocks with the blue fabric.  Can't stop to make decisions, got to keep cutting while the mood is upon me.  And to think I used to hate nine-patches!
I've written these new projects into my spreadsheet for 2016; my project tally is 23, not so many after all.  I think my goal for this year is to finish 16 tops, which sounds perfectly reasonable this early in the year.  It's a fun number to aim for anyway.