2012 UFO list ~ NOT for the faint of heart!

it's time for the list of UFO's for 2012! Last year Judy had the great idea for us all to pick out 12 random UFO's. Assign each project a number, and on the first of the month, she would pick a number. The goal was to finish that project that month.

apparently (obviously!) i need that extra pressure and accountability, since i got 10 of my projects done, plus numerous others as well.

here's a very loose list for 2012, to be updated with pictures and such as time allows (and as i dig out) each project!

project #1- this was #9 from last year, and started as a well intentioned pile of fabric. now it's progressed all the way to a well intentioned wanna-be *almost* quilt top. Late last summer, (before our LQS flooded out) i bought some brown and cheddar yellow to complete the borders for this quilt. maybe i can get it a bit further along this year!

project #2: another block win (i showed these before). not sure on the plans for this quilt, but the book that A is holding (if you were a penguin) has inspired some colors/ideas that I'd like to try. the white/black/blue/yellow/orange color combo really intrigued me one day as i was reading this book to the little girls.

project #3- Civil War Schoolhouse Blocks. a few years ago i bought this kit for a ridiculously reasonable price. the school houses are paper pieced, and should not be too hard!

I'm reserving the right to swap this one out for something else, or even not complete it at all *GASP!* since it's technically not an UFO...

project #4- a tiny table topper from this pile of leftover scraps from a previous project.

project #5- a friendship calendar quilt/blocks that our local quilting group worked on this year. each block represents a month of the year. (although the EQ drawing is a bit messed up, so don't go from that...)

project #6-friendship 3" block exchange. fix the rows that got mixed up!

project #7- technically not a UFO, but something that i should work on, since the bin is overflowing! i have a bin of strips that i stash all the strips and what not from cutting all my quilts and other projects, and every once in a while i sew the strips into 6" X 12" blocks. eventually I'll make them into an applique quilt of some sort...

project #8- 1930's blocks. first i have to find them! after deciding on a layout, i plan to piece the blocks into a top- hopefully something interesting!

read more about #8 here!

project #9 homespun 9 patch/snowballs. i really like the simplicity of these blocks, and i love the muted colors of the homespun. these are leftover blocks that our sewing circle had after piecing a quilt for our new pastor couple.

this year I'm only going to commit to 9 projects. in the spring, summer and fall months we garden extensively, and have a CSA with *15* members, so realistically i won't have time to do much sewing. I'll re-arrange numbers as needed when there is a month that i can not sew.

meanwhile, you can hop on over to Judy's and see who all is participating!

just a little sneak peak for all my faithful readers. *ahem*

Modern Christmas Christmas

Create personalized Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

as if anybody is keeping track anymore... ('cause I know I'm not!)

i know, i know... it's been a busy month, and the quilt below is slightly cheating, but it's the thought that counts, right?

this quilt is further along than it was a mere 30 days ago, and I'll quickly complete it, as I'd like to have it as a Christmas gift.

some of the other things that I've been working on are this I Spy quilt. we had a free exchange at our local Ben Franklin (where i teach quilting classes) and this is the quilt that i made. it turned out MUCH BIGGER than i had in mind (but then again, most, if not all of my quilts do...) but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. the plan is to get it quilted for the little girls for their Christmas present.

I'm thinking that the I Spy quilt will make a great sick on the sofa, or traveling quilt, but some certain other people don't seem to share the same sentiment... those unnamed people shall be allowed to remain nameless... right, Dave?


finally, I've pieced all the blocks for our Friendship Quilters Calendar Quilt. i had a few stops and starts, and ended up making 5 of the blocks over, but now it's "done". below is the EQ5 drawing that is the final plan. (I'm not as good at tweaking the EQ5 as some others are, obviously.)

and the final drawing for this year: project #12! homespun 9 patch/snowballs. i really like the simplicity of these blocks, and i love the muted colors of the homespun. these are leftover blocks that our sewing circle had after piecing a quilt for our new pastor couple.

I'm not holding out much hope that i get this quilt top done this month, but maybe if i do it as a leaders/enders project, my chances will dramatically increase!

not much to harvest, but the harvest quilt is done!

due to the all the flooding that we had in September, our gardens were abruptly done. that's left me with more time for quilting. (after cleaning, laundry and cooking, of course. of course!)

finally finished this cute little table runner, and with a few modifications, I'd make it again. thimbleberries can be so frustrating and twiddly sometimes.

project #3: another quick quilt. this one is for sale, if you want it when it's done!

here's the project drawn for this month- and a great one to do before Christmas comes!



this is a "quilt" that i recently finished. the husband stopped, and wanted me to make a quilt for his wife. while the final result was a surprise, she did stop by one afternoon, and designed this quilt from pictures that she saw in one of my books. i say "quilt" because it's really a duvet cover, although sometime it could be bound like a traditional quilt. although i would say this is the first and last quilt I'll do with so much applique, I'm happy with how it turned out!

we had snow last Saturday (crazy weather around here!) and i had previously promised A that we would sew together during the first snowstorm. although she was initially disappointed that we were sewing the simple 4 patches, and not a doll dress, she was very pleased with the final results.

A is 5, and she was so proud of the 7 blocks that she pieced. she's got them sewn into a table runner, and would like to finish it to give to her Sunday school teacher.

it's a most fortunate day!

i managed to finish BOTH #11 AND #7 in Judy's 2011 UFO challenge!

this quilt is #7 in the challenge, and the official one for September. you can see a peek of both the quilting and backing in this picture. I'll do the binding today- a perfect project for a cool, rainy day when I'm not feeling well....

this quilt is #11, which was pulled for august. despite having gotten a head start on this, i was unable to completely finish it last month. now it's done, and ready to go to the quilters. i really love the fresh, bright colors in this- it's different from most of the quilts that i would usually pick to do.

i had fallen behind in last month's project (#7) because of the gardens, but was determined to finish this month's project (#11). i was feverishly quilting last night, and even though I'm going to do the binding today, I'm calling it finished!

here is the UFO project pulled for October: #5 ~

project #5: this thimbleberries pumpkin table runner is nearly done. it just needs quilted and bound. the long edges get binding, while the shorter have prairie points on them. ( i had the prairie points all cut and pressed but somebody seems to have thrown them out! i can only find 2 out of the original 16!)

since this is "all but" done, I'm pretty certain (and pleased) that i should be able to get this one done! and what perfect timing, Judy- this fall table runner will look perfect on the pie safe in my hallway this harvest season! (and i don't think I'll be waiting until midnight the night before the deadline to be finishing this one!)

they say that the third time's the charm.....

i didn't get the august quilt done, but i did work on it a bit. i did the 4 applique blocks, and even purchased wash-away stabilizer, but never got any further than that.

i tried, i really did... but the garden in august is truly relentless! recently i told a friend that if we can make it through august, we can make it through almost anything!

so now August is officially over, and the garden is definitely winding down. fall is in the air, and the mornings are crisp and refreshing. soon i can start sewing again!

this is project #11, and since it's almost done, needing only quilting in the ditch, and binding, i think that i can manage to get this one done!

project #11: here is a quilt that i made in a workshop with the Friendship Quilters. it only needs quilting and binding. the tutorial for this one can be found here.

i'm not making excuses, i've just been busy...

really busy.

EDITED TO ADD: i didn't get this quilt done, but i did make some progress! i cut and ironed the 4 applique blocks, and just need to stitch them down. i even bought the thread! that counts for something, right? i pulled out the setting kit, and pondered putting it together, and would have loved to have the time to do it... but winter's coming!

i can't believe that July has just flown by, and it's august already! that means that it's time for Judy to draw August's UFO number- #7

unfortunately, i never got July's project done....

with 14 members in our CSA, and the gardens really producing- buckets and buckets full- we've been busy keeping up as best we can....

if you want to see what i HAVE been doing, you should be able to take a peek here.

and here's my #7. thankfully, i started this one way back this winter, figuring that the number would prpbably be drawn at the height of the gardening season. turns out i was right, but i'll give it a shot anyway!

project #7: i recently picked this up at Joann's fabrics, for 75% off the original price. it's 8 kits, plus the setting fabric to piece this top. i was intrigued by the colors, and it was a good price. what more needs to be said?

would the real July please stand up?

does anybody even read this poor, neglected blog anymore? sometimes i wonder if I'm the only one that thinks blogs are a bit like a pyramid scheme. there are so many people who have blogs, how are there any persons on the earth left to read all the blogs?

does my mother-in-law even read my blog anymore?

but i digress....

project #2: another block win (i showed these before). not sure on the plans for this quilt, but the book that A is holding (if you were a penguin) has inspired some colors/ideas that I'd like to try. the white/black/blue/yellow/orange color combo really intrigued me one day as i was reading this book to the little girls.

Judy picked #2 for this month, and my project is above. (I'm so glad that i got a head start on June's quilt, and started it back in February. )

the garden is in full swing, but is it even possible to say that we have a good handle on all the weeds? i think that maybe i can squeeze in a little bit of sewing time this month....

June's UFO- and a perfect #8 it is!

project #8: this is an ancient UFO- maybe started 17 years ago? it's been so long that i can't even remember! a friend and i started this as a quilt to donate to some charity (can't even remember that!) so I'll finish this and take it into our scraps to wraps to be knotted and donated to the MCC.

this month Judy drew #8. and it's perfect! i worked on this quilt this winter at scraps to wraps, so it's already pieced. (a friend took it home to hand quilt it)

since I'm so busy in the garden, ( i really should do a post about our CSA/market garden one of these days...) and i have a few other quilts that I've been hired to piece, I'll use the "extra" time this month to do them!

i can't really believe i managed to get even this far!

this is (was) my #9 project from the UFO list that i made last December. civil war flying geese.

it's been a very busy month with the garden. and the rain. oh my. the rain.

but i was still able to get the blocks pieced. considering that we have a week of dry weather coming up, and we're struggling to get the sweet corn in, I'll call this UFO finished for this month.

here's what it looks like with the blocks properly aligned. I'll just store the strips on a hanger until I'm ready to finish the rest of the quilt. (UFO challenge 2012, Judy?)

i have enough geese left over that I'll also make matching pillowcases.

maybe- in between the raindrops!

project #9: civil war flying geese. this was a project that was keeping me awake at night last winter, but got put aside and forgotten in the rush of other projects.

this month, Judy has drawn #9 from the list. this will be something new for me, as I've never made a flying geese quilt, and I'll be trying the method that Elenour Burns developed.



we're busy (trying) to plant the garden, but maybe between the raindrops i can get some sewing in!

finallly done- procrastination and all!

Judy drew #4 from the list for April, and just a few weeks ago, here is what my project looked like:

a big (but promising) pile of red, white and black strips. (6 friends from my quilting group participated in this strip exchange.) some of the reason that i was dwaddling on this project is that I wasn't quite sure what i wanted to do. i had several ideas floating around in my head, but just couldn't seem to agree with myself as to which one i should do.

finally, i settled on this one, from modabakeshop.com, and I'm happy with how it turned out. it was easy, and with just a few modifications, it worked really well with the strips that i already had. i used all the extra wider strips to piece the back, and managed to use up nearly all the red, white and black strips.

yay for me!

yesterday was our regular quilt meeting, and my friend Cathy was kind enough to take pictures of the other quilts, and send them to me. it's very interesting how we all started with the same fabrics, and look how different the quilts are!

i love how Janice's quilt looks like houses- a happy quilting neighborhood! she also made a matching pillow.


this is the quilt done by Janet. i wonder why it reminds me of an hourglass?

the color value and depth in Ginny's quilt is superb!

Cathy went for a radiating star. she's a prolific quilter who is also lucky enough to have a basement all set up for her quilting friends to come over and sew. i think i might need to be jealous for a moment....

my friend Betty did bazillions of stars, and she's the only one that didn't have to trim strips, since she followed the instructions. this is the quilt that's featured in the book where i got the idea for this exchange.

also, she used genuine wool batting. from a sheep that she grew herself! how amazing (and cool!) is that?

FQ Calendar Quilt: April

April is here, and hopefully dragging spring reluctantly along behind it...

this month's block is birdhouses. the pattern can be found on http://www.quilterscache.com/, or right here.

if you don't know how to paper piece, follow the links included on the page, and you can print out some pages to practice with right here.

but, please, whatever you do, puleeese actually FINISH your block before showing it off to the internets.

*ahem*

April is here, but what about spring?

project #4: this was a red/white/black strip exchange i organized through the Friendship Quilters. several members have already completed (quilted AND bound!) their quilts, so as the "organizer" i really should get going on this one!

i was "gently" reminded at our last meeting that these RWB quilts were to be done by our April meeting. some of my delay had been in not really knowing what pattern i wanted to use for this. finally, i decided to use the pattern i found here, with a few modifications.

click here for the progress on March's project #1.

if you're feeling extra generous today...

this is just one of those quilts that hit me upside the head, and said "make me, make me! please, make me!"

(you may remember, i blogged about it before, here) there is a monthly contest being sponsered over at the Moda Bake Shop, and lucky me, i finished this quilt just in time to enter!

i love to haunt the moda bake shop for cool, interesting and neat-o patterns. ( but not necessarily in that order!)

the pattern is "Charming Stars" if you'd like to make one for yourself. it was easy, fun and i like the way it's turned out. i'm even thinking of makieng another one with brown stars and the bistro line of fabrics from moda.

yes. it's THAT fun!

UFO challenge: March 2011

this quilt top is now what I'd consider "done"! i finished piecing it, and put the borders on. the plan is to take it to Scraps to Wraps and have it tied, bound and donated to the MCC. if it weren't for the surprise snowstorm we had last Wednesday, it would be totally "finished".

I'll post pictures of the tied and bound quilt after our next meeting!

the project number that was drawn for March is #1. i won these bear paw blocks at my quilt guild probably 9+ years ago. i started this quilt about 5(?) years ago. it's so close to being done: just needs the triangle corners and 2 borders. (both of which are cut!)

spring is coming, and things are really starting to hop around here, so I'm glad that this is an easy project to finish.

that train of thought of course leads to the inevitable question: if it's so easy, why didn't i finish this quilt before?

I'll have to get back to you on that one.

FQ calendar quilt: March

March: in like a lion, out like a lamb.

or is it in like a lamb and out like a lion?


either way, the month of March makes us think of spring. and wind. (but not necessarily in that order!)

this month's block for the calender quilt will be reminiscent of wind- windmills!


here is the paper pieced version from my EQ5. click on the image above, and print out 4. they should measure 6". add a 1/4" SA around the outside. if you have trouble printing this out properly, contact me and I'll snail mail you the pattern.


or,

you can find an on-line version of a double windmill here. it's a paper pieced version, and there are directions on how to paper piece right here. even if you've never paper pieced before, i encourage you to give it a try. when your block is complete, you'll be pleased with how crisp your lines are. and the points- oh, the points. they are so pointy! paper piecing makes it so much easier to get a clean, crisp looking block.

UFO challenge 2011: February

even though February is not yet half over, I'm finished with my UFO project (#10) for this month. it was a quickie quilt, done in flannels. (remember, you can find the pattern here...)

(sorry the picture is upside down, by the way...) i can speak from experience that this is a very warm quilt. i made B one for her birthday, using the blue chicken fabric from this particular fabric line, and it's a very toasty warm quilt.

if, perchance, you know a little girl who would be perfect for this quilt, it just so happens to be for sale... the quilt (100% cotton) measures 40" X 55" and is backed with the green flannel.

it's been pretty cold and snowy around these parts, so i took the time to get started on project #7- meadow in bloom.

this is a quilt kit that i bought on clearance at Joanne's fabrics last year. there are 12 blocks in the quilt, and i just pieced the first 8. the other 4 are applique *she says with a shudder* and I'll work on them when the number is drawn.