UFO 2011 challenge: a head start on #8

does it seem as if I've nothing to do with myself? although there could be nothing further from the truth, it does begin to seem that way...

UFO challenge #8 is a quilt that i started with a friend 20+ years ago. literally. really! we intended to donate it to our local Pregnancy Care Center. however, life has a way of putting aside our plans sometimes, no matter how well intentioned we may be. Marcia and i just got busy raising our families, and i had forgotten all about this quilt until i stumbled upon it again last month.

now i have a new quilty friend, Lorraine, and we love to sew (and bicker) at Scraps to Wraps a couple Wednesdays a month. yesterday i ironed all the pieces (you'd be amazed at how wrinkly fabric can get after being in a bag for 20 years. or maybe, the more amazing part is that the triangles were not more wrinkly after being in a bag for 20 years...)

and today i brought along the pitiful little pile of triangles that was intended to be a potential quilt. together Lorraine and i pieced a few more pinwheels, added some solid blocks to tame it down a bit, and now the quilt is ready to be sewn together the next time we meet.

I'll keep you posted on our progress...

'cause it's winter, and 'cause it just keeps snowing around here....

I've been busy working on my UFO projects that Judy is hosting over here, and I'll have some progress to show you on that front soon.

but for now, I'm really enjoying the slower pace of wintertime here.

you may remember that i mentioned that the Kona cottons in their fabulous array of colors is my new favorite fabric... (that's the fabric that I've chosen to do my FQ Calendar Quilt) well, Cherri is hosting a quilt along over at Cherry House Quilts, and there are 4 colorways to choose from, and they all use the Kona cotton.

it's a simple, small and interesting quilt. pop on over and take a look!

*edited to add:*

now that I've "caught up" so to speak with my quilting, I'm committing to take the rest of the month off and do some scrap booking before the spring garden work hits.

A and B really enjoy looking at the scrapbooks that i have done, and since we've moved here (almost 3 years ago) I've barely developed any pictures, never mind done any scrap booking for the girls.

so in the few weeks of February that we have left, I'll be wading through those *thousands* of pictures, and getting some of them into scrapbooks so the little girls can see themselves as they celebrate milestones in their lives- Christmas 2008, 2009, 2010, birthdays, Florida...

wish me luck. and send tape- lots of it!

a warm flannel (piggy) quilt- perfect for the snowstorm!

Judy drew the next number for the 2011 UFO challenge- and here's my corresponding (unfinished) project: one of those quickie quilts. i love these quilts, since they are so easy. and the flannel is SO warm!

FQ calendar quilt: February

January has sped by, and it's February already!

the block for the month of February will be the Dresden plate. you can find the pattern here, if you don't have a copy of this pattern already. to remind us of Valentine's day, instead of the circle in the middle of the Dresden plate, replace that with a heart
.

happy quilting!

UFO challenge 2011: January

this box of fabric with its partially finished quilt has been sitting around for at least 10 months now. it was a demo left over from a class that i taught at the BF. i certainly had every intention to finish this cute little wall hanging.

someday!

I've known for quite some time that i work better under pressure. what is it about a deadline that makes me work better? (that was only a rhetorical question!) the end of the month is only 2 days away. and look: it's someday. the pink and brown Dresden plate is done!

and remember to look for next block in our FQ calendar quilt! it will be up February 1, so don't forget to stop by again.

you need look no further than our driveway...

our Christmas morning was spent in happy oblivion, sharing gifts and opening stockings, reading Luke 2 and drinking coffee. (Starbucks and otherwise)

little did we know the priceless and precious gift that we were about to be given.

while traveling south to visit family, G, M and N were involved in a serious truck accident.

there were two water tankers traveling north. after failing to negotiate an "S" curve, G's truck slammed into the second water tanker.

it was the quick thinking of those two drivers who quite literally saved the lives of my children: Miriam Elizabeth, Nathaniel Joseph and Gabriel Donald.


G would have hit that tanker head on, except for the fact that the first driver radioed back to the second that the purple pickup was loosing control. the second driver took his foot off the gas, and got all the way over to the right, against the guardrail.




even still, the front axle of the (full) water tanker was broken, although the water tanker was rated for 28,000 pounds. the tanker driver sustained a broken wrist in his frantic effort to avoid hitting the pickup truck.

G was the most seriously injured of the 3, with a shattered pelvis and broken hip. he also had severe lung contusions, and was in the hospital for 5+ days, 1 of those in ICU.


the kids left the house around 1PM. the accident was reported at 1:26. i received a call from the hospital at 2:37.

in those brief moments, while Dave and i were settling in for a quiet Christmas afternoon, God was watching over my children.

yet again, God has shown his abundant, unfathomable and unending mercies for my family.

i cannot even begin to imagine the horror and sorrow that we were spared from on Christmas day.

G has a second chance at life- the chance to seek and discern what it is that God has spared him for. surely God has plans for G- something that only my youngest son can do.

but most importantly- we have our 3 children- healthy and safe. and a visible reminder:

God is a God of inches.

and He loves us all.

you need look no further than our driveway to see that.

a year of quilting: January

what better excuse to start a new quilt than just the simple fact that it's a new year? now that it's January 1, I'm posting the link to our FQ Calendar Quilt.

the block for January 2011 is the Centennial Tree, which can be found here.

I'll warn you- it's a bit twiddly, but hang in there! you can see from the photo that i did the trunk a bit differently, but i like the way this looks better anyway. ( i just omitted the last, lower triangle)

it's not too late to hop on board for this quilt- you can search FQ calendar quilt in my search engine (on the right) or just look here. you'll find any info that you might have missed.

it's still not too late to join Judy's UFO 2011 project, either. details can be found here, or click on the logo on my sidebar. (on the right)

happy quilting!

here we go: the UFO challenge for January 2011

it's a new year, and Judy has drawn the number for January: #6

there is alot of stuff going on right now (almost all of which i didn't get a chance to blog about) but I'll give it my best shot to get this P & B Dresden plate done!

December: Jesus in our heart and home

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

it's almost here- the day we remember that Jesus was born to die for our sins. what a profound thing to contemplate.

as you finish those last minute preparations, and wrap those last few gifts, enjoy your time with your family and friends!

a little bit of inspiration, a big kick in the pants!

recently i was wondering around bloggy land late one night when i couldn't sleep and i came across a really neat thing: a UFO challenge for 2011. (for the more disciplined and focused folks among my readers, a UFO is an Un-Finished Object)

basically, to participate all you need to do is pull out 12 UFO's and number them one through twelve. every month, Judy will pull a number (1-12) and then we all work to complete that project, that month.

sounds easy, right? at first i was not sure that i had 12 unfinished projects. *snort* (who was i kidding anyway?) i found 12 projects, and here they are:

(I've added the 2011 UFO challenge button to my sidebar; you can click on that to find out more info, or you can go see for yourself right here.) you'll also be able to see all the others participating. (and be sure to take a quick peek at all the lovely projects that we'll all be working on!)

project #1: bear paw. i won these blocks at my quilt guild years ago (9+?). as you can see, i have a good start, but still need to finish the corners and border.

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

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!

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!)

project #6: this is a pink/brown dresden plate wall hanging/table runner that i started for one of my classes at the BF. some applique work, and then piecing/quilting is all that is left to do here.

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?

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.

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.

project #10: a "quickie" quilt- easy and fun. the pattern can be found here. i made B one of these for her birthday (using chicken flannel fabric) and i can honestly say that it's one of the warmest quilts I've ever made!
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.

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.