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.