June, better late than never

If you're considering starting a blog, one factor to consider before sharing it with your family is that it makes it very hard to talk about Christmas or birthday presents. There's also a good chance that you'll get asked why you haven't put up any photos recently. I have been sewing though.

I missed the deadline for the June UFO. I did finish it except for the binding by the end of the July 4th weekend. This quilt was originally intended to be a Christmas gift. But now I'm not sure. I'm still weighing if it will go with the intended recipient's house or not. hmmm.....

It started out as a pile of partly pieced strips:

I did a pseudo-quilt as you go technique, then came back and did a decorative stitch on each strip. I think I saw something similar in a catalog that inspired me. It's about 40x60".

I also finished up this one in May:

This was my #6 nephew's graduation quilt. The pattern is Tennessee Waltz. It's been done for awhile. All it needed was a label. I also wanted to get it shipped so he would see it before the rest of the world. Detail shot:

Additionally, I got the binding on two quilts to send to Japan. They're nothing fancy, but they'll keep someone warm. These are going to Quilts 4 Japan.

Other sewing:

I finished all my subway blocks and the top. Next up is quilting.

I've been working on my Chez Moi 2 quilt blocks for the past several months and completed that top, too.

I've working on the Glorified nine-patch blocks.

And I made a pillow for a retirement gift for a co-worker:

I've also started and finished my UFO for August. I learned last month. Do the UFO first, then catch up on other stuff. :) You'll have to wait to see that one.

July UFO

Greetings Blogland!

Last week while I was traveling for a conference with Mr. Belfry, I got through my entire binding pile. Six days in an air-conditioned hotel room. 5 quilts bound. Bliss. Granted, none of them were huge, but they would have had to wait til the cooler fall weather arrived to work on them at home. I've never had a binding pile before. Usually I do the binding as soon as I finish the quilt. I guess that means the challenge is working because I'm finishing things, and the list is getting shorter.

So not only did I finish my June UFO (better late than never), but I also finished my July UFO. And here it is:

This is another quilt I started just to play with a charm pack. I made up a bunch of squares then set them aside. The fabric is Oz by Sanae for Moda.

I had a few fat quarters to try and figure out a border, but nothing really worked. So, I decided to forgo the border and just finish it. It's around 25x30 inches and quilted in the ditch.

My August UFO is a really, really easy one. I think I put it on the list here, so I'd have a chance to catch up. I am behind where I wanted to be, but I'm still working through the piles very well.

Just a stone's throw...

What I did on my summer vacation...or rather Memorial day weekend. I helped my sister turn that pile of limestone into part of a flower bed. I say part because we all had to quit when our backs were done in.

Exhibit A: The limestone. Did I mention she got it for free? Neat huh?

Exhibit B: existing flower box/planter with rotting timbers. They were practically mulch when we removed them. Mulch with nails and rusty spikes.

And another side:

And the front side:

Exhibit C: After the timbers were out, we (mostly sis) dug a trench for the new stones.

Trench side 2:

Exhibit D: The first layer! Woo Hoo!

We got all the way around. Did I mention that each stone weighed 40-70 pounds and took two of us to move? Not a single one wobbles.

It only took us 4 hours.

And that was the end of that.

Eventually it will be 4-5 layers tall. That's as far as we got before I flew home. My back wasn't sorry to leave. ;)

Whoosh!

That's the sound that May made as it flew by me. I must have blinked or something or they cut days out of the month. I did, however, get a UFO finished. It was a flimsy and I got it quilted and bound just under the wire.

Here's the before:

Here it is quilted:

Here is the finished and bound quilt:

Here's a closeup of the border and binding. I chose a fun plaid for the binding:

Here is the back. It's a really vibrant batik print in orange and aqua:

I also got two quilts for Japan quilted and the bindings sewn to the top. Those just need the hand sewing now. I also finished the last 5 of the 25 subway blocks. I'll do a separate post on that one. Not a bad month, I suppose.

Ta.

A

April UFO finish

Here's my UFO finish for April. This is an original pattern I call Licorice Sticks. Yet again, another quilt that got set aside before the borders were added. In this case it was a combination of getting distracted by the next project, and being unsure what I wanted to do/what I had enough fabric for to finish the top. My goal for this was to finish the top this month. I squeaked in under the deadline and finished up last night.

Here's the before.

And here's the after. I added two simple borders and called it a day. Sorry about the daylight shot. Not used to having that around here.

Here's a detail shot to give you a better idea on colors. I used a Bali pop roll in Mocha Mint.

Yay! Done and ready for quilting. The backing and binding are also finished. And hey, guess what? The binding is dots!

I'll be quilting this one at mom's next weekend so this will be completely finished soon. I'll have to look at my list and see what I picked to work on in May. I get a pic up soon.

a

Made just for me

Picture from Allpeoplequilt.com

I have found the perfect quilting challenge for me. Per. Fect. When they were thinking this up, they thought of me. Let's do a challenge for Ann, oh and whomever else wants to participate. American Patchwork and Quilting is sponsoring a Polka dot challenge. Make any quilt that has appeared in their Quilts and More publication with at least 50% polka dot fabric. Pffft 50%. HA! Go big or go home I say.

As you might have guessed, I like polka dots. I blame it on my mother for decorating my childhood bedroom in nothing but pin size polka dot fabrics in yellow, orange and lime green. OK, a) it was the 70s and b) I loved it. It was sure cheery. I have to admit I'm a polka dot purist. I don't care if they're in rows or scattered randomly, tiny or big, or overlapping, but they must be dots. Squares, hearts or flowers don't count. I'll make an exception for ovals, but that's it. Do I still buy squares, hearts and flowers? Sure! They're just not polka dots.

I've narrowed it down to three projects. No, I mean I have enough fabric for three projects, except for a couple of specific pieces for backgrounds that will arrive this weekend. Hee hee! I'm giddy just thinking about it. I'm going to try and use up every polka dot fabric i have, you know, so I can buy more. I even found a neat pattern to use that precious japanese polka dot fabric I've been treasuring for a special moment. (It's the light green one with the big white dots below.)

Special shout out to my peeps at The Fabric Shack. I placed an order for 23 different pieces of fabric about 10 pm on Thursday. I already got the shipping notification in my inbox before 9 am the very next morning. Way to swing those scissors! Edited to add: The box arrived on my doorstep on Saturday morning. And they include treats!

This should give me the energy to push through a couple of lingering projects and the remaining quilts for Japan. I have to get the final borders on my April UFO for Judy's challenge (today, eek!). Stay tuned for a post on that one. I've got to put the binding on my nephew's graduation quilt. I'll post on that one after he receives it. I have one Japan quilt quilted and three more tops to go.

Then, EEEE, DOTS!

ann

UFO finish for March and looking for a long-armer

Hi Everyone,

The best laid plans do seem to get derailed. I did finish a UFO this month, but I didn't get everything done I wanted to. That's ok, though. After the earthquake in Japan, I set aside my projects to make quilts to donate. Go here for details. I'll post pics when they're done. So far I have 3 tops done and two more cut out.

Here's what I wanted to finish:

I have made great progress. In this picture, only one basket is appliqued. So far I've gotten everything you see here plus almost all the stems done. I've got a couple more stems and enough leaves to make my own tree, then I get to do the fun stuff....the flowers.

I also wanted to get another row of my Subway quilt done. This also did not happen. I've got one more block almost together. That's ok though. No deadline on this. I would like to get it off my design wall to make room for other things though.

Here is what I did finish to the flimsy stage: [before]

I think the original pattern was called Scotch Granny which doesn't fit on mine, so I need to come up with a better name. I've been calling it Chez Moi after the fabric designers. Maybe that will stick. The pattern called for plain borders. I had a bunch of bits leftover from the block construction that I sewed into pinwheels.

The book suggested making these into another smaller quilt. I decided to use them for the borders instead. This took a lot of figuring to make them come out right and I had to add some strips to fudge it a bit.

All in all, I'm really happy with it. I also pieced the backing complete with racing stripe, as Mr. Belfry calls it, because as we all know, 42" is the new 45".

AND I finished the binding too. Yay me.

Now I just need to find a long-armer to quilt it. My gal is hanging up her needles this spring. Anyone have a quilter to recommend or not recommend?

Oh, I almost forgot. I finished the Tennessee Waltz quilt this month too. It is currently at my soon-to-be-retired quilter's. No pictures here of that one. So I do have two finishes for the month. I'm not pleased with the piecing on that one, but I'm hoping the quilting will hide it. A guy going by on a bus wouldn't notice it.

Happy Spring!

A