More UFOs for #Ufovember 2021!

 The project to list all my UFO has turned into a squirrel project for me! Everything I touch calls out "finish me"!

UFO #5 (I call it Posy) from my last post has turned into a completed flimsy, and is packaged and ready to be shipped to the longarmer. I'm just waiting for my bestie, Kim, to bring hers over and we'll send them off. Larger quilts like this will still go to the LA, both for speed and lack of space at my place.

I've added a two-inch border of the feature fabric since this picture was taken, as I felt it needed an edge. I'll post more about this quilt in another post.

A few more UFOs for the list:

UFO #6 Penny Patch (free tutorial from Stitched in Color). I was really drawn to Rachel's original version, which she called Vintage Tangerine, so I started it in June. I don't know if it is really classed as an UFO, since it is my most recent start, but it did get put aside for a month or two, but I decided since it was the closest at hand, I used it as Leaders & Enders while I finished up my Posy quilt.

Now I have all the blocks made, and here they are laid out on my design wall (bed!), along with my helper, Daisy. Hopefully, they will get sewn together tonight! 

My almost 80-year-old aunt made the cutest comment on Facebook when she saw this picture: I want to be a young girl and paint my room and accessorize it to match that quilt! Lol

So I plan on surprising her with it when it is done!

UFO #7 On Ringo Lake by Bonnie Hunter This was a Mystery Quilt from 2017, and I have managed to complete about 1 step a year, as Leaders & Enders. I've been pushing to try and get it down this year, and I just might be able to do it!  

UFO #8 Flower Girl  I fell in love with Maureen McCormick's (of Brady Bunch fame) Blooming Bunch fabric line - it reminded me of my teenage years in the '70s. I picked Camille Roskelley's pattern Flower Girl to do it in. I don't do a lot of quilts with just one fabric line, but I couldn't help myself with this one. This one will be for me!

The next three are all using Tula Pink fabrics. I love her vibrant colours.

UFO #9 Rainbow Waves This one uses a single line called Zuma, which is ocean-themed. This is another quilt that Kim and I are each making one, and we each bought a kit. Turns out the kits were cut so generously, that there is about 3/4s of the second kit left over. That's okay, I love scraps!

UFO #10 Tula Pink Butterfly A lot of those leftovers are going to end up in this next quilt. Again, both Kim and I are going to make one each, Kim is pinks and purples, mine will also have mint/teals added.

UFO #11 100 Quilt Blocks in 100 Days - a quilt-along by Gnome Angel, using her Kinship Pattern. This shouldn't be a UFO at this point since I only started it in July, but work got extremely crazy and it got put aside.  I did get 10 blocks done.

 Each of the quilts I have listed were started in the last 2 years, with the exception of On Ringo Lake. I'm only going to allow myself to start 2 more quilts until I finish my inventory and choose my focus projects. Both are mystery quilts - On Rhododendren Trail by Bonnie Hunter, and Quiltmaker's Ruby Jubilee using Bonnie Hunter blocks! Both started last week, and I love doing these as a de-stresser over the busy Christmas season.

I'll be doing individual posts on all of my UFO quilts once I have inventoried them all.

UFovember 2021!

 I found a new blog the other day - and this certainly speaks to me! I have more UFOs (unfinished objects) than I can count, and every once in a while, I attempt to corral them and move them along.  Here goes nothing!

The first step is to inventory them. Over the next week or so, I will be making my list and checking it twice.

I must have been in the mood for this already, because last week, I started dusting off some projects. I have an ulterior motive - I bought myself a Cutie quilting frame!

This table-top frame was on a significant sale, and I had a commission paid (I'm a mortgage broker in my right-brained job), so I treated myself.

My Kenmore sewing machine only has about 7" of harp space, but a friend of mine that quilts with me has a Janome 9400 that has about 11", so we will be using that one.

I'm just waiting for some bungee cords for the sides, so I can start practicing with some smaller pieces.

UFO #1: The first thing I'm going to practice on is a bed runner, front and back pieced from leftover blocks from a Block-of-the-Month club project. I finally finished the quilt last year, so when I bought the frame, I had to go digging for the bed runner.

I used up every last scrap! This may end up being a Christmas gift for someone.  The quilt was a UFO for about 5 years, as there was a serious lack of contrast in the centre blocks, but I finally put it together during COVID lockdown last year and it's on my bed now. I pieced the bed runner at the same time, so it has been lingering for about 18 months.

UFO #2: As I mentioned, last week I started pulling out some of the old. The first project box I opened had my Farmer's Wife book and about 20 6 1/2" blocks that I've already made. I finally figured out why I stalled on this project - I was trying to use bright fabrics, but I pulled them randomly without any thought to the final result and it looks like an uncoordinated mess. 

Today's UFovember blog post (view here on Pretty Piney's blog) has a great infographic for assessing your UFOs. (Subscribe on her blog to get your own larger copy).

Right off the bat, I was able to answer the first question with a resounding NO, so I dismantled the box,  put the blocks aside to develop a plan, and put the fabric back in the stash.

UFO #3: This one was an easy fix to get it to the flimsy stage!  I had originally started a pineapple block in rainbow colours, and was going to make a bunch of them. Then I decided to just keep going around on the first one and see how far I could go. It was about 12" square when it got put aside. I finished it off to be about 14" square and it is now going to be a pillow top. I have already have the pillow form, so hopefully I can get this finished in time for another Christmas gift.

UFO #4:  This next one has been on the barely-started pile but needed to be finished as a gift for my son-in-law. All that had been done on it was the first row of borders surrounding the panel.

Whoops, just realized its upside down! It's a Asian-themed dragon and all the prints are Asian-themed as well. It's about 52" wide and 100" long, for my tall SIL as a lap quilt. I made one the same size last year for my grandson, and they constantly "fight" over it on the sofa. This will be the first "real" quilt I'll do on my frame.

UFO #5: My best friend and I are crafting partners-in-crime, and our latest joint project is a revival of a UFO we put aside in 2019. During 2020, I moved forward and complete all the center blocks (100) for both of us. A few weeks ago, we pulled it out and started the next step of putting blocks/sashings on each of the blocks. All of those are completed now, so we are at the assembly stage. 

This a Moda Bake Shop pattern, called Christmas 1968, but of course, ours are made with a total different fabric line by Riley Blake called Bliss. It is lovely with rose-gold metallic accents.

This quilt is assembled differently than most I have done, and once two large pieces of 25 blocks each are together, we then have to slice them on the diagonal and reassemble them. I hope we can get them done in the next couple of weeks and sent off to a long-armer for quilting.

That's enough for tonight. I'll post more tomorrow and also update my tab "UFOs and WIPs". Told you I've done this before!

Getting my mojo back?

I started Gnome Angels 100 Blocks in 100 Blocks on July 1st, and surprise, I've been inspired to do more!

My craft room was a mess after having new windows installed in the house, so after I finish my daily block, I've been working on getting it back in order. I've ended doing other some sewing and even some scrapbooking!

As of 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, I have completed:

• 5 Kinship blocks for #100blocks100days
• 3 masks 
• 2 nightgowns for my granddaughters
• 2 pillowcases for my daughter's workplace
• 20 blocks for Step 7 of my Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, On Ringo Lake

Since I've managed to sew every day, I might as well start tracking my progess!

• 15 minute days/week = 4/4 days
• 15 minute days/July =  4/4 days
• 15 minute days/since 7/2021 = 4/4 days
• Success rate = 100%

This might keep me off my computer games, and doing something productive for a change. We'll see, I don't have the best track record.

My Kinship Blocks:

The girls' nightgowns, very simple ones the same as I used to make for their mother and aunt.

My On Ringo Lake sample Block, and my new little pile of double-geese units:

Now, I'll see if I can keep up this week!

What have I been up to?

Well, I'm still plugging along, slowly making progress.

I have completed the binding on this quilt. The weather hasn't been contusive to getting a shot of it finished, so this will have to do for now. Right now, it's on my bed but will eventually be for the new sofa bed. 

The quilting was done by Maple Leaf Quilting Company in Cochrane, AB. They are my preferred quilter now that my original one has retired. They include the price of two-way shipping, thread AND the batting in their quotes, so no surprises!

This was a Thangles block-of-the-month project, but the contrast wasn't great and the blocks lost their definition. I still love the colours though and discovered I don't like the Thangles approach to half-square triangles so I have my numerous packages in my purge pile (will probably sell on a Facebook group for Canadian quilters). 

I was working on step 8 of Bonnie Hunter's pattern, On Ringo Lake, but put it away for now. We are getting new windows and everything has to be moved away from the windows throughout the house! Good time for purging though.

In the meantime, I have started a new crochet project. I got back into it last year making scarves, but I kept seeing a pretty kit on my Facebook feed, so I broke down and ordered it. It's from Annie's, a well-known craft company, and I am impressed with the quality of the yarn. It isn't cheap, especially in Canada, but I don't have any vices, so what the heck!

I've finished the centre diamond medallion and I've just received Kit 2, so I'm starting on the 4 corners of that piece. This has been fun so far, and introduced me to some new stitches and techniques I haven't done before, so I'm quite enjoying the challenge. The website has videos as well, so that has been a help. If you are interested, here is the link to Annie's Kit Club (unfortunately, the only way to get the pattern)

The Week Off that wasn't...

 Well, that was a bust. I ended up having to work most of the week I was supposed to be off, so that sucked out any motivation I had.

I did manage to get a few things done off my list.

- Migrate all information from old computer to hard drive (to be sorted, edited and purged at a later date)

- Take donations and recycling from back room out

- I'm working on my photo order and even got a few pages done in my Hawaii scrapbook

And I've started spring cleaning.

I've completed Step 6 of On Ringo Lake, and have cut out the pieces for Step 7. Only one more step to go.

I also made a set of placemats for my daughter, from scraps my friend gave me after completing a quilt for her new granddaughter. 

This week's list - Feb 14-20

 Despite my best efforts, I haven't been posting regularly like I want to do. By the time I finish work, and if I manage to do some sewing, I don't want to go near the computer.

But this week might be different - I was still owed some vacation days from last year, and combined with the long weekend, I have most of the week off (working a part-day Tuesday).

I have a lengthy list and no pictures:

- Migrate all information from old computer to hard drive (to be sorted, edited and purged at a later date)

- Spring clean!

- Take donations and recycling from back room purge out (yes, I did get that done!)

- Finish On Ringo Lake quilt topper, using Tula Pink Butterfly quilt for Leaders and Enders

- Order pictures, then work on Hawaii cruise scrapbook

- Start pulling UFOs and make a list of what order to work on them (or get rid of!)

Here's hoping I update regularly.