Welcome 2015 - The year of UFOs!

Happy New Year, fellow quilters! My wish for all of you is a peaceful year filled with love, happiness and no drama - the same one I am hoping for. 

 

Last year was a difficult one, but it's now in the past. Today is a new year and in just a little bit, I'll be spending part of the day with my favourite little ones!

 

The only resolution I am making this year is to finish what I start. I need to do this with everything in my life, from housework to my job to my hobbies. Funny, I chose "Finish" as my word of the year last year, but didn't really do what I intended.  This year, I guess I'm repeating myself, but I will also add my other "words", Joy, Focus, Change. I feel like that dog in the movie "Up", Squirrel could be my nickname!

 

 

I'm going to update my UFO page later, but in the meantime I am picking 12 projects to focus on.  The first 12 are all completed flimsies, so it means I have to quit procrastinating and become more comfortable with doing my own quilting. Once they are done, I will pick 12 more and so on, until they are done! (yes, I have that many!)

 

In no particular order (click on the title for more info about the project:

 

1. Table Topper for D.

 

 

This one is already sandwiched ready for quilting.

 

2. Pastel and Lace

 

I have actually already started quilting this one, it will probably only take me a weekend to finish it.

 



3. Thangles IV

 

 

This was a Thangles BOM project, unfortunately there wasn't enough contrast in the blocks so the patterns don't show up really well.  This one still needs a backing. 

4. Just Takes 2 Table Topper

 

 

I have finished the applique, sandwiched it, and have outlined the blocks.  Now I have to decide how I'm going to quilt it.

 

5. Strawberry Table Topper

 

 

This top has been finished for some time now, it's time it got done.  I sandwiched it with a green cotton that has a "quilted" pattern on it that I plan to follow for the border.  I would do it all over except for that flange inner border - not sure how I will figure that out.

 

6. Celtic Solstice

 

 

This is my latest Bonnie Hunter finish, I have a backing for it.  This one is destined for my grandson's bedroom. 

 

7. Gramma Quilt

 

 

I've sandwiched this one twice, but stole the backing for another project once so had to redo it.  This one will be here at my house for the grandkids to cuddle up under. 

 

8. Christmas Tree Skirt

 

 

After 4 or 5 Christmases under the tree unquilted, I am determined this one will get done this year.  I have sandwiched once, but stole the backing and batting for another quilt.  Time to redo it.

 

9. Pansy Rail Fence

 

 

Made 15 years ago when I first started back to quilting, it's about time to get this done.  My daughter wants it, so it will go to her (maybe in time for her birthday in March.

 

10. Charmed

 

 

My first Leader and Ender project, this is made from 2" scraps dating back to the 70s (some of my mom's scraps.  This will be a play/picnic quilt at my house.

 

11. Starburst Pillow Top

 

 

Sandwiched and ready to go - I even have the pillow form.

 

12. 6-Hour Quilt-as-you-go

Somewhere buried in this bucket of flimsies! Somehow I have never managed to take a picture of one of my oldest UFOs. About 15 years ago, when I started quilting again, I took a couple of classes.  I learned how to use rotary cutters (the best invention ever!), pieced the Pansy Rail Fence and then started a quilt-as-you-go. My machine did not like FMQ, so it got put aside and I've just never had the inclination to finish it. Since I have so many quilting projects that need to be finished, this will probably be a good one to start with, just to get the feel back. 

 

 Now that I have made my list, it's time to get sewing!  I plan to update my progress every two weeks.



Sunday Stash Report 2013, Week 4 - Oops, I did it again!

Easy Street is causing me to break my resolve not to add to my stash this year!  I ran out of blacks-on-white so I had to make a quick run to my favourite store yesterday.  I couldn't go Thursday to support my LQS, but I certainly made up for it yesterday!  (Please pardon the lighting in all my photos, it's another rainy day here on the Wet (West) Coast of BC, Canada - also be warned, I tend to ramble and this post is more so than usual!)

 

Added this week: 6.75 metres

Added Year to Date: 25 metres

3/4 metre were blacks-on-white, the 2 metres of Bella Snow is for next-up project using Mama Said Sew and the rest - well, just because ;o).  There are 2 metres of the black and white check which may become sashings or a binding, and a bunch of fat 1/8ths to add to the stash.

Hamels has these wonderful baskets full of fat 1/8th's and I was having trouble finding any blacks-on-white. They even let me go through their hidden closet of stash as well - there were bags and bins full just waiting for room in the baskets on the floor! (When I figure out how to get the picture off my phone, I'll share it.) I've come to the conclusion that there must be lots of Easy Street quilts being made here in the Fraser Valley, because there wasn't one to be found.  I ended up with 2 Fat Quarters and a piece of yardage.

 

But I did find all these other great pieces while I was digging.  There is a method to my madness when I buy fat 1/8ths and I usually don't buy more than 10 at a time - at 99c each, I'm getting 1.25 metres for just $9.90 - a bargain in Canada where prices can be as high as $16/metre.  A fat 1/8th in Canada is also 5" tall (whoops, my math was off - it's 10"x22"), so I can get 8 charm squares out of one piece or strip it down a la Bonnie Hunter-style.  I've included more on how I sorted these ones at the bottom of this post (just so I don't bore you!)

 

I also had a finish this week!  My Gramma quilt top is finished:

 

Used since last report: 4.5 metres

Used Year to Date: 5.25 metres

Net Used/Added for 2013: 19.75 metres

 

I bought this as a kit the same year my grandson was due; since he is now 4, I figured I better get it done as part of the Year to Get it Done.  The kit was purchased at Tangled Threads in Lynden, WA, another shop I consider local to me as it is only about 40 minutes away from my home.  It was packaged with a blah black background, so the owner let me choose a different fabric - I choose these wonderful splotches in primary colours.  It also came with a soft print in a light green for the arrows - which no longer went with those primaries - but I liked it so I left it in the kit to be added to the stash later. 

 

I bought a charm pack of Moda Marbles in brights and left the whole thing until this past summer, when I raided the charm pack to add blocks to my Tetris quilt.  Alex picked the aqua Minkee from my stash for the backing, and wants a yellow binding - and Gramma, can you put a hammer and a sword on it? Not sure how to accomplish that - on the label probably - even though this quilt isn't specifically for him (it's for the spare room that the grandkids use).

 

 

The sayings have positive affirmations and are hand-printed by Block Party Studios - they have lots of options available, including some for quilters!  Tangled Threads carries a wide variety, but BPS has so many more online (no affiliation, just thought I would share the link now, instead of when I get the inevitable questions).

 

 

I continued piecing Easy Street blocks as leaders and enders.  I need a total of 300 4-patches to make mine king-size, and I got them all done! Now on to 32 of each more block, and I can finish that quilt up!

 

 

The kit was generous - I had a full 1/2 yard left, plus some smaller pieces and triangles for the scrappy bins.

 

BTW - do you ever do this?

 

 

I think I need a haircut when I start tying my hair back with selvedges!

 

Now, on to my Fat 1/8ths purchases:

 

I tend to buy for one of the following reasons:

- it will find into a current project

- it will fit into a planned project

- it is from a new/current line that I might buy more of (cuz I'm getting it at a much cheaper price, up to 1/2 off the regular price)

- it fills a colour gap in my stash (a fat 1/8th is the smallest size I put in my colour bins)

- or just because I like it!

 

Today's purchases were:

 

1 fat quarter and 1 fat 1/8th - put away with my Hexie Madness project, which is still stalled.  Made from all '30s-style prints (and a few real ones from my grandmother's stash).  Every flower is different, no centre/ring combination is the same.  I am currently at about 80 of 270 flowers needed.

 

1 fat 1/8th added to my tribute-to-Mom quilt.

 

2 fat 1/8ths added to my coordinates (ignoring the one Christmas fabric moved to the above project)

 

Hamels sells scrap bags of coordinated prints - it works out to about $5.33/metre and can include current lines, like Vintage Modern and Blitzen!  By adding to these bags when I find bits in the fat 1/8ths bin, I've been able to gather enough to make lap-size or baby-size quilts.  Which I should probably do soon again, as I am now up to 2 overflowing shoeboxes full.

 

The black wordy print got put away with the rest of my Word Play fabrics - I have enough now to make a lap/twin quilt - I just have to decide on the accent colour.

 

And the rest, well let's be honest - it doesn't all get put away at once (as you can see from my piles-to-file on top of my bins of colour!

 

Have a great weekend!  I'm off to Easy Street for now!

 

 

 

2013: The Year of the Finished Project

 

 

Lynne over at Never Too Hot to Stitch! is hosting a monthly linky party on the first Thursday of every month.  The purpose is to outline what you want to focus on that month, and share what you completed the previous month, in the hopes that 2013 will reduce the number of UFOs floating around the house.  Considering that my UFOs and WIPs are growing exponentially, I feel the need to join in!

 

This month, I am only choosing 5 projects to focus on. 

 

1. Complete Easy Street quilt top

 

 

I have all the parts made for the Bonnie-size version, but my daughter likes it so I am upsizing it to King Size, with a slight modification to the colour order.  Where you see her lime green, I am going to be using a medium purple.  The other colour orders are changed as well, and there won't be any aqua after all, but she is thrilled with the sample block I made. 

 

So far, I have done all the calculations to increase the quilt to king-size.  I'm waiting for tomorrow or Saturday for Hamel's Super Stitcher Weekend (first weekend of every month) so I can get the medium purples at a 20% discount.  It should be finished by the end of the month.

 

Due to the size, this one will get sent out to be long-arm quilted.  Hopefully, I'll be able to do that in March.

 

2. Finish my Pure Happy Quilting Quilt-a-long Quilt

 

 

 

This was the first quilt-a-long I participated in (and Melissa's first one that she hosted!).  This is a lap quilt just for me. 

 

It is partly quilted with a chocolate minkee backing.  I put it aside to concentrate on Christmas presents.  I should be able to finish this in just a weekend, including binding.

 

3. Sarah's Dragonfly Table Runner



 

All that needs to be done on this one is finish the binding.  I was short about 12" so after a quick trip I was able to find the right batik on the third bolt I pulled!  That was a month ago, so today I finished off the strip, attached the binding and it is ready for handsewing.  This will be done by tomorrow night and taken to my daughter's.  We bought the fabric together almost a year and a half ago as a project to teach her how to quilt.  Needless to say, the baby kept her too busy and I did most of the work.  We`ll find another project to do this spring.

 

4. Gramma quilt

 

 

I bought this kit about 3 years ago, and I have no idea why I put it aside.  I finally cut it out this summer, but now it is time to finish it as I am changing the beds in the grandkids` room and need a twin size quilt.  I want the top finished this month, and will quilt it in February.

 

5. Just Takes Two Pillow Cover

 

 

When I started doing my Just Takes Two quilt blocks, I thought I might use aqua and white instead of red.  I found it very bland and assembled the first six blocks to make a pillow cover. I have done the basic stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, but want to fill in the white space with some FMQ, which I want to practice this year. It will coordinate with my lap quilt really nice, which will also match my sofa!

 

So that is the plan for January!  I really want to take control of my projects, and this may be a great way to do it.  In addition to outlining my plan on the first Thursday of each month, I`m also going to participate in Leah Day`s UFO Sundays and dedicate Sunday afternoons to catching up!

 

Thanks, Lynne for coming up with The Year of the Finished Project.

 

 

You know you are addicted to starting new projects when...

When you finally cut out one project (from a kit you've had for at least 4 years)...

so you can use the leftovers to start another!

I've started making Tetris blocks, joining Melissa of Happy Quilting's "Tetris Quilt-Along"!  I love quilt-alongs, I actually have managed to finish a few quilt tops and even my Orca Bay quilt thanks to the motivation of having a set schedule.

Tonight, I watched the rebroadcast of the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics (Go, Canada!) and pieced together my blocks for Weeks One and Two.  I'm using a mix of solids, marbles and prints. So far, each "brick" is different, even if it is in the same colour category.  I decided on a black square to represent the "holes" where the Tetris blocks don't fill in.  (Not my idea, I saw a few examples on Melissa's linky.  I'm also making mine using 2 1/2" squares, not 5", so I could make use of those great leftovers.  This may end up being a mini-quilt at 24" x 36", or if I enjoy it enough, I'll keep going!

So here is my block for Week 1:

And Week Two:

Melissa has some great prizes, too, so visit her quilt-along page to join in!

Snowmaggedon!

I can only imagine what Western Washington and Seattle must look like, if we only got hit by the edge of this latest storm. It's been close to 20 years since I've seen snow like this!  Today is my third snow day and at this rate, I won't be going in the rest of the week.

My poor little bug was buried up to the top of the tires.  I managed to get it dug out, but got stuck in a snowdrift just a few feet down the road, so I managed to get back in my driveway and here I am staying til I see the last of this!    Just a few hours later, the snow had blown back in behind my car, trapping me for the next few days until the rain comes on Saturday.  I dread the thought of the flooding that will follow - mostly in the local farm areas.

The upside is that Jack Frost has made a visit!  Both of the following pictures are of my kitchen window - so drastically different from one side to the other:

I have never had frost on my windows since I moved here to BC as a teenager.  This reminds me so much of when I lived in Labrador - and so does the weather today!  It's -25C with the wind chill factor, and the winds are blowing at about 70 km/hr.  I wonder why I don't remember this bone-chilling cold of my earlier years, standing waiting for a school bus, when it was even colder there.

I've been holing up in my sewing room and got my Orca Bay quilt top put together to the point of the outer borders.  Here it is on the double bed  in the grandkids' room - reading a measured size is so much different seeing it in real life:

Pardon the lumps and bumps, but I didn't take the time to move the stuffies out of the way!  I think this quilt might have found it's home. 

I've also found the time to make a start on the Just Takes 2 blocks, I have finished Blocks 1-5 and have to review the tutorial on back-basting before I attempt Block 6.  Maybe I'll do that tomorrow, since it looks like it'll be another snow day.

Here's four of my blocks - still not crazy about the lack of contrast between the aqua and white but it will make a nice pillow in my living room.  I'm going to wait until I can order some Bella Christmas Red to start over.  I love the way the Bella fabrics handle and are soft to the touch, so my true Red and White quilt will be done with the red and Bleached White.

When I was doing the blocks, I realized the instructions primarily used individually-cut pieces.  After analyzing them, I realised some could be adapted to quicker methods.  The Ohio Star is exactly the same measurement as the ones I did in my Orca Bay quilt, so I pulled out Bonnie Hunter's instructions and used my Companion Angle to quickly piece this one together.  Faster and more accurate than individual pieces in my opinion. I also tackled the large block in a similar fashion, and wrote down my notes right on the block instructions of both so that I have them to refer to when I do my red and white quilt (and future ones I might do). Here's my notes on the Ohio Star.



I love this Ohio Star so much!  I've already got another quilt planned out using a printed panel of quotes about grandchildren. Now if I could only find it!

Here's a picture of it from the website Block Party Studios.  I bought it in a kit at a quilt shop in Sumas, WA with the pattern they list (because they didn't have any individual panels left), but I want to do mine using the Ohio Star.  The quotes are based on 5" blocks, so they would make 14" blocks, and the two top quotes measure at 2 1/2" x 10" so they could go into sashing or the inner border somehow.