Back to UFOs

I am finally back working on UFOs!  Christmas was wonderful - visiting with family and giving the table toppers that I had made.  I made 10, all with different fabrics. The family seemed to like them, and I was very proud of my work.

This is a UFO that I started years ago, in a class given by Jennifer Morgan.  This quilt is 40x40 - so I guess it's a table topper.  It was hanging in the "closet of unfinished quilt tops", and was even layered, just needing to be quilted.  So I machine quilted it today - some free motion and some straight - and I am very pleased with it.  I will hand-bind it tonight or tomorrow.

I also worked on this 'streaky' quilt in the last few days - and it only needs hand-binding too.  Doesn't count as a UFO because I started it on my birthday in September.  It is from a pattern (Zen Chic)










Since I am back working on UFOs, I can finally post this blog in Leah Day's UFO Sunday.

After Christmas

We're past the holidays now - I don't count New Year's - and I can concentrate on things not Christmasy.  Well, actually I AM thinking about projects for next year!  I'm still in the Christmas mood...

I chose the fabric and pattern for this 'streaky quilt' on my birthday back in September - and am just now finishing it - just the hand-binding left to do.  That doesn't require any decisions or thinking, so I'll leave that for evening or handwork to do while visiting with friends.








I haven't worked on any UFOs lately - I've been too busy enjoying the Christmas season.  I'll look at them today and decide which one to start work on - while I look over Christmas ideas for next Christmas!

Keck Christmas

We had our annual family Christmas yesterday, and it was great fun!  We planned dinner for 1 pm so people could get home before dark.  Everyone brought a dish or two and we ate till we burst, opened our gifts, and then pigged out on dessert.  I learned a new way to fill deviled eggs - put the filling into a baggie with a little hole cut in the bottom!  It took 30 seconds to fill a couple dozen eggs!

 We took family pictures - these are the cousins, and it took a bit of Marilla's mommy voice to get some of them to cooperate!

Here are my children and me. 
It was such a pleasure to see and talk with our extended family.  There were 28 of us!




I gave out the table toppers I had made and everyone seemed to like them!  It was such a pleasure to make and give them!  Then everyone helped clean up and put everything away, and I went to sleep at 8:30!

Christmas is coming

In the last 2 weeks, the only time I've spent in the sewing room has been sewing table toppers for family - a really fun thing for me!.  I choose a pair of fabrics, cut them out, and layer that set in a box, then layer another set.  That way I have the box of fabric sets so that when I sit down to the sewing machine, it's sew, press, trim, repeat to complete the top in about 25 minutes.  I have 10 table toppers completed now, all different fabric pairs, 1 more than I needed for the women in my family.  I don't know how I miscounted unless I counted myself!  And why shouldn't I have one too? 

I'm already thinking about what I'll make next year - maybe a few plank quilts or set of mug rugs.   It feels so good to be able to give something that I have made myself. 

I've made no inroads into my 'stack' of UFOs, and no thought about them until after the holidays.  I'm getting the house ready for my extended family's Christmas get-together this weekend.

I'm enjoying reading the blogs of other quilters who seem to be busier than I am at this time of year!  My favorite is Wanda Hansen's ExuberantColor who inspires me with her color selections,  I'd like to try some of Wanda's ideas - the plank quilt and the crooked cobblestones.  I'm trying to figure out how to make that one - it looks easy but doesn't look like I can strip piece it.  I believe they're in the public domain, but I may need to email her to ask permission.

I also follow Leah Day's FreeMotionQuilting.  I am trying to machine quilt and am improving a bit.  Leah is a natural teacher and such a pleasure to follow.  Her UFO Sunday has encouraged me to take another look at and list my UFOs and determine an order to finish them, and to weed out those that are not worth finishing and those that I can let go to others. 

I'm ready for Christmas too.  One present to pick up today and one coming in the mail.

Christmas gifts

I can't believe it's almost Christmas!  And in less than 3 weeks we're having our annual Keck Christmas get-together, at my house this time.  I've been making Christmas table toppers for the women in our family.  They're easy ones - picking out the fabric pairs takes up the most time.

Here's the first one I finished - I even free-motioned the poinsettias!

  This one is batiks, and I finished the tops of 5 more, most of the others are more traditional.  These others still need to be quilted and I need to figure out just how to do it.

Here is Bugsy watching TV, while Abby tolerates him sitting so close to her.

Well, back to quilting!