heart runner

 Road to California was this week, and a friend and I braved the rain driving to Ontario to enjoy the quilts (and the vendors of course!)  I bought just a few items - pattern and material for a 'just right size' bag, and a pattern for a Noah's Ark hanging.  I have a weakness for Noah's Ark.

No work on UFOs this week - I needed some easy quilting.  And I seem to be leaning toward quilting that emphasizes color not only technique.  I took a class at Sewing Party to make a hearts runner, and took the opportunity to practice my free motion quilting.  I shadow quilted hearts within the heart, stippled in the background, and made waves in the border.  I even found heart fabric in my stash to use as the backing.

The outside border was supposed to be circles, but I didn't make them deep enough so I call them waves.  And I ran into a problem with that border.  I couldn't hang on the the outside close enough to avoid bumps where the border meets the background.  But I will use this small runner on my dining room table at Valentines Day time - as soon as I finish the jigsaw puzzle that's there now!

I need something new

I'm at a stopping place in my quilting UFOs.

Found that adding the cornerstoned sashing flares the area between the rows.  Very disappointing.  I need to remake the sashing.  Luckily I have extra fabric so I can make new ones not unsew the current ones. 

I got out a cross-stitch project that is almost done, but I find that I can't seem to needle it.  Hopefully I just need a smaller needle, but I'm afraid it is just age and losing the sharp vision I used to have.  I am planning on asking a friend who cross-stitches a lot.

I will join a class tomorrow at Sewing Party - we will make a small runner for valentine's day.  I need something new and easy!

small progress

Working on 2 UFOs this week - getting closer to finishing something more...

I finally appliqued the last bit of this square.  There was only an hour left to do, a stem and a flower.  So satisfying to get one step closer.

 I have another similar block and will sash and frame the two vertically - need to decide on fabric now.

The monster quilt is coming along - I need to 'square' the units before constructing the rows and adding the cornerstoned sashing.  Hmmm... I wonder if it would be better to make several smaller quilts or hangings instead of a second twin-size quilt (which I don't know what to do with).  Or maybe a baby lay-on-the-floor quilt.  Each of the 21 units is about 12x8 and the doors will be able to button open or closed.

I scrapbooked last night - just organizing my pictures in Memory Manager.  One of my scrapbooks contains finished quilts, and I've documented each - who it's for, where I got the pattern, etc.

It has hardly anything in it because I hadn't actually FINISHED any.  And now I have so many to add!  I will get my neighbor to hold them up so I can snap pictures.




I gave up this morning on re-figuring out how to make a collage in Picasa3 and will give more time to it later.  My boys are coming to take down Christmas decorations, and the cable guy will be here too, so that I can access dvr'd programs in my sewing room.  I will lose all recorded material when they make the change, so I watched Les Mis this week - and ordered the dvd of it too.  Why do they take 6-8 weeks to deliver?

2013 progress

I'm starting out slow in this new year -
 

only working on one UFO - the monster quilt - units are finished, working on assembling the units.   I'm trying to think what to do with the 2 monster quilts - maybe save them for future great-grandchildren!


I was so happy that my car did not have any problems (the engine light had gone on) that I treated myself to visiting 2 quilt shops!  At Joann's I picked up utility items on sale - batting, interfacing, etc.

Then to Sewing Party and picked up a fat eighths bundle - moda Noteworthy, all pastels with fairly contemporary patterns.  I don't know what I will do with it and Moda's recipes have no suggestions for fat eighths.  I'm not good at making up something - I just know that I must add a solid or two, and hope there is enough fabric to make whatever I choose.

I'm also beginning a gingerbread quilt - picking out fabrics  The camera is not showing the true colors - soft tans and reds.  They  should be gingerbread and candy colors.  I will cut  the fabric today before going to Crazy Quilters guild meeting.

2012 Quilts

I am adding my contribution to last week's topic - Completed UFOs - before talking about my current project.  This year I organized my fabric, and organized and listed my UFOs.  Out of 36 UFOs I gave away 14 and finished 6, leaving only 16 - such a feeling of accomplishment!

My 2012 Finished Quilt Projects

The most satisfying completion is Laura's Wedding Quilt (the picture in the center) It was begun by my mother over 15 years ago, finished by me, and given to my daughter Laura on her 15th wedding anniversary.  However late, it is special to Laura because both her mother and grandmother made it for her.  The pattern is clams on the half-shell, and was machine-pieced and hand appliqued.

The other finished UFOs are the block quilt, the chicken runner, the wild runner, the star hanging, and the child's quilt. 

I did finish other non-UFO projects - the streaky quilt, the houses hanging, and the Christmas table topper for my quilt guild.  For halloween, I made a pillow and placemats.  I also repurposed a bag to a table runner.  For Christmas I made 10 table toppers - all with different fabric pairs - for the women in my family.  I even had an extra for me!

I'm starting with year with a more difficult quilt.  This is the second monster quilt I have made.  The units are finished now, and need to be assembled.  Here is the first monster quilt.  There are 21 openable doors with monsters inside.  More information here.








I'm just learning to use Picasa 3 and am a bit tentative adding pictures using it.  It is a relief to use collage pictures instead of adding each quilt picture separately.

Leah's topic this week is 'Step away from the Insanity.'  I'm afraid I'm just starting it!

UFO Time

I am pushing myself into cleaning up some UFOs so that I can start more new quilt projects - and I've gotten off to a good start!  A few days ago I showed 2 quilts I had finished recently but I didn't say much about them.  Here are the 3 quilts I've finished since Christmas!  I am trying to live up to my pledge to journal my progress to look back on, not just show my finished work. 

These 3 were already layered so didn't take long.  I was making a list of 2012 projects and I wanted to quick finish these few.  I am counting the one on the left as finished in 2012 even though it still needed hand binding.

The first is a little girl's throw - 36 x 52. It's reversible and makes the most of the little bit of doll fabric I had.  The solids I used are left-over hand dyes from a baby quilt I made for my granddaughter 13 years ago.  They make the softest quilt - very appropriate for it's future use for someone.

I can't remember the name of the pattern of this 'star' quilt.  I did a lot of free motion quilting - practicing really - but I consider it OK to practice even on quilts that I like!

Here is the back - I started quilting in the center with white thread on white and was afraid any color on the bobbin would bleed through.  Then I decided go ahead and finish the quilting with white bobbin color also.  I can more easily see what progress I am making and hope no one looks at the back!

The 'streaky quilt' is from a pattern - Zen Chic - that I saw made up in Sewing Party, my favorite quilt shop.  I quilted in vertical lines only, to emphasize the stripes in the pattern.  I used multicolor thread near the fabric stripes but was running out, so I changed to gray on the rest of it.  The backing is beautiful and was on sale!

I chose a difficult UFO next - the monster quilt.  Luckily I had finished an identical one about 7 years ago, so I had something to go by.  The 2 identical quilts were meant for my 2 youngest grandsons, but I didn't finish them in time for them to be used - they are now 12 years and certainly not interested in monsters.  I don't know who they will go to - I think they are much too pretty to be just stored on a shelf.  These quilts are about 72 x 90, have 27 little doors that open with a monster (that I fussy cut) inside.  The pattern appeared in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting in September/October 2003.  The quilt and fabric were designed by Heidi Pridemore.

I started this project with my friend Connie (who has since passed away) and she helped me a lot constructing the first one and making a very good start on the second.  Of course she finished hers right away!

There didn't seem to be enough sashing cut, so I am cutting more of that fabric and hope I have enough.  It's a sort of cloudy Moda so I may find something similar.  I don't want to make it a smaller quilt since there are 27 doors made.  It would be a shame to not make it as big as those difficult doors would need.



On to monsters (and of course a few other projects)!