Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 UFO List

Even though Judy, over at Patchwork Times, is changing the way she is doing things for 2013 - I am going to stick with the process we used in 2012.  It worked well for me!  I finished or made significant progress on 11 different projects - which included finishing 10 quilts!  The only unfinished project is the Soul Blossoms quilt - which will hopefully be finished in January. 

So to keep me motivated to keep working on these UFOs - here is my list for 2013.  

1.  Soul Blossom quilt - Bow tie in a circle

2.  Orphan blocks


3.  Whipstitch fabric baby quilt


4.  Jewel Box quilt


5Ryan Walsh Christmas zig-zag 

6.  Bonnie and Camille fabric


7.  Wild flying geese quilt


8.  Maddie's dress quilt 




9.  Hand-dyed fabric quilt top/ table runners




10.  QOV

11.  QOV

12.  QOV

So who will join me in getting rid of more UFOs in 2013?   May everyone have a wonderful New Year!


 

      

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Final UFO progress for 2012

Subbing a whole lot in September, October, and November cut into my sewing time. Ian was sick the week of Thanksgiving - so I had a forced week long vacation. I was able to make some progress on my Soul Blossoms quilt. I have had this fabric for two years now - and have changed my mind about what to do with it almost a dozen times. My first idea was to do a Fig Tree & company pattern called Boardwalk. Has anyone else out there attempted this pattern? I didn't have the brain capacity to get through that one. So what to do with several already pieced blocks. Several other patterns caught my attention but nothing seemed just right. I finally came across a picture of quilt that I knew was "IT" - it was a bow tie block set with the bow ties forming a circle. I love it! The blocks are all pieced and even sewn into groups of four . Maybe I can get the top put together before New Year's!





Friday, December 28, 2012

We survived Christmas 2012


We made it safely home yesterday from our trip to Tennessee.  We got to see some snow without getting snowed in.  We got to enjoy several fires in the fireplace.  And of course, we got to enjoy lots of time with the family.  

We opened presents on Monday evening and the boys were all thrilled with their quilts.  Ian had not realized that I had even started on his quilt - so he was very surprised to receive his!   Mom and Dad handed down many family heirlooms again this year.  My nephew received a knife my grandfather carried during WW2 and Ian received my other grandfather's dogtags from WW2.   My mom kept having me and my sister open our gifts at the same time.  One gift I opened was a red holiday table runner, placemats, and napkins that were my Mimi's.  Meanwhile my sister is opening a vintage butter dish that I have been lusting over for several years.  Naomi looks at with a funny look and my mom says "Haven't you been asking for this for years?"   No - that was me!  Anyway - my sister was kind enough to trade presents with me!

Mom also made us each a wreath.  I decided to try mine out as a necklace.  What do you think?
 


Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  We have another week off until we return to school and I am hoping to get some sewing in!

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Waiting for the FedEx man

A few weeks ago, my sister relayed a message from my nephew, Isaac.  He wanted me to know that he wants a Green Bay Packers blanket for Christmas.  I assumed he meant a fleece blanket like my kids have.  No, he wants a quilt.  And his little brother wants a quilt too.  And not to be left out, my son wants a NY Giants quilt.  Well, sure - I have nothing else to do between now and Christmas!  First I have to order the NFL fabric because nowhere in our little town carries it.  Wait several days for that to arrive and then head to Hobby Lobby to buy matching solids to go along.   I have two of the three tops pieced, so it is time to think about backing.  My Hobby Lobby doesn't have any gray Kona so I find some at a great price online at JoAnn's - and now I am waiting for my FedEx man to bring it to me.

In the mean time, I decided to get busy quilting my mom's spiderweb quilt that has been sitting here since the beginning of October.  Now I can return it to her when we head to their house in a couple of weeks.   I quilted it with all over free-hand baptist fans. I think it is neat how she did her "stars" in alternating colors.
 
 
After I finished Mom's quilt, I went ahead and pinned my spiderweb quilt onto the machine - while I was on a roll.  Mine I am quilting with a random spiral.   It is taking longer than I expected but I should be done by the time the backing fabric arrives.  






What are you working on?  Christmas presents?  We are supposed to get more seasonal weather this coming week.  The past 9 days have been 70 degrees or warmer.  Crazy!  





Wednesday, December 05, 2012

I can't count!

Or maybe it is Blogger that can't count.  When I posted my last post, it showed that it was post # 399.  This past Sunday I got online, all ready to do a big #400 post giveaway, only to discover that Blogger was counting several draft posts in it's count.  So after deleting these, I am down to only 394 posts.   Imagine a sad face!  Anyway - I am hoping to be a good blogger and get myself back up to post # 400 in time for the new year.

What have I been working on lately?


This quilt is made from the left over Denyse Schmidt fabric from my Swoon quilt.  And there were still leftovers after this one - enough to cut a fat-eighth bundle for a friend's birthday and make a baby quilt and have a pile of squares left sitting here!  Maybe it is miraculous fabric - it replenishes itself when I am not looking.  This problem is not helped by the fact that Denyse keeps coming out with more adorable fabrics for JoAnn's.  Yes, I bought a few more half yard cuts a few weeks ago.  

Anyway - this quilt was made for my sister for her birthday.  She is always trying to steal my Denyse Schmidt quilt off my couch.  I have to frisk her before she leaves my house - because she would take it with her if I wasn't paying close attention.  To try and remedy this problem, I made her own DS quilt.   Happy birthday, Naomi!


These table runners are made from more leftovers!  The border fabrics and the red fabrics are all from the Christmas table runners that I made for my mom, sister, and myself last year for Christmas.  These two were made for my two sweet neighbors (and sewing buddies!).  I gave them to them last week so they could enjoy them during the entire Christmas season.    April has already sent me a text picture of her dining room table, adorned with the green table runner.  

After two months of too much substitute teaching, I am enjoying some nice quiet time at home... in my sewing room...doing whatever I want!  I will share more in the next few weeks!

Is Blogger misbehaving for anyone else?  I just did spell check before publishing this post and it highlighted about a dozen words - but only partial words.  For instance, it high-lighted MYSEL but not the f.  What's up with that?  Wierd!