FOTY 2013 Even Better Progress

FOTY 2013: Mid-Late June 2014
FOTY 2013: Mid-Late June 2014

I am not ready to piece yet, but I am so much farther along than I was when I last checked in.

I know a number of you liked the falling water/color gradation effect, but process wins and it wasn’t working for me.

This is so much better. I couldn’t have done it without the work I did on the first version. I did extensive sorting of the colors, as you may have noticed if you enlarged the photos and looked carefully. I expect that most of you didn’t have time and will just take my word for it.

The extensive sorting that I did really helped me leap frog over the preliminary shuffling that I have done in the past. I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.

I still have a lot of work to do, but I am feeling better about the piece.

Previous Posts that Might be of Interest:

FOTY 2013 Better Progress

FOTY 2013 Mid-June Progress
FOTY 2013 Mid-June Progress

I know many of you liked the progress I was making on FOTY 2013. I didn’t like it, so I talked to Maureen and her son and started over.

This project is killing me and I have to get it done. I have to get it done for my own piece of mind. I also want to get it done, but the other layout was not achieving the goal I wanted to achieve. I was having a hard time gradating the colors horizontally and thought that I would need too much background.

I also didn’t want to do the same thing as FOTY 2012 despite the success of that quilt. I don’t want to do the same thing over and over.

Maureen and Andy suggested starting in the middle. I went home and started, which is what you see in the picture, and I feel like the process is going a lot better.

 

FOTY 2013 Progress

As you can see I making some progress on this piece.

I have about a thousand more photos of this piece and it doesn’t seem to be working. If you click on each photo in turn, you can see the minute changes. It doesn’t matter what I move around, the piece is not working.

I knew I had to go back to the regular format, but I wasn’t sure how. I had a chat with Maureen and her son about it last week and they gave me an idea. Stay tuned!

Current Projects – May 2014

Last month I said that I wasn’t sure I would finish as many quilts in 2014 as I did in 2013. Famous last words. I finished two quilt this month! I am still reminding myself that it is about the process and also about what I am learning, and sharing with you.

Finished 2014 Quilt Projects

  1. Fabric of the Year 2012: Finished 4/24/2014
  2. Fresh Fruit: Finished May 3/3/2014
  3. Infinity Quilt: Finished 3/3/2014
  4. Spiderweb: Finished 2/22/2014 WHEW!

Finished 2014 non-Quilt Projects

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I are back at it regularly and I give Frances full credit as I have been letting her “drive the bus.” I did work on the hexagon tutorial as promised. It is ready to post, but I could have taken a few more photos and might still do that. If you look at it and think there are a paltry number of photos, check back.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, I did find a bunch of squares already made. That makes me hopeful.
  4. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
  5. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.

Ready for Quilting

Wow! Everything on this list is new.

  1. New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape? (Not on original list)
  2. New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)

In the Finishing Process

  1. See: I have quilted about a third of it. Needs facing and sleeve
  2. Flower Sugar Hexagon / Attack of the Hexies – Top finished 1/12/2014: back from the quilter.
  3. New: * Scrapitude – Top, back and binding finished 2/24/2014: back from the quilter.
  4. New* Disappearing Pinwheel – Top, back finished 3/30/2014, back from the quilter.

In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’ is that I am actively working on a project that is “In Process.”

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
  • Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2014

You can find the  latest update for the Current Projects list provides a good comparison to this month.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I am still planning to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about, but it is so useful to keep track of all of my projects.

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

Current Projects – April 2014

I am not sure I will finish as many quilts in 2014 as I did in 2013, but I am pleased with the progress I am making. I have to remind myself that it is about the process and what I am learning and sharing with you. You never know. There are a lot of sewing days left in 2014. 😉

Finished 2014 Quilt Projects

  1. Infinity Quilt: Finished 3/3/2014
  2. Spiderweb: Finished 2/22/2014 WHEW!

Finished 2014 non-Quilt Projects

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I started up again! We talked about the New York Beauty and I promised to start the hexagon tutorial. It is ready to post, but I could have taken a few more photos and might still do that. If you look at it and think there are a platry number of photos, check back.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders. I also want to find my notes for the others and see if I want to do them.
  4. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
  5. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.

Ready for Quilting

  1. New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape? (Not on original list)
  2. New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  3. Flower Sugar Hexagon / Attack of the Hexies – Top finished 1/12/2014: at the quilter.
  4. New: * Scrapitude – Top, back and binding finished 2/24/2014: at the quilter.
  5. New* Disappearing Pinwheel – Top, back finished 3/30/2014, binding made; at the quilter

In the Finishing Process

  1. New:* FOTY 2012: Quilting complete, working on the binding and the sleeve
  2. New:* Fresh Fruit: Quilting complete, working on the binding and the sleeve
  3. See: finished fusing applique’ pieces and  satin stitching. Working on quilting. Needs binding and sleeve

In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’. The difference is that I am actively working on a project that is “In Process.”

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
  • Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2014

You can find the  latest update for the Current Projects list provides a good comparison to this month.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I am still planning to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about, but it is so useful to keep track of all of my projects.

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

See – Details

See (detail #1)
See (detail #1)

As I mentioned the other day, I did all of the satin stitching over the preceding few days and was on to the quilting.

If you make the photo (left) a little bigger you can see the quilting around the eye and in the orange character.

I used 50 weight Aurifil, mostly because I have a lot of colors, but also because I didn’t want it to be shiny. You may be able to see the diachromatic thread peeking through the orange. I don’t mind that little bit of shine. In a show, the light will reflect off of those small bits and, with any luck, make the piece shimmer or glitter a little.

See (detail #2)
See (detail #2)

I am thinking of using free motion quilting on the black part. I want to practice and test the machine before I do, though.

I have the BAMQG personal challenge to do and that will be a good free motion quilting test.

See – Faster Than I Thought

See (Out of the Closet)
See (Out of the Closet)

I dragged See out of the Fabric Closet on Thursday with the intention of starting to finish the satin stitching. The photo to the left is what I remember the piece looked like, but when I looked at it the blue curved line and one circle were missing. Even though I remembered that there were other pieces, I couldn’t find them and decided to soldier on.

I fused everything that wasn’t fused and started satin stitching. The orange character had diachromatic thread stitched around it, but it didn’t differentiate the orange against the pink background well enough. In addition to stitching around the two remaining circles, I stitched over the the diachromatic thread in orange and all around the other parts in matching thread.

See - Stitched
See – Stitched

I ended up with a piece that was ok. That was when I found a photo that reminded me of the blue curved line. I took a whole pile of orphan blocks, Sampler blocks, hand printed fabric, etc from my “must stay flat pile” out of the closet and started rummaging through all the bits and bobs until I found the blue line.

I fused it on to the piece, but since I had already started quilting the orange, I had to unpick a bit so I could satin stitch around the blue line.

Shortly thereafter, I passed by a mirror and saw the third circle stuck to my bathrobe.

Huh?

Very strange, but I fused that on and well, satin stitched around the last circle and got busy quilting. As of now, the orange character and some of the eye are quilted. I feel like I zoomed through what I have done so far even though it was a stopping and starting kind of ride.

See ( April 13, 2014)
See ( April 13, 2014)

Right now the hold up is the label. I don’t know whether to do a regular label like all my other quilts have or to just put a small label with my name on it. I am well into quilting so I need to decide soon.

This is a project that has been languishing for a long time. I am glad to finally be making some progress on it.

Current Projects – March 2014

A nice finish, though not one that made as much impact as the Attack of the Hexies.

Finished 2014 Quilt Projects

  1. Infinity Quilt: Finished 3/3/2014
  2. Spiderweb: Finished 2/22/2014 WHEW!

Finished 2014 non-Quilt Projects

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I started up again! We talked about the New York Beauty and I promised to start the hexagon tutorial. I did start it, I just haven’t done much since starting it.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders. I also want to find my notes for the others and see if I want to do them.
  4. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing before the end of the year, though with all the cutting I have done recently, perhaps not so much.
  5. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
  6. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.

Ready for Quilting

  1. New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape? (Not on original list)
  2. New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished. Back and binding are complete; at the quilter.
  3. New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  4. New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  5. Flower Sugar Hexagons / Attack of the Hexies – Top finished 1/12/2014: at the quilter.

In the Finishing Process

None at this time.

In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’. The difference is that I am actively working on a project that is “In Process.”

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
  • Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2014

You can find the  latest update for the Current Projects list provides a good comparison to this month.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I am still planning to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about, but it is so useful to keep track of all of my projects.

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

Scrapitude Issues

Last week, I posted about finishing the Scrapitude top. I also talked about the Adventures in Arting podcast in a recent Various & Sundry post. I was listening to it while I was piecing and the discussion they had made me think that I needed to document a problem I came across.

I had problems with this quilt, as I do with many of my quilts.

It wasn’t the pattern.

It wasn’t the difficulty level.

It wasn’t the fabric or other supplies.

The problem was simply the process of being human. Often I will sew to get away from issues in the rest of my life with which I am struggling. I pieced the rest of Scrapitude as we finalized the sale of Super G’s house. It was a tough weekend. Piecing Scrapitude kept my mind on a task on which I needed to focus, but one where my mind could wander.

Scrapitude Error
Scrapitude Error

In the course of piecing, I found mistakes I had made earlier when putting the blocks together. One of them I had already pieced into the quilt and that one will be there for eternity, but I removed several others and fixed them before I pieced them into the quilt.

In the picture to the left, the bottom left hand four patch was set in incorrectly. The foreground white on blue dot square should be in the upper right hand corner of that section in the block, not in the upper left. It isn’t a major error and with all that is going on in the quilt, nobody would notice.

Scrapitude Error detail
Scrapitude Error detail

I noticed and cared enough to rip it out. The question I always ask myself is whether I can live with the mistake or if I need to fix it. In this case, I could have lived with the mistake, but decided to fix it anyway.

There are issues with the finished top, but the quilt is very cheerful and I like it. I don’t think I will take up mystery quilts in general, but I am glad I did this one.

Current Projects-February 2014 (26 Projects)

I still really only have two “really old” UFOs left on my list – the Pointillist Palette and the Tarts Come to Tea. The others are old, but they have a different feel to me. I may be kidding myself, but that is what is in my head right now.

I am still kind of on a high about the Attack of the Hexies top. It is at the quilter and I feel like it will get done soon.

Finished 2014 Projects

  1. Spiderweb: Finished 2/22/2014 WHEW!

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I started up again! We talked about the New York Beauty and I promised to start the hexagon tutorial. I did start it, I just haven’t done much since starting it.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders. I also want to find my notes for the others and see if I want to do them.
  4. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing before the end of the year, though with all the cutting I have done recently, perhaps not so much.
  5. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
  6. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.

Ready for Quilting

  1. New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape. (Not on original list)
  2. New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished. Back and binding are complete; at the quilter.
  3. New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  4. New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  5. Flower Sugar Hexagons / Attack of the Hexies – Top finished 1/12/2014: at the quilter.

In the Finishing Process

  1. Infinity blocks: Back from the quilter, sewing down binding.

In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’. The difference is that I am actively working on a project that is “In Process.”

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I will use a grey for the background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
  • Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2014

You can find the  latest update for the Current Projects list provides a good comparison to this month.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I am still planning to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about, but it is so useful to keep track of all of my projects.

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

 

Spiderweb Returns

Spiderweb Returns
Spiderweb Returns

After years of this project being a UFO and a WIP, the end is in sight. Colleen is back in the saddle and she did this quilt as soon as she returned. She has had it for a year. I didn’t believe her, but when I looked back in the blog, I had to agree that she was correct.

Five more quilts will follow quickly over the next couple of months with one coming, perhaps, next week. I am not quite sure what to think! I had better get to binding; that is for sure.

Car Trips Require EPP

EPP Hexagon Stars
EPP Hexagon Stars

I got all of these stars finished over the weekend. I spent several hours in the car on the way to and from Fortuna/Ferndale.

As an aside, if you haven’t visited Ferndale, it has a lovely Victorian main street (I posted some photos a few years ago) with lots of nice shops. Fortuna is more modern, but there are some great shops and a wonderful Mexican restaurant called La Costa where they make their own tortillas.

Both directions are about a 5 hour drive and DH drove on this trip. It rained and I am not a very good passenger. Having my focus on something else is a good thing.

One thing I did differently was I sewed a couple of the stars together to start a line of them. I want to start putting the piece together. I also have to put some of the stars together, so I can start to take the papers out. I may need to buy another pack of papers.

I don’t have the background nailed down, though I am still thinking of dots on white. I am pretty sure I will use dots on white since they worked so well on Scrapitude. I loved the look. I just need to cut some pieces.

BFSI Question #1 Review

I am a little behind on posting the reviews of the BFSI responses, but I am still committed to posting the reviews. Question 1 was about readers UFOs. It was interesting to see what people have on their UFO list.

The question was “The question for this giveaway is:

Tell me about your top 5 UFOs. What do they look like, what is stopping you from finishing? Do you still like the colors?

If you don’t have 5 UFOs, tell me about the UFOs you have or your current project. ”

I am trying to use the term ‘UFO’ for projects that are really old. I am trying to think of WIPs as pieces that are in process, being actively worked on. I usually work on a few things at a time, but am trying to work on one main project. The leaders and enders technique is a great way to get a lot of progress on multiple projects. I put some projects on the wall and look at them, etc. I didn’t ask all of those details, but I still liked all of the answers.

cw wrote “Hmm top five, I do like the colors -all the colors since none are very old (more than two or three years).

  • The list include 2013 ornaments, which are scrappy cubes and time will tell how many I complete.
  • Gold and green doll quilt put aside for Xmas sewing.
  • Blue and yellow windmill quillow pillow put aside for Xmas sewing. blue and yellow quillow, which may be finished if I draw someone suitable and the blue/green and white infinity block set in a field and furrow pattern which I was stuck on but have figured out how to progress but it put aside for Xmas sewing.”

Leslie wrote:

  • Grandmother’s Flower Garden – no hurry, I’ve been working on it off and on for at least 16 years. Someday it will be done.
  • Giant one block appliqué that was begun in a class. No hurry. I might finish it someday.
  • KC Star appliqué flower quilt – no hurry. I love it. Someday it will be done.
  • Pile of blocks I won in a guild raffle. May never be finished. Everyone agrees that they are the ugliest blocks ever. I keep thinking I will find washing fabric that will make them all play nicely.
  • Block of the month pieced cat blocks. No hurry. Someday I will make the rest of the blocks. When I am in the mood.

All except #5 are at least 15 years old. #5 is only about 10 or 12 years old. I still believe in all of them.

Leslie didn’t say whether or not she likes these UFOs, but since she wants to finish them, I assume that she does.

Glenna in TX said “I have 2 REAL UFOs – they have been on my shelf for years. I think I don’t finish them because new (shiny) stuff catches my eye and I’m off on another project, maybe ones with deadlines like now. I also have WIPs – those are the ones I must finish because they are for someone else.”

I know about shiny, too. I am trying to curb my shiny distraction and keep my current projects shiny by working on them so they don’t lose their shininess.

Kati R shared a few UFOs, too. If I had an Easy Street project on my list, I would still be considering it a WIP.

  • Twin size Pink and brown monkey quilt, which I started 4 years ago for a then 10 year old. She picked out the fabrics, but I’m not sure if she’s still like the quilt since her favorite color is blue. On top of that She recently made a comment that quilts are Granny-ish. I don’t want to waste my energy on a quilt which she would not even appreciate. I’m thinking about giving it to my friend’s daughter after it’s finished.
  • I have some handmade ribbon roses which I wanted to put in a 3-D quilt, but never got to it. I’d need to buy bias bars for the stems to make them.
  • Christmas QAYG quilt in which the quilting is almost done, just have to assemble. I keep watching videos how to do it.
  • Queen size hand-pieced Grandmother’s flower garden. It’s not EPP because I used my own hand-made plastics. I need to check the top closely to make sure there are no marker marks left on it from the sharpie I used to mark the templates. I had to change several pieces because of that. It needs basting, I needed a few years to figure out if I wanted to cut the edge straight, or finish it with a different method. Now I found a way to make it, so it might be in the near future, I just never know!
  • Chain of Stars mystery quilt top, 48×48, I might put borders on that one, haven’t decided, just finished it a few days ago.

Also, a queen and a king. I can’t believe it.

SandyH also listed 5 of her UFOs.

  • Vicky’s Peacock–top is finished, just need to quilt it. Still awaiting inspiration on quilt design.
  • 2008 Guild BOM–blocks done, need to put together into a top. Will likely send out for quilting. I just keep getting distracted…
  • Tapestry–just need a stick to hang it. Really, it’s silly that it’s still sitting on my self. And now said sticks are frozen into the ground.
  • Jelly Roll Sampler–about half the blocks are done. This has been my “take on retreat” project for years, but I really just need to get ‘er done. I should put myself on a schedule for doing a block a month or something.
  • Hexies. Shhh. Don’t tell Pam or Jaye. Oops, I mean…

Now I know what happened to Sandy’s Hexie. 😉

Janet writes “Currently my top five UFO quilts that still need attention are:

  • Paper-pieced Log Cab 5 UFOin – Out of 100 blocks I still have 70 blocks to complete. The blocks need to have fabric strips 9 – 12 added.
  • Craftsy 2012 BOM – Need to layer and quilt it.
  • Strip Twist II –  Need to piece the back before layering and quilting.
  • String Block –  Need to buy the sashing, binding and backing fabric.
  • Day Dream Quilt – Need to get binding and backing fabric.”

I see a theme in a few of these UFO lists, and one that I share, quilting, and binding. I suppose those are the most difficult parts. Perhaps we should commit to getting better at quilting? Or perhaps we should just keep piecing and having a good time. 😉

Jen listed her top 5 UFOs. Now I wish I had asked for people’s entire list of UFOs. That might be a little scary, though, if people have as many UFOs as I do. She wrote “Top 5, Huh?  OK….

  • Head hung in shame on this one….I have 3 unfinished blocks to design for a bee that ended this summer.
  • The quilt I was working on earlier today during #BFSI – it is now 1/3 quilted! and I hope to continue more tomorrow.
  • A pink sampler quilt that I created for the Beginner Quilt Along last year.  I have it basted and SID’d, but it needs additional quilting.  Honestly, I am sick of looking at the thing and can barely bring myself to think of it.  It is destined to be donated to my guild…..if I ever finish it.
  • Blue and Brown “Land of Lincoln” quilt.  It has been in the flimsy stage for over a year, needs borders, then finishing.  I actually like this quilt, and it will be perfect for our room at the cabin.  I’ve just been busy with other stuff.
  • Swoon quilt – all the pink and grey blocks are made. I just need to sash, border, etc.

What is keeping me from finishing them – quilters ADHD.” I think it is the shiny factor. Quilter’s ADHD sounds so depressing.

What I have found with the 26 Projects list is that the ‘shiny’ factor is critical for me. There is so much fabulous fabric out there, and fun activities like mystery quilts that I need to keep moving forward on current projects. I think my UFO list got filled up because I stopped working on pieces and they became less shiny.

The last BFSI review was about question #3. Read it. I would love to read your comments.

EPP Stars Again

EPP Stars - January 2014
EPP Stars – January 2014

The last time I posted about these stars was September 9, 2013. I can’t believe how time has flown. I have worked on them, but a couple of bindings and the Christmas stockings as well as the Christmas and Birthday thank you notes got in the way.

I’ll need some more of these to work on in the car during an upcoming car trip, so I will need to cut some more fabric. I like the way Scrapitude is coming out and think I will use dots on white background for the alternating rows of this project.

I am surprised at how many of these stars are in the blue range and am wondering if I decided to concentrate on these colors and have forgotten?

Current Projects – January Update (26 Projects)

I told you I was going to change this post to reflect the progress that I have made on the 26 Projects List. I really only have two “really old” UFOs left on my list – the Pointillist Palette and the Tarts Come to Tea. The others are old, but they have a different feel to me. I may be kidding myself, but that is what is in my head right now.

I am really pleased that I finished the Attack of the Hexies top and am feeling like I have made a huge leap forward.

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red Sampler – Frances and I are stalled. She has been talking about getting back to it. I am thinking about the next tutorial., because I can write it without her, though I am not that motivated.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I still haven’t worked on this since April 2011, though, periodically, I think about working on it.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. I still haven’t worked on this, though, every once in a while I think about using some of the squares as leaders and enders.
  4. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing before the end of the year, though with all the cutting I have done recently, perhaps not so much.
  5. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair? The attitude I need to have is that I can’t ruin it; there is always more fabric. Possibility for abandonment.
  6. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much. Possibility for abandonment. I have to face reality.

Ready for Quilting

  1. New:* Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. I am still thinking about quilting this myself and I am thinking about it more and more. I am wondering how far apart I can quilt it so that it has some drape. (Not on original list)
  2. Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; at the quilter.
  3. Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. This is at the quilter.
  4. New:* FOTY 2012: top, finished. Back and binding are complete; at the quilter.
  5. New:*Star Sampler: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  6. New:*Fresh Fruit: Top finished, back and binding finished; at the quilter. (not on original list)
  7. Flower Sugar Hexagons / Attack of the Hexies – Top finished 1/12/2014: I finished the top, back and the binding on January 12. It is ready to be taken to the quilter.

In the Finishing Process

None in January.

In Process
I decided that I had better put in an ‘In Process’ category. The difference, at least in my mind, between ‘In Process’ and ‘UFO’ is that I am actively working on a project that is “In Process.”

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. I probably have enough fabrics and just need to decide to start.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering. I will use a grey for the  background, because if I use more of the cut fabric patches, the pattern will be lost. The pieces are too oddly shaped and I don’t want to lose the pattern in a mass of scraps.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two test blocks, but still in the thinking stage while I decide on the background colors. I want the contrast to be good.
  • Super Secret Project #3: working on color choices.

Abandoned

Nothing so far for 2014

Last update for the 26 Projects List. Read it. There’s some interesting stuff there.

I thought you might want to take a look at the first list I made, the one with the 26 Projects. I started the list in October 2011. I have made progress. I plan to stop this post when I have no more projects from the original list to write about. I wonder when that will be?

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list