In the book, Pretty Little Mini Quilts, I saw a small quilt similar to this. At the time, I was cutting up diamonds for FOTY 2010 and ending up with boatloads of triangles. I thought this project would be perfect.
I cut up some 5″ foundations and started to sew diamonds on to them. I sincerely disliked how much white was on the piece and how it overshadowed the scraps.
I started ripping the scraps off of all of the foundations and cut the foundations down to 4″. The other night, while I was watching TV, I pinned diamonds on to the newly trimmed founds and they are all ready to sew and trim again. I can use these pinned pieces as Leaders and Enders.
I have the little bit up on my design wall. It is making me excited about moving on to it as a quilt.
Jelly Roll Race: I decided I would cut this up into diamonds, put a border around each diamond and sew the diamonds back together again. I don’t know what the ultimate purpose will be, but I am pleased with that idea.
Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding. Went rummaging through my fabric closet to find this top, because I was fired up to put the border on. I couldn’t find it. It is lost. I know it is in there somewhere. I am also working on my border idea and have definitely decided not to put that particular border on this quilt, if I ever find it, but I am glad I am doing the test.
Corner Store: foundations cut; blocks not made
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered.
Infinity blocks: I know where they are.
A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – I am actually not sure if this should be considered a WIP, because I don’t really have enough blocks with which to make anything yet. I am making good progress. This month I need to make K and L blocks.
Aqua-Red Sampler – steady progress has stopped and the class more than the quilt is really weighing on my mind. As far as I know Frances has still not finished her Dresden Plate. I really don’t know what am I going to do with her? The next class was going to be fusible machine applique’, but I haven’t gotten past cutting out the templates. Perhaps I should skip to machine piecing curves?
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked.
Flowering Snowballs: I decided not to abandon this project, partially because I am so far along and partially because I need a hand project. I made the templates I need for the border blocks and am ready to start cutting fabric for the borders.
Garden
Flower Garden
Moon and Stars: need to finish handquilting. This quilt is not interesting.
Pointillist Palette #4
See: needs satin stitching.
Self Portrait
Spiderweb
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Pineapple: Abandoned; will remake blocks at a later time with more care.
Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am in the process of applying fusible.
Here is new categorization:
Well in Hand or Complete:
Stars for San Bruno #2: Finished! YAY!
Stars for San Bruno #3: Ready to be taken to the quilter. Needs quilting, backing and binding.
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. I think I do have a clue; am just not inspired.
Garden
Flower Garden
Moon and Stars: need to finish handquilting. This quilt is not interesting.
Self Portrait
Spiderweb – I know I want to put a self bordering border on this quilt, but just can’t seem to get it done. I think I may need to make two quilts, because I have way more blocks than I need for a bed sized quilt.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Abandoned:
Pineapple
I am going to remove the finished items from the list for the next update. I will still call it 26 projects, but I want to see the list shrink and that seems like a good way to do it.
The only quiltmaking I have gotten done in the past few days is in my head and on EQ. I decided I would rather have a self border on Stepping Stones. I thought the border they had looked nice, but a bit unfinished. This is the current border I am planning on making.
TFQ pointed out that the green in the border looks good in the border, because I have more green in the center blocks in the EQ drawing. I have to make sure that I have enough green in the actual quilt.
I am at the difficult point in this quilt where I am over it, so I need to make some progress so i don’t have to add it to the 26 Projects list. I hope to make some progress, even a miniscule amount today or tomorrow so I feel like I am actually sewing. There is a possibility since all of my houseguests are gone until Christmas Eve and it is some kind of rule that I can’t sew on Christmas, so it is ok that they will be here. They may not even sleep in my guest/workroom since they hate walking up the 3 flights of stairs. Perhaps I’ll pretend I am doing last minute wrapping and go sew. 😉
One thing I have learned (or hope I have learned)is that projects get stale for me. This means that I need to focus on them, get them done and move on. Have I said this before? I think so. I am reiterating it here.
I have a stack of various sized strips I have been saving for this project. The longer they sit around, the easier it is for me to forget why I am saving them and the other day I thought I would just send them off to Katie. Then, I remembered why I am saving them and the big problem with finishing this quilt.
1. I have too many blocks. What do I do? Make a giant quilt that comfortably seats 12?
or
make a normal sized quilt and put the extra blocks in the Children’s Quilt Project bin at EBHQ?
2. The border. I want to use the self bordering technique, but I need to sit down and figure out how that will work with this pattern and paper piecing. I just have to do it. I never seem to do it.
This is an old photo of the original bullseye. I have made several bullseyes since I started this blog: Seeing Red, Feeling Blue, Passionate Purple. Still the original bullseye that started this whole crazy series is undone.
This quilt, and the Spiderweb are two that I want to finish! Perhaps in 2012? We will see.
I am making an effort to cut and press fabric so I am ready for sewing the FOTY 2011 quilt. I have started to arrange the squares by color so they look good in the photo. Vanity, I think. 😉
Jelly Roll Race: this quilt does not have good design. I am thinking of cutting it into different shapes and using the shapes for something else. I could make a bunch of interesting 9 patches.
Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding.
Corner Store: foundations cut; blocks not made
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered.
Infinity blocks
A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – I am actually not sure if this should be considered a WIP, because I don’t really have enough blocks with which to make anything yet.
Aqua-Red Sampler – steady progress and isn’t really weighing on my mind, except for the fact that Frances has still not finished her Dresden Plate. What am I going to do with her?
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked.
Kissy Fish: Need to get framed.
FOTY 2011: not finished with cutting. Plan to sew at the end of January 2012.
Flowering Snowballs: I think this is a candidate for abandonment. Hand piecing doesn’t do anything for me and I am bad at it. I think I should make an effort to square up the blocks before I completely abandon the project.
Garden
Flower Garden
Moon and Stars: need to finish handquilting. This quilt is not interesting.
Pointillist Palette #4
See: needs satin stitching.
Self Portrait
Spiderweb
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Pineapple: horrible mess. None of the ideas I have to salvage this project make me happy.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am in the process of applying fusible.
Pointillist Palette #4
See: needs satin stitching.
Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding
FOTY 2011: not finished with cutting. Plan to sew at the end of January 2012.
Pointillist Palette #4
See: needs satin stitching.
Hunting & Gathering Stage:
Corner Store: foundations cut; blocks not made
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered.
Steady Progress:
A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – I am actually not sure if this should be considered a WIP, because I don’t really have enough blocks with which to make anything yet.
Aqua-Red Sampler – steady progress and isn’t really weighing on my mind, except for the fact that Frances has still not finished her Dresden Plate. What am I going to do with her?
Not a Clue or I Have Lost Momentum:
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. I think I do have a clue; am just not inspired.
Garden
Flower Garden
Moon and Stars: need to finish handquilting. This quilt is not interesting.
Self Portrait
Spiderweb – I know I want to put a self bordering border on this quilt, but just can’t seem to get it done. I think I may need to make two quilts, because I have way more blocks than I need for a bed sized quilt.
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Abandoned:
Pineapple: Yes, I am going to abandon this project, because the work I have done so far is a horrible mess. None of the ideas I have to salvage this project make me happy. I do plan to start it over.
Here is the problem, which I think I have finally discovered since writing part 1 of this post. I move too fast in the quilting/sewing world to have lingering UFOs.
I wrote last time about needing to finish or abandon these projects because I needed the brain space. Also, I need to finish these projects because I am always on to the next idea. Today I was desperately trying NOT to think about the ColorBlock design. My whole afternoon sounded like this in my head:
Voice in my head #1: “hhhmm, what if I were to use a layer cake”
Voice in my head #2: “stop that! No new projects!”
VIMH#1: “I could calculate yardage for using a layer cake OR a jelly roll strip because they have about the same amount of yardage”
VIMH#2: “do you see the work on your desk? Budget? Contract? 12 phone calls needing to be returned?”
And on and on it went all afternoon. Finally, on the train home, I just calculated yardage. VIMH #2 is off for the weekend anyway. But this is how it goes! I have to get busy and do these WIPs. I really can’t imagine not having any WIPs, but it is good to have goals.
Anyway.
Here is the list, in no particular order:
Stars for San Bruno #2: finishing up binding and pleat on the back needs to be fixed. I am thinking of a heart.
Jelly Roll Race: this quilt does not have good design. I am thinking of cutting it into different shapes and using the shapes for something else. I could make a bunch of interesting 9 patches.
Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding.
Corner Store: foundations cut; blocks not made
Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered.
Infinity blocks
A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – I am actually not sure if this should be considered a WIP, because I don’t really have enough blocks with which to make anything yet.
Aqua-Red Sampler – steady progress and isn’t really weighing on my mind, except for the fact that Frances has still not finished her Dresden Plate. What am I going to do with her?
The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April. I need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked.
Kissy Fish: nearly finished, but I keep on fiddling with the embroidery and hand stitching.
FOTY 2011: not finished with cutting. Plan to sew at the end of January 2012.
Flowering Snowballs: I think this is a candidate for abandonment. Hand piecing doesn’t do anything for me and I am bad at it. I think I should make an effort to square up the blocks before I completely abandon the project.
Garden
Flower Garden
Moon and Stars: need to finish handquilting. This quilt is not interesting.
Pointillist Palette #4
See: needs satin stitching.
Self Portrait
Spiderweb
Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
Pineapple: horrible mess. None of the ideas I have to salvage this project make me happy.
Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am in the process of applying fusible.
A lot of this is excerpted from the WIP post I am compiling so I can post at the end of the year or the WIP post I posted at the end of 2010. Do you read these or are they too boring?
For some reason I felt the need to count up the projects I have in process. In process, to me, means that some sewing has taken place
26.
Yes, I have 26 projects in process. Too many. I was kind of appalled, actually, but when I thought about it, I realized that many of them are more than 3 years old. Some are half class projects. I used to stop, put a project away and go on to something new. I thought that was what quiltmakers did.
At some point I decided that I did not want to do that anymore. I have changed my process so that I gear up, gather, test and then focus like crazy on one project and finish it. I might be working on more than one project at a time, because they are in different stages, but at some point in the process each of them gets my full attention and gets finished. Once I focus on a project, I can finish pretty quickly.
I don’t enjoy making the back or the binding, but I get it done and THEN, only then, move on to the next project. Projects frustrating me now stay on the design wall so I don’t forget about them.
This post is not about finishing for finishings sake. I need brain space. I need closure on some of these projects. I need to work on them, learn what I need to learn, finish, or abandon them. They are cluttering up my brain and my fabric closet. They don’t allow room for me to start new things. And I have plenty of new things I want to start, fabric to buy, blocks to test.
Now I am on a mission to work through some of these projects. Stay tuned.
I have been cutting like a possessed person. I am very anxious about getting all the pieces cut for this quilt, FOTY 2010. I am doing pretty well. The pile of fabrics to cut is slowly shrinking, but I do have another stack fo fabric to wash, which is followed by the need to cut.
I also need to figure out what fabric I am going to use for the edge. I was thinking one color for corners and edge, but perhaps I will just make it scrappy? That might be harder, since I don’t know what fabrics will go on the edge. We’ll see, I guess.
I have mentioned several times recently making incremental progress on a variety of projects, but not any major progress on one project. I decided I would show you some of the projects.
I have to say that the FOTY progress I made on Monday really helped me feel better about my progress.
Above is my design wall over the weekend.
Frosted Stars - Cut
First up are the pieces for the Frosted Stars. Keep in mind where the fabrics are is not necessarily where they will stay in the finished pieces. As I cut them, I slapped them up. A lot of the creams with various motifs were on top. I definitely won’t put them all in one block next to each other.
I added that turquoise in because I thought it needed some. It really makes the piece pop.
Frosted Star with Turquoise
The blue in the 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain line is more light sky blue. It reminds me a of turquoise, but definitely isn’t. I asked DH what he thought. Being a much quieter person and more fond of earthy colors, he was diplomatic. I could tell he thought it was a little bright. 😉 He suggested a silver.
Frosted Star with "Silver"
I want the quilt to be scrappy, but I do want some continuity within the blocks,, thus I want the four triangles that make up the third piece in the star to be the same fabric. Above I have added some Robert Kaufman Fizz to audition for that spot. The photo was a little dark, so I lightened it up a little bit so you could see it better. Yes, I am copping to digital enhancement.
Silver is hard to find without delving into the lame’ realm. I like this Fizz line, as you know, and this silver grey looks pretty good with the other fabrics.
So far, that is my take on the Frosted Stars.
Next up: Upper lefthand corner
Upper Left
I have been cutting 2″ squares and making random four patches out of them. Some of them I stick in letters to my friends. If I make enough of them I will eventually have enough for a quilt. Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of Us did a podcast on scraps. If you haven’t listened to it, please do so, because it is a good one and this sort of dovetails into it. Bottomline: great way to use scraps.
Zig Zaggy Pieces
I thought I mentioned these pieces in some detail, but I only found a brief reference. The long pieces are what I am going to make the Zig Zaggy quilt from. The small pieces have to be replaced with other fabrics and they are on the wall until I do so.
Sorbet Blocks
In case I didn’t say, this project is no longer a palette cleanswer. Now it is a UFO. I haven’t completely lost interest. In order to generate some interest, I am thinking of doing a Block-a-Long. The idea would be that I would post patterns for each of the blocks at regular intervals and you would make them. Stay tuned!
Below is the 2009 inventory of my UFOs. Let’s see if I made any progress since the previous roundup post of December 31, 2008 and where I am in the process as well as what I need to do. First, I want to tout my accomplishments. 😉
2009 started off very well.
I read 50 books this year. Of the 50 9 of them were quilt, bag or creativity related.
Completed Pieces in 2009
One of the great things about completing quilts and projects is that they go off the ‘not done’ list and on to the completed list. Two birds with one stone and all of that. 😉
Completed means to me that they are now usable and can in no way be considered to have anything left to stitch.
464 blog posts related to quiltmaking, design or creativity. This year I also published my 1,000th blog post. That is a lot of writing! Thanks for reading!
Mostly Done, Need Finishing
I added this new category to break up the UFO list and to make myself feel like I had accomplished something, which was quite overwhelming. Also, these are all mostly done, IMO.
Cheerful Baskets: Top finished; sent to TFQ for back, quilting, binding and sleeve. We meant to talk with Angie of the Quilting Loft about quilting it and what design we wanted, but we didn’t get to it on my week away.
Chocolate Box: Top and Back finished; needs quilting and binding. See the post from August 14, 2006 to see the fabrics I used. I will take it to Colleen to be quilted and damn the cost. I meant to do it before Thanksgiving, but didn’t get to it.
Purple Bullseye: Top finished; needs back, quilting and binding. See above under Chocolate Box.
Kissy Fish: top finished, though I may want to add some more machine quilting to it, needs binding and sleeve or binding and framing.
Beach Town: from April 2009 Pamela Allen class with CQFA; finished; needs facing and sleeve.
True UFOs
Here is my list of UFOs. You can see many of them over at Artquiltmaker.com or look at the links I have provided.As mentioned last year, this list in no way implies that I will discontinue starting new projects or finish any of these.
Original Bullseye: Still have those directions for doing the border the way I want it (the directions I found late last year). Asked TFQ to help me puzzle out the border, but we had better things to do. No progress in 2008, but am hopeful for 2009.
Flowering Snowballs/Cross Block quilt: I have been working on it steadily all year and have finished the center blocks. The side and corner blocks are drawn out on EQ6. I worried on and off about how to keep the blocks from fraying after I square them up. Got some good ideas from fabulous readers after my December 20, 2008 post! Progress throughout 2008.
Garden from Pamela Allen class: needs hand embroidery and embellishment. Worked on it in the 2009 Pamela Allen class and it is much improved. Needs quilting, embellishment and binding.
Laura Wasilowski Flower Garden: started in the Laura Wasilowski class CQFA held in July 2007: needs machine quilting, hand embroidery and embellishment. No progress in 2008.
He Tried to Make it Up to Her: needs back and to be quilted. This is probably a quilt I will want to quilt myself. TFQ has dug out a number of quilts, but I don’t know if this was one of them. No progress in 2008.
Her Eyes were Bigger than Her Stomach: needs a back and to be quilted. Very active quilt; probably not the best design, but a mile marker in the quiltmaking journey and an excellent learning experience. No progress in 2008
Pineapple: All blocks are done. Need to put them together. Still facing the reality that some blocks are much too large and trying to figure out how to move forward. I measured all the blocks and found they were all different sizes. I think that I will cut them down to all the same size and let them be wonky.
Pointillist Palette 4: Night: This is the fourth (of six) in a series of Pointillist Palette fabric by Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka that was popular a number of years ago. No progress in 2008
QA Challenge Quilt: need to fuse the parts and rubber stamp the words. No progress in 2008
Quilt Sorbet: started after finishing the Tarts top.
See: started in a David Walker class. Needs fusing, satin stitching around fused pieces and quilting. No progress in 2009, but I did think about it alot.
Self Portrait from Pamela Allen class: needs more piecing, hand embroidery and embellishment. No progress in 2009
Solid Star Friendship Quilt: need more friends so they can make stars for me in solids with black. Do you want to exchange a star block with me? No progress in 2009
Spiderweb: foundation pieced project, still piecing. Need to create the templates for the border blocks. Aside from collecting more strips, no progress in 2008
The Tarts Come to Tea: Top finished in 2009. Adding a few bits of machine applique’ before I baste and quilt.
Under the Sea: brown piece from April 2009 Pamela Allen class with CQFA. Needs machine quilting, hand embellishment and finishing.
Women’s Work 2: last year I said that this quilt “needs focus.” Was inspired and have the design. No progress in 2009, except for finding my drawing and making a file. Scroll down to see the blocks for this piece.
On My Mind
Here are the quilts and projects I am thinking about. Some are on the list from last year. In some cases I have purchased fabric, but no sewing has been done, so they are not yet considered UFOs.
Paper pieced Nativity scene: I downloaded this pattern when it was free a few years ago and have never gotten up the energy to be as organized as I need to be to make this, but I still want to make it. You can find the pattern, for purchase, at Paper Panache.com
Interlocking triangles #4: love the technique and have at least one, if not two, idea[s] for more quilts using this technique.
Dot quilt with inset circles a la Ruth McDowell: more uses for dots and a good exercise in piecing. the Twinkle quilt recently shown in the January 2009 issue of Quilting Arts magazine is similar and renewed my interest in this design.
Feathered Star dot quilt from Summer 2007 issue of Quilts & More: more use for dots. Thought I would get to this after making the Pineapple, but the Pineapple is still not complete, so this this dot quilt has not been started.
Some kind of pink quilt with all the pink fabric I have still been buying.
Colorblocks 3 with silks: I want to use silk fabric with a luscious sheen instead of the regular cottons. Background will be cotton sateen. What’s been holding me up? Backing all the silk. I have the backing and just can’t bring myself to do it. Barsha told me to skip the backing and just make the quilt without it. Can’t decide if the project has new life or not. Definitely not on the top of the list.
Garden Quilt: I have been collecting photos and patterns of interesting flowers for years and have always wanted to make some kind of garden or flower quilt. It will probably be something like The Tarts Come to Tea. Need to finish the Tarts first before starting the same kind of project.
Jack’s Chain: I saw a quilt of this pattern years and years ago and have always wanted to make one. Probably at least a partial hand piecing project after the Flowering Snowball (Cross Blocks quilt).
P&B Pop Parade quilt a la Serendipity Puzzle
Bathroom ‘quilt’ out of heavy clear plastic. I want to make pockets that I can put interesting things in that won’t get waterlogged. I also think the stitching would be an interesting addition to the piece. I also saw a tallish tote bag with many pockets that is similar to what I have been thinking for this quilt, so perhaps I will do another tote instead.
Presents quilt: have the pattern (It’s a Wrap by Sandy Gervais) and jelly roll to do it. Got excited about it right after I started piecing the hexagons, but kept on with the hexagons. The link is to someone’s Flickr stream done in Figgy Pudding. I have the Jelly Roll called Merry & Bright from a few years ago, but like Figgy Pudding, so perhaps I will buy a Figgy Pudding Jelly roll and do two of these quilts!
Abandoned Projects
This is also a new category. I decided to be upfront about the projects I got rid of.
Nothing abandoned in 2009!
Other
I am still trying to enjoy the process of quiltmaking more than the finished product. I think there is more work to do, but I also feel like I succeeded so far.
I have added projects to the On My Mind section because tote bags have been a big part of my life since 2008 and I expect that to continue in 2010.
Facebook had a new look yesterday and instead of updating what you are doing, they want you to say what you are thinking about. I have to say that I am thinking about UFOs today. I am thinking about UFOs for a number of reasons:
The Tarts is a UFO and I am slowly plowing my way through that project. I made a bit of progress over the past few nights and will give you an update on that soon.
I have been catching up with Annie Smith’s podcast and she has one about UFOs. Her 2/11/2008 podcast (I know I am really behind!) gives some good ideas about identifying your UFOs and getting them done. She was inspired by Nadine Ruggles’ podcast episode on her short lived (but still available on iTunes) podcast, Driven to Quilt.
Nadine Ruggles podcast episode #7 from 9/4/2006. Nadine comes across as a really smart person; her podcast was professionally done. I liked the high level how-to aspect of her podcast. I respect her decision not to continue, but it is a huge loss for those of us who listened to it. Sadly, her Driven to Quilt website is no longer available, even using my secret librarian tricks, but you can still find Nadine online at Dreamweaver’s Quilts. She has a totally cool website and blog. Very innovative layout. One thing I really like about the site is the Daily Stitch. It is like a daily calendar for quiltmaking. Update 3/15/2009: The Driven to Quilt website is back in operation
I am pretty upfront about my UFOs with myself. I find that knowing what I need to finish is much better than hiding them away. It also helps me keep track of my frustrations with projects, so I can work through them and not relive them when I go back to the project. You can read about last year’s progress and non-progress in the 2008 UFO Report. Annie created a spreadsheet with over 60 UFOs on it. I am pleased to say that I don’t have that many.
The biggest problem I found with not finishing a project right away is that I lose my train of thought, or my style changes enough where I am no longer enthused about the colors or fabrics. That was a big lesson that I learned in pulling the Tarts out again.
I am goal oriented and really do want to finish my projects. As I have mentioned, I am trying to be more process oriented. I am getting better, but I still want to finish my projects or get rid of them. I did abandon some last year and am ok with that. They will be loved by someone else. I am thrilled that one of my UFOs is off the UFO list (Nosegay). I am also on the homestretch of sewing on the Eye Spy binding. I have to do the handstitching on the Crazy Test binding and I have the directions ready to go for facing the Pamela Allen House and Garden quilt-let. I’d like to get that one done before I take yet another workshop with her next month. If I can truly stay focused, including the Tarts, I will have four projects that I can say are done at the end of the year. That means four projects off my UFO list! Time will tell.
I know that finishing a bunch of UFOs, one after another, is not for me. I think that I need to intersperse the work with new projects. You saw my idea list in the 2008 Roundup!
I found a list of ideas/plan for getting your UFOs done at Suite 101. The article, from January 1, 2009, is by Christine Mann and called 6 Steps to Finishing your UFOs. It sounds a lot like the way I plan my projects at work and I don’t bring work home! However, you may be able to use the ideas.
One thing I think is important is to be at peace with your quilt work. If you don’t have UFOs, fine. If you have UFOs, fine. If you never finish them, fine. If you finish them, fine. Do what works for you. For me, I think it is important for me to take something away from finished and unfinished works – a lesson or experience of some kind. I can’t tell you what your lesson is. I will, however, think about (and probably report back on) the lessons from my own UFOs.
I had a tough week. If Daylight Savings Time wasn’t bad enough, I also injured my shoulder on Wednesday. This means MUCH less computing. Computing is also taking me longer, because I am mousing with my left hand. I’ll do my best to keep up! This is a short post, but, hopefully, interesting. I would love to hear your comments about your UFOs, especially what you think about Yoda’s comment to Luke from The Empire Strikes Back “Do, or do not. There is no try”.
I don’t know where this month has gone. Frankly, I am glad February is coming to a close, but I still wonder what happened to the days.
My next longarm day is March 2 and the Eye Spy is in line to be quilted. As a result, I needed to make a back and get the Eye Spy in shape for finishing. I put the diamonds in to fill in the diamond shaped space, so that I wouldn’t have to hack through any of the hexagons (which is what most patterns recommend). I didn’t want a zig zaggy border, so I started out by cutting off the excess from the diamonds. I had intended just to leave the edges straight after cutting – no borders.
While cutting the diamonds in half, I realized that the middle of those diamonds was one big bias edge. This brand spanking new bias in addition to 3 sides of each hexagon being on the bias was asking for trouble during the quilting process. The top needed some stabilization, so I added some borders and corners to the odd shaped corners of the top.
Corner detail
The little star printed piece is the patch I had to insert into the corner to make the corner a 90 degree angle. You can see it really well above.
Above is a picture of half of the top. The quilt top is another monster and I gave up on moving furniture to fit the whole thing into one picture. I am going to have to think up a way to photograph whole quilts, especially these huge things I seem to be making.
I used a new (to me) method of measuring for borders. I measured width-wise (across) and lengthwise (down) in three places on the quilt and cut the borders to the average size. I did have to ease, but the top is flat and I am happy about that. I found one little tuck that I will need to fix before the longarming. All in all it worked pretty well.
Scary backing fabric
I acquired the crocodile fabric a long time ago, perhaps in the early 1990s from a woman named Joan who was getting rid of everything. It is a Joe Boxer fabric and I never saw anything like it. I also never heard of Joe Boxer selling fabric, but they totally should, because their fabrics have such a sense of humor.
At one point, I thought I would cut out the alligators (crocodiles??) and applique’ them on something, but the inspiration never struck. Also, I only have about a half yard, which limited what project I could complete using the fabric. I came across the fabric over the weekend and proposed it as a backing fabric. The Child took a liking to it, so I will use it as part of the backing. Shopping in my fabric closet can be fun!
hexagons on the back
I had some leftover hexagons, so I put some straight edges on them and will also use this piece for the back. I need to find a nice way of making this bit play nicely with the crocs.
