UFO Parade (Part 1)

Ready to Quilt

It's that time of year when I like to recap all the things I did not get completed in my sewing room.  It takes a lot of time to lay them all out, but I think it is worth it for several reasons.  The best reason is that I can reference this list throughout the year to keep moving forward.  This helps me stay organized and be able to pick up a project and remember where I was headed with it.

Part one of the parade is projects ready to be quilted.  Part 2 will be projects that need borders or other finishing touches.  Part 3 will be all other quilts in various stages.  I am not including projects in a box if they haven't been started yet.  Once I start sewing, I put them on the list.

 1.  These were orphan blocks last year, now they are set and ready to quilt.










2.  This is a pillow I made using the Hex N' More ruler.












3.  This is another pillow made with Moda Candy pack.  It was a super fun project.












4, 5, 6.- Summer, Spring and Fall Banners (Winter has been checked off the list)






































7.  Herringbone lap quilt












8.  Country Curvy Log Cabin Quilt

 9.  Green Curvy Log Cabin Quilt












10.  Bonnie Mystery - Orange Crush












11.  Lewis and Clark Sampler


















12.  Woven Ribbons Quilt


















13.  Funky Monkey Quilt


















14.  Blue Crosses Quilt













15.  Baby Quilt with Pinwheels

 16.  Ugly Fabric Challenge quilt

 17.  Mystery quilt from more than 10 years ago!  YIKES!!

 18.  Snowman table Topper or Wall hanging

 19.  Snowman Table Topper

20.  Hexie vintage top


















21.  Mystery quilt from long ago.  Borders are finally on!










22.  Carolina Crossroads.  This was Bonnie's first mystery.  I finally put the blocks together and the borders on.











23.  This Halloween quilt has been ready to quilt for years, but I never quite get to it.  Maybe this will be the year.

24.  This is for my neighbor boy.  It is sewn together, but I was too lazy to take another picture.  I want to piece something cool on the back before I quilt it.

25.  Charm quilt with yellow background.  I love the colors in this one.  It is temporarily in a special location.  As soon as I locate it, I will take a photo.

I am hoping to finish at least half of these this year.  My original parade started at around 100!!!  Even if I didn't get some of these finished, I am happy they are ready to quilt.  Many of these started as a pile of pieces when I did my first parade.

New Year and a new Focus

EDITED:  After reviewing my UFOs for the year, I feel the need to update my goals a bit.

I have been working on UFOs for so long that I seem to be having a little trouble coming up with my new plan for the year.  Happy 2015!

These are a few of my quilting goals for the year:

1. Finish 20 more quilts that are already in process (I still have plenty to pick from)
2. Make some new fun things while sifting through my scraps- finishing the new projects that I start
3. Make a quilt for my bed that actually matches my room
4. Use some of my fabrics that I have been collecting so I can enjoy them
5. Play with some of my new rulers and gadgets

Theses seem like achievable goals.  I did not meet my goal of finishes last year, but I did make huge progress on my UFOs.  I didn't use a lot of fabric for the last 2 years since I was focusing on finishing my UFOs.  I am not going to quit shopping this year, but I do want to use some of the fabrics I have accumulated.  I want to enjoy it while I still love it!  I want to bring new things to retreats.

Each month I have decided I want to play with a specific color of fabric.  This month I was inspired by red.  Why was I inspired?  The red scrap drawer simply wouldn't shut any more!  I have a vision of sort of working my way through my scraps this year.  

So for the month of January, I have already started 3 red projects.  I have been cutting and cutting and cutting the little bits that I have been saving  hoarding for way too long.  

 The first project was the pixel heart.  I just loved this project when it was first posted on the internet.  I am going to make this into a pillow.  I put it together in less than an hour.  The background for one block takes 1 1/2 strips (if you are using 2 1/2" squares like the tutorial)  I love how it reminds me of candy hearts.  One block is the perfect size for a pillow or small wall hanging.  This is a great way to use up some of those left over charm squares.  It takes exactly 42 squares for one heart (yes, that is how many are in a candy pack).

The next project I started was from the book Stripology.  There are some great patterns in the book for 1 1/2" strip.  Most of my scraps are at least 1 1/2" wide so this book is perfect for those little bits.  Of course if you are a math brain, you can convert them to all different size strips.  This will be a Valentine's runner for the cabin.  All the colored sections are the same size which makes it a fun pattern to cut out while sifting through scraps.  Notice all the color pieces are staggered so there are no seams to line up.  There are some typographical errors in the book (just so you are aware), but it has some great patterns.

The 3rd pattern I started is from the same book, but I haven't started putting the pieces together.  

I am looking forward to sewing with friends this weekend.  I hope to makes some more blocks for my runner.

My word of the year is 

Organize

I am told that re-organize way too much.  I am always looking for a better more efficient way to do things and store things.  This word applies to my quilting, family, and home life.  I want to spend more time doing, and less time looking for things.  

Do you have a great organizational tip you would like to share?

The Cabin

Several friends have asked about a cabin that my family recently acquired.  I finally had my camera and remembered to take pictures (of course the pictures are a month old).

 This is a picture from the deck the river is just  beyond the trees.  We had a local farmer plant the tillable acres with soybeans.

 This is also from the deck.  The river wraps around the bottom ground like a horseshoe.

 This is the cabin.

This is also part of the property.  The windmill pumps water into the pond.

This is a little bit of photo overload, but the fall colors were so amazing.  We have several deer that live in the bottom ground along with the wild turkeys.

Delaney took these last 4 photos of the river low ground.  Her photos of the reflecting trees were so great that I wanted to share.

December goals

It is hard to believe November is already over.  This year is flying by!

November goals were:

1. Quilt 2 customer quilts
2. Put borders on 2 quilts
3. Quilt 3 quilts from the UFO parade
4. Cut out the pieces for the new Bonnie mystery.

I did not do much quilting in November.  I did manage to put the borders on 1 quilt and I have the border pieces ready to go for the second quilt.  I quilted two things of my own from the parade (very small items).  I had enough pieces already in my precut bin for Bonnie's mystery, so I am off and running on another UFO.  I fell short on my goals, but I made a little more progress.

December goals are mostly the same:

1. Quilt 1 customer quilt
2. Quilt 1 of my own
3. work on the Bonnie mystery 
4. Put borders on 2 more quilts

Those seem like pretty simple goals, but every weekend seems to be filled with activities.

Lots of color

My new dishes-one of every color.  How could I pick just one or two colors?

We have been using our wedding dishes since the beginning.  When Daughter #2 was young she left us with only a few salad plates after a mishap.  Most of my bowls have cracks or chips.  It was past time and I have been looking at the same Fiesta dishes for a couple of years. 

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Black Friday shopping go for me and I do not feel any remorse.

I am still working away on my quilting goals.  I am ready to look at my accomplishments for the year and set some new goals for 2015.

November Goals

I didn't post my my accomplishments for September because frankly I didn't get much accomplished. I am hoping to do better in November.  I did quilt 2 quilts for others already this month.  One was a runner, but I think that counts too.

To entertain you, I thought I would post some pictures of the chaos in my studio last month.  I believe this to be the worst disorganization that it has ever been in.  It is such a lovely space, however, it is hard to get inspired when this is the first look in the door.  

 The other side of the studio wasn't any better.  I have since done quite a bit of cleaning, purging, and organizing.  That is mostly what I accomplished in September and October.






Since it is the beginning of November, I want to set a few goals.

1. Quilt 2 customer quilts
2. Put borders on 2 quilts
3. Quilt 3 quilts from the UFO parade
4. Cut out the pieces for the new Bonnie mystery.

Still here

I I haven't disappeared.  I am just having trouble getting into the routine of regular blog posting.  I am still working away on the UFO mountain.  I haven't counted recently, but I think I am in the downward decent.  I plan to get a count at the end if the year with a new parade.  Two more months to meet my goal.

I have lots of large projects ready for borders.  I have been struggling with the border selection on this one.

I think the problem is......I need to do a pieced border.  I love the blue, it has been my best option, but I just don't think it makes the quilt sing.

I am also doing a little scrap management this month to prepare for the quiltville mystery.  I had plenty of helpers for sorting today, but I think they might have been a little confused about the method.

Have a happy Halloween!