January in Review

As I sat down to finish up this post I realized that I need to revise my point of view relating to progress on projects. After spending 15 months being all about finishing UFOs I guess it's only natural to have a hard time adapting to the "NEW World".  As in it is perfectly OK to start new projects and also OK to miss the single minded adrenaline rush from finishing lots of old ones!

With that in mind I've scrapped my original post and am going with Lynne's approach as I review the month because they are BOTH important to me this year. I think a little voice in the corner of my head is still stuck on finish, Finish, FINISH! Click on the button above to learn more about how Lynne who blogs at Never Too Hot to Stitch is looking to balance both sides of quilting.

Something Old:

1. Road to Oklahoma, 2. Charmed Pinwheels, 3. Four Patch & Friends, 4. 10 Path and Stiles Blocks

2 UFOs made it to the Finish Line this month - Charmed Pinwheels and Four Patch & Friends. I also dug out 2 projects in the piecing stage and made good progress on both. Half of the star blocks for Road to Oklahoma are completed and Path and Stiles is also at the halfway point with 10 14" blocks done. I was very much in a piecing mood for most of January.

Something New:

I am excited to be a full participant in Barbara's NewFO Challenge - last year I put my own restrictions in place but I don't foresee missing any months in 2014!

1. Charming Snowmen, 2. RSC14 January, 3. Valentine's Day Table Topper, 4. Blitzen Table Topper

I am thoroughly enjoying my Sewing for the Seasons theme. Charming Snowmen is ready for borders and I have 2 new table toppers to enjoy. The Valentine's Day one is already prettying up my table.

The color of the month for RSC14 was blue and I have settled on making a chevron stripe for a ROYGBIV quilt each month and Angela's sampler blocks. I had thought I might do more but realistically I have plenty of projects on my plate. Next year...

My Something New technique this month was using several specialty rulers for the 1st time. The Easy Angle, Companion Angle and Tri Recs rulers were used in my RSC Sampler blocks and I also used the Easy Angle in my Road to Oklahoma blocks. They are wonderful!

My January goals ended up looking like this:

1-UFO#1 Four Patch & Friends-DONE!
2-UFO#2 Minnesota Hot Dish*
3-UFO#3 Christmas Strings*
4-UFO#4 Warm 16 Patches*
5-UFO#5 Charmed Pinwheels-DONE!
6-RSC14-DONE!
7-Winter NewFO-DONE!
8-Valentine's NewFO-DONE!
9- Pillow Pop SAL
10-FMQ Project
*In Progress

I need to figure out how to work in the Pillow Pop SAL and my FMQ goal next month. I tend to chose the familiar projects when I walk into my quilting room. I'm going to think this over and will post my February goals in a day or two. I need to change things up with my goal setting too.

I'm also linking up to Sharon's Let's Book It Challenge which you can read about HERE.  3 of my NewFO projects came from books: Charmed Snowmen from a Leisure Arts book called "Quick & Scrappy Quilts" and my table toppers are from the book "Charmed and Dangerous" by Anka's Treasures. It feels good to make use of those book purchases so thank you Sharon for the inspiration!

I think that does it for January... here's to warmer weather and more daylight hours to sew by in February! Tomorrow I will be linking up to Fresh Sewing Day@Lily's Quilts.

NewFO Challenge in 2014

Barbara over at Cat Patches is starting another year of her NewFO Challenge. Last year I was a bench player for a few months due to not meeting my self imposed goals in the prior month but this year I am ready to join the A Team!

Yesterday I posted about my word for 2014 - Simplify - and my Sewing for the Seasons theme. As I started looking through my stash a few weeks back in giddy anticipation of "What to Make, What to Make?" I let my stash lead the way...

Two file boxes of Christmas/Winter fabrics! Some bought for projects that never got started and some just because. I also have several charm packs and one layer cake in new fabric lines to use (I did show a little restraint this year on seasonal buys!).

One file box of Fall/Halloween prints with some pre cuts on top.

My "Lincoln" Schnibble that never got started this year and a few patriotic prints.

Elsa showing me a few fabrics that I missed!

Easter stash - I have had these Debbie Mumm fat quarters for about 10 years. Time to cut into them don't you think?

Valentines Day - a large stash of prints

 and some precuts too.

I would really like to get these fabrics out of my stash closet during 2014. I think it's going to be fun to finally get to some of the "projects in mind" and go through my collection of books/patterns to get ideas for the rest. Here are a few patterns I've pulled for starters for my 1st theme of Winter/Valentine's Day for January sewing.

As for BoMs and QALs in 2014 I'm going to participate in RSC14, A Year of Schnibbles and the Pillow POP Sew Along over at Threadbias.

Plenty of fodder for NewFOs in 2014... I can hardly wait to get started!

A WIP Finish

Kitchen Sink Feed Sacks is an unusual quilt for me - started and finished in the same month (actually just over 2 weeks). This is as close to a start to finish quilter as I'll probably ever be! This quilt is from the book "Scrap-Basket Surprises" by Kim Bracket and it measures 48" by 60".

As often happens, this quilt grew on me during the quilting process. It is so satisfying to walking foot quilt along the scrappy fabrics! I used my standard white Aurifil which sinks in nicely and allows the fabrics to do the heavy lifting.

I found a fun novelty flannel print in my stash and added a strip of pink flannel to make it wide enough. I always enjoy seeing the grid of quilting lines on the backside. The binding was chosen primarily to match the back but I love the spark it gives the front too.

Kitchen Sink Feed Sacks made a nice dent in my small 2.5" strip box. I'm still wanting to try it again using low volume prints... I think I'll start setting aside a bin of strips so that I'll be ready when the urge strikes!

This quilt will be donated to Project Linus and is my October NewFO project. I'm also linking up to TGIFF/OctoberQuest 2@Quilter in the Closet and WIP Wednesday@Freshly Pieced.

NewFOs and a UFO

Barbara over at Cat Patches holds a NewFO Challenge to encourage us all to start new projects each month and I've had a few in September. I made these pincushions earlier in the month for the Pin It Blog Hop. The fabric basket was my June NewFO Project and the Schnibbles "Gentle Art" underneath was my NewFO for May which were both finished in September.

I'm working on my other NewFO for September which is a make-up brush holder for my daughter using THIS tutorial. The fabrics on the left are the inside and the floral on the right will be the cover. It's a fun project to make and my daughter has been more than patient waiting for it!

My last UFO sewing for the month was to bring this Christmas Rail Fence UFO to flimsy stage. I measured, re-measured and checked my math several times to ensure it will be the right size for it's new job...

as backing for my Christmas Fantasy quilt!

Cindy at Tops To Treasures is going to be doing the quilting for me on this one. I'm super excited to combine 2 UFOs into one quilt! The rail fence blocks were from a swap I hosted several years ago on the HGTV Quilting Forum and I'm happy to find a great way to use them.

I'm linking up my NewFOs to Cat Patches Linky Party for September.

2 WIP Finishes

Getting my pincushions ready for Monday's Blog Hop post has also inspired me to finish 2 WIPs using Bonnie & Camille's beautiful fabric line "Marmalade" over the last week.

I followed this tutorial at Pink Penguin to make my fabric basket. I've had it pinned for months, started it as my June NewFO Project and finally it is ready to use. I used 2.5" mini charms instead of 2" so my basket is a bit bigger than Ayumi's.

I am kind of obsessed with this fabric line... it is just so darn cute! I used Moda Bella for the base and the handles just to mix in a bit of solid. Here is the backside.

And the inside! I used fusible fleece for the batting but I think I'd like something a little stiffer next time around. I'd welcome any ideas as to what to try from the experienced basket and/or bag makers in the comments. I do have some Peltex I bought for a future project - would that be too stiff?

WIP Finish #2 is my May Schnibble "Gentle Art" which was also a NewFO Project. It is going on my quilting room wall but I need a dowel to hang it with. I figure you have seen enough background close-ups of it so I'll just include one full pic here in good light!

Getting 2 of my WIPs completed is one of my September Goals... so I've given them the DONE! treatment on my sidebar.

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday@Freshly Pieced and Needle and Thread Thursday@My Quilt Infatuation.

NewFOs in June

I've broken my own rule on the last morning of June by starting a NewFO even though I haven't finished my last one. Bad Deb! After holding firm all month on not starting June's Schnibble "Dulcinea" I just couldn't resist a little fun sewing when I woke up early this morning before I put the covers on my machines and gave them a goodbye pat.

I've had this tutorial pinned for months and I saw a finished one on Threadbias the other day which put it into my MUST MAKE SOON mental list. So this is the start of my rule breaking June NewFO Project - you can find the tutorial for this Fabric Basket at Pink Penguin HERE.

May's Schnibble "Gentle Art" NewFO did make it to flimsy status in June and is hanging in front of my closet ready for quilting when I return. The awesome hangers are from, you guessed it, IKEA!

April's Schnibble "Hat Trick" NewFO made it to the Finish Line last night. Boy I love this one! It will find a home on a wall in the guest room (old quilting room) in July.

I might be in a bit of a grid quilting rut... but it just looks so great on scrappy projects I can't seem to stop.

I've saved the cutest NewFOs around for last... we were just sitting down for dinner last night when I spotted one loon parent and one baby near our dock. I had seen both parents with twins (1st time in years on our our lake) earlier in the week when I was out on my paddle board so I anxiously watched for baby loon #2 to appear. The eagles are baby loon predators so it's a dangerous time when they are this small. By the time I'd grabbed my camera and crept out onto the dock the whole family was there!

Tonight I'll be seeing this - the Vegas strip in all it's glory...

I'm already drooling anticipating tomorrow's breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris Casino... cafe au lait in a big sipping bowl for starters... yummy.

After my June In Review and Q2 in Review posts go up later today I'll be on hiatus here until the 2nd week of July. I'm excited to view my fireworks this year at The Roman Tower at Caesar's Palace - I hope you all have a safe and fun 4th of July!

I'm linking up to Barbara's June NewFO Linky Party@Cat Patches.

Under the Wire

The last of April sewing is done. Here is my Hat Trick for April Vintage Schnibbles with borders attached.  I'll be binding it with the green floral I used for the inner border. I'm really happy with how this top turned out and can't wait to get it quilted, bound and on the table!  This is also my April NewFO for Barbara's challenge over at Cat Patches.

My last UFO Finish for April is this table runner from the book "True Friends" by Nancy Halvorsen. This is my first heavy duty applique project and I can happily say that I've overcome my fear of machine applique! These fabrics are really hard to photograph... I find these nighttime photos actually show the colors best but they are so much prettier in person.  I'll try a few different places around the house tomorrow and see if I can do better.

Once I finished my first stem I was thinking NEVER again... but by the time I turned my first corner after doing three sets of stems and leaves I had decided it's not so bad and started to relax a bit. My Juki F600 has a beautiful buttonhole stitch and I learned a lot about pivoting on this runner! 

I quilted in the ditch using cream Aurifil thread along both sides of the applique sections and followed the diamonds in the patchwork center. After all of the hours of applique I wanted that to be the star.

This is my April Finish for "A Lovely Year of Finishes" and I'm linking up at the last hour.
                                                      
I'm also linking up to Wednesday UFO Report@Patchwork Times.

UFO Reward System Jump Start

I think I've become UFO Obsessed!

Which is not really a bad thing given my UFO Collection... but too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. Remember my UFO Reward System first blogged about HERE and also laid out HERE at the top of my blog?

Deb's UFO Reward System:

1. For every 5 UFO finishes I get to splurge on a quilt related treat (a book, some fabric, a new tool).

2. For every 10 UFO finishes I get to start a new quilt. 

Rest assured I'm doing more than fine on reward #1 - 5 UFO finish treats. You've seen many of them on the blog. But I've been totally ignoring reward #2 because I should have started 2 new quilts by now since I finished 22 UFOs in January, February & March. What is up with that? 

Well, starting today I'm cutting into this jelly roll of Kate Spain's Serenade to make the cover quilt. Meet UFO Reward Quilt #1!

For UFO Reward Quilt #2 I'll be pulling blues & browns out of my 2.5" strip drawers to make this "Strip Stacks" pattern. Teresa over at A Quilt and a Prayer is working on a beautiful one in brights that inspired this choice. So many of my Project Linus tops are rather "girly" so I'd like to balance that out with some tops for boys, especially older boys. 

Kim who blogs at Kim's Big Quilting Adventure is starting up ScrapBasket Sunday so that we can share our scrappy projects each week. I'm going to join in and share my weekly progress on Strip Stacks... you can click on her button to find out more.

I'm so excited to read this morning that Sherri and Sinta are starting up A Year of Schnibbles again! And, better still, they have chosen Hat Trick as this month's pattern which I already have. I'm not so keen on cutting up charm packs into 2" squares so I'm going to try a color washed version using my 2" watercolor florals. Can't wait to dig into these pretties!

Hat Trick will be my April NewFO.

Don't worry UFO Collection... I still love you and won't forget you (yes, all 56 of you!). I'm coming to rescue each and every one of you. Soon. I'm linking up to Linky Tuesday@Freemotion by the River.

March Goals

A new month... for some reason I'm not feeling my usual rush of excitement and I've been trying to figure out why.

On on the one hand, I'm over the moon thrilled with my progress on UFOs!  I mean like jumping up and down, patting myself on the back, high fives all around proud of myself - like this

or this.

But, I also have a nagging uncomfortable feeling lurking underneath that I can't quite articulate clearly. I look around my home and see all kinds of unfinished projects now. Things that haven't bothered me for months and in some cases years are now shouting "Finish ME!". It's like I've opened up Pandora's Box by changing one part of my life (quilting) and now I can't quite close the door on the rest. And, toss in a big dose of the more I do... the more I WANT to do.

I think it's a good thing, really. Like waking up after a long sleep. My creative mo-jo is in OVERDRIVE! I just hope I can adjust to all of the noise and, at the same time, keep listening. If that makes sense.

March Quilting To-Do List

1-Finish Christmas Stockings 2,3 & 4

2-Finish Four Patch & Friends Quilt

3-Finish Spring Flowers Quilt (at LAQ)

4-Finish Shabby String Quilt (at LAQ)

5-Finish Star Charm Wall Quilt

6-Finish Easter Table Topper

7-Finish Nancy Halverson Table Runner

8-RSC13 & And SEW On Blocks

9-Threadbias QAL Table Runner

10-HGTV Pincushion Swap

11-FMQ 7 practice sessions, 3 blocks, 1 quilt

12-Embroidery Blog Hop Project

                                                               

I try to keep my goals to 10, but this month 10 just wasn't enough. Goals 1-4 are carried over from February and I've blogged about all of them.

The Christmas stockings have been carried over for 2 months now and I'm designating them as my March finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes. I'm pulling out all the stops. Where you see 1 there WILL be 4 by the end of March!

Four Patch & Friends needs a border fabric and then I can assemble the top and get it in the mail. So really, goals 2-4 involve hand sewing binding after the magic happens at the LAQ! 

Goals 5-7 are from my Q1 UFO tab above and they look like this.

Star Charm Wall Quilt

Easter Table Topper

Nancy Halverson Table Runner

The two table toppers need to be sandwiched, quilted and bound. The Nancy Halverson table runner is pieced and ready for lots of fusible applique which I have not done much of. The tulips and vine around the border if you look at the book cover lower left are cut and ready to get started. I'm excited to try out the blanket stitch on my Juki F600.

The color for RSC13 in March is orange and Kristy posted the March block which is spools of thread for And Sew On today (goal 8). I am so enjoying these projects!

March's project for Sew Along at Threadbias (goal 9) is this beautiful table runner which will be my March NewFO for Barbara's challenge over at Cat Patches. I've never done curved piecing before so that will be interesting. I'm thinking spring florals for this project.

Goal 11 is all about kick starting FMQ. I used up all my cheapo/ugly fabrics in January's practice sandwiches so I found some $1.49 a yard fabric at Ben Franklin and cut it up into 12" squares and I'm using up the rest of my cruddy cheap batting to sandwich them.

I'm thinking structure here: Phase 1) 7 20 minute practice sessions followed immediately by Phase 2) FMQ the 3 Depression blocks I made last month for the Threadbias Quilt It! Challenge. Followed immediately by Phase 3) quilt a top.

When it comes to doing FMQ on something real I just can't get started... ranging from avoidance to mild panic as I sit down at the machine! I think I'll just have to push myself through it.

So - I've got 7 UFOs, a couple of NewFOs, some blocks, some pincushions and a bunch of FMQ in my March lineup. I think a good mix of old and new projects along with a learning curve will make for an interesting month!