12 UFOs for 2019

Judy at patchworktimes has posted the link for 2019 ufo challenge. But I have a doctorate to complete. At least that is what I keep reminding myself. In case I decide to join in, I will be ready.

1. 1857 Album Quilt

Machine quilt and bind.
This was the  Sentimental Stitches BOM for 2016-17. I collected all the free patterns when they were free. The top is completed, sandwiched, basted and ready to machine quilt. It has been sitting patiently waiting for nearly a year.

2. Almost Amish Irish Chain

There is so much work done here that it would be a shame to not put this on the list. Machine piecing. Machine applique. Machine quilting. Sounds pretty straight forward.

3. Morrell Sampler

Machine applique all the broderie perse blocks that are already prepped. Change that center pinwheel.

4. Antique Wedding Sampler

Complete this one block finally. Been working on it off and on since early summer. But first, have to locate the last bits of leaves and flowers to hand applique on.

 5. Dolls of the World

This is my oldest ufo from 1979. It also is the simplest and most close to being completed of all my 40 some ufos. I wrote about it a few months ago and have some thoughts about completing it. Check back later to see what I do.

6. Dear Daughter

Complete the hand applique, assemble the top and machine applique and bind then gift. Whatever number is called for January, this will be the project. I need it complete and ready to gift by mid Feb.

7. Huguenot Friendship Quilt

Finish the machine applique with silk thread on the 36 center blocks and assemble the center so I can lay out and prep the borders.
This was an impulse purchase last winter.

8. Country Bride 2

Here is my opportunity to practice some machine quilting with rulers on the already pre cut alternating squares and borders. The backing and batting have been cut and ready to go for nearly 22 years.
I still have to do some embroidery for the stems before layering these already machine appliqued blocks.

9. Green and Gold Irish Chain

There really is so little to do on this one to get it to a flimsy. This will be another I can practice my machine quilting skills.

10. Stack-N-Whack Butterflies

Stop being a coward and just make some bodies and antennae so I can add the borders and machine quilt to my hearts content. I think loopy flowers would be nice. But what colour? White to disappear? Varigated?

11. GO Not So Fast 

My goal here will be to get the center medallion to be a square.
I saw a completed quilt using the same Winterthur panels that has given me some ideas.

12. Dear Jane

Last but by no means least, this one. I started quilting it by machine last winter but had much trouble with tension and my machine was in for repairs for a mere 3 months. Turns out if you do not use it, parts seize up. Who would have know?  I want to remove all the machine stitches in so far and start over. No promises.

Bright Jane

Rainbow Scrap Challenge for another year. I plan to put it on the wall to stay when there are 100 blocks complete. As I get sections of blocks done, I will sew them together into 9 units. But for now, the blocks are easier to store individually. And besides, the little grand children love putting them up on the design wall.
I will not be making the pieced triangles for the border. I am planning to make the corner kites.

Beyond the Cherry Trees

This will be my hand applique project for the year. There are 3-4 already started blocks to complete the 25 for the top and then begin the 4 borders. The 200 cherries are all cut and waiting but the 20 yards of bias stems still need to be made. After the stems are cut I can run the left over fabrics through the GO Cutter and make a few hundred leaves. This took a time-out when I started Dear Daughter.

 One Block Wonder

This can be my hand piecing project for the year. After making a whole bunch of hexies, I realized that if I made half hexies, I could easily sew a long straight seam to connect the rows. Live and learn.

I am not planning to start any new quilts in the coming year. That's not entirely true. I have been considering making a couple of tractor quilts for the little boys. But I could start them this year. I am making small goals for these ufos. Maybe only 2 actual completions of quilting and binding.

Blessings
Chris

End of February 2018

We are at the end of another month. I did complete my OMG goal but not the 12 ufos for 2018. My plan was to machine quilt the 1857 Album Quilt. I got it layered and ready to go but then layered the Dear Jane Quilt while I had the 2 big tables together and had room. The next step was to dust off the machine, put in a new needle and test the tension. On the first try the top thread was too loose so I tightened it. Then tightened it again. I did samples for both. My intent was to begin some free motion quilting on the 1857 quilt but discovered that the feed dogs on my Brother would not drop. Sigh.
So move to plan B. I put in the walking foot and tested the tension on the Dear Jane sample and it was perfect. On the sample. When I moved the whole quilt under the needle and started to quilt, I found that instead of the 6 stitches to the inch I was expecting, I had about 60. The machine was not advancing the quilt. I thought about taking the machine in for servicing, but I did that a year ago when I was quilting up those 5 quilts that I took to Poland. I ended up using the Bernina for all of them. I had not used it all year except to assemble the 1857 quilt. I did not need the feed dogs for that so did not notice then.

So, I shall move the Bernina to the craft table here and get testing the tension. I still have 5 days this month but the little girls are coming over for the weekend and we all know how much work I will get done. Actually, my plan is to get them to help empty out the kitchen cupboards and read expiry dates and help me reorganize the cupboards after they are washed out. After all, I have 3 beautiful granddaughters who are all a bit OCD. Well, maybe more than a bit. The middle one is very thorough with a cleaning cloth. And the oldest knows how to read both in English and French. And the youngest is the most  . . .  Wait until she discovers that I have popcorn in that cupboard. She knows how to make it herself but always asks first. And there are several cake mixes. They all like making those.

Again, I did not get any RSC blocks made this month even though I have the fabric and foundation patterns ready to go. One thing that I did do was go through the box of kits for the Antique Wedding Sampler (AWS). I was looking for something in the fabric cupboard upstairs yesterday and ended up bringing the box down. I have been thinking about what I will take with me to the Shipshewana Retreat in April. I am going with a high school friend who also quilts. I spent a couple of hours photo copying insane small pieces for all the compass - star burst designs for several blocks onto heavy duty freezer paper. I am planning to do some EPP. At least that is the plan for now. I took the box back upstairs. Now I remember what I was looking for. Some left over background fabric for the Dear Jane quilt to use for a sample to test the tension. The little boys went home Wed night so I had an extra day to myself.

I have 27 / 36 blocks prepped for the Huguenot Friendship Quilt. Only 9 to go. I cannot be machine appliqueing and machine quilting or foundation piecing with the same machine on  3 quilts.

So I will put them all aside for a few days and get back to my hand applique. I prepped a few more buds and leaves and the bow on one of the blocks. I don't need a machine or big tables for this.

Maybe if I focus on just one of these blocks I could have something finished this month.

Blessings,
Chris

February Quilting Goals

I had a dream last night that I was binding a quilt

!!! . . . by hand . . . !!!

Haven't done that in so many years

I forget how far back. 

My Feb one-monthly-goal-february-goal-setting

plan

is to finally sandwich my first 

Dear Jane Quilt

and get it ready to hand quilt.

The patchworktimes 2018-ufo-challenge

number for Feb is 1 which is Serendipity

but I am working on that one monthly for the RSC.

So my focus will be to sandwich and

machine quilt the 1857 Album Quilt 

which is #2 on the list.

No promises that I will bind it by hand or machine.

This months RSC colour is purple

so Bright Jane might come out to play since

it is Feb and winter is half over. 

I am going away again this weekend 

so have 3 BTCT blocks prepped with more buds

and leaves

and 2 textbooks this time.

Blessings,

Chris

First OMG Goal for 2018

This is a tough one to decide. But first, I want to thank Patty for hosting this one-monthly-goal Linky Party. I won the $25 gift certificate from fatquartershop.  My first goal will be to decide how to spend it. They have sales all the time. Will it be fabric? precuts? thread? a new fabric collection? Decisions decisions.

In the meantime,
Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for January is light blue.  There is no light blue in my Dear Jane 2 quilt and the lightest blue I can find that I have not already used for Serendipity is this Jinny Beyer Pallet colour, so I will only be making one row of eight 3 inch flying geese.

Also,
the 2018-ufo-challenge  number is 10 so I should be working on this Biblical Blocks quilt that I want to complete this year, but there is so much to do on it and I am just finishing day 2 of 5 days of little grandchildren sleepovers. The parents all have to work or be in school and the school kids are still on Christmas holidays.


I had intended to switch this month's pick with the 1857 album and I just might



since I have a flimsy!!!!!

But then,
I just realized that it is the 300th birthday of the 1718 Coverlet that I started 3 years ago.
www.facebook.com/1718coverlet/
Why did I stop? I went to Australia, and a bunch of other places and was away 70 days that year, and started the first blocks of the Antique Wedding Sampler, was working on the Ben Biggs, GORF, BTCT, and trying to finish CCCQ. Oh yes, I was sick at least 5 different times with a  bronchial thing, was applying revisions to my book and had a new grandchild.

And why did I not put it on my ufo list for 2018??? I can still change that. Or will I?

Even though I had 17 in for a turkey dinner yesterday, I still found time to look over some of my ufo challenges for the coming year including putting Serendipity up on the design wall to see what blocks still have to be made and what colours  I have to choose from. I also took a few minutes to put in a few hand applique stitches on 3 BTCT blocks I had prepped back in Nov. Don't get too excited. I did not do much house work ahead of time and they helped set the tables, peel potatoes, brought salads and desserts AND washed up most of the dishes. I put all the bones on to simmer overnight and set them on the snow covered porch to chill at 6:30 this morning when the first of 5 grand children got up and the pot is still there probably frozen solid with the deep winter freeze here the past couple of weeks. 

We are having all our employees (at least 10) and most of our grand kids for our annual Maplehurst Farms staff Christmas party here tomorrow night. We order in pizza and play Pictionary to recall highlights from the past year and it is a lot of fun. There are little Paw Patrol pups, Chinese checker pieces, green tractors and cracker crumbs all over the house but, since all our grand children are somewhat OCD, we can get them to do all the pick up, vacuuming and maybe dusting if I remember to pull out the disposable duster thingies. My grandsons LOVE to vacuum and dust and the little girls are really over the top organizers. I could learn a thing or two from them. I can bribe reward them with pizza. 

So, yes, my OMG for this month will be to get that flying geese strip made for Serendipity. 

Blessings,

Chris

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17 ufos for 2017 Year End Achievements

I was delighted to take part in Meredithe's 17ufosin2017 challenge and did complete some quilts.

I wrote about 17 different quilts I was working on. You can see the original list here. 

Some I hadn't touched in years. I had a lot of fun pulling them out, putting them up on the design wall, photographing them and writing about them. I really enjoyed that. 

But this past year was a busy one with travel and mission trips

 then babysitting grandchildren so I did not work on all of them. 

I completed and quilted 4. 

I did nothing on 6.

That means I progressed on 7. 

That adds up. 

I sort of started only 3 by making a few blocks.

I have made my lists for 2018 by moving a few over from last year 

and finding a few others to work on for

6 & 6-for-2018-challenge-with-pomegranite

2018-ufo-challenge-with-patchwork-times.

This is what I am working on this week. 

I could have a flimsy before the end of the year. 

I so appreciate the space I have and the 8 foot tables that are easily moved around. 

Blessings, 

Chris

Final OMG Completion for 2017

My One Monthly Goal for December was to complete the 13 blocks with corner leaves to use for the borders of my 1857 Album Quilt. I out did myself this month. Not only did I complete these 13 blocks and cut them for the borders,

but I also made no less than 12 more blocks

bringing the total to 36. Several of these were started more than a year and a half ago but they are all complete now. I still need to do a bit of embroidery to finish up a couple then comes the fun part of assembling the top as a whole. I will rearrange some of the blocks to balance out the circles and I want each of the corner leaves to be different. I can get the little girls to help.

 

Now its time to change gears and start looking forward to the Rainbow scrap challenge block colour for January and Gay at sentimental stitches has something new up her sleeve for 2018. Can hardly wait. I wonder what colour I will choose? And what number for the 12 ufos for 2018 challenge. I will try to be patient.

New Year's blessings,
Chris

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1857 Progress

Now that I have started working on the-1857-album-quilt again, I seem to be making remarkable progress. Some of these I have cut in half for the borders and one is cut in quarters for the corners. The colour is really off. I am using a Kona snow which reads as white.

Since I completed my -one-monthly-goal the 13 blocks for the borders with 3 weeks to spare, I guess the next thing is to complete some of the blocks that are started. This should not take too long since the corner leaves are already done and at least half of the rest of the stitching is started.

If I stay away from the solid reproduction fabrics, I can progress with greater joy using prints since they turn under with more ease. And since my hands are really hurting now that it has turned wintry cold, that will be nice. I saw an arthritis doctor last month and after more Xrays and ultrasounds on my hands and wrists, toes and ankles and more blood work, I am told that I am quite normal and should take Turmeric supplements and immerse my hands in a big bowl of heated lentils (not beans).  

Blessings,
Chris
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December 2017 One Monthly Quilting Goal

My omg-one-monthly-goal will again be simple. Since I decided to do only 36 of the 64 blocks for the-1857-album-quilt , I will need to make enough corner leaves/melons/petals or whatever you want to call them, to add as a border. I prepped 13 background squares with 4 leaves in each corner. I will cut 12 of them in half for the borders and then cut 1 into 4 for the four corners. I got a head start sitting at the garage the other day as well as watching Peppa Pig and Max and Ruby with the boys. 

Blessings, 
Chris

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November 2017 OMG Completion

I know. My omg-one-monthly-goal was not a huge project but I had to make it doable. I can't complete four quilts every month now can I. Maybe I can but not anytime soon. 

I competed this Sally Post civil war sampler  block for my 1857-album-quilt block first. There wasn't much left to do but it is now done. The original center flower was not quite as odd shaped as mine but I am okay with it. Needle turned hand applique is not the best choice for those 8 petal flowers. 

Now this block. What can I say? I love it.  It was a challenge to figure out which leaves to cut out and how to arrange them on a circle I drew on the back ground. Then which ones to stitch down first so the over lap works. It was tricky. I had no idea just what it would look like until I got the last leaves stitched down. I am no expert at broderie perse applique, but will have lots of practice with the Di Ford-Hall projects I am working on.   

Blessings,
Chris

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Reality Check

I have had the most amazing adventures this year but it is mid November and the year is fast coming to an end. I have been invited to jury duty this coming week and do not yet know what time lines that might encompass. Last time, 25 years ago, I had to report daily for 2 weeks. We shall see on Monday.

Two days ago lost internet access and wondered how I ever managed to get through a day without being on the computer and on line. I should do it more often. The desk top is still out. Something about an IP address? The laptop works. But the big desk top is more fun and it has a touch screen. So much easier to see and to play  . . . uh . . . never mind.

The little boys keep coming for 4 days a week and we are having a lot of fun. Well, until little David keeps climbing onto my lap and pushing buttons, hence the internet issue. Also, some of the house phones do not ring. Something about pushing buttons. And Jonathan glued everything in his room at home with a jar of vaseline. Glad it was there so I did not have to clean it up here. Dawn dish soap helps.

This year I completely completed, including quilting and binding and gifting, 5 whole quilts. I started 3 new ones which is the norm for me. So actually, I am ahead in the numbers game. No, I guess I started 4. Not much work done on any of those at this point.

I worked on 11 of the 17 ufos for 2017. I have one more to post about that but I will save it for December. I did do a bit of work on that one at the retreat last week.

I am clearing the tables and decluttering some of the many project boxes that I pulled out and the new ones I started so there is room in the quilt room for the Q@F retreat here the first 2 days of December. My intent then is, while I have both 8 foot tables clear, to stretch out and layer the Dear Jane quilt and get it ready to big stitch hand quilt. It was suggested to quilt for just 20 minutes each day. I could do that. Maybe.

I have also been pre-washing the new fabrics I brought home so I can get at those broderie perse birds and flowers. 

I got the oil changed in my car before driving 7 hours to Shipshewana, but now have to find time to get my snow tires put on since winter is coming. And I have registered for the April retreat and booked not one, but two rooms.

The potted geraniums finally made it into the house for the winter last week when I was away. Now to clean up the wilted leaves and spent blossoms. Five down 12 to go.

The cows are all settled in the barns for the winter and we passed the bi-annual quality  milk inspection so we can carry on dairy farming for 2 more years.

The corn is not  yet combined nor is the high moisture corn in the small silo. Next week some time I hear.

So some of the amazing adventures were a trip to Poland with my now 10 year old Ava. A short term mission trip to Rwanda Africa. I have yet to post my Rwanda Reflections. And a quilt retreat and workshops with the Australian Di Ford-Hall. But the most amazing adventure of them all has to be publishing my first book. The temporary web site is up for proofing.

I have also been doing a bit of house work (yes really) and laundry. How come I do little boy laundry every week? Oh yes, on Thurs nights they get supper, a bath and clean pjs then I load them in their van and meet Mommy, who has my car, at the university so she can drive them home after her last class. They get home around 9:30-10 pm. We swap cars and I come home after picking up a few groceries since I am in town.

So the reality check is realizing that I will never complete the course work for my doctorate at the pace I am going and the procrastinating attitude I have had towards it. I have typed out exactly 3 pages in the past year. One of my OMG goals for November is to complete and submit one course. The text book has been on my desk for the past 2 months. That's when I typed out those pages. And I remembered to save them. I dropped all the hand written notes behind the desk just before I left for the retreat and now I have to figure out how to retrieve them.

Elly came over for a visit today and she offered  to help, until she saw how many spider webs there were back there after we got a light to look down. So we got out the spider web catcher and got rid of them. She could not fit down under the side of the desk to get them and I could not reach that far down from the top. There is a big book shelf beside the really heavy desk. Grampa had the outrageously creative idea to get a broom and weep them out. What a smart fella I am married to. Now I have all the notes and a cleared off desk. And fewer spider webs.

My OMG and slow sunday stitching project is to complete this 1857 block. I have been fiddling around with it this month. You have to figure out what you want and what leaves to cut out, them what order to stitch them down. I thought I had the first set of leaves placed equidistant on the circle I drew in the middle, until I got to the last triplet of leaves. I don't care that they are not straight and even, they are almost done. I kinda like the dark around those leaves. I get to do a tad bit more of this in the Bally Hall Birds Quilt. I have decided to do some of it by machine so I stand a chance to get it done before the end of this century.

And I found a whole bunch more of the Only2 red and white blocks and nicely organized bits for many more blocks as I was tidying up the quilt closet so I have somewhere to put away the project boxes.

But in reality, I was looking for the heat-n-bond lite to fuse to the new fabric. I cannot believe I used more than 80 yards of the stuff. There has to be some more here somewhere. I will keep looking.

blessings,
Chris

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17 ufos in 2017 - Shades of Pemberly

This was a 3 week workshop at my local quilt shop a mere 10 years ago. I was going to be clever and do my sashing in black instead of white like everyone else. It was much later that I saw a picture of the original Austin Coverlet. The sashing is white. But ALAS . . . Jane and Cassandra never competed theirs so I am in good company. These were among the first reproduction fabrics I ever bought. A fat quarter bundle of Austin Reproductions. Each of the prints had names from the books.

Those triangles are 70 degrees. Not the common angle to stitch up with all those bias edges. We made a template for the center medallion and used it to measure against each section to make sure it was going to fit. I spent days arranging the fabrics to be exactly opposite each other then pinned onto the flannel backed table cloth. Clever idea.  Until I put it in a box and forgot it existed. There are a lot of pins in there that could be used in another ufo.

Speaking of another ufo, I took time last night after my little boys went home to prep a few more blocks on the 1857 Album Quilt. Since I had decided to make only 36 blocks, I prepped 12 blocks with the corner leaves. These will be cut in half for the borders. If I stitch at least one leaf each day, it will take me until the beginning of December. If I stitch one block a day it will take me until the beginning of November. If I get off the computer, I could get one leaf stitched before I leave for a day filled with appointments.

I finally finished the leaves and buds here in this Beyond the Cherry Trees block. Now that I have back basted the wreath, I can start stitching around the outside. I find it easier to tuck in the extra convex outer curves first then spread out the concave inner circle after. I certainly am getting tired of those inny-outy tight curves on the leaves.

I did not get any stitching in before I left, but I got a pedicure, did some banking, filled the car with gas, had a chilly waterfit workout before getting groceries and dropping them off at home then indulged in a 90 minute deep massage. Sigh. I will sleep tonight. First night in a week with no little boys in the house. They are so cute but they do get a bit noisy in the night. Especially the three year old who has been sick. And the first term is half over. 

Blessings, 
Chris

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1857 Sampler for 17 ufos for 2017

I wasn't planning to start a new quilt that winter 2016.

But these double pink fabrics left over from 
my first Dear Jane quilt

 accidentally jumped into my GO cutter

 and a lot of leaves got cut out using one of my custom leaf dies

and just landed in a project box.

 What was I to do?

The corner leaves were easy to stitch in place.

 Many doing this QAL are waiting until the end to do the corner leaves or diamonds.

 I did mine first because I could.

I even posted a tutorial-for-melon-points.

 A few blocks got completed and set up on the design wall.

I eventually found my Karen K Buckley Perfect Circles
 and made a few.

However, I was not comfortable with some of the block designs

and wanted to complete the thing quickly, so

 I substituted a few patterns from Sentimental Stitches
 Sally Post Sampler.

My new helper had lots of fun putting blocks on the wall

Then she added the Bright Jane blocks and still had room for more

so pulled out the antique Princess Feather block.

So much for wanting to complete the thing quickly.

 I have not done any work on it for more than a year. 

I had already decided to stop at 36 blocks and not do all 64. 

The final blocks were released July 1 and I really 

disliked working with that solid reproduction limey green fabric.

 Not so nice to needle turn by hand. 

If I pull the thing out, I could blitz it this month and

 have a finished top. 

Well, 36 finished blocks. 

Sewing all those corner leaves together might be a challenge.

I usually like a challenge, but  I went to Rwanda in August 

and all the grandchildren keep showing up.

Come to think of it, I usually worked on this when I was babysitting.

 But they have been coming to my house for the past few months 

and I get nothing done then.

I am thinking about adding more pink leaves around the outside. 

Since I cut out 64 background squares and I am only using 36 then 

I should have lots of them to cut in half for a border.  

That dark purple in the heart block stands out too much.

 Maybe I should use that purple again or replace it. 

My omg-one-monthly-goal  for November could be

 to complete the 11 blocks. No pressure. 

If I wanted pressure

 I would add assemble all the blocks and quilt the thing.

 But I haven't completed this month's OMG and

 I have little boy grandchildren 

coming each week for three sleepovers 

while their mom is in school and 

Gay has another QAL up her sleeve for the new year. 

Having said all that, 

I took along 2 blocks with me today

 and completed one sitting in not one but 3 waiting rooms. 

It was easy peasey. 

Blessings,
Chris

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