Autumn UFO Club

I'm in again for the Ravelry UFO club.  I skipped the summer session because I was traveling so much that I knew I wouldn't get anything much accomplished quite-wise.  But, now I'm home for the season, except for a quilt retreat where I hope to make a lot of progress.

So, this is what I'm focusing on for the remainder of the year:

1. Clutter Control

I fully expect to complete this.  It is basted and I've started the machine quilting.  Each block gets its own personality.  Some of them are easier to choose a quilting pattern for than others.  I really do like this quilt, but I have been procrastinating on quilting it for some reason.  This was started in 1993, so it is definitely time to get this completed.

2. Handy Dandy Scrappy

This is the newest top in my stash.  I have the back and binding pieced, so it's just a matter of basting, quilting and finishing.  I would like to have this quilt done in time for our guild show in May and I expect to do that.

3. Left Over Stars

This lap-sized quilt needs a border, backing, basting and finishing.  This is another quilt I would like to have completed by May.  I have the fabric and am planning a keyboard border and white binding.  I am taking this to the quilt retreat and will probably finish the top there.














4. Bright Baby Revisited

This was on the list for one of the quilts I wanted to work on in the Spring, but that never happened.  It  is another of the projects that I will take to the quilt retreat, but it's low priority to finish.  I'm looking forward to playing with machine quilting on this.











5. Ladies of the Sea

I am working on the hand applique on the last two ships in this pattern.  My second priority at the quilt retreat is to get all the 1/2 square triangles for the sashing completed and get the entire top put together.  I have no idea if this is a reasonable goal or not.  But, I want to have the top completed before the end of the year, and that is a totally reasonable goal.  Then starts the hand quilting.  Any bets on how long that will take?



6. Scraptitude Take 2

I completed this top in the spring as a mystery project with my guild.  I've made this pattern before and really like the results. This is another quilt that I would like to have done by May.  It would be great to have a few from the guild completed and displayed together.

7. Blue Floral

Another long-term UFO that I have dug out of oblivion.  I don't expect to have this done by the end of the year, but I want it out of the shadows so I can think about what I want to do with it.  I'm taking another machine quilting class in November and the plan is to use this as a show piece for the great skills I will possess upon course completion. (Yes, I can be that delusional!)



These 7 are still a fraction of the 29 UFOs that are still on my list.  But, I started the year with a list of 35, so 6 completions isn't too bad.  Of course, this doesn't include a few projects that may or may not have been added since I officially counted in January.  The focus is on these 7 for now.  Then I can reevaluate again.

Wish me luck!

Summer Update

I use this blog mostly to keep track of my craftly accomplishments.  This is what I've been up to since the spring.

I had my machine serviced and wanted to test it out to see if the free motion quilting was still working.  I was having tension problems which resulted in thread breaking.  So, I went through some of the orphan blocks I have and put together this little table runner to test it out.  I'm not positive I have all the problems worked out yet, but the machine is better than it was.  And now I have a new table runner, too.

 This is the last of the grammy quilt tops basted and ready to be quilted.  I did get them all completed for the wedding I attended in July.  I decided that this last top would be going to my daughter, so I wanted to do a bit more elaborate quilting on it than I did on the others.  After basting this 9-patch, I put together a scrappy quilt and practiced  free motion quilting on it.  I then used that feathered wreath pattern on the 9-patch.

The quilts were all well recieved by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Laura.  I'm glad they are completed, out of my house and crossed off the UFO list.

 This Charlotte Hawkes scraptitude pattern that I used as a mystery quilt in my guild this year.  I have made the pattern before and really love the results.  The top is done and in line to be quilted.

I started thses socks in February and finally finished them in July.  There was no reason they took that long.  The pattern was reasonably easy to remember and the yarn was nice to knit.  I guess I just wasn't into them.  But I do like the results and they are comfy on my feet.




This completed ship block is 13th of the 16 blocks in the pattern.  The purple I used on the tulips never photographs well.  It often looks blue or black.  But really, they are lovely shades of purple.  Again, this took me a long time to complete.  One reason is that we were traveling from June 22nd to July 17th.  I didn't take any crafty things with me.  I usually take some hand piecing, but decided I'm usually so tired at then end of each day, that I never feel like sewing anyway.  This time I packed a sketch book and a variety of pencils.  When we sent a package home after a week on the road, the pencils and sketch book were included.


My version of Charlotte Hawkes' latest mystery quilt, Handy Dandy Scrappy,  was completed this week.  The top, anyway.  This is another top on the pile to quilt.  All of the fabrics came from my stash and scrap bin.  I wasn't sure about the background print.  I almost chickened out and used a plain muslin, but decided to give this a try.  I really didn't like the top until I got the scrappy border and plain fabric outer border on it.  The pieces of that background fabric weren't big enough to stand out in the blocks.  But, the border at the edge really pulls it all together and makes the background pieces in the blocks stand out.  This top willl hibernate for a bit while I finish some other quilts.

I FINALLY got the cat quilt basted today.  I've been itching to get the quilting done on this, but I really dislike basting.  I could give a dozen other excuses, but really, it's just that I wasn't looking forward to crawling around on the floor.  Avoiding basting is why the Handy Dandy Scrappy top is completed.  There are other tops that I could be completing, but I promised myself not to work on those other (more fun) projects until I got this top basted.  Now, let the quilting begin!

Spring 2019 UFO Challenge

I did so well on the 2019 Winter UFO challenge on Ravelry, that I am joining again for the spring quarter. I completed 5 UFOs this quarter and have only one more of the 'Grammy quilts' to complete.  However, it may take a little while to complete that last one for a few reasons.  The tension on my Pfaff is a little off, so I will take it in to a shop to get a tune-up.  And, this last quilt will go to my daughter, so the quilting will be more intricate than the others.  That's the privilege of having the quilt maker be your mom.

So, for this Spring UFO Challenge, I will complete the 9th and last of the the Grammy quilts.  The backing is made.  It needs basting, quilting and binding.

The next thing on the list is the guild mystery quilt that I'm hosting.  The last clue will go out April 1st and I'm hoping to see completed quilt tops at the May meeting.  I know at least one member has been keeping pace with the clues because if I am late, she reminminded me.  So far I have all the components completed and need to assemble the top and add final borders.  I would like to have the quilt completed by the May meeting and should be able to do that.

Once the mystery top is completed, I would like to do the quilting on my cat quilt.  The blocks were collected in an Internet block exchange starting in 1993!  I put the top together over a year ago and it's been patiently waiting for the 'Grammy quilts' to get completed.  I'm really looking forward to quilting this one.  It needs a back made, basting, quilting, and binding.

The left overs from the bright baby quilt I completed late last year are hanging around and will be made into another lap or crib sized quilt.  I want to see how the brights look alternating with solid grey diamonds.  I think I have enough cut out to make a good sized quilt.  This is just play.

The stars left over from the guild's last raffle quilt were assembled into a top a few weekends ago at a quilt retreat. The scale of the blocks and the 9-patch blocks looked much better on the bed-sized quilt, but I wasn't going to expand this project.  I'm reasonably pleased with this, but would like it a little larger, so I'm planning a piano-key border to finish the top.

That seems like enough to plan for the next three months.  I have to remember that the weather is getting warmer and I will be spending more time outside and less time in my sewing room.  If I can complete all five of these before the end of June, I'll be thrilled. Wish me luck!

Progress and Completions

I've completed more than I thought I would in the past two months.  That is a good thing.  Winter is still here in full force, but once spring arrives and the weather warms, I will have less time to spend on quilting while I persue other activities.  So, it's good that I'm taking advantage of my quilty productivity while I can.

So, I've completed three more of the 9-patch 'Grammy' quilts.  I really slogged through the quilting on the last one.  My initial goal was to quilt each of the 9-patch quilts differently, experimenting with quilting designs.  But, this last one was done using the same circular pattern as an earlier one.  I was in get-it-done mode and not lets-have-fun-quilting mode.  D is for DONE.  I have two more to do and may baste both of them before I start quilting again.  I'm beginning to see the end of this project and that is good motivation.

The tumbler pieces that I thought I would put together and make a top turned out to be a whole quilt.  I don't have a design wall, so for this, to try to get the diferent pieces sort of evenly spread throughout the quilt, I laid out a row or two on my ironing board and before I sewed them together.  I wanted to try some simple quilting, so this was the excuse to do that.  I have never really liked the look of quilting 1/4" away from the seams, but this quilt seemed right for that.  That's what I did and I really like how it turned out.  I also used a thicker, green thread so the quilting would stand out.  And I found that I really liked that, too.  It was a successful experiment.  This quilt was donated to my guild's comfort quilt project.

The other small project that I spend WAY too much time on last month were the stickers for my new sewing machine.  I love this Pfaff, but I've never been a big fan of the color.  So I figured some stickers would make it a bit more cheery.  My original idea was swirls or flowers.  However, I couldn't find any suitable patterns on-line to use in the vinyl cutter DH has access to,  But, I did find these dragons!  And, with a lot of manipulation and time learning new software, I got the design I liked and DH cut them out for me.  They are not the daisys and swirls I had originally imagined, but I like them anyway.

 I got myself an extension table for the Featherweight.  Once I started using it, I thought I would set up the Pfaff as a quilting machine and the featherwieght for piecing.  But, I only had one table in the sewing room.  That meant moving the machines every time I wanted to do something different, and that just wasn't happening.  It was easier to change feet and settings on the Pfaff than to move the entire machine off the existing table.  So, when I saw the extension table and bought that, I figured I needed a new table to go with it.  Nothing useful was turning up on Craig's list, so we took a trip to Ikea to see what they had.  This table (Pahl) is perfect!  It has adjustable height legs, so you can raise the table as your child grows.  The medium height is a perfect sewing height!  I just got it all together a few days ago and haven't had the chance to use it yet.

 The last project I've played with is this antique sewing puzzle box.  I've had my eye on them for a while and bought this last spring with the idea that I would outfit it for my hand sewing.  It came with none of the originall tools inside, which was what I wanted.  I removed the original liner, sanded it and applied new coats of finish.  Then I glued new velvet to the inside. attached the box, the pin cushion and some elastic to hold the pencils and scissors and have a new, beautiful piece of history to use as my new hand sewing box.  It doesn't hold nearly as much stuff as the last bag I was using, but this brings a smile to my face every time I use it.

The next UFO Challenge

I updated my UFO list the beginning of this year.  The 2017 tabulation listed 33 projects, nine of which I either completed or discarded.  A few of the items on the 2017 list expanded from one to many; the "Do something with Grammy's UFO blocks" became 9 separately listed quilts, five of which are still on the current UFO list.  Other items that made it to the new list were abandoned projects I was either given to me (with my consent) or bought because I liked them and didn't want to see them thrown out.

Of the 33 on the master list, I have set a goal to complete at least 10 of them before the end of the year. But, for this quarter, these are the projects that will get my attention:

Grammy Quilt #5 - This is basted and I have started the machine quilting.

Floral Hexagons - I will call this complete when I get the top put together.  It will then be donated to my guild as a comfrot quilt for someone else to quilt and complete.  There are a fair number of folks in the guild who have long arm machines and are looking for tops for practice.  It will make a good sized donation quilt.

Left over Star Blocks - These blocks were left over from a guild raffle quilt.  They were raffled off and I won them.  This will be a fun little project.  I have no idea right not the number of blocks and how they will be arranged.

Cat Quilt - The top is complete.  It needs basting, quilting and finishing.  I'm looking forward to playing with this, so I may work on this when I get bored with the 9-patch Grammy quilts.

Grammy Quilts 5 through 9 - These are the remaining 9-patch quilts that I want to complete before July.

Scrappy Mystery - This is an in-progress mystery quilt that I am hosting for my guild.  I will be working putting the blocks together and trying to stay one step ahead of the clues I publish.

Maxine Panels - I bid on these panels at a guild auction a few years ago.  I think this will make a good back for another quilt.  This should be a quick, fun top to piece together.

Thanksgiving Table Runner - I guess this is not technically a UFO since I haven't started it yet.  This was a quilt guild holiday gift this year.  I'd like to complete this before Thanksgiving 2019.

Ladies of the Sea - An on-going project, the third border (pattern shown) is the next step.  This will be my evening hand project for the next at least the next few weeks.  I have two outer borders and 4 more ships to complete the applique on this project and hope to finish that work this year.

I guess that's all I'll list for now.  Twelve is more manageable to think about than 34 and I think I can manage to do these 12 things this year.  Wish me luck!

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

My sewing machine died.  I brought it to the repair shop earlier this year because the presser foot wasn't holding pressure.  When I picked it up, they said she was getting old and wearing out and that further repairs weren't worth the price.  I was not going to take this information easily.  I looked up repair videos on the net and found that I could replace the brushes in the motor and give it new life.  I was able to make that repair and decided to her it as an exclusively for quilting.  But, a few months later, it just stopped.  I have power to the machine, all the buttons work, but the needle won't move.  It's not the foot pedal (I tried one from a friend's similar machine).  It's some sort of electrical problem that I don't know how to diagnose without schematics.  So, I mourned and went on a search.  Meet my new (to me) machine:  The Pfaff 1471!  She is replacing the Pfaff 1371 that I bought in (approximately) 1984.  I think this machine is vintage 1985 and runs great!  Sewing on this does indeed confirm that my older machine was wearing out.  Fabric feeds much nicer through this new machine and the tension is much more reliable.  And there are twice as many decorative stitches; I'm excited to make some new napkins with some fancy decoration.  So, RIP my old buddy and welcome to my new loyal friend.

These are some of the last pieces completed on the old Pfaff:  

Another of Grammy's UFOs completed. This is the last of the drunkard's path quilts.

And the last one pieced.  The one pictured with the new machine is the first of the 9-patch grammy quilts that I've started quilting.  That makes 3 complete, 1 being quilted and 5 more to quilt.  My goal is still to have all 9 quilts completed by the beginning of July, 2019.  I figure if I can get 1 completed per month, I can meet this goal.

About 6 months ago, a friend told me her daughter was expecting their first grandchild and asked if I might be interested in making a baby quilt for the baby and new parents.  Of course I said yes - I hardly need an excuse to make a quilt.  When I asked her to tell me about her daughter and her likes, she said she loves bright colors and suggested purple, fuscia and turquoise.  I wanted to do something fun and thought diamonds fit that description.  This quilt was way out of my comfort zone because other than the color and shape of the piece, I had no clear vision of what the quilt would look like.  I took the pieces and fabric to a quilt retreat with the goal of having the top completed by the end of the weekend.  With no idea how to start, a friend suggested to start by sewing pieces together.  I sewed larger diamonds of 4 pieces then started putting them on the design wall.  After a few hours and a lot of rearranging, I ended up with this scrappy star, which I love.  I used left-over pieces for the back and a wild Kaffe fabric that was a perfect match.  My friend was thrilled with the results and it was finished just a week after Rosa was born.

My consultant on the quilt was a guild member and friend, Jenny, who often works in bright, cheery fabrics.  She let me raid her stash for additional fabrics and helped me with the lay-out and courage to play with the design.  Once on the design wall, everybody at the retreat assumed the quilt was Jenny's and not mine.  I still have some of the fabric left over and may make a more tame version of the quilt using grey or black with the bold colors.  But, not now.  There are too many other things screaming for my attention.

 Like knitting ...

These socks were supposed to be for me, but my measurements were off and they're a bit too small, so they will be a  stocking stuffers for my daughter.  And this scarf is from some the yarn my friend left me before her move.  I love the color!

 And cross stitch ...

 The cat is the label for the cat quilt I talked about a few posts ago.  The monogram was supposed to be for the pin cushion, but I misread the directions and it's WAY too big.  So, the hummingbird was stitched for a small pin cushion that is part of an antique sewing box that will be a later project.  The bird is less than 2" across.  I'll figure out something to do with the G later.




















And applique ...



I've completed two more Ladies of the Sea blocks.  I have 5 more blocks and 2 border panels to complete the applique.  I think I can have the top done in 2019!
























I've worked on a lot since my last entry.  I NEVER get bored!