Category Archives: Challenges

The Final Countdown with Prairie Moon Quilts

December 29, 2022 3:25 pm ⋅ Pam

I have sporadically participated in The Final Countdown with Prairie Moon Quilts over the years and I’ve decided to do it again this year.

Today’s task is:

Choose something you can finish quickly and do it

This past year I’ve been working hard to knock my UFOs out. I finished all 12 of the UFOs on my 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO Challenge list, plus another 5, so there’s not a whole lot left that is a quick finish. After going through my UFO list these are my options:

On the left is the Machine Quilting Sampler from a class in 2008. Free motion quilting on my sewing machine is not a skill I ever became proficient at and at this point it is unlikely that I will. However, my free-motion skills on the long arm could use some practice. I could add some fabric to each end so I can load this on my longarm and finish the quilting there.

On the right is another class project, this one from May 2012. The first thing I need to so is sit still, in good light, and do the embroidery, then I can decide how to finish the piece. Maybe I need to pull my notes and thread and set this by my chair to work on while I’m watching TV in the evenings. Currently I’m re-watching The Librarian — both the moves and the TV show.

A third option is to simply finish these blocks. I think there are 26 or 27 blocks that each need 2 more logs. Once that is done I can start on the quilt top. This quilt is on my 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO Challenge. It is what I’m working on until the next Quiltville Mystery Quilt clue comes out on Friday I want to have this quilt completed (quilted, bound, labeled and washed) by mid-January, so I can’t procrastinate on this quilt.

On my 2023 UFO list5 is the Pizza Block quilt. I plan to have finished by mid January as well. I haven’t decided how it will be quilted, but I can make the binding so when it comes off the longarm I can finish it.

Finally there is this quilt – Princess and the Pea.Also on my 2023 UFO list, I threw it on the long arm and the computer quilted it earlier while I was working on the log cabin blocks. Then I realized that I have no idea what I’m going to use for binding.

So, in summary the plan for my ‘quick finishes’ are

loading the machine quilting sampler on the long arm to practice my free-motion quilting
gathering the thread and working on the embroidery on my Faux Applique in the evenings
finish the last of the log cabin blocks so I can begin assembly
make the pizza box binding so it will be ready to go when when the top is quilted
decide and make the binding for the Princess and the Pea quilt.

I won’t get them all done before the first, but I should have significant progress on all of them by the 9th.

Posted in: Final Countdown, log cabin, Machine Quilting, Pizza Box, Princess and the Pea

Design Wall Monday – Christmas Weekend

December 26, 2022 5:56 am ⋅ Pam

First, I hope you had a Merry Christmas – and stayed warm! I can’t say I’ve not been in cold weather like we had before, but it was further north!

First up for the weekend stitching is my Quilts By Hearts Desire Pizza Box Challenge quilt. I was able to finish the quilt top. Later this week I’ll get it loaded on the longarm to get it quilted. This quilt is on my 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO list and I would like to have it done by January 16th QBHD meeting.

Next it was time to work on the Quiltville Mystery Quilt – Chilhowie. These blocks went together quickly. I can’t wait to see what our next step it.

With both the Pizza Box done and the Mystery caught up, it was time to pull something else out. I pulled out the Log Cabin quilt which I started in September and haven’t worked on since I got back from the quilt retreat in September. I just have the last 2 dark logs to add to the rest of the blocks before I can start assembling the quilt top. I’d like to have this one finished by mid-January as well.

Posted in: 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO, Chilhowie, designwall, Pizza Box

What’s on My Design Wall

December 19, 2022 9:33 am ⋅ Pam

Over the weekend I finished both Clue #3 and Clue #4 of the Quiltville Mystery Quilt Chilhowie. I saw some grumbling about folks running out of orange fabrics and I think I know why. Although 2 yards is mathematically 1/2 yard more than is needed, when working from FQs and needing matching sets, if the orange squares from Clue #2 were not evenly distributed from each FQ and not cut along the width of the FQ I can see where you would run out if you only purchased 8 FQs. I had 13.

My current Leader & Ender project is Rivanna. I think I have 30 different fabrics, so I’m about 1/4 of the way through the HST. This is a quilt for my guest bed, so there’s no rush.

After finishing Clue # 4, I worked on the sashings for my Pizza Box quilt. The units for the inner portion of the border sashing is done and now I’m working on the outer portion. I hope to have everything pieced before the next clue comes out.

But I’m already planning my next quilt – or rather how to finish a quilt on my UFO list. I pulled the fabrics on the left from my stash, but naturally I don’t have enough fabric, so a trip the LQS was in order to see what I could find. The fabric on the right came home with me. I love the that diagonal stripe as a binding. We’ll see if I use it or not. My plan is to have my decorating Christmas Quilting done by July this year as the guild program that month is Christmas Quilts by our members. I have 2 Christmas quilts on next years UFO Challenge list. The list was complied and turned in prior to knowing what the program was going to be. I might have added a 3rd quilt had I known.

Posted in: 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO, Chilhowie, Christmas Star Swap, Leaders & Enders, Pizza Box, Rivanna

Did Someone Say Rulers?

December 16, 2022 7:26 pm ⋅ Pam

Yes, I seem to have duplicates. I found all of these because I was looking to see if I had something to help me trim the hourglass units from Part 3 of the Quiltville Mystery – Chilhowie. I can attest to having recently purchased an Easy Angle Ruler. I couldn’t find mine — or my Essential Triangle Ruler. Then I found the small one which worked for whatever it was I was doing. I just opened the new ruler last weekend….

As I was putting the box up, I looked up through the wires shelf and yes, I found my Essential Triangle tool. I’ve put all the rest of the tools back in the box.

As for those hourglass units, I found a Quilt In A Day Fussy Cut ruler the exact size of these hourglass units. It has made trimming these units so much easier and makes me wonder why I put off working on them. I think I have 1/3 of the sets left to do before I start Clue 4 which was released this morning.

It wasn’t just the dread of making the hourglass blocks which caused me to put them off. I’ve been working on the sashing for my pizza box quilt. I think I have all the sashing cut and just need to sew. I hope to get both Clue 4 and this top finished this weekend as I have decided how I’m going to finish another set of swap blocks and just bought the necessary fabric…..

Posted in: 2023 Brandon Quilters UFO, Chilhowie, Christmas Star Swap, Pizza Box, Quilts

UFO Challenge #12

December 5, 2022 9:03 pm ⋅ Pam

I said I was done when I finished the SQG 2021 BOM. I was wrong.

This is the Green & Cream or was it Cream and Green Swap Block? Either way, the blocks were swapped in 2006. I don’t have notes to know what group I swapped these in. Since it is that old, I started of doing quilt-as- you-go — not my favorite method as evidenced by it still not being finished 7 years after I planned to give it as a Christmas gift! Normally, I don’t TELL the person I’m giving them a quilt so I can just kick the quilt down the line, but this time, I gave them a piece of paper that looked like this:

In the past 7 years I managed to get the top two rows sewn together and to each other and had part of the 3rd row done. Saturday morning I decided the only way this quilt was going to be finished was if I ripped out all of the quilting and assembled it so it could be quilted on the long arm. And that’s what I did. Before I went to bed, I had the quilt loaded on the machine ready to start quilting it. I stayed up Sunday night after binding it to wash and dry the quilt.

I quilted it with 40wt Glide in Thyme. The E2E design is Fresco Feathers.

Now to decide if I’m going to try and lift the green from the batik block or leave well enough alone.

Posted in: 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO, Cream & Green Swap Sampler

2021 Starlight Quilters Guild BOM – Done

December 3, 2022 11:13 am ⋅ Pam

This is my version of the 2021 Starlight Quilters Guild Block of the Month. I started it, then halfway through I started moving so it was put up in a box to be completed later.

With the possible exception of the background fabric, everything came from my stash. The sashing fabric was purchased years ago when I was looking for a light blue to repair a vintage quilt. The backing fabric was left over from Shimmer.

I used Glide 40 wt in Magic Mint. I only had to wind one bobbin. The E2E design is Espalier. The quilt finishes at 40″ x 46″.

This is the last quilt on my 2022Brandon Quilters UFO Challenge that I expect to finish. I’ll do a recap after the meeting on Monday.

Posted in: 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO, SQG 2021 BOM

Finish It Friday

December 2, 2022 12:10 am ⋅ Pam

First up is Bauble ‘n Beads, a Cat Nix design. I saw this on a Facebook live the summer of 2019. Then I saw this collection of Dan Morris fabrics called Radiance. So, I made the decision to make this quilt and Atomic Starbust from the collection. I subsequently made Shimmer with a white background using the same FQ Bundle. Will there be another quilt (wall hanging) from this bundle, stay tuned.

I have also finished the top to the 2021 Starlight Quilters Guild BOM. I need to make a backing then I’ll get this on the frame.

Both of these quilts are on my 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO list. Once I finish the BOM I’ll have completed 11 of the 12 quilts. The 12th one will roll over onto the 2023 list and my plan is to finish it first.

Posted in: 2021 Personal 1, Bauble 'n Beads, SQG 2021 BOM

A Christmas Project Before Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2022 8:58 pm ⋅ Pam

In my quest to knock out the last few UFOs on my Brandon Quilter’s UFO List, not only have I finished a Christmas Project before Christmas, I finished it before Thanksgiving! My SIL and I both bought this fabric when she was visiting us in July 2018. I drove down after Thanksgiving to show her how to make flying geese, as it simply wasn’t working over the phone. I think she had her top done by the time I left to go home. Due to my husbands death the week after I got back, my top languished.

This past April I finally made a decision on how I was going to make my wall hanging (it’s different from my SILs) and I finally figured out how to quilt it. I found a Christmas Tree decorated in holly on my machine. I morphed it to fit the space. For the border, I pulled out a June Tailor wavy ruler and marked the wave on the top and used one of my curved rulers to guide the machine for a straight line. At the top/bottom of each wave I put in a circle using the smallest hole on the largest swiss cheese ruler by Handi-Quilter. The pieced blocks was done in continuous curves with a “curly-q” in the corner squares and flying geese. Suzi’s Magic binding finished the wall hanging.

To hang it, I cut square and folded them in half. I have a piece of lattice which I picked up at the hardware store to hold it up. It measures approximately 16″ x 52″. I used Glide 40wt in Basil.

Posted in: 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO, Christmas Cardinals

What’s On My Design Wall – A Finish

November 14, 2022 1:13 am ⋅ Pam

I have another finish this morning. I started this sampler December 31, 2020, drafting the block patterns and giving them to my SIL. Then I decided to move. Last week I delivered the last of the block instructions, so it was time to assemble this quilt. The only issue, is I didn’t like the fabric I picked for the sashing – it was too stark against the blocks. I really thought it was going to be yet another quilt where the inspiration fabric wasn’t going to be used as the border. I posted on Facebook my dilemma, and orange and black were was suggested. My original choice was black, so that wasn’t going to work. So I took my blocks & the border fabric with me when I drove down to Gardensong.

I found an orange Grunge with pink and yellow highlights. I think it works.

The backing is a floral with all of the colors. I bound it with the Grunge.

Started: 12/31/2020

Finished (top, quilted, bound and washed): 11/14/2022

Measures 51 1/4″ x 62 1/2″

Legacy 80/20 Batting

40wt Glide in Strawberry Blonde

Quilting design: Airborne

This is one of my UFOs with the Guild.

Posted in: 2022 Brandon Quilters UFO, designwall, Ruby's Sampler

Finish It Friday

November 11, 2022 9:09 am ⋅ Pam

On this Finish It Friday I have 2 quilts to share. First up is my Atomic Starburst, shown here hanging in my foyer on the new hanging rod.

This is one of three quilts I made with the FQ Bundle of Radiance + 10 ‘solids’. I’ve finished Shimmer, and still need to quilt Bauble ‘n Beads.

In each of the diamonds I placed a motif from a Double Wedding Ring Melon, then morphed it to fit the diamond. I did ruler work in the sashings and the starburst blocks.

My other finish this Friday is my 2019-2020 Quiltville Mystery quilt, Frolic.

I enlarged it and changed up the borders. It measured 118″ x 118″ before I quilted and washed it. Here it is hanging on my 12-foot quilting frame. I opted to do an all over Edge-to-Edge design called Fresco Feathers.

I only have 8-foot ceilings, ~~so I don’t~~ wait a minute, I have vaulted ceilings in my den, I might be able to get a straight on picture — if I had something wide enough to hang it on. I’ll have to think on that for another time. Here it is on my driveway before binding.