After making the extra buttonhole on my husband’s shirt, I pulled out the Green & Cream quilt to see what I need to do on it. The quilt will be 20 blocks 4 x 5 and I have 12 blocks quilted. This section just needs the seam sewn down on the back. My goal is to have the seam done and have the quilting started (maybe finished?) on the Crossword Puzzle quilt by this time next week.
We’ll see how well this works.
Or I learned the wrong lesson.
After pushing to complete 10 quilts in 3 months, then sitting idle for nearly a month recovering, you would think I could focus on just one quilt. The one that needs to get done. The one that is overdue. But no, there are 34 quilts on my WIP/UFO list and another 33 quilt tops waiting to be quilted (including the overdue quilt top).
While I wasn’t quilting, I was making a list of 14 quilts which I want to see progress on (some to finish, as in quilt, bind and label; others just get the top done.) And I’m sure it will get longer before the end of the year. There are five more months left in Judy’s UFO Challenge and 7 quilts on my challenge list, which are not already on this list.
This combined with the heat & a clean sewing room, I can’ t figure out what I want to work on next.
So, I took a page from Shelly’s Procrastination Challenge.
On slips of paper I put a step for each quilt I want to see done by the end of the year. The slip has the quilt name and one step — for instance the QIAD Christmas Row Quilt has multiple steps – make cornerstones; sash blocks; assemble center of quilt & add borders. I just want the top done by the end of the year, so quilt; label & bind are not included. Some quilts say things like “quilt one ring” x 15. If a quilt has multiple steps, only the next step goes into the bag — and I also have a slip called “press scraps for 15 minutes and cut up”.
This is the step I picked tonight:
It’s almost enough to get me in gear and sandwich the Crossword Puzzle quilt. I’ve given up on the True Friends quilt — or more acurately I’m not sure how I want to assemble it. So, it will stay on the design wall until I either need the wall or figure out what I’m going to do with it.
My husband’s new shirt needs another buttonhole. I think I’ll go make it. Then decide if it’s cooled off enough to manhandle the Crossword Puzzle quilt for sandwiching or if working on a row of the Green & Cream quilt is more appealing.
If you had told me on July 1st I’d have not one, but two finishes (ok, they are small), I would have told you there’s no way.
But earlier today I finished stitching not only the binding down, but also the label. Who knows, I might even get the quilts washed before midnight.
First up is Fireworks Over John Deere. What else can I call this? The pattern is called Chain of Stars. I wrote it as the 2008 retreat mystery quilt. I found in my stash a couple of John Deere pillow panels, so naturally they went on the back of the quilt. This quilt top has been hanging around since the retreat. This is the July UFO pick.
The second quilt I finished this month is called Gift Wrapped. It too is a mystery quilt — for this fall 2011 retreat — so you only get to see the back of the quilt until the retreat in September.
So what was I supposed to be working on this month? The Crossword Puzzle quilt. Progress was made. 1 – I got the missing “L” inserted into the quilt; 2 – removed the temporary hanging sleeve and ribbon stabilizer; 3 – decided the quilt is “square enough” to quilt and then square up; 4 – returned the Go! I borrowed to cut the blocks out; 5 – pieced the quilt backing and 6 – tentatively settled on a quilting design.
Let’s hope August is a productive.
It’s the backing for “Fireworks Over John Deere”.
Quilting Gallery hosts a weekly quilt contest. This week’s contest is Quilts for Little Girls. I entered Kallikats.
I made this quilt for my niece when she was 8. This was back when I thought every quilt you started needed a known destination. Two or three days before I attended the Missouri State Quilt Guild quilt show, I called Kalli and asked her what her favorite colors were. The conversation went something like this:
Me: What’s your favorite color?
K: Pink.
Me: What other colors do you like?
K: Hot Pink.
Me: Any other colors?
K: No.
Me: Ok, what types of things do you like?
K: Kitties
Me: Anything else?
K: Girly things
So off to the show I went with the intent of picking fabric and a pattern to make my niece a quilt.
The pattern is Yellow Brick Road. The cat silhouettes are from a Tuxedo Cats. It was in The Quilters’ Magazine – I’m not sure which issue. If I remember correctly the quilting was pretty basic. Stitch in the ditch between the blocks, outline the cats and maybe one or two cat outlines and a mouse in the center of the quilt.
In the border I machine satin stitched block letters. The top border says MEOW MEOW. The left border says KITTY KITTY, the right border – PURR PURR and the bottom KALLIKAT — our nickname for Kalli.
My best guess is the quilt finishes at 69: x 96″ based on the pattern and that I added an extra border. Kalli just got her room redone and the quilt fits in perfectly.
If you would drop over to Quilting Gallery and vote for my quilt — and two others. They are giving away FQs to the top 3 quilts and I could always use more fabric.
After finishing all of the quilts last month, my husband, niece, nephew and I went on a road trip and delivered quilts. I can’t believe it, but of the 7 quilts we were delivering, I managed to only get pictures of 3.
Now that I’m home, I need to find my groove again.
I’ve not sat at my sewing machine since before the trip. But this does not surprise me. It seems to me that after a big finishes (I’d say this counts) I tend to stay away from the sewing room. Admittedly this go round after the finish there was a 12 day 4000 mile road trip, but I think I’ve just about recovered from it.
But there is the disaster that is my sewing room. No, I’m not showing pictures at this time. It’s just too bad.
The good thing is I want to get back in my sewing room. I want/need to finish my sister’s quilt, I want to work on my niece’s bag (bought the grommets last night) and I found THIS.
Yes, I’ve been wandering around various blogs and I found Quilt2sr5. Sunday she posted about her finish of Mountain Top. I love the quilt. I want one. Yes, I’ve ordered the pattern. Now to figure out when I’m going to work on it. There are a few things on my list that I need to work on first.
Oh — and I want to keep up with Judy’s UFO challenge.
Ok — clearly I’m simply crazy. Cart me off now.
I can’t even remember what number Judy pulled for June. It didn’t matter because I was still working on my crazy challenge. These four quilts were finished in June. They were on my To Be Quilted” tab January 1st, so I’m substituting them for the June #.
For July the # is 2. On my list this month is finishing the quilt top True Friends and/or quilting Fireworks Over John Deere. Of course before I do either of these I’ve got to excavate my sewing room and finish up the crossword puzzle quilt. These two things may take me all month!
See how others are doing on their challenge by following the links over at Judy’s.
Guess who has some frogging to do tonight?
Just a quick report this morning.
Fabric Added last week: 9.75 yards – borders, binding & backing for the Neutral Strip Twist
Fabric Added to Date: 86.769 yards
Fabric Used last weeks: 2.25 yards – borders & binding for the Neutral Strip Twist
Fabric Used to Date: 102.173 yards
Net Used for 2011: 15.404 yards
Checkout the links over at Patchwork Times to see how others are doing.
This evening I finished up the pillowcase to go with the Dresden Plate quilt (I’m still looking for a name — currently under consideration is “Metempsychosis”). I also cut a 1 1/2″ square off of each unique strip in my 1 1/2″ strip bucket to use as leader/enders. The thought is these will become a postage stamp quilt – well at least part of a postage stamp quilt.
Tomorrow I’ll dig for ‘ugly’ fabric to make hanging sleeves.
I think this qualifies, but believe it or not, if there is enough, I really want to use it on the back of my Texas Braid.
