A lot of fabric cutting today, so not as much stitching.  These are the blocks which will go on either side of the center medallion.  There will be a strip of green between the blocks and the center.

The remaining sashing is cut and pinned to the rest of the blocks.  The green strips around the outer edge of the blocks have been cut.  I’ve got the cornerstones cut and ready to piece.  I haven’t cut the turquoise and green for the outer border, but the black fabric is cut.

But it’s late and I’ve got to gather my stuff tomorrow evening, so I’ve boxed everything up. As I look at my list, it’s hard to believe I’m only retreating for one day.  But then again when I pack for a 3 day retreat, it looks like I’m planning on being gone for a minimum of a week.

Does anyone end up without enough to work on when they go to a quilting retreat?

I finished the center section of the Black and Bright Swap Block quilt.  But only after running out of bobbin about 2″ from the end.

Here’s the center.

The next step is to sash the other blocks for the next round.  At this rate, I may need to find another project to take to the UFO work day.

D is for Double Friendship Star – the third block of Dorothy Young’s alphabet block-of-the-month. If you wish to quilt along, join the group by clicking on the “Join Now!” button.

Click to join apocketfullofmysteries.

UFO Parade +1 and I worked on two, no 3 projects, plus the spool leader/enders.  But I have a great excuse.  My sister came over for me to show her how to make and bind a quilt.  So, she used my big machine and I was on the treadle until she left.

The pile of strips is the rest of the strip sets pressed and ready for me to stitch them into a tube. The plastic bag under the spools contains the pieces I need for this month’s Alphabet block –  Double Friendship Star.

The pink and turquoise block is just the top block of the stack of Black and Bright Swap blocks.  They are all trimmed to 12 1/2″ square (or close enough) or black strips added around the block to bring them up to 12 1/2″ square.

And my sister’s quilt.  Here are a couple of pictures front and back.  Perhaps tomorrow I’ll just work on one project.

It is said that you can’t fix a problem until you know the extent of it.  Along those lines, Judy over at Patchwork Times has challenged her readers to identify their UnFinshed Objects and put them on Parade.

When the parade was announced, I thought I knew my numbers – split between Quilts in Progress and Tops to be Quilted.  But when I pulled everything out I found 4 projects not on the list and one which needed to be removed.  In my world, if it’s a Project In Grocery Sack, it’s not considered a UFO.  I might decide to use the fabric for something else!

Anyway, the two collages above represent my Quilts in Progress (top) and Tops to be Quilted (bottom).  Click on them to enlarge — click on the tabs above to see the current list with links to individual pictures.

There are 41 Quilts in Progress and 36 Tops to be Quilted.

The quilts I’m actively working on are Scrappy Trips on my treadle; Black and Bright Swap Blocks; 3″ Spool blocks and Postage Stamp as my leader/ender project depending on what I have cut; and hand quilting on the Double Wedding Ring. Additionally, the Alphabet BOM is active (although I don’t have this month’s block done yet) and when I know I’m going to be waiting, I’ll take along the Redwork Snowmen or the ‘Twas Night Before Christmas Quilt-A-Long blocks, although admittedly I’m a month behind on the later.

Now that I’ve identified the extent of my “problem” what can I do to fix it?

#1 – don’t start anything else new until something either moves to the To Be Quilted list or actually gets finished.  Of the 9 projects I’m actively working on (there are 2 TNBCs) 4 of them were started this year!  Which is actually a wash as I’ve finished 2 projects (three if you count the pillowcase) and moved two projects to the tops list.

#2 – keep up with the BOM/Quilt-a-Longs.  There are 8 of them on my list, but only 3 are current. When I fall behind it is easy to set it aside for something else saying “oh, I’ll spend one day and catch up”.  If I’m not careful, the TNBC will fall that way.

#3 – focus and finish.  With the exception of the leader/ender projects, can I really work on multiple quilts at once?  I started the Scrappy Trips to have a project for my treadle machine.  I’m enjoying the machine and I think it will be a great quilt, but I can’t have no desire to haul my treadle to this coming Saturday’s UFO retreat.  So, I’ve pulled out the Black and Bright blocks and I’m excited to work on them – so much so, I didn’t wait for Saturday.

#4 – set aside time each month to do handwork.  I attend a Stitch and Chat each month when I don’t have to work and that’ s when I work on my DWR. Another night each month would prevent me from getting further behind on the TNBC and make faster progress on the Redwork Snowmen.

For the most part having all these projects does not drive me crazy.  Oh, sure there are a few that pester me – Bellance Bag, Frog Quilt, & Eeyore come to mind, not that they are in my current “9”.  The fact that it doesn’t drive me crazy is possibly how the list got so large.

Now that I’ve put my UFOs on parade, I wonder how many I can get crossed off or moved up by the end of the year? I’m going to aim for 5 Quilts in Progress to move up to the To be Quilted list; 3 Quilts in Progress to be finished and 5 tops on the To be Quilted list to be finished.

Hop over to Patchwork Times to see other entries on the UFO Parade.

I worked on a couple of things last week.  I finished 6 Scrappy Trips blocks on the treadle.  I’ve got a whole stack of strip sets waiting to be pressed.  It’s dawned on me that 48 – 12″ blocks is bigger than I really want.  With a 6 x 8 layout that makes the top 72″ x 96″.   So, I may have a few extra blocks when I get them done.

On the edge of the ironing board is a stack of Black and Bright Swap blocks from 2007. The 4 blocks up on the wall with the green sashing are part of the set.  I’ve had the design ready to go and the fabric bought for nearly as long, I just hadn’t sat down to do it.

So, with plans to attend a UFO workshop on Saturday, I pulled out the blocks and fabric to see exactly what I could cut ahead of time. I cut the fabric for 4 of the 8 knot blocks, then got so excited to see progress, I promptly sat down and make the 4 blocks and put the center of the quilt together.  At this rate I’ll have a good bit of the quilt done.  But I’m sure I can find something else to work on if needed.

Finally over on the far right are the spool blocks I made while working with the swap blocks.

Check out what others are working on over at Patchwork Times.

Although I’ve been treadling away on my Scrappy Trips, it’s not a top yet, so I’m not counting the fabric.  No new fabric came in either, so my numbers are the same as last week.

Fabric Added Since Last Report: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 80.11 yards

Fabric Used Since Last Report: 0 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 23.141  yards

Net Used for the year -56.97 yards

To see how others are doing check out the links over at Patchwork Times.

It’s not much but another Friday night at Stitch and Chat and I made a bit more progress on my  DWR.

I just realized that I neglected a very important word in my Rice Casserole recipe I posted Wednesday.  That word is “cooked”!

• 2 cups rice – COOKED
• 1 1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 10 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup raisins (optional — I didn’t have any)

Combine all ingredients, pour into a greased pan – I used my 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Cook at 325 degrees for 50 minutes until set.  Can be served warm or cold.