Very Productive Weekend

I had a wonderful four day weekend.  I didn't feel like battling snow to go shopping so I stayed in my quilt zone.  We did watch movies so I could do hand stitching on bindings.  Today I finished two more projects and made a block for another project.  It was on my list!

This baby quilt is busy and not my style.  Years ago (7 or 8) I was at a quilt show and bought this froggie print kit.  When I made it I didn't have anything to do with it so I set it aside.  I still need to find a home for it, but it's quilted and bound and off my to do list!

I am in a small group and a couple years ago we did a group project.  The background is a hand dyed piece of fabric from a friend.  I hand wrote the words and everything else was added by six other people.    Someone embroidered over my words, someone added beads, someone did machine stitching, etc.  I wasn't sure where to go with it and finally decided to do minimal quilting and bind it.  It even has a label.

A couple years ago I fell in love with the quilt Baltimore Spring in the Keepsake Quilting catalog.  It was a spendy BOM, but the pieces are laser cut.  I decided to test a block to see if it's doable at a retreat and yes it is as long as I have my pressing area right beside me!  I stood at my pressing table for two hours to do this block!  I still need to add stitching and that is going to be tricky because some of the pieces are SMALL!!!  The block finishes at 12".

 Officially I have finished 14 projects so far this year!  I am down to 101 UFO's!!!

Five More UFO's Bite the Dust!

Although I still don't have my list typed up, I have it written on paper, I have knocked off five UFO's this weekend!  Admittedly I picked some easy ones, but hey they are done and not in my piles anymore!  We had snow this weekend so it was a great time to hide out and quilt.  The first photo was taken Saturday and that night we had massive wind and it knocked the snow off the trees.  The second picture is a walk in our woods behind the house Sunday.  It's hard to tell, but the snow was about a foot deep out in the open. 

I finished quilting and bound Tutti Fruiti.  It measures 60 X 72.  It was in a McCall's magazine and I used Moda Basic Grey Grunge and Compositions fabrics.

Tutti Fruiti

Here is a closeup.  I LOVE the background fabrics! I free motion outline stitched around the pinwheels and black squares, and the rest is a simple stipple for texture.

I finished three tablerunners.  A few years ago a local quilt shop was really into the 60 degree border print tablerunners.  I made these two out of one length of print, but the orange was pretty intense.  I put them away.  Now they are done!  One will be donated to the senior center fundraising efforts.  The make a bunch of gift baskets every year and raffle them.  The center one was a charm pack and a poinsettia print.  My prints were just really busy, and I set it aside.  Now I like it and it's finished!

 I started this tote bag 8 years ago.  I got bored sewing on raw edge strips and the size was odd so I set it aside.  I finished it in about 30 minutes!  I had the straps made, but not sewn on, and then I just had to sew up the sides.  I was supposed to add a pocket, but I am using it as a quilt carry bag.  It's done!

Not quilt related, but I work in a two room school (although we call it a one room as all the students do have a desk in one room).  I pull the Kindergarten and First Grade students out and we sit around in a table in our second room with the library and play center.  We have a half size gym.  Normally the students bring their lunch every day, but once a month parents cook a hot lunch in our tiny kitchen.  For Valentine's Day the students invited guests and they did the decorating with supplies belonging to a couple of parents.  We practice manners and dress up.

the door to the kitchen is in the corner.  Doors to the hallway are on the right out of view.

the door to the PE equipment storage room is in the far corner.  Doors to the hallway are on the left.

 Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Main Crush Monday and Monday Making.

Bitty Blocks Finished

This weekend we threw an 80th birthday party for my mom.  She only wanted family and thought it was just going to be my husband, myself, my two brothers and their spouses and my niece and her two kids.  My sisters drove six hours to surprise her.  It was fun that we were able to pull that off!

I am excited I was able bind my Bitty Blocks from Quiltmaker's blog quilt while watching the Olympics yesterday.  I am normally someone who "listens" to TV so having to actually watch is tricky!  I should have gotten a picture of my quilting.  I did a free motion allover design, having fun making swirls and suns and fun elements.

I pin basted another top for quilting this week!  It only measures 60 X 72.

 Linking up with Design Wall Monday and Monday Making.

Finally, another finish

The end of January became very busy with my daughter and her husband and the twins arriving for several days.  The twins are 2 1/2 months are just beginning to smile and are up over 11 lbs. now!  Remy is on the left and Finn is on the right.

I did manage to finish one quilt yesterday.  I posted a picture of the blocks in an earlier post.  They were sent to me when my son Brad passed away 4 1/2 years ago at the age of 22.  It was a very difficult time as who would have thought his heart would stop in his sleep for no known reason.  This blue/purple batik won the audition contest.  It's quilted and bound although I don't have a label yet.  I wrote on the back who made each block, but I missed six of them so they are unknown.  It was the right time to finish this.

This quilt top was made from the Quiltmaker blog a few years ago, from a monthly segment called Bitty blocks.  I am ready to quilt it!  Moving another UFO to the finished pile this week I hope!  You can barely see the border, but I will be doing a colorful binding.

pin basted and ready for quilting

Linking up with Design Wall Monday. (on Tuesday)

On a Roll!

After the big two week long cleaning session I got busy quilting!  On Martin Luther King Day I did a day of service by quilting two patriotic quilts to donate to the American Hero quilt project.  (With two serving nephews this is dear to my heart)  During the week I worked on bindings and more pin basting and as of yesterday I had completed 6 UFO's in a week!  Okay, two of them only needed binding (they were quilted in December), but the three patriotic quilts were all quilted and bound this week.  Then there was a tableunner that had the squares cut.

I did all the bindings by machine or I would still be stitching!  I must say polyester batting is not my favorite, I like the way cotton lays much better!  I have all my polyester batts used up now and have a roll of 80/20 and a roll of Quilter's Dream cotton.

I also set together my heart blocks I had shown in a previous post.

Here are my accomplishments for the week.

 Center and star blocks were donated to me and I set them together a few years ago.  Finally finished it!  Twin size.  Quilted in free motion star/loop design.

Two views of my Tumblers Leader/Ender project suggested by Bonnie Hunter a few years ago.  It took me about two years to assemble it!  Quilted in a wavy diagonal.  Twin size

Two views of Grand Illusion, a Bonnie Hunter/Quiltville mystery from a few years ago.  I love my fabrics, because I didn't do scrappy, but the design is too busy!  I extended the length with extra pieces and it measures 90 X 98.  Quilted by Gem State Quilting.

Two views of the 5 minute block quilt.  I made this about 10 years ago from my friend's stash of Pat Sloan fabrics.  It's a little too country for my taste, but I have friends who love it.  So it will be a surprise for someone!  I love the effect of this pattern and need to make another quilt!  It measures 88 X 103 and was quilted by Gem State quilting.

Another patriotic quilt.  These blocks were a block lotto at a retreat.  I assembled it years ago and finally quilted it.  I don't like the quilting I did  now that it's done.  It looks too much like a mattress pad on the back, but it will be a great snuggle quilt for an injured soldier.  Twin size

 This is the tablerunner I whipped up yesterday.  It was some charm squares I acquired somewhere and then I decided to add coral accents to my teal/gray/cream dining room.  It's perfect on my dining table!  I quilted it very simply with straight lines.

 This is the top I made from the blocks I mentioned in an earlier post.  They were sent to me from all over the country (and the center block came from Australia) after my son passed away unexpectedly in 2013.  I was in a couple of Yahoo groups at that time and they sent Hearts and Flowers blocks in times of loss.  I auditioned sashing fabric and this blue/purple batik said use me!  I love how it turned out!  Now I need to quilt it.  It measures 45" square.

IT has been a very productive week!  I still haven't actually typed up my UFO/WIP/HSY list I realized, but I have six things to cross off!

Linking up with Design Wall Monday

Sewing Room Reorganization Reveal!

Wow, almost two weeks ( I did work full time the second week) and my room is done!  Cleaned, purged and reorganized!  I don't have fancy tables or cabinets, just making do with a lot of plastic and old Costco banquet tables.  I have another table I set up for basting quilts.  I think my husband was wondering if I would ever finish!  The pics are labeled, but not sure how they will show on here.  I couldn't seem to get the fonts right. 

Now back to my regularly scheduled quilting.  I will type up my list.  It's downright scary!  42 tops to quilt, 51 projects started and 29 that I have fabric and pattern for!!!!!  I am crazy!

Found Some Old Projects

I am STILL working on my sewing room redo.  Since I am going every single thing (even saved printed copies of things), it is taking forever.  Plus I get distracted.  What?  Distracted?  Yes!  I do see the end in sight!

I did manage to sew on two bindings from quilts in this post., but that is it for quilting.  However I am finding projects, oh am I finding projects.  I was shocked to find these blocks.  I remember making a few, but not all of them and then realized this was my guild sampler/technique quilt that a group of us taught in 2001 and 2002.  It's quite the grouping and I have some other pieces including a full Mariner's compass block that needs appliqued to the background.  I don't know why the fabrics aren't with these, but hopefully I can find some in my stash.  I will have to really think about this one and it will be a nice donation quilt someday!  It's not getting to the top of my list at the moment.

Another old project I found was this one.  I started it in 1995, hand piecing.  

 This is how many rosettes I found completed.  I saw some pieces somewhere and I tossed them, which is just as well.  I think I will try machine stitching them together and appliqueing the whole thing to a background.  It's a good memory quilt of some old projects since they are all charms.

 I am really going to cringe when I get my final list of UFO's done! 

Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday.

Revisiting Quilts

My sewing room is the biggest mess!  This reorganization thing is really intense and I keep getting sidetracked!  I have my vision and my husband said I am making progress, but it's hard to see at the moment.

One thing I uncovered was these hearts and flowers blocks that were sent to me by quilting friends when my son passed away 4 1/2 years ago.  The center is from a woman in Australia.  I couldn't deal with them at the time, but now I am ready and found them stuffed on my very top shelf.  They are wrinkled and need squared, but I had to put them on the wall to see them.  It will make a nice Valentine's wallhanging.   I don't know what I will do for sashing yet and will probably rearrange them.

 I am revisiting some older quilts.  I finished this Tropical Flowers quilt in 2006.  I paper pieced at one retreat, trace and appliqued at another and machine quilted at a third!  It's about 60" square and I had to stand in my laundry room to take a pic on the wall.

This is Urban Abacus I made a few years ago using the Quick Curve ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I LOVE this quilt.  I used the turquoise because I had enough of it on hand, but it's one of my favorite colors.

 I walked down to get the mail and I was a bit too early for the real sunset, but I took a picture anyway.  This is the road that runs in front of us.  The roads are good currently, but it's cold!

Quilting Projects

I am not taking time to post photos at this point, but this is the list I posted last New Year's.  I am going to edit it to see how many projects I finished this year!  I am in the throws of sewing room disorganization and what a mess it is!

List from Jan. 2017.  Changes in red!

TOPS TO BE QUILTED:  (in no particular order)
1.  Be My Neighbor (needs done before Jan. 31 for contest)  DONE
2.  Modern City Sampler/Tula Pink  DONE
3.  Christmas Block Robin DONE
4.  Mistletoe Stars  DONE
5.  Country Snowflakes
6.  Poinsettia One Block Wonder  DONE
7.  Red/White Baskets
8.  Green/Blue Diamond Rail Fence
9.  Primary Lone Star (1)
10.  Primary Lone Star (2)
11.  Butterflies
12.  30's Dresden
13.  Pansies (from MIL's stash already marked with quilting design)
14.  Red/White sampler
15.  Floral Sand Castles
16.  Mocha Meringue (1)
17.  Mocha Meringue (2)
18.  Mocha Meringue with blue throw  DONE
19.  WASIQ - tan
20.  WASIQ - blue
21.  Kaffe Stars
22.  Bright Jelly Roll
23.  Modern Jelly Roll
25.  Judy Niemeyer - compass  DONE
26.  Itty Bitty Blocks
27.  Wedding Ring
28.  Fall tablerunner  DONE
29.  Antique dresden
30.  Bonnie Hunter Mystery (can't remember the name!) 2 years ago  DONE
32.  Butterfly Row X Row
33.  Purple/Turquoise Sampler
34.  Vicki's Row X Row  DONE
35.  Turquoise/Black Stack and Whack
36.  Scrap Swap quilt top
37.  Easy Street (Bonnie mystery 4 years ago)  DONE
38.  Vicki's block robin
39.  Janice's stars
40.  Frog baby quilt
41.  Food tablecloth
42.  Aqua/Gray large quilt DONE
43.  Aqua/Gray throw  DONE
44.  poinsettia tablerunner
45.  teal trees  DONE
46.  Fossil Fern
47.  Hawaiian applique
48.  Cathedral window  DONE
49.  Blue baskets
50.  Deb's wallhanging  DONE

UFO's or PIP's (Projects in Progress)
1.  Earth tone batik scraps  DONE
2.  purple batiks scraps
3.  batik rail fence scrap
4.  30's scrap blocks
5.  many, many, many odd blocks (over 100)
6.  1930's Farmers Wife
7.  Batik Farmer's Wife
8.  Rose Applique
9.  Winter Wonderland
10.  Embroidered Christmas  DONE
11.  Amish Sampler
12.  Bow Tucks Purse
13.  Leaf Wallhanging
14.  Blueberry Granola (purple/green)  
15.  Charity quilt (1)
16.  Charity quilt (2)
17.  Quilt of Valor (1)
18.  Quilt of Valor (2)
19.  Magic of Christmas  
20.  Hand Quilted Wholecloth
21.  Hand quilted quilt for Jan
22.  Hand quilted quilt started by MIL
23.  Trip Around the World hand dyed
24.  12 Rows of Christmas
25.  Landscape
26.  Heart blocks
27.  Garden Embroidery
28.  Blue Sampler
29.  wreath applique
30.  wool applique  

HSY (Haven't Started Yet - but have the fabrics)
1. Baltimore Album fusible applique
2.  Glacier Star paper pieced
3.  Something Blue paper pieced  
4.  Mistletoe Lane BOM
5.  Summer Fest Jelly Roll  DONE
6.  Lots of others, but I am tired!

OTHERS STARTE AND FINISHED

Labyrinth Walk
Two Fox Baby Quilts
Two Jelly Roll Baby Quilts
Canyon Dance
Row By Row
2 pillows
Teen Throw Quilt
Ultra Violets quilt
4 donation throw size quilts
Dr. Seuss

Well Bummer, that is only 35 projects finished for the year!!!  Oh well, it's progress and gives me goals for next year!

Machine Quilting and Christmas

I started quilting a HUGE and I mean HUGE quilt before Christmas for a friend of a friend's sister.  It was much bigger than I anticipated, like a king size batting needed a couple inches pieced on one end!  Yikes!  It was tough to push through my Pfaff Grand Quilter, but I did it without any puckers on the back thankfully!  I pin basted it well, stretched over banquet tables.  Here is a photo of the quilt being quilted.  Pay attention to the background, it will be mentioned in a bit!  I quilted a lot of stars in it, but did thread work in the center panel.  I finished it yesterday and my husband is going to deliver it to the friend today.

center panel

spread out on my daughter's queen size bed.  

I have a 460 square foot basement quilt room, it's not all showing in these pics., but this is PART of what I am dealing with.  It's driving me NUTS!!!!  If you look at the picture above and one to the right you can see my TV is now mounted on the wall.  I only waited two years, but DH got it done this week.  I have another week of vacation from school so I am going to dig in and purge, rearrange, etc.  I have WAY, WAY, WAY too many books and magazines.  I have purged magazines many times and I am only getting one subscription now.  Basically I have a HUGE mess.    I wish I had cupboards to hide everything in, but that is not in the budget or time table.  I have a lot invested in plastic!

I went to Costco yesterday and bought 2 sets of these project bins.  Such a deal on price, only $19.99 for 5.  I already have a couple sets and I'm hoping it will help me me able to grab a project to work on.  This year's colors are so much prettier than my previous ones!  Costco is an hour away in a different state, but Clarkston, WA is where I do a lot of shopping!  Oh, I bought food when I was there too....

I will do a year's end wrap up post later today.  I had a goal of finishing 50 projects, not sure if I made that!  I will have to look at my blog and pics!

Now pics from Christmas!  We traveled to Boise and stayed with my oldest daughter,but spent Christmas Eve at my younger daughter's house.  Christmas dinner with all of us was at my sister's, so it was quite the family trip!  The roads were pretty good until we were close to home on the return trip.  It's a twisty drive to get to the southern part of the state up and down out of river canyons.

We bought Nicole a set of twin baby dolls and a double jogging stroller.  She named the twins Finn and Remy after her twin cousins!  She is a girly girl for sure and loved this gift!

We bought Jared a remote control Kubota tractor.  He LOVED driving our Kubota this summer. 

Jared (6) and Nicole (3) with their cousins Remy and Finn!  Remy and Finn were 5 1/2 weeks old in the pic.

We didn't know Jared paid attention to clothes until a couple years ago when he insisted on having Grandpa shirts.  Plaid flannel!  Lisa found a plaid onesie for Finn so here is a pic of Doug and his grandsons in Grandpa shirts!

 Nicole dresses herself....

 Remy and Finn the day after Christmas.