July's A Lovely Year of Finishes

"Lizzy" is officially done.  Tracy Potter did the quilting and thread painting over the Inktense painting I did.  I was afraid I would not do as good a job and she did a fabulous one. I love that face:)

Lizzy at 4 months

Finish Along 3rd Quarter Goals

Because the little Thistle that is lovely enough to run the FAL lives in Great Britain-I missed the due date-time issues-so, this time I will have this post ready to go.  Problem this time is that the window for entries is 7/7-7/14.  We get home from vacation on the 13th and I am worried I'll miss it again. We'll see. So, this quarter I have lots of things to finish up:

Lizzy needs to be pieced, thread painted, quilted and bound

Blue Baskets needs to be trimmed, quilted and bound

 Christmas Squared  needs to be quilted and bound

Star Light needs to be quilted and bound.

Tree Skirt needs to have quilting finished, binding attached

Mug Rugs  quilting and finish bindings

Baby Boy quilt:  I have cut it out-needs assembling, quilting, and binding

Sweet Pea:  stitching, basting, quilting, binding.
 

Makena's pillow needs to be painted, quilted and stitched into a pillow.

The blouse will be the back of the pillow-the buttons and button holes are already in it!

Nickle Colored Sky needs to be pieced, basted, quilted and bound

This is a 2 year UFO.

Number 10 in the UFO Parade

Makena's Pillow
Makena passed away this year at 8 yrs old.  She belonged to my son and DIL and was the best dog.  I am making a pillow with her image done in Inktense Pens.  This is long overdue-should have been done in January-an official UFO

That is the last entry for the Finish Along 2014 3rd quarter

Another UFO

This week is the parade of  UFO's.  There will be lots of celebrating and fireworks when these are all completed.  Today's UFO is a Pat Speth design, Tilly's Treasure, made out of 5"squares, nickle quilts.

I named it Nickle Colored Sky from a phrase my cousin invented and I have always liked the sound of it-since it is a "nickle quilt" and has a lot of turquoise in it.  It was the first quilt that I just pulled fat quarters from my stash because I didn't have time to shop for fabric-my first real scrap quilt and I really need to finish all those little squares:) One and a half years in the making-it is time to finish it. 

Baby Boy Quilt

I have had the material for awhile-luckily, the baby boy won't be born until August.  This ia another UFO that I plan to tackle.  If you, like me , have a pile of UFO's, Join the Finish Along 2014 by clicking on the ble button on my home page. It has really helped me to get focused.

 I was hoping to deliver it to the grandfather when we go camping but I picked something up on my trip to Seattle and I have been really sick.  So, I will have to finish it (it is cut out) when I get home.

Working on Lizzy.  Today I got all the HST's in the pinwheel blocks sewn and most ironed

Peas and Peonies

I have to finish handstitching, basting, quilting and binding this little quilt yet.  Even little quilts seem to take awhile and I am getting a backup of little quilts.

The binding will be the same as the sashing

This will be one of my Finish Along entries for the 3rd quarter.  It is also going to my my handwork project on my next trip.

Quarter 2 for the 2014 Finish Along Goals

I was pleased with the progress I made during the first quarter FAL so will make a list again.  I seem to work much harder with a list in front of me. So, here it goes:

1. Purple Maze

2. Makena's Pillow-I have the white material and the backing fabric and the picture of Makena-need to translate the materials to a pillow.

3.  Pies and Tarts

3. Your Love is Moosic to My Ears

4.  Why make cookies when you can make a Sugar Castle?

5. A fall runner.  I started a stack and whack 4 or 5 years ago that was in fall colors. Still pinned in sections-I need the pins!

2014 Finish Along Goals Completed

I listed my original goals for Jan, Feb, March Here.  Since then I have completed Tedi's Quilt, Tedi's placemats, Tardy Turtle,Tshirt Quilt, Baby Quilt, and Handle That,

The only goal I didn't achieve is Makena's pillow, which I will re-list for next time.  I am so happy I joined the 2014 finish along.  It has kept me in line:) Check out the big Blue button on the right of my blog if you want to join the fun!

 I probably won't be posting for a week.  My hard drive seems to have crashed and it will go out tomorrow.  No pics in this post except the links to the finished quilts because my husband's computer is not user friendly:(  If this is your first visit-please stop back by! To my regular visitors-be blessed this coming week!!!

Tshirt quilt Bound!

My only March finish so far and I am running out of time if I want to finish anything else.  I am hoping to do a couple of pillowcases for my granddaughter after Church tomorrow-I hope. However it is on my list of goals for 2014 Finish Along (my original list)and the one goal for A Lovely year of Finishes.  Both buttons are on my sidebar if you want to join. It is helping me keep on track.  After we move I want to focus on quilting more slowly and make less utilitarian and more art focused quilts, but in the meantime, I have all these UFO's that I just want to bang out and be done!

My computer is acting up so am using my husband's and the resolution on the pic isn't wonderful but I like the finished quilt.

Today we had our 4th annual "Tea With Thee" that benefits our local Crisis Pregnancy Center.  I think we raised at least 3,500.00 and had a great time doing it. Sold out-160 ladies.

My Table with my aunt Dot's china that she left me when she went home to be with Jesus-I use it every year in her honor

I am most blessed to have such amazing friends Jackie, Tanya, Tracy and me

Would have been a great pic of the Beyers without the microphone.  The quilt was donated and was professionally quilted-it was really pretty.

My feet hurt so I may be going to bed early-a very worthy cause but I am tuckered out.

Purple Maze

This pattern is out of  Kathy Doughty's Making Quilts. Her original version is called Red Center and it is smaller than this will be.  Purple Maze will fit our Queen Bed, will be 21x21 4.5"squares with 2 borders: a skinny green and then a 4.5 inch piano key border left over from end of the row scraps.  I bought this fabric almost 4 years ago with another design in mind.  Still love the fabric and even bought 6 yards for a back which is beautiful on its own.  Then i saw Red Center and knew this was the design for that fabric.

Layed out 4.5 strips 6 deep and cut at 5" then cut through stack at angle near middle

I Then shuffled the pack, slipping the top left piece only-to the bottom of the pack.  Then you gather the pairs-making sure they stay pairs and assembly sew away.  Iron open.

      

All strips cut and laid in stacks of six

So nice to see something else on the design wall

All lined up and ready for today except I got "0" sleep last night because of not being able to breathe-so today will not be a sewing day as I hoped it would be.  Also-that is what tomorrow is created for:)

This is the project I am choosing for my April finish for A lovely year of Finishes..  Check out the button on my sidebar

March 2014 Goals

My one big goal for March is to finish this T-Shirt quilt before the young lady waiting for it is a grandmother.

I also would like to get it off my design wall and move on to something else.   I also need to make a pillowcase for each of my granddaughters and one fitted sheet each-have the materials-just need to do it!  lastly, I want to make a pillow with my kids' dog, Makena on the front using the Inktense pencils.  That's it.  Hopefully I will get those items done so I can get back to my Cow quilt!
February finishes: Turtle Quilt, Baby Quilt, Block for Becky

We have 183 members in our guild and if 1/4 do a block, our president will have a nice quilt.  The only requirements were use brights and it had to be 6.5 inches.  I used selvedge on Kaffe Fassett and the nursery material from Sloanie's bedroom.  However the pens that are not supposed to bleed- did!  Need to work on the writing and add some more.

Sloanie and Regan Home from Hospital

Baby is better and everyone is home from the hospital.  Yay!  Thanks for the prayers.  Spent yesterday and today finishing a baby quilt and placemats for Tedi.  Will post pics of placemats when I get them back from Marilyn who does the bindings.  I did the binding on the babyquilt but it takes time and I think for this year my time is better spent getting projects to the binding point.

Baby blanket for Tea With Thee Chinese Auction

 I head a committee of 9 ladies from 5 churches and we do a tea for 160 ladies each year.  It is a lot of fun and we raise money for the local pregnancy center.  This year my only responsibilities are hosting a table which I love and use my aunt's tea set that she left me-and a baby quilt for a baby basket for auction.  Nice to have the quilt done.  I practiced some free form quilting-I need practice:)

Tardy Turtle

Tardy Turtle-officially the first Christmas present done!  This quilt was fun to work on. piecing, paper-piecing, and applique.  It will go to my son and daughter-in-law.  It was made from a Java House pattern and i have had the materials pulled for 2-3 years-definitely a UFO until yesterday and is on my UFO list for a Lovely Year of Finishes and Finish Along-both buttons on my blog page.  I changed the borders some and didn't add the extra orange the pattern called for.  My start was here. I was #47 on ALYOF goal page.

The quilting is a turtle panto edge to edge

We are going to a huge swapmeet tomorrow to sell motorcycles and parts-I hope.  We have been doing this sale for over 30 years and it is really a lot of fun.  Will check back in next week.

January Finishes

It has been a productive month.  A Million and One Blocks is done and packed away for our move, Tedi's quilt is with Marilyn who does beautiful machine binding and I heard she just finished it.  I am sending a few quilts her way as it saves me so much time and I am really trying to finish my UFO's.  Handle That and Petites Maisons Roses are also with Marilyn waiting for their bindings.  I am starting the Turtle quilt today.

I had some good news yesterday.  Went to the ENT about the congestion I have had for almost a year now and it can be fixed.  It is a localized infection that antibiotics isn't touching so he will do surgery and remove it.  It is a 1 hour outpatient surgery and he said it was pretty common and he has been doing it for 24 years.  I will have it done the first of March.

Another piece of good news for me is that the class I am teaching on the 15th, Exploring Color is FULL.  I am pretty excited!  I need to get back to prepping for it as I am subbing the 3 days before the class.

Feels so good to be finishing something.  I have been working on Dear Jane, Home Sweet Home (finished after 2 years last Sept.), and Pies and Tarts for a couple of years.  They are all labor intensive and won't be finished soon.  Adding some quick finishes is satisfying!

I am participating in A Lovely Year of Finishes and the Finish Along 2014 to motivate me to finish those UFO's.  The buttons for those two finishes are located on the right side of my blog.

1st Quarter List for the Finish Along

This is my list of proposed finishes for January, February and March:

Tedi's 16 patch quilt-
4 placemats-borders need to be attached, quilted and bound
Makena's picture pillow-have material, backing and picture to work from-need to paint picture onto front
            and make into a pillow. 
Turtle Quilt- have pattern and all materials and have had for 2 years
T-Shirt Quilt for Ali
Basket Quilt-Handle That!
finish pink baby quilt

Tedi's quilt:

My niece wanted a neutral palette quilt in a simple pattern.  I chose the 16 patch and a 7x9 row layout.  I won't put a border just a dark binding. All but one of the fabrics are batiks.

I got all blocks finished today-63 in all.  I am working on trimming and stacking into rows top to bottom to sew together tomorrow.

Yesterday was a very productive day.  I packed two more large boxes of material and batting that I know I won't get to before we move.  I then put together all the materials I need for the projects I think I can complete before we go, cleaned out shelves and refolded fabrics.  It gave me a good idea of what I have and I feel so much better about my direction.

Katy Cameron is hosting this Finish along and you can see what others are doing:  http://thelittlestthistlecraftshop.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/finish-along-2014-quarter-1-now-open.html


I have a button on the right margin near the top  of the blog.