UFO progress

 

My UFO for the month of May is my version of Bonnie Hunter’s 2011 Mystery quilt, Orca Bay.  This is really my kind of quilt – lots of piecing, all from scraps, and any piece larger than about 2 1/2” is string pieced.

I’ve been working on making these little string pieced units.  They are 3 1/2” square – aren’t they cute!

I needed 72 of these and am proud to say that they are all made – at last!  I had to resort to all sorts of trickery to get myself to sit down and sew these – as they were made I would bundle them into groups of ten and let myself add to my tally, and I rewarded myself with breaks to check email and such.  I think what makes them hard is that there are so many decisions to be made!   It would be simpler if my scraps were larger, but I am using up some tiny pieces (too precious to waste, you know!). 

Next task is to make a big pile of black and white half square triangle units – these need to be 2” square.  I’ll be digging deep into my hoard of black and white fabrics. 

The Orca Bay UFO will NOT be completed during the month of May!  But I have finished another quilt that was on the list. 

This hexagon quilt was my very first Stack ‘n Whack project.  The fabric is Summertime, by Debbie Mumm, so that gives you an idea of how old it might be.  The top has been used as a sample for many classes over the years, but it was time to get it finished.

I added the last border and did the quilting.  The binding is on and just needs to be stitched down, and then I’ll have a quilt ready to donate to a good cause.

Technorati Tags: UFO challenge,Stack 'n Whack

UFO complete for April

 

All done, even the binding!  (The label will have to wait until a destination is finalized.)

This quilt was started many years ago in a naive attempt to “use up all the scraps”.  When I pulled it out a few months ago there was a note and a sketch, so I was able to see at a glance what was required to complete the top.  The note was dated 1997.  That means these fabrics were the ones that were old and I wanted them gone – fifteen years ago!  As I studied the top I realized that I still have bits of quite a few of these fabrics in my present collection  – perhaps it is time for some serious stash-busting!!

Here is the Scrappy Braid quilt in all its asymmetrical splendour.  As I stitched the columns together, quilted it, bound it, I enjoyed those (old) fabrics all over again. And it was with a great sense of accomplishment that I wrote FINISHED beside this one on my list for this year. 

Technorati Tags: UFO challenge,scrap quilt

Spring Colours

 

We still don’t have much in the way of colour around here – was that SNOW I walked through the other day???

So I’ve hung this quilt in the entry way to brighten our days.

 

And take a look at this!  Eleanor served us the sweetest Easter treats at Sew Scrappy Club last week – strawberry tarts and chocolate nests.  They were almost too pretty to eat!

Technorati Tags: half log cabin quilt,Easter,Sew Scrappy club

UFO for March

 

Nearly done!  But since my goal is to complete this as a challenge project that is due this summer, I have plenty of time to finish up the binding.

This is an OLD project.  The fabrics are vintage – from the 50s.  I assembled the piece at least 20 years ago, and it has been waiting ever since to be completed.  I think the solid black fabric is a polyester blend.  (I either didn’t know the difference back then or I didn’t have any black cotton.) 

I backed it with muslin, added a scrap of lovely wool batting, and did some hand quilting.  Please don’t look at my stitches too closely. 

Technorati Tags: UFO challenge,hand quilting

A bit of green

 

So many gray days lately!  Surely spring will turn up eventually.

I’ve hung this shamrock in my entry way.  It was a project from Scrappy Club this month, and I’m proud of having it finished in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

 

Technorati Tags: Scrappy Club,shamrock

UFO for February

This project is the reason I signed up for this challenge in the first place! 

I began my African Collage in May of 2010 when I took a class from Pippa Moore at Quilt Canada in Calgary.  When Judy announced the challenge for 2011 I was quick to add this to my list because I wanted to get it done.  But that number was drawn in December, and no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t getting any quilting done that month.

So African Collage took its place on the list for 2012, and its number came up for this month. 

I am pleased to report progress.  When I took the pieces out of their bag I found I had four panels, the three animals and another with African people on it.  Each panel had the beginnings of borders.  Try as I might, I could not get the components to get along nicely.  So I removed the fourth panel and decided to go with just three.  I worked in some lighter fabrics, repeated some motifs, and came up with this arrangement. 

It is not a perfect design, but it is much closer to being a completed design!  Next come the borders – I’m auditioning different black fabrics and different widths and trying to decide if I need something else along the top before the black. 

And another near-finish to report:  A few days ago I pulled out a small top that had been folded together with its batting and moved from place to place in the sewing room for several  years.  I had made some of the the scrappy blocks, then passed them on to a friend to “do something with”.  She made more blocks, sewed them all together, and handed it back to me. 

I’ve quilted it.  The blocks are scrappy, the batting was pieced from leftovers, the backing was made from several odd bits of flannel.  The binding will come out of the box that is labelled  “Binding Leftovers”.  Then we will find some small person to give it to!

Technorati Tags: UFO challenge,African Collage,scrappy,Half Log Cabin

A special place for quilters

 

There’s a new sign up at Granny’s House!

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