Trying for One Last Finish

I have a few days left of the Christmas vacation and now that the holiday excitement is over I am trying to sew enough to hold me for another few months.

Auditioning Borders

I pulled out some UFO blocks and discovered thankfully that they were farther along that I thought and I had even left myself a note of what the plan was.  So I cut the needed sashing and started webbing it together.  At that point I wasn't loving it, so I auditioned a few borders, but for the sake of time I didn't agonize over it.  I made another round of white sashing with turquoise setting stones.

I think I like this.

The narrow black border was made from some strangely shaped pieces that I cut and pieced.  I wasn't sure there would be enough, but I had a back up plan just in case.  Turns out there was more than enough!  Next is a pink border.

Covering up the mess!  The yellow walls make it seem very yellow.

Since the girls were all gone on New Years Eve I was able to sew, sew, sew.  I got the last borders on.  Done! 

Looking good on the banister.

UFO Challenge - Cobwebs

In my determination to finish things,  my spiderweb blocks finally made it to the top of the pile a few weeks ago.  I love the look of string piecing, but it turns out I don't really like to do it.

The last 4 triangles had already been made, but needed to be de-papered.  Then I played with a few layouts. The reds are not all the same, so I wanted to get them pretty well randomized but I didn't want to agonize over it and not get it done.

Spiderweb Blocks ready for a border (s)

It is always good to try new things and I am not sorry I started this, just not sure I would string piece again.  But who knows.  So many quilts I like are string pieced I may just have to get over it.  The thriftiness of it sure appeals to me!

It definitely needs borders, so I made end up string piecing some more after all.  But for now there are some deadline projects looming on the horizon, so this is back on the UFO pile, but one step closer to finished.

Linking up to Jo's Country Junction to share UFO progress.

HELP!! A True UFO

I got this at the thrift store last fall.  I'm a sucker for a challenge.  It was worth the $2 just for entertainment value!! 

Funny thing is it was sold in two separate bags.  I can only assume there were not three bags originally!

Three obvious blocks.

No instructions, no picture, no notes.  Maybe that was the third bag!!

Hmmmm????

Some blocks were made.

Nice that the hard tiny squares were already done.

Some blocks were cut and started.

 I was able to figure these out and finish them up.

Some fabric was cut and labeled by width.

These 4-patches and pinwheels - in two directions no less - I have no idea what to do with.  Joining them in any combination does not make a size that is compatible with the other blocks.

All the various components.  Upper right is extra fabric - I think.

I was able to sew together the blocks that were cut and started.

If anyone has any ideas as to how this should be assembled please, please let me know.

Linking up to Jo's Country Junction to show UFO progress.

UFO Challenge 021418

Boxy Stars is done!

Fun and easy!

I really like this one!

Thank you to Jo's Country Junction for the challenge to get some UFOs done.

January Progress and February Goals

I found a few more quilts to add to my UFO list and fortunately they were little and I was off work and I finished them when I found them since they were just what I needed at the time.  So I am doing well as January ends.  We will see what February brings.  A deadline quilt looms, so there will be one done for sure!

Alligator Baby Quilt - DONE

Carnival Quilt for Ms. D - ready to be quilted

Curtain Quilt 

BOM Challenge with Jo - I'm keeping up so far 

Boxy Stars - DONE DONE DONE


Quinceanos Quilt 


Red White & Blue


Scrappy Mountains Majesty 

Scraps from a Friend Baby Quilt - DONE


Spider Web 

Strips That Sizzle

Thrift Store Baby Quilt - Done


X Marks the Spot
 



4/13  Not bad at all for heading into February.

UFO Challenge 012418

Last Wednesday it looked like this.

Slow and steady

On Saturday evening it looked like this.

Making progress!

On Sunday it looked like this.

I just might finish this after all!!

And now it looks like this.

Quilted, trimmed and waiting for a binding.

This is huge progress for me.  My first big finish since the machine I use for machine quilting started shredding thread last spring.  This is far from perfect, but it is the best I have been able to sew on this machine in ages.  I had tried all kinds of fixes and I think it ended up being a thread caught up in the machinery behind the bobbin housing.  I am not afraid to take things apart and it appears to have paid off in this case.

The binding is cut and waiting to be sewn and attached.  But I have had a another week of bringing home work every night, so sewing progress has slowed down.  And College E is coming home Thursday night with her friend to participate in an early childhood conference with me this weekend, so not sure how much will get done this weekend.  But I'd rather have her home than sew anyways.


Linking up to Jo's Country Junction UFO Challenge to show progress!!

UFO Challenge 011718 - Boxy Stars

My Boxy Stars finally has a back.  It has been waiting since last Spring at least. The plaid was one of the last purchases of the year from the thrift store.  It is perfect.  I'm so glad it worked out to wait on the finishing of this quilt.  There wasn't enough, so I added the pink to make it large enough.

I am so glad to finally have gotten the backing ready.  Now the quilting.  I am trying again with the machine and the frame.  I took am much as I could apart on the machine to try again to find out why the thread keeps breaking.  Deep down inside I found a thread trapped.  Hmmm?  I got it out and got the machine back together.

Boxy Stars nearing a finish.

It is doing much better, so I think I am on the right track with the fix.  Wasn't the thread, wasn't the tension, wasn't using a sheet as a backing, wasn't the needle, wasn't the free motion foot.  Seems like it was the stray thread where it didn't belong.  Slow and steady on this now.

Linking up to Jo's Country Junction to get some of the pesky UFOs taken care of. 

Friday Finish

Some good finishes for the beginning of the year.  I am trying really hard to keep sewing even on work days.  These were finishes the first week of January before going back to work.

Finished this UFO from the thrift store.

Little Baby Quilt

Finished this random baby quilt I've been working on in spurts.

Alligator Baby Quilt

And also finished this one that started out as a bag of squares from a friend and became much more - over a year's time!

Scraps from a friend

This I got done since Sunday even with work, so I am encouraged.  This section is from a bag of squares and scraps from the thrift store.  I will take a break at this point and let it speak to me as to what borders it wants.  Nothing left in the bag, so whatever it is will have to be from stash.

Thrift Store UFO Bag

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts to show off finishes.

UFO Challenge

This was actually a UFO that was a bag of pieces I got at the thrift store.  I just can't resist a good puzzle.  I went through a few variations with the original pieces and then changed some out for fabric from my stash that I thought looked better.  On Sunday evening it looked like this.

Sunday night

I have been trying to hard to maintain the momentum from Christmas break and keep sewing in the evenings after work and dinner even if I am tired.  A few minutes goes a long ways.  By Tuesday evening it was all webbed together.

Tuesday night

At this point it needs a few borders to make it big enough to be practical for anything.  So it is likely to go back into UFO status while I work on the Carnival Quilt which has an actual deadline.  But I am pleased to have gotten it this far.  I like it and will be thinking of borders.

Linking up to Jo's Country Junction UFO Challenge.

UFO Challenge

Jo's Country Junction is having a challenge to get some UFOs finished.  I have been working hard since New Years to get things done that have been frustrating me.  I figured if I got them done early in the year instead of letting them really get me down, maybe I'd progress more overall.  It's worth a try.

Practice  Free Motion Quilting

I need to tackle the Strips that Sizzle that just keeps breaking the thread no matter what I try, but I worked on the alligator quilt instead.  It has the same thread-breaking problem, but is smaller.  So I took it off the frame and thought I'd try free motion quilting on my mother's machine that I use for regular stitching.  I has all the bells & whistles for free motion feature but I've never tried since the other machine has been easier in the past.

Ready to trim and bind

I did it, but I don't know that I would do it again.  Or maybe I just need more practice.  Sometimes I would get in a groove and it was smooth sailing and other times it was "toenail catchers."  It was a good experiment.  Now I know that this is NOT an option for finishing the Strips that Sizzle - and the quilt is ready for binding.  So it served its purpose and is nearly off the UFO list.

Linking up to Jo's Country Junction to show progress.

Surprise UFO Progress

I was trying to finish Middle E's Quinceanos quilt but the border I put on just didn't work. So I unsewed and set the quilt aside.  Then I tried the border on this quilt.  TaaaDaaa.  I had always envisioned the quilt with a red border but this blue just worked.  

A few test photos and I had a plan.  

I liked the blue a lot, but it needed a little oomph.

Red was my initial idea several years ago and it is PERFECT with this blue.

I have not sewn for pleasure in a long time so I just rolled with the fact that I had a plan and a good book on CD and an afternoon off.  

The dark blue had been given to me in long strips last year so it was a puzzle to make the existing measurements work.   I came up 2" short on the very last border.  Luckily there was a little scrap that I could add on.  I'm sure when it is all done even I won't even remember it's pieced there.  

The left quarter....

I am super pleased with the borders.  It was worth the wait to get it just right.

My problem is that somehow with the changes I made to the original quilt pattern and the extra blue chain blocks I added and now the double border - this quilt is huge!!!  116" x 108" more or less. I don't even have a big enough space to lay it out.   It is way too big for my little frame and domestic machine.  I think I am going to have to send it out for quilting.  That's okay though.  

and the right quarter.

I always wanted a red, white and blue quilt and I love how it turned out so I don't mind investing in a keeper.

Showing off finishes with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict