Saturday, September 21, 2013

Let it Snow!!!


Perhaps not quite yet, since Autumn is just starting.

I finished my first Project of my challenge. One down and only 7 more to go. This project did not go quite as smoothly as I hoped. While finishing it, my sewing machine gave up it's ghost. Naturally I tried my hardest to finish this with the smallest of delays by getting the sewing machine I have been eyeballing for quite some time. So my new purchase is quite justified with the finish of this long overdue table runner. I am so pleased to have started of my challenge at a good pace.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Time for an update and a challenge!!!


I am way overdue for posting again. I am not trying to make excuses, but I just have the hardest time to find a rhythm in my live that will work and balance out work, family, home responsibilities, and my fun time.
 
I was at Quilt Retreat last weekend. My it already feels so long ago. I guess it was a very long week at work. But anyway, my friend Carolyn and I came up with a grand idea. We thought we should challenge each other to get some of our UFOs finished. Needless to say out plan went viral in no time. The challenge is to post pictures of projects we want to finish until April 2014 for our next retreat. But the kicker is, we are supposed to use fabric from our stash to do so, but if not possible, we may buy small amounts of fabric to finish a project. It has to really be justified. If we start new projects, they have to be started from our stash.
 
We are hoping to get a few projects finished, get some room in our sewing rooms by using what we already have, and to have some fun along the way.
 
So here are my projects I plan on finishing in various stages.
 
 
This is my "Deer Quilt" which I sewed last April retreat for my husband. Of course this man, who sponsors and supports my fabric habit deserves a quilt. So my goal is to get it quilted and bound, so my husband can actually use it.
 


Above is my "It's a Star" quilt top. It is queen-sized quilt top sewn in Eleanor Burns' construction method for Log Cabin quilts. I started it a few years ago, and it just hibernated for a while, and now it is in the holding pattern to be quilted and finished of. I think it will look really great on my bed.


This little bright beauty is a Mystery quilt we made at retreat a few years back. It is only lab-sized, or even smaller than that. It would make a great table topper too. My goal of course is to quilt and finish it, and finally get it out of my UFO pile.


This "Let it snow" table runner was a total surprise to me. I completely forgot about it. I made it a few years ago from a magazine pattern, stuck it into my to-do pile and forgot it. I made this from stash, and hope that it will be my first project to be finished, so I can enjoy it this winter season on my coffee table.


Above you see an orphan, on purpose. I abandoned it because one of the blocks I sewed wrong, and I am not fixing it. I do kind of like the look of the block anyway. This was a BOM we did on the Ohio Quilter yahoo group a few years ago.  It is twin sized, and the perfect size to snuggle with for nap time. The colors are just warm fall colors, and I really love the fabrics I used. I guess just frustration with my inability to follow a pattern properly made me put it on ice. Not anymore!!! Goal for it is, to quilt and finish it before April.


Above you see the start of Eleanor Burns' "Twisted Star" quilt. I am sewing the Queen-sized  version of it. My goal is to have the top assembled by April. I am not going to be too ambitious with that. I have to remember that my day job takes up a little of my sewing time.


Above you see the beginnings of a Hunter Star quilt. I have no idea how big it will get. I started it at the last retreat because some friends showed me a new method of sewing the pattern, I fell in love with it, and now I am making a quilt with 6inch blocks. So I have to see how big I like to grow it. It might become lab-sized or it might grow into a Queen. Who knows!!! But we will find out by April, hopefully


This little project should be easy and quick to finish. These are Autumn Place mats I started at retreat. I did not cut enough fabric for them, this is why I could not finish them. No they have become part of my challenge, and I hope these will be the second project that will make it on to them finished list. So that I may enjoy them this Autumn on my Dinner table.

Now this is my little confessional from my quilting room. I am not even starting on knitting on here. Those would be my bonus projects.

I am not going to make promises to update my blog on certain days, because that will not work out for me. But I will keep you all posted on my progress in the challenge, and on other things that are going on in my life.