Several More 17 ufos for 2017

The initial goal of the 17 ufos for 2017 was to revisit 17 unfinished projects and add a few stitches to progress them along. If a completion took place than that is a bonus. I completed 4 ufos and made substantial progress on several others. However, there are a few on the list that I have no intention of trying to move forward at this time.

For example, on my list were a disappearing 9-patch that only needs a border and to be quilted and a disappearing 4-patch that is so simple but I will have to find it, organize it and figure out how to complete it. The plan was to practice my machine quilting skills and I have started playing with rulers. But not right now. There are, after all, only 24 hours in each day and little boys occupy a lot of those.

This red and white sampler will remain in the project box for a while longer. There are more blocks made than show in the picture but not sure where they are. In a box somewhere. I did an amazing feathered star with embroidery but it is hiding. I will let it stay hidden for now.

This $10 sampler will remain in its box for now also. I cannot decide how to complete that center so will not fret about it for now. I need a deadline and a purpose for my quilts.

My completed Civil War Dear Jane quilt has been kicking around since I completed the top three years ago. I have finally decided to hand quilt it with big stitches using Perle Cotton and a wool batting. But I have not yet stretched it out and layered it. I need to clear off some of the paper work that is scattered all over my quilt room tables. I am, after all, still working on my doctorate if way too slowly.

In two weeks I drive out to Shipshewana for the fall retreat where I will be starting not one, not two but possibly 3 new quilts. I am taking workshops with the infamous Di Ford-Hall from Australia. I met her when I visited there two and a half years ago and have been waiting for an opportunity to learn from her. Do I need to start more quilts? NO. Of course not. Do I want to start more quilts? NO. Not exactly. But I love every quilt of hers I have ever seen. And I have already paid for the classes and the kits.

In the meantime, I have injured my right wrist and will have to let it rest up for the next couple of weeks so I can go the distance at the retreat where all three workshops will be focusing on hand work. I should probably stay off the computer, but I still have to change diapers on two little boys who were not exactly thrilled when I presented them both with big boy underwear this week. The first term is half over and my daughter just got her placement. She has so much reading to do for this intense one year masters program and now she begins her 500 placement hours.

I have been thinking about goals for next year. Crazy things like completing one block per week for each of the ones I am presently working on. That would add up to completing a block a day. So that is not practical. But what about a block per month? That would have me complete the BTCT, Morrell and Antique Wedding Sampler by July 2019. Doable. But what about the Di Ford new blocks? And Bright Jane and  . . .

Wait I hear a boy crying so I get to grand parent some more. In the meantime, I did complete one more BTCT block. This will satisfy my one-monthly-goal-for-october .

BTCT  Block # 14

Blessings,
Chris
Linking with: 17-ufos-for-2017
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Completed Quilts So Far in 2017

I was busy earlier this winter and spring completing five quilts that I took to Poland with me to give to my cousins as gifts. I made the right choice for colours. They were completely surprised and delightfully pleased.

This first one was made about 20 years ago but I misplaced the fabric for the backing and finally found it, pieced it together and sandwiched the quilt a few  years ago. I simply quilted curves diagonally starting with the corners. Robert and Krystyna love it.

This was one of the $10 quilts I had made blocks for several years ago. I bought a variety of blue and brown civil war reproduction fabrics in anticipation of completing. Ella loved it.

I had a different plan for this cousin, but my Sweet Farmer, in his great wisdom, said to quilt this one for Beata instead. I love this quilt. I used a variety of solid fabrics for crazy patch blocks and machine embroidered as many different designs as I could using variegated threads. I used the walking foot to straight stitch around the borders and sashing. Then, I made ties using some black perle cotton I found in one of the stuff drawers. The backing is a wide tan flannelette.

I have shown many pictures of this one since I started it in Shipshewana last November. Upon receiving it, Anya commented that she loved that it was a modern quilt. I had to chuckle since it is based on an antique quilt owned by Linda Collins. I started it at a workshop in Shipshewana. I believe there are 3248 pieces in this quilt. But who is counting?

Now this is the first quilt I thought about making when I had the idea more than a year ago to take quilts for my cousin  in Poland. This modern quilt was going to be perfect for a house that was decorated in basic black and white with zebra curtains and a touch of red. It is perfect - on their bed. Andrje and Ewa redid the living room with blues and yellows.

Here I used a variegated black and white thread and did large curves though each of the intersections. I like how the variegations look. I used a wide flannel backing.

 I think I deserve to start a brand new quilt. But I don't have time till May. Sigh.

Blessings,
Chris

linking with omg-one-monthly-goal
mid week makers
Moving it Forward Mondays
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whoop-whoop

 

March Finishes

There is something magical about trimming the borders on an almost finished quilt. 

I do it so rarely that I feel it. Well, I felt it four times this month. 

This magical trimming the edges thing.

Trimming Borders

I did the simple straight line stitching in the ditch around

the borders and sashing on this quilt.

But wasn't sure how to quilt those blocks. 

Then the thought popped into my head to do a simple spiral.

So I did. 

Machine Quilting

 I completed not one, not two, not three, but FOUR quilts this month.

My omg-one-monthly-goal 

was to finish only three.  
This makes four 17-ufosin-2017 
complete so far and I have worked on

three others. 

 Time to celebrate and start a couple new ones. 

Well, maybe just one. 

For now. 

I still have to do a few ties on the crazy patch on top.

Completed Quilts

I also made five Bright Jane blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. 

The power was out two different days and I had to do something 

that did not take electricity, so I prepped these blocks. 

I sewed them up another day. 

In the meantime, Devan came over to visit and 

removed all the wonder clips that were holding the bits together.

I still love her. 

Bright Jane

Not much Slow Stitching  

going on this month. 

But I did get just one more grape stitched on. 

One of those Devan added.

 

BTCT

And I finally and completely finished Simple Simon. 

 I did a simple straight machine quilting stitch 

 through all the white squares with the walking foot.

 I was so proud of myself, until . . .

Simple Simon

I found the oops block. 

Blessings,
Chris
linking up with needle and thread network  
 http://estheraliu.blogspot.ca/ 

End of February

I did not get my Simple Simon top quilted for 
omg-one-monthly-goal.

I did get some major house cleaning done 

for the open house book signing party. That was fun. 

I have been waiting for some helps to sandwich three tops to quilt. They are coming on Monday night.

I did cut and prepare the binding. Hope there will be enough since I have no more of this fabric. 

If not,  could add some other colour. 

Maybe.We shall see. If there is enough. 

I got one Bright Jane block done for the RSC challenge. 

It's the top left one. foundation pieced.

But then, that's all I had promised to do. 

These are all the aqua/turquoise blocks made so far.

 I sewed up the twelfth block for the Civil War blue $10 quilt. 

Today I am connecting all the blocks together with a border print. 

For the 17-ufos-in-2017/.

 I sewed the binding on to the Brown Crazy Patch.

Now what are the chances of finding the exact correct left over fabric 20 years after making the thing? 

I hadn't seen it for years then when I went to the fabric cupboard 

the other day to get something else, it was just laying there. 

On top of something. 

Right there.

 I switched to some hand embroidery for the BTCT blocks.

 I had forgotten how simple and relaxing embroidery can be.

  Must do more of it. Mostly outline and back stitch.

 Devan decided that this block needed some extra grapes

and glued them on last night when I turned my back while babysitting.

That's about it for now. 

We had a record setting 18C yesterday 
so I took Ava out for ice cream.

Just because we could. 

Blessings,

Chris

17 ufos in 2017

Here is a new linky party. I like Parties. This sounds like fun. Choose 17 UFO's (unfinished objects). Make a list and post it. Then work on each of these projects throughout the year.

"The idea is to SUBSTANTIALLY PROGRESS 17 projects over the year and if that means a finish along the way, well that’s a bonus!"  https://pomegranateandchintz.wordpress.com/17-ufos-in-2017/

I was not exactly planning on working on 17 of my unfinished quilts, but I have many more than that number to choose from. And I cannot list new projects I have not yet started. Okay. So here goes:

1. Simple Simon - 2016
   
2. Brown Crazy Patch - 1994
   
3. $10 Civil War Blues - 2011
   
4. Crazy patch  2002.
5. $10 Civil War Stars - 2007
   
6. Disappearing 4-Patch - 2015
7. 1857 Album - 2016
   
8. Dear Jane 2009-2014
   
9. Serendipity - 2012
   
10. Beyond the Cherry Trees - 2014
    
11. Antique Wedding Sampler - 2015
    
12. Shades of Pemberly - 2006
13. Morrell - 2016
    
14. Think of  Me Dear One - 2010
15. Only2 - 2012 
    
16. Bright Jane - 2014
    
17. Ben Biggs - 2014
    

I plan to complete and quilt the first 7 on the list, begin to hand quilt Dear Jane and make some noticeable progress on the rest. Do you like my new helper putting blocks on the wall?

My omg-one-monthly-goal will be to complete Simple Simon since I did not quite finish it last month.

Blessings,
Chris

$10 Quilts

Our local quilt shop, The Quilt Rack in ancaster, has what is called A Ten Dollar Quilt class.
The rules are simple:

• you sign up for a given day and time of the month
• you show up every month on time and sit through a half hour of promo stuff for the shop
• you are given the pattern and fabric to make one 12 inch quilt block
• you get to chose the easy or more difficult pattern and one of the colourways offered

But where does the ten dollars come in?

• to join  - you pay ten dollars
• if you miss a month - you pay ten dollars
• if your block is not complete - you pay ten dollars
• if you are late (arrive after Lucy takes the floor and says welcome) - you pay ten dollars

Get the point?

The fun part of the game is to collect all 12 blocks for the original ten dollars you pay to join. I always looked at my calendar for the whole year and chose a monthly date and time that would work. It was so popular that often there were 30-40 of us in 6 or more classes.

The best I ever did was $20 and the worst was $30. Once I took the completed block in my bag with me to India and planned to stop in at the shop  - on time - on my way home from the airport. I could have done the whole thing for $10 that year, but, alas, I was on day two of food poisoning I got on a very long train ride and flight home from India and reaching home safely was more important at the moment than getting to the class on time. I would have made it, but, you know, nature was calling.



$10 Quilt 2010 in progress

The shop also offered finishing classes the following year and we were not allowed to purchase any of the designated fabrics until after the finishing classes. But I was always on the lookout for fabrics to complete my blocks on many of the road trips I was taking and collected enough extras to complete the things twice over. And mostly on sale because that is more fun.

$10 Quilt 2007 in progress 

In the past few months I have had camera and internet issues and more recently I had the Blue Roses spread out across all the tables as I was quilting it. But not now. Everything is now in place and I can start to look at and plan what to do to complete  some of them. That does not mean I will actually complete the things, but will start to plan.

It was back during the winter of 2008-09 that I sat in the shop right beside a completed Dear Jane quilt and had the opportunity to have a close up look at some of the blocks and this for several months. I could not join the scheduled classes because they were the same days I had school, so I eventually decided to start my own class and I did later that year.

$10 Quilt 2011 in progress

I joined the class for 5 years and decided that I had lots of other things I was working on and I was not finishing the quilts. But it was only one block each month.
  

Finishing fabrics

I realize now, that one of the things holding me back was how to quilt them. Last night I had a machine quilting workshop here with my GORF girls and introduced them to the importance of tension and how to get it right. I am so clever. I need to listen to what I am teaching them and then do it myself.

Blessings,
Chris