Spring UFO Club

The Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry is doing a challenge every quarter of this year, to motivate and support each other as we all work on our UFOs. As a part of that, I needed to make a list of the UFOs I want/plan to complete between April and June. I've erred on the side of caution, and included a lot more than I had to. We had to list at least 5, but I've more than quintupled that amount on my list. I'll share pictures and some info in a series of posts.

This first one is a Colorwash Trip Around the World wallhanging. It measures 39"x42" and just needs to be quilted and bound. I did this in a class at a sewing machine dealer in North Olmsted, Ohio -- there were six of us who often sewed together and who all took this class together. One of the group bought the fabric and made each of us a kit, except for the inner border fabrics. So there are five others who have a similar project with the same fabrics, except they all did the heart version, and I did the Trip Around the World version. I'd like to get this one finished for my mom for Mother's Day this year.
This was a mystery design from Creations Sew Clever, called "Sedona Stones." This is about a double bed size, at 85"x95". It's hard to see the fabrics in this one, but they're sort of Victorian or shabby chic, pink roses and a grayish green accent. I'd like to finish this one for my aunt, for her birthday in late June. I don't know why, but at some point it just occurred to me that she might like it. She's a quilter, too -- the only other one in my family.

This was a design that was created by Sandy Heminger of A Piece in Time for the summer "picnic" mystery for the Quilt Sitters Circle in the summer of 2004. This is huge, at 95"x108". This one will be for me, whenever it's finished. I just love this design -- there were so many different fabric choices, and every one of them looked good in this design. I love the woven effect.

This is a Thimbleberries pattern called "Jacket Plaid." It's in two books, one of which is North Bay Christmas. I don't recall what the other book is, but I think it's something like Cozy Cabin Quilts, perhaps. This one is also quite large, at 87"x96". This one will also be for me, unless some other worthy recipient expresses an interest.

This is further along than this now -- it's a completed top with borders, and I have the binding made and a backing fabric pulled and batting cut. This is another Thimbleberries pattern, sort of. In the book North Bay Christmas, there's a pattern for a table runner, called "December Stars." It's only three blocks. I don't really use table runners, and decided I wanted a quilt instead, so I made twelve blocks. I also changed the colors from two greens and a gold to burgundy, gold and brown. As a result, I've taken to calling my version "November Stars," since it's much more autumn-y than Christmas-y. I'll post a picture of the completed top in another one of these posts, and I'll share the measurements then.


That's the first batch! More to come. Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Still Another Quilt Top Going to Alycia

Here's the last of the quilt tops that I'm sending to Alycia for wounded service members. This one was a mystery by Debbie Caffrey, called "Chip Off the Old Block." In the picture, the blue and green seem to contrast reasonably well, but in real life they're too close in value. This is probably also more feminine, given that the outer border is a floral print. Otherwise, it might have been a gender-neutral design. This one measures 64"x88" so it's essentially a twin size.



I'll have more project pictures to share tomorrow, for another challenge I'm participating in.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

More Tops Going to Alycia

Here are some more tops that are going into the package(s) I'll be sending to Alycia, to be finished and given to wounded service members.

This first one is a design called "Timberline Lodge," from A Piece in Time. It's nearly twin sized at 59"x83". This one should be completely gender-neutral.


This is a Turning Twenty, from a kit I got at Creations Sew Clever. I just made this last summer or fall. It's no doubt more female-oriented, between the pastels and the florals. It measures 64"x80".

Here's another version of the "Square Dance" pattern from Creations Sew Clever. This, too, is more feminine because of the florals and the colors. It measures 63"x76".

This is a Puss in the Corner. I made this in a class at A Piece in Time in approximately 2001 or 2002. We were doing quilts based on the titles of books by Earlene Fowler. This was (I think) "Irish Chain." The border fabric is a paisley, with the red and green in it plus some purple and a screaming bright cheddar gold. I love it, but I think it's probably another more feminine quilt. This one measures 68"x84" which is between a twin and a double, to me.

Here's one that's pretty gender-neutral. Maple Leaves in autumn colors, with a leave print border. This one's also quite large, at 71"x89". I made this as a class sample in 1999 when I was teaching basic quick-piecing techniques.


There's one more top to be included in this shipment. I'll show that one in the next post.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

Tops Going to Alycia

Here are some of the quilt tops that I'll be sending to Alycia, to be given to wounded service members. I hope to get this box sent off by the end of next week.

This first one is a terrible picture of a throw (56"x76") in a design called "Love Knot," by my friend Peg Bingham. We did this as a guild mystery in about 2001, and I've had the top completed since at least 2004. The background is a purple fabric with a sort of Jacobean floral design in it, so this is one that will likely have to go to a woman.

This is a design called Jellystone Park. I can't recall the name of the line I used for this one. It's 70" x 80". I'm not sure if this one is gender-neutral enough or not, really. The outer border is a paisley, and there's some pink in it. I know some guys who wouldn't think anything about that, but a lot of others who would. I've got to work on more guy-friendly stuff to send to Alycia next time ;-)

Here's one that's pretty guy-friendly. It's another design by Sandy Heminger of A Piece in Time. She calls this one "Almost No Intersections." This one is nearly a twin, at 60"x84".


Here's another version of the same design, in brushed cotton plaids and stripes. Thie one has more blocks than the first, but no border, and it measures 60"x74".

This is a design that was originally a mystery quilt, by Creations Sew Clever. This one measures 55"x74", and again because it's got a fairly large amount of a floral fabric, it probably will need to be for a woman. It's called "Argyle Sox."


Blogger only lets me upload five pictures at a time, and I find it frustrating to try to go back and add more photos to a post, so I'll do another post or two with the rest of the tops I'm sending to Alycia.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Come back again soon.

For the Boys (and Girls) in Blue (and Green, and Camo)

Do you know about Alycia? She's committed to getting a quilt to every wounded service member who crosses her path ;-) I've been wanting to help her with that goal for some time, and I'm finally getting some things sent to her. I've got 5 or 6 completed quilts I'm sending her, as well as a number of tops that she'll need to quilt or have someone else quilt.

First, here are the finished quilts I'm sending her. This first one ended up sideways, but it's a rail fence throw, with safari animals in the border. My friend Sally quilted it (she was looking for practice quilts when she bought her Gammill with Statler Stitcher a while back) with an allover design with animals -- tigers, elephants, and more. It's perfect for this quilt!



This next one is a large throw or a twin. The pattern is Take Five, and it's all in browns and pinks. This one will no doubt have to go to a female, but the sad reality is that women who are serving in the armed forces are getting wounded too, so I'm sure it will go to someone who will enjoy it. My friend Sally quilted this one as well.


This next one is flannel, and it's oh so snuggly! This one is a pattern called "Chain Link," by Creations Sew Clever. My friend Sally also quilted this one. It's a nice throw size.

This is another pattern from Creations Sew Clever. This one is called "Square Dance." This is a largish throw size. This was also quilted by Sally.

This one is half log cabin blocks, in bright batiks and black. This was a design created by Sandy Heminger of A Piece in Time in Akron, Ohio. We used to live about 4 miles from that shop, and when we did, I took a LOT of classes there. That's when I really started accumulating UFOs! This is a large throw or almost a twin size. I quilted this one, with a fun meander-y design in bright variegated thread.

This is a throw made from fabric with Australian aboriginal designs. The orange is a shot cotton by Kaffe Fassett. My friend Sally quilted this one, too.



Tomorrow I'll show you some of the tops I'm sending to Alycia in the box(es) I'm packing up for her. Thanks for coming by to play. Come back again soon.

Quilter's Accountability Report

Last time I posted for Quilter's Accountability, I set myself some very modest goals. So, let's see how I did:

Turn charity blocks into a quilt top? Nope, although I did get the center pieced.

Get borders on my version of the quilt from As Time Goes By? Nope, didn't even touch it.

My goals for this next week are to finish what I didn't get done in the last FOUR weeks (that's how long it's been since my last QA post, which was also my FIRST QA post). I'm really going to make an effort to be more consistent in posting my Quilter's Accountability progress, because if I'm not doing the posts, it can't possibly be motivating me, right?

There are some other things I'd LIKE to get done this week, and just for kicks I'll list them all and see how far I get.

1. Finish charity top from blocks made by mystery guild member (from previous QA post and above).

2. Add borders to As Time Goes By quilt, make backing and binding (from previous QA post and above).

3. Make top for this month's UFO for the Judy L UFO Challenge project. I'm 0 for 3 so far, so I'd really like to get the April UFO done.

4. Finish the Winterscape top (January's UFO Challenge project), make backing and binding.

5. Make the backing and binding for the TB Goose in the Pond (February's UFO Challenge project).

6. Finish the Bargello top (March's UFO Challenge project).

7. Quilt the Oak Leaf and Reel quilt that I have loaded on the machine. (See the picture, admittedly not a very good one, on last week's Monday's Design Wall post.)

8. Quilt and bind the Quilts for Kids quilt (which can also be seen on last week's Monday's Design Wall post). This should really be #1 on my list, and I think it's the thing I'll tackle first.

That's going to be a very full week for me, but I'll give it my best shot! At least by making a list of what I hope to get done, maybe I won't spend all week just spinning my wheels.

Thanks for coming by to play. Check out Bari's blog to see how others are doing on their Quilter's Accountability. Come back again soon.

Neither Quilting nor Knitting, but Crafty

So the other day I finally got around to a couple of "chores" that I'd been meaning to do for a while. In February, I bought these two pairs of earrings that are made from flatware handles. But they were on fishhook wires, which I don't care for. Also, just in briefly wearing them over the weekend when I bought them, one of each pair came off the wire. So I had to either reaffix them to the fishhook wires, or do what I did, which was to change the findings to leverbacks, which I much prefer. Now I can actually wear them ;-)

Then I had some earrings I'd made last fall, when my mother and I were at a Crafty Creations Weekend at Trout Lodge (a YMCA of the Ozarks facility near Potosi, MO). But they didn't have roundnose pliers, only needlenose, and I didn't think I could make nice loops that way, so I just put the beads on eye pins and brought them home that way. I haven't gotten around to actually finishing them, so while I had the findings and tools out to fix those other earrings, I decided to finish these as well. Now they're ready for their close-up, Mr. DeMille.


Yes, there's a bit of a blue and green thing going on -- that's mostly all I wear, and they're my favorite colors generally, so of course those are the beads I'd be drawn to. More additions to my earring wardrobe.