UFO Challenge 2012

OK, I'm going to give this another try - blogging and UFO busting, that is. Where did I get the idea that "empty nest" meant empty life. We dropped Patrick off at Notre Dame a little over 4 months ago and I don't think I have had a busier 4 months since the boys were very little. It's been a wonderful busy but crazy busy.

But the New Year means a new resolution to tackle these dang UFOs so I will make the list and resolve to blog.

2012 UFOs

1. Crayon Box

2. Christmas Pineapple Blossom

3. Twister

4. Blue and White Checkerboard

5. I Spy

6. Sister's Choice

7. Homespun Bear Paw

8. Green Color Challenge

8. Red Four Patch

9. Batik Log Cabin

10. Batik Spendid Stars

11. TLC Juvenile Crumbs

12. 1930s Cobblestone

The terribly embarrassing thing is that only 4 of these are different from last years list. The good thing, most of the UFOs made some form of progress last year and I only have one new UFO. I finished 6 UFOs, made many tote bags, 15 casserole totes, and many baby outfits. Pretty unimpressive but that makes it easy to do better this year. :)

Check out other UFO challenge participants at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

I have finished the few projects that I've recently been working on (what a strange thing to be able to say) so I guess on my design wall today will be my UFO #2. It is my Christmas Pineapple Blossom made using Bonnie Hunter's pattern. And it's a monster. If I remember correctly it's over 100" each side. (The picture only shows what one person was able to hold up. haha) The blocks were all made during a swap and I finished the top Christmas 2009. I want to give it to Tim and Nicole at Thanksgiving so they can enjoy using it this Christmas season.

Stop by Patchwork Times to see what others have up on their design wall this week.

Retreat

We sewed and ate and sewed and ate. Once in a while we slept. We actually went 10 or 11:00 am till midnight or 1:00 am every day.

I am happy with what I accomplished:

The batik log cabin (UFO #8) got it's borders on.

The romper for Paige got made.

And the indigo project got made.

My friends also accomplished a lot. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of everything but here are some.

First stage of Joyce's Twister

Joyce's 1930s Tumbler

Audrey and Beth's Sparkling Gemstones. It's in all Jennifer Paganelli fabrics and an eggplant sashing.

Elaine's completely hand pieced sampler.

Debbie takes a break to give Amber some lovin'.

UFO #9 Done - albeit late.

Yippee. Physical Therapy has been helping alot and I am back to quilting. Finished hand stitching the binding on UFO #9 today. Quilting it left handed was tricky but I am soo glad I took the challenge to get it done.

These blocks were made by members of an online group I have been with for 12 years. They were swapped in 2000. Yup, it was definitely time to get this UFO completed.

Check out other UFO completions at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday - 5/9/11

It's been two weeks since my last post. No sewing going on here because of the stupid elbow but the good news is that Olga, the Millenium, is home. I haven't opened the box yet but APQS promises me that she will be as good as new. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

So, I can't cut, iron or crochet but I'm thinking I can machine quilt lefty. I am certainly not the most proficient machine quilter in the world but I have had my LA for 10 years and I know I can do a meander one handed so I am going to tackle that this week on my UFO #9.

With my luck I will get "tennis elbow" in the left arm. LOL So I will start out doing only one pass at a time to be extra careful.

This should work up to a nice little charity quilt.

Check out other design wall at Patchwork Times.

UFO Challenge - #10 Finished

When Judy at Patchwork Times announced the UFO to work on for February would be #10, I have to admit that I was so uninspired that I considered cheating and switching out my list with something else. The Denim Rag quilt. Yuck. I really didn't want to work on this project. But wasn't that why I put it on the list in the first place? My list consists of some UFOs I really want to work on, some that I really need to work on and then a couple that I just want finished and out of here. Yup, the denim rag quilt is the latter of those. I bit the bullet and dug it out. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that all the blocks had already been X stitched.

Oh, OK, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. I spent a couple of afternoons heaving this heavy monster thru the machine to get it all pieced. Almost done. Then two evenings clipping. No fun and sooo messy. But done. Well, almost. Do I now take it to a laundramat as so many suggest to save my pipes? Ya know, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't pass on my problem to their pipes. So I washed it in a pillowcase in my own washer. Then I dried it in my dryer, setting a timer for every 4 minutes to empty the lint tray. Wow, impressive amounts of lint and threads. When it was dry I shook it out and it still shed so I washed and dried it a second time. Seems good to be enjoyed now. Phew, DONE!

I still don't love it and can't remember why I started it but it is done. It may become a dog bed for the back of the car. It certainly is sturdy enough for my Rottweiler and Alaskan Huskie.

2011 UFO Challenge - #10

The Denim and Flannel Rag quilt - UGH!! I really don't want to work on this project but that's why I put it on the list. I'll never want to work on this project so this is the only way to get it done. Fine, I'll finish it but you can't make me enjoy doing it. HaHa

2011 UFO Challenge - #6 finished

Over at Patchwork Times, Judy is running  a 2011 UFO Challenge. This month's project is #6 and mine is finished - DONE, DONE! It's a crumb quilt that I started probably two years ago. It needed quilting and binding. Done. Thank you, Judy, for motivating us to finish these languishing projects.

Because all the blocks had a foundation piece I was afraid it would be too heavy if I quilted it with normal batting and back. So I used a flannel back and no batting. Well, it's pretty flimsy - not quilt-like in my opinion. But it will make a nice lap quilt or maybe a throw for a hospital bed, etc. Anyway, it will be a charity quilt of some sort.

Head over to Thirty Handmade Days to see other projects finished this week.

Pics of UFOs 7-12

I went down into the Dungeon my sewing studio to take pictures of the remaining UFOs for Judy L's 2011 challenge and I found two projects that I was supposed to have finished by Christmas. Yikes, talk about brain dead. Thanks to the blizzard that came thru on the 26th, the NJ celebration of Christmas was postponed and I now have an extra two weeks to complete these projects:

The String Quilt top Amy made over the summer. It needs quilting and binding.

The Freeze Frame quilt made from Judy L's Quilt for an Hour in Nov 2009 (I think). It just needs binding.

On to the UFO list

I am now desperately hoping that Judy picks a number for January that has a UFO that is close to completion cuz I won't get to work on it for at least another week or so. :0

 7. Red Four Patch

Top completed. Needs quilting

8. Roman Stripes

Top completed. Needs quilting

9. Homespun Bear Paws

Some blocks completed. Haven't decided how large to make the quilt 

so not sure if I need to make more blocks.

10. Denim rag quilt

Blocks made.

11. Blue and White Checkerboard

Half of top made. Need to cut more squares.

12. I spy

Some hexagons cut.

I can see that I am going to have to work on taking better pictures. None of these do justice to the colors in the fabrics.

2011 - the year of UFOs

Judy L is hosting a UFO challenge for 2011 so I am biting the bullet and committing to getting some of these many UFOs finished. Among other things, this blog will be my "diary" of that progress. I hope I'll also learn more about the blogging process. I do not currently have pics of all of my UFOs. For now, I will list the 12 UFOs (although there is no way I will work on a UFO in December) I hope to complete this year, along with any pictures I currently have:

          1. Christmas Pineapple Blossom

          2. Crayon Box Quilt

 

          3. Sisters Choice

          4. Twirling

          5. Batik Log Cabin

          6. Crumb Quilt

          7. Red Four Patch
          8. Roman Stripes
          9. Homespun Bear Paws
        10. Denim Quilt
        11. Blue and White Checkerboard
        12. I spy

     
Melinda

"People with goals succeed because they know where they're going."
-- Earl Nightingale