UFO Busting #130

 

Happy Saturday!!!  I hope everyone had an amazing holiday!  This week, I celebrated the finish of my Red, White and Blue Stars and Stripes quilt.  You can read more about it here.

My main focus this week has been working on my two versions of the Out West Quilt.  With the help of many Christmas movies, I was able to get all the bits and pieces for the quilts put together.

My focus now will be to finish both quilt tops before the end of the year.  Now I need to decide if I will participate in the 2021 mystery quilt.

While I'm contemplating that, lets take a look at last week's party.  Celebrating a finish last week we have Kathleen at Kathleen McMusing and her finished Barn Quilt. 

I love everything about this one!  The colors, the blocks and of course the quilting.  This was a quilt that could have very easily became a UFO thanks to 2020, but Kathleen persevered and is celebrating a beautiful finish.  Make sure you swing by and check out this beautiful quilt and congratulate her on her finish.

Next up we have Gail at Quilting Gail finishing up her last UFO finish for 2020 and it is a cutie!

I love the orange peel design in the four patch blocks and all the different motifs in the background blocks.  Make sure you hop over to Gail's and congratulate her on this UFO finish.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and show us if you made the nice or naughty quilting list this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Star and Stripes--Finish

 

I'm super excited to share this finish!  With Christmas right around the corner you would think I would be showing you a holiday themed quilt.  And you are right, just the wrong holiday.  I beat to my own drum.  I purchased those lovely blue fat quarters back in the spring and wanted so badly to turn them into something.  With a little help of the 101 Fabulous Small Quilts book and some stash fabrics, this little wall hanging was born.

Before quilting could start and I to decide on over all or custom quilting.  Since it is so small I went when custom with matching threads.

I found the perfect colors in my Aurifil thread stash, #2021 Natural White, #2783 Medium Delft Blue and #2260 Red Wine (my personal favorite name)

All of the ruler work was done with Natalia Bonner's 4-N-1 Mini Quilting Ruler.  I love that it allows me to easily switch from stitching straight lines to curves without stopping to look for three other rulers.

When it came to the white stripe I knew I wanted to do something a little different, thread wise.

So decided on this spool of Aurifil #3852 Liberty to create the chain of wonky stars.

And for a little finishing touch, I had to go with a flange binding.  It is my favorite way to finish off my quilts.

I'm not exactly sure what I will do with this one.  Gift it?  Sell it?  What I do know is that I had a ton of fun creating it.

To-Do Tuesday #19

 

The Tuesday before Christmas and for once I don't feel like I have a million things to do.  I have to say I am looking forward to a slow paced holiday and relaxing.  That doesn't mean I have been slacking on my to-do list.  

1) Photograph finished wall hanging and write post.--Done

It took a few days for the weather to even kind of cooperate with me, but I got a few pictures and the post is written.  It will post later this week.

2) Quilt and finish the squirrel Christmas present--Done

I can't wait to gift this little squirrel gift!  I will share it with you once it has been gifted.

3) Piece on Out West BOM--Yes

After pulling everything out this weekend, I found I still have 2 sets of four blocks and the setting pieces for these quilts.

I managed to finish 2 sets of the four this week.  I'm on a roll and don't want to stop!

4) Begin quilting on T-shirt Quilt--yes

I am about 1/2 way finished with the quilting.  Because of my wrist, it's still a slow going process.  I feel like I will definitely have the quilting finished before the end of the year.

5)  Piece Charming Christmas Quilt--No

I really really want to start this project.  I am in the Christmas mood!  But by not starting this one, it allowed me to focus on list items that have been on the list longest.

This Week:

1) Quilt on T-shirt Quilt

2) Finish piecing blocks and setting pieces for Out West Quilt

3) Baste 2nd baby quilt for my co-worker

This week I'm keeping the list super short and simple.  If you have some free time, whip up your list and join Roseann and Sue over at Home Sewn By Us and show us all what you are doing.

UFO Busting #129

 

T'was the Saturday before Christmas and all through the house, fabric was flying!  Quilters everywhere are trying to finish that last minute gift.  I managed to sneak in a small gift myself that I'll show you once it's gifted.  And I was able to slowly start quilting on the Tshirt Quilt.

I've decided on a big soft stipple.  Slow and steady will in the race on this one.  

An item on my to-do list that I've been over looking is the Pat Sloan Out West Quilt.  I've fallen really behind on this one and didn't exactly remember where I actually left off.

So I pulled out my blocks and determined I still have four blocks (8 total for the two quilts) and the quilt setting pieces to assemble.  

I would love to have both of these pieced before the start of the new year, but we shall see.

Since I can't show you my Christmas Squirrel just yet, how about we have a look at Rebecca's over at Rebecca Grace Quilting?  It seems like at last week's party, she just might be the squirrel whisperer.  She's chasing them like crazy!

These tumblers must be full of go-go juice because after getting them all cut out, she went crazy with the 5" squares.  I personally love what she's doing with the squares, however, she would love to hear your ideas on how to use them.  Make sure you pop over to see what all else is going on and let her know your favorite way to use those squares.

Next up we have Donna Lee, and you know what?  It's really beginning to look a lot like Christmas at her house.  As she has been hanging some Christmas cheer (in the form of quilts), she has been working on this...

I just love those fabrics!  Whoever this little beauty is for, they are sure to love it!  Make sure to stop by and check out her festive wall hangings and the yummy loaf of home made bread that came out of her oven.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you've been up to this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

To-Do Tuesday #18

 

You know the old saying, "the dog ate my homework."  This week I feel like "the squirrel ran off with my list."  It's Tuesday and it's time to check in with Roseanne and Sue over at Home Sewn By us and see how successful we were with our weekly goals.

Last Week

1)  Focusing on resting my hand--check.  Is it better? No.  So I will continue working on this one.  It's frustrating, but necessary.  I am finding piecing is okay.  So I create a ton more UFO's?  Linky party security.

I did find myself this nifty little gel wrap that you put in the freezer.  It's so much easier than trying to hold an ice bag in place.  I can even wear it at work while I type.

2)  Finish binding on Red, White and Blue Quilt and write post--half done.

I got the quilt all bound and finished.  I just didn't catch daylight hours to photograph it.  I think our area will see some snow tomorrow and it being my day off, will be a perfect time to snap some pictures.

3)  Piecing on Out West Quilt--no

This is where I blame the squirrel.  Instead of working on this project I found what will be the cutest little Christmas present for a friend.

It's paper pieced and for me that's always a challenge.  But this project was too cute to pass up.  

This Week

1)  Photograph the finished wall hanging and write post.

2)  Quilt and finish the squirrel Christmas present.

3)  Piece on Out West BOM (maybe if it's on here enough, I'll actually pick it up)

4)  Begin quilting on T-shirt Quilt

5)  Piece Charming Christmas quilt

Making lists can be great fun!  Santa does it every year.  If you haven't played along, the new year is coming up.  Create a new habit.  Join in over at Home Sewn By Us and start crossing things off that list each week.  Then come back on Saturdays and show us your progress, finishes or how you goofed off that week at the UFO Busting party, held here.

UFO Busting #128

 

Happy Saturday!  I hope everyone had a super productive week.  I did manage to finish up a project (no post yet).  I put the finishing touches on a wall hanging that I hope to put up for sale in a local shop.

I will show you lots of front facing pictures later this week.

The rest of the week was spent icing my wrist and chasing squirrels.  I swear, I don't need any more quilt distractions in my life.  So what had my attenetion?

Look at this adorable little raccoon I found in a magazine designed by Mary Hertel at Made By Marney.  Bum wrist of not, I've got to make this little fellow by Christmas.  I have the perfect person to gift it to.

And then there are these cute little Christmas fat quarters I found.  I  have been jealously oogling at all of the versions of Fat Quarter Shop's free pattern, Charming Christmas.  This simple little charm square quilt is definitely on my lengthy to do list.

Let's take a look at last week's party and see what all you guys got to-done.  We had Anja at Anja Quilts celebrating a UFO finish last week, with the Beothuk Star quilt.  

I love how the oranges and greens just pop in this quilt!  And let me tell you, she is rocking the hand quilting.  Make sure you stop by and congratulate her on this finish and find out how you could make one of your own.

Also celebrating a UFO finish this week we have Rita over at Quiltpiecer.  Rita was able to finish up her Bobby Dazzler Quilt.

I love this color combo together.  It just always feels sweet and romantic to me.  It makes me want to grab a picnic basket, a bottle of something bubbly and just enjoy a warm breeze and gaze at the clouds on a warm spring day.  Whatever you do with it, you have every reason to love this finish!  Make sure you swing by Rita's and congratulate her on this finish.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you've been distracted by, I mean working on this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

And continuing with the theme of Tishmas at work, I will be taking my co-workers a Tishmas present today.  We are constantly having the great debate of what do you want to eat for lunch???  Since we are the smaller Saturday team, we usually get lunch out together, but no one wants to decide.  

I was too tired to make a spinning wheel, so I came up with the next best thing...a See and Say food decider.  Hey the Brake's Dairy Queen may sound like a parrot and the Dominos Pizza may sing you a song, but we never have to make a decision about lunch again!

To-Do Tuesday #17

 

It's Tuesday and that means its time to check in over at Home Sewn By Us and see what kind of progress was made on last week's list.

1) Finish red, white and blue quilt--almost

The quilting is officially finished.  Most of the binding is sewed down.  Really all that is left to do is connect those ends and sew the binding to the front.  This will more than likely be my main focus for the week to come.

2) Work on the Out West quilt along blocks--no

3)  Start quilting the T-shirt quilt--kinda

I got the edges basted with the walking foot and the quilt made its way to the Sweet Sixteen machine.  So I 100% consider this forward progress.

This week's list:

1) Focus on resting my hand.  I've been having hand issues for a few months now, but I've finally got the point where writing is tricky...so maybe its time to do something about it.  My main focus this week will be resting it when I can and icing it A LOT.  

2)  Finishing up the binding on the red, white and blue quilt and writing a post about it.

3)  Piecing on the Out West quilt.  Quilting definitely seems to aggravate my hand, but piecing seems to be easier on it.  So to keep from going crazy, I hope to at least stitch some pretty fabrics together.

UFO Busting #127

 

This week has flown by and sadly there wasn't hardly any quilting for me at all.  Actually, none.  I have been participating in To-Do Tuesday over at Home Sewn By Us and I did manage to squeak out some goals for the week.  Have I touched them?  No. But I'm hopeful to start working on the list today.  I did however create myself a little header picture for the posts, going forward.

Before I completely jump into Christmas crazy, I thought it would be fun to celebrate some fall projects from last week's party.  First up we have Gretchen at Gretchen's Little Corner and her fall charity finishes.

Like a squirrel storing nuts, she has been whipping up easy breezy blocks and found that she had enough to make not one, but two quilts to donate.  I think that deserves a large round of applause!  Make sure you stop by and tell her so!

Next up we have Donna Lee who is also working on a fall themed charity project.  I am in LOVE with this sweet little pepper kitty!

Which serves as a reminder, even the spiciest (wildest) kitties can be love mushes with patience and love.  I have no doubt that this little piece will bring in lots of money to help with the care the volunteers provide.  Make sure you stop over and cheer her on as this project comes together.

Now it's your turn.  Link up below and show us what you have and haven't been working on this week.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Speaking of kitties and once feral.  The boys helped me put the tree up this year.  We had a long talk and everyone has agreed, there will be no climbing.  Maybe some ornament batting, but no climbing.

I can totally trust them.  Right?

To-Do Tuesday #16

 

Nothing feels better than crossing things off the list!  I think that's why I love To-Do Tuesday so much.  It's fun to link up each with week with Roseanne and Sue at Home Sewn By Us to see how everyone made out with their week's plans.

Last week's goals

1)  Finish piecing the "real" baby quilt and bonus quilt--Done

Super excited with how both of these turned out. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to share full views of them quite yet. 

2)  Make a few more masks for co-workers--Done

I honestly thought I might make 5 or 6, but after scoring some really fun fabrics, I made a total of 20.  I can't wait to gift them to my peeps today as our December 1st holiday present.

3)  Dig out Christmas Shirts--Done

I had to persuade my daughter to help me dig out my heavy totes, but has happy to discover, I now  have enough Christmas themed shirts to wear one each working day till Christmas.  Sometimes it's the silliest things that make us happiest.

4)  Finish quilting red, white and blue wall hanging--no

I almost made it.  I still have two  more blocks to quilt and it will be done.  I've been having wrist issues for a while now and I really thought, this weekend I could pull it off, but I  had to stop.  We shall try again for a finish this week.

This week's goals:

1)  Finish the red white and blue quilt for real

2)  Work on the Out West quilt along quilt

3)  Start quilting the Tshirt Quilt