A New Year, a New List

Well, happy 2016!  It's been a good year so far and I have been busy quilting already.  I started the year off by cleaning and organizing my sewing room and setting up a better way of storing my stash.  The previous year ended with me trying to finish a quilt for my husband without him knowing anything about it!  Not an easy task to be sure.  The top and backing were completed but the quilting could not be done in time for Christmas.  So, it was presented to him unquilted.  I took it to the long armer at the end of December so I will have a binding project in early February.  I will post photos and the story behind this quilt when it is totally completed.  I am so happy with how it turned out though.  Stay tuned for the preview. 

So, a new year means a new list of things I want to get done.  This year my list contains some new projects, some with new techniques, as well as 12 UFOs.  That number is set since it is designated by the All People Quilt UFO Challenge for 2016. I listed 12 UFOs by month, APQ will pick a number between 1 and 12 which tells me which UFO should be completed that month. More on this later.

MY NEEDS TO DO:

12 UFOs for APQ 2016 challenge - target is end of each month (2/12 done!)
2 mug rugs - target date is end of January March August
1 table runner for our cabin - target date is end of January (done!)
2 baby quilts - target date is mid-February April July
3 pillow cases - target date is 3 in late January March July, 1 in late February April
3 night stand runners - target date is end of May September
1 table runner for foyer table - target date is end of February (done!)
1 large lap quilt will need binding when it gets back from the quilter (done!)

MY WISH LIST:

Double Irish Chain king quilt for our bed
12 Christmas star ornaments
Table runner for my daughter
Holiday runners (10 minute type)
Sudoku wall hanging
Holiday pillow cases (Halloween, Christmas)
At least 1 twin quilt from baseball swap squares
Place mats for cabin table
Several self-binding receiving blankets with flannel on-hand
2 pillows for summer room at cabin


NEW THINGS TO TRY:

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt - use rotary cutter lessons
Hexie table topper using 1 inch hexagons
Scrappy quilt using Accuquilt cutting dies
A quilt retreat
Small applique project


When I organized my sewing room, I also separated my UFOs into their own location.  I find that I get more accomplished when my projects are visible.  These 12 are the ones I selected for the APQ UFO challenge.  They are in various stages of completion.  That was done intentionally so I would be more apt to finish them within the month for which they are selected.  Here are the 12 UFOs that I plan to finish this year:

      √ 2" square stash challenge lap quilt, needs borders, quilting, binding

      √ Batik string bean lap quilt, needs borders, quilting, binding

      √ Lighthouse wall hanging, needs borders, quilting, binding

• DWR hand pieced table runner, 3rd ring needs to be added, then quilted

      √ Christmas lasagna quilt, needs borders added, quilting, binding

• Jelly roll race quilt, needs borders, quilting, binding

      √ Bright table runner, needs quilting and binding

• Tumbling blocks WH, blocks to be added, then borders, quilting and binding
• Churn dash lap quilt, blocks to be finished, then borders, quilting and binding
• Nickle quilt, blocks to be finished, then borders, quilting and binding
• Civil War lap quilt, blocks to be finished, then borders, quilting and binding
• 2015 BOM, Blocks 4 thru 12 to be made, top completed, borders, quilting, binding

The one chosen for January is the batik string bean quilt, seen below.  I have all of the fabrics on hand for the borders, backing and binding.  The borders and backing came from my stash and the binding will be made from the strips left over from the jelly roll used the make the top.  

The borders will be the aqua fabric, the backing is the orange.  The binding will be made from the left over strips from the jelly roll I used for the top.  This was a challenge from the Pat Sloan quilting group.  The challenge required that some of her fabrics needed to be used, but my own could be used as well.  I don't use many batiks but I loved these and I am happy at how the top came out.  I will be glad to get this one finished although I don't know where it will live yet.  It is named "Outside my box". 
















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Finally, the 2015 Finale!

I have been very remiss in posting anything for several many months but I really have been quilting when time allowed.  We have had a very busy travel schedule this year.  We traveled to Florida for our granddaughter's spring break.  This was one way by car and one way by train.  We have also now taken our first cruise ever to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  A one week in Bermuda takes six weeks to plan!  Who knew?  We had a grand time, and yes, I did find a fabric store and purchased 2 yards of pretty, seaside themed fabric.  No plans yet but I will make something special with this fabric!

Then, we traveled to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, one week in May and two weeks in October.  Again, these trips took lots of planning beforehand.  We also have a house in the Pocono Mountains and the great weather brought many visitors who loved to fish and just relax!  Our final trip took us and my sister to Georgetown, Kentucky for a 9 day visit with good friends.  Lots of barn quilts to see here!  One of our most exciting activities was to walk a part of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania! 

I visited lots of quilt shops in NJ and PA that were participating in the Row by Row event.  I managed to collect lots of the license plates from states including Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Missouri, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  They will be used to make a tote bag for my quilting supplies. 

But, I do want to highlight the quilting  related projects that occupied my time since the last time I posted, so very, very long ago.  Many of the quilted items were gifts and so they could not be posted until they were gifted.

These are two flannel, self-binding receiving blankets made for our niece for her new baby boy.  I had never made these before and could not believe how easy they were to make!

This is another of the Easy Striped table runners that I love to make.  The magic comes from using fabric with multiple repeats.  This one is for our mountain home.

This is my first "10 minute" table runner.  I bought this as a kit which came with the outer and inner fabrics.  It took a bit more than 10 minutes but not more than 30.  This was used on my foyer table during the Thanksgiving holiday.  I have other fabrics in my stash for a variety of holidays and seasons that would be perfect for this type of runner. 

This was another project for our mountain home.  It was made with fabric from my stash and is all fishing related fabric.  I had enough to make a pillow sham as well.  This was pieced from large sections of fabric since I did not want to cut the main fishing fabric into smaller pieces.  It was a very large queen size and is extremely warm, a good thing when the temps drop to below zero outside! 

These are two Christmas runners I made for my sister.  Her home was selected for the Christmas house tour and she wanted some runners to add to her décor.  These were placed in an "L" configuration in one of her rooms that was on display. 

This was probably my last project for 2015.  It was a Christmas gift for my husband but still needs to be quilted.  I did not have enough time to get it to the long arm quilter to have it finished before Christmas.  It will be brought to the quilter tomorrow.  It is made of 80 different food blocks.  We have an inside joke in our family that any trip needs to include a "food event" so I thought it was about time to make the Hubs his own "food event" quilt.  He loved it!   Although I realized that it is near impossible to surprise my husband with a quilt when we are both retired and doing things together all the time! 









I am looking forward to starting a new year with a plan to finish some of my UFOs along with starting a few new projects.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it?  My year will start off with a New Year Mystery Quilt where each step will be provided each hour.  I have chosen my fabrics (from my stash) and will have the initial cutting done by the morning of 1/1/2016.  I will post how that went in my first post of the New Year. 

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!!!

Love a Mug Rug!

My sister has recently retired and moved to Delaware to a beautiful new home.  I do miss her since we have always lived close to each other but she keeps telling me that she is only two hours away!  I will be making a pilgrimage next month when we will officially present her with a housewarming gift.  She visited this weekend so I wanted to give her a little something to use while she was reading or watching TV in front of the warm glow of her fireplace.  She loves a nice cuppa tea so what better gift to make than a mug rug!  Or two, or three, or four! 

Making the mug rugs was the easy part - getting the colors right, not so much!  It couldn't be just any blue, it had to be HER blue!  So, I was a bit nervous when I handed her the package.  I think I did ok!  I think.....  She did order two more!  That's a good sign! 

Here are the mug rugs that were stitched with love for her:

The photo on the left shows the front of the mug rugs.  I made two in shades of blue for her living area and two for her bedroom which is black and light tan. 

The mug in the picture was a gift from my sister so I thought it was appropriate to use it in the picture! 

The photo on the right shows the back of the mug rugs.  They all have a bit of quilting which shows better on the back side.   

These are so much fun to make and I certainly enjoyed making them for my sister!  Now, on to fill her order for two more! 

2015 Pat Sloan BOM - Update 1

The BOM seems to be working for me.  I thought when I started it that I would do one block and then get working on other things which would push the BOM blocks further down the priority list until I finally got so far behind that it would fall off the list.  I would end up with a pillow or two, but not the objective I originally had in mind. 

Good news - I am keeping up with the blocks!  Even with all the other irons I have in the fire, I manage to keep up with the monthly block and plan a time to complete it.  All of the blocks will use the same palette of fabrics so that cuts out some time.  The particular colors for each piece are indicated on the pattern for the block so that decreases the decision making time.  So, I have been able to complete each block in a few hours at the most.  Here are the next two blocks that have been completed:

This is the second block and is called "Toes in the Sand".

There was a choice of making the chevron pieces using either half-square triangles or flying geese.  I like using the flying geese since is creates less seams. 

This is the third block and is called "Surf's Up"

This one came together quickly without a hitch!  Now, just waiting for April's block to be published! 

This is a picture of the three bocks together.

I am waiting to see if more of the "red" color in the first block is used in future blocks.  If not, I am considering remaking the first block since I am not too sure about how the blocks are looking together.  Well, it is a mystery after all!  And so, the mystery continues.