Scrappy Spider Web

At our annual quilt retreat in September, my sister pulled out an old project to work on -- a spider web quilt that she had started umpteen years ago.  She managed to finish enough blocks to make her happy and then gifted me with the remaining white triangles that are used to make the string blocks.  I guess she thought I don't have enough projects of my own to finish.

Last week she found some more triangles somewhere in her stash, and she put them in the back seat of my car when I wasn't looking.  When I saw them, I was reminded that I hadn't put this project on my list for the 2012 UFO Challenge.  I thought I better start working on it before January rolls around and Judy  picks a project number to start working on.

So.......

I dug out my scrap bins

 and got busy.

The blocks go together pretty quickly, but I soon realized I would need to put up a design wall to play with them.  I had bought a roll of batting for a design wall many months ago but hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it.  It took me several hours to find the staple gun that I had purchased for this project -- and about another 15 minutes to staple the batting to my sewing room wall.

This is so much more fun than laying them out on the living room floor.  Here they'll be a daily reminder that this project needs more work!  Not great lighting for pictures, especially at 5pm on a cloudy winter day, but I do love that I finally have a design wall to play with my blocks.  And I love my sister for giving me her unwanted triangles!

2011 UFO Challenge Progress

I was able to complete my December challenge quilt and then had company here for Christmas to help with a photo.

This quilt was a two month challenge -- I completed the top in September and this month I met my challenge of getting it quilted and bound.  It was quite a challenge for me to quilt one this large on my sewing machine, so I kept it simple and did some "in the ditch" quilting.  I found the free pattern for this at Judy's site.

The back is a combination of homespun and flannel.  The quilt is for my nephew Dan, so he can decide if he wants to keep his toes warm with the flannel end or flip it to the top when his head is feeling cold.

 It's fun for me to see how much I accomplished in 2011 -- thanks to the challenge from Judy of Patchwork Times.  In addition to the twelve monthly challenges, I managed to squeeze in a few baby quilts along with two lap quilts.

Two of the quilts still need to be quilted -- on those my challenge was only to complete the top.  The quilting and binding has gone onto my 2012 challenge list.

Now if only I can resist the urge to buy more fabric and continue stitching at this pace, I may be able to substantially reduce my fabric stash in this lifetime.  If I live at least as long as my parents.

2012 UFO Challenge

I've been waffling about joining Judy's UFO Challenge in 2012; but I'm so pleased with what I accomplished in 2011, it's hard to resist.  I'll hope for another successful year. 

I thought I'd have to dig deep to come up with 12 projects for the year, but it was no problem at all.  I haven't actually dug them out to take pictures, so I'll just post my list for now.

1.        Goose in the Pond  -- The blocks are made for this quilt.  I hope I can find the fabric to sash, border, and back it!

2.       36 patch quiltalong  - I think I have about 6 or 8 blocks made so far --  I need quite a few more but they're fun and fairly quick to make.

3.       Finish quilting ice cream quilt  -- Piecing this one was one of my 2011 challenges.  I'm looking forward to finishing this one so I can put it on my bed!

4.       Verna HST quilt  -- a baby quilt top that needs quilting and binding.

5.       Churn Dash -- This one got bumped off the 2011 list so that I could work on The Brown Quilt.

6.       Quilt from a class in Duluth about 20 years ago -- I need to get it quilted.

7.     Scrappy patch quilt I pieced in 2011 -- my newest UFO needs quilting.

8.       Snowflakes Quilt  -- One of the 2011 UFO's that I managed to finish piecing.  Needs quilting and binding in 2012.

9.       Blue and Yellow Scrap Quilt  -- Some squares that have been cut and need to be made into a quilt.

10.   Wool table runner  -- I need to find this and see what needs to be done. 

11.   Floral appliqué wall hanging  -- some piecing needs to be repaired so I can finish this one.

12.   Flannel rag quilt.  OK -- I guess I did run out of UFO's.  This one is just a stack of fabrics with a vague plan.  If I find another actual UFO before #12 is picked, I may swap this out.

I'm looking forward to another productive year.  I'm supposed to have more time now that I'm recently retired, but I haven't noticed an increase in hours yet.

Flying Geese and Christmas Past

I took some time to relax between Christmas activities yesterday and managed to quilt and bind this baby flying geese quilt.  Maybe it's the season, but today it makes me think more of a forest of Christmas trees.

 

It was pin basted and I needed the pins to baste my December UFO Challenge project so I thought I better get it done.   The candy cane stripe binding has a bit of a Christmasy look to it too, so I enjoyed working on it with Christmas music playing.

I didn't have a piece large enough for backing, so I pieced together what I had -- more Christmas charm with the red and green.

And here's a little memory from a Christmas past.  That was a year I got my first pair of figure skates and no longer had to use the black hand me down skates from my brothers.  I'm pretty sure I had peeked and knew just what was in the box -- and I probably had a pretty good idea of who was behind that white beard.

Nov UFO Challenge Quilt

Yes I did finish it -- actually a couple weeks ago.  It just took me a while to get a picture of it.

This quilt was made from scraps that were left from an earlier quilt.  Obviously I must overbuy fabric when I can do that.  Although, the white was added to the mix to make it stretch.  Even then it didn't stretch too far.  The quilt is about 55 x 65 -- big enough to snuggle in for a nap but for a bed it would only fit a toddler size at most.

Nothing fancy happening on the back - but I do love the cherry fabric I found on sale.

So far I'm 11 for 11 -- thanks to Judy at Patchwork Times for the motivation! 

The project I originally chose for December will wait for another year.  It's funny -- I had hoped this would be the one that would wait and be chosen in December, thinking I would have time to do a little bit on it every month.  That never happened, and I do have "the brown quilt" that really needs to be quilted.  I'll swap that in for December and hope I can end the year 12 for 12!