February's UFO Challenge

 It has been determined that this year is the year I am finishing some of my UFOs.  One of my friends agrees with me and has challenged me to see who can finish the most.  We are taking turns drawing numbers and each of us are working on each project.  Last month's project was finished last week.  This month is going to be a bit more challenging for me.

I have five of these Basketweave blocks that I started making in 2014.

And I also have 6 completed (and a few more started) of these applique blocks.

I was initially going to combine the two UFOs into one and make something like this.

I am now rethinking these and might make them back into two projects.  Yikes!

The month is already well on its way so I need to come up with a plan quick.  Later this week, I am sewing with my UFO buddy so I can get her input.

Either way, it is sure going to be a challenge to strike this one off my list!

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April UFO

In an effort to finish up some of my older (and neglected) UFOs, I am participating in the APQResolution UFO Challenge.  At the beginning of the year, I made a list of 12 projects and each month, American Patchwork picks a number, and that is the project you work on for the month.  You may not finish your item but hopefully you at least make some progress on it.

So far this year, I have scratched 3 items off my list!

For April, the number 11 was pulled so I will be getting this project out and dusting it off.  There is a LOT of work to do on this one!   It is actually two projects I am mashing together into one.  The floral applique blocks are from a project I started about a decade ago.  The Basketweave blocks I made using this paper-pieced pattern from Craftsy. 

If you are hesitant on trying foundation (paper) piecing, I use Carol Doak's method.  I still pull up sections of her Craftsy class for a refresher if I am working on something more detailed.  I find it to be a great resource.

But before I can start working on a layout, I guess I will be spending my next few evenings finishing up the needle turn applique on a few blocks!

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Something old into something new!

I have been wanting to make a scrappy medallion quilt for a number of years now.  As I was doing a bit of project organization, I got to thinking that I could probably combine a few WIPs and start putting one together.

With just one quilt, I can cross another bucket list quilt off the lineup and finish two WIPs!

 Remember these pretty  Basket Weave Star blocks I was paper piecing?

I thought they paired nicely with some needle turned applique blocks I made about a decade ago.  

(I think it is time to admit I will not be turning them into the queen size quilt I had originally planned.)

Maybe use the applique as the center medallion?

 Or I can use the Basket Weave Stars in the center and use the floral blocks as one of the outside borders.  Hmm....

I think I will leave them up on my design wall for a bit and see what happens.

But a medallion quilt will be the next project off my quilty bucket list.  Once I decide where I am starting, I will start sharing my progress!

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Taking Stock

I had some time this afternoon and rather than work on my scrap projects, I thought I would take stock in some of the other projects I have going on.

I have been staring at two empty design walls behind my longarm for weeks now.  They are a bit inconvenient to use as my sewing room is in another room but they are great for long term projects.  I thought putting up blocks from all my current projects would inspire me to work on them a bit more and maybe even complete a few of them!

I started by putting up the 10 blocks I have finished on my Park Bench quilt.  I only have 5 more blocks to go then it is on to the pieced backing.  This is one of those bucket list quilts and it is more important for me to finish it perfectly rather than quickly.  

This is my current leader/ender project.  It is just made from leftover charm squares and some bonus HSTs.  Not sure how many I will end up with or how I will set the blocks.  I am really loving the red in this one!

Out also came my english paper-pieced hexagon star blocks.   I have been so hot and exhausted each evening, I haven't worked on this all summer.  I see there is FINALLY rain in our forecast so maybe I will get in the mood to work on a block or two.

I also want to work on my basketweave paper pieced blocks again. (You can find the free pattern here.)  These blocks use tiny scraps, which I got tired of looking at so I cleaned them up.  I need to get them back out and get a few more blocks finished.

Unfortunately, I still have projects tucked away and I ran out of design wall!  And the two design walls in my sewingroom are full too.  Now I just need to decide what to work on!

At least I have a great view to look at while I am working!

Did I already say we might FINALLY get some rain?  I am really excited - we have not had any all summer and I miss it terribly!

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Needs a Bit of Planning

I finally finished another block for my Basketweave Braid quilt.  After quilting all day at my longarm machine, I find paper-piecing a bit too tough to tackle at night so I don't get the opportunity to work on them much.  Add the fact there is a number of pieces to each block, this project is going to take a while to finish!

This brings the total paper-pieced blocks up to a whopping four.  I have been thinking lately how I want to use these blocks.  I know I don't have the attention span to make enough blocks to cover an entire quilt so various layouts have been running though my head.

 I still haven't decided whether to use the block I made with a fun striped fabric.  The colors are perfect but I am not convinced I like it with the pieced blocks.

 Right now I have the blocks laid out on my design wall on point.  I am sure they will get moved around quite a bit over the weekend as I contemplate their destiny.  There are probably at least four more blocks to sew up, but because these blocks are so time consuming, I certainly don't want to be sewing up any that won't work in the quilt!  So I need a plan before I go much further!

How about it, got any brilliant ideas?

BTW - The Basketweave Star block is a free pattern on Craftsy by The ADD Crafter. It is a great way to use up tiny scraps!

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A Friday Finish - FAL

I admit, I am not a summer person!  In fact, I melt in the heat and spend most of the summer indoors dreaming of Fall and cooler temperatures. 

With all the time spent indoors, I was able to get one of my old quilt tops on my longarm and get it quilted up.  This is one of the first quilts I designed.  While the fabrics are really old, I still love the colors and layout of this quilt.  I might just have to make it again using some contemporary fabrics.

For the quilting, I used a dusty plum colored thread and quilted in some giant flowers.  I thought they worked really well with all the large scale floral prints in the quilt.




This quilt is quite a large lap size quilt.  It measures almost 80" square.  I really do hate when my feet pop out from the bottom of a quilt!

On the back, I used a bold striped fabric I purchased when I finished the top all those years ago.  Probably not what I would have chosen for the backing today but I really didn't want to pick something else and have 5 yards of this fabric in my stash.

I did consider momentarily turning the fabric into some basketweave stars. Thankfully, I came to my senses before I started another quilt.  The colors are right so it might work its way into my braided star quilt.

For now it resides on my design wall of long term projects.  All waiting for me to find some time to work on them!

And as I had this project as part of my 3rd Quarter Finish Along goals with The Littlest Thistle, I can scratch this one off the list.  That leaves me two and a half months to finish up the other 3 items.  So far, so good!!

Sharing this post with TGIFF, Richard and Tanya Quilts, Forth Worth Fabric Studio,Crazy Mom Quilts,  Sew Can She, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  And, of course, the 2014 Finish Along with Katy.