New in April

I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow. 

Abraham Lincoln

Don't faint!  My second post in one day!  I told you I had more to share.

I wanted to share the new things I've started in April.  I know I don't need to start new projects it just happens.  Maybe it's because I finished something and I have to keep my UFO numbers up.  LOL

Back in the fall I shared with you that I had won several prizes during a Blog Hop.  This was the charm pack.  When I needed a break from turning nuts and bolts a few weeks ago these charms  provided a little R & R.  Today I put them up on the design wall and played for a little while.  The project won't be very big unless I add some other fabrics.  I'm thinking it will be a pretty little crib quilt.  I love the turquoise blue prints.

I left the 8 large print squares whole but they may be following the path of the other charms soon.  I don't have an even working number that arranges well.  The other alternative would be to add something from my stash.  So far nothing has come to mind.

Those tulip prints are almost as pretty as my irises.  What do you think?

It's not started yet but I did make a fabric decision for the Grandson's quilt.  The animal print will be the back.  The twins got quilts made with fabric full of dots so I decided to continue that theme.  I'll have to look up the pictures of those quilts and share them with you.  I still need to find 2 or 3 coordinating solids.  I had over half the ones needed in my stash but need a few more.  I'm going to adapt a pattern that has been running in a quilt along recently.  Because I will be using a jelly roll I have to make some size adjustments.  I'll share more details when I get a few blocks made.

Fabric Palette

The stripe at the top right will be used for the binding.  The white dots are the background.

This combo feels right.  The plaids I started working with back in March on this post were looking too patriotic and not like a baby quilt.  I'll have to do something else with them.  You know I can't have too many UFOs.  LOL

Linking with: 

 Cat Patches - April NewFO Linky Party

Patchwork Times - Design Wall Monday

Sew Many Ways - Sew Darn Crafty

Quilt Story - Fabric Tuesday

New FO's for March

I asked the zebra,
Are you black with white strips?
Or white with black strips?
And the zebra asked me,
Are you good with bad habits?
Or are you bad with good habits?
Are you noisy with quiet times?
Or are you quiet with noisy times?
Are you happy with sad days?
Or are you sad with happy days?
Are you neat with some sloppy ways?
Or are you sloppy with some neat ways?
And on and on and on and on
And on and on he went.
I'll never ask a zebra
About stripes
Again. 

Shel Silverstein, Zebra Question

Do you ever feel that you are so behind that you will never catch up?  Here April is almost a third over and I'm just getting around to posting about what I did in March.  Oh well, I have pictures so I'll share and stop flagellating myself.

Now that my new machine is set up I want to play on it.  I also have a number of projects that need attention in the piecing and binding stages.  I MUST learn to prioritize my time better!  I'm constantly amazed by how much some of the bloggers I follow get accomplished.  Maybe that's the problem, I'm spending too much time reading blogs!  LOL   See why I like the quote above?  Do I have too much to do or not enough time to do it?

I know, I know we all have the same 24 hours each day.  God made us equal that way.  I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING BIG in the last few weeks!  Just look at the pictures in the previous post.  It is something I've been dreaming of for at least 15 years.

So what else did I do last month.  I shared a picture for a hint back in this post.  Have you started one yet?

Six Strip Sets all Sewn

 Yes, it's a Scrappy Trips Around the World.  I have a lot of 2 1/2" strips cut.  I went through them and pulled the short ones (mostly) any that were at least 16" long and started matching up sets of 6.

Do you like the way they are turning out?  I'll share my approach and color theory about making scrap quilts if you'd like.  Just leave a comment if you are interested in how I do it. 

Six Blocks all Sewn

Not sure how big this one will be.  I have a good many strip sets matched up to sew.  The directions can be found here on Bonnie Hunter's site.

I'm linking up today with Catpatches March Newfo and Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday and Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

100 Day Hustle

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. 

Zig Ziglar

Did you know that the end of the 2012 is less than 100 days away?  Time continues to fly by at an every increasing speed!  Kelsey over at Kelsey Sews is having a 100 Day Hustle to help procrastinators like me get things done before the end of the year.  So I decided to give it a try.  Maybe I can get the things on my UFO Challenge done as well as a few other things that need to be finished.

Here is what I'm putting on my to do list:

The quilts listed on my 2012 UFO Challenge.

3 Blog Posts for the 3 Blog Hops I'm in the first 10 days in October.

2 Charity Quilts

4 Longarm Quilting Jobs

There is probably a few more things that need to be and will be done but that's all I've got to list today.

Say a prayer for me to stay on task and get them ALL done!  A little extra help couldn't hurt!

UFO Progress

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark .

Michelangelo

I must confess that very little progress has occurred on this month't UFO.  I did however find a backing for it.  After looking through my stash I came up with a handful of possibilities and settled on this one.  It is the right color, it has a masculine look and there is enough of it - and my husband said he liked it best out of the other choices.  What more could I want?  Oh yeah -- to have it finished. LOL

Backing fabric for the Sports Quilt

I did get one other thing done this month in the way of the UFO Challenge.  I GOT PICTURES of all the quilts on my list.  You can see them HERE!

I'm linking to the UFO Report at Patchwork Times.

UFO Challenge Pictures

Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Cyril Northcote Parkinson

known as Parkinson's Law

OK, Now that the year is more than half over I finally get around to posting pictures for the UFO Challenge that Judy over at Patchwork times is doing.  I wanted to get a picture of the whole tops but finally gave up on the idea and just did what I could.  I used my design wall for the smaller ones but I can't get a full length  picture because to how the room is set up.  I think I've figured out a way to do it out on the edge of my deck but since it has been in the high 90's and above lately the idea just lost it's appeal.

So here's the pictures of what I still want to get finished this year.  Of the 12 I started with I have one done, but I have made progress on two of the others.

Sunflower Blooming Nine Patch

1. Sunflower Blooming 9 Patch - The top is together, it may need a border or two. 
The picture shows about a fourth of the quilt but you can't see the center.  It is pretty big.

Margaret's Irish Chain

2. Margaret's Irish Chain - Needs a few more blocks and borders.  
My daughter pieced this one when she was in her teens and working at my shop.  
She did a pretty good job, it was her second quilt.

Here's a close up.

Can you tell she loves animals?

Sports Quilt

3. Sports Quilt - Ready for the Longarm

Cobalt Blue Stars and Burgundy Plaid Homespun

Watercolor Log Cabin

4. Floral Log Cabin - Needs borders, this is a close up shot.  
The blocks are 10" square and it is king size.

5. Fall Leaf Flannel 4 Patch - Ready for the Longarm   FINISHED!!! May 2012

You can see it HERE.

Blue Skies Tribble Trouble

6. Blue Skies Tribble Trouble - Ready for the Longarm.  This one is about queen size.  
It was fun to make and I used a variety of sky prints in it.

Hunter's Star

7. Hunter's Star - Needs borders.  This was foundation pieced and was NOT fun to make.

Hunter's Star Close Up

Hunter's Star Foundation Side

Batik Circles

8. Batik Circles - Needs borders.  
I really love this quilt!!!  I want to do a really good job quilting it.

Circles Close Up

Out of the Bag

9. Scrappy Out of the Bag - Needs borders - Progress: Borders On, Binding Cut.  

This is one of Judy's patterns.

Bears in the Farmhouse

10. Bears in the Farmhouse - Needs final border.  Another of Judy's patterns.

Shortcut to School

11. Shortcut to School - Needs borders.  A Trudie Hughes pattern.

Winner's Bouquet

12. Winner's Bouquet - Blocks Done, - Progress: Center Sewn, Needs Borders, Fabric Selected.

I have the border fabrics pinned up.  Still debating the inner border.  This is a Terry Atkinson design.


That's the list.  I'm linking to the Quilter in the Gap 3rd Quarter Finish A Long 
and Judy's Design Wall Monday
and Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday
and Sew Happy Geek

Spring Report

The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets from it but what he becomes by it.

John Ruskin

Iris Beauties

The iris were early this year but not as prolific as last year  

This was the first week of April.

Fall Flannel Four Patch

Since Summer is officially here now I am going to review what I got done during the Spring of 2012.  Not as much as I needed to, but some progress was made.  My UFO List has not gotten much attention but I did finish the Fall Flannel Four Patch.  Yeah!!  I had gotten it quilted in January and in May I got the binding done right after I did the Construction Zone quilt for my grandson.  I even attempted to do some staging with the pictures.  Let me know what you think.

Misty isn't impressed with quilts

See the Quilting?

The pantograph I used was Ground Cover.  It is just a nice simple leafy one.

Back of Fall Flannel Four Patch

Here is a better shot of the back.  I didn't have enough of any one fabric left over so I used the extra four patches, made a few more and pieced it.  I might have enough left to make enough four patches for a crib quilt if I added another fabric for the alternate blocks, could easily do that with some of my plaids.  Maybe one day or I might kit it for a charity project.

Rainbow Quilt

Tweety Bird Quilt 

I joined a local group that meets once a month to make quilts for cancer patients and NICU babies.  I found these two cheater panels that I had quilted several years ago and had not bound.  I got the binding on them and donated them.  The binding will be sewn down by others who do not quilt but can do hand work.  The idea is that the future owners of them are prayed over and for as the handwork is done.

The Amaryllis were prolific this year.

I've been keeping a journal log of what I work on.  It helps me realize that I actually DO get some things done.  This quarter I've also done these things.  Pictures will come in due time..

1. Pieced the center of a crib quilt using the Flip Flop Block template and Safari prints.
2. Worked on my Iris Circles Quilt.
3. Cut out and pieced blocks for Zen using batiks. About 2/3s done.
4. Cut out 4 backings for quilts to longarm.
5. Cut out and pieced the Carpenter's Star Quilt center.  
6. Pieced and designed a kid's quilt, all done but borders.
7. Cut out 3 pastel quilts from same fabrics using the patterns Hint of Tint, Columbine, and Cottage Romance. Two are queen size, one lap.
8. FOUR  finishes - Construction Zone and Fall Flannel, charity quilts above.
9. Straightened and Hemmed Leaders on the longarm and added Leader Grips. I need to restitch my casings when I finish the quilt loaded now.  I didn't make them tight enough.
10. Pieced backing, loaded and quilted a charity quilt.  Not quite finished.  Interrupted by 3 trips out of town. 

UFO Challenge

The majority of men are bundles of beginnings.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Judy L. at Patchworktimes.com is having a UFO Challenge again this year so I decided to join in and see if it will help me actually finish some of my quilts.  She has a wonderful blog that I read almost everyday and she has a great sense of humor too.

So here is my list of 12 quilts I'd like to get completed this year.  Some are ready for quilting and some are just blocks.  I'll try to add photos soon.

1. Sunflower Blooming 9 Patch - The top is together, it may need a border or two.
2. Margaret's Irish Chain - Needs a few more blocks and borders
3. Sports Quilt - Ready for the Longarm
4. Floral Log Cabin - Needs borders
5. Fall Leaf Flannel 4 Patch - Ready for the Longarm   FINISHED!!! May 2012
6. Blue Skies Tribble Trouble - Ready for the Longarm
7. Hunter's Star - Needs border
8. Batik Circles - Needs borders
9. Scrappy Out of the Bag - Needs borders - Progress: Borders On, Binding Cut
10. Bears in the Farmhouse - Needs final border
11. Shortcut to School - Needs borders
12. Winner's Bouquet - Blocks Done, - Progress: Center Sewn, Needs Borders, Fabric Selected