Hey all…I finished Garlic Knots. I’m so happy because that is another UFO off the list. I think this makes 4 that are finished. I started in July with 12 on the list. I only finished one…and then I had a little talk with myself and have stepped up and kicked it in high gear to get some of these finished.
For those wondering, this is a Bonnie Hunter quilt. It’s a paid-for pattern that can be found on her blog.
I had a great time making the blocks. They were really fun to make as the seams nestle so nicely together. The layout though…ugh. It was totally doable but it took a lot of time as the cross in the sashing has to be carefully laid out. I did a little blog post about how I did it. You can find that HERE.
When this pattern first came out I really liked it. At the time I didn’t have many batik fabrics. It just happened that a blog reader sent me a big bunch of her batik scraps.
They were all 2″ wide and that is exactly what this quilt needed. I used her scraps to make this. A BIG thank you to the blog reader who long ago sent them.
It was a windy day as I was trying to snap a few pictures.
AHH…Well, I guess you can see that I got my planters planted! HA!
I really didn’t pick the colors for this one. Whatever the blog reader sent is exactly what I used. I did add a few background prints but other than that, it was scraps from that gifted bag.
I think the border really makes this quilt. You will notice that the purple printed square in the border is the same fabric I used for the binding.
I made my quilt larger than the original. That made the border not work as written in the instructions. If you want to make yours bigger, I suggest referring back to THIS BLOG POST, to read how I altered the border to still make it work.
It’s a fun quilt for sure. I’m debating. This one might be a donation quilt for a benefit. I think it would earn pretty good money.
It’s hard to know what I want to do with it.
I’m so happy that is now out of my UFO pile and finished quilt. This one plagued me as I didn’t want to do that sashing. I don’t know why I fretted about it. It really wasn’t hard…just time-consuming and I needed to find a method that worked for me to stay organized.
A blog reader wrote to me and was sure I had messed up on the pink and yellow block. I really didn’t. It was simply that the fabric this block was cut from went from a yellow color to a pink. Then I used a pink for the center. It was likely not the bet pairing but…oh well. I did have enough time I could have changed it but opted not to.
If looking at the quilt as a whole, you don’t really notice it.
I’m so happy that I’ve had such a good time cranking out these UFOs. People tell me just give your UFOs away if they bother you…the problem, I love all of my UFOs and I really want to finish them. If I didn’t love them as I do, I would totally be tempted to give them away to a finisher…but, I’m keeping them and will continue to plug away on them.
The backing is a 100% cotton sheet paired with a batik print I found at the thrift store. I put my extra blocks in the back. That’s my typically plan to use them.
I used an eggshell-colored thread on the top and a blue thread for the backing. The quilt was busy so I didn’t want to compete with the color and design so I just did a simple stipple. It works!!
No Rosie picture this time around. She was napping. The girl needs her beauty sleep. Next time I’ll grab one for sure.
I think with this one done…it’s four off of the UFO list. Now that’s something to celebrate!!
You might remember that I’m trying to get real with my UFOs. I am on a push to get 6 finished by the first of July. That would be half of the UFOs I have if I could do it. That would be awesome. It’s not that I’m against UFOs. I just want some space back in my sewing room. Eliminating the totes would give me more space!
So today’s finish started back in January of 2020….
A blog reader gave me a bunch of bonus triangles. They were a bright printed fabric with a gray background. I played around with them and ended up coming up with this block. I was SUPER lucky that I was able to match the gray she had used with a gray that I had in my stash.
I loved the block. It used up a ton of scraps…but then the projects stalled out. I couldn’t come up with a layout that I loved. Another problem…I only had 42 blocks. It was an odd number…not enough for a bed quilt…too many for a baby quilt. I know I could make a lap quilt but honestly, I’m not into lap quilts. We’re all tall big people at my house and for us, we love a twin-sized quilt as a lap quilt.
So it continued to stall.
Then I got all excited about finishing my UFO projects and being these were already in blocks, it would be quicker to finish than some of my other projects…so…I made two baby quilts. These are on the big size for baby quilts. I really make more of a toddler quilt. It’s not recommended that babies sleep with quilts until they are over the age of one so…I like to make bigger baby quilts. When they are little babies they can use these for playmats and grow into them.
It was a dreary day when I took the pictures. The grays ended up looking darker and more blue/gray.
I was working with the number of blocks that I had and wanted to use them all if possible…so I ended up with one quilt in a 5×5 setting and one in a 4×4 setting.
Some of you might remember that I had a little meeting with myself in regards to my UFOs. I wanted more finished. I started the year with 12 on my list. From there I finished one.
I now have three more into tops…and this one, Scrap Vortex is FINISHED. I made a deal with myself. No new starts until I have 6 of the UFOs on my list finished. We’ll see how I do.
So without further ado…Here is Scrap Vortex.
This was a quilt along with Crazy Mom Quilts. You can find out more info HERE about the quilt along. (Scroll to the bottom of the page)
It’s not a fancy quilt…it’s totally a utilitarian quilt. From the looks of the background of the grass and shrubs, it looks like autumn. It’s not. It was just another cold and drizzly day in Iowa.
I started this several years ago…long before Kelli had kids. My friend Connie came to my house for a weekend retreat. Kelli came too. Kelli wanted to make scrap vortex in bright colors. I had planned on making mine in bright colors too…but Kelli didn’t have any bright scraps so, what’s a mom to do? I gave Kelli the bright scraps I had been saving so she could make hers.
I ended up making mine with my dark and reproduction fabric leftovers.
I tried to add a lot of yellow and gold to mine to brighten it up a bit.
I didn’t use a lot of neutral prints. When I did, I tried to make them more of a medium print rather than a white print.
It still ended up pretty dark. It’s okay. It is after all meant to be a utilitarian quilt… Continue reading →
With the finish of my Garlic Knots quilt, I stepped back and decided to take a real look at my UFO projects. It’s ridiculous that I have as many as I do. It’s ridiculous that I make a list year after year and still don’t really jump in and get them all done. I’m not judging everyone else. I’m just judging myself. I hate that UFOs are taking up room in my sewing room. I keep telling myself I wish I had more room so I could everything behind cupboards and look neater but what do I do? I grab a new project and I don’t actually sew on the UFOs.
I decided it is time to get real. Will I actually finish any of these? Is it time to pass them on? Is it time to just buckle down and make it a priority?
Here is my UFO listing from July of 2021. I’m going to share where I am and my thoughts on each of the UFOs.
1-Virginia Bound:
This one is a top…sort of. I have the center section done.
This is the original quilt….
But..when Kelli and I were in Moline for a quilt retreat with the Mississippi Valley Quilters years ago, I saw this one that June did….this…
It’s applique around the outside. I think I want to do something like this. She had awesome quilts for the show and tell.
I love the look and like the challenge of trying something a little out of my box…BUT, it’s out of my box and I don’t gravitate toward picking this up. I would need to take time. I would need to challenge myself. I would need to take extra time to learn how to do the applique. It’s so much easier to pick something else. But…In writing this, I came up with a plan. One of the things that’s holding me back is coming up with the applique pieces. I suddenly remembered Lori Holt has some awesome applique templates.
Now hopefully that will help with coming up with an applique design. I’m one step closer…still far from there but it’s a start.
2-Hawaiian Sunset- I had so hoped I would finish this one…alas.
If you’re a long-time blog reader, you know I’ve wanted to do this for YEARS.
I had hunted and hunted for this magazine and Kelli found it for me at a grocery store and bought it for me. What’s holding me back?? I think it’s because I love the quilt so much. I think their colors are perfect and I don’t have confidence in myself that I’ll pick the colors as well.
I’m not giving up on this one…I think I need to take a day and dedicate it to pulling fabric and making decisions. It’s so much easier to pull and easy pattern. This one needs some time and I’m going to find a way to find it. I think if the fabric was pulled, I’d buckle down and sew it.
3-Garlic Knots- I got sewn into a top!!
I’m celebrating that success.
4-Floribunda- I haven’t touched this.
This is Bonnie Hunter’s quilt: I have most everything here to make this. I collected floral scraps over the years. There was enough for me and Kelli to make the quilt. Kelli ended up taking the fabric and cutting strips for us both.
That’s as far as the quilt got.
It is supposed to look like this. (Picture from Bonnie’s blog) The free pattern for this quilt is HERE.
I can tell you EXACTLY what is holding me back on this one. The border. I love the border on this and there are no instructions for the border. UGH. I think this is another that the border makes the quilt. So what’s a girl to do. I would need to sit down. I would need to make dedicated time to figure out the border.
I am certain I could figure it out…but again, it would take some time. Again, it’s easier to pick a different project that doesn’t need the extra time.
Hey, wait. I think Kelli has made this into a quilt top. I’ll check with her and see if she figured out the border. That’s the plan with this one.
5-Oregon or Bust- Last year I cut up the shirts needed for this but didn’t make any progress in getting it cut out.
This is another Bonnie Hunter quilt. It’s from the book Scraps and Shirttails II. I have long wanted to make this ever since I found Mary from Country Threads version.
I collected shirts for several years as Mary’s version was made with only blue and orange 100% cotton upcycled shirts and I wanted to make mine like hers. I am in love with Mary’s version. I have the shirts deboned but that’s as far as I am.
I really do want to make this. Again…I need some time to see what goes where with this to make it like Mary’s. I need to study her version against the pattern and figure out how to cut it out. It’s a time factor again.
6-Sofie’s Quilt- I haven’t touched this.
This is a quilt of a friend of mine. They found it in grandma’s cedar chest. I’m really nervous about this and just need to quit worrying and try.
I LOVE the design. I’d like to replicate this quilt.
This has stalled again…because of TIME and because I’m nervous about it. It’s one of those, I have to pull up my big girl pants and just DO IT!
This is the quilt I am likely least interested in making at this point. I started cutting this out when I was doing full-fledged childcare and needed to do something during nap time that was quiet. This was the quilt Bonnie finished at the time so I just decided to make it by default. It doesn’t mean I want to get rid of it. It’s just at the bottom of my list to finish at this point.
8-Show Off-
This is a free Quilted Twins pattern. This is a 100% cotton recycled quilt. (Find the pattern HERE)
This one I finished.
I gifted it as a wedding present.
Kelli just made on in all blues…She added the piano keyboard which the original pattern called for.
9-Scrap Vortex is now a top. I did work on this and get it this far.
10-I have this project in the basket on the right, with the red square in the middle. I’d really love to finish that up. It was so fun to make. I haven’t touched this.
I really want to finish this up. It’s one of my favorite projects of the bunch. I didn’t jump into this one as I had just sewn on Scrap Vortex. I love sewing with tiny scraps and crumbs but I don’t like to do several in a row. So, being Scrap Vortex was on the front burner, this one got put on the back burner.
11-Double Wedding Ring Quilt
I hope to get to this soon. I want this finished.
This is how it was. It’s a top now. That last seam is sewn…and I found that binding fabric but that’s as far as I am. Some progress even if only a little. This has been lingering since 2019. It’s time.
The reason this one stalled is because of the longarming. This needs custom longarming and that takes a chunk of time. I wouldn’t doubt it would take me 20 hours. Longarming is likely my least favorite part of quilting so I put it off.
I think the key to getting this completed is to load it on the frame. If it’s loaded, there is no turning back. It will get done.
12-These were started back in January of 2020….
I still haven’t touched these. I’ve yet to grab onto an idea to for finishing the blocks. I’ve designed a couple of things. Readers had sent me a couple ideas but…Nothing has stuck.
These I have been tempted to pass on…but, I sure do like having something like these in my sewing room if something comes up and I need a quick charity quilt or present, so I’ve kept them.
I really don’t think I have any other UFOs besides these that are listed. I have projects I am currently working on but no UFOs.
So…it’s currently the end of April as I write this. I started this UFO list on July 1st of 2021 with the hope of following along with Mary at her Chicken Scratch Country Threads blog as she picked a UFO number and I was to complete that quilt during that month.
Well a couple of things derailed me right off the bat. I didn’t finish the quilt in the very first month. Then I felt bad and fell off the wagon immediately. I tried to jump on but then needed a number that wasn’t chosen to be finished for a wedding present so I was “off” again. Then my cancer and now I cross stitch a lot. So what’s a girl to do?
I came up with this plan…
I am going to get some borders put on Virginia Bound. I’ll start watching a few of Lori Holt’s applique videos and try to get a little more comfortable with applique.
I am going to pull Hawaiian Sunset. I am going to figure out where I am with that and what needs to be done. I am not going to try to make it any bigger.
I am also going to focus on trying to get the three quilt tops through the longarming process.
I am also going to pull project #12 and set it on the sewing room island. I’m going to count how blocks there are and see where I am at with that. I’d like to make at least a single bed sized quilt. I have the matching gray so I could make more blocks if need be and then just sew them together in a plain old setting and quit worrying about the perfect setting. We’ll see. At least if they are on the island, I’ll start thinking about them again. Hmm.
I know several of you will be tempted to tell me to pass these projects on. I’m not going to. I still really like them all. LOTS. When I went through the list I had a big hope that maybe, just maybe, I would find at least one I wanted to part with. There weren’t any. Each has a reason it is still in my sewing room.
Someone might say…”if they don’t spark joy”…well, most of them do.
As I said at the beginning, I am doing this for me. I’m not judging anyone for their abundance or lack of UFOs…you do whatever you like. I just know for me, I want more space in my sewing room. I want to feel more organized. For me, that mean getting the UFOs finished.
My goal is to have 6 of the 12 projects completely finished by July 1st when the Dirty Dozen is over for the year. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it…and what do I do?? I started another quilt. JO KRAMER!! What do you think you’re doing??? You have to buckle down if you’re going to get these UFOs tackled!!
Now hopefully that will help with coming up with an applique design. I’m one step closer…still far from there but it’s a start.
I had hunted and hunted for this magazine and Kelli found it for me at a grocery store and bought it for me. What’s holding me back?? I think it’s because I love the quilt so much. I think their colors are perfect and I don’t have confidence in myself that I’ll pick the colors as well.
I’m celebrating that success.
That’s as far as the quilt got.
I really want to finish this up. It’s one of my favorite projects of the bunch. I didn’t jump into this one as I had just sewn on Scrap Vortex. I love sewing with tiny scraps and crumbs but I don’t like to do several in a row. So, being Scrap Vortex was on the front burner, this one got put on the back burner.
This has been lingering since 2019. It’s time.