I have been on a HUGE roll at getting things done. I ended up finishing the longarming on this. The binding got cut and put together.
From there I bound the quilt. I have the pictures of this taken and hope to get a blog post about it together for Saturday publication.
Do you remember the little meeting I had with myself last week about my UFO projects? If you missed it, you can read about it HERE.
Well, that was just the chat that I needed because I ended up pulling out one of the projects and I worked on it…
and did some math…
and worked on it some more…
and worked on it even more.
I put a couple of sewing sessions into it.
Look what I have to show for my hard work…
Not one…
But two small quilt tops. I originally thought to make one but then decided that I’d make two small ones and then have them here for charity donation or for baby gifts. I’ll tell you more about them once I have them both quilted and finished.
I’m just thrilled to have this UFO kicked to the curb. Of course, I do have to do the machine quilting yet but that’s do-able.
The project is all cleaned up. All I had left were these…
After that, these went right to the quilting machine. A simple stipple to finish these up.
At the same time, I loaded enough backing fabric so I could run both quilts through the machine at the same time without having to unload and then load the second quilt. I took time to piece some batting scraps together.
These are both trimmed and bound.  All I have to do is take pictures and write a blog post about the finished quilts. YAHOO!!
How is that for pounding out a UFO?? I was so happy with myself.
After that, I pulled out my Virginia Bound quilt. That is another one that is on my UFO list. This one has been a UFO for a long time. I told you that I have been contemplating doing some applique around the outside.
I saw someone else do a green outer border and then they did the applique on that. I have little to no experience with applique. I pulled this dark blue and have been contemplating using it…but then I had a bunch of questions…
Is it too dark?
Will the applique show up on it?
Do I want a narrow border first?
Do I do the applique and then attach the border or do I put the borders on first??
AHH. I wish I had more confidence with this.
I did buy these…Lori Holt’s Simple Shapes the Granny’s Garden edition. I thought getting these might help give me the nudge to figure out a design for the actual applique.
>>>STOP THE PRESSES>>>>>>
The plan for this has changed. It has completely changed. There is a whole story that goes with the change but I am going to save that story for its own post coming soon. I think you’ll all agree that Kalissa and I came up with a PERFECT plan for this quilt.
I won’t be doing applique and that’s totally okay. The new plan is perfect and I’ll save the applique for another project someday.
While I was ruminating on the Virginia Bound quilt and waiting for a plan, I pulled yet another UFO…LOOK AT ME GO!!
I pulled the one on the right.
This started out as a few blocks. I had about 60 blocks done. They are string/crumb blocks. What makes this top a little different is that each block has a little red square set on point in the center.
Sometimes I put off projects like this because they are so messy…but I love them.
I sat down and made twenty-some more blocks.
I’m constructing this a little bit differently than most quilts tops. Typically we want like fabrics away from each other so we don’t put the blocks together until the very end. I’m doing this in a way that I want like fabric together. It’s an experiment and I’m giving it a try.
I got the 60 blocks sewn together…then I made more blocks.
I’ll explain it all a little better in an upcoming blog post. By Thursday evening, this is what I have together. At this point, it was about 1/4 done. This would be about one quadrant’s worth of work.
When I’m working on a project like this I often don’t use black. This time around, I decided to throw it in.
I am loving this project and am so happy to be back at it.
The project is my new morning project. I sew on it in the morning until Gannon comes and then while he’s here I iron and trim the pieces so they are ready for the next morning sewing session.
Later in the week, I had two days with no Gannon so I went to town on sewing this.
By the time Friday had rolled arounf I had made even more progress…by Saturday even more. I ended up this far along…
I am working on a plan for this. I think I’ll be adding another row or two. Then a narrow inner border of red…then an outer border of crumb blocks with no red in the center. We’ll see. It’s still early in the planning.
All I know is that I’m SUPER excited with my progress and I’m loving the jumbled goofiness of the whole quilt.
My UFO push didn’t end there. I made a backing for this quilt top and it’s all loaded on the frame and ready to quilt. That is this week’s job.
I’m feeling SO much better about my UFOs…and I only worked on them for a week. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel after a month. I hope I can keep this momentum.
That’s what I worked on last week. This week I plan to get this quilt machine quilted and hopefully get my crumb quilt top finished. That would be awesome if I could accomplish that!! Fingers crossed!!
You are so inspiring Jo. All the quilts are so beautiful
writing to you from Israel. enjoy reading your blog immensely. just one question : who are the cresco ladies?
Cresco is a town north of my home in Iowa. They do LOTS and LOTS of charity quilting.
Gosh Jo, there’s no stopping you now! You’ve accomplished loads! I love seeing how they all come together.
You got so much done, wow! I just love seeing the results of your UFO party.
Way to go Jo, love all your quilts.
Spent some of my week cleaning up Wild Blackberry patches and putting down grass clippings. Worked a little on cleaning out the weeds that are popping up in the flower beds. Cleaned out garlic chives that were in the Rhubarb and saw yesterday that the asparagus is peeking up.
Working on a queen size quilt of the Antelope Canyon pattern.
Keep on tackling those UFOs
All I can say is wow! What an amazing, productive, colorful week you’ve had.
I love the wonki-ness of that colorful quilt!
Love and prayers
Love all the progress you have made this past week, wow! the crumb quilt with all the red centers is super cute and I might attempt my first crumb quilt……using your red idea. Keep on going, you’re on a roll.
I like reading how your thought process works as you make your way through he UFO stack. By the way, I noticed the African Violets on glass shelves in one photo and would love to hear update about them sometime. You got me hooked on that hobby and it’s been both lovely and challenging…
You a one woman machine! I can’t believe what you got done ! I love the crumb quilt and I’m looking forward to seeing that one done. It is so bright and happy! There is so much to look at and I like your idea of having like fabrics together. It give the eye something to follow. There are so many things to look at in that quilt. I like the others as well but the crumb is really the stand out!
When I got to the end of your post I said out loud “Yay Jo”!!! Once you set your mind to something you give 100%, I love that about you. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the Virginia Bound quilt. I have a part in your quilt with the gray sashing as I think I sent you some pieces a few years ago. I love what you did with them. Have a great week.
Wow, Jo, you area definitely on a roll. It is so fun to see all your progress and the beautiful quilts you are making. That last one with red centers is very interesting! I like it!
There must be something in the air. I finished the binding on 2 large quilts, put together a pillow for a friend and put 30 blocks I had made into a quilt top. All done yesterday. Oh, and I put together 2 outdoor chairs. It was a busy but productive day! Thank you for the inspiration and motivation to do it! Now I can actually start something new! Can’t wait to read about your new finishes! Great Job!
You will ready when another nursing home asks for a honor quilt. Happy Quilting.
You have done great-fantastic. Some times we get on a roll and just accomplish a great deal. I’m cleaning out closets and cabinets for a few weeks trying to get things neat. I’m also putting some time into quilting too. I imagine your gardening will start soon and that always takes up time. Your quilts look wonderful, you are such a great quilter!
I think sometimes when we have to take time to figure something out about the project, like the math or how to quilt it, we put it aside. I had a quilt top that I knew what I wanted to do but wasn’t confident to do it. 2 years later I did it. It turns out with the thread color I used no one would have even noticed if I messed it up.
Keep going Jo, you inspire all of us.
Great job!!!! Love the crumb quilt. I have been gifting my crumbs to others…..I think I will start keeping them and work on one likes yours, lol.
Way to get motivated on those UFO’S!! I don’t know if you have a name for the one with the red squares, but Kaleidoscope would fit. I love it!
After reading all of Jo’s crazy UFO progress I was so tuned in to quilts that when I read about Rita’s garden cleanup I thought Wild Blackberry was the name of a quilt! Come to think of it, Grass Clippings sounds as though it could be a string quilt, too. Even Rhubarb and Chives takes me to thoughts of rosy red and green. Any more garden quilt color combos out there! ; )
I noticed your violets in the background of the “sewing messiness” picture (which doesn’t offend me at all). I’d love an update about your violets. All I have blooming here are my hybrid dandelions. Oh! Purple/pink and yellow/gold fabrics with a touch of green…a new quilt? OK, back to reality and my list of errands…not to mentions the UFO’s that live here.!
W
Only is a good discription of the crumb quilt
FANTASTIC week! Congrats :-)
I love doing a side by side load of smaller quilts (12f frame). I can quilt 2 at once with half the advances.
Wishing you a fabulous week.
You are amazing, hopefully some of your motivation will come my way! Your crumb quilt is going to big.. I love it. Keep going… and going…
I’m glad that Virginia Bound has a plan. But in answer to your question about doing border appliqué before or after attaching the borders, take a look at Gladi Porsche’s wonderful blog. She does lots of appliquéd borders on pieced quilts, and always does most of it before attaching the borders. She only does the corners afterward. Here’s the link: https://gladiquilts.wordpress.com/
Go, Jo, go!!! You made some fabulous progress. Looking forward to the reveal posts!
Remarkable progress Jo! Love the crumb quilt with red centers. I’ll have to piggyback on that idea if it’s ok with you. I just pieced a crumb quilt probably a quarter of your size. Feels good to have crumbs into something usable. Thanks for your never ending inspiration.
GO FOR IT GLORIA!! I love when someone takes my ideas and uses them for themselves!
You are on such a roll! I wish I could get going like that but I get stuck when I get to the quilting. I don’t have a longarm and don’t have the patience to quilt much on my DSM, so my quilt tops have been accumulating. I love piecing the blocks the most but it’s a shame that I can’t finish the quilts and use them.