Now looking toward 2019

As the year winds down I have found myself looking toward making next year a more productive year on the home front.


This will be a long post and I am linking up with Quilting JetGirl for the #2019PlanningParty.


As I mentioned in my last post I want to do more of my own projects. . . some of which have been languishing for more than 20 years!  Like this one:

Here is where I left it when I last worked on it.

Then there are the quilt tops that have been hanging around just waiting to be finished:


This table runner has been basted for probably close to 10 years. . . it is time to get it done.

This was a class sample that I started over 13 years ago (it was definitely before we got married).  It deserves to get out of the bag.

This quilt top needs to have the final borders put on.  This was started, again, before we got married. . .it is way overdue to be finished.

This also was a teaching sample. . . and has been basted for more than 10 years.

And another class sample. . . . this needs to go on the long arm and get some swirly quilting on it.

These next 2 blocks are part of a group of 9 blocks that I made, hmmm, probably close to 20-25 years ago.  The background that I used is not what I would use today. . . but I am not going to re-do the blocks.  It will be a nice sized wall hanging when completed.

This was a pattern (sorry, don't remember the name off the top of my head) that we used at one of the first New Life Island retreats we did. . . and we have been doing those for 13 years so it is an "oldie"; but I love the colors.

Another table runner.  The top has been completed. . . it just needs to be finished so that we can use it.  My husband purchased this Three Stooges kit at a quilt show. . . a long time ago!

This was a kit that I purchased, don't remember when, and I think that the border is on but I will have to unearth it in order to double check.

Another kit, I don't think I got this little quilt past this stage. . . but I still like the blocks and the colors so it should get done to grace my wall.

This was a paper piecing project that has never gotten past this point.  I think I got stumped as to what I wanted to do with it.  It was interesting to piece and I think I was planning on using it over a rod (hence the plain portion at the top which would not be seen). . . this needs some decisions made.

This was another teaching sample. . . for a one day retreat at Franklin Lakes Baptist Church.  It would make a great donation quilt for a man.  It needs to get finished before it can bring comfort to anyone though.

Another kit project that saw the top finished and set aside.  Are you sensing a pattern here?

Yet another retreat sample.  Another one day retreat at Franklin Lakes Baptist Church.  This was for a discussion of Amish quilts. . . mine was made to represent colors used by the Amish in the Indiana/Michigan area.

This was a program, who knows how many years ago, that supported breast cancer research.  The top is complete. . . it just needs to be finished.

This was a pattern test that I did for EvaPaige Designs.  I may have to send this out because I think it is larger than my long arm can handle.  This puppy is *huge*!

This is a quilt that I am making for Mr. Books using some of the fruit and vegetable fabrics that he has been hoarding (otherwise they won't get used. . .he's worse at finishing than I am!)  It is an Eleanor Burns pattern that was very easy to make. . .it needs to be finished so he can use it when he watches TV in the Laz-E-Boy in the living room.

This was a Stash Bee block swap.  I want to make it a little bigger so I need to get a few more blocks made up so it can be moved along.

This is my Beaded Curtain quilt. . . .well, at least it is the blocks for it!  I have wood grain fabric for the borders. . . I just need to get going on it.

WOW!  Without really thinking about them I have shown 20 UFO's that I have. . . . and I know that there are probably another 20 or 30 that I forgot about. . .and that does not included the kits that I have.


So, my goals for 2019 are as such:


#1


Set aside Sunday for slow stitching. . . .like embroidery, cross stitch, hand quilting and
stitching bindings down.  This will move things along but allow me to spend time with Mr. Books in the living room instead of always being in the basement sewing area.


#2


Work on organizing my work space.  This will probably be a multi-year project, but it needs to be done.  I have to weed out things that I do not want/will not use/will not make so that I have both more room and less guilt about what I have.


This will also help with any move we make down the road after retirement.


#3


Donate at least 3 quilts to a charity.  I would like to do more. . . but starting with 3 works for right now.


#4


Limit swap, mystery quilt, quilt along, sew along, etc. participation.  This will give me the time to work on my own projects.  There are a few that I plan on participating in. . .but I need to change my mindset about things. . . . and limiting the extent of paperwork that I have hanging about.




If I can stick to these goals I should have a much more relaxed year and get at least some things accomplished.


Only time will tell.


In peace and pieces,


Sherry


This content was originally posted on the quilt blog Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. (www.bookshookssticksetc.blogspot.com). If you are reading this on any site other than the original or quilterblogs.com it is WITHOUT my permission and the content has been stolen.

It's my turn to be a Quilt Qwazy Queen

Good Morning,




Marian over at Seams To Be Sew is great at gathering wonderful people for the Blog Hops that she runs.










In Honor of National Quilting Day (which was March 17th) she has assembled a great group of Quilt Qwazy Queens!  How is that for a double alliteration!










She suggested a theme of UFO's (UnFinished Objects) for us.










Do I have UFO's?  Oh, you betcha I have UFO's. 









Granted, some are kits that have yet to be opened. . . but there are quite a few items that were started and then stopped for one reason or another.








Why do I have UFO's?  Well, because I am Qwazy!
 






Actually, I have UFO's because I have the attention span of a dog. . . . all of about 2 minutes.  And then something else catches my eye, or imagination, and I am off to pursue the "latest and greatest". . . . and yet another UFO is born.








Lately, however, I have been trying to curb my tendency to get distracted so that I can get some of these things done.  With retirement and a possible relocation looming in the "too quick coming" future I want to clear out as much as I can so that we don't have to move everything that has accumulated in our lives.








In fact, in both January and February I was able to complete 2 quilts. . . . one of which had been languishing for at least 7 years. 








This one was done in February and given to a banker friend that was having her first baby.  The quilt top had been done for at least 5 years.

 This is the quilt that was in process for at least 7 years.  But it was completed and sent out to California for the quilt drive for the wildfire and mudslide victims.

Now, in March my goal is to complete a felted wool table runner. . . .that I have had in progress for close to 20, yes TWENTY, years.

Here's what it looked like at the beginning of February (it was a secondary goal for me for February):

 

And here is what it should resemble when I am finished with it:

Here is where it is at the moment, well at the beginning of March since I have this posting scheduled to go out on my day:

Why has it taken me so long to finish this?  Well, intimidation is a good word.  The funny thing is, once I did some work on it I did not find the process all that hard.






I think I have been my own worst enemy when it comes to this project and I just need to "git 'er done" at this point because it is Qwazy to leave it go unfinished any longer.










Now, I am not the only Quilt Qwazy Queen out there. . . . Marian has assembled quite a few of us.  Please visit the rest of the gang to see what they have been up to:

Thursday, March 15, 2018

 | Quilting Queen Online | Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats |
| Melva Loves Scraps | The Quilted Snail | 

Friday, March 16, 2018

| FunThreads Designs | Elizabeth Coughlin Designs | Quilting with Vanda |
| Life in the Scrapatch | Thrift Shop Commando |

Monday, March 19, 2018

| Just Because Quilts | MooseStashQuilting | Pumpkin Patch BC |
| Quilting Affection Designs | Ms. P Designs USA |

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

| Words & Stitches | Sew Many Yarns | Quiltin’ Grandma’s Blog |
| Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. | Adventurous Applique and Quilting |

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

| Kathy’s Kwilts and More | Seacoast Quilter |
| DesertSky Quilting | Seams To Be Sew |

And here are the giveaways,








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In peace and pieces,






Sherry










This content was originally posted on the quilt blog Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. (www.bookshookssticksetc.blogspot.com). If you are reading this on any site other than the original or quilterblogs.com it is WITHOUT my permission and the content has been stolen.

More stitching on a Saturday. . . .

Yesterday was a good day!  Well, for me and more sewing.  The weather was not that good through most of the day. . . but it did clear up pretty nicely in the late afternoon.

In my continuing quest to complete UFO's I moved 2 projects further along:

This first picture is the last 4 blocks of a "Buck A Block" program that our guild did. .  .oh, I'm thinking at least 6-7 years ago.  The blocks are mostly paper pieced using Thangles for easy triangles.

We had a choice of either Civil War fabrics or 1930's reproduction fabrics. . . .I went with the Civil War fabrics.  I think the blocks measure 7" finished size. . . .I don't have the directions with me upstairs so I'm not sure.  But I do know that the entire piece, including sashing and borders is a good baby quilt size; so the blocks are not that large.

I had to laugh because in the final directions there was a certificate for a percentage off the cost of the fabrics needed to finish the quilt (border, backing, batting). . . . while there is no shop name on the paperwork I have a feeling that the shop has long since gone out of business. . . which, unfortunately, has been the result to many shops that I used to frequent.

I am hoping that I have enough left over muslin to at least do the interior sashing strips so that I don't have too much a difference in the color of the muslin.  I am sure that I do not have enough to do the outside sashing. . . but I will try to find as close a match as I can.

As for the border fabric there are several stores that carry a lot of Civil War fabrics and I am sure that I will have no problem getting something.

This next project is an even older UFO. . . . it is from a retreat that a guild I no longer belong to ran.  It is a felted wool table runner.  This is the picture that was included in the kit that we purchased at the retreat:

I have finally finished cutting out almost all of the pieces that I need . . . I think I have 4-5 more leaves to cut but that should not be too hard.

Last night I started laying out the pieces to see how may spacing was going. .  .things looked pretty good so I will start do the blanket stitch on these pieces first to lay the ground work for the rest of the pieces.

This will probably be a travel project so that I don't have to lug my sewing machine, cutting mats, etc. with me.  Mr. Books & I have a couple of longer trips in the planning stages and I would rather travel light and possibly get something done than bring everything and get nothing accomplished.

There is more sewing that I would like to get done before the weekend is over. . . . so I'm going to get to it.

In peace and pieces,

 


 This content was originally posted on the quilt blog Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. (www.bookshookssticksetc.blogspot.com). If you are reading this on any site other than the original or quilterblogs.com it is WITHOUT my permission and the content has been stolen.

Busting my stash & UFO's in February (and beyond!)

 "I, Sherry V.  (quilter who is drowning in UFOs and fabric) am joining Quilting Hottie Haven's second annual DaGMT (Drop and Give Me Twenty) event, and pledge to quilt for at least 30 minutes (or until my fingers bleed) every day of the month of February, 2013. In doing so I hope to reduce my number of UFOs and stash of fabric by either finishing them, tossing them or re-purposing them in order to reclaim my sanity and let go of the guilt of not working on them at all. 

My main objectives (as in where I plan to start) are:

A.  2nd gift quilt (up to and including quilting).  The binding & label will be done by my partner in crime.

B.  Stack and Whack quilt to flimsy stage (this is needed as a sample for a retreat --- we are "previewing" it later this month.

C.  Catching up on block swaps that I am late on (due to family issues. . .but late nonetheless)

D.  Working on other projects as time permits.

(I think Beth Helfter is brilliant for coming up with this concept and inspiring me to join - I had to add that, Beth wrote it !)."


In peace and pieces,
 

FNSI --- I actually did something!!

I actually got quite a bit done for the little bit of time that I had to sew last night.

First, we have "From UFO's to Orphans":

This block is for a swap in Block Swap Adventure, so it won't be an orphan for long.

This block was from a block of the month (BOTM) program of a quilt guild that I belonged to in.......
2002 --- yes, I like to let me fabric "age" before doing anything with it. 

 .
This is another BOTH that I finally got around to sewing ---- I don't have a date on this paperwork but I think it was a different guild.

Now we go into the "From Fabric to Small Quilt top":

This was a kit that I got from Connecting Threads....can't remember how long ago.  I am hoping to get the top completed today so I can get it into a "flimsy" pile.  I had thought to hand quilt it but there are so many seams that come together I don't think I will be able to do that.

I think I am the "Queen" of kits ---- or, at the very least ---- a high-ranking Princess so that is where I am going to be pulling my projects from for a while.  I really need to clear out the basement; it seems like it might be easier to downsize the kit stash first and perhaps work leader/ender projects between them from my fabric stash.

If you would like to see what other quilters were up to last night check out this blog for a listing of everyone that signed up.

In peace and pieces,

I have TOO many UFO's!!!

Ok, I knew going in to 2011 that I would have to make a concerted effort to trim down the number of UFO's that I have.

I KNEW I had a LOT of UFO's. Oh boy, do I ever have UFO's!!!!

I signed up for Judy's UFO Challenge --- this covers 12 UFO's.

I signed up for Nancy's UFO Challenge --- this covers an ADDITIONAL 10 UFO's.

I signed up for the UFO Challenge on the Stashbuster Yahoo Group (add the above 22 and raise at least another 15 or so. . . . .).

Have you been keeping count?? That brings me up to 37 UFO's (at least).

But I have a problem. . . .and it is ONLY January 6th!!

I can't locate the UFO that was originally scheduled for this month's work from Nancy's Challenge. I've looked in a lot of tote boxes. . .found tons of UFO's that I hadn't thought about in quite a while. . .but couldn't locate the 18 blocks (12" square) that were part of the Color Swap from 2009.

So, rather than pull out even more tote boxes and get myself even more depressed with how many UFO's I have I did what any self respecting quilter would do. . . I changed the list!! he he he he

Therefore, instead of working on the Color Block Swap I am going to be working on my Kimono Medley wall hanging that was started at a class at The Quilter's Barn close to 20 years ago!!! No, wait, actually it was probably MORE than 20 years ago. . . because I don't think I was at my company when I worked on it. . .and I have been at the same company for almost 20 years.

I will post pictures later this evening. . . as soon as I get them in the computer.

In peace and pieces,

Starting off the New Year right. . . .

I've logged my goals on my sidebar. . . and hopefully I will be able to cross many of them off before the end of this year.

I've made a start. . . .I had an afghan UFO that I started prior to getting married (that was 4 years ago) and I worked on it a bit yesterday. . . .it should be completed shortly since I am making it as a sofa throw so the length just needs to be a bit longer.

As with every new year, I'm off to a great start. . . . just have to keep up the momentum.

In peace and pieces,

On the Road Again!!

Gee, it seems that lately most of my postings have been telling you that I am not going to be posting! LOL

DH & I (and Mr. Wiggles) are heading out early Sunday morning for a week's visit to Hancock, Massachusetts. We will be staying at a time share property at a ski resort & will not have computer access (since we do not own a laptop) unless we can get to a library with internet access.

I plan on taking several crochet projects that have been lingering in my UFO pile for much too long. . . .one is the circular baby afghan that I have shown pictures of previously -- once it is finished I will post another. Then I have a scrap yarn afghan (the Jacob's Ladder one that I have also posted previously) and a couple of doilies that are in half finished status.

It would be nice if I could find some hand piecing to bring with me. . . but I think I may just bring the rail fence baby quilt that I got from our quilt guilds Free table and just never got to finishing the quilting on --- it is more than 1/2 way done & there are several babies coming soon that it could be gifted to.

Other than that I hope to be able to find lots of flea markets, antique shops, "old time" country shops and the like to nose around in . . . and I will try to take pictures to pass on.

I have pictures of my nephew from Halloween but haven't uploaded them yet. . . will try to get to that before we leave on Sunday.

Stay warm!

Sherry