Starting Yet Another Finishing Challenge!!

..but this one I couldn't resist! 

Sinta Renee of the Pink Pincushion blog  (and also of the Schnibbles Parades with Sherri of A Quilting Life blog) has started a weekly challenge to work on BOMs each week.  This year, this is right up my alley.  And my project will be these (well at least the first three):

So how did I get here?  In the Fall of 2010, I signed up for three BOMs:  Aunt Grace Circle of Friends, Jan Patek's House & Garden and the Civil War Chronicles.  To my credit, I finished the Aunt Grace top last year and the Chronicles blocks are done up to the final month.  I had hoped to have had the top done by the end of 2011 but there has been a delay by the fabric manufacturer in getting the key fabric for the last month's kits to the BOM vendor and they are STILL waiting for their shipment to arrive!  So for that one I get a pass.  And the Jan Patek ? Well, it's on my 2012 UFO Challenge list for Judy at Patchwork Times and its number has not been called yet so, I get another pass...for now!

And although tempted by BOMS like this and this, I vowed not to do another until these three were finished.  Except there's been a lot of people talking about wool projects and you know how quickly Quilter's ADD can set in.  Then I heard talk about a wool and Japanese taupe BOM.  Hmmm, two quilt genres I have not tried yet.  Then at the start of this year, when I saw that the BOM was being offered by Primative Gatherings but had started in November, I thought I had saved myself.  But seeing that the blocks were sent in three month installments, I made the mistake of inquiring if it was already too late to join in.  Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your perspective) they too had a delay in fabric shipments so had actually only just started the BOM in January.  So see, I had to do it since obviously the quilt gods are working hard in my favor, right?

And so the first kits have been sitting because I am SUPPOSED to be working on UFOs.  But I figure that since I am supposed to be trying to keep the UFOs down, it would be a far, far better thing that I do for my quilt project cupboard to start this (albeit with the encouragement of the chance to win prizes) than it would be to let it sit and "simmer" longer, right?  That's my story and I am sticking to it!  These are supposed to be weekend projects so let's just see what actually gets done!

Healing & Progress

Well, the bandages and the tenderness of the thumb wound were down enough this past weekend to attempt to go back to the quilting tasks.  First up, I decided to try my hand at hand quilting "Pink Ginger Lemonade", the second of the two minis I had made back in January.

I had figured the hurt finger was actually an opportunity to try to perfect a technique. When I had decided I wanted to learn to hand quilt, I had heard all the stories about the need to develop a callous for your under side hand to protect against the needle pricks. Then sometime in 2008 or 2009 I saw the video of Jean Brown showing Shar Jorgensen (of Quilting In the Heartland) her hand quilting technique using the "Aunt Becky" finger protector and a thimble with a recessed tip. It made perfect sense to me (and you can see the video and the tools I talk about here). But when I took a hand quilting course in the Fall of 2010 at Quilt University, I found it difficult to just use my middle finger with a thimble to drive the needle and the thumb just to balance it. Instead I used my middle finger and thumb to drive and a leather thimble on my pointer finger to push the needle through.  This time I figured that my bandaged thumb might actually prove to be a better fulcrum now so tried the technique again.  Here it is in the hoop:

I used a cotton batting so my stitches are still pretty huge but I did get a better feel for the way Jean does the stitching.  Although another review of the video tells me that I've still got some adjusting to do:  I have been using the traditional rocking motion with my needle but if you watch the video, with the Aunt Becky tool you don't need to do that.  Well the good news (for another post) is that I already have another project where I'll soon be able to try it again.

In any case "Ginger" got finished and now hangs with its buddies.

By mid week, the gauze bandages and finger tip splint were reduced to just a couple of band aids so after I finished "Ginger", I decided it was time to go back to the DWR I was piecing when I got injured. I was wrong in my last post: not being able to pin is not what makes working on a DWR slow going, it's all those durn curved seams and intersections!  I can see that this one will take some time to get the top completed but every piece added makes me more excited about seeing it done.  So a couple more melons were added with many more to go:

Remember, this Saturday is the annual "National Quilting Day".  On "Quilty Pleasures", Quiltmaker magazine's blog, they made some great suggestions for how to spend the day.  But you can also just head to your sewing space and do what you like best!  Happy Quilting to all and to all a good night!

Leap Day and March 1 Sewing

Thank goodness for Leap Day!  Having spent most of the month working on the donation quilts, I didn't get much time to spend on the Patchwork Times February UFO pick (#1) which for me was my Double Wedding Ring quilt. The last time I had worked on it was in the Fall of 2010.

Back then, I had started working on the layout of the center blocks but the had to put them away in favor of other projects.  When I recently pulled them out the box they were stored in, I see I didn't do a very good job of putting it away in an organized manner.  Fortunately,  I had the blog pic to guide me and I reworked the applique block placement.

I had already put pieced rings on one center and got another one done on Monday.  But then I was waylaid by an injury Monday night and Parent Teacher Conferences at DS2's middle school on Tuesday so Wednesday was the first chance I've had to get back to this.  Unfortunately hampered by the injury (to my thumb), it's hard to do any pinning so I spent all day and only got one more done:

But with the ring centers up on the wall, I am getting real excited about this one.  With limited hand mobility and all the curve pinning that needs to be done, I probably can't get much more than one done a day.  So since Judy announced the March UFO Challenge project yesterday, I've come up with a new plan.

The March project is #8 which for me is my "Bouncing Colorblocks" swap quilt that needs to be quilted.

Since I am already 0 for 2 on the UFO Challenge, my plans for March are to not only complete the quilting for the March project but to play catch up on the projects from the first two months as well.  I'd really like to go into April completely up to date.

But since "detour" has been my middle name since last year, of course I already have an adjustment to the plans:  for the next few days, I need to focus on my Crumb blocks:

Jo's last "Crumb Along" reveal day is this coming Monday.  The great thing is these blocks are being freezer paper pieced and don't need any pinning so they are perfect to work on while my thumb is out of commission.  So I'm putting my nose back to the grindstone to try to get something done for March!

NewFOs, a UFO and a Donation

Two finishes this week and both for a good cause.  Back in August 2011, Victoria Findlay-Wolf of BumbleBeans, Inc. and quilt designer Pat Sloan put out a call for more quilts for the BASICS organization that helps transition the homeless to new housing.  I've contributed before and knew I wanted to send another donation.  I had a top on hand that I was willing to donate so figured it would be a cinch to get it quilted up by the late November deadline.

Best intentions aside, that didn't get done.  So I promised Victoria that for the next distribution event, I'd send two quilts.  Of course, then the challenge was what to make.  Fortunately Joann's had a big Winter Warm-up sale in mid Januay at which I found a 2-1/2" strip set of mottled solids and some coordinating background and backing fabric perfect for a new project.  It also helped that right opposite the fabric display was the quilt book display and I was able to find a pattern I liked and even better, it was in a book I already owned.  That resulted in my NewFO for February:  Spinning Tops & Flowers!

It is my variation of the "Spinning Tops" design from Pam & Nicky Lintott's book "Two From One Jelly Roll Quilts".  The Lintott's design had the blocks set right next to each other but I had to add sashing to mine to make the variety of colors I used work.

The second part of the promise was the top I had on hand (the UFO) called "Flowing Silk".

It was a Connecting Threads kit for their "Sweet & Sour" line that I had purchased in 2010 to re-purpose one of the orignal kit fabrics for use in another project.  The replacement fabric, the one in the dark purple columns, and the backing were purchased at Hartsdale Fabrics and worked perfectly with the CT fabrics. 

So I feel good:  a NewFO, a UFO and a quilt donation -- it's a triple play!  I had to work right down to the wire because the distribution day is Friday.  I finished up the binding on both and had to launder the quilts on Wednesday and just barely made it to UPS to ship them off for delivery today.

In other NewFO news:  one of my January NewFOs is also finished and has been placed in its designated spot.

I quilted the Civil War Mini Twister quilt on the Sunday before Valentines Day and hung it up right away.  The other January NewFO mini "Pink Ginger Lemonade" is still awaiting hand quilting but hopes are it will also get done and get to join its pals soon. 

Hopefully now I can get back to what I really need to be working on: the PHD and Patchwork Times UFO Challenge projects!


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February NewFo is a Flimsy!

Once again, I have another project for the NewFo list at the end of the month. 

I am supposed to be working on UFOs but this time I have a good reason for this diversion:  this top is going to be quilted and donated to the BASICS Quilt Gather for the upcoming March distribution day.  Last summer Victoria Findlay-Wolf of Bumble Beans, Inc. and quilt designer Pat Sloan teamed up and put out a call for donation quilts for the BASICS organization.  At the time, I already had this top (pictured below) pieced and had planned to quilt it by the November deadline. 

But then I didn't meet the deadline and to make up for it pledged to Victoria to donate two quilts this year as they approached the final 100 quilt goal.  Victoria recently posted an update about the project and an upcoming distirbution day.  Fortunately, the post came just as I was finishing the new top.  So the goal over the next two weeks is to get the two tops I have quilted, bound, washed and mailed out.  For once, going off course has its advantages!

Uh, oh, February's UFO is #1!

Judy posted the number for February today.  And that means, I've got to get back to work on this....

my Autumn Double Wedding Ring that I stopped working on back in December, 2010.

Right now it is here:

Needless to say clearing this box out would do wonders for the top of that bookcase.  I would love to get this one done but am already behind for the year.  Can I do it?  We'll see.........

Pink Ginger Lemonade

I have always wanted to participate in one of Lori's doll Quilt-A-Longs.  Up until now my CW stash was tied up in other projects.  But last year I finally got those projects done (well, to the flimsie stage anyway) and now have stash to spare.  Here is my version of Lori's "Pink Lemonade".  With my deeper pinks and darker gold alternate squares, I decided the taste of mine would be closer to "Pink Ginger Lemonade" and so it is named.

I made my blocks smaller, finishing at 3" because I already have a place to hang the quilt when it's finished and needed it to be smaller than her original design.  I had a choice between two background pinks in my stash and choose this darker one because the other one was directional (a stripe) and I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with that with these blocks.  I also liked that it went with the two charm squares I had of the even darker pink that I also used for some of the blocks and I liked the way the two looked together.  This gold was the only one I had in my stash that worked with the dark pink.  I stretched my churn dash colors a bit using brown, blue, black, burgundy and purple prints for those blocks.

Trying out border choices

When I finished the top, I swore the gold was also the perfect binding fabric but hanging it up along side it, I wasn't as thrilled.  I tried the striped pink background fabric, liking the way the stripe Lori used for her binding looked--but mine was only o.k. and I felt it would add too much pink to the finished quilt.  I also tried the lighter gold fabric, which at one point I liked then later I didn't.  So I have since ordered another gold print with a little white in it that I hope will work for backing and binding.

I'd love to hand quilt this one like Lori did (and use the newly learned skills I gained in 2010), but we will see if that happens.  This was fun and quick and I hope to get to do another in the future!

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