NewFOs for January

Although I posted about Barbara's challenge here, I didn't expect to be doing any since I DO have UFOs and am in TWO challenges to finish them!  But a three week stint of jury duty muddled my brain enough to sap my UFO focus and energy and I didn't work on my other challenge projects much.  So what's a girl to do?  Start new projects of course!

My two NewFOs are minis because I figured that they would be quick to make. They were started on Thursday, right after my jury duty stint was over.  By then I only had five days to make my UFO deadlines and with errands to run and other obligations, I really didn't see myself  getting much done on them in that time.  So instead I worked on these babies and over three days, picked out all the fabrics cut and sewed up both.

So the first one is this Mini Twister made with Civil War reproduction fabrics.

It was inspired by the ones made by Jo and Janet.  I have the Large and Small Twister templates from CS Schoolhouse.  I have used the small one to make a doll quilt and helped my MIL make a gift quilt with the large one (sorry, I don't have a picture of that one).   I used the templates as a guide to mark a 2-1/2" square acrylic ruler with the angles (using glow line tape) to cut the blocks for this.  So the finished blocks here are 2" and this top right now measures about 15-3/4" square.  I already have the backing and plan to bind it in the border fabric.  I just have to decide on the quilting.

*Updated 2/1/12
The second one?  Well I hate to be at tease but I can't show you it just yet!  I succumbed to the siren call of Lori's "Pink Lemonade" Quilt Along.  The reveal is tomorrow, so once I've posted there I will update this post with a picture of mine.

I can tell you that I made my blocks smaller than hers--mine finish at 3" and the top right now stands at 12-3/4" x 17".   I'll give you more finishing info after tomorrow's reveal.   You can read more about it here.

The purpose for making these?  I have a featherweight machine displayed in my dining room which is next to my sewing area.

When we moved last year I set this display up to replace the one I had in our old apartment.  There, the small quilt that is now behind the machine, lay on the sewing machine bed.  But now I need to hang it on the wall and it looked too lonely there by itself.  So I decided that I now had a great place for miniature quilt projects and a reason to make some!  I am hoping to do some more in the future and definitely on that list is the "12 Days Of Christmas" mini from Temecula Quilt Company.

Linking up at: