Patchwork Times Quilt-A-Thon - Day 4

Well, the weather outside is frightful and the warmth inside delightful!  It's cold here in New York City, 18 degrees and some places got up to a foot of snow yesterday after the early predictions only called for a couple of inches.  DH is still under the weather (pun intended) and DS1 started sniffling (he's the last in the house to get this) so I'll still be on the nursing shift today during this last day of Judy's first Quilt-A-Thon of the year. 

My plans for the day are as follows:
 
Set up more Quilt-As-You Go blocks to stitch on while watching this evening's playoff game. 

 

Evening Update

 

I got five more blocks set up so had ten ready to go for during the game.

 

 

More En Provence work.  I forgot to report yesterday that while cutting strips for the four-patches from what was left of the light neutrals I had originally pulled out, I also cut some strips for some of the later parts of the mystery too.  This way I'd have some of those fabrics for them as well. 

For today, I managed to dig out one more piece of light neutral from my Quilts of Valor stash and few light charm squares so will try to make up more four-patches (or if possible all the rest) needed for the project with these new neutrals and the rest of the more mid-toned neutrals already cut.

Evening Update

 

 

I got another 36 four-patches done (so a total of 147 for the weekend) but will need to find some more light neutrals and cut more of the mid-tone neutrals in order to make more. 



Staying with the four-patch theme,  I'd also like to start on the purple four-patches for Part 3 but we'll see if I get there.

Evening Update



I got strips cut from the dark purples for the four patches and for the later parts.  I wasn't able to get the light purples cut (the game started) so that and the four patches will have to be worked on during the week.

Definitely this evening:  Slow Sunday Stitching the QAYG Blocks while watching the NY Giants playoff game.

Evening Update

 

 

I got three blocks sewn up and with so many more prepped, may try to work on them between projects during the week.  Also finally got into flow on the prep so hope to make setting up blocks a regular weekly thing so they're ready for the weekends all the time. 

But Boo, Hoo, Hoo, the Giants lost (big time)!  Guess I won't be Slow Sunday Stitching through the Superbowl this year!

So a big thanks to Judy for reviving the Quilt-A-Thons and really hope to make time to do this next month! 

Patchwork Times Quilt-A-Thon - Day 3

Well so much for getting an early start to today's Quilt-A-Thon!  DH came home from work this morning and it looks like the bug that's been going around the house is trying to grab a firmer hold of him.  So the day started with nursemaid duties rather than quilting.

In addition it's snowing here and it looks like the 2 - 4 inches predicted is already down and the snow is continuing.  So now I'm really hoping they DON'T call about picking up our car from the shop today!

Now that I can settle in (hopefully for the day), here's what's on the agenda:

1)  Getting back to the En Provence   Part 1 neutral four-patches.  Hopefully I can finish them up today.

 

Evening Update

 

Got another 41 done so now my count is up to 111.  Only 110 more to go (but not today)!

 



2)   Prepping for Slow Sunday Stitching tomorrow

I want to get some of these blocks prepared in advance so I can sew on them while watching the NY Giants wildcard playoff game tomorrow afternoon.  I feel like stuffing the batting in the blocks takes away too much time from the stitching so I can get more of them done if I prep them in advance.  Hmmm, it might also be a good idea to prep some of these for "travel work" for when we go pick up the car too.

Evening Update

 

I only got five blocks set up for stitching. 

 

 

I'm hoping I can get a few more ready before game time tomorrow.

 

Well it was true that given the progress on the previous days and the continuing nurse duties, I didn't  get to much more than that.   Looking forward to the last day of Quilt-A-Thon tomorrow.  Part of  that needs to be setting up what I can work on in smaller increments of time during the week.    That's it for me for today!

Patchwork Times Quilt-A-Thon - Day 2

OK, getting a little late start on my day today.  Yesterday afternoon, DS2 announced that he had friends coming over today.  That meant the need to get the house from "Quilt-A-Thon" clean to "Company" clean.  I was too tired to do it after yesterday's session so figured I'd work on that first thing today.  Now that that's out of the way, it's time to join Judy's Quilt-A-Thon for the day and quilt!

Yesterday I left off with the neutral strips cut for Bonnie Hunter's En Provence mystery:

 

 Today, I'll be sewing them up into four patches and possibly moving on to another part of the mystery if I can.

 

Evening Update

 

Grrr!  A lot of telephone interruptions today so didn't get as much done as hoped.  I managed to get seventy-seven four patches made up of the 221 total that I need. 

 

 

Tomorrow I'll need to cut out some more of the lighter toned neutral strips to finish up the rest of the set.

 

I'd also like to continue the label work and try again to quilt the Cardinals label but we'll see on that.

 

 

Didn't get to the quilting at all.  One of the interruptions was a call from the car dealer about our mini-van that's in for repairs.  Unfortunately, the mechanic that was working on it has a stomach flu (and threw-up right in the shop yesterday -- yikes!!) which explains why it wasn't ready when promised but they're trying to have it ready for pickup tomorrow.  Hopefully, that won't be until late in the afternoon and I can get up early and get a little something done before we have to head out.  So that's it for me today, I'm headed to bed!

Catching Up On Quilt Labels - Part 2

With a little focus earlier in the week for the first two and some help from the Patchwork Times Quilt-A-Thon today for the rest, I got five of the eight labels I needed done for my Labels Pledge.

Flying For Cover

Quilt

 Label(s)

The bottom label is a transcription of a speech called "Lessons From Geese" given by Angeles Arien at the 1991 Organizational Development Network that was based on the work of Milton Olson.  I had come across it when I was making the quilt and immediately wanted to incorporate it into the label.  You can see the same article quoted in a blog post of the Distracted Quilter from back in 2011 (and my comment on her post shows you how long I've waited to make this label!). 

Lincoln/Obama Embroidery Update

This quilt was labeled when originally made (bottom label).  I took some more of the original label fabric and sewed on the second label for the update.

Brrr!

Quilt 

Label 

The label for Brrr! was foundation paper-pieced using Freezer Paper.  It's so much less tedious than regular paper-piecing because there's no paper to tear away.  The design is drawn on the paper side of the freezer paper.   The wrong side of the first piece of fabric is ironed to the waxy side of the template.  Each subsequent piece is then layered right sides together to the previous piece and you stitch along side the folded back section of your design.

The best part is that when you are done and pull the template away from the fabric, it is reusable! 

I had picked out this design back when I finished making the quilt top.  It is  #10 - Square In A Square from a great book called "Foundation -Pieced Quilt Labels" by Linda Causee (ASN 2001).   It was nice to take a look back through the book and note that this is the third label I've made from it.  I also used labels from this book for:

Bits 'N Pieces (2008)

Quilt

Label #21- Chevrons:

I added the little silk flowers to hide the lousy job I did of turning the corners on the label binding.  Definitely a "design decision"!!

Label #12 - Flower Basket on the Alex's Baskets quilt (2009):

Edited To Add:  If you have access to a library of Quilters Newsletter Magazine back issues, there are some more paper-pieced label designs in an article titled "Easy Pieced Labels" in the January/February 2006 issue.

Now, getting back to the current label work:

Vintage Treasures

Quilt

Label



This quilt was partially made from kits from a 2004 Joann's BOM (that story started here).  They offered a preprinted blank label but I never got that kit and since I had substituted one of the fabrics used in it anyway, I decided to make a label with my fabrics but using the same square-in-a-square design.  

I printed the label information out onto fabric when I had finished the top thinking that I would quilt it up quickly.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen until a year later so while I still used the label I had originally printed up, I did write in the actual finish date on it now as well.  I also added some of the extra clamshells I had leftover from the binding around it.

All Spruced Up

This was one case where I needed to make a label because I had cut a small hole in the backing (where the pin is) when I had trimmed the seams of the backing pieces and wanted to cover it up to protect the quilt.

Quilt



I had originally planned to do a more elaborate pieced or picture label.  However, in the interest of getting this done quickly, this turned out to be the easiest label I did.  I decided to just take a piece of one of the fabrics leftover from the quilt, write the label information onto it and sew it on.

The fabric is a little dark so it was hard to get a good picture of the writing but it's there!

Now back to the grind.  I'm still trying to get used to quilting on my old machine again so I can finish the pieced picture Cardinals label I talked about in Part 1.  There are only two more labels in addition to that one that I have to finish to fulfill my pledge!

More Links For Label Ideas

Another good thing that came out of going through the label stuff I have is that I found some more interesting "links" that I had collected in the past about good label techniques.  When I find stuff on the web, I generally print it out and put it in books that I have that correspond to the information. 

So you can find out about doing a "Curved Bias Quilt Label" from Joanna at the Seams Likely blog here.

Note:  "Seams Likely" is her old blog, Joanna now blogs over at Joanna Masko Quilts.

Krista over at the popular Poppyprint blog did a post back in 2011 about:

.....which you can find here!

2/13/17 Updated To Add:

I came across another great article on creating labels by Maria Elkins titled:  Last But Not Least -- Label Your Quilt" that appeared in the November/December 2013 issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine. 

In it she talks about what contact information to supply on your labels, offers great examples of decorative labels and discusses the Lost Quilt Come Home website she founded (a big reason why she is a proponent of labeling).   View the table of contents of the issue here and the back issue can be purchased  here. 

Another Update 3/2/17:  MQU has graciously provided a link to Maria's article on their website which you can pick up here:  http://machinequilting.mqumag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/MQU-13-11-Nov-p14-18-Labels-Maria-Elkins.pdf !

3/2/23 Updated To Add:

Just found another fun way to create a label using scraps of the fabrics from your quilt.  Check out the end of  Pat's post over at her "Life in the Scrap Patch" blog where she explains how she makes these great signature block labels.

Patchwork Times Quilt-A-Thon - Day 1

Woo hoo!  Judy Laquidara over at Patchwork Times has revived her monthly Quilt-A-Thons this year!  It's an excuse to set aside a block of days to focus on your projects.  The first one for the year runs from today through Sunday.  You can see the dates for the rest of the year on the sidebar of her blog.

In the past, it was difficult for me to set aside the time for these and I don't think I was ever able to.  Fortunately this time around (or at least for this one) I'm able to block out the time and participate!  If you're joining in, she has a link-up on this post for the first day of the Quilt-A-Thon.  She is also updating the post with pictures of her progress so I think I'll do the same and link up at the end of the day.  I'd like to get through the whole weekend block but we'll see if that happens!

So far I have two things up for this morning:

Over the last few days I got a couple more of the labels prepped to fulfill my Labels Pledge so I'm going to sew them on.

 

Evening Update:

 

Labels Are All Done!

 

 

 

Took longer than I'd planned -- I had to do the middle one twice.  It's one of those quilts that I thought worked in any direction.  After orienting the label against the center and stitching it on, I realized that the print of the backing fabric had a definite top-bottom direction and unfortunately I had stitched the label the wrong way.  Well, I got a chance to catch up on some shows and documentaries while stitching!

I'm still also hoping to finally get started on "catching up" on this year's Bonnie Hunter "En Provence" Quiltville mystery.  I'd love to have something ready for her final link up on Monday.  I'm going to try to get some cutting done before calling it a night.

 

 I've got the stash and am ready to use it!

Late Evening Update

 

 

 

I've got a lot of neutral strips cut for Part 1 and I'm pooped so am calling it a night.  Tomorrow I can start sewing the strips together for the four patch units.



A New Tuesday Archives Post: 2017 Word of the Year and Goals

Happy New Year!

 



This week, Val over at Val's Quilting Studio is asking everyone to post their goals for the New Year in the Tuesday Archives link up.  I am more than happy to oblige in this annual quilter's "right of passage" as we hope for a productive quilting year.

Word of the Year:  Prioritize

Since planning is still my big goal, setting my priorities is a first step to that.  I've found in the past that I need to get better, on a day to day basis, of considering and setting priorities.  I've come to understand that priorities can (and sometimes have to) change day to day, week to week and month to month regardless of the overall goals set.  So the push this year is to manage that better.

However, that doesn't mean that there won't be those times when "what I WANT to do" will override "what I NEED to do"!  I just need to make sure I take note of that when I re-do the list.

APQ and TBQs

American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine is once again doing their UFO Challenge for 2017.  You make a list and each month they pick a number and you try to get that project done.  If successful, that's (potentially) twelve projects off your "To Do" list by the end of the year.

When I sat down to make my list, I realized that outside of projects that have specific deadlines, all but one of my UFOs were "TBQs" -- that is "To Be Quilted" or close to it because they  need the backing prepped.  I decided to try to give this a whirl.  The first number has already been picked so if you want to join in, make up your list now, go here and get your UFO goals for the year started!

This Just In!  While checking on links for this post, I found out that Judy Laquidara over at Patchwork Times is also doing a UFO List pick.  She's has also picked her first number and ironically, on my list that just so happens to be a quilt designed by her!  However, I believe my APQ pick would be easier for me to finish and a finish will keep me motivated so I'll stick with them on that one.  I will be joining Judy for her monthly Quilt-A-Thons but if you'd also like Judy's help picking your UFO projects, find out what her first pick was here. 

Staring Down The Bucket List

My next big and admittedly ambitious goal is to finish the last four items on my original bucket list.  Why ambitious you say?  Well, those projects consist of some pretty heady quilt designs:  Double Wedding Ring, Lone Star, Complex Applique (in the vein of a Baltimore Album) and a Hand Quilted Wholecloth!  The plan right now is to devote attention to one of these projects each quarter. 

I'll start the wholecloth first since once it's in the hoop, I can take a little time each week for the rest of the year stitching it up.

The Double Wedding Ring is  already half done -- the last time I worked on it, I only got as far as cutting out the border strips for it.  Let's hope this year I can get the border applique done, get it layered up and quilted! 

In some ways I feel the Lone Star is the easiest to piece (can be done by strip piecing) but not to choose!  I've got at least five different versions I want to try (and fabric already in house for at least two) so the one that gets made up (yes, definitely won't be more than that this year!)  might not be a "traditional" Lone Star. 

Up to now, I didn't really know exactly what I wanted to do for my "Complex Applique" project.  That's why it pays to shop your stash or shelves!  Long ago I fell in love with Robert Callahan's applique samplers when they appeared in McCall's Quilting magazine.  At the time they came out, they were soooo beyond my abilities, I could only dream.  However, that didn't stop me from setting up a box and occasionally throwing some "starting stash" into it. 

Now that it's many years down the road, applique is not the scary prospect it was back then.  I'm finally ready to tackle one and try to get that stash box off the shelf once and for all. 

 

All that said, while I'd give better than average odds that at least one of the Bucket List items probably won't make it all the way to the finish line this year, starting is still that much closer to finishing!

But Wait There's More!

Other big projects I want to get to this year are:

Finish my Label Pledge (So far two down, six to go!)

Finish my (first two) Quilts of Valor (and hopefully start on that during this week's Quilt-A-Thon with Judy at Patchwork Times).

Make a Tote Bag For my Featherweight (kit and supplies are already in house)

As noted earlier, I've got some "specific deadline" projects, mostly gifts and for decorating at particular times of the year so have to schedule those accordingly.

Oh and did I mention that I'm trying for the first time to do one of Bonnie Hunters annual mystery projects -- this year it's called "En Provence"?  Well, it's actually not a mystery any more since the reveal came out on Sunday.  I've had the stash set up for a while but the aborted "Holiday Quilt-A-Thon" put a wrench in an early start so at this point I'll be playing catch up. 

The good news is that from what I've read over the years, that's par for the course for most people for her mysteries so I'll be in good company!

As usual, I think I've lined up too much but out of sight, out of mind!  If you'd like to see what your other fellow quilters have in store for their year, hop on over to Val's at Val's Quilting Studio and peruse all the lists!  Have a Very Quilty New Year!!!