UFO Sunday

So, I am still basking in the glory of having finished Winter Wonderland.  I have photos of it taken and am getting CDs ready to send to see if it will get juried into a show...  I don't think it will, but this is the first quilt I've ever made that makes me think I really ought to try.

This weekend, I did the sashing on the Mario quilt, and now the top is all finished up.  Don't look too closely- there are lots of mistakes!  It will be awhile before I quilt it.  For two reasons: first the gajillion seams every inch really scare me, it is going to be a pain to quilt; second the sashing isn't perfect (this is why I never sash!) and it bubbles up a bit.  I think that I should be able to handle that though.  Third: I need to find backing fabric.  I would like to use video game fabric, but the only one I've found so far is Pac Man, and my husband vetoed that.  A friend in Korea is going to look for Mario for me, but otherwise, I will probably just use a solid or marbled fabric.

I also started quilting the words onto Express Your Love.  I've got to say, at least close up - it isn't too pretty.  I'm not going to do any of the other 'ribbons' until Leah demos some other methods (she says she plans too...)

I've also started designing another art quilt.  Our guild challenge is art quilts, so this will take priority over EYL, as I need to have it done I think by June.  I'll post about that as time goes on.

FINISHED Object Alert

Yes! You saw it right here: The snowflake quilt, Winter Wonderland, is DONE.

The quilt as you go was not easy, because I really wanted it perfect.  It isn't perfect, but I think it looks great.  I did the binding by machine, but incredibly carefully- I pinned and pressed each step of the way, and I took 8 attempts to get the 'seamless' (diagonal seam) finish to the binding so you don't know where I started applying it (I usually just go straight across and it isn't very pretty.)  My corners look pretty good, if I do say so myself.   I took all this care because I really want to try to send this quilt to the state fair, and possibly other shows.  I know the quilt isn't good enough to win shows, but after the AQS judge came to our guild meeting I have a thought that maybe it is good enough to get into a show? (And of course, the state fair is open).

Anyhow- want to see a beautiful quilt?  AAAAGHHH!  So excited!

Where is the quilt right now?  In the bathtub....  There is A LOT of starch in this thing, plus I think some water soluble thread is still hanging out from the initial step, and I don't want buggies eating it.   You can see here how bright the pink fabric I used was. The organza really pales it out, not to mention the mounds of white thread.

And of course, label your quilts.  I put a little message on this quilt to remember the stage of quilting I was in when I made it. Really, I was a beginner.  I took my very first free motion stitch just a year before I made this quilt, and I certainly didn't spend the entire year quilting!  This quilt was me saying "you know what, I'm going to get good at this!"  And doing all these designs and all this quilting- I think I can say pretty firmly now: "I'm good at this."

I want to thank Leah for the fabulous pattern, and the 365 project which inspired me to do this (and where I got a good number of the designs from.)


Posts about this quilt:
Starting the quilt
First steps

Snowflake 1, 2, and 3
Snowflake 4 and 5
Snowflake 6
Snowflake 7
Snowflake 8
Snowflake 9
Snowflake 10 and 11
Snowflake 12
Large Snowflake
Beginning Assembly

Snowflake #9

UFO Sunday

OMG!  This is a UFO I am SO happy to be done with.  Now, it isn't a long standing UFO- it is just another piece of the snowflake quilt I've been steadily making progress on... I started this three weeks ago, took it off the machine and set it aside to do the charity quilts, and have been steady working on it ever since.  A three week snowflake!  (To be fair, I spent a few hours with it on the weekends, then about 15 minutes a day the other days, if at all)  Yesterday I finally sat down and really tackled it.

Pebbling is a design I hoped not to use.  Not because I don't like it- I actually think it looks great, but because it takes FOREVER.  There is just nothing that can be done to pebble quickly, and because, unlike some designs it doesn't create really interesting designs that make you want to keep going- I get bored and stop quilting and leave, and that just makes it take even longer...

But snowflake #9 is finished and I have 3 more left to go.

Unfortunately, one of them is this one.  (Note: This is a cell phone picture, not one Kevin took. He would be appalled if anyone thought he took it, as he usually does my quilt photos.)

 I had sketched out an awesome idea based on Bubble Path (but filling in the in between space more densely), but when I sewed it, it didn't work.  I used water soluble thread to try out some ideas that might work to fill the spaces that existed, but none of them looked good.  The only solution left is to rip.  (Normally, I'd just go buy more fabric -I'm out of pink- and make a new one, it would take a ton less time.  But because of the new house, my anything budget is $0, so it isn't possible. I do have an extra piece of organza if this one doesn't make it. But it is slightly different from the organza I used for most of the project, and I was hoping if it is just in the corners for the two squares I needed it for it won't stand out too much. Using it for 3 might ruin everything... already I'm sad this quilt has been such a success, because if I knew I'd rock at it, I would have used better materials - LOL)

Last night I ripped for 3.5 hours, and the picture is how far I've gotten- you can barely see progress.  I did get to watch a disc of Better of Ted though, and I love that show.

Today, no sewing- I have a lot of homework to do.  7 weeks until I'm done with my Master's!  And this morning we stained the deck getting the house ready to rent, and this afternoon I'm going rowing.  It is a busy day, and I have a really busy week ahead.

The craft room is getting packed up, so all I have left are snowflakes, white thread, my machine, and a ruler/cutter for the snowflakes.  No other projects this month! (If I have much time to sew.)  I still hope to do 1 snowflake a week.  The one I'm doing right now is Trippy Triangles.  After that I plan to do some McTavishing, and some Stippling (for the large one).  I need one more design- any suggestions?

UFOs down!

So today is UFO Sunday, and I took it to heart.  First, let's talk about unfinished objects: anything in the sewing room, that is not done.  Even if I'm currently working on it, because once I go work on something else, I'll have to set it aside, making it unfinished!

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2012/08/ufo-sunday-1.html

Here is what I can think of.
1) "First" quilt.  Finished piecing this in 2004ish.  I need to reapplique the center square. I didn't know how to applique at all then.  Then I need to see if it is quiltable (may not be, my piecing probably stunk then) and come up with a quilting plan.  Priority: Low
2) Snowflake Quilt.  Current project, making progress.  Prioirty: High
3) Dresden Plate Quilt:  This project is stalled.  I need more fabric, and have no budget.  I also need to decide if I want to make more plates or quilt blank squares.  I need to determine the finished size, I went into this without a plan.  Priority: Medium
4) Navigator's Compass:  This is just an applique piece, glue basted together.  I need to decide what it is being appliqued on.  Another project I went into without a plan.  Priority: Medium
5) Mandala Wholecloth:  After the feather/hearts wholecloth I traced this.  I wanted to use colored threads to make it like the Mandala designs I loved to color. Priority: Medium
6-8) THREE Charity Quilts: Picked up in July, these need to be turned in at the September guild meeting.  Priority: High
9) Eye Spy Quilt:  I got some of the squares sewn together.  But I've changed my mind.  I want to machine applique them all into alphabets, so this actually has to come apart so I can start again.  Priority: Low

So what did I do?

First, on Friday I attacked the Mandala.  After having a great experience painting, I decided to paint it.  Disaster.  The paint bled into the fabric so badly!  So then I took a more viscous paint and outlined and it saved it a bit, but I decided I didn't like where I was headed.  I took a deep breathe and threw it into the trash.  Project status: Finished.

Today I attacked the Charity Quilts.  Three quilts, DONE!  I think I quilted from breakfast until about 3:00, and knocked them all out.  They aren't perfect- all have some pretty bad wrinkles in the backing  fabric, but the fronts look good.  Two of the quilts are actually quite nice.  The "fall" one was this reall ugly panel, and I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I outlined the panel, but did some design quilting on the outside sashing, so at least the sashing looks nice.

UFOs left:  5

Probably won't make much more progress, as a lot of these rely on buying new supplies.  My quilting budget until about November is ZERO.  All money is being saved to replenish the bank account after our down payment is taken out.  But I have plenty of stash to quilt with (and snowflakes to work on, plenty of thread to go for awhile!), so it will all be worth it for the new big sewing room!