Sunday, April 30, 2017

Just in the Nick of Time....

I need to get some better photos during daylight hours, but I am totally relieved to have my 365 Block Challenge quilt finished--by the end of the month!!!
I was beginning to have doubts that I could get this finished, but I finally got there! 

My label is from a Downton Abbey label panel.
Confession: it still needs to be stitched down--just glued in place right now. 

I was lucky to find a piece of  navy "Quilter's Linen" by Robert Kaufman in my stash for the binding. 
There's a lot more quilting than I originally planned. Well, truthfully, I didn't have a plan beyond getting it done, which was my big hang up. So glad it's finished!!
The 365 Challenge quilt was my One Monthly Goal and is also on my Finish-A-Long 2nd Quarter 2017 list. 

Friday, April 21, 2017

Friday Update...

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth--I've just had my face buried in machine quilting.
I'm not even half way through with quilting the 365 Challenge quilt. I am determined to get it finished before the end of the month, but I've had a lot of distractions. 

One thing I did finish was Block 7 for the Primitive Gardening quilt. 

This past Monday was the first 2017 Stitch Therapy group meeting. The plan is to make a crazy mat. A lot of gals are using patterns from Primitive Gatherings, but a few brave souls are going to come up with their own design. This is the beginning of my "Up North" themed mat. I'm still figuring things out and it may not end up exactly like this.

I'm leaving for quilt camp tomorrow, and my "modus operandi" is to have everything pre-cut and ready to sew. I'm hoping to get all 41 alternate blocks sewn for my Civil War Jubilee quilt. First I plan to put together my spool blocks though. If by some miracle I get all that done, I have some string piecing to work on.  

We adopted Kylie last September.
This photo was taken the first day she came home with us--she was a little apprehensive then, but became such a sweet and loving part of our family.
She was only 5 years old when we had to let her go this Wednesday morning, suffering from renal failure.
In seven months, she had captured our hearts and we are beyond devastated.
Hug your furry friends! 

Thursday, April 6, 2017

It's That Time Again!

Time to put the pressure on myself to finish up some of those UFO's! Yes, I have an endless supply of them.....
First and foremost, I need to quilt my 365 Challenge top. Our guild quilt show is in June, so this is not only on my 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long list, but it is my April One Monthly Goal
Our guild also has a challenge. Nope--I had all winter to start this, but I haven't.
It's due at our May meeting, so I need to get going on this ASAP! 

My spools (that were leaders and enders a couple years ago) have all been made into "four patch" blocks and trimmed. There are some lost points--I am just not as careful piecing leaders and enders as I should be. I've calculated that I need to make four more blocks to have enough for a nice sized donation quilt. I'm hoping to get these put together at quilt camp later this month.

I have a big packet of these exchange blocks from Jo Morton's Yahoo group.
The group has since moved to Facebook, and it would be great to get these blocks made into a quilt. It's been fun to revisit some of those names--maybe you are in there!?!

This one is pretty labor intensive. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to use the ThimbleCreek Mystery finishing instructions, but I've decided that I will. So...I need to make 41 alternate blocks to get this one done! 

These are some of my 99 Texas Star blocks that were pieced by hand when my sewing room was being remodeled. I did enjoy the hand piecing, so hopefully I can find some time to do some slow stitching and get these stars together! 

Lastly, I need to revisit Mrs. Billings.
I neglected her all last year as I worked on the 365 Challenge blocks and now we need to get reacquainted! 


Linking with Finish-A-Long HERE and One Monthly Goal HERE