2018 Second Quarter Finish Along

Here is my list for the 2nd Quarter...

I'm sticking to 20 items again...it seemed to be a reasonable amount last quarter...so here they are:

1. White Scrap Basket
2. Wayne & Gordie Quilt
3. Indah Batiks quilt
4. Charity Pillowcases (4)
5. Adore Floral Quilt
6. Scout Tee (stripped cotton)
7. Christmas Place Mats (Can I finish them before December this year?)
8. Sorbetto Tank (floral cotton)
9. Martini Skirt
10. Color Play Mini
11. Scrappy TV Dinner Quilt
12. Modern Courthouse Steps
13. Wayne & Gordie left-overs pillow
14. 1600 Log Cabin
15. Cell Phone Purse (3)
16. Pink Cats
17. FQS 2014 BOM
18. Tickled Pink 2017 Mystery
19. Scandinavian Tomte
20. Iris Log Cabin

Wish me luck! And good luck to all the other Finish-Alongers!

2017 Second Quarter Round-up

I really have had a lot going on this last couple of months...finishing up a big annual fundraiser, packing our house, finding temporary housing when our new-old house got trashed (I mean trashed!  As in everything needed to be gutted...down to the studs!), and a machine that needed time at the repair shop!

Sewing got kinda put on the back burner in mid-May....but I did squeeze out a few finishes!

So here is the list from the 2nd Quarter:

And the progress made this quarter...

Diamond Tread: Finished!

Chevron Cats: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

FQS Snapshots: I started the embroidery for the label...as soon as that's done I can finish piecing the backing and get it basted.  I think this one will be fun to quilt!

Blue Geese: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

Kaffe Ribbons: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

You+Me Batik: I got this one basted!

En Provence Variation: I finished most of the quilting...maybe 95%...I just have a few places I want to add a bit more, and then it needs to be bound.  I "gave" this to my mom for Mother's Day...and promised I would have it finished before next Mother's Day!

Batik Chevron: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

Red Chain: I have about 75% of the quilting done...

Adore Floral: This one's quilting is about 80% done...

Shoo Fly: Finished!

Color Weave: Finished!

Kaffe Lattice: Sent to Missouri Star Quilt Co. for quilting

Canoe Ridge: Sent back to the scrap basket...just not liking it, the original was great, my version...not so much!

Pins and Paws: Finished!

...And I started three new tops, an Hourglass small quilt from a MSQ tutorial, a quilt using my Tabby Road Fat Quarter Pack, and a picnic quilt using Crazy Mom Quilt's Big Nine block.

I love quilting!

Finish No. 3 - 2nd Q

This quilt has been a long time coming.  I bought the pattern, Diamond Tread, when it was released back in June of 2013...and then the fabric shortly thereafter from Connecting Threads.

Sun Kissed Harvest from Connecting Threads

But it just sat waiting to be made...fast-forward three years to 2016... I got all the fabric cut...and a year later, finally got it pieced, quilted and bound.

When I was laying out the pieces, an evil necessity with this pattern, it started to look rather masculine and kinda camo-ey, which was great since Jon needed a new quilt.  Lee Henrich's version of her quilt doesn't look masculine, but she is definitely right, the pattern looks exactly like industrial diamond tread, and with the grays, drab green and orange in the fabric...bingo!

I removed the sunflower and the pumpkin prints from my layout and all of a sudden the orange tree print looked so much like hunter's wear, it was just meant to be.  I backed the quilt it with a orange camo fluffy fleece and it make the perfect gift.

I used a piped binding again, but tried something new.  I used the background fabric at the main binding color with a tiny gray piped piece.  I like the way it looks...the thin thin line just in from the edge really emphasizes the negative space in the quilt.

Some Stats for the quilt:
Size: 54" X 76"
Quilting: Straight line quilting on my Pfaff
Started: 03/20/16
Finished: 04/17/17
Fabric Used: Connecting Threads  (very old line, whose name escapes me)

This makes finish #6 for 2017...and 45 remaining UFO's (312 remaining on the 2nd Q List)

Finish No. 4 - 2nd Q

One of my favorite breaks at work are for the weekly MSQC Tutorials.  (Do you have the app?  The app quacks when the new tutorial is loaded!  Awesome!)

There have been several tutorials that have me itching to get home and into the sewing room...The Whimsical Shoofly (my version here), The Starburst Quilt (mine here), The Super Easy Hourglass (mine's not done yet....it's a leader ender project)...and The Pins and Paws quilt.

This one might be my favorite.

I'm a sucker for all things cat!

I made my Pins and Paws quilt for this years Cat Tales Rescue silent auction.  This is really a fun pattern, and so easy to whip up in a hurry!  And since I put off starting the quilt until two months before the fundraiser, it's a good thing it was quick!

I did the quilting myself at home.  I had such plans for free-motion quilting swirls and loops that looked like balls of yarn, but my big Pfaff had other plans and checked into the machine doctor's for a couple of weeks right when I needed to get this done.

So I turned to my little Pfaff and the every-easy ever-fast overall orange peel pattern...done and done!

This quilt turned out just sweet as can be...I may need to make another one to keep!

Some Stats for the quilt:
Size: 68" X 77"
Quilting: Really big Orange Peel quilting on my little Pfaff
Started: 03/20/17
Finished: 05/05/17 (the night before the fundraiser!)
Fabric Used: Some stash and some purchased from Joann's with this quilt in mind.

This makes finish #7 for 2017...and 44 remaining UFO's (30 remaining on the 2nd Q List)

Finish No.2 - 2nd Q

Finish #2 this quarter is based on Missouri Star Quilt Company's Whimsical Shoo-Fly pattern, and used my left over Momo Flying Colors layer cake squares, plus two matching 10" squares I cut from my stash.

To make this quilt and the Color Weave quilt you need a total of 44 layer cake squares.  They are perfect companion lap quilts!  I made a pair of them at Christmastime last year for my nieces...the fabrics match, but the quilts are different!  Perfect for sisters!

For my version of the quilt, I added 2" sashing between the Shoo-Flys with pinwheel cornerstones made from the cut-offs from the Shoo-Fly HST units.

I backed the quilt with this cute bicycle fabric from my stash.  Between this and the Color Weave quilt the only fabric I purchased was for binding...which, in the end, was the wrong color...so I used stash!  Woo-hoo!  Stash Busting!

I sent this quilt into MSQC for quilting, using the Dragonflies and Flowers pattern.

Some Stats for the quilt:
Size: 56" X 66"
Quilting: MSQC - Dragonflies and Flowers
Started: 10/25/16
Finished: 04/17/17
Fabric Used: All stash - 100%!

This makes finish #5 for 2017...and 45 remaining UFO's (32 remaining on the 2nd Q List)

Finish No. 1 - 2nd Q

Bad pictures....of a very cute quilt!

I really need to work on my picture taking skills...and of course, not waiting until the very last second to snap a quick pic as the quilt is walking out of the door to its new home, might be the starting point!

Sigh!

Anyway, this was a pretty fun quilt to make, and really fast!  The pattern is called Color Weave by Julie Hirt (found at the Moda Bakeshop).  I made the Throw size, which uses 24 Layer Cake squares.  The fabric is by Momo, called Flying Colors.  It's a layer cake I have had in my stash for a couple of years.

I've made this pattern twice now...and really love how it showcases the fabrics.

I love this print!

I sent the quilt to MSQC for quilting...and really, how perfect is this kite pattern!  I fell in love the second I saw it!

And I absolutely adore the binding on this one!

So that's it...the first finish for the quarter, which I actually finished on April 17th, but didn't take pictures until May 30th...and then got around to blogging on June 20th.

Some Stats for the quilt:
Size: 57" X 68"
Quilting: Missouri Star Quilt Company - Kites pattern
Started: 10/25/16
Finished: 04/17/17
Fabric Used: All stash - 100%!

This makes finish #4 for 2017...and 44 remaining UFO's. (My 2nd quarter list)

2017 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long

So...quick and fast, before I miss the deadline...

My 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long projects, all 34 of them!  This quarter I am going to focus on quilting instead of piecing...

Diamond Tread, Cat Chevron, Pink Cts, FQS 2014 Mystery, FQS Snapshots, Oh My Stars, Blue Geese, Dapper Dan, Box Lunch, Kaffe Ribbons, Hawaiian 1600, AppleStars, Scrappy Paths, You+Me Batik, Bee Row Along, En Provence Variation, Batik Chevron, Christmas Geese, 12/26, Round Robin, Aunt Ruth's, Feathered Stars, Placemats, Red Chain, Log Cabin, Feathered Star Pillow, Adore floral, Hand-dyed stars, Quilted Oak Leaves, Shoo Fly, Color Weave, Kaffe Lattice, Canoe Ridge, Pins & Paws

Edited to add: Of the 34 UFO's on my list, two only need bindings (really, why haven't I done this yet!), five have the quilting started (even if it is just one row of quilting!), one is basted and ready to quilt (I just need to get the courage up to do more feathers!), fourteen have backings made and are ready to be basted (after I buy another roll of batting), nine need a backing made, one needs borders and two are still being pieced into tops.

I know I won't really get all theses done, even by a long shot!  But I just threw all of the completed tops on the list...I really want to focus on quilting over piecing this quarter...and you can never tell what kinda quilting you're in the mood for, right...straight-line, hand quilting, free-motion...easy or challenging...lightly quilted or heavily.  And as long as I make some progress, I'm happy!

Wish me luck!  And I wish all of the FAL-ers luck this quarter!

2nd Quarter Finish A Long Re-Cap

Here's a quick recap of how I did during the 2nd Quarter of the Finish-A-Long...it's not too shabby, if you ask me...

Starting List (42):

Hand-Dyed Stars, Big Hexies, Ribbon Box, Zig Zag Diamonds, Apple Stars, Snapshots, HST Pinwheels, 2014 Mystery BOM, Strip-Pieced Mini, Penny Candy, Angie's TV Dinner, Baby Star, Brown & Blue UFO, Line Dancing, Oh, My Stars, Oh, Americana!, Chevron Cats, New Year's Stripes and Squares, OHO, Shiny Happy Dog & Cat (softies), Cherry Tweet, Hand Quilted Postage Stamp, Flowering Snowball, Log Cabin, Cricket's TV Dinner, Batik 1600 Quilt, Mystery Quilt, Ribbon Box, December 26th, Abundance, Bee in My Bonnet Row Along, Celtic Solstice, Aunt Ruth's BOM, Perennial Stars, My TV Dinner, Bonnie's Blooms, Yoyoville, Clover, Ferndale Flora, Starry Log Cabin, The Big Easy and Hand-pieced Henry.

Finished (6):
Ribbon Box, Strip-pieced Mini, Penny Candy, Angie's TV Dinner, Oh, Americana! and Abundance

Deleted/Donated (3):
Baby Star, Celtic Solstice, The Big Easy (definitely was the big ugly)

Remaining, but made progress (6):
Apple Stars

The top is pieced...and the paper is mostly removed

Line Dancing

Just need to attach the binding...

New Year's Stripes and Squares

The top and backing are all pieced...

OHO

Changed this to a small quilt, too many blocks weren't square (need to practice my curved piecing)...and I got the FMQ started...

Shiny Happy Cat and Dog

Shiny Happy Daisy & Shiny Happy Bonnie need shirts!

Bonnie's Blooms

I got the flowers cut and pinned on...but I'm not feeling much love for this project anymore...hmm, donation maybe?

And least you  think I was good and didn't add any new projects to my list...here they are:

Oops...[insert shameful winking eye emoji]...Added UFO's (5):

Chunky Blue and Gold (stash buster)

 Dapper Dan (stash buster)

 Starburst from MSQC tutorial (stash buster)

 Leslie's Geese

Adore (and I do...)

I have already started FMQ this one...and am having a lot of fun!  I'm debating on whether or not to make each "leaf's" quilting the same or unique...

I also did a little re-organizing, stash thinning and quilt-top wrangling...

They all look so nice hanging in a row...I certainly have my work cut out for me!

Check back tomorrow for my 3rd Quarter List of UFO's...

Finish No. 6

For my SIL's birthday I finished up my Abundance quilt from Jeni Baker's pattern.  I instantly fell in love with the pattern when she first blogged about it...and I think I even went straight home and pulled some stash to start one of my own!

With my ever faithful assistant's help!

I started piecing the rows in the middle of July, last year...

 and was finished with the top a few days later....and then it just sat, nicely folded...for almost a year...

Until the 2016FAL/Q2.

I used my "go-to" quilting pattern Orange Peel, with some FMQ swirlies in the border...and finished just in time for my SIL's birthday on June 21st...she loved it!

This is the awesome backing fabric...shows the quilting nicely!

I totally doofed-out on getting a nice picture of the entire quilt before she took it home...but the picture above shows the quilting really well.  I used a fabric from Joann's, that looks a lot like a vintage sheet, for the backing...it works perfectly with the scrappy pinks, greens and yellows in the top!

The quilted ended up being 72" X 88" (including the border I added to the pattern) and will make for a fantastic picnic quilt for her and her daughters to use this summer.

Sixth item checked off my UFO list!

This makes finish #16 for 2016...and 52 remaining UFO's (36 remaining on the 2ndQ List)

Finish No. 5

I started Finish No. 5 in January 2015 for my friend...but only got the top done by her birthday in February (I don't know what made me think I would get the whole quilt made in a month!)

The top sat around for a long time before it got basted...

...and then a long time again before I got started on the quilting...

...and then a long time before I finished the quilting...

But it is done now and I was able to finally give it to my friend...a year and three months late...

The pattern is called TV Dinner by Modern Quilt Relish.  It measures 60" X 80".  The center portion of the quilt calls for a charm pack, I used Bluebird Park by Kate and Birdie and a great taupe-y fabric by French General for the background in the center portion.  The borders are a fabric from Joann's (not linked, 'cause I couldn't find it on their website...but I know I've seen it in the store recently).

I did some straight line quilting and FMQ flowers in the center portion...

...and FMQ loopy swirls and flowers in the borders.

I pin basted this quilt...and did a poor job.  I got a lot of puckers and whiskering in the center portion...and almost didn't finish the quilt at all, I was so disappointed.

But I went back (after a long break) and spray basted the borders and got a much nicer less puckery FMQ.

After a good wash, all's well that ends well...and finished is better than perfect!  I hope this keeps my dear friend nice and toasty!

Fifth item checked off my UFO list!

This makes finish #15 for 2016...and 53 remaining UFO's (37 remaining on the 2ndQ List)

Finish No. 4

I am on such a roll!  I finished up No. 4 from my 2016FAL 2ndQ List.

Oh Americana! by Vicki Bellino from the book Bloom Creek Quilts.  The quilt measures 50" X 50" and is a perfect throw for over the arm of a chair.

I started this quilt on June 14, 2014 (Flag Day, coincidentally!) in a class at my LQS.

I really like it...but it just languished in my UFO pile...I think I was hung up on not wanting to do the appliquéd border, which is much more in the original pattern.  I ended up simplifying the amount of appliqué...and whipped it out PDQ with a simple raw-edge straight stitch...done!

Some flowers...

...and FMQ loopy stars in the borders...

...And the fourth item checked off my UFO list!

This makes finish #14 for 2016...and 54 remaining UFO's (38 remaining on the 2ndQ List)

Finish No. 3

For my third finish of the 2ndQ 2016 Finish-A-Long, I tackled my Penny Candy quilt, a pattern from Kathy Brown's book Strip Smart Quilts.

I made this quilt in a class at my LQS in August of last year...hmm, so really it's not to old of a UFO.  I made a few cutting mistakes, and had to modify the layout a bit.  After a lot of crawling around on the floor and shifting squares and cursing at the dog every time he laid across the blocks...I ended up with a rainbow-y layout.  Happy Happy!

I quilted this on my Pfaff Performance 5.0 with an odd semi-flower, semi orange peel pattern...it turned out,well, meh...I did get a better flower in the corner blocks...of course after I had already filled the center of the quilt...but picking out stitching was not on my radar.  Finished is better than perfect.

I did try out some FMQ loops in the borders...and discovered the Pfaff Performance likes FMQ so much more than the Tiptronic!  Super smooth quilting...easy-peasy!  There is definitely more FMQ in my future.

And then...disaster!

I washed the finished quilt, along with a few other quilts and TWO color catcher sheets...and had some pretty awful bleeding from my navy blue polka dot binding (a Stonehill brand fabric from JoAnns....that I L.O.V.E.!)  I'm still so sad...but I keep reminding myself that the quilt still works...it will still keep my lap warm (and/or cat hair off of the couch!), it is still completely usable...even a bit more vintag-ey looking, right?

Love pieced backings!

Did I learn a lesson to pre-wash all my fabrics...probably not, I'm just a rebel like that...

Will I complain when the really awesome navy blue polka dot bleeds again...probably, I'm not real smart like that...

Oh well...

Third item checked off my UFO list...and I even have two more tops basted and ready to go...

This also makes finish #13 for 2016...with 55 total (and 39 from my 2ndQ list) remaining WIPs!

I'm pluggin' along!