UFO finished.

We all have UFOs. Some are because we lost the pattern, or ran out of fabric, or fell out of love with the project or we just couldn't work out how to finish it. Well this project was the latter. I couldn't work out how to finish my pillow cases, so they've sat for at least 2 years.

When APQ released  the 2017 UFO challenge these became my January project.  So proud to say they are finished ... not perfect, just finished.

I'm sure I had many plans for these but I decided to hem them and be done. 

Maybe not as pretty as they could have been but now they'll get used.

 

So that's a second OPAM for January and one item off the list.

Catch you again soon.

 

Whoo has been sewing??

Whoo??

Why me of course.

These little fellows have been hanging out in my house since last year (or maybe even the year before that).

They were appliqued on but not sewn.

Well not any more.  Last night these 2 were sewn into pot holders

 

and now they can watch the goings on in the kitchen

 and let me know if something is burning.

 and these 3 were finished off this morning.

That big orange one looks like an 'angry bird' rather than an owl.

So that is 5 more finishes for April and 5 bits of 'stuff' out of the mess.  I think the orange ones will be going into my stall stock and I will decide about the red ones after the local show.

An Alien, A UFO and a finish??

This is one of those finishes that you just want to slap your forehead and say Durrh - why did you wait to do that??

Back in October we visited "The Dish" in Parkes NSW as part of our school holiday excursion.

While we were there we found these adorable shirts with aliens on them and both boys wanted one.

Unfortunately for T, he does not fit 'kid' clothes anymore, so I promised him I would cut up his alien shirt and stitch it onto a shirt that did fit properly.

So after 5 months of sitting on the table I cut, I sewed, I finished.

 (And it took only 5 MINUTES, only 5 minutes, arrrgh)

 

I have one EXCITED boy with a unique shirt.

 Durrh - why did I wait so long to do finish this??

February???? Hello has anyone seen February???

Is it just me or did someone lose February??

I am sure I have only just mastered writing dates like 04/02/13 - how can it be that I am now writing 04/03/13??

I was constructive in Feb ( I think) unfortunately most of what I did is still unfinished.

Let's have a look.

This is the Lucy's Crab Shack Layer cake quilt with extra length, now waiting for quilting, it is destined to be a care quilt.

 This is my February front wreath decor.  A tribute to Valentines, Day but focused on the greater things of faith, hope and love. ( Um mm just realised I am now in March, might have to change it again.)

 A wonderful parcel I received as a prize.

 This came from the lovely Sharon of Lilabelle Lane  I was so excited.  Sharon had hosted a giveaway for a Pattern from Thimble Blossoms.  The lovely Camille  has a blog entitled "Simplify" and she designs amazing patterns, so that was all the motivation I needed to enter the giveaway.  Sharon asked us which Thimble Blossoms pattern we would like if we won,  my answer was "I can't decide, so when I win, surprise me".

He, he, he...... Like I expected the email saying I had won. Yahoo.  I was super excited.  So Sharon did surprise me.

The chosen pattern is "Round and round". Included in the parcel were  2 adorable pincushions made by Sharon herself.  That turtle is made from tiny tiny hexagons that are stitched by hand. Way too cute to put pins in.  E (my almost 8 year old) keeps stealing the turtle as he has a thing for animals.

There is also a baby charm pack. The squares are only 2.5".  Adorable hey??

Thank you so much Sharon.  I am touched.

Now onto other progress.

This quilt has 'come out of ' the scraps in the patchwork room.  I am seeing boy care quilt.

 And I finally managed to stitch faces onto E's kangaroos.  I am relieved they are done and E is glad they are finished. They do look cuter with faces.

Well that is one OPAM for Feburary, a bit of progress and one happy prize winning me.

A UFO Farewell

Last Tuesday night saw our UFO group farewell one of our founding members.

The wonderfully funny and inspiring Colleen and her hubby have decided to move to new pastures.  As a group we were quite upset about this and made Colleen a UFO inspiration quilt.

 Here she is with her best 'surprise' face (I didn't have my camera out when I gave it to her to get a genuine reaction, but Colleen was amazed and shocked.

 You see......  welll........... we made Colleed do some work for her own farewell gift, but she didn't know it was for her.  Each of our group made a block with a UFO phrase on it, Colleen included.  We told Colleen it was to hang in the patchwork room as a fun reminder to not take ourselves or our quilting too seriously.

Imagine Colleen's surprise when we gave it back to her in a quilt.  Now we are going to make one for the patchwork room, but it won't be finished until the new year.

You will have noticed in the above photo that is isn't bound yet, that is because I thought I had one more week to finish the quilt, I was wrong and we presented Colleen with her own UFO to finish.

The phrases say

"Finished is better than Perfect" - Marilyn

"I'm not messy, I'm creative" - Emily

"May your bobbin always be full" - Gayle

"UFO or PHD that is the question" - UFO Crafters

"MY Quilt MY Rules" - Colleen

"Craft fills my days not to mention my cupboards & benches" - Becc

"A fat quarter is not a body part" - Cecily

"Three little words - Quilt and Bind" - Debra

"I have UFOs I haven't even thought of yet" - an original quote by our own 13 year old Rachel

Enjoy Colleen & we will commence our UFO blog soon.

Thinking, Pondering and admiring the work of my Friends

Yes as the title says, I am thinking, pondering and admiring the work of my Friends.

Thinking and pondering the future of these collections of yo-yos

 

Yes, they are laid out in tree shapes.  I am seeing bags?, or apron fronts? or who knows?

And admiring.

This beautiful bright bed topper for "My big bed Nanna" was made by Colleen from a Jelly roll and some great angled piecing

 and a close up of those braids

 Very nice Colleen.  I hope it is loved by it's new owner.  

I love having crafty friends, they definitely provide inspiration.

More 'Care' Quilts

Well last week I blogged about the "Tumbler Stripes Care Quilt" that I had finished for our club to use when & where they are needed.

Yesterday I got two more care quilts on the go.

This is "Hearts in a Flutter"

 Made on a stripy background with applique hearts on top.  (Applique not done in the photo)

And another feminine stripe quilt made from these strip sets.

 

Waiting to be joined like this and then we will contemplate borders etc.

Now back to the sewing machine.

Optical Illusion, the next stage

Well more of my stripy fabric arrived and I am so excited.  

Optical Illusion is now a single bed size piece of patchwork (un-quilted at this time)

 I LOVE it.  It came together easily and is quite a versatile quilt.

My hubby is pretty impressed by it too.

Now just Quilt & Bind.  (Three little words with SOOOOO much meaning.)

An unidentified UFO and an OPAM

Imagine my surprise last week when believing I knew all about my UFOs that I found another one, in plain sight, right under my nose.

This "SNOWBALL I SPY" quilt was being used as a cover in my craft room.  I look at it almost every day & therefore I don't 'see' it.  The poor quilt hadn't been bound - Oh shock and horror.

 So after a quick whizz around the edge, it is now FINISHED and UFO no more. 

It is probably one of my worst sewing and definitely worst quilting jobs, but it is bright and full of fun things to find.

Here are a couple of close ups of some of the fabrics - snowmen, butterflies, smiling cabbage flowers, Amish carts.

 teddy bears, hula babies, kitchen dishes, leaves.

You get the idea.  The humble snowball block. What a great 'frame' it provides for the feature fabric.

Now as I have no small children to play on the quilt, TJ Bear decided he would hunt for I Spy things.

Oh Yeah, this means I have completed another OPAM.  YEAH!!!

Another UFO has vanished & become a "Care Quilt"

Yes, you read correctly, I have 'vanished' another UFO from my list.

I made this tumbler quilt is for the "Care Quilt" stash that my patchwork group (Roma Patchwork & Crafters Inc) are trying to make in anticipation of need in our community.  

When our town flooded in 2010 and 2011 we were really caught unprepared to assist, so we decided to get ourselves organised and ensure we can assist in some way for the next tragedy. (Which unfortunately will occur, as they always do).

This "Tumbler Stripes" quilt was made using the Accuquilt "Tumbler" block, some great neutral backing fabric and ricrac.

 A close up of where the 'stripes' meet.

I am really taken with this quilt.  It is quite feminine and soft.  I am sure when the time comes, there will be a lady who loves it.

The photo below is the first "Care Quilt" given away by the Club. Made by one of our other members Bev,  it is also a tumbler design but using scrappy fabrics.  It was donated to an auction to raise funds for one of the local nursing homes.  It sold for $260 at auction.  The club are glad it could assist in this way.

Hopefully our "Care Quilts" will provide comfort wherever they are sent.

Please keep the East Coast of USA in your prayers.  Some of the ladies who I am blogging friends with are in the path of hurricane Irene.  As we know, all natural disasters are unpredictable and hopefully Irene will pass with minimal loss of life.

2 Finishes and birthday pressies

I have this morning completed these 2 lovelies.

They were made from the leftovers & off cuts from my Vines in the Garden quilt using Nature's Notebook by April Cornell for Moda.  I think they look nice and fresh with their 'damask' table cloth for the white.

 This one is braids or plaits.

 And this is pieced bits.  The offcuts of braids and tiny left overs.

They are both destined for new homes as Birthday presents.  (I did think about giving one to Hubby for his birthday next week just so I could keep it in my house.) I hope their new owners like them as much as I do.

Those of you who read the blog regularly must be wondering why I have so many finishes in a short time?  That is because I cleaned up.  It is amazing I re-arranged my sewing space and put all the UFOs in one place.  I then made myself look at them to determine what I had to do to finish, I wrote a list.  Chose a couple to finish (the easy ones) and got to it.  The others are away in a box (not too well hidden) and as I finish one I take another out of the box.  The list is quite liberating - I know strange.

"Springtime" Stitcheries Complete

Well, now.  Let me introduce you to blocks 8 & 9 of "Springtime".

I am very excited all my stitcheries are done for this quilt.  Now I get to start playing with the piecing and hopefully a finish won't be too far away.

This is block 8 "In A Twirl" (sitiched backwards by me) designed by Vicki Tueck of  The Pickledish Patch (formerly Tozz's Corner)  this cute twirl has a spider's web and spider hanging out in it.

 And block 9 is "Spring Has Sprung" by Fiona Ransley of Designs by Fee (formerly Mother's Cupboard).  I love the little rabbit in the front of this design.

 Now that is 9 stitcheries and 9 verses complete and one lovely label sent to me to put on the back of the quilt.  Now I just have to do that piecing.

I am really liking this quilt.