February OMG complete

My February One Monthly Goal was to get these two Patch-abilities to the point of doing the machine applique.  The backgrounds are pieced, the batting and backing layered. The pieces are fused in place. Ready for the buttonhole or blanket stitch. I will do some in black, but most will have the thread matching the pieces. Also, Lena's hat is crazy quilt patched, so I will use some contrasting thread and some "fancy" stitches. Buttons will be added to eyes and eyebrows and mouth will be hand embroidered in black.

Lena and Olie- ready for applique and embroidery details

I am anxious to get these complete and ready to be displayed next winter. I am ready for winter to be over!!!  We are leaving for a week in Phoenix with our son, so I am getting this post ready early. I will schedule it to post on the 23rd. I am leaving my laptop at home. I am hoping to be able to link my post with Patty's finish link up ,using my kindle. In a pinch I will borrow my son's laptop, or my husband's iPad.       http://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2018/02/one-monthly-goal-february-finish-link-up.html

Wish me luck:   I hope to be able to link this with OMG Finish at Elm Street Quilts

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

En Provence in the home stretch

En Provence was Bonnie Hunter's Mystery 2016. WOW, I love the colors. It has lots of pieces. I started out making just 1/2 the amount the clues suggested. Then at the reveal I discovered that 8 blocks was not the layout I wanted. So I made enough more for 9 blocks.  A setting of 3 X 3 with the sashing. This project was #9 on my APQ 2018 UFO Challenge. You can check out my challenge tab at the top of the blog.

I arranged all the blocks on my design wall.  Then I set about webbing per Bonnie Hunter's instructions. How do you web so many blocks?....the same way you eat an elephant. One bite (step) at a time. I actually did it in 3 columns. Partly due to the fact that I have a shoulder issue and it was easier to wrestle smaller sections together.

I'm glad it's not bigger, I wouldn't have enough floor space to lay it out!

Auditioning the strips of 5 patches for the border. I also have no idea about a backing or a binding. I had to move the coffee table to have enough room and still I am too close to the entertainment center!

When I counted the extra neutral 4 patches for the last border I was short. Luckily I still had my fabric sorted into plastic shoe boxes. So I set about cutting smallish 2 inch strips, for variety!  The top is 21 - 3 inch squares by 21 squares or 63X63. My math was flawed, I am short 4 squares ( the corners)!!  Back to the neutral shoe box!

The 4 patches are sewn in groups of 4, 6,  8, 10 to get some variety. I will work on these this weekend, it we don't get company. We leave for a week on the 21st and then February will be over!

I will be linking this to Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Also I will post a photo of my progress on the APQ 2018 UFO Challenge Facebook page. I am glad to be in the home stretch. Because I quilt by check ( I hire a long arm quilter) it may be awhile before this one is completely done. Fixed income and retirement means I have to budget for large expenses and my birthday trip took precedence this year.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Progress on projects

Happy Friday from snowy Wyoming. All week I worked on several projects, but again I don't really have a finish. I need to spray baste these cute wall hangings. The shapes are ironed to the background and ready to be machine appliqued.

ohoh, notice my striped socks! 

I hate to do it inside, but outside looks like this.

out the back door 1-9-18

 Our garage is cold and not very practical. Full of stuff and kinda dirty with wet snowy residue from the vehicles.  I may try to make some homemade basting spray.

Goose and ribbon - very 1970's

I have been stitching on this printed dishtowel that was in the craft supplies I inherited from my mother-in-law in 2012. There are 2 of them. I think I will finish them and gift them, one each to my sisters-in-law. Mr Busy has 2 younger twin sisters. I think they would like to have something that their mom was going to do and never got to finish. It very 1970's, but they are brand new.

Last of the ?? embroidered snowflakes

And the last 2 small purple snowflakes have been embroidered on my Snow Flurries flimsy.  It was ready to go to the quilter when I discovered 2 images that I had missed! OOPS!  Now the backing is pieced and I will deliver it to my favorite longarmer as soon as she is able to take it.

I am linking this post to Busy Hands Quilts, Finished or Not Friday.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

No Finishes, Just Starts

Sort of spinning my wheels this week. I had absolutely no finish.  Unless you call completing a fabric order a finish! 😁

Orange minky for the back of space ship quilt. I have now reconsidered and ordered a flannel that I discovered at Katie Mae Quilts. I love it more than the orange minky.  The light blue print is for a pillow case to go with the quilt. I bought a kit for the quilt at a nearby LQS and was thrilled to find some coordinating fabric on line. Win!! I ordered two wide backs while I was online. ..to get free shipping.

I  did start on my purple and lavender slab blocks for RSC18. Looking at these, the lighter lavender floral stripe kind of reads yellow.  I will not fix it , because my plan is a crumby slab block quilt for my own family room. Using up stash is what I am after.

I did put all my En Provence blocks on the design wall so I could put the top together for APQ 2018 UFO Challenge #9

I did complete the top for Joseph's Space Ship quilt and ordered backing fabric.

 Oh and the binding is made, ready to sew when I get the backing pieced and it comes back from the quilter.
I did start on  my OMG February goal.  To get these little wall hangings layered and the applique ready for blanket stitches.

As I was going through my photos, I did find a picture of flannel fabric for a self binding receiving blanket for the new granddaughter of my former boss. I did not take a picture of the completed blankie and matching burb cloth. I was so anxious to get it finished wrapped and delivered to the new grandpa, so he could deliver it when he drove to ND to see the baby.  I will try to have the new mama send me a photo for my files. I'll share it then. Here is the fabric. The pink monkeys and the light is actually tiny pink dots. 

So guess, technically I did have a finish, just no real proof. Does that count?

Whew!  I got winded just writing this. I see a busy sewing month ahead. 

I am linking up with Finish It Up Friday and  Finished or Not Friday!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

February Goals and Challenges

FEBRUARY is my birthday month.  Lots of new goals, challenges and fun.

I'll be linking this post to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal February Linkup.
   

I want to get the fabric picked out, the images drawn and ironed on the background for Olie and Lena. These wall hangings from Patchabilities have been in my UFO basket for way toooooo long. I finished Sven in January. I am adding the fringe to his scarf today.

So that is my GOAL....to get each of them to the place of doing the buttonhole stitch applique. If I get them totally finished, I'll treat myself to an extra Hersey kiss!


And the color for the RSC18 is lavender and purple.  My favorite colors, because as I said earlier, it's my birthday month. I am a Pisces and my birthstone is amethyst. I am making slab blocks from scraps. And I have scraps of purple/lavender, because I made blocks for Bonnie Hunter's Mystery last year: En Provence.

 HST pressed and ready and  this is the blocks laid out and ready to web!

Lots of purple and lavender.  I could be overwhelmed by purple and lavender before the month is over!  EEK!
The February pick for APQ 2018 UFO Challenge was revealed 1/31/18  It is # 9  My list is HERE.
If you don't want to click the link, I will tell you that #9 is to sew together the block for En Provence!  Can you believe that!    Wish me luck.! 

I hope I can get most of these completed before the 3rd week in February. We are leaving to visit our DS in Phoenix for 7 whole days + a day or two of travel. (It's my birthday present to myself.) We will fly, but must drive 2 hrs to the airport that flies directly to the Phoenix area with the cheapest price. Keeping fingers crossed for no winter weather as we travel to our airport and then home again a week later. I am so ready for some sun and warmer weather!

It is sunny here in NE Wyoming today, but there is still snow on the ground and more expected tonight!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ScrappyHappy Saturday

As if I didn't have enough challenges and goals this year.   I have decided to follow Angela's from So Scrappy, prompts about color each month and make some scrappy slab blocks.  I have no real plan for a quilt, but hope for a rainbow kind of look at the end.  I ran out of light blue, the color pick for January. But I did get  4 blocks, approximately 10 1/2 inches. Plus there is the beginning of a fifth. I'll add to it as I acquire or maybe cut more light blue. I am kind of protective of fat quarters and don't really want to chop them up. But I have been gifted several bags of scraps recently, so there may be some light blue hiding in those bags!  (fingers crossed!)

I'm linking up with ScrappyHappy Saturday on Angela's blog. Come join her RSC18. See her blog or click the button on the sidebar here. 

Wondering what the color for February will be?  Will I have enough scraps to make 4+ blocks? 


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

A Finish - Finally!

 Last February I started on this quilt  It was a kit from our LQS that had recently gone out of business. The pattern is called Magnolia by Blank Quilting. It went together pretty quickly. The blocks are 8.5 inches and it's set, 5X5. Not a big quilt, but nice "couch size".

This is a close up of the setting.  Tumblers hanging in row to the left!  I seem to have more than one project going at a time!

 I got the borders on.  There are 4.  A small  1"black border, then a 2" green stripe, then another 1" black, and fianlly a large 9" focus fabric border!

I cut and assembled the binding, thinking I would get it to the longarmer soon. I love a striped binding, don't you?

I put it away in the drawer with the scraps. I try to save all the fabric until the quilt is completely done. Label and all. And then life happened. A new great granddaughter was expected!  A baby girl quilt needed!  A different month happened and other challenges were presented.

Well, you know the story. A UFO!  Magnolia Quilt 2.0.  I have a few friends with long arm machines. Most quilt only for themselves, but they are taking a bus trip to Paducah in the spring and needed some extra dollars. So I enlisted one of them to quilt it for me. I purchased the batting, pieced a backing from my stash and some left over pieces of the front.  I delivered it to her 2 weeks ago.  She quilted it with a design called Narcissus. Last Thursday I got it back, Saturday I sewed the binding on. Then spent part of Sunday watching football and stitching the binding to the back.

Feet up in the recliner, watching the television makes for good stitching time.

It is finished!

 I apologize for the poor lighting. It's a WINDY, gray day here in NE Wyoming....so no outside photos are possible.

This is part of the pieced backing and you can see the quilting (Narcissus) design on the backing.


I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts  Finish It Up Friday and
                                  Busy Hands Quilts   Finished or Not Friday.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy