Farmers Wife Finish for February?

 The UFO Challenge number for February was 12, which is my Farmers Wife Quilt.  I worked on it a bit last year, but still was only around halfway finished with the blocks.  When I first saw this number announced I felt like no way could I finish this in a month.  Then I started thinking that I managed to finish a quilt with 110 trees, then made 120 blocks for my Colorado Memories quilt.  Surely I can finish 55 blocks for this quilt in a month.  

Plus, my Island Batik Challenge is already finished for this month, so what else do I have to do?  

One wrinkle in my plan is that I have misplaced the CD with the templates for the blocks.  No worries, I just sat down with EQ8 and drafted out the blocks that I need them for.  Like this beauty!  I haven't done Y-seams in a while, so it's good to sharpen up those skills!

I was surprised at how well this came out with those odd shaped pieces!

Love this one!  

Cutting the squares for this one was tricky, but it also came together well.  I counted out how many blocks I had left to make at the end of the day, and it's 43.  If I make 4 a day all the blocks will be done, and I'll have two weeks to put the top together and bind.  I think I can do it!  At least if I can get the top done it will be a big win, and I'll be happy with my progress.  Let's see if I can move this project out of the bin and into a quilt.

UFO Finish - June Mini Madness 4 inch Blocks

 After not doing too well on the UFO front in 2021, I was a little hesitant about making any big commitments for this year.  But when I started working on filling out the project sheet in my planner for this year, I decided that I might as well give it a try.  I like the APQ UFO challenge - you make a list of 12 projects and a random number is chosen each month to work on.  The number for January was 7, which was the 4 inch blocks I started for my June Mini Madness project.  The only problem was, I couldn't find where I had stashed them!  As I worked on my Island Batik projects and got a little more organized in my sewing room, I kept wondering where in the world they were.  Finally, they turned up at the bottom of a bin that had a large pile of other stuff on it!

I had about half of the blocks sewn, and more cut out and ready to sew.  After I finished up Colorado Memories, it only took me a few days to finish up the remaining blocks, and I just had to choose a fabric for the setting squares and triangles.

Another nice feature of mini quilts is that they are easy to lay out - I didn't need my step stool to reach the top row!  Looks good, so I got it sewn together, then added a nice border with blue poppies.

I layered the quilt with backing and had the perfect size piece of wool batting left from my Colorado Memories quilt.  I wanted to try some free motion on the wool to see how I would like that.  I found a light blue Aurifil 50 weight thread in my stash for the quilting.

I decided to do a free motion swirl hook, and it went quite well!  Up until I happened to spot a little error in one of the blocks at the top of the quilt, anyway!

Can you see that four-patch that's turned sideways?  OOPSY!  

I was glad it was a corner block, so I just had to take out four basting pins, then put the seam ripper to work.

The patch was only 1 inch square finished, so the seams didn't take long to unsew.  Then I just very carefully sewed it back in place, heading in the right direction this time!

Then it was simple to replace the pins and finish the quilting.  I added a dark blue binding, and my UFO for January was finished!

I like it!  It looks really nice on the back of my loveseat in the living room, you can see it from the window outside!  The wool batting quilted nicely and it's nice and fluffy.  I used the solid gray from Island Batik for the backing.  It finished at about 33 x 39.

Nice to have this finished up and off the list! 

 Did you check out this weeks great quilts for the Island Batik Row by Row Blog Hop?  Check out the Island Batik Blog for this week's wrap up - you'll find links there to all the projects featured this week!  There is also a new giveaway!  (Plus you can still enter the giveaway on my post!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope you have a great weekend!  I plan on working some more on my UFO for February - I'll tell you about that in my next post!

Monday Musings - Is Perfectionism Holding You Back?

I read an interesting article the other day that said one of the root causes of procrastination can be perfectionism.  I've heard this before, but in the light of my UFO collection I can really see that to be true!  Most of the projects that I have not seen through to a finish have some kind of an issue that I am hesitant to resolve because I don't know if it will be "good enough".  

The Giant Dahlia that was supposed to be my UFO project last month has been untouched (this is not mine - my top is still just a big flower that needs a center and to be appliqued to the background!)  What am I procrastinating about?  Here is how my thought process runs when I look at this project:  "It needs a center, and I want it to be perfect.  I don't think I want a solid center, but don't know what I want exactly.  I've seen lots with Dresden centers, and that would probably look nice, but I don't know what colors to use.  Then I have to figure out a border, get a backing, and do the quilting."  It just all seems overwhelming, so I have done nothing at all till this weekend.

This is the center used for the quilt along that started me on this project.  So, it's fun and scrappy like the rest of  the quilt, I should be able to do that.  Maybe I just need to get started, and move the project along!  Stop worrying about it being perfect, because nothing is truly perfect, and just enjoy the journey of creating this quilt.  I can at least make a center, then if I don't like it I can try something else, after all this quilt is just for my own pleasure in making it so there is no sense putting pressure on myself to make it "perfect".

And so I pulled out my top to work on it this weekend!  I did manage to settle on a background before I set it aside.  I do like the soft green.  It's really pretty, and looking at it helps me want to work on it more.  I make a goal for myself to see if I can get the center done and applique the whole thing to the background fabric this week.  I won't focus on the big picture with this project, which means getting it totally finished, but I am going to work toward enjoying each step.  I can get the center done - then worry about the next thing when it is time.

I chose a dresden in EQ8, printed out templates, then picked out a rainbow of scraps for the blades.  I love the method of stitching across the top to make the points - the angle is slightly different from the template, but that's fine.  I cut a template out of cardstock, then cut six blades to make 1/4 of my dresden.  I was nervous to see if it would all fit together because those are skinny pieces - but it looks great so far!

That success gives me the drive to make the remaining three sections!

So pretty!  Now to add the quarter sections together and decide what to use in the center.  After thinking about it for a bit, I decided that the background fabric would look good in the center, so I found a jar with the right diameter for a template and cut a freezer paper template. 

 I carefully placed it so it was centered in the plate, and a few minutes of hand stitching rewarded me with a finished dresden plate!

By then it was time to fix dinner - so today my goal is to applique the plate to my background.  Lots of applique this week, but by the end of July, I will have at least made progress on this project and hopefully be ready to think about the next step!  

A good day for piecing

 I've been hiding out in my sewing room all day, it seems like a good way to keep myself occupied and do something constructive.  

I trimmed up the Dear Jane triangle that I finished last night.  I totally planned on prepping another one to work on tonight, but I got so caught up in my Starstruck quilt that I never did get to that!.  This morning I sewed all the background triangles to the diamonds.  It was tricky work because some are left halves and some are right halves!  And there are half blocks and three quarter blocks in this quilt.

The center uses one secion each from the eight 3/4 block units.  It was fun arranging them to distribute the colors and prints as well as I could.  Once  got this far, I had to keep going to see what the top would look like!

And there it is!  By this time someone was getting hungry, so I shut down for the evening and cooked some dinner.  It gets a 3 1/2 inch background border around the edges, then it will be ready for quilting.  I guess tomorrow afternoon I will see how I want to use the yardage I have to make a back for this.  I think I'll work on tracing the fusible applique pieces for my Island Batik challenge this evening.  I'm wanting to get ahead on my projects this month because I have some Christmas quilts to work on.  Here's a peek at the fabric I'm using:

They are really outside my box, and I am so excited about how they are going to work in my project!  Isn't it fun sometimes to do something totally different than the usual?  I think so!  

September PHD in 2020 project report

 September was a bit of a chaotic month, but I'm proud to say that I did finish my UFO challenge for the ninth month in a row (for a total of 13 UFO's for the year so far!)  Seashell Beach was September's project.

I finished a project I started in August - which was a Halloween sample for the quilt shop:

I also worked on another UFO from a prior year (this doesn't count as starting a new project, right?)

Celtic Solstice just needs the borders and quilting:

I did start one new project - Reflections using a William's Garden Strip pack from Island Batik.  Naional Sew a Jelly Roll day got to me!

I also did more hand quiting on my third June Mini Madness quilt.  I think I'll add the binding and decide if I really want to quilt some more on it or not.

Dear Jane is coming along!  I just have 3 more triangles to sew and I'll have my second side done...I am working hard at keeping myself motivated on this one and not getting too sidetracked!  Oh - someone asked the block size on these, they are 4 1/2 inches finished.  The triangles are 5 x 8 inches.  

No quilt for Island Batik this month because our challenge was to make a bag from Patterns ByAnnie!  Mine was the Round Trip Duffle.  I'm packing it up for a weekend excursion and will let you know how I liked it for my trip next week :)

My lovely Mums are starting to fade already...but they sure made for a pretty picture!

Oh I also started the Sewcialites Quilt along, but don't have to worry about finishing that for my PHD in 2020 since this Quilt Along won't finish till next year!  But I love it, so will share it with you again.

So all in all a good month with lots of progress!  I'm starting to think about projects for next year, and feel like I've hit a good stride between finishing things that have been on the back burner and starting new things that excite me.  I think that, at least for me I need both.  I want to be accountable to finish what I start, but I also want to have fun and enjoy working on spur of the moment projects that challenge me.  Here's my updated chart for the month:

I can see that I still have a few new projects open, but Blue Skies technically is just a collection of fabric -  I would still like to make this one, but I'm not committed to actually starting it this year, so if I don't get it started in October I will be removing it from my list and putting the fabric back in my stash.

Thanks to Gail for making it fun to work on our UFO's and cross them off our lists.

Here's the link up for October, hope everyone else is doing well making progress!

Flirtation, A Hopelessly Romantic Quilt (and Pattern!)

Happy Valentine's Day!  I thought this would be the perfect day to share my latest finish with you.  If you love pink and green, plus soft florals you are going to love this quilt!

This is Flirtation!  I designed this pattern to feature the lovely Hopelessly Romantic fabrics by Northcott.  Unfortunately for me, the fabric sold before I could get my quilt made, so this project ended up being set aside in favor of other more pressing designs.  I chose this to finish as part of my participation in PHD in 2020 hosted by Quilting by Gail.  My plan on tackling the 12 UFOs is also participating in the APQ UFO challenge and this is the number drawn for the month.  It was the perfect month to work on this pretty, romantic quilt!  It was also my One Monthly Goal for February.

Not only did I finish the quilt, but I also have the pattern completed.  

I thought that Valentine's day was the perfect time to feature my newest additions to the Etsy shop!

First, the quilt.  I used the lovely pink and green Hopelessly Romantic Line by Northcott.  Northcott fabrics are famous for their lovely silky texture, and these don't disappoint.  This quilt feels as soft and lovely as it looks!  I quilted it with hearts and loops using Aurifil 50 wt thread.  The binding is a wonderful stripe, and is stitched by machine on the front and back for a great looking and durable finish.  80/20 cotton blend batting by pellon gives it a great feel, and will be even better after it's washed and dried.  I love an easy care quilt!

At 50 x 50, it's a great lap size as well as perfect to display over the foot of a bed, or as a throw on a sofa or chair.      

Click here to see the listing on Etsy

The Pattern

Flirtation is a great pattern for a confident beginner.  It includes lots of half square triangles, but they are all the same color, so that makes it easier.  The rest of the pattern is quite simple and relies on the position of color for the great effect.  Only 9 blocks to make, so it goes fast, and I include basic directions for cutting borders using directional fabric.  I will probably be making more of these quilts when I find the right fabric!

I hope you have a lovely Valentine's day, I plan on spending some fun time with friends in the morning at our regular monthly Bunco party, then a nice dinner out with my husband.  Remember to let those special people in your life know that you love them!

Linking up with:

PHD in 2020 mid-month report

UFO Busting

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal -February Finish Link-up

Giraffes, Elephants and Hippos are finished!

Thanks for this finish has to go to Project Quilting!  This weeks challenge was to finish a UFO - the hardest thing about that for me, was deciding which one.  Since this was the quilt I intended to finish for my UFO challenge in December and I did not get it done, I thought it was a good idea to work on it.

The first thing I had to do was to piece my back.  I had a nice chunk left from the original yardage of the fabric in the borders (Michael Miller's Zoology in black) that I wanted to use, plus another largish size orange stripe that I thought would work, plus a strip of the fabric I used in the narrow borders.  Since the Zoology piece wasn't quite long enough I cut it in two pieces and inserted the strip of the border fabric.

Since the stripe was about 27 inches by the width of fabric I cut it in half and sewed the two pieces together to make a large enough piece to add to the side of this.  It was the perfect size at that point for the back!

At this point I had to dig through my batting box, and ended up having to piece this as well!  I was glad I found a strip that was just big enough to add to the piece that was not quite large enough.  I got the layers pinned andstarted quilting.  I though t about using a fun lime green thread, but ended up going with the slate gray, and think that it was a great choice!  I just quilted this in a large meander since I just wanted to get it finished up.  I think part of the reason this has been a UFO for so long is the fact that I just could not figure out how I wanted to quilt it.  The allover design looks just fine on it!

 It was a rainy day today, so a bit hard to get the right lighting....

 When I finished the quilting I realized I had managed to get the backing on upside down.  Whoops!

 Here is a close-up so you can see how all the animals are blanket stitched down.  They were fused first with fusible web.

Hurray for a finished UFO...A month and a week late, but I got it done!  I am still working on my November quilt (hand-quilting), and it should be finished up as well before long.   Still thinking about my goal for this year, but I have something in mind.  

This quilt is available in my Etsy Shop - here!