Ravelry UFO Club 2015

I am definitely motivated by a challenge!  For the past few years, I have participated in a group effort to finish those lingering quilt projects that seem to multiply in the closet.  The second-ever quilt that I started back in 2005, the Underground Railroad sampler, is still not finished!  So here is my list for the current Summer quarter:

 I am starting with the Garden Twister and the Riley Blake fabric challenge.  These are small wallhangings, so they will be loaded on the longarm together and hopefully done this weekend.

Next is the Starry Night for Josh QAL hosted by AlyciaQuilts.  This will be a donation for Quilts of Valor.

Last summer I swapped Swoon blocks with other quilters.  I requested patriotic colors so this will be another Quilt of Valor.  It needs some border and finishing.

Here is the rest of my longarm pile: 

Top row includes (L-R) 4-patch Posey, Star Chain, Star Light Star Bright, and 3Ps in a Pod.

Bottom Row (L-R) Grand Illusion, Talent Show Jelly Roll, Mardi Gras Barello, 3D Trees, Mystery QOV, and Square-in-Square QOV

As I get time between customer quilts, I hope to make a dent in this list before school starts.  YIkes…that is in a month!!

Long Term Projects

** Comment on the Oct 24 post to enter a charm square giveaway!  Open until Sunday Oct 26**

Before there were online quilt alongs, local shops would entice their customers with BOM projects – Blocks of the Month.  Many designers still offer these projects, and it’s a great way to tackle a large quilt.

I have been working with some friends on a year-long Bible Study/quilt project called “Women of the Bible” and tonight I finished block 52!  Here are the second half blocks, but it looks like I misplaced one.  ARGH.  That is certainly a sign that it is time for a deep clean of the sewing room!  The other 51 blocks have stayed nicely in their pile, I don’t know what happened to the Shunamite Woman…

Some other BOMs have been patiently waiting for attention for many years.  I have all the blocks done for the 2007 Marti Michell quilt called Hidden Stars…

 All it needs is a border!

A couple years ago I joined the Fat Quarter Stars QAL:

I stalled after putting the sashing on.

And the Block Lotto patterns from this year will make a nice QOV…I have seven months worth done.

How old are your projects?  Would you start with the project that is closest to being done or whichever strikes your fancy?

My UFO Pile

I am a member of Ravelry, the online knitting community.  Many of us have a variety of hobbies, and there is a “Quilters Knitting” group on Ravelry that is very active, especially when it comes to tackling UnFinished Objects.  Each quarter, we post a list of at least 5 quilting projects that are languishing in our sewing space.  I coordinate the “Send” group, which means that if you finish a project, the group members will send you a fat quarter.  It may seem trivial, but even that small reward is enough to motivate me!

Last quarter (July – Spetember) I was busy with school and my daughter’s ice skating life, but I did manage to finish this for Quilts of Valor:

I made the blocks in 2013 with patterns from Block Lotto, a monthly exchange group.  I finished the top on New Year’s Day 2014, as part of the Quilts of Valor Sit and Sew event.  Then it sat in my longarm pile, until I looked at the calendar and needed a quick finish for the Ravelry UFO challenge!  I loaded it onto my machine and did so fun free motion designs in each block, with a simple wavy line in the sashing and loopy meandering in the border.  I need to wash it and make a presentation case (pillow case) then drop it off for our state coordinator to present to a deserving veteran.

I have quite a few tops to work on for the next round of the UFO Challenge, Oct – Dec.

1. Star Light Star Bright – I recently finished the blocks, so the next step is borders then quilting and binding.

2. Football Chain – a baby quilt and pattern to be published.

3-12. Tops that have been in the longarm pile for years…

Front row: 3D trees, Square-in-a-square QOV, Mystery QOV, 4patch posy, 3Ps in a Pod

Back row: Mardi Gras Bargello, Turning 20 Christmas, Star Chain

On the wall: Sedona Stars

Those projects should definitely keep me busy, but I guarantee that something else will catch my fancy and the list will grow!

What projects are you working on this month?

WIP Wednesday – UFO Challenge

July 1 started a new quarter for the Ravelry group’s UFO Challenge.  I found quite a pile of tops that need to be quilted!  My current rotation has been one of my own, one for Quilts of Valor, then one for my mom.  In between each longarm project I usually take a few couch potato days and knit in front of the TV.

Here is the view in my sewing loft:

From left –  a bargello, butterfly posies, square-in-square QOV, 3 Ps in a pod, and hanging on the right is Sedona Stars.

Another stack of tops to be quilted! From left – jelly roll, blue sampler, Christmas Turning 20, Twisted Sister and Boxy Stars.

When I am ready to piece, I need to finish the Persimmon Quilts Mystery #23.   I made a  couple “design modifications” (I refuse to call them mistakes!)…you can see that not all the friendship stars spin the same way, and I didn’t check the cutting instructions, so I have alot more gold squares in my nine patches than were called for.  I’m looking forward to filling that open space with some nice feather quilting!

And another Quilt of Valor that I started piecing last summer.  Some of Moda’s Just One Star blocks were sent to me, and I used random strips to make log cabins.

That should certainly keep me busy for the next three months!

January UFO

Judy picked #5 from the UFO list as the January task.  Funny since that was my Christmas Quilt!  I used the Turning 20 pattern.I started collecting Christmas fabric, hoping to find batiks, but those were few and far between so I supplemented with some other holiday patterns.  I finished the top in 2008!  So, it’s about time to get it quilted and ready to cuddle under for next December.

I think I can freehand the design on this one with some simple swirls and holly leaves.  Let’s see if I can ignore the seams to get a true overall design.

Longarm UFOs for 2012

Judy at Patchwork Times is hosting a UFO Challenge.  Simple rules:  each month she will randomly draw a number, we find that project on our list and work on finishing it by month end.

1. Twisted Sister

2. Karen’s Moda Stars QOV

3.  Gold Sash QOV

4.  Square-n-Square QOV

5.  Christmas Turnng 20

6.  Boxy Stars QOV

7.  Sedona Stars

8.  Butterfly posies

9.  Mom’s ribbon weave

10.  Hidden Stars BOM

11.  Mardi Gras bargello

12.  3 P’s in a Pod

My ultimate goal is to keep my longarm loaded and send twelve quilts to Quilts of Valor.  There are a few on this list, a couple in the binding pile, and a few on the horizon to be pieced.