February UFO Completed

I am in Ocean City Maryland for the annual Bayside Quilters Retreat. I got 3 quilts totally finished for the month.

This first one is UFO #10 which was the number drawn by Judy for February. I made this top in 2005. The two main focus fabrics are Jane Sassaman prints.

 This next one is hand appliqued. It is a block that was done for my Baltimore Album Bee. The idea was to try dimensional applique.  It was started in 2009. This is UFO #6b. 6 was the number drawn for January. Since I identified 18 UFOs for the year, 6 of my numbers have 2 items listed. Now I am caught up. I have all of January and February finished.

 This baby quilt is for Amelia (a friend's baby). She was born in November. Her baby dedication is at church on March 20th. I plan to give it to her that day. I just need to make a label.

I am having a great time at retreat. I need to get back to sewing. 

Stash Report, Week 9, 2011

I am on the right track again. The fabric I used this week was for backing and binding for my 2 UFOs.

Used this Week: 5 1/2 yards

Used year to Date: 38 1/4 yards

Added this Week: 0 yards

Added Year to Date: 53 yards

Net Used for 2011: (14 3/4 yards)

Wedding Anniversary

My husband and I just got home from a nice dinner out for our anniversary. We have been married 28 years. 

Yesterday I finished quilting UFO 6b which was my 2nd UFO for January. 

I will get it bound before the end of February and be all caught up.

UFO for February is Quilted

I am participating in Judy's UFO Challenge 2011 here at Patchwork Times. For February #10 was chosen. This is my UFO #10. 

It was pieced in 2005 and features 2 large print fabrics by Jane Sassaman.

I absolutely love her fabrics and am very pleased with how this quilt turned out.

I had never seen a Jane Sassaman print until I went to Washington state to visit my sister in 2004, and I immediately fell in love.

We really seem to be behind the times as far as fabrics go here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

About 2 years ago our guild sent around a survey asking if there were certain types of programs or speakers we would like to have come in. I requested Jane Sassaman thinking like that would never happen. Well, she is coming in August and I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!

One reason I have put off quilting this is that I did not want to mess it up. Turns out I am very happy with it. One little flaw though: If you look at the picture of the entire quilt you will see one block set wrong. As many times as I have looked at this over the years I never noticed that until I saw it in the picture. Did you see it before I pointed it out?

On the back I put this Valorie Wells print that I have had since 2005. I never really knew what to do with it so here it is on the back.

Sunday I am leaving for retreat and will get it bound there before the end of the month.

A Starry Night

This VanGogh quilt belongs to Sally. She wanted feather ovals in the open areas and then fill in with feathers, so that is what she got. I love feathers and I love doing feathers.

This circle quilt is for one of the ladies that works at JoAnns that has cancer.

This week I have also been trying to get ready for retreat and attempting to finish up my UFO for February.

Stash Report, Week 8, 2011

At least I did not buy any fabric this week!

Used this Week: 5 1/4 yards

Used year to Date: 32 3/4 yards

Added this Week: 0 yards

Added Year to Date: 53 yards

Net Used for 2011: (20 1/4 yards)

The Mail Has Arrived

Wednesday at Art Bee we discussed working through a book together as a group. About 6 different books were presented that day. The 2 pictured above ended at the top of the list. I was so excited about them I came home and ordered them from Amazon that afternoon. You can imagine my surprise and delight when the mailman delivered them today. I can not wait to sit down with a cup of hot tea and peruse through them. I think the plan is to choose what book we will do at our next meeting in March.

Art Bee Challenge

The Art Bee met today to reveal our completed projects for the Common Object Challenge.

Monica's object was a golf tee and she actually used it in the quilt.

Margaret had a pair of gaudy parrot earrings. This was her interpretation of them because she used to have a bird in a cage that escaped.

Alice had the tabs from a soda can to work with. 

 She used the tabs for the base of the earrings.

Phyllis had an iron puzzle. Of course I think she could always find a way to incorporate Ginkgo leaves.

Marjie was lucky enough to have some money as her inspiration, so she made a money purse to keep her money in.

Not everyone was able to make it today and some of those present did not complete the challenge.

We also discussed what we as a group would like to do next. A few books were suggested and we will decide at the March meeting.

Usually we meet at the home of one of our members but today we enjoyed the day out at Panera Bread.

Common Object Challenge Complete

Today is the big reveal. Earlier I had posted about the Art Bee Challenge.

The common object that I received for my inspiration was this kitchen wire whisk.  As you can see from the above picture I simply used it as a pattern.

I love these colors together and the blanket stitch completes it. The ripples on the background fabric represents the ripples that would be made by the whisk.

I love this so much I am thinking of making a quilt using this as a pattern.

Blue Stars

This is my mom's quilt. I finished it yesterday but not without incident. I was quilting along and I ran out of white tread for the bobbin. I went to the cupboard to get out another cone of white. I was horrified when I discovered I did not have any more white. How in the world did that happen. I always have extra cones of thread on hand.

I looked everywhere and found a small spool of white quilting thread. I put that on to wind bobbins and continued on my way. 

A few spools later again I was horrified as my top thread broke and when I looked I was out of top thread. Now what do I do? I could zip the quilt off so I could work on another, order more thread and finish it after the thread arrived. But with the quilt being so big and so white I did not really want to do that and I just wanted to get it done.

I have a friend who has a tin lizzie and she just lives a few miles from me. I really hate to be a bother but I called her at work to see if she had some white thread I could borrow. She was glad to help me out. So I wouldn't have to wait until evening, she called her husband (who works close to home) to get the thread out and put it on the porch. She said to give him a half hour. In the mean time I had someone come to drop off a quilt and it was over an hour until I got there. When I got there I could not find the thread anywhere. I called her. (I guess her husband got busy.) She told me how to get in her house and where to find the thread. I was on the phone with her the whole time I was in the house. As I was going out and locking the door I realized just a little too late that I did not have her keys. I think I left them in the sewing room. Her adult son who lives there gets home from work before her and he does not have a key. I just knew I was going to be a bother. At least I got that quilt done yesterday.

Stars of Blue

My daughter was sick this week and she was home from school 3 days. I spent a lot of time with her and we watched a few movies. Anyway, I did not get much quilting done. When I did quilt I was working on this one of my mom's. The stars are all paper pieced.

Stash Report, Week 7, 2011

What can I say? I am in the red again.

Used this Week: 3/4 yards

Used year to Date: 27 1/2 yards

Added this Week: 28 1/2 yards

Added Year to Date: 53 yards

Net Used for 2011: (25 1/2 yards)

This week's purchase.

Serendipity

I was a very bad girl today. I went fabric shopping again. After all cotton fabric is going up. It was my first time at a shop that I absolutely LOVE! The shop is Serendipity in Dagsboro, DE. It really isn't that far; about 1 hour and 15 minutes away.

Our first stop was upstairs with all of the sale fabric. I was able to find some great fabric upstairs.

Margaret found a few things upstairs too. Chris went with us but she would not let me take her picture.

Counting up all of my sale items plus regular priced fabric I averaged just under $6 per yard. Just about as good as going to Lancaster but a lot closer.

You are not going to believe this but I intended to purchase some blue fabric. As you can see I was drawn to my favorites; orange and green and a little brown.

Aren't they all positively beautiful?

This really isn't going to look good on my Stash Report tomorrow.