Creating UFOs (unfinished projects)

So it is 11:06 at night, I have to get up at 4:00 am and I am wide awake.  I should have never taken that nap this afternoon. I can't sew, (it would wake up my husband) so I decided to blog.  Killian made me a nice mug of warm milk and hopefully by the time I am done, it will have kicked in.

This past week I went to Pack Expo with my husband.  It was a great time and I bought home a whole suitcase fool of swag. Mostly bags but lots of pens, some stress balls, and some tape measures/rulers. But mostly bags.  I had to buy a new suitcase to bring it all home in.  I had a great time and saw some amazing machinery and cool applications that I would love to see at my work.

We got home late on Thursday night and I was looking forward to working on the two quilts that need borders on Friday.  Guess what, I didn't.  I did clean up the studio a bit, I did laundry, and I did start to cut the borders, at least the inner border. But that is where I stalled out.

Knowing that I can't force myself, and get good results, I decided to try a different tack. I set aside the borders and pulled out the 2 inch blocks I had left over from the Joyfully Scrappy quilt (one of the ones that need borders). I decided I would just start chain piecing them into 4 patch units. I pulled my machine to the front of my work surface and started. Or I should say tried to start. The fabric wasn't feeding well at all.  The surface of the machine was rough and a little tacky.

I did a quick wipe down of the machine and I still couldn't get the fabric to feed smoothly. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened.  Then I remembered, a few weeks ago I had sprayed a basting spray onto a cork board to get some paper to adhere.  I had not protected my work surface from over spray.  I had cleaned up the surface but didn't realize that my machine had been hit.  Clorox wipes wouldn't remove it. So I put the machine aside until I could get a Mr. Clean Magic eraser.

That was when I decided that I didn't have enough contrast in the 2 inch squares. I decided that I would take more of the 4 inch square blocks and make some more 2 inch squares.  Which then evolved into planning a quilt using 16 patch units and four patch units. Over the past 3 days I have cut 1400 - 2 inch squares. I am rather excited to get going on this quilt. It will be another quilt that is using up what I have on hand.

I got inspired to use what I have in my stash from watching a video series on YouTube.  It was by Karen Brown of "Just Get It Done Quilts". She talks about shopping from your stash first.  She even talks about inventorying your stash and figuring out how many quilts you can make with what you have.  I haven't inventoried my stash yet. That is a project for a weekend when my daughters are around. Anyway, she has a blog page and several more video series as well as a face book page, You really should check her out.  It's like group therapy for quilters, especially beginner quilters.

So instead of finishing up UFOs, I have started another one.  I think I've mentioned before that I really like the piecing part of quilting. Even though I really need to get better at it. I plan to get my sewing machine cleaned up tomorrow evening. Then for a little while each night I will stitch away to my heart's content. I will make this my getting back on track project.  Basically a project to work on when I am feeling the need to stitch but not the need to finish up a project. Sort of a way to recharge my quilting energy.

I will definitely get around to cutting those borders and making the backs for the two quilts sitting on the long arm.  I will also get the label on the starry night quilt. Plus I need to finish up my Irish chain quilt.  I am excited to get that one done and on Millie because I already know how I am going to quilt it and what thread I am going to use.

On top of that Emerson wants me to make him a quilt for his bed.  I know what I want to do and just need to pull the fabric from my stash.  And I need to make Aurora a quilt for her bed too.  Don't know about that one yet.  Too many plans and not enough time.

What is in your stash? What project do you have planned? What is inspiring you these days?

No New Projects Yet

Wow has it been 3 weeks already?  I am completely out of touch with time these days.  It just seems to fly by.  To make matters worse I am not getting anything done. The two quilt tops that need borders are still sitting on Millie waiting for their borders.  I haven't even cut them out yet. 

Lately my days outside of work have consisted of cooking, cleaning and laundry.  Kim has been out of town during the week but is home on weekends. That means catching up on things he wants us to get done. Plus having Grandkids over so they get some time with Santapa. (which is way more important than quilting)

So in the last 3 weeks, I've canned 8 quarts of pears off our trees and 4 quarts of pickled eggs from our chickens.  We've spent a Saturday with the new family members (Shauhanna, Jeff and Zack), the guys went fishing and the gals went shopping.  And I have prepped and taught a jewelry making class for church.  All of which have been very enjoyable but seem to interfere with my quilting and sewing.

Also I have been in the midst of an asthma flare since August 14th.  I went to the Doctor on September 12th and he put me on Prednisone for 10 days.  I am feeling much better but now need to try and catch up on everything I didn't get done.

This week I am on vacation and am heading to Pack Expo in Vegas.  Pack Expo is like a car show for packaging equipment.  So yes it is a vacation but it is also work related.  Kim is going for work and I am tagging along. So this week will be devoid of quilting as well.  I am taking my Swedish weaving to work on in the hotel at night.

In the meantime, I have been watching some videos and am starting to make some plans.  I am going to get a handle on my stash.  I am going to get a handle on the UFOS. And I am going to get a handle on my scraps.  I have some great ideas.  Now to just make a plan and put it in action.

What have you been up to?

Joy in the Process

This past week has been as busy as the one before.  House and Studio are far from clean. Yet dishes have been done just about every night. (okay so we are eating off paper plates but the cooking dishes still have to be done) I even sewed a few evenings.  But mostly I was under the weather.  I have been fighting an asthma flare for a couple of weeks now (19 days).  I have been wiped out most evenings.  Killian, the good boy that he is, has been trying to take care of me despite still being under the weather himself.

We still have 4 baby piggies, the chickens are laying 5-7 eggs a day, the dog and cats are still alive and doing well. All of which has been a big concern to my real life Mowgli, Perigrine. Since she will be in Nevada for awhile, Perigrine is convinced the animals are going to die from lack of attention and care. But Killian and I doing a decent job even if I do say so myself.

As for sewing/quilting, I managed to finish piecing the top of the the tag team quilt. I have decided to name this quilt "Joyfully Scrappy".  I have had the joined rows hanging on the rollers of my long arm in between sewing sessions. Every time I walk out of my bedroom and into my studio, I would see that partial quilt top and it just makes me happy.  It may sound Silly but it does.  I puts me in a better mood for the day and since I have to go through the Studio to get to my bedroom, I walked past it quite often.

I don't know what it is about this top.  Maybe it is because I found a use for fabric squares that I have had for a long time. Maybe it is the pattern and the colors.  May be it is the whole process of making it. I just know that I hated to fold it up today.  But I don't want it draping on the floor. Especially since the dog is following me around and hanging out in what ever room I am in.  I am hoping to get it measured and add the borders this next week.  I also need to do that to Aurora's quilt. I should be ready to start quilting at least one of those next weekend if not both. That is progress.

For the next project I am torn between:

1. Adding on to the sides of my Irish chain quilt to make it more bed friendly
2. Starting a Key hole quilt for Emerson, using some jelly roll strips I've had for a while
3. Doing a layer cake quilt that I have a kit I bought last year.
4. A simple 4 patch quilt using some 5 inch squares that I have on hand

We'll see which jumps onto my work table first.  It may not be any of those. I have plenty of project to choose from. I just don't know which one yet.

What are you working on? Have you got your next one planned?