Help!!!! My UFO's are Multiplying!!!!

UFOs or unfinished objects are one of my down falls. Its not that I lose interest in the quilt, it's more that I am inspired to get another one going.  Plus I love piecing.  It is cathartic for me. So I really enjoy sitting down at my machine in the evening. Especially, if it's been a stressful day.

I have reached the point on my 16 & 4 patch quilt that I need to lay it out. But since I don't have any surface large enough to lay it out on I have set it to the side.  Now this isn't a really good excuse to stop working on the quilt as I could do it in quadrants. But I really want the design wall and by holding off, I am hoping I can pressure my husband to get it made.  So I've set it aside for now.   Yes, I am being manipulative. I don't care. I've designed the dang thing, but he's an engineer so he has to take my design and tweak it. Hopefully it won't take much longer.

The Scrappy Joy quilt is still laying on the long arm. It still needs borders. I found a lovely blue print for the outer border and have been auditioning it for a couple of weeks. It is a little more modern than the prints in the quilt and I've been concerned about it going together. I actually have decided not to do an inner border on it. So I am kind of glad I waited.

Aurora's Pretty in Pink quilt also needs borders.  I have the borders and back picked out for it as well. I think it will be adorable once it is done.  Aurora is getting a little impatient to have it done. I really need to get it finished for her.

Perigrine's Starry Night quilt is done except for the label.  I just need to make a label and sew it on.  How pitiful is that?  For over a year the quilt has been waiting for its label.

I still need to make the Irish Chain quilt more bed friendly. I have the fabric and the plan. I am going to make flying geese to go on each side. I think I will put a small border between the chain and the flying geese borders then match it with small outer borders all around.  So what's the hold up? I've never made flying geese. I have the directions and a ruler for trimming. I want to be able to focus on it.  So it's sitting patiently for me to get my mind wrapped around it and my courage screwed up to do it.

Five UFOs waiting to be finished. None of them are going to take a whole lot of work to finish. So why on earth did I start another quilt.  Mostly because I was upset. Chain piecing helps me to focus on something else. Then eventually I can deal with what is upsetting me.

Remember those 5 inch charm packs, I pulled out a few weeks ago? Four set of prints and four sets of gray. Well I have started sewing them into four patches. All of the print squares have been matched up to gray squares.  I'm in the process of pressing them open and matching them up to make the four patch blocks.  Then it will be time to trim.  So I've actually started a 6th quilt. That is unless I decide to make two throw size quilts then there will be 7 UFOs to finish.  I think I will probably do 2 throw size quilts as the colors are a bit much for a bed even with the gray.

Now you might think that with the COVID -19 situation and all the self isolation and the lock downs going on all over the country, I will have some free time for me to get some of these done. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a couple of weeks to catch up. But alas, I work in the food industry. Which is considered critical infrastructure.  And since I am a quality supervisor, my position is considered vital to production. In short I will not be staying home during a lock down.  So no time for catching up on projects at least not for me.

I guess I will just have to start planning my time more carefully, use my evenings to get caught up, and my weekends to get them quilted. That is if I can get my husband to put away his office each night.  He has to work from home and the only place for him to really set up is my sewing desk.  Which is fine. I can share. At least for a little while. Maybe.

How many UFOs do you have?  How are you going to get them finished?  What are you doing during the self-isolation and/or lock downs?

Good, Better, Best and Quilting

This week's installment has actually taken me two weeks to write. and I didn't even cover all I have accomplished these past two weeks. Life is still getting in the way of my wants. But I think it's worth the wait. I think I will take what I didn't get in this blog into next weeks.  Maybe consider them installments on how I'm improving. Join me again for next week's saga. LOL - Amy

I'm sure that anyone who works in industry some where will agree that there are all sorts of buzz words and phrases that are meant to convey vital messages. My work is in the food industry, specifically Quality in the food industry.  One of the phrases I hear a lot is: Good, Better, Best.  Usually they are talking about policies or way we do things.  For example, a good practice would be to send out random samples periodically for microbiological testing, a better practice would be to send out a random sample daily for microbiological testing, the best practice is to routinely gather samples throughout the day and send all off for compositing and microbiological testing.  While all practices deal with making sure the food we produce is safe, the best practice does more to ensure all the food produced is safe by taking more samples. Good, Better, Best

As I have thought of this phrase I've come to realize that it can (and probably should) be applied to other areas in our lives. For the purpose of today's blog, it's Quilting.  Let me start right now by saying I am not a competition quilter. I doubt that I will ever
enter a quilt in a show.  But I love to quilt and I am striving to be better at it. Hence the Good Better Best.  I am sure everyone has quilting habits that could be improved and I am starting to pick out a few of my own to work on.

Stitching straight - I tend to quilt as a way to relieve stress. So some times I am distracted.  I want that 1/4 inch seam.  The good practice was to use a quarter inch foot. I just needed to line up the edge of the fabric with the edge of the quarter inch foot. But I had to pay really close attention to keep it there.  The better practice was to get a quarter inch foot with a blade on the side to run the fabric against. It was easier to keep the fabric in the right place but I had a tendency to let the fabric slide to one side before the foot which made the stitching a little wavy.  Also I discovered that both of the quarter inch feet move just a little so who knows how accurate they were. 

After watching a video about stitching straight by Karen Brown from Just Get It Done Quilts, I decided to make some changes.  I went for a best practice. First I started with a sewing ledge. A
sewing ledge is several layers of painter's tape stacked up and place on your machine 1/4 inch from the needle.  I used my Add a Quarter ruler. I brought the needle down on the center line, made sure it was straight by using a small level, then lined up my tape with the edge of the ruler.  It worked like a charm. Why yes, that is my 1/4 inch foot on the machine.  There is about a 16th of and inch difference in the presser foot and the sewing ledge. When I laid the quarter inch ruler on the edge of the seam allowance the stitching was right on the line. The sewing ledge worked like a charm.

Now a sewing ledge is nothing new to me. I used it when I taught 4-H girls to sew.  But I am an experienced sewist and thought I didn't need it.  I let my pride get in the way of making things easier.  Hey in this day and age we all need to admit our short comings and not let pride get in the way of improving.

Another strategy I had heard of but never used was starting and ending strips. If I am not paying attention, When I start stitching a seam I will get a bird nest of thread under the beginning of the piece. Not a best practice by any means. By using a small scrap of fabric to start on the bird's nest will be on the scrap. The ending strips would be to keep units separate. So all pieces from one block would be between the two strips when you are chain piecing. I haven't really used the ending strips because I haven't been working with any complicated block designs. I tend to do all the blocks in steps. Another tip I picked up somewhere was to put the needle down and push the fabric up against the needle to start.  That helps keep the fabric from being pulled down my the feed dogs.


So I started doing both of these as I sewed my wind mill blocks.  I also took Karen Brown's advice to cut scraps into block sizes and use those for starters.  I've made a few four patches while  getting the windmill blocks done.  I even set up a bunch more to use for the putting the blocks together.  I have to say this is a little bit energizing.  It's like getting two for one. I get the threads under control and I get a few more blocks for another quilt.  I think I may use these four patches for the center of a star block or churn and dash.  Maybe the center of a scrappy nine patch.  The possibilities are kind of exciting.

One more area that I struggle keeping my seams straight is when I stitch over the center of a four patch or especially a windmill.  The center seam is really thick and my presser foot likes to stall out. I usually end up tugging it to get it to move. Not even a good practice. Every time I end up with a little arc in the seam. I've tried stitching over it again and I've never been terribly happy with the results. Thick, bulky seams are the worse for accuracy. The little arc creates fullness that keeps the top from being flat.  All of that is bad for the long armer who quilts it.  In my case it's me.  Fixing things now makes my job easier later on.

But Karen Brown to the rescue again.  She suggests that you take some of your starter squares and fold them up. Then when you get to that Bulky seam raise the presser foot and place you folded fabric in the back of the needle. Lower the presser foot and stitch away. It really works.  I didn't have to restitch due to crooked stitching.  Definitely a best practice.

I did have to rip out a few seams because I didn't make sure the seam allowances were flat.  That caused part the seam allowance to flip and left an open seam on the back.  It could be worse, and in the past I would have let it go. But I felt that I was working for better results. Besides it would be easier to meet the seams when I constructed the top if I fixed it.  But if I'm paying attention when I sew I don't have that problem.  It all comes down to me paying attention.

I was so excited with what I learned and figured out these past few weeks that I had to show my daughters. They all were very positive, even the non quilters, but Tatianna seemed to soak it up and I am sure she will start using these techniques in her quilting.

I think that is enough for this week.  I have a lot more to share and I will again next week.  But for now I am really happy with my nice, square, flat blocks that are ready to go on the design wall and be put into a top.  I feel like maybe, just maybe I am improving my skills.  I just need to accept my short comings, and continue to break bad habits.

How are your skills coming?

What Happened to February?

When I was little, I never understood how time could fly for my parents but take so long for me. But now that I am older, I find that time moves at the speed of light. I seriously don't know where February went. What I do know is that I was always on the go, working long hours for both my job and church and got sick to boot. I just can't seem to catch up on anything.

Let's see I last blogged on 2/2/2020 and here it is 3/1/2020. A whole month later, what Have I done with this month?.  I'm not really sure, it has been a blur.  I was doing fairly decent at the 30-30-30 thing. I may not have done it everyday but I was managing to do it a few days a week that first week.

On the 8th, I got re-certified in First Aid and CPR. I've kind of lost my excitement over that since I've been certified since I was 12. We had our Family Fun Day at Church and I think it went well. 

The following week I worked a long day on Monday, spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the hospital with Miss Betty while she had a TAVR done. Turned around and worked 2 more very long days at work. Then went down to some training for Family History in Tallahassee for half the day.

Miss Betty is doing well and she has my Perigrine there to help her not overdo. It has been two weeks without my maid and I really miss her.  My 30-30-30 has been more of cooking dinner-taking care of animals and making lunches. I also miss Perigrine because while she doesn't quilt, she's great sounding board for ideas.  She is very artistic and has a good eye for color and pattern.

The following week was full of long days. I should clarify what I consider a long day. Any thing over 9 hours I consider a long day. Remember I commute and hour each way. By the afternoon of the 15th I had a head ache I couldn't get rid of, which turned into a nasty cold. The next week was full of long days and surprise changes in management at work. Both the Sanitation Manager and the Operations Manager were let go. Which led me to working half a day on Saturday 2/22. After which I went to bed for the rest of the weekend.

This past Monday, I went to work with no voice. I even resorted to the cough syrup with codeine because I felt so miserable.  By Friday, I was feeling better. But as of Saturday, I believe I am relapsing. This past week I worked no less than 9-1/2 hours. In fact, that was the short day. Most were 10-1/2 hours. Plus I worked 4-1/2 hours today.  I am not expecting this next week to be a whole lot better. So I'm not sure how productive I am going to be at home.

So where in that mess did I get any work done? Well the house is a mess but we are slowing chipping away at it. Killian and I are doing quite well taking care of each other.  Quilting wise I got a little bit done. 

So while I was at the hospital watching over Betty, I did make some Hexies.  I actually did quite a few Hexies. I love the Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern and I was really pleased with my progress. I am even going to cut out some more. I've already cut strips and marked them for 3 other fabrics. I just need to cut them out.

The thing with hexies is they really are a good project to take with you places.  I just need to figure out a better toting system.  The little bag I have now doesn't have a closure on the center compartment. I may just put some Velcro on it but I haven't decided yet.

I finally got all my half square triangle blocks trimmed up. I finished them up yesterday.  There for a while I didn't think I was ever going to get them done.  It seemed to be taking forever. In fact, I had even decided to start up another project in the mean time.

You know how I told you that the thing I like most about quilting is the piecing.  I was fighting some depression and decided I needed to piece instead of trim.  So I got out a set of charm packs. I figured I could do some chain piecing and feel like I was getting something done.  I chose a very colorful charm pack called Church Ladies Aprons.  So while my daughter TaKayren was chatting with me I laid it out on my bed.  I was going for a throw size quilt. I had it all laid out and picked up by rows.  But then it was time to get some rest.  This was when I was starting to come down with the cold.  The next day I was looking at the picture and decided I needed to cut all that color with some thing else.  It was just too much. I pulled all the bundles I made for the rows apart and sorted them by color. I am going to turn these into 4 patch blocks. So now I am trying to decide on whether to use a light ivory charm or a gray charm. I know that I have 4 pack of each of those colors. White would be too stark and black to dark.  So that is back on the drawing board.


One thing I did discover this month is I am doing better with my stitching accuracy.  When I trimmed up the HST blocks I was getting very little off.  I had made them with 4 inch blocks instead of 3-7/8 inch blocks so I had a little wiggle room.  Here is a sample of some of the trimmings. As you can see very little came off any of the blocks.  I was so pleased with my self.

Well it's past bed time and I am beat.  I am still struggling with the cold and work is promising to be hectic this week.  I hope I can get things caught up both at work and home. 

How are you doing?