UFO Challenge for February

I did finish my January UFO - early in the month.  For February, Judy has picked UFO #1.  For me, that is Sunbonnet Sue.  The top is completed, need to make a backing and get it quilted.  That won't happen for a little while, since I have my moth wallhanging (to be called Night Flyers) loaded.  I'm still having trouble with backlash in the bobbin, so need to either change the bobbin thread or get some bobbin washers, or something.  That will have to wait for an opportunity to go to the quilt shop.  Maybe Saturday afternoon, depending on how long the USADance board meeting goes. 

Another UFO finish

Watching the Saints/49ers football game, I've finished stitching down the binding on my NYE 2008 (I think?) mystery - the dinosaur themed toddler quilt.  This one is ca. 60 x 60, so a nice size for a lap quilt or toddler bed.  I'm pleased with how this turned out - it's going to make some child happy.  This one was #8 on my UFO list for the year.

  This one started the year with the binding on, ready to stitch down, so didn't require a lot of work to finish.  Now I need to get something else to that point to have a good project for handwork while watching football on TV.

2012 UFO Challenge

Well, I need to post my official list on the link-up with Judy at Patchwork Times.  I've numbered the top 12 things on my UFO list so I can keep track of them, but here's the list:
1  Sunbonnet Sue  - top finished, needs quilting
2  Jelly Roll 1600 - top finished, needs quilting
3  QOV mystery - needs borders
4  SITP - have the blocks pieced; deciding if I want to make it larger
5  Planet Patchwork mystery tablerunner - blocks at start of the day
6  Summer 2008 mystery - top finished, needs quilting
7  President's memory quilt - needs corners on the top
8  NYE 2008 mystery - binding in progress
9  Christmas stars swap blocks - blocks
10 Fractured mini - top finished, needs quilting
11 Colorwash wallhanging - top finished - needs quilting (may add applique first)
12 Moth wallhanging - needs borders

So for January, Judy picked #5 - and I've already gone up and put the blocks together and finished it!

UFO Challenge for January

Well, this is starting well.  Judy has picked #5 for the UFO Challenge for January.  I have the Planet Patchwork mystery tablerunner as my #5 for 2012.  That one should be pretty quick to finish up - I need to sash between the three blocks, then layer, quilt and bind.  I'll probably go up an work on that some in a few minutes.  I like easy starts for the year!

3:45 PM - no time like the present - I found an orange, sashed the three blocks, found a scrap of batting that was the perfect size, used the same orange for the back, and did a simple stitch-in-the-ditch quilting on the DSM.  I even folded the backing around to the front for a binding and machine stitched it down.  So I have my first finish of 2012!

UFO for May

Judy pulled the number for May's UFO - #9.  Checking my list, my #9 is the Quilt Bug mystery - and it's already finished!  So I'll focus on finishing #1 and #4 - I'm behind in those. 
This evening, I've been hand stitching the binding on my #1 UFO - and have gotten half-way done.  So I should be able to finish that this week while we watch TV. 

My #4 is currently on the quilting machine (Mexican Cross).  It's about 1/3 way there.  I need to tear out part of the stitching that's on there now because of poor tension, but I'll wield the seam ripper after I finish the rest of the quilting.  I worked on that a bit today before we went out to eat. 

UFO #6 Complete

Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times is running a UFO Challenge for the year.  Each month, she picks a number, and you are challenged to complete that number UFO on your list.  I have my list with my top 12 selected on my sidebar.  January's number was 6.  For me, #6 was a wallhanging I made as part of a challenge on the Yahoo group, The Quilting Post.  We had a particular challenge fabric we had to use.  I chose to make a fractured panel out of the fabric, and used that as the focal point for a "stained glass window" or "garden gate" style quilt. All it needed was quilting and binding.  I finished the binding the first week of January, but it took me until this past weekend to actually get all the loose thread ends clipped.

Here it is finished:

And a close-up of the "fractured" panel in the center:

This is done by cutting multiple repeats of the same section of fabric, and then subcutting each one from a slightly different starting place, then sewing those repeats all together.    The side panels are of the challenge fabric.  I really like how this turned out.  I took it in to the office on Monday and have it hanging on my office wall.

See how everyone else did with their January challenge here.
February's number is 10 - for me, my fall tablerunner.  I need to trim the sides, quilt and bind. So that will probably be my sewing for Saturday - maybe I can have it ready to hand stitch down binding during the Superbowl.

UFO #6

I pulled out UFO #6 this week - it's my challenge quilt from The Quilting Post from several years ago.  I couldn't find the leftover challenge fabric I had intended to use for the backing, so I pulled something else from the stash.  This isn't a very large quilt - about 28 x 43.  The quilting is finished, and it's unloaded.  Now it needs trimming and binding.  If I can get the binding on, it might be a good project for in the car on the way to the basketball game tomorrow. 

A new year, a new (old) project

Well, it's the first of the month, so Judy at Patchwork Times has picked this month's number out of the bag:  the first UFO focus project for the year is #6 - for me, that's my TQP Challenge project.  This is ready to be quilted, and the quilting will be used to secure the fusible applique.

Before I get to that one, I need to finish the quilting for the project that's currently on the longarm - that one is actually #9 on my list - the QuiltBug mystery from New Year's Day, 2008.  I'm almost finished with the quilting - I have 3 sides left of the inner border, then the outer border, and the quilting will be done.  I plan to get lots of things quilted this year!

Judy's 2011 UFO Challenge

Judy L. at Patchwork Times is having a UFO Challenge for 2011.  You list 12 projects you want to finish.  On the first day of each month, she will pick a number from 1-12.  That is the project you work on for that month.

My list is:
1. Judy Martin Swap Blocks - finish assembling, borders, quilt, bind
2. Mittens - borders, quilt, bind
3. QOV mystery - borders, quilt, bind
4. Mexican Star - borders, quilt, bind
5. SVQG Round Robin - quilt, bind
6. TQP Challenge - quilt, bind
7. NYE 07 mystery - quilt, bind
8. SITP - decide if it needs to be bigger, (more blocks?), assemble, quilt, bind
9. Quilt Bug 2008 Mystery - quilt, bind
10. Fall tablerunner - borders, quilt, bind
11. Sunbonnet Sue - quilt, bind
12. Christmas stars blocks - setting, borders, quilt, bind

Are you seeing a pattern here?  Lots of things get held up at the "needing borders" stage.  And I have a lot of quilting to do.  Next week leading up to Christmas is going to be busy with family, but the week after Christmas is vacation - and I plan to spend some time in my sewing room.  It would be good to get some of the backings and binding ready for all the quilts I'm going to try to get quilted next year.