Quilting in 2023

 It's 2023, the year to get my tops quilted! 

I've decided to join @allpeoplequilt on Instagram doing a monthly UFO challenge.  We picked 12 UFOs and number them 1 to 12. All People Quilt will pick a number each month...that's the project to work on and HOPEFULLY finish it.

This is my list. Two of my projects aren't quilts, just sewing that needs to be done. I have an ottoman in the basement family room that has seen it's best days. It needs to be reupholstered desperately. I've had the fabric to do it for over a year. Maybe doing this challenge will be the push I need to do it.

I also put recovering two living pillows as a UFO. This is an easy thing to do but I just keep putting it off. 

So for January APQ picked #3. That's this one,  my gray star quilt.  

The quilting has been started but I stopped when I got really frustrated. I wanted it machine and hand quilted. We'll, as I finished up a section of hand work, I thought I'd put in a bit of fancy free-motion quilting. I did feathers in four corners. But, I used too light of a thread and it looked TERRIBLE. I knew I'd never be happy with how it looked so decided to remove all those stitches.  It took FOREVER and that's when I shelved it. It's ready to be worked on again I just need motivation. 😩  Maybe I should start with some hand quilting. 

UFO #10 is done

And January's UFO is finished (www.patchworktimes.com)...except for binding but I'm saving that to do on the drive to Florida.

Here's a couple of closeups...

This is the applique center that I made before sending this off to a bunch of internet quilter friends. It became my favorite Round Robin quilt. 

And on this edge...see the cactus I FMQ into the brown?... a special detail for All southwest quilt.

The quilt tops are piling up

This very old UFO is a top! Yay!! 

Today I should be able to get it pin basted....get it quilted over the weekend,....bound on Monday...and mailed to my brother on Tuesday. His birthday is a week from Saturday. I think there's a little wiggle room in that schedule...

These blocks were from an online swap with quilter friends back in...?...maybe 2009? We all made blocks using an outdoor theme, then there was a drawing and I won. I've always planned on this being a guys quilt...just took forever to get it pieced. It's not my type of fabrics/colors so I kind of procrastinate working on it.

And here's project number 2...I have a nephew that was married and is now having a reception....I want them to have a quilt. Problem is I don't know what they like...don't know their colors...etc

So, I'm giving them a choice of one of the 5 quilt tops I have finished or almost finished.

These are the five:

Getting ready for the 4th

Three rows done, 4 to go on my Charlevoix quilt. I'm very happy with the design of this one. 

Henry went strawberry picking with Al and I. He found a HUGE double berry...and of course had to eat it. It's a good thing they don't weigh little ones on the way out! He ate his share:)

When we got home, I made freezer strawberry jam (our favorite) and pumpkin cookies. The cookies are for my brothers that are stopping by on their way to the Upper Peninsula...heading to their summer cottage. They love these cookies that I usually only make in the fall. 

Cherry Festival is being set up downtown and traffic is getting bad. I'm just going to hide out at home and get ready for the biggest week of the year!

Making progress

Well this sampler is quilted! So nice to feel the progress.

Yesterday was a beautiful day but COLD! Al and I were babysitting Henry. During nap time I got to finish the quilting and pick out a binding.

Barb, here's my basting space...fits a lap sized quilt but not much larger. The next quilt that needs basting will have me rolling back the rug for a couple of days.

So my old friend Denise (not age kind of old!) told me about a UFO challenge on the PATCHWORK TIMES BLOG. I'm not officially doing it but I decided to follow it this month. 

She has you make a list of 12 projects then pulls a number a month ....you work on completing that one. So number 3 on my list is dr. Seuss. I plan to finish this up and hope to check it off that rediculously long UFO list. PATCHWORK TIMES BLOG

Another project sitting on my design floor is this Mumbo Jumbo. A group of us in town are making these to use up strip scraps that we have been saving. I have my strips stacked in a shoe box... RIGHT UP TO THE TOP :) This is a really EASY, and fun pattern. I plan to donate this one to the hospital through our quild. Hopefully, it will be done quickly... my list of WIPs hasnt gotten any smaller.

Im working on a quilt from one of my books by Jean Wells, Through the Garden Gate. It's a great way to use up scraps/ pieces of purple and green. I made the first 16 blocks that she has in the quilt and decided it needs to be MUCH bigger so I plan to make 64 blocks and then I'll see if that will work. I'll be adding a border on but not the one she has pictured in the book. Im thinking a softer border with appliqued purple flowers and green stems wandering around the edges... but I dont want to get ahead of myself. I have lots of projects out there and need to finish a few others first.