My official list of UFOs

Here it is.

(drum roll please) 

My Official List of UFOs

(with photographs to support the current state of each project).

My goal is to work on finishing UFOs all year long, while I will also be starting new projects (because I just cannot help it!).

1)  The first project that I hope to finish in 2016 is my version of the Drunkard Wife's QAL.

I have six blocks completed (minus the embroidery on the top one) and must finish six more.  I'm thinking I may even add a few additional blocks of my own variation before finishing this quilt.  This is a fun quilt-along project that my friend Felice Regina came up with.  Feel free to make one of your own -- all the directions for each block can be found here.  Be sure to wander through her website Sew Scatterbrained or follow her on InstaGram where she goes by iamlunasol.  She is also a designer for Windham Fabrics, with her first line debuting at the Spring Market this year.


2) These blocks made of Marcia Derse fabrics need to be finished into a quilt as my second UFO. 

The blocks are from mystery quilt-workshop by Jamie Meuller offered by my Houston Modern Quilt Guild at our October 2015 meeting.  I love the simplicity of the blocks which use Marcia Derse fabrics and Kona Cotton solids.  I am especially excited that I finally cut into my prized Marcia Derse collection!  I haven't finished this quilt yet as I am thinking of making more blocks to end up with a larger quilt, but have not decided what size I wish the finished quilt to be ... yet.


3)  I don't know if a needed repair will count as a finish .... but I'm listing it here anyway as I really really want to use my owl pillow again!

My pillow was mauled by a sweet puppy who is now older and wiser and hopefully will not chew up the repaired pillow.  I made the first owl pillow for an international swap and liked it so much that I made a second one for myself. Click here to see the two pillows.  The whites of the owl's eyes and the beak were made of wool felt - perhaps that's what was appealing to my puppy?  I must decide if I will replace the damaged pieces with new wool felt, or if I will use cotton fabric instead.  What do you recommend?  I need to patch the lower chewed corner somehow too ... wonder if I can find scraps of the original fabric that I used for the background (which is from a hand-painted and over-dyed printed sheet by my friend Liz B).


4) My next UFO that I wish to finish into a quilt is this small piece, a Hamsa with a Texas appliqued in it's center.

 Click here to see how I began the first of my Hamsa series and click here to see the finished trio that were gifted to friends who all married in 2015.  I also made two with Texas on them, like the one above, which were gifted to friends who were heading out of state to begin their college studies in Massachusetts.    When I was making the college gifts, I appliqued a few extra ones -- and I've thought of who I wish to gift this one too, which is why it is now on my "must finish" list of UFOs.


5)  Next, I wish to complete one or more pillows made from silk ties and dress shirts.

I was asked to make these by a friend of a friend and for some reason the little two-letter word (no) did not come out of my mouth!  Instead, I agreed to make the pillows for her, and I have had the ties and shirts since last May ..... time to get these done!


6)   The next collection of blocks waiting to be in a completed piece are these Polaroids.

I have made several Polaroids for myself, and even more to swap and trade with others (both members of the Houston Modern Quilt Guild and through a "Lovely Little Polaroid Swap" held this past Fall on InstaGram).  I am thinking they will be made into zippered pouches and possibly a tote bag or two to carry projects to and from classes.  Or perhaps I will keep the tote to keep my scrapbooking projects inside (the non-digital scrapbook, that is).


7) I have so many projects to finish!  This one should probably be listed as number 2 because I am already envisioning how I wish it to be completed.

These are mostly 12" blocks, though some are larger and the leaves on top are smaller.  I was inspired to make a red-n-white quilt after seeing the wonderful exhibit of red-n-white quilts called the Ruby Jubilee in the 2014 International Quilt Festival, their 40th year.  Click here to see my post with photos from the exhibit.  The blocks in the photo above include many that I made and six that I received in a trade which my local Houston Modern Quilt Guild had with the London Modern Quilt Guild (yes, London, England!)  For every block I made to trade with the London quilters, I made a duplicate one for myself.  I kept making additional blocks (such as the leaves which were a pattern-test that I did for Quiet Play, click here to order your paper-pieced leaf pattern) so that the quilt would be larger .... but recently I've redrafted (mentally) how I will piece this quilt and end up with a quilt the size I desire without needing too many more 12" blocks.


8)  This is the first red-n-white quilt that I began ... with hopes that I would have it quilted and finished in time to enter into the 2014 Ruby Jubilee exhibit.

I made several of these blocks for a swap with my traditional bee, the Block Builders Bee in February of 2014 (click here).  I did make many and traded them and even pieced them into a top at a quilt retreat I attended with my Modern guild last June BUT I have since decided that I want to add a few more rows so that the quilt can fit my bed.  However, I have not pieced the extra blocks (about 16 or 20 I believe -- these are small 8" blocks) .... it will be a race to see which of these two red-n-white quilt UFOs that I will finish first.


9)   This would be an easy one to finish (at least I think it is ...)

These batik split four-patches were made and swapped with my traditional bee, the Block Builders Bee (also mentioned above).  The blocks were pieced into this top at the June Modern Quilt Retreat that I attended (sound familiar?  just like the blocks and top in #8 above).  I need to get this top quilted, labeled and bound for the completion -- I think I can do this one by the deadline!  (I hope!)


10)  This will be my last one to list for this quarter (in part because the deadline to link is approaching fast (within the hour!))

These batik blocks are from the most recent block trade with my Block Builders Bee.  The trade was held last month, December 2015.  I hope to get them pieced and quilted .... but may need to make more blocks first.  I wonder if I am finally making a little dent in my batik collection?  I am dedicated to Sewing My Stash this year!  I have fabric for at least a gazillion quilts, and even more fabric for garments too.  Perhaps in the next quarter I will list clothes that I wish to finish.

I also have mini-quilts to make for swaps on IG, but I won't count them here ... they're not really begun other than the thoughts and plans that are still brewing in my head.

There.

Ten UFOs to try to finish by the end of March, 2016.

The Finish-Along group has gone global and is open to everyone everywhere.  To win the prizes they have, you must follow the guidelines (found here and other places too) and post your linkys to join and to show your finishes as stated in the rules. BUT if you missed the sign-up deadline for this first quarter, sign up for the next quarter (links open the first week of April). OR just keep plugging away and finish your projects and share on IG or FB or on your blog or with your friends and family.  The idea is to focus on finishing projects -- good-bye UFOs and hello quilts!

Love a challenge

The most recent challenge that I've signed up for is the 2015 Michael Miller Glitz Challenge offered to members of the Modern Quilt Guild.

This is the packet that I received,

2 fat eighths of the four prints shown.  

Now I must dream up a quilt to make using these fabrics or others from the Michael Miller Glitz line.  I can use any Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids on the front of the quilt and any Michael Miller fabrics for the binding and back. 

I learned ages ago that I tend to finish challenges -- especially when there are external deadlines set.  This quilt must be finished and entered in the QuiltCon by November 30, 2015.

Oh how I do love a challenge.

Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge

I love entering challenges, and one of these days I aim to win one ... perhaps.  My Mmm PotPie quilt was one of the many QuiltCon rejects this year.  Naturally when I arrived at QuiltCon last week, I had to check out the quilts that were accepted to display in the Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge that Michael Miller held earlier in the year. 

Aren't these solid pastels lovely?   The challenge was to use these pastels and any other solids in the Cotton Couture line by Michael Miller fabrics.  I must confess - Some marvelous quilts were chosen (over mine) for this challenge exhibit.  Here are some of my favorites:

Fractured Churndash by Erin Davis

Evanston, Illinois

Chicago MQG

I love this colorful quilt that is a spin-off of the classic Churn Dash block (one of my favorites).  Erin put a modern spin on the classic block by piecing the center in an improvisational manner.  She actually posted on social media that she was looking for any solid scraps in any color from the Michael Miller Cotton Couture line (as the challenge rules mandated that the quilt top must be made entirely from the Cotton Couture solids). 

detail view of Fractured Churndash

This quilt uses modern techniques in a new fashion and also keeps the iconic look of the classic Churn Dash block.  I love the wash of color across the quilt as well as the randomly set-in darker strips in the setting/framing sashes.  As Erin states, she has "put an effective modern spin on a traditional block with pastels as the primary focus, making this quilt a vibrant example that pastels CAN be modern.  This quilt is an original design by Erin Davis.  Erin writes a blog called Sew at Home Mummy; check it out here: http://www.sewathomemummy.com/

Totally Spring by Dora Cary

Paso Robles, California

Dora explains that her inspiration came from the dandelion blossom.  Her idea was to have smaller dandelions create a larger one and to use gradations of color and size to suggest the spherical shape, slightly drawing inspiration from the style of Romanian quilter Geta Grama. 

detail of Totally Spring by Dora Cary

Dora fused the dandelion petals on the quilt, then slightly stitched them.  Her variety of circular and spiral quilting also enhance the finished look.  This quilt feels like Spring, totally!  In searching for Dora on the web, I discovered that she is the 2015-16 President of the Almond County Quilt Guild (ACQG) in California!

 detail of Pastels Aren't My Favorite by Janet McWorkman

Starting with a peak of the quilting in this lively little quilt.  The name of the quilt lets us know that Janet is not a big fan of pastels.  Perhaps the success of this sweet quilt will change her mind?  

Pastels Aren't My Favorite by Janet McWorkman

Anchorage, Alaska

Janet states"I never sew with pastels.  But this challenge was so much fun and I am happy with the result.  The quilt looks fresh, clean and interesting." [she's exactly right on that!] "I was inspired by the personality the pastels have with the simplicity of the square.  Little shots of dark gray emphasize the coolness of the pastels."  Janet used Electric Quilt software to design her quilt top which is machine pieced and machine quilted.

 Retro Dots and Dashes by Kay Simard

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver MQG

Kay states that her quilt was "inspired by 'Retro lines of black and white' by artist Wen Wen".  Her personal challenge was "to maximize what was provided in order to fulfill the design inspiration".  Her techniques included applique, paper piecing, machine piecing and machine quilting.

detail of Retro Dots and Dashes by Kay Simard

Kay quilted long fluid lines to contrast with the non-organic face design.  These long curved lines provide contrast and yet also adds balance to the overall quilt.

A few more favorites:

Lucky Day by Cynthia Frenette

Mission, British Columbia, Canada

Fraser Valley MQG

Cynthia was inspired by candy colored rainbows, happy rain and or course, candy!  It looks like a fun new board game to me. Let's play.... Fun to discover that Cynthia is a designer for Robert Kaufman fabrics, among other amazing talents!  Click here for her website or here for her blog.

Slashed by Dana Szucs Hayden

Burleson, Texas

Fort Worth MQG

Dana says this is an original design inspired by the Twisted Spokes carpet squares from FLOR.  Click here or here to see a few images of the carpet squares.  Lovely quilt, even more so after seeing the inspiration blocks of carpet.  Dana also has a blog, http://sea-sew.blogspot.com/, with links to her Pinterest and InstaGram.

 Swan in the Water (Justin Nozuka) by Kristyn McCoy

Ilderton, Ontario, Canada

London (Canada) MQG

Listening to Swan in the Water provided the inspiration for this colorful quilt.  Kristyn arranged her colors to resemble the rainbow reflection as the setting sun hits the water, with the tiny white swan caught in the midst of it all.  Be sure to check out Kristyn's blog, Melon Patch Quilts, at http://melonpatchquilts.com/.

The Light of May by Krista Hennebury

North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver MQG

Krista explains that "in Vancouver, the May sun rises with a warm pink and yellow glow.  In the evening it sets over Vancouver Island, casting a grey light over my spring garden.  This quilt represents that morning and evening light."  She pieced this quilt using her "Improv Under the Influence" technique.  It is an original design.  Be sure to check out her blog PoppyPrint at  http://poppyprintcreates.blogspot.com/ and she's a published author, too.  Her book Make it, Take it is available here.

The New New by Amy Anderson

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville MQG

Amy says "What always strikes me most about spring are the vivid and varying greens from the new leaves, grass, and plants emerging.  Sky, sun, leaves, flowers, and a chance for new beginnings.  Semi-improvisational piecing stitched into this original design."

***     ***     ***     ***     ***

Third place winner of the Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge is:

Passages by Patty Simmons  

Lee's Summit, Missouri

Kansas City MQG

Patty says her inspiration for her quilt is both the beauty of the Gee's Bend quilts and the work of Lisa Call.  "Passages reflects the soft movement throughout a structure and the boundaries that we oftentimes self-impose" states Patty, who "enjoyed the improvisational piecing and quilting, moving through and running into boundaries."  This is her original design.

* * *    * * *    * * *    * * *    * * *

Second place winner of the Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge is:

 After Dinner Mints by Paige Alexander

Picken, South Carolina

This is an original design that Paige created while working within the size restraints of the Spring Couture charm squares and jelly roll strips.  She used the Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  The curved squares and pastel colors reminded Paige of after-dinner mints, hence the name. 

First place winner of the Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge is:

7 Up by Debra Jalbert

Clermont, Florida

Orlando MQG

This quilt won the honor of First Place in the Michael Miller Spring Cotton Couture Fabric Challenge for the Modern Quilt Guild.  It is an original design created by Debra using her own pattern which she calls "2 of 2".  The diagonal curve of the quilting is a lovely addition to this quilt.  Be sure to check out Debra's blog Made of Honor Quilts at http://www.madeofhonorquilts.com/

Day 5: FB Art Challenge

This is my 5th (and final) Day of the FB Art Challenge.  

I was nominated by Pam Biswas.   Thank you Pam!  For my fifth and final day of the challenge, I am sharing three more favorites, two are my most recent quilts while the last one is an older fiber art piece.  I hope you enjoy them.

Not everyone has a "Vanna White" to model with their quilts and fiber art.  Fortunately, our smart dog Andy thought he'd give it a whirl......

How did he do?

This quilt was made in the Spring of 2014 as part of the Fourth Annual Modern Quilt Guild challenge sponsored by Michael Miller Fabrics.  See their website: https://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/.  The line is called Petal Pinwheels and has a fun, light, summery look, plus the Michael Miller fabrics all have a wonderful feel.  Click here to see the full line of Petal Pinwheels.  These are the six that were used for this challenge.

Of the six fabrics distributed for this challenge, I selected three to use (petal pinwheels, petal garland and pegs a plenty) and added two solids: white and gray.  I knew I wanted to make a quilt large enough to be a baby quilt or a lap quilt for someone.  I had great fun playing with many design options.

I call this quilt "Candyland" ... well, actually, my son helped with the name.  One evident fact is that I must practice my free-motion machine quilting.  I must confess that I do prefer to design and stitch the tops of my quilts, then find a friend to do the quilting.  Click here to see an earlier blog about "Candyland".


Many fellow members of the Houston Modern Quilt Guild also participated in this 2014 Michael Miller challenge.  Everyone (or many) brought their finished (or near finished) challenge pieces to our July 19th HMQG meeting and posed for this group photo.

Since I was teaching my first quilt workshop that day (Quiltville's Scrappy Trip around the World, with my Modern Scrappy Twist version as an option - which I may still blog about someday...) it is now surprise (to me) that I was in the early stages of making my Michael Miller challenge piece and did not bring these beginnings to share with the group.  I did some fast sewing and quilting after our meeting to meet the challenge deadline on July 25, 2014.  Click here to see the three winners and their amazing quilts and here to see a few more that were also entered.


Michael Miller announced a new challenge for the Modern Quilt Guild members for the 2015 Quilt Con in September 2014.  This new challenge featured eight solids from the Michael Miller Spring Couture line. The MM Spring Cotton Couture challenge colors are:

Opal

Breeze

Spa

Spring

Blossom

Creamsicle

Candlelight

Soft White

The rules of this 2015 challenge were straight forward: use only Michael Miller fabrics, and only solids on the front of the quilt.  Once I found the darker Cotton Couture solids (at High Fashion Fabrics), I knew I would use the "Pot Pie" pattern by Thangles.  I had to resize the pattern as it called for fat quarters but I had only fat eighths of the challenge fabric to use.  Click here and here to read more about the making of this quilt.

 

"Mmm, Pot Pie" is the name of this quilt.  The name is a spoof both on the yummy pattern name as well as being a play on Michael Miller (Mmm) fabric line.  I love the simplicity of this pattern, especially the random mix-matching of the solid colors but I especially love the quilting too.  Pam Biswas did a spectacular job with the quilting this time, didn't she?

I especially love the spiky spirals - they make me think of roosters (not sure why, but they do).  Can you see the spiky swirls on the yellow/burgundy block above? 

My last piece to share is my valentine-y fiber art, in honor of the chocolatey sweet holiday that is fast approaching.  

Presenting a glimpse of Hearts A'Flutter....

 

I dabbled in a variety of surface techniques when making this piece.  I finished in time to exhibit in Beyond the Borders, the first fiber art show at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, Texas held in February 2007.  My very first post when I began this blog features this fiber art piece.  Click here to read it.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone ... especially to you!

I nominate Mona Keegan to join this 5-day Art Challenge by posting three photos a day of her artwork, and nominating another artist to carry the challenge ever forward.  Mona, I look forward to seeing more of your lovely art!

Day 2: FB Art Challenge

This is more information about my 2nd Day of the Art Challenge currently circulating on FaceBook. I was nominated by Pam Biswas - Thank-you Pam. For this second day of the five day challenge, I am sharing three of my quilts made for challenges with the Beyond the Borders Art Quilt Group, affiliated with the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston (QGGH).  Each of these challenges resulted with the individual quilts being assembled together into a larger group quilt which we then entered in the QGGH quilt shows.

This first piece featured is a challenge designed by Bethany Carter for the BTB about 5 long years ago (or longer? as many aspects of this challenge were discussed and debated which resulted with the "deadline" being pushed back repeatedly).  This group quilt is titled "Alice's Odyssey".

Bethany drew out the puzzle pieces in different sizes and shapes first.   We 'claimed' our puzzle piece as well as our section from the classic story "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll.  As you can see, our efforts won a few awards in our 2011 local quilt show, including the coveted Best of Show.  Click here to read more about this group effort.

I made the vertical puzzle piece of Alice growing tall before shrinking to slip into the magical garden.  My piece features several 3-d effects: a wooden door into the garden secured with a tiny brass lock, tags on the bottle on the table and on the candy on the floor, a buckle on the 'patent leather shoe' and a loose-free-swinging skirt and apron on Alice.  Here is a view of my puzzle piece while in the construction stage.  Notice that the skirt is entirely different, the 3-dimensional pieces haven't been added and more ... clearly the piece is still evolving and growing.

I named this piece "My Big Foot Alice" and often think of it as the last piece in my series of big foot quilts.  Click here to see two close-up views of details on my tiny quilt puzzle piece.

 

The puzzle quilt had its own special exhibit during the 2011 International Quilt Festival. Here is a photo of some of our group.  Left to right they are: Connie Fahrion, Hannah Mallon, Sara Sissenwein Norris, Elaine Connelly and myself.  Elaine was our leader at the time and she has since passed away.  Elaine, you are missed very much still.   

Click here to find out more about "Alice's Odyssey".  It was great fun to complete this excruciating group effort.

In this next challenge, we each had to make a quilt block that measured 8"x10" using the color "Honeysuckle" (the Pantone 2011 Color of the Year) and some dupioni silk.  The quilts were all meant to have a whimsical bird theme.  Click here to read my original blog post about this challenge.

When the deadline arrived, only five quilters turned in completed quilts which were assembled into this simple vertical quilt.  We titled our group piece "Bird-Brained Blocks".  Mine is the pink flamingo watching her egg hatch open.  We won second place in the Art Quilt category at our guild show.

For the curious among you.....

the 2015 Pantone Color of the Year is Marsala.
Hmmm, I am itching to start a new challenge with this color!

This last BTB challenge piece had to comply with only three specifications:

theme - tree

size - 20" long with any width between 6" and 12"; 

color - any but Green  Absolutely NO GREEN may be used!

I thought that using no green at all was the easiest part of this challenge.  My quilt, "Solitude", is a tree at night in the dead of a winter with no snow.  The tree is composed entirely of used coffee filters, generously donated to my project by Liz Broussard.  Thank you Liz!

Here is the full view of "Beyond the Branches",  our green-less tree quilt.  Click here for my original blog post about this quilt, which includes a list of the artists that made each piece.  Click here for an earlier post on how I created "Solitude".

I nominate Janice Daniel McKeehan to join this 5-day Art Challenge by posting three photos a day of her artwork, and nominating another artist to carry the challenge ever forward.  Janice, I look forward to seeing your lovely posts!