4th Quarter Finish-A-Long

Another quarter coming up and I'm really excited about it (as you can tell as I'm blogging already my goals).  Some of them are new and some of them are old, but I feel confident that I'll get many done by December. Some of them will be in this year's Fraser Valley Quilt Guild Show in May, and some are for my personal use at home.  Some are more important to me than others but many are to get through so I can move on.  I love making lists and this certainly makes me do them.  Thank you to the Finish-A-Long group for helping me to get organized and for motivating me to get many project that I just look at and admire done, and on my bed or on my wall.

So lets get started shall we?  I'll try to put these in the order of importance to me.

(1)  My Sewology BOM by Pen and Paper Patterns on Craftsy.  I'm excited that I only have the buttons section to complete.  All the others are done, and even pieced together.  When put together it's almost the right size for a queen size quilt (I've been adding spaces to some sections to help me make it bigger.  But I am confident that although not done for this quarter, it will be completed for Christmas.  Who's getting this quilt?  ME!!!  and I'm looking at entering it for our Guild's show in May.  It's the perfect entry.  I'm also looking at doing a secondary pattern for the back so I can flip it and use both sides.  One side the pattern shown and the other side four needs with thread.  It would look great together.  Here's a sneak peek of one section.  Can you see it on the master picture?  The sewing machine was absolutely fantastic.  I want to make another one so I can hang it on my wall.  Maybe even for Christmas give a wall hanging to a friend of mine that collects antique sewing machines.  We'll see.  This is a definite finish before Christmas and going into the guild's show.

(2) This  Craftsy Quilting Class Quilt is still calling my name.  It's now  top priority on this quarter's section because this one is definitely going into the quilt show as well.  The quilting on it will make everyone ooooo, and ahhhhh.  I've watched four of the videos and can quilt at least 3 more squares.  That's the goal, to get it done by December.  It's that important.  One of the top three.

WOW

three done now.

(3)  I've been meaning to do do this quilt for quite a while, since I've seen it on her site.  Quilting Jetgirl made a quilt along called Snowflake Shimmer.  Fat Quarter shop was selling the material for such a ridiculous price that I bought two so I have more material to add an extra edge to the quilt to make it queen size.  I have the material cute out so I can start sewing once I get my sewing machine.

(4)  The pixelated eye - which is a Craftsy free course online with Caro Sheridan.  I have the kit and want this on my wall by January.  That's the goal.  It's doable.  With my sewing machine being fixed I have the time to do a lot of cutting out of pieces and this is one of them.

(5)  Like the last quarter I want to complete some row-by-rows that I've been collecting for the last two years.  I am also working at Quilting-as-you-go style for these rows so I can make a large queen size quilt for me and my husband.  I also want to show this quilt to my guild as I'm doing a show in May.  My goal is to do at least 4 this term and two others from the "Home" series for my Aunt for Christmas.  Doable right?  We'll see.  An example is below of the home series and the water series three years before that. .

(6)  I want to finish my Quilt Doodle Scrap quilt for Christmas.  I have all the blocks completed, and this next month (October) they are showing us how to put it all together.  Although I'm really thinking of making it into a winter Barn door for Christmas and winter.  I have to see the finish item because I don't know if I can make the pattern fit to a door.  We'll have to see.  Here's some of the block...  The idea is to complete all the work and quilt it.

(7)  Flamingo Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman - I have been gathering up the pink material to complete the quilt.  The pattern is wonderful.  Here's someone else's quilt already done up.  I am starting from scratch - nothing is cut.  And still like that...  Definitely for the next barn door, and definitely on the list for the 4th quarter.

(8)  Another goal is an old style quilt made of diamonds for my cousin.  You use 2 1/2 inch strips. I started, thought it would be easy but you have to be very careful of piecing all the triangles.  This one really takes time.  All of it is in a box.  

(9)  A panel of a heron, that's from Artisian Fabric  Absolutely gorgeous.  Just doing it as a panel for a table top.  It's not done and it's on my next one.  Do love the look of it.  Making it into a table top for my aunt for her Christmas gift.  She'll love it.

(10a)  This one is a two part section  I am also looking at finally starting a quilt pattern that is designed with flowers.  The pattern is of an old truck but parts of truck is made with flowers to shape the truck.  I would love to enter it as well in the Guild's show but more importantly I would love to see it hanging on my wall.  So what's the two parts?  I need to practice with a pattern of a sewing dummy (you know those partial body things you use for sewing outfits?).  It will be big enough to put on a wall in my sewing room, and it's made of flowers as well.  So that is (10b). 

(11)  Still haven't touched Pat Sloans' 100 blocks.  I think I've lost a few in the move last year, need to keep on looking.  But I do have the shadow material to make the quilt.

(12) I loved making the "In Full Bloom" so much that I bought another one.  This one is flowers as well and just as big as the last one I made (see below).  So that's on the goal to complete.

(13)  Deer Course on Craftsy - Under the same idea - Patch work Piecing:  Woodland Animals is a Craftsy course by Elizabeth Hartman.  I still want to make a pillow of it, or a smaller quilt.   If not the deer then the bear for a child's quilt.  After Sewology, this one will be a breeze.  But I'm going to be realistic and think a pillow since I want to make flamingo doors, and that will take a bit of time.  We'll see.

(14)  My  Redwood Quilt (quilt that is completely made up of red material) is not done at all but the stitching is completed.   On  the list to complete.

and now

OK, that's it, that's enough.  I'll be lucky to get 5 done but it's better to list as many as possible.  Some people who read this will think I'm crazy for thinking I'll get so much done in so little time with life the way it is, but all I have to say is.....

JUST WATCH ME  :)

As the terminator would say "I'm Back!!!!"

Been gone for 13 days.  Drove from Vancouver to California, stayed in Anaheim, did plenty of walking, relaxing, baseball games, and so much more....  But before I start in any of this I have to mention right away a tragedy in Medford in Oregon.

See more about it here at this link-   http://www.kdrv.com/content/video/488343601.html

Those poor people who lost their homes.  The entire area and Ashland had tons of firefighters in the area, very busy trying to save homes, and many were, but with 101 lightning strikes, it's amazing how bad it was.  And we drove through it.

You could see the smoked areas and how black it was.  Although we saw some areas already burnt from last year (still black and barren), we were not sure if we already saw this or not.  But in the end we realized that these were fresh and we found out later it happened 2 days before we were on the road.  They even closed the I5 for a
day (the route we were taking).

It smelled smoky even before we saw what was happening.  And I commented to my husband how hazy the sky was.  I thought it was because of the heat.  The day was 44 degrees hot (thank goodness for air conditioning in a car!).  But the more we drove into Oregon the more we saw a worst haze, then the smoke.  The sun had not even set yet and the sky was turning orange.  It was the weirdest feeling going through it, making you quiet, not wanting to disturb something that could turn the sky orange.  We both felt it, something that scared you, but we didn't know what was happening until we tried to get a hotel room.  That's when we found out two things:  1 - the fires that were so bad, and (2) there were no hotel rooms to be had.  Not only were they full from the fire fighters, but they closed the airport in Medford and all the travelers were stranded.  Hotel rooms went to them.

All of this happened at about 7:00.  We couldn't get a hotel anywhere near this area.  We ended up in Eugene thanks to the help of a couple of girls working at the Best Western in Medford.  They phoned around for us so that really helped and we're greatly appreciative.  They became my new best friends  :)

So the first day coming back we drove over 18 hours, not smart, but we had no choice, that's where the hotel rooms were.  We left Long Beach at 6:30 in the morning and stopped travelling at 12:30 at night.

On the bright side, it was the first time I ever stayed in Eugene Oregon.  And we slept in, so it was nice to wake up to a beautifully prepared breakfast from the Best Western - cheese omelette, scrambled eggs, pancakes, fresh biscuits, cinnabonne buns, and so much more.  That was good because Tim and I didn't stop for supper, but we had food in the car, so we were OK.

The next great thing was Tim said why don't we stop at a quilt store and get a row by row for you to remember this whole thing about.  The theme of the row by row is Music, and I wasn't interested in getting any more since I have over 100 to still complete from the last two, but we went to make me happy.  And boy, after was I ever happy.

The quilt shop is called Piece by Piece and here is what their row by row looks like:

Their idea comes from the poem:

I hear the wind among the trees

Playing celestial symphonies;

I see the branches downward bent,

Like keys of some great instrument.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow    

“A Day of Sunshine”

I love the idea of it as well as this beautiful quilt which really is a little hard to do, but well worth it because of the stitching.  I have a circle maker that can easily make all these circles, but each circle is attached with fancy stitches, so I will look great when done.

I also got a lot of patterns (they're really big into Elizabeth Hartman's patterns).  I got two of them.  See them below:

Called North Stars and

Called Lloyd and Lola.  I really want to make this as another barn door for my place.

Can't wait to start them.  But then I saw another pattern from another of my favorite blogs Sew Kind of Wonderful.  At the Quilt Canada show I purchased a QCR mini ruler (a ruler that makes curves easily).  This pattern will really show if I can do it well.  Great practise at a pattern that is forgiving yet challenging.  

It makes a quilt 80" x 103" or any size I imagine if you add squares.

Those patterns are not the only ones....  Yes I bought more!!!!But I'll leave those for a surprise.....One is going to be a Christmas gift.

That's it, it's a lot this blog entry, but it has been two weeks.  So happy sewing, I have to catch up with my BOMs and this month's quilt from the All People's Quilt Challenge (and my cousin's quilt to finish with the butterflies).

Busy Sunday

Actually it's been a busy weekend, but what else is new about that!!!!  One good thing about being ADHD I get a lot done.  For those of you that don't really know what ADHD is it's Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which affects children and teens and can continue into adulthood.  Usually it's hereditary.  My father was like that and so was my older brother.  ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed disorder of children. People with ADHD can be hyperactive and unable control their impulses'm honest to being blunt, and talk really fast, to the point of missing words.  Knowing me is knowing how to fill in the blanks when talking to me  :)   Luckily I have great friends.  I do get side tracked easily, and can't read a book but I can read 3 books at a time and not mix them up and I can't do a repetitive pattern but I can do more than one quilt with each having a repetitive pattern, so I don't get bored easily, and YES I get  bored really easily, thus the trouble paying attention. 

So why am I telling you this?  Because one of the quilts I just finished was a repetitive pattern and it did take me a long time finishing it for that simple fact, and the fact that it was fussy.  But it was so fun, and it's gorgeous so I'm trying another one.  I got the pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful.  They have two books out, and you can get them at their blog or at Amazon.ca.  The book I used was One Wonderful Curve.  You can see the pattern at this link.    I used all types of greens, anything in my stash, and some in my cut up pile.  But the background is the grunge material that I love so much.  I believe I used two gunge greens as well.  The results is the picture.  Both are completed.  You can open them up.  They cover a 54 inch door.  So instead of getting a barn door constructed to cover the door, I've put up a curtain rod right across the wall, and make quilts that are the length of the door, and are 26" across which covers the door, and a bit more.  This is the second barn door that I made.  The first was my Canada 150 created by Shania Sunga Designs.   

Sorry about the bad picture.  But here it is up.  Next time it's up, I'll take a better picture

This one is good

Now, that's not the only one I completed.  As I said I hate doing the same thing over and over again, so I built another one at the same time.  See below:

A poppy caught in the sunlight.  This pattern was created by Elaine Quehl.  She also dyed the fabric and sold it as a kit.  It's 27" by 24".   You can follow her blog at http://elainequehl.blogspot.ca- her work is amazing. 

So here is the place of honor where it hangs, perfect!!!

I've also completed a couple more of my BOMs but that's for another time to show you.  That's two down from my 2018 Finish list (2nd quarter)  - #3 and #12.  Also one down from my American Patchwork Quilting list.  And my OMG (One Monthly Goal) from Elm Street Quilts is now completed!!!  That's great!!!  Three goals in one strike!!

Things are going well, and I'm very happy with the results this weekend.  I even got another painting almost completed.  Take a look.  When it's completed I'm going to make a pattern of it as well. I still need to fill in the vase, and have some sugar coming out of the bowl.  Maybe fix the plate as well.  Who knows, I did this in two nights, 

 How was your long weekend?  Do any sewing?

Just under the wire for OMG!!!

Got to get this done fast, and considering my busy schedule, I'll be lucky to get it in - have 3 hours to do so....

It's easy to decide which of my UFOs to do this month, because my husband is complaining about how we only have one door for the quilted barn doors made and you can see into my sewing room. I never got around to the second one.

This weekend I got around to cutting out the rest of the strips, and making a few more curves using the Sew Easy Curved ruler (I love that thing and considering I can't do a curve without it - it's worth it's weight in gold), and I'll be on my way.  But the quilting in the first one is going to kill me, so I'll need the time to do the leaf quilting on the leaves and the spirals on the rest.  It will be at least two more weekends for me.  

Hooking up to OMG (One Monthly Goal) at Elm Street Quilts.

Second Quarterly 2018 Finish A Long

I was so happy with last quarter's list and getting so much quilting done in the last two weeks that I only have to finish up a couple and they're done.  I had put four items on the list that I almost completed but having two completed, and two baby quilts completed made me satisfied.  (See here for the blog entry).

So what next?  Once more there is a list to complete, and I'm hoping to to get at least five done this time.  One of them is urgent (a quilt for my Aunt who is going into the hospital April 12th.   So it needs to be completed right away.  Also I have two that were on the list last quarter that are almost done, so it will be easy to complete them right away.  OK, here's the list:

(1)  The Midnight Garden.  It's all completed and I have to quilt it now.  All the wool is completed.  The two and a half inch squares are sewn all around the wool.  It's really very beautiful.  Here's what it looks like now:

(2)  The pixelated eye - which is a Craftsy free course online with Caro Sheridan.  I have the kit and I would like to complete it so I can exchange the pixelated quilt that is hanging right now (a pixelated sunflower I made after this course) can be changed.

(3)  Want to make the 2nd door for the quilted barn door that I have started for my entrance way to my sewing room.  Here is one done.  I need to make the next panel.  I already quilted one with leaf pattern on the leaves, and a spiral pattern all around the leaves.  Doesn't it look great?  The pattern is from Jennny Pedigo and Helen Robinson for Sew Kind of Wonderful.  It's from a book called One Wonderful Curve. It's a fantastic book with beautiful patterns, all quilts have curves.  I have trouble with making Duncan curves.  But using the ruler  from Sew Kind of Wonderful makes making curves simple and easy, with a simple curve that doesn't need pinning.  Check out the ruler and some free patterns at Sew Kind of Wonderful.

So number three is to make a second quilt like the picture shown for the 2nd barn door to cover the entrance way in the picture. 

(4)  I want to complete some Row-by-rows that I've been collecting for the last two years.  At one point I had 110 of them.  I've slowly but surely been going through some (I've done over 20) and I want to set a goal of four of them in this quarter of time.  I am hoping that in December I will have enough to make a queen/king size quilt for my bed.  I am also working at Quilting-as-you-go style for these rows.  What four do I want to do?  Any that catch my eye.  I do have over 90 to choose from.  :)

(5)  Another goal for this quarter is to do another quilt kit that I purchased.  It has old style quilting material that is made of diamonds.  You use 2 1/2 inch strips.  Perfect to make a fast quilt.

(6)  Flamingo Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman - I have been gathering up the pink material to complete the quilt.  The pattern is wonderful.  Here's someone else's quilt already done up.  I am starting from scratch - nothing is cut.

(6)  Deer Course on Craftsy - Under the same idea - Patch work Piecing:  Woodland Animals is a Craftsy course by Elizabeth Hartman.  I just love the deer that she makes for this one.  I want to make a pillow of it, or a smaller quilt.  See her example online.  If not the deer then the bear for a child's quilt.

(7)  Then there is another one that is partly complete.  It's the 100 blocks that Pat Sloan was working on last year with a number of her friends.  I have about 40 completed, and I want to set a goal of doing another 10 blocks, and starting to put them together in shadow boxes.  I want to Quilt as you go rows by rows so I can do some great quiltings.

(8)  I have set a goal to keep up with the Sewology BOM that I am part of.  It's a wonderful quilt pattern by Pen and Paper Patterns on Craftsy.  See below for a picture of the entire quilt.  I am at the part of the needle and the cutter block and then the ruler block.  So two behind.  But all others are completed, and they are all sewing together.  I do have the iron completed, but not with the others.  By the end of the block I expect the scissors and the stitch block as well to be completed.  I'm excited about this quilt.  It's for me alone, and it will be big enough for a full size bed. 

(9)  You and Me Quilt by Tres Chic.  It is taking forever to complete this quilt.  It's for my Aunt in California.  She is getting her operation April 12th, and I would like to send it to her before that day.  The entire quilt is being done in squares about an inch in diameter.  That is taking so much time.  I'm trying to do at least 4 blocks a month but I'm behind and now I really have to step it up.  As you can see the quilt is king size, and all in blacks and white.  So far I can honestly say I am about half way through it, so I am very excited to complete the entire thing.

Thinking this is enough?  Noooooooo.  There's more, and some urgent.

(10)  A table cloth for a friend of mine made by Northcott Fabric, their artisian line.  See a picture of the centre panel.  All I need is to quilt it now.

(11)  A panel of a heron, that's from Artisian Fabric  Absolutely gorgeous.  Just doing it as a panel for a table top.

12) Finish the Craftsy Quilting Class Quilt.  Two blocks done only.  But take a look at the quilting....

WOW

13)  Finish my applique and put it into a Redwood Quilt (quilt that is completely made up of red material.  Got a lot to finish here.

 14)  I joined a class for making a quilt called "In Full Bloom".  It's making a flower out of coloured fabric.

15)  I have material for a pink top and the pattern.  Short sleeve, cotton top.  Want to complete it before July.

16)  I also have pink material for a jumper dress that is perfect for this silk/polyester material that has a lot of embroidery.  

17)  The final sewing project I have is with a small knit top and shorts set for the summer.

OK, that's enough.  I'm sure there are a number of quilts here that I will enjoy starting.  Plenty of work and I'm sure I'll be able to complete at least 5 out of this list.

JUST WATCH ME  :)