UFO Busting Update

Well, it is mid-February and time for the Lovely Year of Finishes update.  My project for the month is my Buzzsaw quilt.  It had been on the quilter since mid December and not any stitching had occurred until a few days into February and I am sooo happy to say the quilt is now OFF the quilter and trimmed.

Since this photo, the binding has been machine sewn and is ready to be hand sewn down.
When I first saw this blog post for the Lovely Year of Finishes, I was really excited to think this might give me the discipline to actually finish some things.  I had made a list of ALL my UFO's and it is NOT a pretty sight.  Still some things from the early 80's.  I had also thought that it might put a little added stress to think I HAD to finish something, but that was short lived as I decided it was no big deal if I didn't finish. I was confident the quilt police would not come after me.
And now mid way through my first month of Lovely Year of Finishes I am sooo happy I have decided to participate, because I am confident the February quilt will be completed by the given time and I am already planning what the March project will be on the agenda for completion.  I think since I missed January I will try to put two smaller project in one of the months, so I really will have twelve finished pieces by the end of the year.  Hope you all have a great and productive day.

Heart Table Topper Surprise

You will never know my surprise when my student Shirley came to class this morning with a completed top of the Heart Table Topper she made using the free pattern tutorial I posted yesterday on my blog.

For me that is what this is all about.  I receive so much joy seeing what others do with something I come up with, or that I help them create.  I thought her piece turned out great and next week she will learn how to machine quilt it on her sewing machine.  She told me it was quick and easy and she will be making several to give to the hospice families.
If any of you reading my blog make any of the items I post, please send me a photo, I would love to post them on my blog.  You may contact me through my blog.  Hope you all have a great day!!!

Free Pattern for Valentine's Day

One of my students is a volunteer for hospice, and is wanting to make table toppers to be given to families that lose a loved one.  Her idea was to make some sort of heart design and she brought a photo of a runner and asked if something similar could be made into a single heart table topper.

Monday of this week, my first student of the morning had been on a three day quilting retreat and was on sewing overload, so that left me two hours to my own devices.  What ever would I do....it was the perfect time to see what I could develop for the table topper.  After a little drafting I starting cutting and sewing and I came up with this design.

Shirley, my student came to class Tuesday and liked the design, so I thought I would give it to all of you in a pattern today.
You will need 1/2 yd of each of the fabrics, a light, a medium, and a dark.  A great stash buster.

For the Heart, cut 1 - 7" square and 4 - 4" squares of the light fabric.

Of the medium, cut 1 - 7" x 11" rectangle and 4 - 4" squares

Of the dark, cut 1 - 7" x 11" rectangle and 5 - 4" squares

Cut 2 - 4" strips for the light fabric and subcut into 17 1/4" pieces for the border and cut 4 - 4" squares of the dark fabric for the corners.

Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the light 4" squares and place them in the two upper corners of the two 7" x 11"  rectangles and sew on the lines.

Trim the corners 1/4" past the sewing line and press open and set aside.

Make a Nine Patch of the dark and medium 4" squares following the above photo for arrangement.

Sew the two prepared rectangles and the 7" square to the Nine Patch as pictured above. 

To this piece sew a 17 1/4" border to opposite sides.  To the other two 17 1/4" pieces sew a 4" dark square to each end. 

Sew the other two border pieces to your top and you are finished.

This is a really quick and easy table topper and will only take you a couple of hours from start to finish.  Hope you have a great Valentine's Day.

Fabric Cutting Time

I have had a busy, busy week, can't believe I didn't have time to post to my blog.  Each day went by so quickly.  Do hope this week is a little slower and I get a little more accomplished.  I did work on the Log Cabin blocks, helped to put the Pineapple quilt together, and even started quilting my buzzsaw quilt.  I always plan on doing so much, but rarely get it accomplished. My full teaching schedule keeps me from getting quite so much done, but it is so fun and rewarding to see what my students accomplish, that I guess my projects can be postponed.

I keep a small container of leaders and enders next to my machine to use when I finish my regular piecing.  I learned this method from a great book by Bonnie K. Hunter called "Adventures with Leaders and Enders".  Since I love scrap quilts the method is perfect for me.  This year Bonnie is doing spool blocks, and she put the pattern up on her blog Quiltville.  If this is of interest to you be sure to check it out on her site (just Google Quiltville), there are lots of fun things to do there.  In a nutshell you have a small container of cut pieces next to your machine and every time you finish what you are stitching for another project you pick up an Ender and sew it through the machine and clip off your patchwork but leave the Ender which becomes the Leader for your next set of patchwork.  Having a Leader even keeps Jan from wanting to eat my fabric.
I generally sew on Jan, my Janome 6600P and yes she has a thread cutter, but I figure if I cut enough it will malfunction, and Jan will have to go to the hospital, so I save use of my cutter for applique and other things where I do not do chain piecing.

So I did get a little cutting in this week, seems like my little container is always empty.  That means I'm getting a lot of little 3 1/2" spool  blocks finished to use in a fun project that is starting to develop in my head.
I had about an hour before a student, so I got my drawer of 1 1/2" strips out, a ruler and my cutter and proceeded to cut about 40 Spool blocks in my hour.  It's like getting a free quilt since it uses scraps from other projects.
So another week is about to begin.  Popcorn and Downton Abbey tonight and then another week of fun.  Hope your week was enjoyable too....Don't forget to enjoy your journey.

Paper Pieced Pineapple Blocks

Last Tuesday the members of the Opportunity Quilt committee met at my home and we had a fun day piecing a paper pieced Pineapple block, a refresher on the technique, and then we cut the rest of the fabric to complete all 63 blocks.  As we made our block, I measured each piece for the block and added 3/4" so we could cut the pieces in squares and rectangles, thus saving lots of fabric and cutting.

As I stated previously, I printed the 7" blocks from Quilter's Cache, and we will met again this Wednesday to set the quilt together.  Since there were three of us, we each had 21 blocks to make.

I worked a few hours each day and completed the last of my blocks yesterday evening.  Looking forward to seeing the completed top.  We are hoping to have the top completed enough to tell the committee member doing the applique how long the borders need to be made to apply to the quilt.
Now a fun day of teaching and a little sewing in between.  Hope you have a great day!

New Member of My Sewing Machine Family

This is Fancy, the newest member of my sewing machine family.  She is an electronic featherweight about the same weight of her sister from the '50, but she has lots of stitches, needle up and down and push button start and stop among other features.

She by no means takes the place of her sister Marvina, first generation of  featherweights.  (Marvina got her name from a family  member that made most of her clothing on a 50's Featherweight) machine that she purchased new. Featherweights are a favorite of mine to carry to sew-ins and retreats, but there are times when I may be wanting to applique and Marvina just can't carry out that task.
I love the look, feel and sound of the older machines, but tend to gravitate toward the newer models because medical issues makes it difficult for me to use a foot pedal which means I use the foot pedal with my hand, kind of like a hand crank with electricity.  But one handed sewing is not conducive to intricate piecing so I seek other alternatives, but still love and appreciate my older machines, of which there are many....all with a story and a memory.
Make some memories today and enjoy the journey.

UFO Busting BuzzSaw

Okay!  I'm trying to follow the guidelines from Pat Sloan to organize and finish my many, many UFOs.  And I also signed up for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  Surely between the two of those helpful activities I can get something finished.  I'm already a month behind on the Lovely Year of Finishes, finding them only a couple of weeks ago but, if I can finish eleven projects, that would be a dent in the overflowing pile of projects to be finished.

My BuzzSaw has been on the quilter since a week before Christmas, silly me I thought I could have it done as a Christmas gift.  Every time I pass the quilter I can imagine my quilt saying "HELLO, remember me",  But this is the month to get it done, not today, but soon, so I can get it bound and be on to another.  It doesn't take long once I put in that first stitch.
Another day to be happy, enjoy your journey!