All Dressed Up is done

 

I finished the machine quilting over the weekend and got the binding sewn on. Overall I'm very pleased, except for the fact that it doesn't lay completely flat. I tried really hard to not stretch the borders, but obviously there was some stretching.  I'm thinking a good pressing with steam will help this lay a bit flatter.

Farm Girl Vintage - Wooly Sheep

 

I had to do some major digging in the stash to find a medium grey that I liked for the Wooly Sheep block.  Grey just isn't a color that I buy very often.  It needed to be the right color AND play nicely with all of the 30s reproduction fabrics in the other blocks. 

 

"Black sheep, black sheep, have you any wool?"  Early in our marriage we farmed for 10 years on my husband's home farm. We ran about 750 ewes and 50 head of cattle.  That was a LOT of sheep, and lambing season was always crazy. About 1/3 of our herd was Suffolk sheep, with black faces and white bodies. Those lambs were often quite grey when they were born, and occasionally we would get a completely black lamb.  We kept a few of the black ewes - just for fun. Plus, the black wool brought a premium, so we kept it separate at shearing time. These blocks made me think of those lambs with a big smile.

Design Wall Monday - Farm Girl Vintage

 

I have enjoyed the Farm Girl Vintage book so much this past year, as I've slowly worked through the blocks with an online group and a face-to-face group. And the extra blocks that Lori Holt has sold online have added even more fun to the process. She released 4 new blocks on The Fat Quarter Shop website recently, and I just HAD to buy Zinnia! Isn't it cute? I might have to make more of these sometime.

 

Next up was the Peas and Carrots block. It has kind of a patriotic vibe with these red and blue fabrics.

 

 

There are still a few blocks from the book left to make, including the sheep block that I want to work on this week.  And I still have a couple of downloaded extra blocks to make, such as the cow and the turkey. 

 

Check out the Design Wall posts of other quilters at http://www.patchworktimes.com 

Simple Whatnots

 

I've taken the advice of one of my readers and am quilting a simple outline inside of each bowtie block.  It's just what this needed, so I'm glad I chose this. Only the borders remain to be quilted and I should get around to those on Sunday morning after my husband leaves for the airport for a business trip. Maybe I'll even get the binding on.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

I just realized that I am definitely into "challenges" this year. There is the UFO challenge and also the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and our guild's scrap challenge. There could be more challenges coming.

 

During the RSC16 challenge I was making 15" Crown of Thorns blocks. I actually had 14 of them made by the end of the year using the monthly colors. That wasn't really enough to make a large quilt, so I had decided to keep making these blocks for RSC17.  Here is my newest purple January block.

 

Then I had the idea to split these blocks into dark and light sets to use for baby quilts for a set of twin girls. One of my daughters has a friend expecting twins this spring. So here are my 6 dark blocks making a 45" square baby quilt. The colors are brighter, more crayon bright, in person.

 

 

I also have 6 lighter, more pastel blocks done and ready for the other quilt but still need 3 more blocks to make it the same size.  The RSC17 color for February is aqua or sea green and I have pulled a perfect fabric for that one from the stash.  It feels good to have a plan for these blocks finally.

 

Of course this also means I may need to find another block to "play with" in 2017 for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Maybe some disappearing 4-patches, or garlic knots, or more bowties.  Or something more whimsical.  Too many options . . .

UFO #8 needs quilting

 

The #8 UFO on my challenge list is this Saturday Sampler from 2015 - so it isn't terribly old yet. I didn't do the gingerbread applique blocks from that series, but did make the floral applique blocks, and the large and small pieced ones.

 

I love the colors and the individual blocks, but do NOT love how I ended up putting this together. It's OK, but just didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  However, the flimsy was done in September 2016 and I even found an aqua snowflake print for backing. Since then it has been hanging over a hanger in my sewing room closet.  It's time to move on.  I just need to piece that backing and get it quilted and bound.  So that is my tiny goal for the next week.

February UFO Challenge is #8

The 2017 UFO Challenge from All People Quilt has selected #8 as the number for February.  We'll receive the final block pattern the 2nd Saturday of February. I have all previous blocks made, but have been a little reluctant to cut into the setting kit fabrics.

This quilt has blocks set on point and then has a beautiful pieced border. The setting kit has very specific instructions (with pictures) for cutting the pieces.  And I'll readily admit it has been a bit intimidating.  There is absolutely no chance that I'll have this done, quilted, and bound by the end of the month.  So my goal for February is to just finish the top.

	UFO/WIP Project	Status Before	Status After
1	Valentine Bench Pillow	Needs blanket stitching around applique, then sandwich, quilt, and add envelope backing
2	4 Seasons Cats	Finish hand quilting, bind
3	ABC kid quilt	Machine quilt, bind
4	House Warming Party	Finish blocks
5	Circa 2016	Finish making blocks
6	Easter Sunrise runners (2)	Applique, quilt, bind	DONE in January!
7	Batik Stars Saturday Sampler	Finish blocks
8	2016 Saturday Sampler	Finish blocks,  cut out setting pieces, reach flimsy stage
9	Reindeer 60-degree runner	Quilt and bind
10	2015 Friendship Exchange	Blocks are made, need to determine a layout
11	Beach cross-stitch piece	About half stitched only
12	RSC16 Crown of Thorns	make additional blocks to do 2 baby quilts instead of 1 large quilt