Snow, snow, snow

For days we have had flurries.  But flurries soon become lots of snow.  Combined with cold, it is a great opportunity to get some things done.  Of course all quilters with a few exceptions have UFO's.  And I also read today about a condition I can totally sympathize with.  It is where one starts something exciting and it gets part way there when the eye and/or mind is captured by something new.  I try to use restraint but that desire to move on to another project does breed UFO's.

Example was a guild challenge to make a block.  Ok, the block was finished.  Had fun but what to do with the block.  It languished on my design wall.  Not big enough to make a bigger quilt; too unique to be anything but a one off block.  So a little quilt was the solution.  But finding a suitable fabric for a border was a challenge.  Box after box of fat quarters were investigated.  That alone was a sad exercise to see all the lovely fabrics still to be used.  Finally I found a batik which reminded me of sea horses.  It did not bear any likeness to the block but it worked.  Here it is.   I will add it to my quilting room wall somewhere.  It was a good practice for my new BSR.   Do I see an ulterior motive to making a small quilt?

In looking around on another day I saw a big block of fat quarters in coordinating fabrics all tied up with a ribbon.  I wanted to make a Christmas gift which was going to be late to the post; of course.  I took the fabrics apart and they were really luxurious.  Perfect for a lovely table in an old stone house in Scotland.  I very, very quickly cast aside one of the fat quarters thinking it would make nice borders.  It was a quick decision and I got on with the blocks which were to be a table runner.  A ten degree ruler which had lain unused was tried out.  This is the result.  

Notice there are no borders and it is not a table runner.  That is because the blocks did not finish as I thought they would so I ignored them for a bit.  Out came the ignored fat quarter from the pile and I mean  a large pile of fabric on the cutting table.  It multiplies overnight I am certain.  The fat quarter was actually a picture which coordinated with the other fat quarters.  So change in plans; it became the table runner.  Good old longarm got to work on tracing components of the picture and it turned out nicely and one of the neglected fat quarters made the binding.  

So, more projects are finished but there are some tempting things from leftovers; a challenge that is partially finished.  And I came across some hexagons in an orphan state and so began a small quilt this p.m. to use them.  I wonder if there is therapy for those quilters who keep imagining projects before finishing the current one or ones.

Another UFO Finished - Happy Face

This throw quilt has been hidden in a box for, I hate to say, 4 years or so.  There was a craze for these quilts in a couple of guilds I belong to.  I made one for my self which I called Logic and Passion (a previous post) and so as a gift I started this one to match the decor in a TV room of friends.  I got the center done and many things intervened.  

I had an urge at the end of last week to do some piecing instead of just quilting so I dug it out and added the border. Better that than start something else which would fall into the UFO category. And better than staring at my unfinished bathroom renovation.(Oh for a nice hot shower)  Started on Friday and this is Monday and the border is on; the quilt is quilted and bound.  It was not a summer weekend and great for staying inside. 

The quilt took about 7 fat quarters and one more trip to the local quilt store (The Wooden Spool in Granville Ferry, NS)  to get a back which is a brilliant yellow; the binding is made of that material.  A great colour to have in the depths of winter.  I cannot wait to see the surprise when I take it to its home.  It will truly be unexpected.  

Now, there are no more UFOs i.e. unfinished objects but there are still lots of nicely stacked plastic boxes with fabric and patterns that can become UFOs.  I do not have the heart to count how many boxes.  So I will celebrate this and close my eyes to the boxes but unfortunately not my mind.  Maybe I should just count boxes instead of sheep at night.

A UFO Finished

Each day I passed through my fabric room, I saw on the design wall a quilt with a complete center but no idea of what I was going to do for borders.  I had fallen for a fabric line and collected a big selection of fat quarters.  No idea of what I was going to do but quilters do that.  I am sure that this resonates with others.  The fabric hung around for a year and the center top for about 2.

Busy with doing other quilts for other people, this project just hung there.  I did art quilts and pinned them on top of the quilt.  In the end I just did it.  Do it works.  It is a mental kick in the posterior we give ourselves.  So I started a border.  I looked at making a solid dark border but thought too boring.  Then I found it had a lot of left over 60 degree triangles.  There were enough to put 5 hexagons on the back of the quilt and more for the corners.  Started a corner and part of a side.  It was not simple.  So I left it, pieced a back in various beige shades of fabric and hand applied the hexagons on.  Then it needed a just Do It again and I put the border together.  The border plus the back took more time than the center of the quilt.  It did not quite work out as I had thought in my head but it worked.

Now the quilt is finished including a flange which I truly love on quilts.  It is like a soft ending to a story.  Not abrupt which the all dark grey/black would have been.  

Please excuse the half pictures.  I am expecting company, my downstairs bathroom has been torn apart for a new shower and I will not tell the horror story of what was behind the walls and under the floors.  Just say that the house has existed on this property for a very, very long time.  Part of a hallway is taken up with forlorn toilets, boxes of just about anything.  But it will be gorgeous when finished.  When it is finished.  Not before company that is for sure.

But the quilt is complete except for a label, a name and nice tumble in the dryer to trap threads and bits acquired in the process.  If anyone reading this wants to comment on a name, it would be most welcome.  I am running dry as I keep running through these 'lazy' days of summer.  By the way working with all triangles does really weird things with your mind.  You see diamonds, squares and hexagons depending on your point of view.  At least I did.