QQQ UFO Challenge 2016

How often does life come in the way? .... I'm asking myself this question today - February 2, 2016. 

Why, you may ask? Because I intended to be a better blogger this year, but it is already February and I have done only one blog post at the beginning of the year! 

The plan was to do a blog post last weekend. For me, to make plans is a waste; plans always fail and 'of course' the plan to blog last weekend failed too! Not my fault this time; I-net connection was off for 6 days! One week without access to I-net or access to my Etsy shop, is that acceptable?! NO! Fortunate the local Post Office has I-net access and I was able to check in a couple of times during the week.

Well, that's history now! :) 

Today I'm going to show you my UFO's. Yep, we all have UFO's, don't we?! :) 

Quilts Quilts Quilts! Etsy team is hosting the UFO Challenge 2016 and deadline for the entries was January 31, 2016. You can see the entries here. I've added only a few of my UFO's and hope to finish them all before end of July 2016 (deadline). 

This is my favorite UFO; Postage Stamp Quilt. 

I have used 2.5 inch charms from swaps only. The quilt is ready to be quilted, hope to get the batting this week.

Heaps with HST (Half Square Triangles). It should be enough for two small baby quilts.

For this one, I have to buy backing, don't have anything suitable.

Flannel baby quilt. I've had these fabrics F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Time to make something out of them. Have everything that is needed.  

Another heap with squares. The idea is a lap quilt, but time will show what comes out of these fabrics. 

This butterflies bag has been sitting here another year! I intended to finish is last year, but it's still the same! :) 

The same with this one; ZERO PROGRESS! The 'Izzat Biryani' is a rice bag from Pakistan. These bags are strong and perfect for reusing together with old jeans for grocery shopping bags. 

...and a few other UFO's not listed for the challenge...

An Advent Calendar that needs binding. Don't have anything that fits...

Boring place mats! Not sure I like them... I don't have binding for these either... 

Two Christmas stockings, I'm turning them into two small wall hangings. 

I think I have fabrics for the red one, but not sure about the other one....

I have a few more UFO's, but not sure I'm going to do anything to them in near future.  

OPAM finishes for August

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

Where did August go?! I must have been busy! Actually I have; house & garden, and quilting - of course. One week went by to paint the bedroom walls and while doing that, 'Nina' was in for a long overdue service. Got her back yesterday and I'm ready for more productive days. :)

Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I love the colors. I'm definitely living in the wrong country; no such colors here in the tropics. 

I've been working with autumn themed fabrics lately and here's a few items...

Set of 4 place mats

Table runner

Table runner

I've had these flannel fabrics for ages and decided to turn them into a baby quilt. 

A finished UFO table topper. You can see it here as a UFO.  

Enough snowman fabric for a candle mat

A set of 2 Christmas place mats

These items are for sale in my Etsy shop

I'm currently working on some Halloween mug rugs. I thought I didn't have Halloween themed fabric, but yes, I found a few! :)

Do you stick to your fabric diet so far this year? I had forgotten I'm on fabric diet and have bought way too many fabrics lately, but how to avoid beautiful autumn- and Christmas fabrics?! I hope to do better the rest of the year and ONLY buy what I actually need! :)

HAPPY QUILTING!  

April UFO finishes and my goal for May

It had to happen; the flu found its way to me too! :( Coughing, sneezing, sweating... you all know it! I must say I have been very fortunate; no flu for about two years and I do not take any vaccination. I had almost forgotten how it feels when it hits - LOL! Life has been very slow over the last couple of days, but I believe if the bug hadn't hit me, most probably I had not managed to finish one UFO! Feeling slack, I don't feel for doing much, except a little bit hand stitching.

 

The 'Love is' #1 crib quilt is finally done! :)

 

 

The last stitches were done this morning.

 

 

All the text in each block is outlined using 2 strand DMC embroidery floss.

 

 

Are you tired of seeing the Postage Stamp quilt once again?! I'm tired of showing it still as a UFO! :) Well, since this post I have added the borders and it is now ready to be sandwiched. I was so sure I had enough backing.... NO! :( More is on its way from the US, so hopefully it will be finished during May!

 

 

'Love is' #2 is slightly bigger and more squarish than the crib quilt.

It is quilted, and what has to be done now is to outline details and text on the small blocks (as I did with the crib quilt). It is a bit confusing since I have used the same fabrics, same backing and same binding... :)

 

 

The third UFO I want to work on for May is yet another one where I have used Nancy Halvorsen fabrics. I was rather hooked on her fabrics, but there are limits to everything, isn't it?! :) 

For this quilt I have used a mix of different fabric lines; 'Love is', 'Cidermill Road' and I think there are a few fabrics from one of her Christmas fabrics too. Since it doesn't look very Christmas-y that doesn't really matter! :) Good thing with this one is there's no blocks where I have to outline most of the details! :)

 

 

I have finished a UFO that has been sitting there for about two years... if not mistaken!

A pair of Capri pants! Capri pants is usually what I wear all year round in this tropical climate. I had one that was almost going into powder - lol - so I ripped all the seams and used each piece for pattern. It worked well! This pair is one size too big, but that doesn't really matter since I'm going to wear it at home. :)

I bought some linen/cotton fabric some years ago... I think I will make one or two more, because they are something I badly need.  

 

 

It's time to link up this post at A Passion for Applique - here.

 

 



Long overdue update

Again I wish a day had more than 24 hours!

This morning I just decided to sit down doing this blog post, to share with you what I have been up to since I last posted. Tropical cyclone 'Imelda' kept us in suspense for some days before she decided to take an easterly direction and moved away from us. Instead, she hit our tenth district the island of Rodrigues. She did some damages like power cut etc - fortunate not a strong cyclone; gusts of about 75 miles/h / 120 km/h - enough to do some small damages. We got rain for some days and when it finally cleared up it was time for gardening!

... and of course I have been sewing! What else to do when it rains?! :)

 

I have finished a baby (crib) quilt I started earlier this year.

I have used scraps from pink pastels, white tone-on-tone and a Teddy Bear panel that was stored away I think for the last 4-5 years.

 

 

I think these Teddy Bear blocks are so cute! :)

 

 

Another one...

 

 

I'm working on a blue one too, using blocks from that Teddy Bear panel

 

 

... but again, this is what happened!

More is on its way from the US! :)

 

 

Yes, I HAVE been working on the UFO's from this post! :)

The PSQ... From the two jelly rolls I used, I was left with some already sewn together squares. As you may recall, I had in mind to add piano keys, but that again meant I had to buy more fabrics, which is not easy to get. Since I already had the squares, here's what I did... Good use of the jelly rolls; I'm left with 3-4 squares - only! :)

Next step is to add the last border and then its ready for sandwiching! Hurray!

I was hunting high and low for more of those fabrics, and ended up at a wonderful seller at eBay! :) The fabric has arrived, so hopefully I'll continue on this one this week...

 

 

#1 'Love is' quilt... This is the smallest one, a crib quilt size.

The binding is done, but I have some more quilting to do....

 

 

Some of you may say 'that's not possible'! LOL

Let me explain; when I quilted it, I wasn't sure what to do with the blocks (panels). When the quilting was done and binding attached, I saw the blocks 'puffed' too much, so I decided to outline part of each block. That was a lot of work! :) Now I'm left with the text (words) on each block, which has to be hand quilted....

How did it turn out that wonky on the photo?! It is straight! :)

 

 

#2 'Love is' - is also quilted and the binding is thread basted.

#1 'Love is' I quilted straight stitches, on this one I have FMQ (free motioned quilted).

On this one I have to outline some of the details on the small blocks (panels) too.

 

 

When looking for something, we always find something else, don't we?! :)

I found a rectangle where I had already added 2.5 inch squares together. Those squares are leftovers from Christmas/winter table runners / toppers I made 2 years ago!

I decided to make a pillow cover, which was needed for one of the pillows... I just added a small border around it to make it fit the pillow, and VOILA! New pillow cover! :)

It was not in the plans to finish this old UFO, but it was just a few hours work - and it's done! :)

 

 

Blue sky today and not too hot, so perhaps we'll go for a walk to a temple not that far from our house. The temple is situated in a hillside with stunning view over the town and surroundings.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

 



UFO's - My goal for April 2013

It's time for putting up my goals for April.

 

UFO #1

I can't remember why I put this one aside... It is quilted and ready for the binding.

I have fabric for the binding, just ready to go! :)

 

 

UFO #2

...is similar to the one above, but slightly bigger.

I like the dotted flannel I have used on the one above, but didn't have enough.. Had to order more from the US, which I got a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

UFO #3

Again the PSQ (Postage Stamp Quilt) quilt - LOL! Wonder how many times I'm going to show you this one before it is finished?! :)

You can read about my plans for this one in my previous post.  

 

 

I'm not sure I will manage all three, because I'm working on some NewFO's too.

I'll show you the NEWFO's in another post.

 

It's time to link this post up to A Passion for Applique.  

 

UFO's and another finish - March 2013

I hope you all are having a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Easter celebrations here in Mauritius isn't that big, but of course there are Easter service in the churches etc. It was supposed to be a wonderful Easter celebration for many people, but it took another turn after the torrential rain that hit the island yesterday. Worst hit is the capital Port Louis. We were lucky, not much rain here, compared to Port Louis. You can read more about it here.

 

It's better to talk about something more cheerful; FUFO's! (Finished UFO's)! :)

My goal for March was this, and this is what I have accomplished.

 

Four coasters. I love this Debbie Mumm fabrics, got carried away and here you can see what happened! :))

 

 

I finally got the quilting thread for the baby quilt.

It's done! :)  

 

 

I think straight stitches suit this quilt. It looks a bit wonky, but it is washed and line tried. It was blowing quite strong when I took the photos....

 

 

With some leftover fabrics, I made a pillow case too.

 

 

I think the backing fabric is so cute, with its butterflies! :)

 

 

The PSQ... I have only been looking at it this month... almost.... I came to the conclusion that I'm not 100% happy with it as it is now; it looks like something is missing... Therefore, I have decided to add a border and piano keys around it... Since I used two jelly rolls for this quilt, I had to buy more of the solid fabric, which I got earlier this week. That will be one of my goals for April... have yet to decide on other projects...

 

 

Those of you who know me, know I'm a huge coffee lover... :)

Therefore, I couldn't resist making a coffee themed drawstring bag! :)

 

 

I think making drawstring bags has entered my brain - LOLOL!

This early morning I dreamt I was making a drawstring bag - the pattern is in one of the quilt magazines I had a look at yesterday - LOL! :))

I think that means it is meant to be I make that bag! :))

 

I'm going to link this post up at A Passion for Applique - Nothing but UFO's in 2013.

Why not join us? :)   

 

 

Nothing But UFO's - My goal for March

March is here - already!

That means working on more UFO's and of course - NewFO's - in between. :)
My goal for March is to sandwich, thread baste, quilt and finish a Postage Stamp Quilt. This was a Quilt-Along in this group last year. As the quilt top is now, it doesn't have any borders. I will have to decide on that, but first of all I have to check out what I have left of fabrics. I don't want to import fabric from the US only for some inches of border! :)  

 

Last year I promised a dear friend to make some coasters. I ran out of the crackled fabric and fortunate I managed to get more. When the fabric finally arrived, I was busy with other projects. The log houses are leftover fabric from 'Rustic Retreat' - Debbie Mumm. Four years ago I made this quilt (using the same fabric) for his fourposter bed.

OOPS! This crackled fabric turned out too yellow using the flash and lamplight. Cloudy here today - was raining cats and dogs a few minutes ago - so not the best weather for photos.

I hope to finish at least these four coasters. I have a few more, but the photo shows four only.

 

 

I do hope the quilting thread for this quilt arrives this week! It's about 4 weeks since it was shipped from the US, which it normally takes from that shop.

 

 

Now over to the NewFO's I'm working over the last couple of weeks.

I decided to use up some pink leftover fabrics from earlier projects. Pink isn't my favorite color - definite not pink pastels / pastels in general - which means I do not have much pink / pastels in my stash. Adding white tone-on-tone and darling teddy bear blocks from my stash, I put together a very baby girlish quilt. It is quilted - straight seams - and now ready for the binding.

 

 

And one - same size - in blue. I pin basted and thread basted it this morning and is now ready to be quilted. I've used the same darling teddy bear blocks on this one and planned the layout a bit more compared to the pink one.... 

 

 

Now I'm going to link up at 'A Passion for Applique' and to see what others are working on this month.

 

 



Some NewFO finishes in February

Those of you who read my blog regularly, know that we have had a lot of rain this month. Then we had two sunny days and guess what happened yesterday; rain in the morning! Yesterday I started working in our 'jungle' garden early, to avoid the heat later in the day. I managed to do quite a lot, before it started raining.... Oh well, it is the rainy- and cyclone season, so what else to expect?! :)

 

All the rain means indoor activities; sewing. If you read my previous post, you know I have been working on some UFO's and even finished two.

I always get a bit bored working on UFO's... well, not exactly because they are UFO's, but I think the finishing process is a bit boring... I love to cut fabric and sew the small pieces together! The boring job has to be done to get a project done, doesn't it?! :)

 

I'm quite sure these bunnies have been playing hide and seek with me! It's soon Easter, so no doubt! :) I finished it (the binding) beginning of January. Then I was going to take photos of it, but as I can recall the weather wasn't the best for taking photos, so I put it away. Out of sight - out of mind. It reappeared when I had to move the finished quilt tops (UFO's), it was hiding under all the UFO's!

 

 

Aren't those bunnies cute?

 

 

Quilting; the squares are cross-hatched and I've done FMQ on the borders/stripes. The quilt is washed to get the lovely crinkled look.

 

 

The Easter / Spring table runner I started earlier this month, is finished.

 

 

Lots of fun doing the set-in pieces. The stems on the lilies were supposed to be fabric, instead I used ric-rac. Love how that turned out.

 

 

As you may have noticed already, I have done the quilting different this time. I have used patterns from The Electric Quilt Company's Quilting Design (printable stencils). It's the very first time I'm trying it and I love the result. What do you think?

This is the center piece.

 

 

The piece under the basket... a leaf pattern too.

The daffodils triangles are FMQ.

GOSH how wonky it looks! It doesn't look that bad in real! :0 I'm using a wide angle lense on my camera, which creates funny photos sometimes. :) If you take a look at the table runner, it looks like it is wider on the middle, doesn't it?  

 

 

... and a teapot cozy to match the table runner...

 

 

I still have some pieces of the daffodils fabric left, so there's a chance for a couple of mug rugs! :)

 

I worked on the pink baby quilt yesterday afternoon. The quilting is done and now it is ready for the binding. Not sure what I'm going to work on now... I will continue with the UFO's, but in between some NewFO's! :)