Finishes/Gifts of 2021

 When they say the year just flies by... they weren't kidding. I am writing you today at the end of 2022 for because life has been busy and chaotic AND I forgot I had returned to writing on this blog. But I haven't stopped quilting or organizing. Since I wrote you last, I have completed two years of the UFO challenge and have finished transforming my bedroom into a quilting room with a bed. The room remodel will be a separate post and I promise it's worth reading.  But for this post, I want to share with you the finishes I did in  2021.

The purple/black Fun Day quilt was completed and gifted to my cousin as a graduation gift. She is my mom's half sister's daughter, who now attends ASU studying Journalism. I had to ship it to her because I couldn't visit so I didn't see her reaction but I am told it is in her colors and style.

The blue/white Fun Day quilt was completed and gifted to my mom. She has it thrown over the back of her couch and while visiting, I have slept under it several times. It's surprisingly warm and big enough to comfortably nap under. 

I've found that my hang up in finishing quilts is the quilting aspect because I don't have a large enough space to baste, table space to maneuver the quilt on the machine OR a big enough machine to easily navigate. So I asked my LQS for a recommendation and found a retired quilter who long arms to support her quilting habit. I handed both of these quilts over having only chosen the thread color and the density of quilting (medium) then she chose the patterns by "listening to the quilt." I know most quilters would HATE handing over this control but I loved it and will continue to use her.

This last finish was a Superman flannel rag quilt I had started for a cousin and by the time I got to finishing it, that cousin was grown. I wanted it to go to someone who would love and cherish it. Another cousin came to mind who is a superhero all his own. I was able to give it to him personally and his mom tells me he can't sleep without it. This was the only UFO from my 2021 list that was completed. 

As with all my quilts, I included labels. Each one has a personalized message and one of my favorite parts of the quilting process.

Add M's quilt label here.

Add Mom's quilt label here.

Made Especially for Christian Papenburg
This is a superhero in all of us, we just need the
courage to put on
the cape.
Lacosta Browning
California
2021

As I ended 2021, I found myself motivated toward more finishes and continued to make my space my own so I could quilt regularly.

APQ Monthly Challenge (January)

 In addition to the regular UFO challenge, American Patchwork & Quilting is having monthly organizational and storage challenges. For the month of January, the challenge was to "Organize your UFOs." 

This challenge was announced after I had been very active on the Challenge's Facebook group. A number of people expressed stress or a lack of motivation about UFOs that they no longer have interest in and asked, "when do you abandon UFOs" and "how do you pass them on?" This got me thinking.... my answer to when do you abandon UFOs surprised me. I don't have a ton of time to quilt and so why would I spend that time working on a project that I no longer have passion for. With this in mind, I started organizing my UFOs. I decided to do a second purge of my UFOs through this monthly challenge and am abandoning several UFOs as well as purging more fabric that I think is beautiful but no longer have a project that I am passionate about. This reduces my overall quilting hoard to two storage containers of fabric/projects. They also gave us these nifty trackers to use... I didn't fill out one for each quilt as I reorganized because I needed time to go through each project and figure out what I was thinking. I put one in each bag to help me get in the habit of using them when I get to work on each UFO.

Photo of UFO bins

In fact, this purge caused me to abandon one of the UFOs on my Challenge list. The RWB Star Quilt is a completed top completed using a combo of two different quilt block swaps. My intention for it was that we'd have a quilt we could take to the Morgan Hill Freedom Fest events (Patriotic Sing and 4th of July Parade) either to curl up in or to sit on. After looking at the top and the backing fabric I had purchased for it, I decided I liked the borders I did on the quilt but didn't love the blocks and the variety of fabric. I felt like I liked the backing better than the top. So I kept the backing and am going to convert this UFO to a new project that will focus on red and medium blue starts for the quilt top. So I've updated my UFO list to reflect this change, it was #9.

Photo of RWB Star Quilt

As to the question of what to do with UFOs that you chose to abandon. Someone in the Facebook group mentioned Jo's Country Junction. This site has a list of groups that take donated projects to complete for donation to various organizations. I will be taking some time to contact these groups to pass on some of my UFOs and fabric will be donated to my local quilt guild or offered up on a Buy Nothing Facebook group, if the quilt guild can not take them at this time due to quarantine.

#JanuaryUFOStorage #OfficialOrganizingChallenge

Quilting Design Board

While designing the Flannel Quilt for my Dad (#7 on my UFO list and my only HSY), I found that I needed a space to arrange and rearrange the blocks to finalize the quilt top design. I really miss my quilting design wall and decided that it's something I need to enjoy the quilting process. 

My attempt to play with quilt designs on my tiny ironing board.

The Quilting Design Wall/Board that I had previously was created following the blog post by Diary of a Quilter By Amy Smart. My ex-husband had a problem putting holes in the wall so my design board leaded against the wall in two different houses. What I disliked about it was that 1) we could never get the flannel pulled tight against the board so it sagged, 2) the more I pulled the fabric, the more the insulation would warp/bend and didn't stand up, and 3) it was a pain in the butt to move. It was such a pain to move that when I left the marital home and moved stuff into my storage unit, it got seriously damaged and I put the whole thing (fabric and all) in the garage bin. 

This time around, I did a TON of internet searching and found this post by Alanda Craft using an artist canvas. I love the idea because there's more structure to a canvas' than I had with the insulation and it'll be easier to move by using a few small canvas sections rather than a whole wall sized piece. I decided to purchase (4) 30" x 40" Canvas' and cover each in white flannel. I feel like I scored a deal because I bought the Canvas' when Michael's was running their BOGO Free sale on canvas. I also decided to use an adhesive spray to help me stretch/stick down the fabric on the canvas and purchased a cheap staple gun from Joann's. It worked as easy as the blog post showed it too... seriously this was NO Pinstrosity! It worked perfectly.

 

I love the result! They aren't hung on my wall yet, but will be when I am able finish the redesign in my bedroom/quilting room. I am enjoying being able to drag the canvas' into the kitchen where I am currently quilting. But when I have to clear the table for distance learning/working, I can take the project back to my room for storage while keeping my progress on the movable design wall.

2021 UFO Challenge

Over the last 5.5 years and through many moves, I have purged my quilting stash twice. The first round, I got rid of probably 10 UFOs and 3 Medium sized moving boxes of fabric, notions and random sewing projects. I kept only completed tops, completed blocks, fabric that had a purpose and a small shoe box of fat quarters. At the time, I was in such a rush to make everything fit into a new, smaller unit. Most of it sat in plastic bins in the corner of my bedroom until quarantine in early 2020, when I decided to redesign my bedroom into a dual purpose bedroom/quilting room. It then sat on my deck until I was able to clear a place in my shed for it.

I decided that since I am spending so much money redesigning my bedroom this year, that I needed to use the fabric/projects I have first. This lead to me searching for a UFO challenge similar to the one I had done previously. I found the American Patchwork and Quilting UFO Challenge and decided it was exactly the motivation I needed. To fill out the Challenge form, I opened 1 of the 3 remaining project bins I have. I only filled out the form with the first 11 UFOs I found and added 1 HSY (Haven't Started Yet). Luckily, my mom had organized the bins with many of my favorite project in the same bin, which is this list.

Each month the group picks a number and that's the project you work on.  I was still working on my list when they announced the January number (#7) and since I needed a project I wanted to work on, I decided to put my HSY on that space. It is a flannel quilt for my dad that I had already started buying fabric for. I am so excited to make a quilt for him especially since I have a completed quilt top for my mom going to the long arm quilter this month. So let's get started!

#apqresolution

Finding Happiness

 Long ago... I was a quilter. A ugly divorce, custody battle, new career, 3 moves and I am finally find my world stable enough to quilt again. As I am settling into the place I will call home for another 8.5 years, I am creating my quilting space and trying to find my happiness through quilting once again. 

During the quarantine/pandemic of 2020, I started trying to quilt regularly again but due to not having a space it was sporatic. I would literally have to pack everything away daily so my kids and I could school/work from home. But I did make some headway. Below are some of the UFO tops I completed and I purchased backing. I have never done this before but I am going to have both long arm quilted because I just don't have the space to work efficiently.

Fun Day 2015

Fun Day 2013

And so, I start sharing my quilting adventures again.

September Goal

Don't know how I managed this but last year I forgot to blog about my donation quilt last year for Piece By Piece Quilt Guild's Donation Month.  The fabrics were donated by different individuals in the guild and our wonderful Philanthropy Committee created kits for people to take home and finish.  I chose a kit of purple and yellow to represent my love of the LSU Tigers but also the purple for domestic violence awareness.  The pattern that was recommended is called Rusty's Quilt.  It was super easy and I loved how it turned out! Here it is, turned into the guild for distribution at the sexual abuse interview center in our area in Oct 2013.

I've decided to use the same pattern again for this years donation quilt.  I found the below fabrics on clearance (blue/white was sale priced after coupon) at Joann's and took all that was left on the bolts hoping to put together at least one, if not two quilts this year.  They are due in October again this year.

My goal for the month of September will be to complete one donation quilt using these fabrics and the Rusty's Quilt pattern.

August Finish

I did it! I finished my Double Dog Dare Ya Challenge entry.  It was down to the wire.. literally.  The day my entry was due was also my son's first day of Kindergarten.  It was a mad dash to get everything in order for school and finish my challenge but I am proud of the finished product.

Each entry had to include a write up on "What the theme Enchanted California means to you?" Here is mine:

     "The theme Enchanted California for me has always evoked thoughts of adventure and the possibility of riches. Similar to the pioneers who traversed the Midwest during Westward expansion, forty niners, early 1900s loggers, WPA workers and artists who came here seeking opportunity, we came here seeking our own slice of the Enchanted California dream. I have expressed this within this quilt depicting the historic Route 66 using the Road to California quilt block leading to the majestic redwoods and gold fields as well as our own golden opportunity (ie. Apple, Inc.)."

I am excited to say that I won Judges Choice Runner Up.  I think it's equivalent to third place.  Anyway, I won a small gift certificate to a LQS. It's about 1/4 of what I spent to make the challenge quilt but I had fun and will be entering it into our local quilt show but won't have it judged. I believe others who participated in the challenge will be doing the same.