I have been busy!

Hi everyone!  I just got back from visiting a friend in Northern AZ.  we had our own mini retreat!  I have 3 more of my little wall hangings finished.  March, April and May.  they are from the book Red work with a Twist by Pat Sloan.  I had all the months prepped and partially finished back in December.  I facilitate a red work group at a local quilt shop.  so I am trying to stay ahead of the game there.  this is our project for the year.  I also finished this carrot while up there to give to my Friend as a thank you.  All in all, 4 1/2 yards from stash.  4 more UFOs bit the dust! 

 March, April and May.....

thanks.......

Lorene

Two More Little Finishes...

Today I finally finished a needle book I started 3 weeks ago... well I didn't know what it was going to be when I started it, it just evolved into a needle book... made completely from scraps in my box...

 How great is the fabric inside?!

 It's very big for a needle book, but I am sure I will find someone to give it to, who will love it just the same!

I also finished a little stitchery into a bookmark. The stitchery was done in July last year, but I had no idea of what to do with it... so another item for the giftie box...

I am having a slow patch on tackling my ufo's, but I am happy with my progress with things so far this year.

Anthea @ Hibiscus Stitches

A pretty finish

Recently at a quilting retreat I noticed that a lot of the ladies has quilted bags – and although I have made a  few bags, I have never made myself one.

So I bought a kit and over the past week have made this for…… Me.

The bag is made up of 2 inch squares, with an appliqué heart with stitchery flowers on the front pocket.  Now next time I go on a quilting retreat I will have a bag too.

5th finish for 2013

I am so determined to get at least one UFO finished each month this year that I have tried to come up with a bit of a plan to get things done. Firstly the big UFO to be finished this year WILL be Val Laird's "Consider the Lilies" wall hanging. All the blocks were made up at the beginning of last year with one blocks hand sewing finished and the second started by the end of the year. Well I have now completed the second blocks embroidery and will commence on the third shortly. Stayed tuned.......

I love table runners and I have several table runners in various stages of completeness in little baggies these are the next thing to mark off the list. So with that in mind a grabbed on bag the other day which had enough in it for two long table runners (can't remember why). This is the first of those table runners  using a quilt as you go method, fabric is basic Grey's "Sultry" by Moda (mmmmm love Basic Grey) jelly Roll (left over from teapot cosies which are still to be completed..
 

The rest of the fabric in that bag I have now been sewn together Jelly roll race style,I will add vertical borders to make it wide enough then quilt and bind it and another table runner/UFO will be done.

But first I will complete 2 more UFO hand towels which have now been earmarked as a personal swap.

After that I have another table runner, that I have designed myself, to complete using an Authentic by Sweetwater charm pack.

Then I will only have one more table runner to complete (made with caring hearts) and that UFO box will be done and dusted for this year.  There are only 4 more boxes to work my way through (bags, cushions, kitchen projects, completed blocks)  as well as a few small baskets of UFO's that haven't been sorted yet and 5 quilt tops still to be quilted.


That's do-able isn't it.........

One of MANY done this month!

I have really been working hard..almost forgot to publish at least one of them here! LOL  I have done several this month, but this is one that I'll put here to keep up with my promise.   I did post the other quilts on my blog, Passionate Quilter, if you'd like to see more.

I'm loving seeing everyone's work. My apologies for not making comments. Its pure laziness for sure. I read all my favorite blogs (this one included) through Google Reader...on Flipboard on my iPad. Well, to make a comment requires me to leave the app, go to the website to make a comment. And well...like I said..too lazy! and too much in a hurry to keep up with all my blog reading. I do get behind a lot! :)

One of the quilts I finished this month was 'Keep Calm and Quilt On'.  I designed this (after being inspired by a star quilt similar) for my Annual Pawleys Island Quilt retreat that I host. This wallhanging is about 42" square and was just the right size to fit into the schedule without making the whole week retreat about the one quilt. I did that one year, and it wasn't fun. People want to work on UFO's as well.

It will go in my recently redecorated guest room of gray, yellow and pink. This fabric was fun...it had all quilt related words on it. I forget the fabric line, sorry.  Unfortunately I buy fabric and after aging the proper amount of time, it's way past the limits of my memory!

Keep Calm and Quilt On

Keep Calm embroidered center


Back to work....I have a quilt that needs binding and another one needs the blocks finished.

Happy Quilting, Karen

OMG!!!

Remember I mentioned a big UFO finish in an earlier post this month? Here it is:

"Frei" - my entry to the AQC Challenge (theme 'free')

My (secret) quilt has taken the first hurdle, it is off to Australia!!! I just received instructions to send in to Australia for the judges to make their final selection.

Can anyone tell me, how great are the chances of being accepted? They don't say when they let you know about acceptance, not before 28 March obviously. I said if it was accepted I would go to Melbourne over Easter - do I need to start looking for flights?

Some details:

 

This is the brief summary I sent in with my entry:

"ARBEIT MACHT FREI" (labour frees) said the sign at the Nazi Concentration Camps. The surviving prisoners were freed more than 60 years ago, but is our world today truly free?

This quilt is a glance at what the world might look like once it is freed from human kind – some traces still remaining, but soon to be completely taken over by nature, with only the word ‘FREI’ (free) remaining.

It is made up of hand printed and commercial cottons, overlaid with hand painted silk chiffon. The flowers are hand felted by my mother Ilse Seidel, wrapping around a machine stitched chain-link fence I had stitched onto wash-away fusible. I raw edge appliqued various objects - especially the rusted sign from above the entrance. I also thread painted flowers and fmqed in different scale to give the piece depth. I am very pleased with how the piece turned out though it is very different to what I usually do! One piece of warning, if you want to burn fabrics to make them look rusted, try to keep your hands away from the hot fabric, I ended with some not so nice burns on the back of my fingers!

I have done little other quilting, have been very busy and very happy in my new job, but this weekend will be spent adding hanging sleeve and label so I can put "Frei" in the mail to AUS on Monday. I will have to look into the whole insurance thing, too - all things I never have had to worry about before!

Happy Sewing!!!

Two Finishes!!

I forgot to post this earlier but I finished my aqua red quilt in February!

 

 You will notice the fourth square is a little smaller than the others... I was lazy and chose not to remake it... but that's okay... I still like it :)

 

For this one I used Michael Miller Aqua Red Fabrics. It measures 53 x 62.

 

 

Next up is my March Finish...

 

 

 

For this one I used not so straight line quilting :)

 Ruby and Marmalade were used for this quilt. It measures 66 x 69.5 inches.

 

Thanks for stopping in!!

 

Vickey