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The Number 5 and the Letter "E" and the Quarterly Project W1

January's UFOs.

I have so many UFOs that I've joined two UFO groups. See this Post from December 11, 2024 HERE

American Patchwork and Quilting is drawing Numbers and River's Edge is drawing Letters. 

APQ's January Number is 5.  My number 5 was relative easy...a collection of Totes.

River's Edge Letter was E and Quarterly Project, W1.

The last thing on my January list is River's Edge Quarterly Project.  Memory Bears.

 

A dear friend, Terry LaDow, past away a few months ago.  His wife, Peggy, sent me a bunch of his shirts.  I will make memory bears for Peggy, Morgan (daughter) and Madelyn (grand daughter.)

So, there we have it....Our Marching Orders for January, 2025.

Gearing Up for the Big Finish

 

In preparation for the new year, I decided to drag all my UFOs, PIGS, HFIs and PNYSs* out of their hiding places, i.e., drawers, cupboards, bins and boxes, and lay them all out to see exactly what was there.....46 Items so far.  (I say "so far" because I KNOW there is a table topper started in a class at PieceMakers when I lived in California...but I can't find it...how many years ago was that????  Maybe I accidentally finished it?  Nah, scratch that.)

This is what it looks like with projects all laid out on the floor, on the cutting table, in bins and in boxes.

 

Notice the big stack of plastic project boxes on the left.  And, a few items are not even pictured!
Four WWITs* projects are already in the "Pass 'em On" pile.** 
And a few other items have been re-homed to a quilting buddy.

 

 

All-in-all I believe there are about ten items in this pile.  That's a good start.

 

Next step, list each item on a 3 X 5 card and put the cards in a cute box I uncovered during this process.  Repurpose and reuse, eh?  That would be a good slogan for 2024 "Repurpose and Reuse."

Next, assign a "Difficulty to Finish" number.

1 =  Difficult, will take some time.
2 =  Moderate, Pretty easy to finish up if  I would just stop Talking about it  and  Just Do It!
3 = Easy, finish more than one-at-a-time and knock them out.

Finally, plan for the coming year.

 

 

Purchased these from FB Marketplace:  Twelve cubbies....
one for each month....how handy is that!  ***

These will be for the American Patchwork and
Quilting UFO Challenge for 2024.

BTW:  The Challenge is different this year HERE.  In a nut shell, APWQ is no longer drawing the number and posting it on FB each month.  Each person assigns their own number.

 

 

 

 

 

The bins were not  as big as they appeared in the Marketplace listing, but I think they will work very well.

I've already assigned the Month to a Number for the entire year for the UFO Challenge using a random number picker via the internet.

I'll admin, I did cheat on January's number..I wanted to get off to a quick start so I picked easy projects to finish up for January. 

 

 

 

 

 

As a finishing touch, I used double-stick tape to tape these foam panels to the closet doors.  Instant bulletin boards.  Again, Repurpose and Reuse. (I don't remember where these came from, they were in the garage.)

Perfect for pinning instructions, pictures,  etc. to keep me motivated because "out of sight is out of mind."

Now to tidy up. 
Ready to rock-and-roll.

 

My goal for 2024 is to see how may FFOs* I can rack up.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!

 

*PHD = Projects Half Done
UFO = Unfinished Object
PIGS= Projects in Grocery Sacks
HFI = Half Finished Items
PNYS = Projects Not Yet Started (but fabric and/or patterns already purchased.)
WWIT = What Was I Thinking
FFO = Finally Finished Object

**There is a store in Nashville that will take crafting items.  SMART Arts & Crafts.  HERE

*** I bought these from Facebook Market Place, but I think they are shoe boxes.  Amazon has something very similar.  HERE

Practicing What I Preach

A few years ago a friend of mine mentioned an article she's read about passing along family treasures to our children and grandchildren (she has a collection of yard gnomes she is certain her daughters would cherish as much as she does.)
The bottom line of the article, they don't want our stuff.  When I was a young bride I welcomed hand-me-down furniture and home-making stuff from my mom and G-G-ma, Ma-Moo.  That is not so much the case any more.  And, that includes our treasured fabric, unless you are lucky enough to have birthed a quilter or sewist (I'm green.)

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Keeping that in mind, I've been on a quest the past couple of years to de-stash, de-clutter, de-accumulate... and that includes sewing, crafting and quilting stuff...sew up what I have.  When I graduate to that big sewing room in the sky guess what my son will do with most of my stuff ?

(I do have a couple things my daughter wants....
nothing quilting-related.)



Piecemakers Country Store is having a big sale today;  40% off everything, store wide.  Miss Kate and I have plans to go.
I have two Christmas quilts that need backing so I measured and calculated how much backing I'd need figuring 40% off was a pretty good deal if I can find something I like.  (And, the scissors sharpening guy will be there....)  But, as I was measuring and calculating this morning I thought....wait a minute!  Shouldn't I check my stash?   By cracky, I believe I already have some pretty good matches!  (I will get a second opinion from Miss Kate.)

  Most of my stash is smaller pieces, but I did have a few pieces of yardage.

Auditioning fabrics

 

 

I can save some money AND make some room in the closet.

 

WIN - WIN!

Happy Independence Day To All

The Year of the Pig...The Year of the Scrap Quilt

And so a new year begins.  As I've done in the past, some quilty friends and I met at Piecemakers Country Store on New Years Day for their annual 40% off sale...and lunch.  We laughed, we shopped, we ate. Getting all ready for a year of quilting.

Each of us purchased fabric for our next project:  Nancy, fabric for a bed runner using batiks; Kate, fabric to make her granddaughter a quilt; myself, 10 yards of what I call a "calming fabric." A fabric I will use with my scrap quilts to "calm" them down.

Chloe 9185-W Script by Maywood Studio

I had already decided that 2019 will be the year of the "scrap quilt."  I am sewing up all my scraps.  Every left over strip, every square, every crumb I've been throwing into bins.  My goal is to have very few scraps or even a stash at the end of 2019.

I have been saving pictures of other scrap quilts posted on Facebook for inspiration. 

Christmas 2019 I'll be sending lap quilts to all my siblings.  What they will all have in common is this fabric.

On the wall a String Quilt for my brother.
This will be my first finish for 2019 (I won't
tell you when I started these string blocks.)

Charlotte S, Kate and Nancy collaborating.
In the foreground a pile of strips saved from
other projects--MANY other projects.

And, now, how 'bout you?  What are your 2019 quilty goals?

Friends, Fabric and Food Equals FUN Every Time

Do you get together with friends to sew?  Some quilters I know belong to guilds that encourage small sew groups.  A quilt shop near me, The Orange Quilt Bee, has Fuzzy Slipper night a couple of Friday's a month.  Piecemakers  in Costa Mesa schedules regular "Open Sew" times.  As a matter of fact, that is how I met Charlotte S.  (That's a story for another time.)  My quilting-buddy-Auntie started her own group.

Because of my work/travel schedule, I can't commit to a "regular" get together so every now and then I sponsor my own Gathering of great ladies.

Yesterday was "A Gathering."
We sewed a lot, feasted on forbidden foods a lot (too much) and laughed a lot.

From R to L: Charlotte-the-Tall  (taking a think-break), Arlene & Kathy. Missing from the photo is Caren (and me.)

I was able to complete the Nephew's Tee-Shirt quilt I started last month in Portland.
It's ready to add borders, and maybe a few embellishments.

If you have not yet discovered the pleasure of sewing with a group of ladies, check it out at your local quilt shop, or your guild, or start your own.  What could be better than a Fun day with Food, Friends and Fabric?

A special shout out to Charlotte S for staying behind and helping with the clean up.  It was appreciated.

Freedom to Sew

What are you doing this long 4th-of-July weekend?


After a month of travel (first to Manhattan and then to Honolulu) it felt really good to "sit-n-sew" with the girlfriends.

Each of the 8 buildings in the apartments where I live has a meeting room we can use free of charge.  It is PERFECT for sewing get togethers.

I want this room to be MINE!

Funny story:  My friend Robin from out of town came to spend Friday night with me and sew all day Saturday before returning to her home...and hubby...Saturday evening.

But Saturday, early evening, after a full day of sewing and some pool time and a quick dinner and a bit more sewing time, she decided to stay over night again and return home Sunday morning....so, a phone call to hubby was made, mainly so he would fix himself some dinner.

Sunday morning, after enjoying our coffee on the balcony and some breakfast, she decided it would be good to stay and sew all day Sunday.... another phone call to hubby...keeping him in the loop. We had a marvelous day of sewing.

We did briefly consider one more sleep over and a trip to Piecemakers for their big 4th-of-July sale.... but she decided the hubby might panic if she called, yet again, to announce she wasn't coming home for another day. And so, alas,  did return home on Sunday evening.  It was very lonely and quiet in the Mez after she left...

I always have so many projects going at the same time, I had to pick one to focus on this long weekend.  I picked an applique project.  A lap quilt I'm making for a great niece for Christmas.

Lizzie B Cre8ive

 Applique is a fair amount of work, but it is so darling.

I have 4 and a-half blocks done and, as is true to my nature, making some switches as I go.

I'm trying yo-yos for the first time.  The jury is still out.

Sadly, today I will need to remove everything from the Mezzanine Room, vacuum and return the key...

BUT, we are already planning our next Sit-N-Sew... it will include our Featherweight machines and some grandkids!

Christmas Quilts FINISHED!!!

This was the last one...it went out in today's mail.

As I've mentioned, I have a nephew name Wilbur.  He likes pigs.  This lap quilt is for him...

I've been collecting piggy fabric for a while...some from eBay, some from Etsy.  I had no idea what to actually do with it...

I started with an Atkinson Design pattern
"All About Me."

The nice people at Piecemakers Country Store helped me pick out the coordinating fabrics.
























I got a bit creative with the back.  It's "pigs in a blanket" by Timeless Treasures.






















 It actually turned out better then I expected.

Merry Christmas, nephew.