WIPs Be Gone Still AWOL

but I do have a finish!  I mentioned in my Sunday post: "... couldn't stand it, had to start something new, so while in the scrap bag I took out some cut off triangles and made a teeny quilt ".  Here it is  - all 4" square of it:

I got my inspiration to make it from Amanda Jean and all her cute pincushions.  I didn't have any crushed walnuts to make one, so I made an itty-bitty quilt instead.  Here's the back:

I gave it to my friend, Sheila, today.  It's her birthday this Saturday.  Happy Birthday, Sheila.

That was fun and quick, too.  Kept me from starting another WIP.  But I am determined this week to get back to them.  Wonder what number Judy will pick on Tuesday?

I'll announce the winner of the hexagon templates, tomorrow.  Have plenty, so will give another 105 (that makes 15 flowers!) for this coming week although it's going to be a busy week as I'll have two grandkids over for the next 14 days.  Same rules. Link up and get one chance. Comment get another. Follow my blog and tell me so and get a third. Closes midnight, next Thursday. Here's what I've used some of mine for (a while ago - one of those WIPs - I refuse to call them UFOs - lol):

Blessings!

WIPs Be Gone Fireworks

Quilted:

 Bound and ready for the NICU at the hospital. This was around long enough to become a WIP.

As promised, here's why we don't go somewhere for the 4th:


The city does this every year. Sometimes the mountain catches on fire; sometimes it doesn't. Thankfully, it was one of those years when there wasn't a fire.

WIPs Be Gone

None gone yet, but even with taking Valentine's Day off, managed a bit of progress:

Two you've seen. The pieced one took me several days with its 72 pieces - arghh.  Had to go slow and check which direction to press seams so it would lie flat - picked out seams several times. Phew - give me applique anytime. Those two were a snap compared to that many pieces one.  Three down - two to go and I can start on putting the top together.

On the "spontaneous construction" front, I found a set of heart blocks.  I'm altering them to go with my Madonna:

From this ----------------------------to this (less white)

five done!

What are you up to?  Making any progress?  Link or comment and let me know.  I have another fat quarter for someone.  You get to choose. Usual guidelines apply: Leave me a comment for one chance.  Link your eye candy for another (link button below). Follow me and let me know for a third. Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo hosting service.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you. Ends next Thursday, midnight. I'll be linking to several parties.  See tab above.  I'll announce last week's winner tomorrow.  Blessings!

Last 2016 WIPs Be Gone

Here is my last WIP Be Gone for 2016:

And it isn't even mine -  a dear friends UFO that I took over when she was clearing out fabric bins to make room at her summer home years ago.  I just couldn't let it get tossed.  I've added the white fabric matting and the outside border.  I'd like to find a teeny sampan to place on the river, then sandwich and do some quilting.  Setting a goal of Jan 15th - we get together on the 17th.  Wish me time.

Over 50% done with the next round of part 1 of Bliss.  Five more to go.  It's the slow process of EPP.

Signed up to take part in Judy's http://patchworktimes.com Quiltathon and her UFO challenge.  She plans one weekend a month to sew all out.  And her UFO challenge has us pick 12 UFOs to work on - one a month.  And if that wasn't enough, I signed on with Persimmons and Chintz for her 17 in 2017 which gets us trying to make significant progress on 17 UFOs (12 will be the ones I picked for Judy's challenge.  Insert WIPs in place of all those UFOs and that's what I'll be reporting on in the coming new year on my weekend WIPs Be Gone post. I'll hope your join me for the linky party then (no party this week, still sort of on vacation) to share what's moving forward in your sewing studios.  Who knows we even may have a giveaway or two.

Near Christmas WIPs Be Gone

I've made some real progress on the new baby quilt top.  A reminder - all these scraps were in the same bag, so that's what I have to work with.  Only 4 more blocks to sew.

The letters were colored by children at out June Church Festival.  I have no control over those either or I would darken that "E".  Have just a bit more shopping to do tomorrow and then a few pans of cookies and I'll be ready for Christmas.  How about you?  No linky this week as I figure everyone is busy getting ready.  Leave a comment if you have time.  To all of you, Merry Christmas!

Third December WIPs Be Gone

I finished a baby quilt.  These go fast because they're so small - 30" square for the NICU at the regional hospital.

 If you're interested, I'm posting the pattern for this Double Sawtooth one block quilt under my free patterns tab.

The fabric is so cute I wanted to keep it intact. I made the top way back in April when our Guild had a sew day for making baby tops.  I think the fabric is by Michael Miller.

 I free motion quilted the center from left to right,

and added freezer paper stars in the corner blocks.

I'm linking to Michelle's Let's Make Baby quilts and a few others you'll find under my linky party tab.
I hope you find a few moments to sew today during this busy season - it's so peaceful when we do.

What are you up to?  Link up and I'll come by to see.

First December Wips Be Gone

My monochromatic (out of one scrap bag) is finished.

All piecing was done on my 1902 Singer treadle machine.  It was fun.  My next project with it is Bonnie's mystery.  I'm doing a smaller version. What will be our next unit?

Making these four patches made me realize I've very few neutrals. As a consequence I used the back side of some lighter prints.  I see shopping first thing in 2017.

When I wasn't using the Singer, Ms Juki was humming along with me on the commission quilt.  I'm working on the sky right now.

May just add a few more lines radiating from the star.  The curlicues around the center are done.

What are you up to? Making anything for Christmas gifts or decorating?  I'd love to see your work. Linky below or leave me a comment and I'll come by and see.  Blessings to you and yours,

I'm linking to TGIFF - this week at Devoted Quilter  plus other Friday linky parties - see tab above.

Holiday WIPs Be Gone

This is a bit late for several reasons:  It's a holiday weekend.  Lot of eating done; not much sewing. Away from the machines; no time for hand sewing. Once home too full to play in the studio - lol.

Today, I finished another column of the green, scrappy baby quilt.  The treadle is humming along.  I oiled it the other day.  Boy, there are a lot of spots to add oil.  I'm thinking of doing Bonnie Hunter's mystery that started today on the treadle next.  How about you?  Are you attempting it?  I'm just going to do a portion of it.

I also have a commissioned quilt to finish by December 9th.  This is another panel so no blocks to make.  Added two borders. 

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  No shopping for me. Enjoying the quiet and restful time.  We will be visiting friends this evening - another get together for this holiday.

Blessings,

Wips Be Gone Finishes

Were you able to work on a WIP?  I did and surprisingly, I finished three:

Here's my little mistletoe quilt - measures 8 3/4"x10 1/2"  - that I said I'd tell you more about in my previous post.  It was for our Steal Game at our November Guild meeting.

The guild board gave us these plastic stands for our little quilts.  The quilts shared were so varied and beautiful.  It was a great showing of creativeness.  The top photo shows the quilt on the stand.

I also finished quilting that baby quilt:

 The back reminds me of a modern quilt with the two colors of thread and the shapes of the motifs.

 I was happy to find a pink fabric so close to the front fabric for the binding

Lastly, I made another SS block.  It called for paper piecing in the center part, but I just used a stripy fabric instead.

Are you WIPPing?  Leave me a comment and I'll come by and check your progress.  Winter is edging into our part of the country. Guess it's time.

Blessings!

WIPs Be Gone Friday

Working on my SS WIP.  Made #48 - Whim

Not happy with it.  It's those which look easy that aren't!

Still not happy with it.  Maybe it's those pebbles in the lower right - too big in scale.

Don't know if this is any better - maybe a little, but I am done.  It is what it is.  Do you ever have any blocks like that?  I probably should have gone back to the photos of this block and seen what others had done.

What are you up to?  Leave me a comment and I'll come visit and see your lovely work. No linky this week.  I'll announce last week's winner tomorrow.

One last thing - I finished quilting one of the baby quilts - one with really puffy batting. I quilted it simply along the seams.  That batting is not going anywhere.  I go by what the bag for the batting says - a very helpful resource. Here's what I mean for this fusible batting I bought:

Tells you loft, shrinkage, max distance between stitches, what method, what fabrics - even instructions. Save those bags, but then you probably already do so. They didn't save the bag used in the quilt below. Here is the quilt:

Sorry for the blurry photo and too much contrast - I don't have the quilt any more - sent to the clinic. Another St Anne's member made the top. I quilted  and bound it.

Progress on WIPs Be Gone

This block was so cute I had to make it right away. #76 of the Splendid Sampler blocks - not that I'm that far along. I think I'm missing about 20. As for scraps, let me show you what I think
 is scraps:


I am rethinking what to do with scraps.  The above will be for any collage and mosaic quilts I may want to make.  Anything else will be leftovers and I hope to deal with them as I create them instead of stuffing another bag with fabric.  

Now here's a recent WIP.  I finally decided how I was going to handle the on point block to form a rectangle.  First step:

I made this by using the exploding block in Jenny Doan's method.  Next I have to cut it (scary part) to make it into a thinner shape.

On an older WIP - am quilting the baby quilt with the same thread front and back and it stands out in the back!  I tried a lot of threads and nothing looked right on both sides. So yes, it's going to look different.  What color would you have used? 

Now here's the front.  You can see why there are circles on the back. Yes, the starts and stops show (but their aren't too many) as do the wobbles and bumps, but the stitching looks nice. Three more sections to do and I can start binding it.

So what are you up to these days?  Anything quilty?  I'd like to know about other stuff too. It will qualify for the giveaway.  This week I'm back to offering a quilting book of your choice of three.  I'll send you an email asking for your preference as to quilty subject. Usual guidelines apply: Leave me a comment for one chance.  Link your eye candy for another (link button below). Follow me and let me know for a third. Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo hosting service.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you. Ends next Thursday, midnight. I'll be linking to several parties.  See tab above. I'll post this week's winner Sunday. Blessings!

WIPs Be Gone

The two baby quilt WIPs are in the final stages before quilting.  I had to piece together batting and find/iron the backs.  More on those later.

I did some applique:

Tell me what you think this is, and I'll see if I got it right color-wise.  This is for a Christmas gift, and it has to be a rectangle so I'll have to figure out what to do to make it the right size.  This is as far as I've gotten.

Are you going to Road to California, January 19th-22nd in Ontario, CA?  They are having an outreach event.  You can read about it here.  For that event I've made two blocks so far to contribute. Really like the pattern they have chosen - it's made in a neat way and was developed by Anita Grossman Solomon.  This will be a very worthy event.

These are really the light pink you can see in the blocks.

What are you up to?  Would love to see.  Link up for a chance to win some hexagon papers. Usual guidelines apply:   Leave me a comment for one chance.  Link your eye candy for another (link button below). Follow me and let me know for a third chance. Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo hosting service.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you. Ends next Thursday, midnight.


I'll be linking to some linky parties, including Creations...Quilts, Art...Whatever. See the tab under the header.  Oh, and I'll pick this week's winner tomorrow. Blessings!

WIPs Be Gonner

Good thing I wasn't given a deadline - it took me 4 months.  The BAMA quilt is done!

39" square.

I hope he likes it.

And here's a WIP made by my 90 year-old Mom.  She's back in Houston visiting family and going to the International Quilt Festival, and yes, she took some embroidery,cross-stitch with her for the few moments she not on the go - lol.  I call it her novela quilt as she worked on it 3 hours a day, five days a week as she watched her evening novelas (that's soap operas in Spanish).

This wall hanging is all cross-stitch.  What will she be buying at the Festival?  Cross-stitch kits, more likely.  Measures 36" x 43".

What are you up to?  Would love to see.  Link up for a chance to win some hexagon papers. Usual guidelines apply:   Leave me a comment for one chance.  Link your eye candy for another (link button below). Follow me and let me know for a third chance. Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo hosting service.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you. Ends next Thursday, midnight.


I'll be linking to some linky parties - see tab under header. Blessings!

WIPs Be Gone Harvest

Fall is finally here in SoCal. It was 56 degrees this morning. And with fall comes harvest time. Here's what my husband harvested from our yard - another luscious pineapple!
We're looking forward to this one.  May be from one our
 
non-acidic plants.  See the little plantlet at the bottom of the pineapple?  That's another plant ready to start making another yummy fruit. But DH has so many of them now, he'll probably toss this one.  If you buy one at the store, you can save the top, peel off some of the bottom leaves, place the trimmed end in water, and once it has sent out roots, you can plant it and have your own pineapple plant. Mind you, takes about 2 years to fruit and if you live where it freezes, keep it inside for winter.

And a finish for my Harvest news is another Splendid Sampler block. I'm calling this my harvested bowl of flowers.  It's #69 of the released blocks.

Our winner for last weeks giveaway is Michele Timms of Canada.  I've sent her an email. 

The giveway this week is again 105 hexagons papers.  Enough to make 17 flowers.  The hexagons will have 1" sides.   Usual guidelines apply:   Leave me a comment for one chance.  Link your eye candy for another (link button below). Follow me and let me know for a third chance. Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo hosting service.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you. Ends next Thursday, midnight.

I'll be linking to several parties. You can, too. See tab above below header. Blessings!

WIPs Be Gone

I have a finish:

 Here's that baby quilt I was quilting.  It was an easy one.  Wavy lines at seams and stars in the middle.

 I used these Crayola markers to mark the stars - only marked the tips of the star and the intersections, and as these are fine line worked well by just lightly drawing. (I learned about these when reading Geta Grama's blog post). When it was all done, I washed the quilt with a SHOUT color catcher and mild soap in warm water on delicate cycle and all the lines came out.  I was worried about that because the marker box said "Wash promptly", and I had those lines on the quilt about 3 weeks.

I just love this flannel back of jungle safari animals.  

I've started another baby quilt.  This one is a panel on which I use the FMQ foot.  

These panels are great for practicing the rhythm of quilting (listening for that just right hum) and having consistent stitch lengths.  Try one.

What are you up to?  Link up below, or leave a comment and I'll come by to see your progress.  This week's giveaway is a $10 gift certificate for the Fat Quarter Shop.  Add a link or leave a comment for two chances to win. Good luck.

I'll be linking to Finished or Not Friday and other linky parties. See the tab below the header.

A New WIPs Be Gone Giveaway

  A small finish - another Splendid Sampler block.   And a big finish - that commission quilt is a top.  I'm sandwiching it as you read this. My client saw our June Festival quilt and wanted one like it, but for his favorite team - here's a sample of the University's fabric.
 

He colored the letter blocks.  Fabric markers were used. Then I took an art pencil and went over the red again as the letters looked orange.  They looked fine by themselves.  It was the deepness of the other red fabric that made them look that way.  

What are you up to? Link below and you'll have a chance to win a book or hexagon pieces - your choice.  I'll send you an email asking for your preference. Usual guidelines apply: Leave me a comment for one chance.  Link your eye candy for another (link button below). Follow me and let me know for a third. Remember if you don't have a blog, you can always post a photo from a photo hosting service.  Please be sure there is some way for me to contact you. Ends next Thursday, midnight. I'll be linking to several parties.  See tab above.  Blessings!