March UFO

Back in 2007, my LQS in Albuquerque did this quilt as a Saturday Sampler. The name of the quilt is Ramblin' Rose Meets Jamestown. The quilt was designed by Marti Michell using her template sets. While it takes a bit more time to cut the pieces using the templates, I think you make up for it with how easy the pieces go together. Some of these blocks would have been very challenging with regular piecing, but with the templates they went right together. I have a couple of other quilts I'd like to make using the templates - someday. The sampler blocks were named to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement - New Colony, Roanoke Island, John Smith, and Stormy Voyage, to name a few. I had no idea when I started this quilt that I'd one day be living in Virginia.

I got all my blocks made and even had all 24 of the log cabin blocks done by the end of that year. In early 2008, I assembled the blocks and that was as far as I got. For the UFO Challenge, my goal was just to get the borders on. I've also made the binding and have fabric set aside for the backing, but that's all I'll be able to do for a while. This is a king size quilt measuring 104" square. I have an older machine with a very small throat and there is just no way that I can fit a king size quilt in there to get it quilted. I hope to get a new machine in the next year or two. The quilt has been waiting this long, it can wait a little longer.

February UFO Finish

For February, Judy drew #1 and on my list that was an Applique Sampler wallhanging. This was made in a class over 4 months that I took back in 2006 (or was it 2007?) learning hand applique from Piece O' Cake's book, The New Applique Sampler. I loved making this wallhanging, but it was never finished when I didn't know how I'd quilt it. The top was done and I had the batting, backing and even the binding ready to go. I am excited to say that it's now done!

My January UFO finish

At the beginning of January I decided I'd follow along with Judy Laquidara's 2012 UFO Challenge. The way this challenge works is you make a list of 12 UFOs that you'd like to complete in 2012. Each month Judy will pick a number and that is the project that you will finish. Because I know that I will not have time to completely finish 12 UFOs, some of the items on my list are just to assemble the blocks into a top, or just to add the borders. I will finish some things and make progress on others. Maybe those "others" will end up being finishes, or maybe they'll be on next year's UFO list. Either way, I'll have made progress.  I'll add my UFO list to my sidebar once I figure out how.

For January, Judy chose the number 5. This was a from a Saturday Sampler program at a local quilt shop in Albuquerque from 2008. We moved to Arlington (the first time) that summer. I have to say that as the year progressed I wasn't liking this quilt so much, but I hung in there and was able to complete the blocks and assemble the top after we moved back to Albuquerque in the summer of 2009.

I needed to get backing fabric and figure out how I wanted to quilt it. That's the hardest part for me - the quilting. Because I didn't want to mark the quilt and because I'm wanting to practice free motion designs I decided to quilt it in swirls. I like how it came out. The swirls added a nice texture and having used black thread, my not-so-swirly swirls don't look too bad. Here it is quilted and bound: