GOALS FOR 2013

Before I bore you with my goals/UFOs, I'll show you what I worked on over the weekend.

I finished the six baskets that I prepped 3 different ways.  The ones I prepped in #1, which was using the magic sizing to stick the seam allowance onto the back, worked the best and was the easiest applique to accomplish.  I prepped 3 more like that to do this week.  All the baskets came out ok, but I wasn't satisfied with methods #2 & #3.

Here's a picture of all the baskets I've finished so far (on my design door).

I also decided to do the QAL that Lori posted on her blog.  It's a small one this year.  I can't believe all the problems I had while putting it together.  First, the needle broke and when I put in the new needle, I couldn't get my automatic needle threader to work.  Then I lost one of the large triangles for the flying geese on the middle star and had to cut another one (found 1st one under a cabinet).  While cutting some fabric for the second round, I cut off the corner of the sawtooth star and had to replace the corner square.  When I made the brown/pink flying geese, I cut the brown square the wrong size, made the 4 FG and thought - they sure look different than normal - had to do those over again.  Then I misplaced one of the cheddar pieces and had to hunt for it - it was folded in a piece of pink fabric!   don't know what my problem was, but I finally got the top finished!!  Yea!

I cut a bunch of 1" strips to use in my log cabin blocks from the scrap bag I got.  There's still a lot of fabric left from the bag.


So far I have 196 block finished.  I'm not sure how big I will make it, but I figured if I had 225 blocks, it would measure about 71" square.  I'm going to want it to fit on a bed.

I have quite a few UFO's which I will list and will put an asterisk next to the ones that are a priority.  I have 3 categories of projects:  hand work, which includes embroidery, appliqué, quilting and sewing bindings; quilts; and Miscellaneous projects, such as finishing an embroidery project into a pillow or wall hanging.

Handwork

1.  Over the River and Through the Woods wall hanging - 2 panels of embroidery are finished, one more to do, then it goes into the quilt category.

2. * Baskets for You BOM - applique 12 baskets per month for 10-12 (?) months and then a large floral design in the middle.  I don't want to get behind on the baskets, so will try to do them as soon as I get them from the quilt shop.

3.  Finish flower basket appliqué project that I won from Lori, then decide if I want to make more & how to use in quilt.  Almost finished with one.

4.  Enlarge my GMF lap quilt by about 4 rows all the way around.

Quilts

1.  *Civil War Quilt - the blocks are ready to put together.  It's ready to baste.
2.  **Quilt for DIL - machine appliqué  - Need to finish by March birthday.
3.  **2 secret quilts - Need to finish by September - I'm almost to the point of putting the blocks together.  *As of 5/7/13, the blocks are put together and I'm starting to put the borders together.    As of 9/9/13, one quilt is finished and the other is ready to baste and quilt.
4.  Red Hexie mini quilt - almost finished and ready to be layered - idea from JoAnn - Thread Head.
5.  A Tisket A Tasket applique basket quilt - 8 baskets are done, need to do 4 more and then make into a quilt.
6.  Veranda Views - all embroidery is finished - need to make into blocks and put together.
7.  Oak Leaves & Turkey Feathers wall hanging - started, but not much done - machine applique and piecing.
8.  Scrappity Do Dah - blocks finished - need to put together into queen size quilt.
9.  Grandmother's flower garden lap quilt - need to decide if I want to make it bigger and then finish.
*  I decided to make it bigger, so I'm working on more hexies by hand.
10.  Log Cabin Quilt - I've been working on this mainly on trips and have 196 blocks made finishing at 4 3/4".  No hurry on this one.
11.  Seasons in a Row - my oldest UFO that was a guild project.  I have about 8 rows finished  and there's one for each month.  *As of 5/7/13, the top is finished.
12.  Basket wall hanging - need to fix it a little, then it's ready to layer and quilt.
13.  Ohio Star boys donation quilt - have about 12 blocks made.
14.  4-patch donation quilt - have lots of blocks made - it's a leader/ender project.

Miscellaneous

1.  Finish embroidery on Denim shirt.
2.  Finish round wool pincushion.
3.  Finish bird pincushion.
4.  Put together Liberty Bell embroidery project - stitching is finished.  I decided I didn't like the fabric that the Liberty Bell was embroidered on, so I need to make a new one.
5.  Put together sampler cross-stitch project - stitching is finished.

If I can resist starting any more projects, I should be able to complete some of my UFOs.  I plan to dedicate myself to getting projects finished.  I also want to organize my sewing closet and scraps so I can use them more efficiently.  I'm not sure when I'll get to those tasks.

Wish me luck!

PREPPING BASKETS FOR APPLIQUE

The first 12 baskets were appliqued using the back basting method.  I decided to check out some other ways to do hand appliqué and searched for freezer paper applique methods.  I found a few different tutorials.

The following are what I used for these six baskets (I have six more to do, but I'll wait until I have sewn these down to decide which one I like or don't like.

1.  Magic sizing method.  You iron the freezer paper (FP) on the back  and then use magic sizing that you spray into a little container and then paint on the edge to stick down the seam allowance and then take out the freezer paper before you appliqué.  I didn't like painting the magic sizing on - it was quite messy, but might be the easiest to sew down.  (Bottom 2 on the right).

2.  Iron the FP on the back, then fold the seam allowance back and sew it down with a basting stitch.  When you have about half of the appliqué sewn down, you take out the FP and then continue sewing it down.  This might be a problem because of the reverse appliqué parts.  I used some of the applique glue to turn under those areas.  I doubt I will ever use this method again.  (Bottom left).

3.  Place the FP on the back with the waxy side up and then iron the seam allowance down.  You are supposed to leave the FP in until it is sewn down and then cut it out from the back.  Maybe I should take the FP off before I start stitching because of the reverse appliqué.  (The top three baskets).

I also have seen a method where FP is ironed on top of the fabric, but I couldn't find a tutorial for that.

Any ideas, advice or suggestions are welcome!  I'm not sure I like any of these methods, but to be fair, I will try them.  Numbers 1 & 2 were awkward to implement.  Number 3 was the easiest so far.

HOME, SWEET HOME

We arrived home Tuesday afternoon and it felt soooo good!  Besides the laundry, shopping for food, putting all our stuff away, I decided to get to work on the  "Spring Kitty" wall hanging that I blogged about a couple weeks ago.  I am almost finished with the appliqué!  I'm actually making two of them - one will be a gift and she doesn't read this blog, so I don't have to hide it.

 While on our trip I entered a giveaway for the Quilting Secrets Blog Hop on Sue's blog and I won a $25 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop!  I decided to order some 1/2 yard pieces of reproduction fabric and this came in the mail yesterday.  Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!

Then,  Inspired by Antique Quilts told about the grab bags from Homestead Hearth  so I thought I would try them.   I love to get scraps for various projects.  I just received my bag and I'm very happy with it.  All the fabrics in it are new to me and there is a lot!

I'm going to need some time to get organized, but I'm planning to make some quilting goals for 2013 with a list of my priorities, etc.  I will let you know when I get something figured out.

A NEW BOM FOR 2013 - AM I NUTS?

Before Christmas I went to my favorite LQS to spend my gift certificate when I saw a BOM program on the wall that I really liked.  It came in Red or Blue.  I had always wanted to join in on something at this shop which specializes in reproduction fabrics, but never have.  I thought, maybe I should do it this time - as I had resisted for years.  I had a hard time making the decision, but I decided to join in. Am I nuts?   I selected the blue one.  The pattern is below and comes with a template for the baskets.  Each month I will receive a package with fabric for 12 baskets to be hand appliquéd!  Yikes!  I received the first month at the shop and there was enough fabric for 12 blocks, six background fabrics and 6 blue fabrics for the baskets, so I will have 12 blocks with 2 from each fabric.

Pattern and template.

Six of my first month's 12.  The others are basically the same.

 They are not perfect, but I hope my applique skills will improve.  I used the back basting method this time and might try a different method on January's blocks.

I just received this book as a Christmas gift from my DS#3/DIL and am already enjoying it.  I love Marie Bostwick's Cobbled Court series.

I received this mug rug from Karen  when we met for lunch a week ago.  We had such a good visit!

We left Florida and are now in Alabama visiting our 3rd son and family.  Jonah (4) and Eli (2) are such precious little boys!

DS/DIL helping the boys climb on the old "truck"

Eli is such a smiley boy!

Jonah is a good climber!

Tomorrow we head back home and it will be good to get there. We had a wonderful visit with 2 of our sons' families! We will sure miss them!

COUSINS AND SOME PROJECTS WORKED ON

 Saturday was a very busy day.  DS#3/DIL were scheduled to run in a marathon, but since Eli was sick, only DS ran.  Jonah stayed with us for the day and Abby, her Mom, Jonah and I went to a local park where the kids had a blast.  They literally ran the whole time the were there (just about).  Four year olds seem to have unending energy!

A snack to replenish the energy!

Walking to the car together.

 Jonah spent the night in our camper and played with some toys that he hadn't seen before, such as the marble maze below.  That has always been a real hit with the grandkids!  You put the marble in the top and it rolls down through all the curves, bridges and bumps to the bottom.

Uncle Sam is always fun too.  You put your penny in Uncle Sam's hand and when you press the button, Uncle Sam's hand drops the penny in his satchel.  In this bank, you can retrieve the pennies to do it all over again.  It's a heavy metal replica of an antique toy/bank.
 

Pressing the button for Uncle Sam.

 I have been sewing every day.  Some things I'm not showing on this blog, so it doesn't seem like much.  I was able to finish this panel from the Winter Wonderland pattern.  Two panels down and one to go, then they will get set into a quilted wall hanging.

Close-up of the left side.

Close-up of the right side.

I worked on the appliqué pieces for this wall hanging, which I am making two of, and had hoped to get them all ironed on, but decided I better wait until I get home to iron them on the background because the iron I have in the camper has some gunk stuck on it and I don't have a pressing cloth with me.  All the pieces are ready, though and they will be machine appliquéd when I get around to it.  The wall hanging was so cute when I saw it at the LQS that I just couldn't resist!

We will be back home in about a week.  Yea!!  We're ready to get back to normal living again.  I think I'll work on a UFO list and maybe set some goals for 2013.  I'm afraid it will be a long list!  

THRIFT SHOP FINDS

My DIL took me to a couple of our favorite thrift shops yesterday and I found some lace with pink ribbon running through it for only $2.99 - over 4 yards of it!  Perfect for certain princess outfits!

I also found a piece of fabric for $1.  It looks like men's shirting fabric and I can probably use it to back a quilt.  It is bluer than it appears in this picture.

I think the lace will work on the princess skirt.

 I decided to put velcro on the waistband to make it easier for little princesses to put it on and off by themselves.

I also had plenty of fabric to take a couple tucks which can be let out in the future in case the little princesses grow - and still want to wear it.

I like the way the lace makes the skirt fancier.  I had planned to take these home with me as I have ooddles of lace there, but now I won't have to.

I'm almost finished with the top and hope to get a picture of the completed outfit being modeled by the sometimes camera shy princess soon.

Now I can get back to my quilting projects.

SEWING FOR A PRINCESS

My DIL bought Abby a princess dress for her birthday, but the princess wasn't happy with it as it scratched her delicate skin.  So, I thought maybe I could make her a dress that didn't scratch.  I looked at a bunch of patterns, but they were pretty complicated.  I thought maybe if she had a decorated T-shirt and it was tucked in the skirt, the shirt would protect the delicate skin from any scratchiness.  So to JoAnn's I went.  While there I purchased 2 yards of some wide sheer glistening stuff.  I also saw some stretchy soft fabric that I thought might be a good top - that I could make plenty long enough so it wouldn't come out of the skirt.

Sheer glistening skirt fabric

Fabric partially made into top

I'm going to have her try on the shirt before I sew up the sides to make sure it fits OK.

Chair modeling skirt

The fancy appliqué on the shirt top was found at a thrift shop for 50 cents and the net type fabric around the waist was a remnant.  I'm not sure yet what I'll do with it.

And, why make one when you can make two while you are at it?  So, I'm making 2 skirts so that if a friend comes over, she can at least have a princess skirt to wear.  The tucks in the skirt can be let down if the princess grows a lot.

BTW, two of my blogging friends that wanted to be able to see my "secret" blog don't have an email on their blog that I can access, so if you want to be in on secret blog, I will need your email address.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Whether you went to bed early (like me) or late; got up early (like me) or late, I hope you are having a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The last few days have been spent with Abby.   In this picture, we are both looking at videos on our computer.  She loves to see videos of Jonah, Eli and herself - I do too.

Yesterday was a really nice day to go to the park.

I have been doing some sewing early in the mornings and have started a new "Secret" blog so that I can post items that I don't want certain people to see.  So, if you do want to be able to see my secret blog, just let me know and I will add you to the list.