First Finish for 2018

I have a first finish for this year and it is not the one I thought it would be. I finished quilting the Fancy Forest but it still needs the binding.

Here it is folded in half on my table; the quilting is all in the ditch.

My camera will not take any more photos so this is the best I can do for today. I tried to use my old camera but all I can see on the viewing screen is a blur. I guess it is time for a new camera.

This is the one I finished, it is a 27 inch square "drag around" quilt. This is for our preemie great grandson; he went home from the hospital 3 days ago. I think it is about the right size for a 5 Lb. baby.  I want to send both of these with my daughter when she goes to see him this week.

I had planned to use the scraps from the Fancy Forest quilt to make crazy improv blocks but though that is easy, it is not fast. I looked around for something I could put together fast and found these wonky blocks in my "Parts Department" box. I have a bunch of colorful small blocks that I made when the Basement Divas group was planning on making Collaborative Quilts in the style of Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. We did make one quilt but then the group took another direction, I had forgotten about these blocks and it was really by chance I opened that box. There were 8 blocks and I made the purple block using fabric from the Fancy Forest owl block. I used left over fabric from the FF backing for the border and the purple for the binding.


I sewed the binding to the front and turned it and fused it to the back. I was careful to cover the line of stitching on the back so that the stitching in the ditch on the front would catch the binding.  It takes me forever anymore to do hand stitching with my crooked arthritic fingers.
This photo shows one corner of the back folded up to show the stitching on the binding and the stitching in the ditch on the front. When I get to the corners I stitch out to the point and back to the ditch. I works well and I find it a little easier each time I gain a little more experience.

Fancy Forest Flimsy

Finally, a flimsy. I finished the second Owl block on Wednesday and thought I would get the top put together later that day or the next day. I had a really hard time deciding on the colors.I didn't want the same fabrics too close to each other and though I had some flexibility  the different  block widths dictated the rows where they would fit. I think the reason for my indecision about the fabric choices is that my design wall is not easily accessible because my sewing machine is in front of it with a table beside the machine forming an L shape. So, I can't reach the design board to layout the whole quilt without moving the machine.

I did finally move my machine and put all the blocks up on the wall in the order I thought I would use them. I decided to replace the yellow Bunny because he looked out of place with the richer colors in the other blocks. Some of the other blocks ended up being moved around and in the end I think I came up with a better balance of color and value.

I think maybe the turquoise Bunny is a bit on the pastel side also but after dealing with other issues I would have chucked the whole thing if I had to remake over another block.

I had to fiddle with the Firefly blocks and ended up taking the orange and purple one apart and re doing the body and the feelers. I should have done it as soon as I realized I messed up the order of the construction steps.





So here's the flimsy, it is 35 x 47 and looks pretty large for a 5 pound baby.






































I went to the quilt shop Friday with my granddaughter in law (who wants to learn to quilt BTW) and found a colorful backing. I bought enough of the backing fabric to use for a small  drag around quilt and I think I will use the yellow bunny with some scrappy blocks from the rest of the left over fabric from the big quilt. The bunny is 8 x 13 and laying on top of the backing shows the scale.


I am going to layer up the Fancy Forest today and I hope I can get the quilting started,  Nothing has really gone as planned as far as my time management goes so as the saying goes "We'll see".

One Owl

I cut and almost finished the first of two Owl blocks yesterday and I finished it up this morning. I could have finished it quickly yesterday but after agonizing over the fabric choices, I took time to run out to the quilt shop and buy one more purple fabric.  It is not that I didn't have several purple fabrics from which to choose;  I just couldn't settle on three that looked good together. The new fabric is the center purple strip on the wings and around the eyes.


So here he is, not perfect but pretty good. He did go together easily.  I am calling him a he instead of a she because this quilt is for a boy. I have been thinking about my difficulty making fabric choices and I think it has been influenced by my hesitation to use certain colors for a male quilt. Not that I think a baby is going to notice but I think I consider what his dad is going to think. I don't believe this is even a conscious consideration but I rejected some hot pink fabrics that I liked and only later did I realize why. Well anyway, I am ready to cut the next Owl block and it is, by the way, all blue green fabric. I made this choice because I need to use a particular fabric another time for continuity.

After I cut the next Owl block I am going to put away all of the fabric I have dragged out while searching for the "perfect" fabric for these Fancy Forest critters. My sewing room has reached the chaotic stage where it is affecting my serenity.




When I get the blocks down from the design wall and start putting the blocks together, I am going to put this panel on the wall.  I saw it in the quilt shop when I was having my purple fabric cut. It is digitally printed and the panel was precut in the shop so there is no selvage on the edge with the name of the company. I have no idea what I will do with it but it will decorate my wall with color while I think about it.

Finish A Long 2018

I've been looking for a quilt related goal setting link up,  something not too demanding but one that will keep me moving long. I settled on Finish Along 2018, you can read about it here. I like that I can set a quarterly goal which means I won't have to make a long list of all my UFO's right now. I probably don't have many by some peoples standards but I know from past experience that I have more than I can think of without digging through all my "stuff".

I am only going to list 2 projects for this quarter because I have a long term projects that will be ongoing.

First project is the Fancy Forest quilt that I have been working on. These are the blocks I have finished.  I have 2 Owl blocks to make and then I can put this together. I am having a hard time deciding on the fabrics for the owls but I think I can at least get them cut tomorrow. I want to finish this soon for my great grandson who arrived 2 months too soon but will soon be going home from the hospital.





































The second project is a small throw or wall hanging.  These Quails nest blocks are for The Friendship block swap group I belonged to and they are probably 5 years old. I have more of the blocks that are lighter and closer to pastel values and at some later time I will make something with them. I think the arrangement on the left  is the same as the blocks sewn together with sashing in the  photo on the right.
This quilt just needs a border and it will be ready to layer up. I think I will keep this one for some much needed color in the living room.


                                    

 I think that both these projects are doable for this quarter and that I will have time to work on my long term project as well. We'll See!                       

Fireflys

I finished the 2 Firefly blocks; it did not go smoothly.  First off, I had a really hard time selecting the fabrics and it didn't  get any easier. I didn't want to introduce any new colors but fabric I wanted to use either came up short or I couldn't find anything that looked good with it. Then I made it all harder by mixing up some of the different size strips and having to decide if  I wanted to start over with a new fabric or deal with fixing the problem so I could use my tiny bit of fabric that was my first choice. I did a little bit of both starting over and fixing.

I had several issues with construction due to not following the steps in the order given in the pattern. My two blocks are not perfect and they are not exactly the same but they are done.

I have the two Owl blocks to make and then I can get this put together. Putting it together should be easy because all of the blocks measure exactly what they are supposed to, even though it was a circuitous route to get there .

Thistles

I made the thistle blocks today, no problems this time.

I changed my mind about the color of one block; the lavender block was originally  going to be red but I didn't want it to be the same as the spines on the hedgehog. I wanted one of the Thistles to be a warm color but I couldn't settle on which color. If I am not happy with the lavender after I make the rest of the blocks I can just change the flower part without a lot of trouble.

These are all of the finished blocks so far. I still have two Owl blocks and two Firefly blocks and I haven't decided on the colors. I think one warm and one cool is what is needed and I will repeat some of the fabrics that have been used.

I hope I can get them finished and the top sewed together before the end of the week.

Hedgehogs

I finished the 2 Hedgehog blocks , which proved to be a lot of trouble for me. I thought  I was being so careful when I cut all the pieces but clearly, my mind must have been running around after other things. I had a number of pieces cut the wrong size. However I have 2 Hedgehog blocks that measure the correct size even though they are not exactly the same due to a "fixed up" cutting error. I don't think anyone will spot the difference easily. Besides that,it is only normal for different people/animals to have slightly different sized foreheads.






After I clear away some of the distraction in my sewing room I will move right along to the rest of the blocks. Baby Caelen, who was due in January but was born the first week in November, at less than 2 pounds, is now 3 lb 11 oz and meeting preemie milestones. He will be coming home before long. I want to get this finished and also to make a smaller "hang on to/mess up" quilt, something more practical for a little guy.