Finishing Other People's UFO's

Sometimes, we quilters have UFO's--unfinished projects that seem to just take up space in our sewing rooms that we just don't feel motivated to get them to the finish line.  The quilt below was given to me by another quilter along with the backing fabric, probably over a year ago...long enough for me to forget who gave it to me to finish! I was asked to quilt and bind it and then give it to the Chemo Unit at the hospital for an adult chemo patient.  Just before last weekend's Oxford Quilt Guild retreat, I found this in a bag and decided to take it with me to quilt at the retreat. I used my walking foot to quilt straight lines through all the blocks. The quilting shows up better on some blocks than others.  I used leftover backing fabric for the binding. I brought it home to do the hand stitching on the binding.  It is now completely done and ready for donation!  Lots of scraps in this one!

Next up, I made four table toppers out of quilt blocks that had been donated to the church sewing group for the bazaar.  I quilted each one differently and used some of my own fabrics for the binding.  The backing fabric was donated to the church. Again, I did the hand sewing of the binding at home this past week. The church bazaar is next weekend so hopefully, someone will buy them and take them home!

I also worked on a pieced backing for a wedding quilt that I am making.  I used Lori Holt's "Spelling Bee" book to piece the Bride and Groom's names and wedding date for the back of the quilt. This took a while as there are lots of pieces and steps to sewing each letter.  I'm pleased with the result though and I hope the newlyweds will like it too. 

A secret cross stitch project is underway as well.  Here is a small peek.  Other secret sewing happened at the retreat as well but I'm not revealing anything for now. 

The Elgin Piecemakers had a sewing day on Wednesday and Yvonne and I worked on our quilt for a refugee family that we started in the summer at another sewing day.  We managed to finish the top of the quilt and piece the back. It was taken home by one of the long arm quilters who will call one of us to pick it up to do the binding as soon as it is quilted. Each pair of quilters was given a stack of batiks to use for their quilt.  The fabric was donated to the guild. 

My butterfly weed was fluffing this week when I was out cleaning up the gardens and raking leaves in the yard.  This is one plant I would not mind having more of!

When my friend and I were out walking one morning this week, we noticed that there were five squirrel nests in this one tree. They are all visible now that the leaves have fallen. 

Finn thinks the best way to deal with colder weather is to cuddle up with your favourite fluffy blanket and have a snuggle. 

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers in the morning. 

Two Finishes for the Bazaar!

I have not one but two finishes to share this week!  I quilted the baby quilt that I made for the church bazaar this week using light yellow thread and my walking foot to create a rectangular grid.  The backing is donated minke in light green which goes perfectly with the colours on the front  of the quilt.  The binding is made from the same Kaffe fabric that was used to make the spinning four patch blocks. 

Excuse my squinting...the sun was in my eyes!

I had 8 spinning four patches leftover after making the quilt so I decided to make a table topper, also for the bazaar.  I added one solid green piece in the centre square.  You can see the quilting design in the first picture below. 

After sewing the binding down by hand, I noticed the topper was not lying flat. 

The backing and binding fabric is the Kaffe fabric that was used for the 4 patches.  It made such neat designs for the blocks! I had to piece the back as I did not have a big enough chunk of fabric leftover to do it in one piece. 

I blocked the quilt and lightly sprayed it with water.  There are lots of pins around the edge to get it to lie flat as it dries. 

I will link up with Kathy in the morning for the weekly Slow Sunday Stitching party.  I hand stitched the binding on both quilts this week and have plans to work on a hand stitched Christmas gift tomorrow afternoon.  I can't show it as the recipient reads my blog.  It is getting to be that time of year!

Finn had a haircut this week.  We can see his eyes now! He likes to watch the squirrels out the window in the morning as my daughter drinks her coffee. As you can see, he likes to be comfortable while doing this!

My husband and I went for a two hour hike today at a local conservation area.  Many of the leaves have fallen but there was still lots on some of the trees. I love the sound of leaves crunching under my feet as I walk in the woods. 

Another portrait of my husband and I.  I like how this picture gives the illusion that I am tall...(I'm not!)

Have a great week!  

Three Finishes to Share

Like many of you, I love to make gifts at Christmas for my friends and family. Sometimes, a block I see on someone's blog or on Instagram catches my fancy and I print out the instructions.  This was the case this week with this Peppermint Twist block from @runningstitchquilts.  I made this block into a little table mat for a friend.  She has already opened it as I thought she might like to display it this year.  I used a snowflake print for the backing. 

I finished the binding on my batik disappearing nine patch quilt last weekend.  This one is being given to a family member of a friend who has cancer. It's just the right size to keep her warm while she rests on the couch.  

I put this wall hanging together at a retreat in November and quilted it at home.  It has been given to a friend for Christmas--she opened it early so that it could be put out for this year. The backing and binding fabrics were in my stash--leftovers from another project but perfect for this little quilt. 

I have finished off all of my Christmas gift sewing now but still have a few knitting projects underway.  I will be able to complete these gifts over the next couple of days. No pictures for now. 

My Buffalo Check Modern Snowflake quilt is back from the long arm quilter's house and now I just need to make the binding and sew it on.  She used a snowflake pantograph and it is perfect for this quilt. 

I took these pictures while out for a walk one day this week--such interesting seed heads on these ornamental grasses. 

Finn is always excited when a parcel comes in the mail, especially when it is for him! (even if its just poop bags!)

I will link up with Kathy's gang of Slow Sunday Stitchers in the morning. 

Two Finishes and some BOM Blocks

It has been a while since I have had a finished project to share on my blog (besides placemats), and this week, I have two!  This blue colour block quilt is made from 2.5" squares from my blue scrap bin.  I found some really fun crayon fabric for the backing and even added a label already, even though I have not written on it yet.  This quilt will be set aside for a future baby gift. Most of the fabrics repeat in the quilt so lots of fun to be had for some little one trying to find the matching squares. 

The blocks for this next quilt were leftovers from another colour block quilt--this one is gray and yellow.  The large project is not quilted yet but as of this week, it is pin basted and ready to be quilted next.  This is my second small project from the leftovers of the main project...  The backing was in my stash.  The quilting was done with the walking foot on my DSM. I hand stitched the binding today. 

I am almost all caught up on my Modern Block of the Month (BOM) blocks.  I made three more blocks this week. 

I have the pattern for one more block which I hope to make this week.  Next, I will have to figure out how to set them into a quilt top...

 Love Birds moved along at a snail's pace this week.  I spent more time at the sewing machine this week than with my hand stitching. I am getting closer to finishing the wreath of flowers with each stitch. 

Finn lodged a complaint after I posted last week's blogpost.  He did not make an appearance!!!  He has been sporting a donut collar this past week as he has another infection around his mouth, caused by the cone that he had to wear for two weeks due to the previous infection.  More antibiotics and special wipes for the infected areas and he is on the mend, thankfully.  We all hope this is the end of vet visits for a while! To make up for his absence in last week's post, here are two pictures of Finn.  In the first picture, he is supervising my daughter as she organizes her embroidery floss collection.  In the second, he is modelling his "Zen Collar", but not all that happy about wearing it.  He's getting quite fluffy and is in need of a haircut.  

My daughter has finished her Munich cityscape and has been working on a new embroidery picture, a butterfly with flowers. 

The garden has been producing more blooms every day, even though we have a risk of frost tonight!  Last week, our air conditioning was on because is was so hot, and now the heat is back on to take the chill off.  The patio and porch pots of annuals and herbs have all been placed undercover to keep them from being damaged by the frost. 

Wegelia Bush

Blue Jay Columbine

Bachelor Button

Deutzia Bush

We are still mostly locked down here and will slowly reopen based on the percentage of the population that is vaccinated.  My daughter gets her first vaccine this week--Yahoo!  I will link up with Kathy and the Slow stitchers in the morning.  

Barn Raising!

Over the course of 16 months in 2018-2019, 10 quilting friends and I made and exchanged 20 neutral blocks each month.  We could use any neutral colours including cream, beige, brown, white, gray and black and each block was to be made using two lights and a dark or two darks and a light. This way, each of us ended up with 320 neutral blocks at the end of the swap.  I divided mine into two piles--1:  white, gray and black and 2: cream, beige and brown, and decided to make two different projects with my blocks.   

I found some yardage of the turquoise fabric in my stash and it determined how big my quilt would be...when it was gone, the quilt top would be done. This is an asymmetric barn raising layout.  I ended up with a lap sized quilt which I may display as a wall hanging...we'll see.  The quilting was a co-operative effort between Julie the long-armer and myself.  She quilted the turquoise strips and I quilted the squares.  Her part has been done since March and I finally did my part this week.  I used black solid for the binding. 

The backing is gray with little turquoise and white triangles on it. The label was put on the back before it was quilted.  You can see the quilting better on the back. 

Now, I will have to figure out what to do with the other pile of neutral squares...

I had 6 blocks leftover from making the Scrappy Trips top that I showed in  the previous post.  I used 4 of them to make this table topper which I quilted this week with concentric squares with golden yellow thread.

I spent several hours this week slow stitching the binding on these two quilts.  The backing for the table topper was in my stash and I'm happy to use up a chunk of it for this quilt. 

I may make another couple of blocks and make another table topper to donate to a fundraiser.  The borders are still not on the Scrappy Trips quilt which will be donated to the hospice...isn't it funny how the project made from the leftovers got finished first???

I have several types of echinacea plants (coneflowers) in my garden and they are all blooming right now.  

Some of the hostas are starting to flower as well. 

I will be doing some knitting tomorrow for Slow Sunday Stitching.  I have just about finished another face cloth this week.  I will link up with Kathy and the other people who like to take things slow on a Sunday tomorrow morning. 

Until next time, have a great week!