2021 Quilt List

 I usually post a somewhat abbreviated list of quilts I hope to complete in the coming year in January- it helps me focus on my goals. Never mind that those goals are subject to change on a whim - but there are no rules in quilting and in my book, inspiration ought to be spontaneous. However, this year I am expanding that list purely because I will use this post to refer back to in the coming months.  This really is just a list of unfinished projects. I think just one new project snuck it's way in. Don't judge. 😊

1. Urban Zoology : this one was on last year's list, but I did piece it into a top and it is at Jackie's

2. HST Chaos: this one needs to be pressed and taken to Jackie

3. Jellystone: this one needs to be pressed and I need to  piece the backing before I take it to Jackie

4. Biscuits & Gravy: I'm in the process of piecing this one that uses a couple of jellyrolls

5. Lincoln 16-Patch : the blocks are made and are ready to be stitched together

6. My Country Garden: Jackie has this one too

7. Quite Contrary: Just need to finish stitching on the binding

8. Gray Floral Spring Splash: I need a backing for this before I take it to Jackie

9. Black & Pink Floral Spring Splash: This one also needs a backing

10. Radiant: I need to piece the backing for this one before I hand it over to Jackie, but I don't want to overwhelm her - I pieced this HST top a couple of years ago - this is just a shot of part of it as I was laying it out

11. Modern Greek Cross - this is from last year's list, but I haven't even started it

12. Fun Flower Beads - a size variation of the Chandelier quilt pattern - pieced and waiting at Jackie's

13. Zimbabwe - Another ready for quilting 

14. This one is pieced too - and I need a backing for it

15. Scrap dance Waltz: Another one that has been waiting for a backing for 2 or 3 years

16. Plus a Nine-Patch: This is going to be the year of the backing - another awaiting a backing:

17.  Baby Sails: I need to piece and applique the boats for this one:

18. Desert Teepees: I started playing with this one, but set it aside over a year ago thinking the arrows were too large, but I'll pull the bin and see if I can do something with it

19.  Farm Stand: another shot of part of a top that needs a border and a backing:

20. Farmer's Market: I have everything for this backing - just need to piece it

21. A QOV that is pieced, but this is the only photo I have right now and it needs a border:

22. Bluebirds on Roses: Ready to hang out at Jackie's

23. Pinwheel Garden: Yep. You guessed it. In need of a backing:

24. Howdy: Last one! Whew!

Now, don't go thinking I whipped all these out last year - most of them have a little bit of age on them. 

I really didn't expect to end up with this many, but I'm just going to give myself some grace about it and tackle them one stitch at a time.

Crossing Time Quilt

I finished piecing my Indian Summer quilt and pulled out another project I had started last year. I saw this quilt:

In this magazine that I have from 2010:

It looks like a simple patchwork quilt on point, but it's actually made of hourglass blocks:

I don't know why I was drawn to it because I haven't felt the need to make anything in the teal and red colorway that has been so popular, but I liked this before that combination became trendy. They are pretty together, but I just have nothing in those colors around my home. Still, I kept thinking about this quilt and then when I finally looked closer, I realized that I HAD bits and pieces of that line of fabric. It was a Moda line called Wuthering Heights and I won it in a giveaway 5 or 6 years ago. There was quite a bit of dusty pink in my pile, but I eliminated those for this quilt.

I also have a weakness for hourglass block quilts. I made this one from a couple of layer cakes:

And I loved how this one looked completely different, yet used the exact same block, giving a nod to color placement.

There wasn't much of the teal in my pile and I dug deep into my stash to come up with one that would work. What I found isn't a great match, but I had actually looked for about a year at other shops for something that would coordinate to no avail.

This is 50" x 55" and I would have loved to have made this larger, but I was limited by the lack of teal fabrics. I didn't have a lot of the other colors left either, but I had just finished piecing this when I unearthed one of my project boxes with leftover Portobello Market fabrics from this quilt:

So I pulled some of those and mixed those in with what I had left and some of the fabrics coordinated well. Still, no teal. So I'm trying to decide if I ought to add borders or not and pulled some options:

I may attach regular borders or I have enough of a variety for a square in a square border. I could add a piano key border, but I'm not sure if that would compliment the quilt. I'm going to have to sleep on it for a few days before I settle on one or the other...or neither...or both...or a combination of all of the above. In other words...I haven't decided. :)

What I'm Working On

On Tuesday. I ran off with these two gals for the day. Lord have mercy! These two are a hoot! So good for the soul, but tough on the bladder. LOL

We headed to our favorite quilt shop that is 75 miles from the ranch. It's 50 miles farther for my two partners in crime and we seem to only be able to make the trip once a year.

I meant to take some pictures in the shop, but we ate dinner at our favorite establishment. It's decorated like an antique/junk store and the food is wonderful:

and as soon as we blew into the quilt shop, we were so caught up in our adventure that I completely forgot to take any more pictures. Needless to say, we poked our noses into every nook and cranny, plotted and schemed about future projects, and pulled and contemplated each bolt of possibility.

My little punch card had been filled so I had earned $20.00 towards my purchase. My total bill came to $7.49. Pretty good, considering I could have spent a whole lot more! I just picked up 1/4 yard cuts of some fabrics that I thought would fit into my love of scrappy quilts.

I haven't found time to stitch since since I've been home from my trip to Texas, until today. I was inspired to pull out my Indian Summer quilt project and concentrate on getting the top together:

I'm using the Jewel Box pattern, but I altered it just a tad in order to keep the focus on my inspiration fabric:

All the square in a square blocks are finished:

And I'm piecing the little 4 patches and assembling the alternate blocks:

Our 4-H quilting group, The Quilt Squad, is meeting in town on Saturday to work on this pattern:

But I may be stitching along virtually, because I don't think I can make myself go back into town. :) Hope I don't receive a demerit!

Lately

Besides being in a prolonged sewing slump, it seems as if I have also been neglecting my blog. I don't know what's come over me.

Today it's been 6 weeks since our 2' of snow and there's still a little bit of it that refuses to melt:

                  

But the weather's been absolutely beautiful - 50's - 60's - and 75° forecasted for today. I've been spending a lot of our time bouncing over ranch roads in the feed truck with this guy who keeps me laughing:

                                      

I think everyone's grateful to see sunshine and be rid of the snow:

                       

The bulls are so gentle that they will saunter up to sniff your fingers and grace you with bull slobber:

                      

And the babies are hitting the ground!

                        

In the kitchen, I've been on a bit of a Pico roll. Seems I want to eat it on everything including breakfast:

                                 

And my poor sewing machine continues to sit. Forlorn and neglected. I figured if I wrote about it, maybe it would spur me into action.

I finished 12 quilts in 2015 and made a good dent in my UFO pile.
                               

The remaining UFO's are all at the quilter's and will only require binding so I am free to make a new list. This fall, I already started 5 projects and I hope to focus on those in an attempt to tame the UFO beast before it gets out of hand again.

I think I have 7 quilts at the quilter's and with the 5 I've started, that makes 12, meaning that may be the 12 quilts I finish this year. However, seeing as I haven't sewn a stitch since about 2 weeks before Christmas, I'll be lucky if I even get ONE finish this year. Surely I can finish one, but don't hold your breath - at this rate, it may be June.

And Then There Was One...

 I made some progress on the Don't Fence Me In quilt this week. It's the last UFO and I have procrastinated on this one time and time again. I think this fabric has aged long enough:

If I recall correctly, I bought this to make valances for a front room in the house we lived in in Texas. Plan B. A quilt. I knew I wanted to make it bigger than the 42" width of fabric and that meant I'd need to piece the strips and match the horses. I thought about it long enough that I had convinced myself that it was going to be a big mess, but once I finally gave myself a good talking to, I just gave it a shot and it didn't turn out half bad. I can live with it. No horses tails are growing out of shoulders so it'll do.

Then I had to reconstruct a pieced strip I had made many moons ago.

I have no idea how I made it, but I still really liked it and I needed to make more. I didn't have a pattern and apparently those particular brain cells have ceased to exist so new brain cells were called into action. I had run out of the original fabric so new fabric was pulled and cut and pieced. I snuck (I was always taught that wasn't a word and 'sneaked' is the proper form, but that sounds awkward) in a few minutes here and there and after 10 days I finally had a quilt top.

Now I have a question. To border or not to border? I've still got plenty of the brown and blue and cream and black fabrics. Presently it measures 77" x 87". I don't need it for any particular spot, but I just couldn't decide whether it would look better with or without a border. Any thoughts?

I may actually get to cross this one off the UFO list one of these days if I can stay focused. I wouldn't bet on it either. :) I've got 7 quilts at the quilters and this makes 8 so there will be lots of binding going on around here at some point and another baby quilt is in the works. Pinks and Grays and my stash is VERY limited on both.

 We've had  3" of rain since Thursday night - most of it early this morning and that means it's too wet to get around much without tearing up the roads so we're not venturing far today. We've got friends coming out to watch UFC fights tonight and fajitas and queso are on the menu I'll be donning my apron before long, but until then, I'm going to settle on a design and see what I can dig up.