A Year of Lovely Finishes November Goal

A Lovely Year of Finishes Goal Met! + 100 Finishes - 55 UFO's & 44 NEW

This month I set the goal to finish the Wolf quilt for my husband for Christmas. It's been a UFO since August of 2008, just after we got married. I've been dreading this quilt and the quilting. I put it on the frame in October, quilted the borders, then realized I had too much poofy in the center. I ended up taking it off the frame and taking out half the quilting.

Due to too much thread breakage on the frame, I used the BSR on the Bernina 730 and basically thread painted the face. It worked pretty well. I did have some thread skipping, but it just adds texture. I quilted it with several shades of Aurifil thread and Aurifil dark brown in the bobbin.

I tried to get some close ups of the face. I am happy with how it turned out and even more excited that it is done.

This is probably my favorite part. I found a thread that matched in my stash and was able to get this background quilted in a mini stipple.

I am so pleased with how this turned out! I was able to get it finished and is ready for gifting.
I've had a lot of other finishes this month and am pleased to say I have only a drawer left of UFO's. I'm getting down to only "big" ones left. Next month will be a month of samples as I am teaching a lot of classes in the new year. I look forward to getting even more finishes done. I'd like to have 125 finishes for the year, but that may not be realistic. Finishing this UFO has definitely made it a great month!

100th Finish of the Year

This weekend was Hunter's Widow Weekend - for me at least. I had to work for the Sewing Center on Friday night and Saturday, with a meeting on Sunday. The kids went with Paul so my dad and his wife could watch them with the other grand kids while Paul and my brother and SIL went hunting. I felt like a free woman! Friday night I worked, spent time with my MIL catching up, and then started sewing about 10:30. I put together this Christmas Coins quilt of my moms. It was one of the UFO's on my list to finish.


Here's a close up of the fabrics. It was from the beginning of her quilting time because there are some good fabrics and some not so good ones mixed together. My grandma made one as well. It became the top and this one is the back. I lined it up perfectly, however the backing was a good 6" bigger. So the top matches on both sides, but the bottom just ends with the coins. Would you fix it? It wouldn't take much to take off the bottom border on the backing and put it higher up and re-quilt that last row. Would you do that or just leave it? I feel like it's unfinished because the back doesn't have the bottom border.

Saturday night I got home around 8 and was exhausted, but I knew I needed to get this quilt top quilted before Mikaela got home. I started quilting and had it done by 10pm! I was so relaxed and picked up a couple totes to clean out and two hours later I had completely cleaned up my stash between the two bedrooms and re-organized it. I have a huge tote of Batiks full now. I have only one drawer with UFO's and fabric kits that need to be done. I emptied out 8 plastic project bags and 5 project boxes.

I even emptied this tote to make it a scrap container. Everything smaller than a fat quarter or half yard went in to this container. It will be cut up into usable pieces during the quarter break next month. This is a great project for lunch when I do not have schoolwork. I cut up some blue scraps and matched up a jellyroll to make it into a quilt for my MIL for Christmas. Around 1 AM I called it a night.

I didn't set an alarm AND slept in! It's probably the first time in over a year I have slept until 10 AM. I got up and ready for the day, then started quilting the Christmas quilt. I was able to finish quilting it and had time to load a little wall hanging/UFO I found when cleaning the night before. I ran out of time to quilt it before heading to my teacher meeting.

Last night after supper I quilted up the wall hanging. Mikaela "helped" me quilt it, by holding the handle. A few of the swirls are not quite circles, because it really doesn't matter. I actually took some pictures of her helping me and she smiled for the camera. She did however get in trouble for cutting into the wall hanging with scissors and we had a little lesson on cutting with scissors.

Last night I realized after I was in bed that this was #100 for my finishes for the year, so I got out of bed and put the binding and hanging sleeve on it. It's now ready to hang in the kids bedroom. I've finished more UFO's than new this year, but they are pretty close. Anyone want to take a gander at how many UFO's I've finished? I will say I'm excited for the new year to work on some "new" and "big" quilts.


It's amazing how much I can accomplish when the rest of the family is gone and I have some time to myself. Looking forward to retreat in January.

Needle and Thread Thursday

This week has been another whirlwind. With the third job taking over my evenings, I haven't gotten much done. I did get a bit of sewing time on Tuesday night to make up a "story" board for my class on Dec. 4th. I made this table topper in steps and plan to show each step. I know I need to change my background and the picture is dark because it is late, but it's the most prep I have done for a class in a LONG time. I even wrote on the pieces with a blue marker, so I can share stuff while we sew. Eventually these will become full blown table toppers, but for now they are simply WIP's.

This is the 2nd part of my story board. It is the half done sample. I am loving using up the scraps to make partially done samples. I hope this will help guide my classes.

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday

Slow Week & List Making

This week has been painfully slow in the sewing department. Despite not doing any homework last week for my class, I did not get any sewing done either. I did spend some time cutting at lunch one day for a table topper sample. I have made the sample, but am working on "in progress" samples to show how to make each step.
I've taken on a 3rd job to help out my MIL and earn some extra money for Christmas, so I spent a late night and an early morning last week training. This week I am doing the job with hubby while she is out of town. There will be some late nights for us, but it's only for a few days.
Friday night my aunt watched the kids so I could go to club. Three of my closest sewing friends were all at retreat and I was feeling majorly bummed I did not get to go again this year. It was opening hunting season weekend and Paul was out hunting. It's the one time of year he gets to do his hobby, so I put mine on hold. My friend Nicole was there, so we visited, A LOT! We did more visiting with Tammy and her mom than we did actual sewing. I finished three of the four quadrants for the Carpenter's Star.
Last night I actually got a chance to sew them together. I also added the black and pink borders to the top and bottom. It is now the perfect size to fit the piece of minkee I have for the back.

This minkee was the inspiration for the colors I used on the front. It is a quilt for Mikaela for Christmas. This weekend I am planning my own self imposed hunting widow weekend. The kids are going with Paul for my dad and his wife to watch while I work on Sat. and part of Sun. This leaves me free to quilt the night away on Friday night, Saturday night, and most of Sunday. I'll do some laundry and cleaning too, but I plan to get several projects done. I made a list of all I want to accomplish and if I get half of it done I will feel so much better about ending the year on a good note. I have all my homework done for this week as well, so I am free to quilt, guilt free!

This past weekend was a whirlwind and I didn't sew on Saturday or Sunday! This was the first days of sewing I have missed since June 16 when I started keeping track.
The kids and I went to my dad's old house to help with the moving and packing on Saturday. We had supper at my brother and SIL's house. Mathew loved riding on his cousin Owen's tractor.

Sunday the kids and I spent with Grandma Leslie. We did some fun shopping and played. Mikaela tried on some of the new clothes she got from her cousin Molly. She's really into layering all sorts of clothes now. It was pretty cute to see her "dressing up".

Mathew was cheering on his daddy's Chiefs since he hadn't made it home yet. Usually I sewing during Sunday night football, but since it was the Chiefs/Broncos game I watched with the family.

See how sad he was that they lost? Or maybe it was because he has a cold, is teething, and no longer gets to nurse. He's been one crabby baby all weekend.

I am a huge list maker. I make lists and then make lists for lists. I have a notebook I use for my UFO's and I made a list several years ago of all the projects and what I had for the project, what I needed, etc. and each one had a page. I have now whittled the book away to almost nothing. I started a new book in September. There is a page for each month. I set goals and then write down what I accomplish, even if it isn't a finish. It really helped me this year with all the UFO's. I was able to set goals and work on projects that were just lingering. When I finished my October goals, I went through my big UFO list from the start of the year and made an end of year goals list. I dated it October 21, 2013. It had 7 projects/quilts on it. ALL of the projects are completed! Three were baby quilts or bigger, a table topper - which turned into 3, a bag, a book, and a treat bag. I also made a list of UFO's and since then have completed 5 of them! I have completed 3 of my 7 goals for November and have made progress on 3 others.
I also started a list of NEW projects I want to work on pretty soon, which includes 7 projects. So many things to make and do, so little time!
I have a list for this weekend and what my priorities should be, so I stay focused on finishing some quilting while the kids are gone. I also started lists for next year.... I know, I know, that seems so far off, BUT I have plans. This year was the year of small projects, all but 2 of my finishes were under 50" so I could quilt them on my frame. The UFO's hanging out still are big quilts, mostly queen or larger. I should be able to move my frame to my dad's house in either December or January, depending on the weather and schedules. This will allow me to have it at full size. I won't be able to quilt all the time, as it will be a drive to get there, but I'll be able to have it big and we'll have more room for us at the house. So I started a list of mom's UFO's and mine. These are all ones I want to work on next year. My thought was I would have 12 for each of us and finish one of each per month. However, I have only come up with 9 for each of us and some are kind of stretching the definition of UFO.
So this is my rational for all the lists and how I am able to accomplish so much. I have my goals list sitting on my desk at work and I look at it randomly throughout the day and think about what I can get done at night. I typically only sew Monday and Tuesday nights. Wednesdays I teach class and am too tired when I get home. Thursday and Fridays we a lot of times go out as a family, either to do errands or pick up milk for the kids or just shop and spend time together. I sometimes sew when we get home, but most of the time I don't. I usually get to do a bit of sewing on Sunday nights.
Now that Mathew is almost 1 and I am done nursing I have a little more time at home, but I do not have my 2 breaks at work, so I miss that hand sewing time. Sewing keeps me sane!

EPP Monthly Report

This hasn't been the most productive month for EPPing. I just haven't spent much time on it as I quit pumping at work and it's been nice enough to walk on most breaks. I usually spend my lunch hours working on homework, but this week I did spend some time on my EPP.
I started putting the borders on my Rubic Star. I have one border about half way on and another that is half pieced. I would like to have the border on by the end of November, but I am not sure that is possible. I keep plugging away at it when I can though.

I did run into a minor set back when my wonderful 2 3/4 old daughter got a hold of the bag and scissors in it and cut through one of my pieces. I think I have another I can replace it with and I know I have more of the fabric. I just need to do it. I am so thankful it was just one piece and not one that was attached.

At work I have also been plugging away at this one on breaks. In the last month I got another side attached and basted a bunch more of the cream hexies to do the borders. I still have one more row of the pink flowers to attache before I call it done.

This is my mini hexie box. I did most of the cream ones this month. These are the 3/4" hexies.

Thanks to Hydeeann for showcasing my Ahhhh EPP project on her blog this month.

Weekend Sewing

This weekend I enjoyed a few extra hours off on Friday, so I did some shopping and then went home to sew and quilt. I had about 2 hours before the kids got home, so I quilted. Saturday the kids both took long naps, so I got some quilting time in while Paul was working.
I spent most of Saturday working on the wolf quilt. I used the BSR, Aurifil thread, and did a lot of thread painting. I had skipped stitches, but only some and I considered it better to be done than to be perfect.

A close up of the "thread painting" I quilted the light gray, brown, yellow/gold, and purple background as well as the border. It turned out pretty good. I accomplished my goal for A Year of Lovely Finishes and it is only the middle of the month!

Friday I spent some time on the frame doing some practicing. I used the mini merry go round quilt top to do different designs. I primarily wanted to practice feathers, which I found I am not good at, but I got better when I did them smaller. I also did some flames, loops (which really worked well), pebbles, spirals, and squiggles. Saturday I put the binding on and sewed it down by machine. It is finished and checked off the UFO list!

Friday the first quilt I worked on is this Dr. Seuss quilt for Mathew for Christmas. It is quilted with white bobbin thread and has minkee on the back. I bound it in the same fabric as the inner border. It felt so good to finish it on Saturday as well. I machine sewed the binding on both sides because it is so hard to get minkee hand sewn. Check another quilt off the Christmas list.

Saturday I also fixed this jersey for my co-worker Kim. I had to applique the R on for her. It worked out pretty good, but I had a hard time finding the right color of thread. It's done and she loves it and that's all that matters. I really shouldn't procrastinate so much, it didn't take me long to do it.

Saturday night I machine sewed the binding to the front of the wolf quilt and Mikaela was "helping" me. She was putting all my pins from the magnet over to a pin cushion. I looked over and she had my hand sewing hexie bag and had taken the scissors and cut through one of my basted diamonds. It could have been way worse, but I really have to get a better spot to put my scissors. She's getting to the inquisitive stage and wanting to do everything mom does. I think I'll be looking for a toy sewing machine for Christmas.

I did get the binding on the wolf and during lunch today I sewed down the binding and put the hanging sleeve on it. It turned out pretty good for as much as I dreaded making it. I am so HAPPY to have it done and I'm sure Paul will find a place to hang it for after Christmas. Another gift done. Only 2 more to go!


I also sewed a hanging sleeve on my dad's elk quilt so he can hang it in his living room at his new house. I made a fabric book for Christmas out of a panel my mom had. I think it is Mary Englebright and it's a Christmas story. Fabric books are so easy, yet I dread making them so much and can put off the simple task for a long time. I've had it cut out for at least the past 2 Christmases!
Yesterday I took the kids to mass with me, which is a feet in and of itself. They did pretty good, but they are both so busy, I sure don't get much out of it. Then we went to Hermosa and went to the Eastern Star turkey dinner with my dad. His wife Ann helps with it, so we met her there to eat. It was very good and put me in the Thanksgiving mood. Paul worked all weekend, so we didn't see him much until Sunday afternoon when we did our shopping for the week. He'll start hunting next weekend, so November is kind of crazy at our house.
I am so excited to have 4 finishes for the month already and a couple more that will finish up rather quickly once I get some time. It always feels good to have productive weekends. I'm linking up to a Year of Lovely Finishes mid-month report and Crazy Mom Quilts Friday Finishes.

Needle and Thread Thursday

This has been a slow week in the sewing studio. I spent Monday night working on the quilting on the wolf quilt, but not really any progress to show. I also worked on making hst's for a Carpenters star quilt. I got them all made Monday/Tuesday and trimmed up yesterday.
Tuesday night I made this quick little quilt for Mathew for Christmas. It's going to have red/white minkee on the back. I just added borders to the panel.

Mathew is 5 months old and just as cute as can be. He's constantly moving and would like to walk, but still loves to crawl.

A Lovely Year of Finishes November Goal

After the amazing month I had in October, I just do not think I can top it for finishes. However, I do plan to work on some old UFO's and get a couple Christmas presents. In mid October I started a goal list for November with 6 items, only 2 are left, so those are my main focuses!
My goal for a Lovely Year of Finishes is to complete the quilting on the wolf quilt. I have worked on it a couple nights, but it is so thick and I am having a lot of skipped stitches, even with a bigger needle and sewers aid. It's becoming more like a thread painting. I'm learning to play with the BSR and really learn to move the quilt evenly. I did take out the quilting on one side I did last month because there was too much pucker. I have a day off this month and would like to get it quilted when no one else is home to bother.

I have done all of the brown quilting. Last night I worked on the light gray and the orange. I think that I may do some in the background purple, but then I think I am going to call it done. Any suggestions for quilting with Aurifil, BSR, through Steam a Seam 2, and multiple layers? I'm using a 14 topstitch needle and sewers aid.

I practiced on this mini doll quilt and it was fun to try different stitches and techniques.


Other goals for the month include:
Finishing the Rubic Star top
Quilt & Bind Mini Merry Go Round
Night before X-mas book
Mom's Christmas Coin Quilt
Dr. Suess Quilt
Pink/Green Carpenters Star
Scrappy Lazy Angle Doll Quilt
The kids are growing up! Mathew turned 11 months today and he's so close to walking. He can now crawl up the stairs, just not down them.

Mikaela is still a spit fire. She's always on the go and protects her big brother. Her words and sentences are increasing very rapidly. Here's she's showing us the catfish. Yes- she can pick out the kids of fish at Cabela's!

She got new pink camo overalls and she was pretty excited to wear them with her pink cowboy boots.