Why did I do that?

Why on earth did I ever make a list of my UFO's!?!  That was the dumbest thing EVER!!!!  Or rather, I should never have mentioned it to my hubby......because the very first time I mentioned starting another quilt, he said "NO!  You HAVE to finish one of these others first!!!!"

WHAT!?!

I was totally crushed!

He, of course, was joking.......but deep down inside, I knew he was right!  DANG!

So, I worked diligently on one of the warm-hug quilts, and finished it the other day.  BUT.....to my utter shock (and thanks, Pat, for pointing it out......) THAT quilt wasn't even on the list!!!!!!

WHAT!?!

SHEESH!

How did I not pay attention to that!?!

Oh well.....I'm counting it as done, a completed UFO, a giant check mark on the list (cuz I added it to the bottom!), and NOW........I get to start a new one!!!

YIPPEE!!!

It's a lap sized quilt for a lady, as the prints are all florals.

It's also the first FINISH of 2013......AND......the first finish on my Grace quilt frame!  I've had the Grace frame for over 5 years now, and the first quilt I put on it stopped me dead in my tracks!  For some stupid reason, it was the first time in my life that I 'let' the machine wind the bobbin without me guiding and checking the thread.  I've always done that since junior high home-ec class.  BUT.....this one time, I went crazy, and didn't pay attention to it.  And I was doing a stippling across it, back and forth, several rows, and when I rolled the rollers up for the next section, I saw that the bobbin thread was all screwy, and loopy, and a giant mess on the back!!!!  CRAP!

And I walked away disgusted!

For years I kept saying I was going to get to it, but it became a make-do table top for pulling fabrics, laying out pieces for measuring, etc.  I almost forgot sometimes that there was a quilt on it.  Well, a few months back, when I was showing someone the room, I realized (like a lightbulb moment!) that it was a hand-pieced quilt on that frame!  So......of course I needed to get it finished!  Sheesh!

I took the quilt off the frame and rollers, and picked away at it.  Some of the stitching was SO tight that I ended up cutting into the back a couple of times, but that's ok, cuz I can piece the back now.  And it's a Christmas quilt......so now I have the rest of the year to actually finish it!  (Yep....that's another ufo to add to the dang list!)  lol

Well......since the Grace didn't have a quilt on it, hubby was so nice and he dismantled it, and brought it down to the 1st floor parlor room so I could start quilting on it where there is heat!  (Our third floor, where it used to be, isn't heated!  It's always been the rule that I'm able to quilt up there in spring and fall, but not in winter or the stifling heat of summer.)

And.....the Grace frame is designed to be used with a Juki machine.....which is what I have now!  Perfect!

So I'm happy to say that the Grace is getting used now......and maybe those ufo's won't be far behind this one on it!

BUT.......because I finished SOMETHING.......I got to start something new!!!!  Woohoo!  :o)

I've been in love with all the churn dash quilts I've been seeing on the blogs lately, so I had to start one of my own!  It's made entirely from thrift store shirts!  The blocks will finish at 5", so I'll need about 130 of them for my quilt.  I have made 19 in the last two days!!!  Yippee!  And I just love em!  I'm making some with matched fabrics, and some totally scrappy.  I love that look!

The quilts I've been seeing have a solid one-color alternate block, but I just threw a bunch of shirt squares to fill in the alternates......and I really like that look, so that's what I'll do.

I love that I'm using up some shirt plaids......I have 3 extra large shopping bags full of shirts that have just been deboned, but not cut down at all.  I have so much of them......and I need to stop hoarding, and start using them.  :o)

And, to totally change the subject......hubby and I just got new phones!  Smart phones!  Holy cow!!!  I know, I know.....most everyone in the world is leaps and bounds ahead of me on this!  In fact, while we were in the phone store, I sent my very FIRST EVER text message!!!!.....to my son, who promptly replied "Glad you are now living in the 21st century, Mom!"  lol

We figured with all the traveling we do, it just made sense.  And I was worried that if we didn't do something soon, we'd be so far behind, we'd never catch up!  I'll be playing with it for weeks until I have a clue what it does......but it looks like fun!  :o)

Hope you're having a wonderful day!  I'm going back to the sewing room to those churndashes.....they're so addicting!

regan

Easy Street!

Just a quick post so I can link up to Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Reveal!  I finished it up last night, and I really love it!  I still have to put on borders.....they will be in the reds and browns.  Haven't decided what yet, but that will come.

I did mine in completely different colors than what Bonnie was doing.  I just didn't have much of her colors, but I had a ton of these, and I used a fabric I love for the inspiration of the palette, so I am very happy with the mix of colors.  My pinks were fairly light, lighter than some of the beiges I used, so the triple arrows pointing out don't really come off like that.  And that's ok......cuz I like the focus of the star patches more anyway.  The centers of the crosses were supposed to be pink, but I really wanted to bring in more red, so I changed it!

I also didn't make it square......cuz it would have been way too big for our bed......so I made it a 3x4 instead of 4x4.  Now, when the borders go on, it will fit my bed perfectly!  Yippee!  And I have a ton of pieces left over, that can just go into my borders, or back in the bins!  It's all good!

I just can NEVER do a pattern as it calls for!  Just a thing with me!  I don't know why!

AND, I have two of the blue/beige 4-patches turned wrong!  (You can see one of them in the pic.)  Oh well!  I don't even care!  I'm chalking that up to extra fun!  lol

regan