UFOs and Other Stuff

UFO #1 went for a swim and then jumped into the soft-and-crinkly machine... and I have to say the dense quilting in the yellow and blue borders crinkled up nicely and pulled in some of the residual waviness!

It was interesting looking at the truly finished quilt and think about how much I've learned since I made this one.  I put the original date on the quilt (2009) because the quilt is more about what I was doing then than now...   oh, and I named it "Summertime."

The daughter got a new sofa and didn't like the three pillows that came with it because she wants to go with blue rather than taupe/rust/black.   So, for her birthday, I ordered fabric from Spoonflower that she picked out and covered the pillows for her.

Then, when my sister was visiting, we went on an excursion to Hobby Lobby where I spotted some fabrics that I thought would go well with the blue pillows.....  and, since I was off work today, I made her three pillows for her new sofa.

I used the remaining fabric from the stripe and anchors...

....to make a reversible table runner.

 

Still pondering on what to make with the half yard of the coral fabric.

UFO #1: A Finish

I finished my oldest UFO today and it is a great feeling to get that project crossed off the list!

It's headed towards the washer to start the oh-so-soft-and-crinkly process.   On to the next UFO on the list....

UFO #1 Progress

I was able to finish up the quilting on UFO #1 this weekend but the binding didn't happen.  I did get the binding cut out so it's ready to go.

In the yellow inner border, I did an S-wavy line and a meander in the outer border.  On the blue outer border, I was able to handle the extra fabric near the yellow border but it was totally out of control by the time I got to the outer edge.... so, I trimmed the border from 6" wide to 4.5" wide.  That took care of the uber waviness.   

I love the fabric for the blue border and had underestimated how much I would need for the border AND the binding so I had gone back to the LQS to get addition blue for the binding.  I had no trouble finding it because it was in the original bag, hanging in the closet!   Several folks commented that they had never seen this project...   well, it's because it's 5.5 yrs old!

See the date on the sales receipt?  Yup, 5.5 yrs in the closet it was.   Well... it's going to be finished soon.

Post Holiday Break

My sister Carol left yesterday afternoon to head home after a lovely visit where we had plenty of time to chat and catch up... as well as go shopping a bit.  It was in Hobby Lobby that An Idea popped up so I picked up a couple of "very Carol" prints and some fusible fleece (because I was out) to make her a couple of fabric trays.  She even got to decide how large she wanted them to be...   9"x5" and 5"x5".

Today, it's back to work so I probably won't have time to sew/quilt until this coming weekend but... it was nice to do a little sewing while Carol could keep me company.

 

Lull in the Action

I had the flu the week before Christmas, which threw a wrench in the works.  So, I just finished up my last Christmas gift that is going to a someone who understands just how life can get in the way sometimes.

Using this tutorial (link), I made an iPad stand.

Shown here with my granddaughter's tablet, the iPad stand is perfect when you are using an online tutorial to make something.  Your iPad can sit right beside you so you can refer to it as you sew.

I did change up things a it such as quilting the fabric to a scrap of batting to give it a firmer surface.  I also didn't do the flowery thing around the button.

I started with a FQ of the fabric and had enough left to make two fabric trays (link to tutorial) from the remainder plus a small amount of matching fabric to line the inside.

Of course, I changed up the directions to make the sides a bit shallower but generally followed the rest of the instructions.  I cut the fabric for the inner box an inch smaller so it would nest in the larger of the two.

I like how the trays (or boxes) turned out and will probably made a couple more in different sizes.  I think they would be handy to keep sewing items next to your machine, or on your dresser, or just about anywhere to corral small items.

UFO #1

Yesterday, I pulled UFO #1 from its hiding place in the closet.  I figured it need to breathe and relax a bit before I turned it into a fully-functioning quilt.  Besides... I had sorta forgotten what it looked like.

Yup... the wavy borders are still there.... but I have A Plan!

It's just your basic string block done in blues and yellows.  

My sister Carol is visiting this weekend so it might be next weekend before this UFO is finished but it will be by the end of January for certain!