UFO Show and Tell Part Two

Sigh..............

Have you ever had one of those days when NOTHING seemed to go right? Yesterday was one of those days. I rarely feel like throwing in the towel, but I was tempted on numerous occasions. However, I maintained a level head and kept working methodically through the fiascos trying to make sense of the crazy day. 

The modem that was to arrive between 9 and 9:30 still wasn't here by 4 PM. A call indicated that it would likely be delivered today. Fortunately, DH's Zoom call didn't go down, although it slowed. I didn't stream the radio on Alexa for fear of causing issues with his call. 

I had typed out my agenda for the two lectures last night. And guess what? Word froze, and I had to reboot my computer and start over again. There was NO autosave? Why not?? 

As if that wasn't bad enough, I couldn't print. The printer had run out of paper, and while I refilled the paper tray, my computer wasn't recognizing that I had done that. So I had to reboot yet again to get it to recognize the correct status of the printer. Seriously?? It was like there was a tech gremlin in the house yesterday. And yes - I had issues last night, and thankfully everyone is so patient. The connection slowed down considerably in one presentation, and it died in the second one. It seemed to take forever to get reconnected. 

I did note that DH was watching TV when I was online. Hmmm - I stayed off while he was on his call? But I won't go there. 

I did take a walk in the afternoon before my lectures, and that helped to clear my head. I've got two lectures more today and no idea when that modem will arrive. And I've no guarantee that it'll solve the problem. It could make it worse, but I won't go there. I might have to zip down to Tim's to do my lectures!

Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to log into the Monday sewing - I just didn't dare tax the bandwidth with a second Zoom call. 

But today is another day. I had a good sleep, got some writing done this morning. I'm still behind a wee bit, but every day, I get closer to the finish line! 

So - let's go back and finish up with the Show and tell from the UFO club. 

Elaine finished her Stitcher's Garden quilt (Stitch Connection). This is the third one of these quilts that got finished because of our UFO club. 

Elaine's completed Stitcher's Garden quilt

There are five borders as per the original pattern! Hey -- while this quilt top is finished, it's OK to change up the borders. If you don't want to put on five borders, then only put on two. But I do love the vibrant colors in the borders; they help to tie in all the bright colors in the quilt. 

The five borders on Stitcher's Garden

Elaine also quilted this small wall hanging that she started many years ago at Quilt Canada. It was the result of a workshop. It just needs the binding, and it's done! One more project bites the dust!!!

Elaine's landscape quilt - ready to bind

She also got the binding on this quilt. That picture is a wee bit dark as the quilt is grey and white with lime green. It doesn't matter - it's one more project - DONE!!

Elaine's Shop Hop quilt - DONE

She also finished or almost finished this small candle mat made with wool felt. It's so cute!!!! It'll be finished in plenty of time before Easter next year. 

Easter Candle mat - almost done

Great job, Elaine - she was very busy this past month!!!!

Guess what? We have ONE MORE Stitcher's Garden quilt done. That makes four completed as a result of the UFO club, and to my knowledge, there are no more of them waiting in the wings amongst this group. This one belongs to Diane. She had to sew the quilt top together, and she also added the five borders. 

Diane's Stitcher's Garden quilt top

So these two versions now have to be quilted. I'm just happy that mine is in the "to be quilted" pile. 

This is Diane's next project. It was a Border Creek mystery from last year. She's already done a ton of work with making all those half square triangles which are sewn into four patches. 

Diane's Border Creek mystery project

This is what the block looks like. That's going to be a beautiful quilt. Diane loves to make things large, but she insists that she's only making it a lap size. We'll see what happens next month!!!

The block for the mystery quilt

Diane also got two quilts quilted this past month. They look great!!!

Elephant quilt - DONE

And here's the second quilt. 

Diane's second quilt - DONE

As if that wasn't enough, she made two small wall hangings, just in time for Halloween. 

Diane's two Halloween wall hangings - DONE

Sharon did a TON of handwork this past month, and the train station is on the quilt. I'm so impressed. I know she struggled this month to get that commitment done. But it's done, and she can move onto another section of the quilt. This is from the 2000 Piecemaker's Calendar. 

The train station is appliqued to the background

The blocks are almost completed!!! Wow-what a huge relief it must be to get the quilt to this stage, but she's not done yet!!!

Sharon's quilt 

Diane T assembled this table runner. I wonder what size of sashing she used between the blocks because it looks AMAZING. I might have to try that with one of my string quilts because it has a totally different look than when you just sew the blocks together. 

Diane T's string pieced Chrismas runner

Liz is back after taking a hiatus at the cottage all summer. She was to complete 2 blocks for this project, and she got four of them sewn together. The quilt is going to be gorgeous!!!! 

Blocks for Liz's quilt

She still has 6 blocks to make, and it looks like she got quite a bit of cutting done for those. It's all about progress, and we have to remember that some of the group members have full-time jobs, others have family or other commitments that don't allow them to sew all day. 

Pieces of blocks have been cut and ready to sew

This is the quilt that Laura is working on, and she'll be adding the borders for next month. I LOVE this quilt, and YES, I have one to make—no time to even think about that at the moment. 

Laura's Over and Under quilt

Ronda is making a new project - a gift for a family member. She imported a fabric collection in EQ8 and designed the quilt with a wee bit of assistance from me. The quilt is made from flannel, and it going to look amazing. 

I think all the blocks are cut out - these are Bear's Paws blocks. 

The Bear Paw blocks are cut

The alternate blocks - square in a square are already made. 

The square in a square block for Ronda's quilt

That leaves my projects. I don't have time this morning to post, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I did. 

Here's something vital to keep in mind. As I was posting homework from the recent classes, I noticed that several people haven't been around for a while. 

So I started e-mailing people to see how they were. You know - not everyone is faring as well as others under the circumstances. If you know someone and haven't heard from them in a while, give them a CALL. We must stay connected to each other. And we mustn't let anyone slip through the cracks. 

I know that I don't do enough of that, and often, I'll go for days and sometimes weeks before I call family or friends. I'm trying to get better at that, and even if I end up on a phone call while I do my walk - I'm OK with that. The important thing is we MUST reach out! 

One more thing, and I want you to do this IMMEDIATELY. STOP watching the news. Just STOP. It's depressing; there's nothing we can do about certain political situations - it's going to hell in a handbasket quickly, and there isn't a single thing we can do about it. There are fires and other disasters and we can't do a single thing about them either. So do yourself a favor and STOP watching the news. I stopped over 10 years ago - Oh I keep abreast of world events, but I don't let myself get dragged down into the depressing thing that is called news these days. 

If you feel compelled to help, then make a cash donation or get out and find a place to volunteer locally. Even with COVID, there are places where help is needed. 

Make your own fun, call friends, hold Zoom calls with your friends - it's good to chat about the ridiculous things happening in the world. I find it gets it off my mind if I have a good chat and then I let it go. If sewing by yourself is boring, then get a Zoom meeting going and sew with someone all day. You don't even have to talk - just know that someone is there for you!!

Have you put on weight during the pandemic? Then move in with me. DH does most of the grocery shopping and there are NO treats. Thank god for that. I'm a stress eater (when I'm stressed for time) and well, yesterday? I could have eaten a pallet of chips and cases of pop if they had of been handy! I did have a couple of small snacks that I've squirreled away in Studio B. 

On that note, I'm out of here. It's another jam-packed day and I'll be in Manitoba this afternoon and then zipping off to Newfoundland! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

UFO Club

I want to thank everyone who has stopped by to pick up stuff that I no longer need or want. I had a quick visit with France yesterday as she stopped by to pick up some stuff. There'll be more, in bits and pieces as I unearth the unwanted things. And knowing that I can make quilts tops for Quilts of Valour or Project Linus from the fabrics that I don't need or want is so freeing. The more that goes in those piles, the more I want to get rid of - OK - within reason! HUGE thanks to Diane, who is my quilt top piecing machine. I'm prepping FIVE more kits for her to pick up later today. That's good news. The bad news? There's still lots more where that came from.

It's all about using up, finding a new home, or getting it done! Today it's all about the UFO club. We had our monthly meet-up via Zoom, which is great since one of the ladies is at her cottage every weekend, and she still gets to participate. I think more and more people are getting used to this format!

And I get to sew longer to get my projects finished since we don't need to travel, no worries about the weather. It's a great thing!

Today we have Monday sewing and no need to pack up the sewing machine!

Let's get started on the show and tell because there's a lot. Even though it was summer and no money on the table, everyone was busy.

Dede got the two outer borders on this quilt. It was one of our $10 quilts from years ago. I think it was called The Patchwork Sampler. I love that black and white combination! Thankfully the recipient still is into black and white. One border left to go!

Dede's homework for August

Her homework for next month is to remove some quilting from the outer border of this next quilt and redo it. Don't you love how motivated we all are? That's a lot of work, but hey - if you're going to do something, you might as well be happy with the end result.

Dede's quilt for next month

Jane -- oh, Jane. She's like me - loads of little things to do each month. BUT instead of working on what she was supposed to, she made some placemats.

Jane's placemats

She made masks.

Jane's masks

And she worked out the calculations for a new quilt. This was actually part of her homework for the current month. Oh -- this is why I love EQ8 so much. I never have to worry about these kinds of calculations. But we all have our methods, and this works for Jane.

Quilt calculations

She even got started on some half-square triangles for the quilt.

Half-square triangles for her new quilt

Getting the binding on this quilt WAS on her list for this month.

Jane's quilt with the binding firmly attached

And it's firmly attached by machine. I love how more and more people are going that route!  It really depends on the eventual home for the quilt. A family heirloom? I'd hand-stitch the binding. But a giveaway quilt? By machine!!!

The binding is stitched in place by sewing machine

And she finished this quilt. I think the binding just needed to be put on. Now that's a lot to get done in one month. Go, Jane, GO!!!!

Another finished quilt

Linda got some blocks for the Vintage Christmas quilt done. She was a wee bit behind and is almost caught up now. The person who is behind is ME. I haven't got the homework for Friday out yet. That's a job for today or tomorrow.

Linda's Vintage Christmas blocks

Her project for next month is this quilt. It's gorgeous and definitely a Scandinavian feel for Christmas.

Scandi Christmas

I also got a lot accomplished. I'm only showing you the UFOs that were on my list. I won't bore you with all the other stuff that got done.

First up was my red/white log cabin quilt. The quilt top is together in one piece. No borders.

Red/white log cabin

The binding and backing are also made. Yeah!!!!

The binding, the backing, and the quilt top

Then I managed to get the final border on Easy Street - the mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter.

The final border on Easy Street

The binding, backing, and quilt top for Easy Street

And then there is the disappearing nine-patch. It's ALMOST together. All that's left to sew is ONE seam through the center of the quilt (the diagonal center that is) and add the four corner triangles.

The disappearing nine-patch

I'm going to add a border of some kind. I have some fat quarters, so I'll need to figure something out. But it's on my list for next month to have the top completely done.

Then there's the binding on the inside of the yoga bag. That was to be done this month - it didn't happen. I carried it over for next month.

The yoga bag that needs to be finished inside

There's also the snail's trail blocks. The blocks are all made, but it was supposed to be a quilt top by now. That's on the list for next month as well.

Snail's trail blocks

And I had to bring in a new UFO. This is PRISM squared. My goal is to get all the wedges cut for next month. The fabric strips are sewn together - the wedges just need to be cut.

My PRISM squared

Four projects - how hard can it be to get one done each week until our next UFO meeting?


Sharon got several projects completed as well. The border is on her shop hop quilt, and it's off to the quilter. I LOVE that pop of green with grey, white, and black. It's gorgeous.

Sharon's shop hop quilt

And she got some placemats finished. It honestly doesn't matter the size of the UFO - it's all about finishing.

Sharon's placemats

She'll be back working on her 2000 Piecemaker Calendar for next month. She's so close to getting that quilt done!!! I can't wait to see it done!

Last year, Ronda bought an embroidery machine and seems to be embroidering everything!! This is what she was working on this month. Onesies! The embroidery file is a new one from Kimberbell. But how cute is this, and how simple and fast to make compared to making a quilt for a new baby????

Onsie embroidered by Ronda

Lynne is also doing some machine embroidery. She got more sections of her Dream Big panel done. So hard to see in the photo, but I'm sure that it looks gorgeous. This is a fun panel to quilt or embroider. She'll be working on that this coming month as well.

Lynne's Dream Big panel

I think Laura abandoned her PRISM squared quilt for the summer. Instead, she got this quilt made. It's from flannel, and I LOVE IT!!!!

Laura's quilt

I think it's called Over and Under by Bonnie Sullivan.

Elaine is diligently working on her Stitcher's Garden. Two borders of five are now on the quilt.

Two borders on Elaine S quilt

Here are the other three borders being auditioned. We gave them the green light, and that's her goal for the coming month - get those last three borders on.

Auditioning the last three borders

Shelly is into hand embroidery these days. Her goal was to finish the stitching on this block.

Shelly's hand embroidery

She's started another block and going to try and finish TWO blocks for next month.

Diane is also working on Stitcher's Garden. She got the last set of blocks done!!!

Diane's blocks for Stitcher's Garden

More blocks

The final set of blocks

Some of those blocks are machine embroidery, and some are appliqued. It sure feels nice to get those blocks done! I know - I was in that position earlier this year.

One of the things that I love about our Zoom UFO group is that we get to ask questions like Elaine's border or, in Diane's case - how to finish off this cording.

Cording that needs to be finished off

Katheleen is also stitching up a storm with hand embroidery. This is Snow Days, and she got all her homework done and MORE. The quilt is stunning.

Katheleen's Snow Days

We have others in the group, and some of them took the summer off, but they have homework for September. Susan is going to be working on a Halloween quilt, Liz will be back with her Amy Bradley garden quilt, Diane was doing some repairs, and hopefully, Laura will be getting that PRISM squared done!

It's all fun, and the best part - we are getting those UFOs done. Some are just working on current projects to get some motivation. It doesn't matter - the point of the club is to get things DONE!!!

And it's going to be another busy day. Longarm quilting, making two magazine quilts, and well - that's probably all that I'm going to work on today. And those darn books - I'm reading a book and listening to an audiobook, and both are good! I hope to finish both today!

Hey - it's fun to sew all day, but you gotta take some time to just relax!!!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!