I’ve written a quilting blog for several years now. I like my blogs to have good information and instructions, so they are primarily educational (it doesn’t seem I will ever not be some kind of teacher). I like them to be inspirational, too. And most of all I like quilters of all level to feel like they can accomplish anything after reading my blogs.
But sometimes I just want to folks to know what I’m doing and what’s going on in my life. Health-wise, right now, everyone is holding steady. Meagan is doing well, as is my mom and my brother. I’ve been honest about 2018, it was a very stressful year. Those that know me in person, know that when I’m stressed, I tend to eat. It’s my way of dealing with it. And while I know that this is not the best way to deal with my emotions, hey, it’s better than drinking or drugs. But hopefully now that things have calmed down a bit, I can go back to eating better and exercising, because Lord knows I feel better when I do.
My beloved High Point Quilt Guild is going through a bit of a transition. Membership is down a tad. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I would rather have a smaller group of people that really want to learn and work together. Our current President has taken a job in Massachusetts and will be leaving us after our June meeting. I’m not crazy about this, as Matthew is proving to be a wonderful leader. The upside to this is my friend, Janet, is up to be President and she will do an equally wonderful job.
Speaking of the guild, we have some awesome Program Co-Chairs, Becki and Cindi. These ladies not only plan the program and speakers for the guild, but this year Becki issued a challenge – finish six UFOs in 2019. She sent a sign-up sheet out with the December 2018 Guild Newsletter. The participating members filled out the sheet and signed up for the challenge. This equates to completing one UFO every two months.
My problem was not finding six UFOs. My problem was deciding which six UFOs to choose. My first UFO was this little gem, Bertie’s Spring (pattern by Bonnie Sullivan).
I finished the binding at Mom’s house. She liked it so much that Bertie decided to stay at her house.
This is a small wall hanging made from flannel. I had it completed and quilted, but needed to get the binding, hanging sleeve, and label put on.
I’m in the middle of these quilts….
This gnormous pile of half-square triangles and four patch units will be a scrap quilt. It takes nearly 300 HST and four-patch units to make this queen size quilt. When I listed this as one of the UFOs, I had one block made. My weekly goal is to make 20 of each unit. I counted last night, and I have 280 of each. I’m getting closer and closer to the point I can begin putting these together into blocks. I’m excited because in all the years I’ve quilted, I’ve never made a scrap quilt.
This should be a familiar sight. My Easter Blessings will be one of the next UFOs I’ll finish. I changed up the original borders this past fall. I got it all layered and ready to put on Loretta … and then my tablet decided to die. Loretta is dead in the water until my long arm company ships me a new tablet. I didn’t want to get too far behind, so I started quilting her on Big Red. I put in all the stabilizing stitches and went around the applique center twice. I will hit the border applique next week. By the time I get all that done, I hope the new tablet will be here and I can micro-stipple and meander the rest on Loretta.
My hexie wall hanging is also on my UFO list. I made this out of the scraps left over from my “At Piece with My Past.” Everyone in my sewing circle was in a hexie craze a few years ago, and several of us began this wall hanging. I’ve had the applique finished for a while, and now I’m hand quilting it. And for a girl who loves her machine quilting in any form, I had forgotten how relaxing hand quilting can be. I am really enjoying the process, and this will be one of those projects I will be almost sad to see finished. I’ve really loved working with this little, quilted wall hanging.
My Halo Medallion quilt is also on the list. I’m down to the last border, which is made out of Delectable Mountain blocks. I will finish this up after our April vacation. I love this quilt, and I love the fabrics, but I will be happy to get this one on Loretta and have her done.
The last two items on my list are a charity quilt I began shortly before Meagan received her cancer diagnosis and a quilted jacket I started this past summer. If I can get at least six items completed this year, I’ll feel so successful! I like this UFO idea so much, I think I’m going to do this every year. Having a list helps me focus. I don’t come into my studio wondering what to do next. It gives me a target and a goal. I know what I need to get done each day in order to mark one more item off my list.
In closing, I’d like to encourage you to make a UFO list. If six items seem a little overwhelming, begin with three. Finish those up and list three more. I realize that a lot of us have “life time” quilts in progress – those quilts that may take several years to complete – but finishing up little milestones along the way can make you feel as if something really is getting completed. And this encourages you to keep moving ahead in your quilting world.
Until next week, Quilt with Passion!
Love and Stitches,
Sherri and Sam
