Lest we forget . . .

Remember this? (Scroll down.) I nearly finished it in February. It just needed binding. In fact, I got the binding on it about a week into March. And then I kept forgetting to blog about it. So here it finally is. Elizabeth Hartman's Paintbox QAL.

My helpers were being silly.

Loopy meander again. Not enough gray to finish the binding. I chose gray because there are SO MANY colors in this already, and I couldn't choose one over another. Black was going to be too heavy. I like how the gray turned out.

The lovely back.

Silly helpers again.

My oldest has adopted this as her favorite quilt. For now. I've got a crazy circle quilt top that she has her eye on. Unfortunately, it's not on my list of UFOs to finish this year. :/

I already took this one off of my number, so it will not be going down at all. The previous two quilts didn't even make the list, so my number didn't go down with those either. And I have other baby quilts that I need to start (and, of course, FINISH) that will not reduce my number either. But I am happy to see it in the 60s. Hoping it will at least stay there or creep into the 50s. I want to be able to start new projects guilt-free. Ha ha. :)

March's 2011 UFO Challenge #2

Stacked coins from a jelly roll I won a couple years ago. It's Spring Magic by April Cornell.

Each coin is 2"x5" finished. There are 35 coins in each stack. The sashing and borders are also 5" finished. There are 6 coin stacks. The finished quilt is approximately 65"x80" before washing. This is a Quilter's Only solid. I think it's called Honeydew, but I'm not sure. :/ Can you see my organic line quilting? Also a first for me. I did three lines in each coin and did not quilt on the seams. I did not continue the lines from edge to edge, but left the borders free. I then just quilted around the border with three lines to sort of frame it. I LOVE how it turned out.

I may not be the only one who feels that way. :)

March's 2011 UFO Challenge #1

I was going to show you all this last week -- when it was in progress -- but I never made it happen.

And now it looks like this. All finished in time for Judy's 2011 Challenge! It's made from Nicey Jane and uses Amy Butler's Lotus Brick Path pattern -- except I made mine into a quilt instead of a throw with tassels and no batting.

Large pebble quilting -- my first time. I'm surprised at how quickly it went -- very easy -- and I LOVE the way it pops on the quilt.

All those polka dots on the back, mmmm.

Freedom!

Freedom from one more UFO hanging over my head. And also, yeah, it's a patriotic quilt. Kinda thinking I'll just call it Freedom.

If you haven't heard me say this before, I LOVE patriotic quilts. I saw this one in a quilting book (can't remember the name or FIND it at the moment -- sewing room is still not completely put back together). I started it a LONG time ago. I had an older friend who would give me fabric all the time when I was first starting out quilting. This quilt is made entirely from scraps from her scrap pile. I think even the white is. I did go buy this lovely toile for the back -- I think it's depicting scenes from the Revolutionary War.

Sawtooth Stars inside Log Cabins. And Log Cabins inside Sawtooth Stars.

It is already keeping us warm. It's on my UFO Challenge list (see sidebar), so whenever that month comes, I'll be ahead of the game. I think I have turned over a new leaf around here. Maybe. :)

February UFO Challenge Finishes

This month I had initially planned to do whatever number Judy had drawn. So I was all set to do my #10 UFO. I have looked nearly everywhere, however, and I cannot find the rest of the fabrics to finish it. I have a bag somewhere with the border fabrics in it, can't find it. Anyway, so as a result, I decided last week to try to finish my February projects and try to do the correct number next month. :) Again. (Sigh.)

So for February, I bound my ORB#1 quilt. It is now on my girls' bed. Hooray for that!

Elizabeth Hartman's Paintbox QAL from last year. Earlier today, this is what it looked like. I kept trying to get it basted this past weekend, but it did not pan out. So I did it today. And quilted it. So now it looks like . . .

THIS!

What? You say you don't see any binding? Yeah, that's because I just barely finished quilting it, and I'm too tired to do any more. So it's not completely finished, but it's very close. And I'm getting better at binding my quilts once they're quilted. I suspect it will be finished in short order.

Back.

I suppose I could have gotten a close-up of the quilting. But I didn't. Loop-de-loops. Some big, some small. I'll show some close-ups when it's bound and washed and dried. I'm pretty pleased with what I accomplished in so short a time. I'm kinda wishing I had decided to go this route sooner, though. Then maybe it would already be bound.