Design Wall Monday--UFO week!

Last week some friends and I rented a condo and had a quilting retreat! It was a great deal of fun! I had brought along a huge plastic tub full of projects to work on. I finished the flower quilt top and got the blocks finished for "Amy", an upcoming pattern.

Finished the top from the retreat!

Yesterday I was able to get the "Amy" blocks sewn together into a top! I remember seeing the perfect border fabric in the stash closet when I was packing up last week.  Hopefully I can find it this week and get the border on the top.

Top of the quilting pile

A friend and I are having our own little challenge (feel free to join in!).  We need to finish 12 UFO's this year. In theory, one a month.  But we are being lenient on the time frame.  I was able to get 3 completed so far. Up next in my to be quilted pile is this little guy. Years ago a friend had given me the quilt top for my birthday. Sometime last year I quilted a bit around the applique and around the blue border. I am not sure why I didn't just finish it while I was at it. So hopefully it will be my finish Friday post for this week!

Next up out of the tub of UFO's

This project was started in a class by Jackie Robinson in about 2002 or 03.  I did have the top completed, but the middle section was just a hair too wide and puckered a bit.  I ripped out the seams holding the sections together (except the middle) and need to trim a slice off of each side. It has been like this for over 10 years now, I think it is about time to do that, don't you?!

This is my Design Wall Monday post for the week.  See what everyone else is up to at Judy's blog.

Kanab Off the Wall

I have been in Kanab, Utah all week with some friends.  We rented a condo and have been having a quilting retreat!  It has been fun!  Lots of good food, wine and fun with friends!  I brought along a big tub full of stuff to work on. I have been trying to finish up UFO's for 2014.  I was able to get a lot done on two projects (it is always good to have back up projects in case)

Blocks won at the local guild a few years ago

I finished the top!

Blocks for a new pattern, Amy

I pulled out a couple of projects, laid them out, got a plan and then they went back into the tub.  I did get a batch of blocks completed for a new pattern.  I have all the parts cut and ready to sash and border.  But I ran out of time, we leave in a couple of hours. So I will finish it at home.

Sandy's first finish

Sandy's Light and Dark star quilt

Sandy really got a lot done.  She sashed and bordered two sets of blocks.

Helen's tractor quilt

Helen's blossom blocks

Helen finished the wheels on her tractor quilt and then got the blocks sewn together.  She then started making blossom blocks.

Lisa's quilt

Lisa got a binding finished.  And she also got a batch of blocks completed for an upcoming class.  I didn't get a photograph before they were packed up.  And Nancy got two tops finished and I didn't get any photographs of her projects.

Gorgeous Coral Cliffs!

I love cactus!

At the end of the road

We are going to do this again next year!  What a fun time with good friends!

This is my Of the Wall post for this week, check out Nina-Marie's blog to see what everyone else is up to!

I am also linked to Whoop, whoop.

Design Wall in a bag!

I just have a few more clothing items to toss into the suitcase and then start packing all this stuff into the car. I am headed off to a casual quilting retreat! There are 5 of us, we rented a condo in Kanab, Utah.  I will keep you posted on our adventures this week!

This is my Design Wall Monday post for the week.  Check out Judy's blog to see what everyone else is working on.

Off the wall

I haven't been posting enough lately.  More internet issues which I will not bore you with.  I belong to a small quilt guild in Wales, UT.  We have members from all the small towns in the area (Wales has maybe 100-150 people).  It is a fun group.  Our fearless leader, Brenda, gave out challenges last year.  The last one we just finished up and had the reveal on Wednesday.  Brenda passed around a bowl that had slips of paper with children's book titles on them.  We each drew a title and were instructed to make a quilt inspired by that book.  Each person had a different book.  I got "Treasure Island".  I haven't actually read the book, but I thought it was about pirates and treasures.  Even though I had an idea right away, I waited until Monday to start my piece.

Treasure Island

I need to add more "treasures" but I ran out of time.

It was a fun challenge!  We had a lot of fun interpretations of the theme. The rules were very simple, even just using a fabric that went with the theme of your book was legal.  See the rest of the quilts at the Quilt Keepers blog.

My tub of UFO's

I am heading off to a quilting retreat with friends next week. There are 5 of us and we just rented a condo and plan to spend 5 days and 4 nights quilting, hiking, drinking wine and who knows what other hi-jinks we will get up to.  I decided to bring some UFO's to work on.  This is a big plastic tub filled with bags of partial projects.  Good, easy, mindless sewing ones that I can work on without having to stress.  I will check back next week and let you know how many I got sewn.

BTW, I am going to be teaching a very fun, small town retreat the second week of March.  It is always a good time!  Check out the details at my schedule.  Brenda and her daughter, Bonnie are Pie Plate Patterns and they have been doing this Super Spring retreat for about 5 years now. 

This is my Off the Wall post for this week,  check out what everyone else is up to at Nina-Marie's blog.

Design Wall Monday

Finished!

Finished!

Up Next!

I have been on a roll, finishing up some UFO's!  I completed the fish quilt, it was a sample for a demo.  I completed the Sunflower quilt.  It was a class project from a class by Irma Gail Hatcher, probably about 1997 or so.  Up next is a convergence quilt top.

Up next on my teaching schedule is the Pie Plates Patterns Super Spring Retreat!  March 12-15th 2014.  It is a fun retreat, very low key, small town affair. I am teaching two classes, September, a free form quilt as you go quilt and Freezer Paper Piecing, a foundation piecing class where you don't have to tear the papers away after sewing.

This is my Design Wall Monday post for this week.  

Just an FYI, but my destash of the sewing room is still ongoing.  I have listed a ton more wonderful books and magazines.

Destash
Vintage destash

I hope you will take a minute and check and see if there is anything that you have been looking for.  I have a coupon code good for 10% off any order over $10, good on ANYTHING in the shop, not just the destash sections.  BBLOG10

Thanks for looking!

Design Wall this Monday

Today on my wall I have a sampler quilt that we did in the Quilt Keepers group last year.  It was our block of the month, designed by Brenda of Pie Plate Patterns.  I have 4 of the 6 sections pieced.  I am going to try and finish piecing the sections together today.  I still need to find border fabrics for this quilt. So far this quilt is a "free" quilt.  Everything has come out of the stash.

I generated a big bunch of bonus half square triangle units!  I love to use them as leaders!  I then try to make a mini quilt with them.

This is my design wall Monday post!

Back to Reality

Sweetie and I went off on a long trip to Arizona over the holidays.  It was so nice to be in the warmth for a while.  We visited friends in Tucson and also in Benson.  We hooked up with some friends from home in Quartzsite.  It was a wonderful trip!  A couple of photographs from the trip.

This was in Benson.  I love the streaks in the sky!

We were camped right next to this guy in Quartzsite.

Sunset in Nevada on our last night on the road.

It seems to take a week to get back in gear after being gone for two and half weeks.  I think I am back in gear.  I had a guild meeting on Wednesday, took the dogs to the vet on Thursday, worked the quilt shop on Friday.  I also had to break down and search out a new ISP.  The connection and customer service problems were still going on when we got back. So that took most of my Tuesday afternoon.

When I got to the shop yesterday I saw that the 3 bolts of PFD that the owner had ordered for me had arrived!  So today was a dyeing day!  I will rinse out in the next day or so.  

Yay!

Today's colors

Mixed on a damp mop up rag.

No idea where I was going with this one.  It will be fun to play with.

 
I also dyed four half yards in ziplock bags.

This is my Off the Wall post for this week.  Check out what everyone else is up to at Nina-Marie's blog.