2013 Finish List

As I typed my final list, I was disappointed.  8?  Just 8?  And then I remembered the Sew Eclectic Design Challenge, and the Thimble Towne Color Challenge.  whew!  Thirteen in 2013 sounds SO much better!

The first two were the surfboard memory quilts for Tiffany.  I'd spent much of 2012 working on these quilts, but it was not until the week of Road to CA in January, that they were finished and delivered.  I'm currently working on a third quilt, to pattern it, but the appliqued surfboards sit abandoned in a basket, waiting patiently for my return.

The surfboard quilts were followed by a blue and gold Log Cabin bed quilt.  No picture needed - it looks exactly as described.  Fourth to finish was my first Sew Eclectic Design Board-inspired quilt.  I had Sara Kelly's board.

Once I'd finished that quilt, I went into quilt-show mode, and quilting went by the wayside.  The only exception was an iris quilt, which I was determined to finish for the Calico Mermaid Iris Challenge in mid-April.  I finished it on time, and tied for first.  I love this quilt, as does my daughter, who received it as her Christmas gift.

In May, I finished my 2012 Valley Oak Quilt Guild challenge.  Seven months too late to compete, but it was done.  whew!

In May, I also finished my Sew Eclectic Design Board quilt, inspired by Cindy.

July saw the finish of my Sew Eclectic Design Board quilt, inspired by Barbara Daniel.

Two baby quilts were finished and delivered, and then it was time to throw together the Thimble Towne Color Challenge.  In August, I finished "Strelitzia."

In November, I finished the Sew Eclectic Design Challenge quilt inspired by Jeremy.

And last, but not least, was Penny's Big Girl Quilt, for Christmas.

Which brought my total to thirteen finished quilts.  An incomplete count of quiltlets (5x7") came to 26; an incomplete count of postcards (4x6") came to 58.

I am planning to be more productive in 2014, but as I contemplate my UFO list, along with other projects that have been suggested, I may be hard-pressed to meet my goals.

But January 1, being the popular time for goal setting, will see me finalize my potential list for 2014.  So far I have 41 quilts on the list.  That may sound like a lot to some of you, but in comparison, I began 2013 with...41!  Looks like it's a draw, even with the completion of thirteen.  Maybe I'll shoot for fourteen in 2014.

Odds n Ends

For the most part I've been engulfed in yards of yellow satin.  In the interim, I've done a bit of stitching.  Sometimes it's good to take a break from the task at hand.

Over the week, these have taken shape:

 (The gold shiny thing on the left of the quilted card is a reflection of the light in the glass, not additional embellishment.)

Other than these, I've been working on Belle, and watching the arrival of Fall.  We do it differently here.

Yellow, pink, orange...but not the way you'd expect to see them, right?

'Til next time.  Happy stitching!

A Few Small Things

I've finally gotten back to work on the quilt-for-hire.  I spent a few hours on it today, and made some visible progress.  That's a good thing!  There are still hours (and hours) to go, but perhaps I will finish this week.  Goals are good, even if it's the same goal week after week after week.  One of these weeks I'll meet it!

I cut 6 more surfboards and got them appliqued.  I think I need to take one off and relocate it.  It's a bit high.

Or maybe it's just closer to the surf.

I made a few cards that went out in today's mail.  The first two were made from scraps, leftover from the Color Challenge.

These next two were made from scraps, leftover from one or another of my ocean-themed quilt endeavors.

I swung by the walnuts today, to see if there are many nuts left in the trees:

 I spy!

Wow.  That first orchard picture really gives you a sense of scale, doesn't it?  A 60' tree next to a 6'2" man.  yowza!

This week's goal is again to work on that quilt-for-hire.  I also have to cut out two costumes:  one for an adult Belle, the second for a granddaughter-sized princess.  This week is going to be fun, fun, fun!!

Goal Update

Last week, before heading to Alaska, I set a few goals.  I hit one of them.  I finished the little green piece for our Sew Eclectic Design Board Challenge.  It's the one inspired by Barbara Daniel's board.

I had planned for it to hang horizontally, but when I turn it 90 degrees, you get the feeling of taller "trees."  Her board was covered with evergreens.  (At least that's how I remember it.)  I bound it with "bark."  If you squint, maybe you can tell that the "stripe" is all vertical.  That was a bit tricky.  I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.  Such a simple piece.

Goal #2, to work on the quilt-for-hire, went by the wayside.

My sewing table is a mess.  Come Sept 1, I will focus on that quilt.  My intent is to finish it before touching anything else...come Sept. 1.

In the meantime, the Thimble Towne Challenge is due August 31, at 2pm.  I've quilted less than half of it.  I'm quilting it by hand.  I need to step it up desperately, if I'm going to get it in on time.  The winner will receive 20% off all purchases for a year.  Another winner will receive a $200 gift certificate.  Dangle those in front of me, and I'd call it good incentive!

The one thing that I did, that was not on my list of goals for the week, was to prep a few surfboards.  I needed something small to work on, as I sat in the airports.  The trip to Alaska takes a while, and involves layovers that last longer than it takes to run from one terminal to another.  I came home with these, all stitched and ready for the next step.  Six down, 19 to go.  I need to go on another Hawaiian shirt hunt.  I'd like to find some with vivid color.  Like orange.  Or red.  :)

Three of these boards came from shirts that my youngest wore.  The other three were made from shirts from thrift stores.

Stay tuned.  The next goal is to finish the Thimble Towne Challenge, and I've got less than a week to meet it. 

Have a great week!  I'm off and stitching!

How Long Does It Take

to make a quilt?

People ask that all the time.  My answer?  "It depends upon the quilt."

I can tell you how long it took to make a surfboard quilt.  It took:

2 hours to cut apart 13 shirts.
25 hours to hand applique 50 surfboards.
46.5 hours to piece the tops.
14.5 hours to quilt them.
2.5 hours to make and attach the binding.
~10 hours to hand-tack the binding.

For a grand total of 100.5 hours divided by 2 = about 50 hours/quilt. 

whew!  No wonder I was tired!  I delivered the quilts yesterday.  Doesn't Tiffany look happy?  :)

For relaxation and unwinding, I am at Road to CA.  This morning's drive was a bit harrowing, with the pouring rain.  I'll admit that I was less than thrilled to pay $9 to park in 3" of mud.  :(

 But the rain stopped and the sun came out, and SoCal once again worked its magic.

I looked at quilts and shopped.

Tomorrow I have a class with Allison Aller...I am definitely looking forward to it.  By Saturday, I should have plenty to post about.  See you then!

Where's My Hat?

You know that saying, "Hold onto your hat!  It's going to be a wild ride!"?  2013 is like that so far.  craziness.  go, go, go!  So much to do, so little time!

During the first week of the year, I went up to San Carlos, to visit my little girl, her little girl, and her husband.

During the second week of the year, my son came to visit from Arkansas, and brought his new girlfriend.  They didn't stay long, but they stayed long enough for me to immediately like her.  They came on Sunday and left on Monday.  Remind you of anyone?

Once they'd left, we hauled out tables and I began basting.  baste, baste, baste.  I basted four large quilts.  Need proof?  Here you go.

Obviously I missed my week 2 goal, which had been to quilt both surfboard quilts.  Instead, I slapped borders on my Log Cabin, brought in another quilt-for-hire, and basted a total of four quilts.  I am pleased that I made enough forward progress that I'm not unhappy with my failure to achieve my stated goal.

My Week 3 Goal is to "finish both surfboard quilts."  And I really must do this, as I plan to head south next week for Road. 

So far this weekly goal-setting is working for me, in that I see visible progress. 

I wrote out my UFO list for 2013, and found that I have 41 entries.  My UFO list for 2012 had 38 entries.  In 2012, I moved in the wrong direction.  So now, my ultimate goal for 2013 is to MOVE FORWARD.  One path to progress is to FINISH AT LEAST 10 QUILTS ON MY UFO LIST.  hmmm.  It's a stretch, and it won't be easy.  But I'm going to give it my best shot.

And now, I'm off to the Studio.  Those quilts won't quilt themselves!

Still Surfin'

I'm 3/5 of the way through the piecing of Surfboards #2.  sew, sew, sew!  Yesterday was quite productive.  I took this picture early in the evening.  By 10pm, the remaining sashing was on the wall, ready to be sewn.

 While I was in my Studio piecing, my embroidery machine was in the hallway, stitching out labels.

 I found the shirt labels, that I'd removed from the collection of shirts.  Look at this one, from "Hilo Hattie's."  I know Hilo Hattie's!  We were there in November!  :)

 I'm not sure you can see this one.  It has a nice palm tree in the logo.

Guild meets today.  When I get home, I will sew, sew, sew.  I'd LOVE to get that second top pieced before I go to bed tonight.  Goals are good!