Design Wall Monday & a UFO Finish….

Today is an unexpected snow day from work after our historic snowfall a few days ago.  So between working on projects for work from home, I am sewing a little as well.  On my design wall is my blue Bricks & Stepping Stones top.  I am onto sewing the rows together now and I have a good shot at finishing this top today….YAY!!  Here’s what it looks like right now:

I also managed to finish my 4th UFO of the year.  The Imperfect Squares baby quilt for my college friend’s new son Finn is finished and ready to mail to Florida when I can get to the post office.  Here’s the finished quilt and a close-up of the loopy meander quilting I did.  I’m so happy to have it finished!!

What does everyone else have going on??

Surviving SnOMG! 2010….

We weathered the storm safely and are now in the midst of the great dig out…..  Hubby is our with shovel in hand as I type and will hopefully be finished before the pre-Super Bowl dinner we are having at 3pm.  I want him to be able to sit back and relax and enjoy watching his Colts play in Miami!!

Here’s a couple pictures taken while the snow was falling….

And here’s some during the dig out…

I haven’t been sitting by idly…I’ve been working away in the studio.  I quilted the Imperfect Squares Baby Quilt, stitched out the label and attached the label and binding by machine.  I’ll finish the hand stitching during the big game tonight.  I also stitched out the last 12 embroidery blocks for Fresh Squeezed Graham Crackers.  This is what they look like before trimming the threads:

They will become the center of 12 more of these blocks:

I’ll be back with more pictures as I make more progress on my Bricks & Stepping Stones top. 

I hope everyone is safe and warm wherever they are!

Here Comes the Snow…..Again….

The weather peeps have forecasted a “historic” snow event for the mid-Atlantic region this weekend just as we are on the tail end of 2 snow events since last Saturday.  The cupboards are full of food and I have plenty of quilty projects to work on.  So I’m ready to be snowed in this weekend…woohooo!

I’ve included some pretty snow pictures that I took yesterday after our overnight snowfall.  I love how the snow was just sitting on the leaves and branches.

February Goals….

OK I’ve found that setting goals is working for me so I’m going to post my goals at the beginning of each month….

Here goes… here’s what I want to accomplish this month:

• Quilt & Bind the Imperfect Squares Quilt for Baby Finn
• Finish Piecing, Quilt & Bind Blue Bricks & Stepping Stones Quilt
• Choose pattern for and cut out “Too Good to Cut” challenge quilt
• Make 1 block for the Ladies of the Sea appliqué project
• Make love block & label for Dorothy’s Love Quilt
• Stitch out last 12 embroidery blocks for Fresh Squeezed Graham Cracker Quilt
• Piece together batting scraps into usable battings

I know it looks like a lot but I have another “Stay-cation” in February so I should be able to get a lot done while I’m home for nearly 2 weeks :)

UFO Challenge – February

My BFF Nancy has issued the UFO challenge again for 2010.  I have this challenge list over on my sidebar.  For the next 9 months she will pick a number at the beginning of the month and the challenge is to get the UFO that corresponds with that number on your list finished before the end of the month.

Number 7 was drawn for February which means I’ll be working on my Blue Bricks & Stepping Stones Quilt.  The blocks are still in process but I have the basic 4-patch/Brick unit pieced and pressed.  The print along the bottom of the photo is going to be the border.  I really am enjoying working on this one.

This has been my leader/ender project off and on and I made quite a bit of progress on it that way.  But now it’s time to buckle down and git-r-dun!

UFO Challenge – January Finish!

I’ve finally finished my January finish for the 2010 UFO Challenge!!!  YAY!!  I put the last stitches in Patty’s Quilt while hubby and I were watching the movie Gran Torino on this snowy Saturday.  Here’s the finished quilt…

And a close-up of the Wonky Feathers….

I’m looking forward to working on my February UFO for the challenge.  In the meantime, tomorrow I’ll be quilting the baby quilt I finished piecing this week so that I can get it into the mail.  I pulled the backing and binding fabrics out a little while ago and I’ll make the binding and pin the backing onto the frame tonight.  I love snowy weekends!!!

Too Good to Cut….

I joined the Too Good to Cut Challenge at the beginning of the year and have decided to use my Allspice Tapestry FQ Tower from Moda. 

I fell in love with these fabrics when they first came out and just had to have them!  So I bought the FQ bundle and have yet to do anything with them.  I’ve been looking for the perfect pattern to use them in.  I’ve narrowed it down to a few different patterns and will make a final decision soon.  As soon as I make a firm decision I’ll be sure to let you all know :)

Come and join us and cut into that fabric you’ve been saving.  It’ll be fun!!

Another UFO Finished for January :)

I finished the binding on my mother in law’s Trip Around the World quilt.  I’m thrilled to have it finished and she will be over to visit on Sunday so I can finally give it to her.  This quilt was supposed to be her Christmas gift.  However breaking my elbow 4 days before Christmas kept me from being able to finish it.  I think she’ll be happy when she sees it.

I also managed to finish the baby quilt top made from the blocks that were on my design wall this past Monday.  I hope to get it quilted this weekend and finished next week so that I can send it off to my college friend’s new baby.

All in all a pretty productive week so far and I’m still working on the binding of my friend Patty’s quilt so I should have another finish pretty soon :)

Design Wall Monday…

I have something on my design wall for a change!!  I’m working with these blocks from an “Imperfect Block Swap” I participated in several years ago.  These will be sashed with blue fabric and a swirly green for cornerstones and bordered with a cute print to become a baby quilt for a friend of mine from college who just had her first baby.  I’m very excited to get this finished and sent to it’s new owner :)

I also got the bindings and labels machine sewn onto the 2 quilts I recently quilted.  Now I have handwork to do in the evenings while watching TV with my hubby :)

Tomorrow I have to go back to work after being off for nearly 2 weeks, it’s gonna be rough when that alarm clock rings in the morning…..

Friday Night Sew-In – February

The date has been set for February’s Friday Night Sew-In.  Join everyone on Feb 19th for the fun!!  I’ll be sewing away as it will be smack dab in the middle of my February Stay-cation!!!

Second One Quilted

I finished quilting the second quilt on my Stay-cation Goal list!  I also cut out both bindings and one of the labels is stitching out as I type.  So either later today or tomorrow I’ll be making and attaching the bindings by machine and will hand stitch them down in the evenings after work.

Here’s the quilt before binding….

And a close-up of the quilting….

I quilted “Wonky Feathers” by Dawn The Pajama Quilter.  I love this very forgiving quilting pattern!

One Down…

…. one to go….

I finished quilting my mother in law’s Trip Around the World quilt late last night.  I still need to attach the binding and label by machine and then hand stitch them down, but I can work on that in the evenings.  Here’s the picture before binding….

And a close-up of the quilting…

I have the next quilt loaded on the frame, bobbins wound and the machine rethreaded and ready to quilt tomorrow.  I’ll be back with more pictures when I finish quilting the next one :)

Hope everyone’s having a great weekend!!