Long June Days

June's been flying by and I’ve been stitching like a crazed woman--and actually getting a few things done (for a change).  It must be the long June days.   First off, I finished stitching the Capriccio blocks from last month together.  Now they’re a completed top, but I didn't take a photo to show.  :(  (I’ll take one soon—maybe next month.)

Then, since I couldn’t seem to remember to have my husband move some heavy boxes so I could find my June’s UFO, and since my living room floor was empty after finishing up Capriccio, I started working again on this project from back in March.  Do you remember these blocks?

They were for a quilt based on the Stripping Vine quilt made by Kathy Doughty shown in the book, Material Obsession.

I made the star blocks in March, but then got sidetracked by other projects. This month, I decided it wouldn’t take that much longer to move them along into a top.

So the blocks were stitched together in columns (there are 3 columns here--not connected, just next to each other on the design wall.)

Turquoise strips of dogwoods were added in between the orange columns.

Then a black and white stripe was added to the top and bottom.  And I finished it all off with a floral border that just seemed to belong. I love the fabric--Pom Pom Dahlias by Philip Jacobs.  The extra borders are not part of the original pattern design. 

And now it’s a completed top! Hooray! This isn’t a very good photo, but it’s the best I can get of it for now. It’s a bit of an odd color/fabric combination, but it makes me happy, so I don’t care. Since the colors are similar to what I’m using for the Single Girl quilt, I’ve decided to postpone a decision on the back until I’ve finished cutting for that so I can see which fabrics are left before I decide if I want to piece the back for it. 

And then, the floor was empty again and since my living room was already a fabric disaster area, I decided that I could finish the borders on one of my UFO's (#7 Teal Quilt).  Here's the finished top--it’s now waiting to be quilted.  It's a king size, so I'll be stitching on binding for a L O N G  time before it's finished, but at least it's moving in the right direction.

June's been a good month—at least for stitching.  Not so good for my mother-in-law, though, who took a fall and ended up in the hospital with a fracture this past week.  She is now on the mend, and starting to walk again with help. It will be a slow recovery I'm afraid.  Although  the hospital's been a good place to stitch a little Flower Garden applique, I'm guessing July is going to be too busy for much stitching.

And, good news--my sister and her husband are back at work--still coughing and tiring way too easily, but they seem to be finally winning the Whooping Cough battle!  And lucky ducks--they get to spend the weekend with my lovely daughter!

And lest you wonder, I’ve even been working on my June UFO.  Really I have and it's almost done!  Photo of it soon... 
                                               Happy Stitching!  And HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Nate & Kim!

May UFO, a different kind of a finish...

The UFO Challenge for May was #9, which for me was Capriccio--a pattern from Pie in the Sky.  Although I worked awfully hard on it, it isn't a finished top yet.

I've only managed to piece the blocks.  In part because I'm making it larger than the original pattern which has 30 blocks--I'm shooting for making it 8x8.  I've finished 67 blocks, so twice the original number that I'd planned on making with some extras to help with arranging.

When I first starting writing this post, I was feeling really glum, since I hadn't "finished" my UFO despite working on it all the time.  But when I looked at my original UFO Challenge posting to find out what UFO #8 for June was, I reread my UFO #9 goals for Capriccio:

"9. Capriccio - Most of the pieces are cut, and some piecing has been done. Realistically I'd like to sew the next step (the triangle blocks together into the squares). In my dreams, I'd like to make the blocks themselves--maybe even sew it all together, but let's not get carried away!"

I guess I gotten "carried away" with my hopes for the month. Based on my original plan, I actually met my goal, and so I'm counting it a finish, even though it's not the one I'd hoped for!  And, I've begun laying out the blocks on my "design wall".  This isn't a glamour photo, but it shows the progress (and the help I've had from a golden retriever that likes to walk across it.)

The UFO chosen for June is #8, three unfinished pillow covers.  Here's the original photo AND (so I can remember!), my original goal:

"8. Patchwork pillows - These need to be pieced, quilted and stitched together. They were started several years ago for my daughter's apartment, and though I may keep them now, the pillow forms are taking up valuable space and need to make themselves useful!"

Now I just need to find the pieces and their bulky pillow forms--who knows where they ended up when I cleaned the sewing room--December was a long time ago!

Scorecard for 2011:

6 UFO's Completed*, 5 Flower Garden blocks completed, and NO new projects started (two months in a row!!! that's definitely a first!)

*Six UFO's because I finished #2 ahead of schedule--I'm looking forward to a month off someday!

Happy Stitching!