Two Less=Progress

Progress only comes
when you take

 one step and then another.

 Slow and steady, just like

these gals in their Mary Jane cross trainers.

The good news is that my
11 yards of orange dino fabric
is all used up and the two dino

quilts have lumbered away
to their new owners.

With these last two quilts I used the
faux piped binding technique.
You can find lots of links
online on how to do it.

 It added visual interest, some texture,
and was completely machine sewn on and sewn down.
A real time saver.

My list of  "17 in 2017" is now
reduced by two projects.
They were "fast to finish" and
perfect for the first 3 week period
 of Meredithe's challenge.
Check it out and join in.


What's up next?

Now I've got a project with a deadline
so there's not much a choice.

Last fall one of my quilt groups
had a challenge, a batik fabric exchange, and the results are
due mid February.

Maybe some of you have done
this fabric exchange before.
It's where you
begin with a yard of fabric,  rip it in half,
keep one of the pieces, pass the other half
to the left and get a different half from the
person on your right.

You keep going until you have this.

Now it's time to do something with all of this.
The rule was to use these fabrics, but
we could add others if we wanted to.

I had been inspired by many of my
blog friends recently to explore
some of Gwen Marston's liberated techniques.
I wanted to try something new (for me) and
see what I could come up with.

This was a big challenge...
stepping out of my normal comfort zone.

I started with a liberated star.

I know some of you are smiling and
thinking, wow, she's really stepping out there.

 It was fun!
I didn't get hung up on how they turned out.
I would definitely do these again,
but I will admit to
being cautious at first.

4.5" finished stars.

Then the holidays came along
and I had to stop.
So that's where I am today.

With a deadline in sight I have
some sewing to do.
Maybe with Ricky Tim's philosophy
of "Passion over Perfection"
 I'll see just how liberated I can be.
Wish me luck!

Until Next Time- 

Kyle

Pieces of the Past

If you've read my blog for awhile,

you might remember one of my 

projects from last year was unsewing 

and then resewing

vintage 1940's Ocean Wave blocks.

The fabrics were in  perfect condition.

It was just the stitching that needed help.

So with a lot of help from Jack the Ripper

and a bit of patience, I hand pieced

these "pieces of the past"

back into a quilt.

 52" x 68"

My goal was to have it done by 2017.

The last stitch was taken

January 2, 2017.

I'd like to think that the original quilter

would be pleased with my interpretation.

There were several triangle pieces that became my favorites

I loved the chrome orange and navy together

and the other two much older pieces were possibly leftovers

from a grandmother's scrapbasket.

These 60 unruly blocks were given to me

by a quilting friend who was doing some

purging and thought I might enjoy the challenge.

When the top was finished,

I was glad I had some triangles

leftover and pieced a small quilt for her.

I even had a few more leftover pieces

and stitched a mini "sister" quilt  for myself.

Like sisters,

similar yet different.

"Old Goose"

Now this quilt must wait patiently again
  in the queue for hand quilting.

But that's okay.  It's only

been waiting about 75 years already.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

A Little Flashback to 2016

Many of the blogs that I follow

have been doing a flashback

of all the quilts finished during 2016.

It really adds up to a very productive 

and creative year for quilters everywhere.

Many of the quilts we made were shared with others,

many of the quilts taught us new techniques,

many were just for fun,

some were challenging,

some were easy

and many magically appeared out of our

stash. 

(Thank goodness for a stash)

I've included a Smilebox

on my post today of what I finished

in 2016. 

I hope you'll take a moment to enjoy.

Personalize a digital slideshow

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Staring At the List

Now that my 

17 in 2017 list is made

it's time to

 decide what to do first.

More than that,

it's thinking about an overall game plan, 

a strategy,

a plan of action.

Not one that is so regiment 

or set in stone,

but a common sense approach to

work on projects that will

keep things FUN!

Some of the projects I have chosen

have a deadline,

some of the projects have only

a few days work left,

some are hand work,

some are designing,

some are machine work,

and some are handquilting,

a long time commitment.

For me hand work is nighttime stuff.

Machine sewing is day time.

So in reality,

I probably will be working on multiple

projects at the same time. 

It's the way I work.

Okay,

I had to pick.

****

 What do you do when 

you've bought 11 yards of

orange dinosaur fabric?

After you've said,

"What was I thinking?"

You make matching dino quilts for

your two grandsons
back in November.

Then you decide your granddaughter

needs one too.

 And with still more fabric leftover, you decide

the charity baby quilt you need to make for January

might as well be dinosaurs

with the same tried and true pattern.

The machine quilting is half done

on both of these. (#4 and #10 on my list)

It's the perfect place for me to start.

I hope if you're following 

Meredithe's 17 UFO's in 2017

you've picked a FAST TO FINISH
project or projects to start with too.

****
There were a few people who commented
on my last post and I was unable
to share a copy of my list with you because
I had no email address.  If you are still
interested, please leave a comment with an
email address.  :0)

Until Next Time-

Kyle

17 in 2017

With the flip of the calendar

it's a new month and a new year.

The usual time to set new goals,

reevaluate old goals,

and then be realistic.

About a month ago

Meredithe at pomegranate and chintz

suggested a challenge that

spoke to me called

17 UFO's in 2017.

I know there are lots of challenges

thrown out there this time of year, but

her idea reminded me of the type of

activities I would suggest to the quilters

who participated in the Stashbusters Class

 I taught at my local quilt shop many years ago.

I guess I'm in need of 

a game, a gimmick, a fun challenge.

A way to help clear the shelves of some UFO's 

or WIP's.

Meredithe challenged us to find 

17 unfinished projects that we would 

like to move forward and possibly finish.

The real goal was to work on it.
It will never get done if it just
sits in a bag, on a shelf, or
hidden in a closet.

The most challenging part was

listing my 17 projects because

It turned out to be more difficult than I 

had originally thought.

Projects jumped in and jumped out.

Corralling the right ones, the ones

I hoped I still love, required time and effort.
I included some easy ones and some
that will definitely take more time.

Here's what I eventually came up with.

 I know this list doesn't mean much to you,

but the point is, I did finally

focus in on 17 WIP's

and my list includes 3 empty spaces for

other projects that might need some attention
during the year.
And who says I can't change my
list during the year!


My year long form was created by my daughter, Kate.
I just couldn't just write it on a regular
sheet of paper.  It's part of the game.
If you'd like a copy
just leave me a comment and I'll email a
PDF file that you can download and fill out.

The real challenge with Meredithe's approach is
taking those 17 WIP's and
dividing them into the 52 week year.
It works out to about 3 weeks per item,
but remember the idea is to move them forward.
Some of my WIP's haven't been thought about,
 stitched on,
or even looked at
for quite awhile, so 3 weeks of work
will be a very positive thing.

It might be tricky
to stay balanced,

 

but I think I'll be able to lasso quite a few.

Until Next Time-
Kyle