OMG and UFO Challenge Finishes for Feb 2018

I have two finishes for these two challenges.  And it feels good to get them both done. I am linking to both the UFO Challenge and the OMG (One Monthly Goal). Click on the projects to see what others are doing with their challenges.

I get to a certain point in the quilt piece construction and it becomes less than imperative (or  fun) to continue going.  I want to start the new stuff!  I love these incentive programs to spur me along to  a couple of finishes.

First finish for February - whew, say that five times fast

100 Meter Swim - Just in time for the Olympics.  This is from a book written in German by Bernadette Mahr.  I love her work, so improv wonderful.

It is basically a Chinese Coin construction with watery blues to look like the shimmering water in a crystal clear swimming pool.  The diving board and starter blocks stand out in stark contrast to the cool of the water.

I really love this piece.  I am thinking it will be an entry in the CFAL show later this year.

The second finish is Triangles.  This is a quilt that started from nothings.  What I mean by that is multiple years ago Connecting Threads was having a clearance sale and I bought several packs of solid pre-cuts.  There were half yards, fat quarters and 10 inch squares.  Most of them are still sitting on the shelves.

I wanted to make a big block triangle piece so  I grabbed one of the 10 inch groups and just cut and sewed.  No pattern.  I ended up with a bunch of triangles and put them in a box for a year.  When they didn't  magically sew themselves together, I guess the quilting fairies didn't see them in the box, I  had to do it.  Then it needed to be larger, so I had a sheet from my mother's stuff from assisted living.

So the blue in the borders and on the back is that sheet.

It is a bit different to work with a sheet than it is to work with fabric.  And if you are hand quilting it would be difficult due to a higher thread count in the sheets, but I was going to put it on the long arm.

I also wanted to use it as a practice quilt for different free motion techniques.  I got out my Natalia Bonner and Angela Walters books and tossed in every design I could muster.

I totally love the solid blue back and the individual triangles.  Some are more shaky than others.  I found I had straight lines and ruler work down, but needed serious work on the curved designs!

So finish number 2 this month is done.  I have a thousand million threads to bury.  the back is finished and about 1/3 of the front done.  But it is done in all other aspects.


 Now on to the March finishing challenges!

UFO Challenge from Patchwork Times And the One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Just so you know I know....Judy picked umber 1 for the next UFO to be completed.  And I am using these two for my OMG at Elm Street Quilts.

That is...........

A double whammy......bind 100 Meter Swim AND the Triangles. and the One

I think I can handle that.

For some reason I can't flip it, but you get the picture.










Hmmmm.  this one either.  I wonder why I have to resize all the photos I choose now.  And why they won't flip.

These are mysteries of the universe and my computer.

Finishes for OMG at Elm Street Quilts

 I am linking with Elm Street Quilts for her One Monthly Goal Completion tally.  The Come To Jesus in the quilting world.  I think it really helped me, because i would have continued to put off binding that Santa quilt, like I have for the last 11 years.

You know, the other day I found out that Patty of Elm Street Quilts does not live on Elm Street.  Hmmmmm.

Also I realized that if you are going to be a quilter of any note you need to be named either Patty or Julie.  Isn't that weird?  There sure are a lot of Pattys and Julies out there in the quilting world.  But just how many quilters do you know named glenda?  Or glen?

Not many, which is one reason I have always hated my name.  I should have stuck with the nickname my brother gave me, Sissy.  But I don't really see myself as a Sissy.  Or the one my father always called me, gaggie.  No, not like gagging, but more like gog.  Or grog.  You know, I do miss hearing that.  Only two people ever called me gaggie, and I miss both of them.  Diane lives a couple of cities over in Covington.  And I don't get to see her often, but when I do, she always calls me gaggie!

But I digress.....Finishes.........

I projected four goals.......and I finished all of them.

1.  Bind Santa - Done     

2.  Quilt at least one quilt - done (and I quilted two actually for extra brownie points!  I should win something just for that).  Next month my goals should be to bind these guys.

I did quilt the Improv Strpes but I must have put that photo somewhere really safe  because I cannot find it in my quilt photo anywhere.  So you need to just take my word on this one.

Or go  here and check out for yourself.  







I do have the Triangle Quilt to show, front and back.  Make it larger by clicking on them.

3.   Quilt for the Naval Cadet Ball is finished and delivered for the Big Raffle!







 4.  Do some embroidery on the One Road Thru Town for the CFAL Journeys Show in 2018.  I still can't believe I am so far ahead of having a piece ready!  Usually I am sitting in the venue while everyone is hanging stuff and working feverishly to get the piece finished!

Like I said, I should win.........because I went above and beyond and quilted that extra quilt in there.....Patty, you listening?

I m On Fire!

So yesterday I quilted the Improv Stripes quilt.

And today I pulled the Triangles quilt from the stack.  This one is not as easy as the visually dense Improv Stripes.  It needed the quilting to be the focus.  So I got out an Angela Walters' book called Shape to Shape, or something close to that.  I would have to walk into the other room to find it. 



I rummaged through 2000 boxes to find the marking pen.  I marked up all the triangles with different motifs in each one.  I had to get pretty creative.  Another 2000 or  so boxes produced a couple of my longarm rulers, some triangle rulers and a box of crayon washable pens. 






Once it was loaded up, I found that I was good at the geometric shapes,








but sucked at the curved shapes.

So after I established that interesting fact I made some changes to the designs.

 I straightened out some curves.  this one on the left is one of my favorite ones. 





And I invented some pretty cool geometric block designs! 

Right now I am exactly half way done.  Unfortunately McGee has decided he does not like batting or triangle quilts.  I spend the rest of night picking up tufts of batting all over the house............