Working On A 30 Year Old UFO

I must be nuts, but what else is new? About thirty years ago, I took a class on how to make the "Around the Twist" pattern. I bought the required fabrics at a quilt shop that was in town at the time. The quilt top turned out ok, but it probably would have looked better with more contrast in the fabric colours. I made the mistake of quilting it with invisible thread, which looked like plastic on the black background border. That kind of thread was what people used in those days. The thing was shoved in a box and stayed there for three decades because I wasn't happy with it. I always meant to pick out all the stitching on the border and re-quilt it. This is the year. It took me weeks of picking out the ugly thread, I left a bit on one part so you could see it. Now I'm free-motion quilting it with "Fool's Gold" Glide thread. The inner border had been stitched in the ditch. Thankfully, there was no invisible thread stippling on that part. Some people would have thrown that project in the trash, it would have saved many hours of work. I'm stubborn and frugal. Or maybe a sucker for punishment? Hopefully, it'll be finished for this Christmas. Marge the supervisor is keeping me on track.

Bowl Cozies

It's that time of the year again. I always like to make a few small gifts to keep on hand if the occasion arises. I made 4 bowl cozies today using this tutorial I cut my squares twelve inches instead of ten inches. I like them a little bigger because some soup bowls are wide.

25 Year Old UFO Finally Finished

Now I'm really digging deep into the UFO pile. I'm estimating this one to be 25 years old. It was a mystery quilt that we were doing in our guild. I lost the instructions years ago, there were supposed to be more borders. There weren't any of the fabrics left, so i finished it the way it was. I didn't have anything suitable to use for the backing, so I ordered a 100% cotton flat sheet from Amazon. The variegated thread may not have been the best choice for the quilting because the end result looks patchy. Oh well. Live and learn. Of course, I always have to learn everything the hard way. Most people who longarm quilt use the same colour thread on the top and bottom. I always have to make things difficult for myself. I used dark purple variegated on the top and light pink on the back. To make the needle holes less noticeable, I washed the quilt and dried it in a hot dryer. That helped to disguise many of the glitches. I am happy that this one is not a UFO anymore. :)

Day Three Of The November 2022 Quilting Retreat

There was only a bit more to do on the quilt top, but I can finish that later. The day was drawing to a close, we had to pack up and go at three o'clock. It was a great weekend, it's always nice to enjoy the company of other quilters.

Day Two Of The November 2022 Quilting Retreat

Today I finished making the rest of the Log Cabin blocks. Now I'm assembling the quilt top.

Day One Of The November 2022 Quilting Retreat

After we got our sewing stations set up and organized, we walked over to the cenotaph for the Remembrance Day ceremony. It was cold out so I wore a warm hat, mitts and wool socks. I forgot to bring a scarf, my neck was frozen. After we made it back to the hall, it was time for lunch. I discovered that I left my corner squares for the Log Cabin blocks at home, so I had to go back and get them. I didn't start sewing until the afternoon, not too much was accomplished today. Oh well, we had a good day anyway.

Getting Ready For the November 2022 Quilting Retreat

I've got my project ready to take to the retreat tomorrow. I'm going to make the rest of the blocks for the Half Log Cabin quilt that I started in the summer. Today I'll do the baking, there's a batch of date squares being created at the moment. The sewing machine will need to be cleaned and oiled, then I'll be good to go.

A Quilt For Geo

This quilt was claimed by Geo after he saw the sashing as I was assembling the blocks. Lavender happens to be his favourite colour. To continue with the theme, I used an ombre light purple fabric for the border. Geo didn't care for the polka dot print that I chose for the backing, so I looked for something else. "How about this?", I asked when I showed him a bizarre looking fabric from my stash. He approved. I have absolutely no idea where that piece of material came from. I'm always finding surprises in the sewing hole. Now we're going to have a problem because Geo likes the back of the quilt better than the front- groan! To make the backing large enough, I had to add sections on all sides. It takes quite a bit extra in order to be loaded on the longarm machine. The pattern for the blocks came from the blog, "Create wit.h Claudia" it was free-motion quilted with a paisley design, using Fantastico thread.