Saturday, January 7, 2012

#4 - Krazy Kats Kwilt

This is an oldie -- I calculated it must be from about 2004 or 2005, one of my 4-H'ers used this pattern for her County Fair project. The tails are formed by "Snail Trail" blocks, and I mis-pieced the 1 1/2" squares in the tails of the lime green, light blue, hot pink and print kitties.  That must be why it wound up in the "UFO bin."  It is the second of my two January UFO projects.  Now I can start something completely new, and tomorrow I'll post a photo of my first "new start" for 2012.

This will go in the "baby quilts" stack.  I'm thinking I will practice my free-motion quilting on this one.  If the quilting turns out well, I'll post a photo.  If not, it will be a kitty-cat quilt and no one but Domino, Mousse and Chutney will see it!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Quilt #3 - It's a Mystery

The Quilter's Club of America launched their 5th Mystery QAL in September.  Needless to say, I didn't get mine finished in time to enter the contest, but it's now the third quilt top I've finished in 2012.  This Mystery Quilt was designed by Debbie Caffrey of Debbie's Creative Moments.  Not everyone knows Debbie started the "jelly roll" craze way back in 2000.  Here's what she wrote to introduce the QCA mystery:

"In May 2000, my book Open a Can of Worms, the first book to focus exclusively on quilts made from 2 1/2" wide strips, was released.  The book is now celebrating its seventh printing and is still selling strong more than ten years later.  In the fall of 2005, while writing Another Can of Worms, more quilts and techniques using 2 1/2" wide strips, I approached fabric companies about selling precut strips.  Most companies did not think it was worth their time. Moda was interested and consulted with me over the next few months.  In May 2006, Another Can of Worms was released.  The following fall Moda introduced "jelly rolls," and other fabric companies have been following suit ever since.  To celebrate the tenth anniversary of "worms," I am releasing a number of mystery quilts made from "worms" or "jelly rolls."  Have fun!  Debbie"

This is about the 10th mystery by Debbie Caffrey I've made.  Some quilters complain that they don't want to make a quilt without knowing what the finished product will look like. I say, "If you like the fabric you pick, you'll like the quilt."  The best thing about Debbie's patterns is, if you follow the instructions, your quilt will come out perfect.  The only time I've ever had a problem was one pattern that required 2 3/4" squares (maybe it was 2 7/8", anyway, it was an odd size) and I cut them the wrong size.  It took me a while to figure out why my pieces weren't fitting together!  No such problems with this one, however.


What do you think?

Monday, January 2, 2012

l'achèvement premier 2012

Thanks to the New Year's weekend UFO sew-a-thon, I have two tops finished for "52 in 2012."

The first is for my granddaughter, I call it "Orange Sherbet," because her "big girl bedroom" is painted this color, it's actually called Cantaloupe (paint by Ace Colors for Your Life).



The pattern is "Red Velvet" by Thimble Blossoms, the fabric is mostly Joel Dewberry from Mama Said Sew in Old Town Fort Collins.

The second is for the DH, he likes these "dull" colors. I don't think they're dull, just subtle!


I made another quilt using this same pattern, "Pandora's Box" from Pam and Nikky Lantott's "Jelly Roll Quilts" for a graduation quilt last May.  I'd been collecting the Japanese Taupes for several years with Garrett in mind.  I had enough fabric to make two quilts.

One more day of UFO Sew-a-thon, and it's Mystery Monday.  I'm going to finish that Mystery Quilt today if I do nothing else!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 UFOs -- First Draw

Last year I got tired of the whining from the blogger whose UFO challenge I was following, so I decided to do my own draw this year.  Because I have SO many UFOs, I am drawing two numbers each month.  Not all of them are UFOs, about half are "kits," where I have gathered all the fabric and pattern for specific quilts and not made them yet.  Both the numbers I drew last night are true UFOs:

The first number drawn is #2, a lovely Japanese taupe quilt. I made one for a graduation gift last May and had enough blocks to make a second one.  The pattern is from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.  It's called "Pandora's Box."  One of my long-armers, Connie Potter, found a quilting design with dragonflies just like the photo in the book.


The second number drawn is 4A, and this is a true UFO.  One of my 4-H'ers made a quilt just like this for a county fair project in about, oh, 2005?  I started one also to proofread the directions, and it languished in the UFO bin ever since.


So back to New Year's UFO party!

Hello 2012!

Sorry I can't find any photos of the fireworks on Pikes Peak to show you -- a New Year's Eve tradition here in Colorado Springs.  A group of climbers called theAdAMan club climbs the mountain and sets off fireworks at midnight.  A glorious show which the high winds didn't cancel this year.

Now here's a fun way to start off the New Year.  Lily's Quilts is sponsoring a link up to see what other quilters made during 2011.  Click on that button at the bottom right and enjoy.  How fun is that?  And oh yeah:

Happy New Year 2012!