A last-minute Friday Finish!

Whew! Talk about just under the wire -- I finally finished my June UFO, only two days before the UFO Parade

This is "Country Sunshine" from the 2002 edition of Better Homes & Gardens "Quilting Ideas" magazine. The designer is Rhoda Nelson.

It's cloudy and about to storm in Colorado, so I had to take the photo inside. The border is actually a pretty lavender and yellow 30s reproduction print.

I need to do a tutorial on lining up sashing pieces, see?

I know how to do that, I just was in a hurry and didn't think of it until I hung the quilt on the design wall and saw that my borders don't line up in this one block!

Linking up to TGIFF at Blossom Heart Quilts:

As well as Link a Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts:

Remember, only two more days to submit your entry for the June UFO Parade. Email me a photo at AuntMarti at 52Quilts dot com!

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WIP Wednesday: Block-a-Day Variation

You may have read my post where I announced that Karen Snyder of AnnaLena Land is not sponsoring the "Block a Day" project for Summer.  I decided instead to make one BOM block each day through the summer -- goodness knows, I have at least 90 blocks to finish all my BOMs! When I bemoaned this fact, Sinta Renee of Pink Pincushion blog suggested I cut out one block each evening, then it would be ready to sew up the next morning.

What a clever idea, Sinta! So I launched my own "Summer BOM Rehab," and I'm going to make one BOM block each day until September 22, the first day of Autumn.

My first BOM project is "Amish With a Twist." I started it as a Block Party at Ruth's Stitchery. Like most of my blocks of the month, I started out going great guns, then it languished. I had four blocks completed when I launched my Summer BOM Project. Now I have six blocks complete, and the sashing/border blocks up to date:

Left to right, top row: Rail Fence, Four Patch, Nine Patch with sashing. Middle row: Half-square Triangles Pinwheel, Half-Square Triangles Star, Half-Square Triangles Hourglass. Bottom row: Stitch-and-Flip Snowball, Square in a Square (border).

After I complete each day's BOM block, I can work on my June UFO. I have 9 of 20 blocks finished, and thanks to Bonnie Hunter's bonus triangles idea, I have many of the border HSTs ready.

It looks like most of my blocks are pink and blue, but that's just because those are the ones I made first. The sashing will be sunshine-y yellow.

The smoke from our Colorado wildfires is blowing away from Colorado Springs, so I can leave the house more often now. Nice for me, but bad for getting my UFOs finished!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Remember, you can join the 13 in 2013 challenge at any time. If you finish a UFO this month, send me a photo in an email before Sunday, June 30, and I'll include it in the June UFO parade!


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Tuesday Tool: You'll Never Guess

Today's Tuesday Tool is:

This wooden cutting board set I found at the Peterson AFB Exchange for only $9.99.  A wood cutting board? Really?  Yep. It's a variation on an old tailor's trick, the tailor's clapper.

Tailors and high-end dressmakers use this tool to achieve perfectly flat seams with no shine. Sally Collins uses her acrylic ruler for the same purpose. The advantage of using wood is that it absorbs the heat and steam from the fabric.

I'm a steamer when I press my blocks. After pressing, I place the cutting board on the blocks and let them sit until they are perfectly cool and dry (usually as long as it takes to sew up some more pieces.)

The result? Absolutely flat and perfectly pressed blocks! And really, someone who rarely cooks doesn't need three cutting boards!

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to a friend's garage sale? Look what I scored:

I've always wanted one of these glass quilt cases -- thanks, Shelly!

Sinta of Pink Pincushion shared a great tip to help me get caught up on my Blocks of the Month. Come back tomorrow for WIP Wednesday and I'll share it with you!

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BOM-Day: I'm so Behind!

Received word from Karen at AnnaLena Land that her  "Block a Day" will be on hiatus for the summer. So I've decided I'll do a "Block of the Month" block each day! I'm a whole month behind on my blocks of the month, and I've added another one. What was I thinking? (I know what I was thinking. I was thinking I love Marti Michell's templates and I can't resist her newest BOM!)

We're  two days into Summer 2013, and I have two blocks complete.  First, the fifth "Ryokan" block. It's the blue and orange Ohio star in the lower right corner. Last month I forgot I was using Moda Marbles for the "barn quilt" block-within-the-block and used Kona Solids. In the photo, it looks fine, but I think I'll re-do the square bullseye block. The strip next to block #5 is what the sashing will be.

I also completed both Vintage Memories blocks for last month's block party at Ruth's Stitchery. "Vintage Memories" is a BOM pattern by Sherri K. Falls for This & That Patterns.  We're using "Gallery in Red and Bloue" by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics. 

Today I'm going to pick up a purchase from a friend's garage sale -- wait 'til you see it, it's something I've always wanted. Photo to follow!

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Sunday Scraps: June UFO

Oh, my, only one week left in June! I'd better get to work on my June UFO.

Conveniently, this project also uses up a pile of my 3.5" scraps.

The quilt is "Country Sunshine," from a 2002 edition of "Quilting Ideas" magazine.  It requires 20 blocks, and 104 half-square triangles for the border. Thank you, Bonnie Hunter, for the idea to use the cut-offs from magic corners to make bonus HSTs. I already have more than half of them made!

Linking up to Kim's Big Quilting Adventure, Scrap Basket Sunday.

I'm missing out on Brown Bag Surprise today to finish up the "Heart of Colorado Shop Hop." Come back next Saturday for a full report, on Saturday Stash!

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