WIP Wednesday Shhh it's a Secret!

I can't show you all of what is on my design wall today because it's a pattern test. But I can show you my colors!

Here is my "inspiration" photo It's from Design Seeds, ages ago. It was buried in my "solids" bin, and when I went searching for fabric for this new test quilt, it leapt out and shouted, "Choose me!"

Without a light box, it's really hard to get a photo of the true colors of the fabrics, but this is close:

The block needs to be 16" finished, and I didn't have enough of the cacti fabric. So I pieced together some cacti and some sagebrush, with the khaki background. The prints are from an old Northcott collection of state flowers fabrics. Sagebrush is the state flower of Nevada, and the Saguaro Cactus is the state flower of Arizona.

I don't know why Northcott didn't use the sagebrush in bloom, but here is a close up:

This is going to be a fun quilt, I can't wait to show you the finish!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Arizona is sounding pretty good today, it was -10 degrees when I woke up this morning!

Keep warm and come back on Friday to see the newest Jelly Roll Party finish.

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Tuesday Tip and Tool

First of all, if you're looking for the Grow Your blog giveaway, it's here!

I did finish the first blog of my newest BOM project yesterday -- but it was after dark, so no photo until this morning.  Here it is:

It's the first block in Marti Michell's newest BOM quilt, Bordered Rows. Here's a photo of the quilt from Marti's website:

I'm making mine with the folks at Stitcher's Garden, down the road in Pueblo. They are all such fun, and the best place for Mexican food is right next door!

This quilt uses Marti Michell's  Set "L" templates:

If you've never used Marti's templates -- try them! The clever little corner notches make your pieces go together perfectly!

I do recommend using Omnigrid's "InvisiGrip" on the back of each template. InvisiGrip is a clear plastic that clings to the reverse of the acrylic templates and helps keep them from shifting while you're cutting the fabric.

I "rough cut" out the shape while it is still attached to the paper backing:

Then peel the plastic away from the backing and smooth it onto the template:

I keep one rotary cutter just to cut paper or plastic, and trim away the excess InvisiGrip:

Some of the templates are quite small, so using InvisiGrip really makes cutting with them easier.

Everyone at Stitcher's Garden is so excited about this quilt, we're going to do two blocks per month so we have time to do the setting strips together before the end of the year. 

Come back next Monday to see the second block!

From the desk of your

Sunday Scraps and Superbowl Knitting

For many knitters and quilters, Superbowl Sunday is just one big, long day of stitching! It's lucky I don't really care about football, because my "local" team, the Denver Broncos, and my "home" team, Seattle Sewhawks, face off for the honors today. 

Quilting

Since I've decided to dedicate Sundays only to my Celtic Solstice mystery, I have no progress to show you. Here's a little scrappy eye candy that is on the cutting table being prepped for binding:

I sewed this same pattern twice, I like it so much! Here is the first finish, Payette Lake Sunset:

I finished the scrappy mystery last May at Granny's Attic Quilting in the Pines, and I'm just now getting the binding on! 

Cornelia quilted the Baptist Fan design on it for me. I love that quilting design, I'll be asking for it again!

Knitting

The first month of my "My Year in Temperatures" scarf is finished! It is so fun to look at the stripes and say "Oh, yeah, I remember that day it was 60 degrees then plummeted to below zero!"

I read where someone who is knitting the same pattern braided the yarn ends -- which is a lot easier than working in 724 ends!

The color that is dominant depends on which side of the scarf is "up." this is going to be one loooonnnng scarf, it's 10" long with only one month's temperatures recorded!

Last week I showed you a photo of my Denver Broncos "Rain Down" hat. I finished the Seattle Seahawks hat Thursday night:

If you've never knit with two colors, this is an excellent first colorwork project. Here are my boys, the Denver fan and the Seattle fan, head-to-head:

Etc.

New month, new page on the calendar. This is my 2014 Idaho Wilderness Calendar, available from Hiking Idaho. My friends who know I hate to return by the same route I went out will understand the sentiment for this month:

The photos is of the Snake River, taken south of Kuna -- where I lived for the first 8 years of my life.

Tomorrow I will show you my newest BOM project, Bordered Rows by Marti Michell. I can't wait!

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First 12 in 2014 UFO Parade

Wow, 52 Quilts readers are off to a great start in 2014! Look at these great finishes!

If you're new to the "12 UFOs" Challenge, here is a link to the post explaining how it all works.


Because I know you're eager to see what you'll be working on in February, here is the number for this month:

I'll be putting together my "Amish With a Twist" BOM quilt this month. I have an exciting color for the background, in place of the black called for in the pattern. Just wait and see!

And now, on with the parade!

The first finish submitted this month is from a first-time challenger, Joy in Nashville, Tennessee. The story behind this quilt is inspiring:

The quilt is not actually mine.  It belongs to a friend that started it for his son about 12 years ago.  It was really before t-shirt quilts were popular, and the man didn't know much about quilting.  He was unhappy with the results, so he just wadded it up and threw it in an old trunk.  When he moved last year, his new wife found it and decided that it needed to be fixed and finished to give to his son.  I had to rip out all of the seams, which were of varying widths, press, press onto a stablizer, and trim each "block".  Unfortunately, none of them were even close to being the same size.  Some of them also had holes or missing bits, so I had to patch them. After extensive quilting math and remeasuring, I trimmed each to its final size and began sewing them together.  After adding borders to both the front and back, I quilted it using a neverending square design.  Both challenging to mark, and move around my regular sewing machine. (I am not a longarm quilter.)  There were a total of 12 of these squares.

Here's a close-up of the back so you can see the quilting Joy did:

Joy, this is truly a work of love! I have refused many requests to make t-shirt quilts, and re-making one is a credit to you. I hope you'll be back next month with another finish.

Sue finished her Star Surround for a baby who might be here by now (due February 1st)! Be sure to stop by her blog, Sue's Quilty Bits and Bobs, to read the whole story.

Sue, the quilting on this is gorgeous!

This is Donna's first submission for the UFO Challenge. She made SIX of these cardinal wall hanging for her quilty friends (lucky friends!):

Donna reports this quilt was made for the Vermont Quilt Festival Block Exchange. She had five of the six blocks hand quilted and now it's finished!

We'll see Donna again this year, she says she has a "dauntingly large" number of UFOs to finish!

Carol Anne made this darling Noah's Ark quilt for a little boy whose Daddy is a recently-commissioned Navy Chaplain.  She says she doesn't usually use panels, but who could resist this one?

A new Aussie blog friend! ChristieLeigh made this yummy strip quilt for her Auntie's 60th birthday (it was last year, oops!). I love the quilt holders in this first photo:

But ChristieLeigh is right, this one shows the colors better:

Happy (belated) Birthday, ChristieLeigh's Auntie -- I bet she loves this quilt! I'm going to show it to my Jelly Roll Party group and suggest we add it to our list!

The next quilt is testament to the power of social media. Katie's younger sister was a good friend of mine who also played flute in the school band. Peggy saw one of my quilts on Facebook and encouraged her sister to follow 52 Quilts. With a little urging, Katie submitted this quilt for our parade. 

Katie used the Missouri Star Quilt Co.'s "Periwinkle" tutorial -- I love what she say about it:

I bought the fabric in April 2012. It is 4 charm packs and about 8 yards of background fabric. My husband did the cutting for me as I had wrist surgery in December and couldn't put any pressure on my wrist. He just asked me two days ago if I needed any more fabric cut. Cute, huh.

I need to borrow Katie's DH!

I love this next quilt, from another first-time challenger. Elisa calls it "Zombie Lipstick," although her DH prefers "Zombie Apocalypse." She named it because it has "every shade of red under the sun, just like a Revlon display."

Revlon Red is my all-time favorite lipstick color!

Isn't it great? Go here to read Elisa's blog post about this quilt.

Another first-timer, I'm pretty sure Becky wins the "Oldest UFO" Award. Here is her "Patch In Time" from the 1998 Jo-Anns quilt block of the month series:

She even used Susie's Magic Binding to bind it!

I want to share Gill's comment with everyone:

I didn't have 12 true UFOs (as in actually started) this year so I included projects that I wanted to do or I had got as far as bundling up a pile of fabric for.

I consider "kits" of quilt fabric and patterns to be a "UFO." Remember, in the 52 Quilts UFO Challenge, YOU decide what is a UFO, as well as what is "done!"

That being said, here is Gill's January finish:

Number 7 was a pile of scraps, sale remnants and fat quarters with a vague idea of a Bonnie Hunter Scrappy Trip. I started cutting on New Years Day and finished last night!
This is the first time I have ever done so much in one month - thank you for the motivation, it really focuses the mind - plus I didn't want to fail in Month 1! I really don't know how you manage one quilt per week.

Wow, Gill, good on you!

I have to say, I always look forward to Sandi's kwilts -- because the names always begin with "K!" 

This month's kwilt is called "Konquerer", and here is what Sandi tells us about it:

My Konqueror, the #7 UFO for this month, is a design by Joyce Weeks of Geoff's Mom Pattern Company (www.geoffsmompatterns.com).  I took a class from her at the San Diego Quilt Show last year in September.  I decided to make mine a bit smaller than the pattern, opting for a 50" x 70" finish rather than 70" x 90".  Now you might say I was trying to cut corners to finish in time for the month...but no...I really didn't want to make yet another large quilt.  I really enjoy the experience of the many designs I come across, smaller sizes when it can be done are perfect.  I have a paisley print to use for the back in all the right colors along with the dark gray for the binding.

Go to her blog post from yesterday to read all the details, at KwiltnKats.

Sandi also sent in her "extra credit" finish from 2013, Keltic Krest:

Here is the link to her blog post about it. 

I rearranged things in this post so you can compare Sandi's Keltic Krest with Kerry's Celtic Solstice.

Kerry is a long-time UFO Finisher. I love what she did with the colors in Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery, Celtic Solstice:

The red and purple in place of orange and blue is gorgeous! Go to her blog, Kerry's Quilting, to read the details. Be sure to click on the tab that reads "2013 Finishes" to see all the quilts she completed last year!

I think this quilt by Irene is so appropriate. She says she was very busy in January because of a trip to the American Farm Bureau annual convention. I am a big fan of the Farm Bureau because a close friend in my high school class won the Farm Bureau scholarship!

Aren't the "farm scenes" perfect? Irene posted details on her blog, A Serendipitous Retirement.

Another first-time finisher, Betsy, completed not one, but three pillowcases this month.

From bottom to top: a breast cancer case from a kit, a pieced and appliqued case from a kit I bought at the Houston Quilt show years ago, and a companion case for the middle one. It doesn't match exactly, but close enough. We'll use those two in my fiance's RV. 

Betsy, I think custom-made pillowcases will be lovely in the RV! I hope we'll see another finish by you next month.

Returning finisher, Noela, submits this lovely Christmas project. She says she is planning to do some hand-quilting on it and will use it for a table topper. If you click on the photo so that it "biggies," you can see the hand-embroidered "Merry Christmas" around the central border.

Notice the green grass and filled swimming pool in the background? Yep, Noela is from "Down Under," where they are "enjoying" a very hot summer while I am looking out at 5" of snow. Care to trade places, Noela?

Debra B. sent in this photo of another Bonnie Hunter mystery (YES, they ARE addictive!). "Lazy Sunday" was featured in Quiltmaker magazine last year. I really like Deb's versions!

Look closely at the photo -- can you see the little visitor in the upper left?  It's Lola! So cute!

I can't believe she is working on a second Bonnie Hunter scrappy quilt -- Orca Bay:

Bonnie B. is another first-timer and apologies for the "phone photo." But really, the quilt still looks adorable, Bonnie! I love that focus fabric (and the quilt holder, too!)

Bonnie finished two of these disappearing 9-patches this month, in two colorways. Ahead of the game, Bonnie! She says this is the first time she has shown her quilts outside the family, so I hope for lots of encouraging comments.

Eighteen entries this month! 52 Quilts followers completed 157 UFOs in 2013 -- it looks as though 2014 will be even more successful.

I haven't picked out a prize for this month, but Mr. Random Number Generator has chosen a winner:

And  the 9th entry is newcomer Becky! Congratulations, Becky -- I'll be sending you an email asking for your postal address so I can send you something fun!

I hope you will consider sending a photo of a finished UFO next month. Email me at AuntMarti at 52 Quilts dot com and attach a photo and a link to your blog if you like.

From the desk of your