Friday, April 1, 2016

April 1 UFO Parade -- No Foolin' this time!

Sorry the UFO Parade is late this month. I'm tellin' ya, this having a job is interfering with my blogging! But I love it. Can you believe I get paid to play with fabric all day?

March was a busy month for UFO challengers!  Nineteen finishes. Before the parade begins, here is the number to work on for April



Ethel sent this photo of her pineapple quilt early in the month. I love it so much, I'm thinking it might be the next "A Quilt Block a Day" quilt. (Although it would might be hard to make one of these blocks every day!)


Ethel writes:
I had a lot (I still do) of CW (Civil War reproduction) fabrics that were approaching 2-decades old.  I played with the Pineapple Trim Tool, using those 'scrap fabrics' and fell in love with the 1st block.  So, I just kept going, using the same fabric theme.  I'm so happy with the results!  The top is now being custom-quilted and I should have it back by end of April!  Yippee!! 
Ethel, I can't wait to see how this one looks  after it is quilted!

Jennifer has had a hard month, and I hope you all will send good karma her way. But she still managed to get a lot of things finished!


Her second finish is this darling baby quilt. She even quilted sentences in the borders!


This side reads, "A dream is a wish your heart makes."


And this side reads, "Go to bed, get some sleep!"


Here is a table runner Jennifer also finished:


Look at this adorable "princess" quilt Jennifer made!


And she's ready for summer entertaining with her watermelon placemats:


I think my favorite of Jenn's finishes is this cute bag. And the story behind it is so funny:
Here's my bag #2, hot off the machine.  I'll be binding it tomorrow. I'm not sure what to call it just yet,  but probably something with Nana in it.  My grandmother passed away on Dec 6, 2015, at the age of 92.  it was a running gag to get her things with squirrels and chipmunks since she was absolutely petrified of squirrels or chipmunks  taking over her house.  So I'm up for any name suggestions!

Jenn, I have the candle burning for you and your Mom. I'm so impressed with all you've finished this year!

Donna also had a productive month. First is her block (well, two)  for a raffle for her local guild. Donna tells me the blocks are designed after the house in the Disney movie "Up."


Donna, I never saw that movie, but now I will be checking Netflix for it!

Her second finish has a charming story, read below the photo:


The second one is a quilt I started several years ago for my granddaughter, Kathryn.  I wanted the name of the blocks, as well as the whole quilt, to have a meaning/story to them.  I found a block pattern named "Grandmother's Dream" that I sorta liked, changed it up a little and called it "Nana's Dream" because that is what my grandkids call me. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to piece the blocks and wound up setting it aside for a bit.  I picked it up again in late 2014.  The blocks have words embroidered that are the dreams I have for her as she grows up.  The dream bubbles in the center are her current dreams, or things she likes to do.  I decided to use a quilt as you go method and was working on the embroidery one evening at my daughter's house. Kathryn started watching me (she was then almost 7 years old) and wanted to learn. She chose which picture to put in each block (and had a logical explanation for her choices) and embroidered some of them.  Her first embroidery project was the doll on the "laughter" block of this quilt.  The blocks were partly machine quilted and partly hand quilted then joined together with a fabric that Kathryn picked out.  She also decided the layout of the blocks and the dream bubbles. And yes, that is Susie's Magic Binding.
Donna, that is the sweetest story. And I'm delighted you used Susie's Magic Binding!

Sue's "finish that isn't quite" made me laugh. And it also makes me want to make this quilt!


Check out the rest of the story at Sue's Quilty Bits and Bobs.

Friend Martha in Idaho is looking forward to another new grandbaby in September. She says since she doesn't know whether it will be a boy or a girl, she made a quilt for each!



I can't decide which I like better, Martha!

Kerry is another two-time finisher. She welcomed a new granddaughter in February, and made "Square Dance" from Gigi's Thimble for her.


The second one is a mini called Tidbit from  Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co. This was the pattern and charm squares that Kerry won in  last year's UFO parade!


Kerry, thanks for sharing your prize. I wondered if people enjoyed the UFO prizes, or if they just added to the UFO stashes!

Clever Becky finished her "Scrappy Bargello" quilt -- and look what she did for the backing!



Her explanation made me proud:
"Scrappy Bargello" was going to be my March UFO, but I didn't get it back from the longarmer in time.  I finally got the binding on last Saturday (Susie's magic binding, of course) so it can at least make it in the April parade! :)  When I got the top done the fabric I had in mind for the backing just didn't seem like a good match anymore, but I was determined to only use what I had on hand.  A good mix of browns I wanted to clear out of my stash was the perfect answer.
 Good on you, Becky!

And yet another two-finisher, Mary J send photos of these lovelies. First is her modern sampler. Clever layout for disparate blocks, MJ!


And second, blocks from a batik swap she participated in several years ago:


Details at Zippy Quilts.

Just look at these adorable placemats Irene finished in March -- perfect for Easter!


She tells me her grandchildren always use cloth napkins at home, and the ears on these bunnies are really napkins.  Too cute!

Sandi burned the midnight oil to finish this beauty from Pat Spaeth. It's made from 5" squares, and is called "Five Inch is a Cinch," from Pat's collection called "Chesapeake."


Sandi calls it "Kalvert Kliffs," after a location in Maryland (Calvert Cliffs) off the Chesapeake Bay. Check out her blog at KwiltnKats.

And one more finish from Jennifer. She wrote me, 
Last one for March, I'm cutting it really close! Tried to relax a bit today and couldn't shut my mind off, so I started to quilt another top.   Once bound, it'll go to Project Linus. I'm considering this one a finish though. So, despite everything, this has been a relatively productive month. Here's hoping April is better. :)

I hope so, too, Jennifer!

Happy April Fool's Day!




From the desk of your auntmartisignature

April UFO Challenge Announced

The UFO Challenge number for April is:


April 1st UFO parade to follow later today!



From the desk of your auntmartisignature