June UFO Parade

Before we launch the parade, the number for the July UFO is

We're halfway through our 13 in 2013 Challenge. Aren't you proud?

I barely got my June UFO  finished before the Parade. But when I consider that it was only partially cut out, I don't feel too bad. Here is "Country Sunshine," from the 2002 edition of Better Homes & Garden's "Quilting Ideas." It is a UFO from my "30s Reproductions Period." (Hey, if Picasso can have a Blue Period, i can have a 30s Reproductions Period.)

The first June "13 in 2013" finish is by Deb Cline. I love this "Shadow" quilt -- sigh, another one for my "I want to make this quilt" list! The best part is, it's an original! Deb says "I made it up as I went along!"

I don't know if I missed adding this one to the May Parade, or if Deb is just our token "overachiever" this month, but she has two more UFOs to add to our Parade!

She confesses this one isn't really a "finish," but:

 My goal was to prep (cut, iron on fusible Pellon, trim, and arrange) all my oldest son's t-shirts for a quilt. I discovered he has enough for two quilts -- or one, two-sided quilt! So, I got the one side prepped as hoped. Now I just need to buy "filler" fabric since the shirt pieces are different sizes. (It feels a bit like cheating since I didn't sew it together, but I was really dreading getting this organized and had to force myself to do it!)

Hey, Deb, I think tackling one of the dreaded t-shirt quilts counts!  As a reward, she got to work on this incredible LeMoyne Star quilt:

I love your "Southwest-y" colors, Deb!

Martha finished this darling baby quilt:

She also can boast the first "Idaho Row Quilt" finish! Here is the link to all our Friends of Granny's Attic row quilts. Martha added a piano keys border and will save this in her "someday I will be a Grandma" stash.'

Stop the Presses!

At the last minute, I received an email from Martha with another baby quilt! She says "can you guess the reason?" I sure hope it's what I think it is!! (Notice the TWO exclamation points!)

Martha, this one is adorable -- and my favorite V. and Co. collection, too!

Sandi of KwiltnKats whipped up this lovely. She reports, "This is Kloudburst, a free pattern called Blue Storm that introduced a line of Marcus Fabrics by Laura Berringer/Faye Burgos awhile back.  Mine does not use the fabric line just the free pattern." Here is the link to Sandi's blog post about Kloudburst:  http://kwiltnkats.blogspot.com/2013/06/sunday-stash-report-june-16-2013.html

Irene has two finishes for June. First, she tied this nine-patch variation so it would be "light and fluffy." (It sure looks like it is, Irene!)

She also made another of her clever "photo frame" wall hangings. If you haven't seen Irene's wall hanging photo frames, go to her blog, here to see how she does it!

I must share two photos of Debra B's finish this month, because it is really an accomplishment! Debra says she only had the fabrics pulled for this one, so it was a start-to-finish UFO!  And she sent the photos of the finished project with more than a week left in June!

I have to share what Debra said about this quilt:

My #9 is Bonnie Hunter's Blue Ridge Beauty. I only had fabrics pulled when this number was drawn - I had to make the quilt from the very beginning.  I am very happy with the way it turned out. I love the blues and the barn raising layout. I was making quilts this year as Christmas gifts - now I am having second thoughts (smile, smile). I am soooo looking forward to the next challenge.

June must be a "blue" month -- Sue made three (yep, three!) gorgeous blue pillows this month.

She blogged about them here and here. I just have to share what she said about the "13 in 2013" Challenge:

I love Marti's UFO sew along. Its so much easier just knowing that you're going to get at least one project done and dusted each month, whereas a list just feels so daunting and you don't know where to start.

Thanks, Sue, couldn't have said it better myself!

See what I mean about blue? Gill in London made three pillows, also!

And I have to share what she said about them:

The fabric was bought and cut in 2005 - just before I had my first son. I naively thought that giving up work to have kids would result in lots of free time to quilt! I have 2 little boys and just like yours one is even called Jacob! Now both of them are at school I am picking up on the quilting again - and your UFO project has helped to focus me! The problem was with these cushions that I couldn't even remember which pieces went where, so a lot of guesswork was involved. I also hand quilted them as my free motion quilting is so rusty!

Ha ha Gill -- I thought when I left my job at the University to be a full-time Mom, I would have all the time in the world. I think many of us think that, to our sorrow!

Noela sends Independence Day greetings from Australia -- thanks, Noela! She finished two mini quilts for her June UFO project -- so cute!

Noela, I have 12 of these mini quilts in my UFO cupboard. Maybe that should be my UFO project for 2014!

Another Aussie friend, Susan, finished another blue quilt! I guess blue is the favorite color of most people -- I know my Mother loved "any color as long as it's blue!"

Here's a closeup of one of the blocks:

This quilt is the result of a block swap from Susan's patchwork group. The block is called "Happy Block" -- what a great idea for a super-easy block swap! The whole store is on Susan's Sewing Space. And thanks for the plug for Susie's Magic Binding, Susan!

Here is a first-time UFO Parade participant, Kerry from San Diego.

Kerry designed this darling baby quilt for her new granddaughter, just born June 20th. The animals are paper-pieced, and Kerry designed the rest of the quilt using EQ7. Nice job, Kerry, and congratulations on the new grandbaby!

Twenty finishes! That's a record for 2013!  I don't think anyone will object if I exercise my editorial power and choose Martha for the winner of this month's UFO Parade prize.  Because it's this book:

And it's an e-book, so it will be in your email inbox today! Congratulations, Martha!

Tomorrow, I'll show you a photo of my July UFO project. Lucky for me, it's almost finished, because July is going to be a busy, busy month around here!

From the desk of your

Sigh. Bye Bye Google Reader

I'm not an "early adopter." I put off switching from Google Reader to Bloglovin' as long as I could. One of my very first posts was "how to follow this blog via Google Reader." Losing Google Reader is like losing an old friend!

But now I have no choice. Tomorrow, Google Reader bites the dust. 

I've transferred all the blogs I follow to Bloglovin'. If you prefer a reader-type format to following blogs via email, (or if you never got around to following 52 Quilts!) here is how to transfer your own favorites to Bloglovin':

Go to www.bloglovin.com. Your screen will look like this:

Oh, look at that, a big, blue “join” button! Just what you were looking for. Click on it.

You can choose to set up an account with Facebook or by email. I chose email.

The next screen will look like this:

You will receive a verification email at the email address you provided. Click on the link in that email. I got my email immediately!

All of those blogs you follow with Google Reader? You can transfer them over to Bloglovin’ with the touch of a button! Click on “Import from Google Reader.”

You will need to give Bloglovin’ permission to access your blogs and move them over from Google. Click “Accept” and you’re all done and ready to start reading your favorite blogs with Bloglovin’!

While you're at it, why not click on that link in the right-hand column that reads "52 Quilts Facebook?" I often post photos of finished projects there before they hit the blog! Sadly, the Younger Son and blog co-author is incommunicado, so I can't ask him to update the "Subscribe" button until his summer deployment is over.

Here is the Bloglovin' link to 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks:

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3787178/52-quilts-in-52-weeks

Because I'm lazy, I stole these directions from "not your momma's cookie."  (You should totally look at her "Game of Thrones" themed desserts!)  Thanks for making it easy for me, Jennifer!

From the desk of your

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!

From the desk of your

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!


From the desk of your

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!

From the desk of your

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!

From the desk of your

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!

From the desk of your