March Goals

A new month... for some reason I'm not feeling my usual rush of excitement and I've been trying to figure out why.

On on the one hand, I'm over the moon thrilled with my progress on UFOs!  I mean like jumping up and down, patting myself on the back, high fives all around proud of myself - like this

or this.

But, I also have a nagging uncomfortable feeling lurking underneath that I can't quite articulate clearly. I look around my home and see all kinds of unfinished projects now. Things that haven't bothered me for months and in some cases years are now shouting "Finish ME!". It's like I've opened up Pandora's Box by changing one part of my life (quilting) and now I can't quite close the door on the rest. And, toss in a big dose of the more I do... the more I WANT to do.

I think it's a good thing, really. Like waking up after a long sleep. My creative mo-jo is in OVERDRIVE! I just hope I can adjust to all of the noise and, at the same time, keep listening. If that makes sense.

March Quilting To-Do List

1-Finish Christmas Stockings 2,3 & 4

2-Finish Four Patch & Friends Quilt

3-Finish Spring Flowers Quilt (at LAQ)

4-Finish Shabby String Quilt (at LAQ)

5-Finish Star Charm Wall Quilt

6-Finish Easter Table Topper

7-Finish Nancy Halverson Table Runner

8-RSC13 & And SEW On Blocks

9-Threadbias QAL Table Runner

10-HGTV Pincushion Swap

11-FMQ 7 practice sessions, 3 blocks, 1 quilt

12-Embroidery Blog Hop Project

                                                               

I try to keep my goals to 10, but this month 10 just wasn't enough. Goals 1-4 are carried over from February and I've blogged about all of them.

The Christmas stockings have been carried over for 2 months now and I'm designating them as my March finish for A Lovely Year of Finishes. I'm pulling out all the stops. Where you see 1 there WILL be 4 by the end of March!

Four Patch & Friends needs a border fabric and then I can assemble the top and get it in the mail. So really, goals 2-4 involve hand sewing binding after the magic happens at the LAQ! 

Goals 5-7 are from my Q1 UFO tab above and they look like this.

Star Charm Wall Quilt

Easter Table Topper

Nancy Halverson Table Runner

The two table toppers need to be sandwiched, quilted and bound. The Nancy Halverson table runner is pieced and ready for lots of fusible applique which I have not done much of. The tulips and vine around the border if you look at the book cover lower left are cut and ready to get started. I'm excited to try out the blanket stitch on my Juki F600.

The color for RSC13 in March is orange and Kristy posted the March block which is spools of thread for And Sew On today (goal 8). I am so enjoying these projects!

March's project for Sew Along at Threadbias (goal 9) is this beautiful table runner which will be my March NewFO for Barbara's challenge over at Cat Patches. I've never done curved piecing before so that will be interesting. I'm thinking spring florals for this project.

Goal 11 is all about kick starting FMQ. I used up all my cheapo/ugly fabrics in January's practice sandwiches so I found some $1.49 a yard fabric at Ben Franklin and cut it up into 12" squares and I'm using up the rest of my cruddy cheap batting to sandwich them.

I'm thinking structure here: Phase 1) 7 20 minute practice sessions followed immediately by Phase 2) FMQ the 3 Depression blocks I made last month for the Threadbias Quilt It! Challenge. Followed immediately by Phase 3) quilt a top.

When it comes to doing FMQ on something real I just can't get started... ranging from avoidance to mild panic as I sit down at the machine! I think I'll just have to push myself through it.

So - I've got 7 UFOs, a couple of NewFOs, some blocks, some pincushions and a bunch of FMQ in my March lineup. I think a good mix of old and new projects along with a learning curve will make for an interesting month!

New Techniques on NewFOs

Yesterday was a fun adventure in my quilting room as I challenged myself with all things NEW. Enlarging a pattern, freezer paper, reverse applique and a zip bag! All while fighting a cold, I actually think being so absorbed in figuring things out was a helpful distraction to feeling so crummy.

And I have two NewFO Finishes! First up is my Triple Zip Pouch from Debbie's wonderful tutorial at A Quilter's Table which was my January NewFO project. I can't say that this is my first experience with zippers as I learned to sew making clothing in high school, but that was a few years back so it's a close first. I was a bit nervous about it but they went in easily.

The bottom print is from Timeless Treasures, then a bit of Pearl Bracelets and the top and lining fabric is from the Parisville line. Zippers are from Zip-it and I have to say that their fun colors make this bag! Here is a peek at the 3 compartments in the bag.

And the back. After I picked out my fabrics I read on other blogs about directional fabrics being upside down for the back so I attempted to seam my main fabric. But, I didn't take into account that the top zipper lies flat so my calculation was off which is why you can see my seam on the bottom front. Next time I'll move the seam about 3/8" further towards the back. Sew and Learn!

NewFO #2 is my Sew Along at Threadbias February project - a Reverse Applique Heart Pillow. I'm going to show you the pillow first and then some of the details of how it was made. The pattern is from the book "Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays" by John Adams. It's a good sized pillow and mine needs a plumper 18" pillow form to fill it out. February's NewFO is done - click the button on my sidebar to read more about the NewFO Challenge.

I quilted the patchwork yesterday and embarked on a DIY Enlargement Project as the pattern in the book needed to be enlarged 400%. My closest copy store is an hour each way and nursing this cold all week hasn't made me anxious for a road trip. So I scanned the pattern and printed it, enlarged it by 200% and printed it and then by 300%. You can see that the side edges went off page. Then I laid them on top of each other and taped them to my window light box with a bright sunny day to make it easier.

I dug around in the kitchen for a roll of freezer paper, taped it over the top and using the spacing between the other sizes as a guide drew my heart.  I'm terrible at free hand drawing... and I wanted my heart sides to be balanced. This method worked great!

Next I cut out the heart and laid the frame on top of my patchwork just to make sure it looked okay. The heart shape was then ironed to my grey Moda Bella background fabric and sandwiched on top of the quilted patchwork.

I sewed along the edge of the heart and then did two more lines of stitching close to the first.

This part was a bit scary. It was wonderful seeing the patchwork peek through, but I was quite worried about cutting something I didn't want to with my sharp little scissors. I must admit to holding my breath until it was done!

I love this Reverse Applique technique and look forward to doing it again. I'm linking up to TGIFF, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, Finish It Up Friday, Find A Friend Friday and Link a Finish Friday.

One last linkup for all of the NEW in this post!

Purple Blocks & A V-Day Project

I am having so much fun making blocks for this challenge! Here are my purple Crossroads blocks for February. I ended up making 11 of them and wouldn't be surprised if I end up making more blocks at the end of the year for an all purple quilt.

I used all shades of purple from blue/violet to pink/purple. I was really amazed by the variety I had in my stash of 5" charms. A quick session with the rotary cutter and I had 2.5" x 4.5" pieces ready to sew.

I think these blocks create such an interesting layout. They go together quickly and there is only one seam to match but they look much more complex don't you think?

I just started dropping them on the floor as I made them and it was hard to stop when I ran out of purple.

I also got started on another QAL this week.
                                                               
Threadbias is doing a monthly Sew Along of projects from the book "Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays". Since I was lucky enough to win a copy of the book during the December giveaways I thought I'd join in. January got away from me a bit and the project wasn't one of my favorites, but February's project is a Reverse Applique Patchwork Pillow. I'm starting with a heart pillow for Valentine's Day and I'm going to use this for my February NewFO Challenge project.

I came across a stack of 5" charms that I had been setting aside for a someday project and picked out 13 charms to cut into 2.5" pieces for the patchwork. Once this is finished it will be quilted, then the background fabric will be sewn over the top in a heart shape and then I'll cut around the inside of the stitching to remove the background fabric and reveal the patchwork heart. Confused? I'll post more pics as I work on it this week.

I'm linking up to Scrap Happy Saturday and can't wait to see what everyone else is making with purple!

Looking for Motivation/Inspiration?

I have lots of shiny new buttons on my blog sidebar... and there could be a more if my word for 2013 was something more fun than "Finish"!  There are so many wonderful projects/challenges getting underway in BlogWorld for the new year and I've chosen a few that I'm really looking forward to playing along with.

These 5 groups were a natural fit for me...

Lynne who blogs at Never too hot to stitch has declared 2013 the Year of the Finished Project. Sounds great doesn't it? Go HERE to read all about it.

Next we have A Lovely Year of Finishes which is hosted by Melissa of Sew BitterSweet Designs and Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts. Click HERE to read more.

Leanne at she can quilt is hosting the 2013 Finish-A-Long.  You can find out more by clicking HERE.

Next up is Just Three which is happening at traceyjay quilts.  Tracey has been running Just Three before but it's new to me. This one is easy... pick 3 (or more) goals for the month and link up at her blog.

I just found this link party yesterday... Thearica at Pig Tales and Quilts is running a Monthly To-Do List. Click HERE for more information!

The last 4 new buttons on my sidebar are not so much about finishing but about creating. I already posted about Barbara's NewFO Challenge at Cat Patches HERE last month.
I am really excited about Let's Make Baby Quilts! hosted at Michelle's Romantic Tangle. Michelle is a fellow Yahoo! Stashbuster group member who loves making Baby Quilts. Since I love making quilts for Project Linus (and have lots of Project Linus UFOs) this is right up my alley! Please go HERE to read more about it.

I enjoyed following several bloggers who were involved in the 2012 version of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge hosted at soscrappy and I couldn't resist joining this for 2013. Read all about it HERE.

Next up is Sew Along at Threadbias using projects from "Pretty in Patchwork Holidays". Since I won a copy of this great book from Giveaway Day I'm eager to join in. You can find out more HERE.
Last but certainly not least is a paper pieced BOM And Sew On... from Kristy @ Quiet Play. There are 9 blocks in the series and all have a sewing room theme. Just adorable! I've never done a BOM before and I'm looking forward to this one. Prepare to be enchanted HERE.
All of the blogs I've listed are definitely worth a visit even if you aren't able to join in on the fun!