Thursday, March 26, 2009

A tale of UFOs

This is a tale of some UFOs. Just some mind you as I could never even admit to how many I have. That is what happens when you used to teach patchwork and lead a quilt group. You have to keep coming up with new things meaning the 'old things' never get finished. But I am going to share a few tht I have been concentrating on this month of March.


This is the first of my two charm quilts that I am making this year. Each year, I create a theme for our quilt group to work on. In January, we started on charm quilt. These are quilts using a one-patch block and in which all the fabrics are different. This type of quilt became popular in the Victorian period while women saved a scrap of fabric to use for making this quilt. You can read more it about it here.

We are swapping our scraps to help each other get as many fabrics as possible. My top is now ready to be sandwiched and quilted. I have made this charm quilt with a twist in its tale but I will reveal that when I show you the finished quilt next week. Did I say next week? Yes, I really want to get this quilt finished before my next quilt evening on the first Wednesday of April. Crunch time for the deadline!

I will keep the tale of this second quilt (sorry for the wrinkles) a secret until I am farther along with it. I am again making this quilt with a historic connection in mind. Are you intrigued? I hope so and I will tell you the tale soon...

Finally, this applique block has a tale. I have never been a lover of needle applique so I decided to start this Bunny Hill BOM to make myself practice the technique more. I am very behind as this is the January block and I have yet to start on February or March. I will start the next one after I get the quilting done on my charm quilt.

Next post, I will share my stitching projects. I just started a new project which is going to be a very fun one to work on!

23 comments:

Nancy said...

Well, I bet you don't need to ask which thing I like the best. THE SNOWMAN. He is so cute with the button trim.
I am very surprised you put the blue and brown together. You never like to use blue.
That top charm quilt sureeeee has a lot of blocks, wow. Very nice, all three.
Happy quilting.
Love you, Mom

Margaret said...

Great quilting Heidi. When I see your results I am ashamed to tell you that I have a grandmother's flower garden which I haven't touched in about two years as well as an applique pattern I wanted so badly. I'm more of a stitcher than a quilter but it would sure be nice to finish what I started.(LOL)

Will write you soon about our recent trip.

Deb said...

I know how it is when new stuff comes out and the old gets pushed to the side. I love your snowman!

mainely stitching said...

Wow, I love that first quilt you showed. All your work is gorgeous, but that one just stands out. :D

Linda said...

I adore this snowman quilt block!!

Linda in VA

Elizabethd said...

Applique has never been my favourite thing, though I love the look of it, especially Baltimore. Yours looks lovely.

Clare said...

What lovely quilt tops Heidi. I love both colour combinations - I also think that the applique block looks like it was a fun stitch.

Clare

Tammy said...

Hi Heidi,
Your quilts are beautiful! I would really like to make a charm quilt one day and to share fabric with friends sounds like even more fun, thanks for sharing.
Your applique is very nice and your snowman block came out very cute! I hope you enjoyed stitching the snowman as much as I did.
Hugs2u!

Diana said...

You're snowman turned out really cute and I love your first quilt; also love your stitching - really cool.

logcabinlife-diana@blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I'm determined to finish ALL outstanding projects before I start anything new.

Well, that's the plan...

GG

diane said...

Everything is just beautiful as usual. Love the quilts and you are so fast, I feel like a turtle! Of course, you say you are behind, but...
Your jan. block is exquisite! I love it and the colors!!
I hope to start another block soon, too!!!

angelasweby said...

Heidi,
I loved reading about your charm quilt and popping back to reread about our conversations about quilts back in January - my goodness doesn't time fly!! I love your determination and find it really contagious :>) I look forward to seeing the charm quilt finished and to finding out about the other intriguing quilt.

I'm printing off the BOM applique patterns and hope to tackle them one day. I just don't seem to be able to do 20 things at once like you can :>) Yours looks absolutely gorgeous.
Warm hugs Angela

Roberta said...

Love your charm quilt tops Heidi, that is something that I have always wanted to make - some day!!

The 'snowman' applique is sweet and you did a nice job.

Roberta

Margaret said...

It is such a pleasure to read your blog Heidi. I've awarded you the 'Kreativ Blogger' award. Please check my latest post. Have a great weekend.

Sharon said...

I love your snowman quilt block!

Pondside said...

Well, Heidi - look on the bright side.....you'll never be stuck with 'nothing to do'! :)
I love the old-fashioned look of the charm quilt.

Sweetie said...

Hi Heidi, This is my first visit to NeedleNecessities. I am going to post my quilt fabric sometime this week. Your work is absolutely beautiful.
Sweetie

Marianne D said...

Je bent lekker bezig geweest Heidi!Je charm quilt is mooi geworden..nu nog doorpitten en dan heb je hem weer af...en die sneeuwpop is zo leuk..ik heb heb het patroontje ook liggen maar er nog niets aan gedaan..maar dat komt,ik weet alleen nog niet wanneer...;-))

Tracy said...

These are lovely...It is a great feeling when A UFO begins to take shape and finds a finish. :o) Look forward to you new projects...Happy Stitching ((HUGS))

ingrid said...

Wat een mooie , zachte kleuren heeft het bovenste quilt !
Groetjes Ingrid.

Meredith said...

Love your bom block. What i did was I think in 2007 I gave the entire year to finishing UFOs and it worked. Having no UFOs feels weird. Not creating a new amount of UFOS has been an interesting challenge. If you like having UFOS then I do not see the issue. You do such lovely work. Mine were bothering me so I did something about it. Some people just work better that way.

onlymehere said...

Heidi, thanks for stopping by. Brianna (my daughter) actually wanted this quilt for a wall hanging so it doesn't get used. I made her a couple of others that her daughter Savannah uses all the time. This is my first grandbaby so she got spoiled with quilts, clothes, etc.! I'm going to add you to my blog roll bz this top quilt really intrigues me and I want to see the twist you did!

Lynne said...

Lovely seeing your UFO's. I have loads and I don't even have the excuse of making them to demonstrate to classes! What is a BOM? I keep seeing it and I'm sure I should be able to work out what it stands for, but I haven't. I look forward to following your progress with the UFO's and the sewing boxes.