My local quilt guild has an annual UFO Challenge. This is where we daring quilters write down that we will actually finish a UFO (Unfinished Object). I signed up but was wise enough to not put down a specific project. Instead I wrote down wallhanging. That seemed safe enough. I started to work on a bed quilt I started something like 15 years ago. I actually finished the top and then realized I wouldn't be able to go out and buy any batting before the meeting where it was due.

Change of plans.

So I grabbed up a top I had finished but had not yet quilted and thankfully I had enough batting for it. This is a UFO from October of 2006. It was from a Mystery Quilt Challenge run at my guild's annual retreat. I was up quite late working feverishly to finish it. I got it all quilted and applied the binding. Now remember, it was late. The last thing I did was trim the batting and backing away. Often I will cut this away and then add my binding but when the quilt has corners that need to match up at the edge, I will wait and cut my binding and back after I apply the binding.

The next day I am sewing the binding on when I come to one of my mitered corners and discover I have accidentally cut a section out of my binding. :shock: ACK! That's okay, the guild considered it done enough that I didn't have to pay the $5 fine for not finishing. (Great fund raiser!) The next day I spend time ripping out most of the binding, making more, and reattaching it. I then sew down the binding and I get 3 of the 4 sides done when I reached the corner, and yep, you guessed it, I found another small hole where I'd cut through the binding. (I need a crying smiley here!) I threw the thing into the corner and walked away for a couple days. Once I'd recovered, I took the binding all the way off and just redid the entire thing. I think it turned out pretty good.

So this is what I've been working on for the past few weeks. It's been slow going because I've had the flu and I've been dealing with migraines (which keep me off the computer) and we learned my father-in-law has esophogial cancer. Hence the reason I've been very silent the last two weeks. At such times quilting sure can be a God send! Well, not with the migraines but with everything else. I sure have missed everyone!!!
~Tiffany

Sorry to hear about all the health issues Tiffany! Prayers for you and yours. The bright side...those are just beautiful! and you saved $5 can't beat that with a big stick kiddo!! :thumbup: :D

Prayers to you and your family. We've missed you too. Your quilts are lovely!!!

Your perseverance pays off! Those are lovely. Sending good thoughts your way. I hope your gorgeous accomplishments put a smile on your face. It worked for me! :D

All I can say is, awesome!!! The Valentine block is just beautiful.

Your quilts are beautiful. Hope you are feeling better soon.

WOW, the valentine quilt is Gorgeous & the other is lovely too. Must feel good to get those done.

Hope you are feeling much better now and my prayers are with your family.


The wall hanigns are beautiful.

Kyia

Yikes! Very, very pretty, but yikes forty!

Very, very pretty!

Strength to you and yours for all health issues.

M

Tiffany, I emphathize with you. But hang in there...remember that He doesn't give us more than we can handle.

And the quilts are lovely!

Wow, i never would have thought peach could go with black and red, but it looks awesome! Unbelievable the colours in the second one, they are both very beautiful. Please take care, thinking of you

Your quilts are very pretty! Nice work! Sorry to hear about your fil. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you. I also love the quilt in your avatar!

Had been missing you, and wondered. Sorry to hear about your troubles with health and quilts, but so glad to see that you are doing some better. Am sending good thoughts your way for continued improvement. The UFO challenge sounds like a good idea that I might like to share with my guild. Can you give a few more specifics on how it works? How much time was given?

And btw, those quilts are gorgeous!

Sorry to hear that you are going through hard times, i really liked the first black, white and red quilt. i have noticed that you havent been writing your usual novels lately..hehehe and consider you the encyclopeadia of quilting knowledge and always read your informative 'novels' as you seem to have a wealth of knowledge and i am the sponge that needs to absorb as much as humanly possible! Hope all goes well for all concerned.

Hi Tiffany! I wondered where you were. I missed you!! :D

Your projects are gorgeous. I never would have thought red, white and black for log cabin--it's perfect, esp. for V-day! Your other one is stunning. The applique scares me--but I'd love to try the rest. How big is that one?

They are both beautiful, you always do such nice work :D

I will say a prayer for FIL

All your work is gorgeous.....

I am sorry about your FIL.. Prayers said for him and I hope you are feeling better soon too..

Yeah, but it also says we can handle all things. :P

I deeply appreciate the prayers and good thoughts. They truly help and right now I can use all the prayers I can get!!

The big one is 40x40 inches. It comes from Christine Porter's book "Quilt Designs from Decorative Floor Tiles." The book is amazing and I love the designs but the piecing instructions are a nightmare! They're off on how much fabric to buy, off on how to put it together; it was very frustrating! :evil:

The applique in the middle is actually just sewn on with a satin stitch. I got lazy. :wink:

The UFO Challenge is a great one for quilt guilds and is pretty easy to run. You simply have people sign up to finish a quilt and many people will put down a specific quilt (such as wedding ring or log cabin) but I tend to put down 'wallhanging' or 'bed quilt' - which lets me fudge around a bit if I need to change what I'm doing. Our guild announces it about 4 months ahead of time, though because we always have one in the spring several of us know to get started earlier if we need to. The only restriction is that if someone doesn't finish a UFO by the night it is due, they must pay a $5 fine. It's the only real fund raiser we do like that within Intraguild and tends to be great incentive for people like me who would rather spend the $5 on fabric or at the quilt store rather than paying it as a fine. :lol: The best part is when everyone shows their UFO's and tells the stories behind it. I am always amazed by the talent and creativity of those around me. Quilters are just amazing people!!!
~Tiffany

Tiffany, sorry to hear about your FIL. Flu & migraines both?? Yucky! No wonder you took a break from the computer! Hope you are feeling better now. Will keep you & FIL in my prayers & glad you're feeling well enough to join in again.

Oh I forgot to mention that I think your quilts are both lovely. :D

You ladies are so wonderful. Thank you very much for the well wishes. I'm still doing the migraine thing and now we have discovered that the place we're renting from, the owner is selling it so we're going to have to move. I think I need a vomit smiley to express how much I do NOT want to move again. Ah well, a new chance to redesign my quilt room.

On a good note, my FIL should have his surgery within two weeks. Right now we're just waiting to hear the results of all the tests they've run and then they plan to rush him into surgery to remove the cancerous tumor. Right now we're all just trying to keep busy while we wait.
~Tiffany