Progress report: borders added to top, back pieced for what I think is a 6 yr UFO, but there's a bit of rearranging to do.

... I forgot to attach pictues.

Everyone is doing great. I love all the projects shown. I have been tied up working on the blocks for the Porcelain quilt. I have most of the centers sewed, and the HST strips for the outside of each. I discovered I can only sew them upstairs in the bedroom on that old Singer. The blocks are too precision to mix up seam widths, even though I measured my mark. It appears to be the same as the good machine in the sewing studio, but they don't go together right. So I only work on them while I am watching TV. My bedroom is the only room with a TV for a reason, don't want distractions when concentrating on sewing elsewhere. Consequently, sewing has been slow going. Today I am going to work downstairs in the studio and cut up some strips for a JR pattern I found. It's not a UFO, but will be a stash buster, since these batiks have been waiting to become a Bargello, but have changed my mind about that. Anyway, I had better get moving.....

As it looks right now I have fallen off the wagon for completing the UFO's that were on my list for this year. I still have one that I so want to complete but I am just not there right now. Maybe I can get back on in the near future. There is always next year if not this years.

Bug, love the weiner dog quilt! Great fabrics and quilting.... If the footprints were quilted freehand, I am very impressed!

Grann of 6, I don't like to mix machines when I'm piecing something, either. It does make a difference.

Love the doggie quilt, Bugaroo!

Rob

Bugaroo: Very pretty quilt and quilting.

Rob: I hope you are doing well after your tooth was pulled.

Hello, long time no see.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The silver of the current situation is that I may finally have time to finish those UFOs.

That is - I am going to be stuck at home before the wedding, which It is supposed to be next Saturday, but might not take place actually, after the honeymoon and maybe even instead of it.

With more and more places closing (first it was schools, then pools and sports clubs, then restaurants and shopping centers...) if the next category is registry offices, then I may be a fiancee for a while longer. Needless to say, I cancelled my bachelorette party. The wedding guests might have to be reduced to maid of honour, best man, and our parents. Negotiations with the restaurant about the dwindling number of people for the after-ceremony lunch unexpectedly turned today into a "do you do catering?", as the decision to close restaurants (take-away and deliveries are still allowed) happened when we were actually having our dinner at the restaurant in question, where we went to discuss last details of the party with the manager. Now they would be happier to bring food and serving utensils to our place for 8 people rather than doing nothing.

I was supposed to take leave from work from next Friday, but the company suggested earlier beginning of vacation so I will not be going to work on Monday. My vacation is supposed to last till 2 April, but I already kow that I need to reschedule our honeymoon trip. We have a "plan B" for honeymoon, which would be domestic travel to a place maximum 300 km from Warsaw and by car (no public transport for the wicked!). Is is still up in the air whether we will be able to pull up even that, and even if we do, it will be shorter than the originally booked trip. Still, they won't let me shorten the vacation.

For those who think that it is enviable - no, it is not. I have a limit of vacation days per year and if I use most of them now, I can forget about going on summer holidays or taking a few free days around Christmas. So I will keep sewing not to get mad thinking about the c-virus.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the well wishes on the tooth. It seems to be healing well. Had the one week checkup Thursday and I go back this coming Thursday for the 2 week. Because there were more than the normal number of roots and they were very close to my sinus I have been required to take sinus precautions including no bending over, no sneezing through my nose, no blowing my nose and I’m not allowed to play any wind instruments for another week or so - who knew playing a wind instrument could be perilous LOL!

Vasilisa, I’m so sorry to hear that your wedding plans have been disrupted by the novel corona virus. I hope you can come up with an option that works for you and your finance.

I hope that all the precautions the WHO and CDC are now putting into place will slow the transmission enough to enable our health care facilities to handle everyone who needs more extensive care. We don’t want to be in the situation that Italy now faces with overwhelmed medical facilities.

Rob

I have a new M7 Janome so I am learning how to free motion quilt. The paw prints were drawn first and then I free motion traced them. I used a ruler in the triangles. The goal was to practice as many techniques as possible. It was fun but getting the stitch size and curvature takes practice and confidence. I want to go faster but then the stitching is less precise. I need more practice!

Another fabulous finish for our March list.

The panels are Michael Miller "Norwegian Wood" ii quilted around each of the animals with invisible thread. I photocopied the quilt to make some cardboard templates which I traced into the black sections and Free motioned in grey ....sometimes successful...sometimes not so. Then I meandered around in black so the unquilted areas kind of puffed up a little.

Scrappy binding back first and then into the front with a decorative leafy vine stitch.

Its for my nephew. I hope he likes it.

Vasilisa: I’m sorry to hear about your disrupted wedding plans. Having projects to work on should help.

Bugaroo: Enjoy your new M7 Janome. Have fun learning to free motion quilt. I took a class but I haven’t attempted it since then.

Rff1010: Great quilt! Your nephew will love it. Your squirrels remind me of a ceramic squirrel I had growing up. I can’t remember if it was a bank or just a decorative piece. It may still be in a box I have somewhere.

I have 3 finishes. I will send my info to Krisb.

The quilt top has orphan blocks/strips in it. Some leftover blocks are in it from BH 2018(maybe 2017) Mystery Quilt. It measures 70” by 80” and will be finished by my church quilting group.

The other 2 finishes are placemats found in a donation. They had been sewn with pretty fabrics together with batting but when turned, the backing wasn’t caught in all the places. I cut off the seams and assembled them again. I also did some curvy quilting on them. I will use them at Christmas.

Nice finishes, Connie!

Bugaroo-have fun with your spiffy new machine- I’ve been drooling over the M7 since it came out!

Rob

My latest finish!

The Quilt: Made with a Quiltville pattern, Scrappy Bargello, this one was really fun! I can't recommend the pattern enough if you like scrappy quilts; it was super easy and even this smaller size burned through my pile of 2 1/2" strips.

Though I don't own any chickens, I'm kind of fascinated with them. I spent a number of years collecting fabrics featuring them, eventually putting them together into a quilt. I impulsively gave that one away to a cousin who fell in love with it, so, kind of as an act of revenge, I started on this one with the leftover chicken fabric plus many others from my stash.

Why it became a UFO: This is really weird. I had one panel mostly constructed, all the strips put into bundles, strips of squares stuck to the design wall... but for some reason I ripped it all down and shoved it in a box, ne'er to be seen again until March 2020. It was just an odd place to quit, not at all at a good "stopping point" or anything. I must have been confronted with a more time sensitive quilt, and since this one was "just for me," it had to go away for a while.

Why I finished: Not only did this one deserve to come out to play again, but I also already had a friend in mind to receive it, so it seemed like a good one to move on to.

The Quilt's fate: This friend of mine moved to the country fairly recently and has gotten into chickens. I just texted her asking if she was going to be at the dog show this weekend, and she said she was at a chicken show! Sent me pics of her prize-winning eggs, hen, and rooster. So yeah, I guess this fun and funky quilt with chickens scattered across the squares will be perfect for her. Can't wait to give it to her!

On to the next!

I love to hear stories of why the UFO became one and how one perseveres to finish..nicely done!

Oh my....the finishes are indeed beautiful. Well done, everyone!

Rob...glad you are on the mend. Dental work is ranked up there with a week without donuts...both painful to experience.

Vasilisa....my heart is broken for you. I'm sure your day will be special no matter the plans.

Lost electricity today for a few hours...ugh! Managed to knock out two blocks on my sampler. Waiting to hear from LA'r on status of my UFO and WIP... I really need to just buy my own LA.

Vasilisa, I am so sorry for you. What a shame that you plans have been impacted by something so out of your control. Make memories with whatever you end up doing and enjoy each day you are away from work. I is an unexpected blessing. Just wonder what you will create!

Rff1010, what a clever idea to repeat the animals in the black areas of the quilt.

No UFOs for me this month....yet! One is in the works.

What beautiful finishes to admire today. Quossom, I love your scrappy bargello!

Quossom: Lovely finish and a great story to go with it.

Wow, everyone has made sucha progress with their UFOs and I have not finished even one since the beginning of the year. I had planned to finish 1 UFO a month, save March, because I was supposed to be busy with wedding preparations. Absurdly, it may turn out to be the month with most finishes. I will be spending time (one almost wants to say: serving time) till the 2nd of April at home.

I need to finish some quilting and then do the binding on what was meant to be January finish. Today I have sewn first four blocks of the supposed February finish. And before that I had stitched up the top for the Irish Garden (see the St. Patrick's thread). So I am moving on.

Meanwhile it was decided that due to the coronavirus, basically only the bride, groom and the two witnesses required by law can be present at a registry office. Plus maybe one-two persons (e.g. parents). We made the tough decision and asked our parents not to come, as they are above 60 and should really avoid travelling to Warsaw. It was not so bad for them as for us - his parents do not believe in ceremonies as much as in everyday gestures of love (and frankly, so does my fiancee). My mother does not consider it a valid wedding since it is not done in a church. But still.

Well, there will be live streaming for them via Facebook. We have rehearsed the technique of it today and it worked. So we will have some solutions, meanwhile sewing is one of the few things that help me regain composure.

Here in California d/t covid-19 we're shutting down. Most group meetings have been cancelled, schools closed. Notices are ariving hourly. Plus it's snowing. I want to get into the garden-oh well!

Great time for quilting.

Oh and because dh is over 65 he's been told not to come to work. He's trying to do some inside neglected chores.

Vasilisa, I'm sure your wedding day will be memorable for you and your groom... Later on, after life returns to normal, you can have a wedding party and invite friends. Would love to see a few pictures of you in your dress, you and your groom, etc.

Vasilisa: Live streaming is a great option.

petthefabric: Interesting that your dh was told not to come to work because he is over 65. I wonder if school had not been cancelled here in MN, if that would have been the case for me since I’m also over 65. I am a substitute and hadn’t decided if I was canceling out of my days by the time the decision to close was announced. I was relieved to get that call.

Not much sewing on my UFO today. I stayed up way too late into this morning reading. Lol! I did get my kitchen counters washed and organized, however.

I don't think I'll get a UFO done this month. It's been crazy here, with all three children getting sick and keep passing it around each other. Now all three are on different antibiotics, so hopefully things will return to somewhat normal soon. I need a break for one day! I read of these quilters on Bonnie Hunter's Facebook group being self quarantined and sewing the days away. I wish I could sew all day.

No sewing on quilts today but I did work on a little sundress and bloomers for my granddaughter to wear this summer. She and her parents and uncle (our kids) were here for the weekend, and my daughter picked out patterns and fabric for 4 or 5 summer outfits. I love sewing for this baby! She looks so cute in everything.

Day 1 of my 'self quarantine'... and I'm already bored. Tomorrow I have to venture out to get my shots for hives, and then I'm back to my quarantine. Hubby is high risk, so we have to be careful.

Stay safe, everyone! And enjoy your down time.

NZ, hope the kids recover quickly so you can relax, too!

NZ....hoping the munchkins rebound swiftly and you can catch a break soon. Haven't heard if hubbie is better but hoping for that too.

Sewing and playing outside preparing planter boxes for the last freeze so I can plant some life around us soon. Got my bulbs ready...

Keep safe, my friends.

Would love to see the outfits you've made your precious baby, Sewbiz... They are like little dolls at this age and so fun to dress them.

NZQuilter: I’m sorry your girls are sick. Sending prayers for them to feel better and some time for you to relax.

sewbizgirl: I understand bored.

Last week, the school district where I sub was on Spring Break through yesterday. I kept a pretty low profile the few times I was out and about. Now school is cancelled through the 27th so I have made a list of things to do through Thursday this week. Today was sweep/mop floors and clean the glass on my patio door. They are still a little grimy on the outside but better than before. I did sew some also. The list is so I will do some housework rather than sew on my unexpected days off. Lol!

I miss my school and quilting friends but am choosing only to go out for the necessities.

Stay healthy!

Ok, I will post photos as I get them completed.

Teen, here is the first outfit for my grandbaby, Ivy. It doesn't have the buttons on yet. It has matching bloomers that didn't make it into the picture.

That is adorable, Sewbiz!! That pattern is so so cute the fabric is precious. I would love to be able to create something like this. Never sewn a garment...maybe one day.. Thank you for sharing!

I am staying close to home too. I rummaged through my sewing room last night and today. Mostly made a mess. Sorted my UFOs and decided to donate two or was it three tops that I just did not like and have no motivation to finish. I also have a bag of orphan blocks that were given to me that now I am passing them on to other quilters. I have two large tins of little mini orphans that will go away too. I really have been trying to focus on making quilts for my family members and those that I want to gift to using fabric from my stash. The orphans and unloved tops are just clutter and a distraction. So, I am going to turn back the calendar to January 1, I have four UFO's to finish and 12 promised or planned quilts for this year, 2020. That's my story and I am sticking to it. :o

Picking up one UFO from the "longarmer" tomorrow. Binding and sleeve, then done. That will be my March finish.

My latest finish!

The Quilt: The label on this one reads "The 'What Was I Thinking' Quilt...with Saner Modifications." As you can imagine, this one has a Story.

A long while ago, I had a quilter friend who was looking to sell this multi-part, very elaborate, very fancy and complicated quilt kit. It was one of those month-by-month deals, but no, not a "buck a block," more like a "thirty bucks a kit" thing, with each kit containing fabric, sturdy plastic templates for the fussy-cut pieces, and detailed instructions.

This was not my thing. Not even the colors appealed to me. But my friend was in a financial pinch at the time, I was kind of a softie, told myself that working with templates might be a fun learning experience...I ended up buying the kit and all its parts from her.

So I did set about putting this thing together. Sure enough, I was not wild about the template method. Each part had very specific ways and order to lay down the templates on the pieces of fabric, with no room for error. Then you had to draw around the templates and cut out the shapes (or use a small rotary cutter around the tiny edges), then sew them together with bias edges galore...it was not fun for my scrappy, strip-piecing, thangles-loving self. The blocks you see on the finished quilt are the "easy" ones...at some point I gave up on the more difficult blocks, cannibalized the remaining kits for their fabric, and finished however I could.

Why it became a UFO: I have no idea. All I know is that there was a box on my shelf with this quilt in it, and when I was listing my UFOs I listed it. When I opened the box in March, I found a completed top, a completed back, a completed label (which had the date 2011 on it!!!), and even a completed bias binding strip, cut, sewn, and ironed. With all that done, why didn't I go ahead and finish the quilt back in 2011? I have no idea.

Why I finished: I knew this one was "close to done," I was feeling like free motion quilting, and its recipient's birthday was coming up, so it was chosen! I added "finished in 2020" to its label, basted it, and finished quilting it within a few days. When I put on the binding, I found that it was about 8" too short. What the--?!? Did younger me not know how to properly measure binding? Did the kit's skimpy fabric quantities fail me? Sheeze.

The Quilt's Fate: This is meant for my mom. The colors are her aesthetic, and it will go perfectly in her bedroom. She'll receive this for her birthday. Funny, I seem to remember hiding it once when it was a work in progress in my quilting room when my mom came over. Who knows, maybe that's why it became a UFO--stuffed in its box because its intended recipient visited, only to be forgotten until nine years later...

I usually show the back of my quilts, too, but this one is rare for me: No pieced back, just a pretty floral. What Was I Thinking, indeed!

Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

What at story, Quossum! UFOs are such strange creatures. Your not alone in discovering a box with the "why didn't I just finish this?" comment attached to the discovery. After looking at the photo, I can see why this was a challenge. But be proud of yourself. You did it! Bask in your success and lessons learned with each template element of this intricate pattern.

Indeed quite a story Quossum! It was a test to perseverance on your part and your mom should love it!

Spectacular finish Q!

I wonder why we're not getting more traction on our UFOs? I have one that just needs to be quilted. Its recipient is having Covid anxiety so its getting moved to the front-front burner.

That's a beautiful finish, Q! Funny story of the life of this UFO.

Progress Report
 

This is what I have so far. If I missed any, please let me know.
1 —Teen’s Free Birds for her sister’s one year survival anniversary.

2-6–Sewbizgirl’s impressive collection of five finishes

7 —Bugaroo’s windmill quilt

8 & 9–Dedemac’s pillows

10,11,12–Connie’s charity quilt and two placements

13–rff1010’s Norwegian Wood quilt for her nephew. Sure he will ❤️.

14&15–Quossum’s ScrappyBargello and What was I Thinking. Her UFO stories are wonderful,

I love your 'what was I thinking' quilt, Quossum! It's so full of personality. It's going to really cheer up a room.

Thank you for all the kind words, you guys--they make my day!

And @Krisb, in the interest of upping our UFO numbers for March, I had one more: Civil Sampler, the quilt that is presently in my avatar. I finished it officially on Mar. 1, think I posted it a couple of days after that.