Max--the unquilter

I'm finally back after a long absence. I never would have dreamed that a 5 pound ball of fur could almost completely derail my quilting. Sheesh, I should have known better. Unlike my quilting assistant, Juan Pablo, I would have to label Max as an unquilter. However, we are settling in nicely and though I am off track to meet my goal of finishing one big project each month, I am quilting again. Yea!!!

My quilting assistant

This is Juan Pablo my assistant in all things quilting. He oversees the entire process. Right now I believe he is telling me that I am slacking off a little. I do have the excuse that we have a new addition to our family--a Shih Tzu puppy and he is adorable. I have only 5 blocks to assemble for Alisha's quilt and then it will be time to layer and quilt. I took a small detour on finishing projects--don't we always?-- and put together a small table topper that is layered and ready for machine quilting. I did stick to my own rule and all materials came out of my stash. This year is turning out to be a lot of fun for me and I have expanded my goal a little. I want to complete one project a month.
Next step for me is to add some physical exercise to keep me on that road to good health. Enter the Wii fit plus and a new puppy! These two should compliment my healthy shakes nicely! Happy Valentine's Day to one and all.

I found this pattern a few years ago in an old issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. It is entitled "Kaleidoscope" and I thought this would be both an opportunity to use up some scraps and a chance to play with color. This has been a double edged sword for me, because it is very satisfying to use up some scraps, but this also feeds into my need to save every tiny little piece of fabric. I have pieced 25 blocks to date and I was startled today to realize that my baggies of greens, blues, reds, etc. have not diminished at all since I started! I really am starting to believe that they reproduce when my back is turned. This will be a quilt for my younger granddaughter and I think the bright colors will be a good match for her personality. 25 done and only 5 more to go.
One hour a day, One hour a day..................
.

Feb 3,2010

Wow! It is Feb. 3rd already and I am realizing that I am already off track to accomplish my stated goal of completing UFOs this year. So it is time to get back in the groove. This little one block CQ is a pet project of mine that I started last year and then set aside. I needed a break for inspiration and I was unhappy with the ship's masts. I have deconstructed part of that and now I would like for all of you crazy quilters to take a look and give me some input.
For now, I plan to get back to work on 2 sane quilting projects. I am about 2/3 finished with the hand quilting on an applique quilt for my daughter and I'm very close to finishing all of the paper pieced blocks for my granddaughter's quilt. My mantra is going to be--one hour a day, one hour a day......

I'm brand new to this blog world and I guess I'm uncertain just how much I have to contribute. That said, I love quilting and sharing quilting stories, ideas, and I love to see what people are working on.

Now that the new year is well under way, I also want to renew my interest in finishing up those UFOs and reducing that very generous stash that I have accumulated. I'm hoping to connect with others that are chasing that same dream and share our progress. It's also just possible that by putting my goals out for all of the blogging world to see, I just might make a real attempt to accomplish these things.

I'm off to a good start with UFOs. I just put the binding on a quilt that has been "in progress" for 2 years. This will be a gift to my daughter-in-law and I am so pleased to have it finished. This particular quilt is a Pearl Louise design entitled "The Blizzard Bunch". It was a BOM from an online quilt shop.

I would love to hear from one and all about their current projects, UFOs or just anything quilt related. It would be really great to get ideas for stash reduction as well. Have a great day!