This weeks achievements

 

Very happy to finish three quilts this week.....that brings me to seven YES SEVEN quilts for this year.  Wow has been many, many years since I did that.  So have a binding to sew on for the next one and hope to start that tonight, but first I may go make a couple of tiny, tiny nine patches for Circa 2016.

2016 FAL Numer 7

 

Last quilt I finished is Marbled Hearts.  This one seems to glow - made around 1997 and finally finished!  My 7th for the 2016 FAL

2016 FAL Number 6

Next finished was this just beautiful Pineapple quilt.  This was made around 2000.  I just love the border fabric and the fussy cutting.  My 6th for 2016 FAL

2016 FAL Number 5

Well I got a couple more quilts finished (while watching TV - which I can't remember what I watched)  Very happy to be churning thru them.  This is a little baby rub so was quick to quilt and quick to bind.....now just need someone to have a baby.  At a guess I made this around 2008.  Number 5 for 2016 FAL.

No 4

Number 4 in the 2016 FAL is a weeny little thing made many, many years ago as a colour lesson.  I'm not one to usually make little things but.....I did.

3rd Finish

 

Happy, happy here to report my third finish in 2016 FAL.  It sure is a great feeling.  these quilts have been lurking in the cupboards for so, so long.  Mind you I really don't know where I am going to store them now that they are out......  This one may be a give away one.

2nd Finish

My second finish for the 2016 FAL is the Disappearing Pinwheels by Jenny Doan.  This one was supposed to be just a small throw but I got so carried away making the blocks that it has turned out rather large - about 68 x 78.  But I do love it and it's in reproductions and getting my taste back for them so......  I have an errant block in the corner.  when I made it I wasn't too fussed with the fabric combinations and was going to make another more pleasing one so did a different layout with it....and in the end didn't make another block and in the interest of finishing the quilt put it in and didn't bother unpicking it.

2016 FAL

 

I'm happy to report I have actually finished some quilts for this year.  The first is the Mystery BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop from 2008.  Lovely quilt and now I have a Christmassy looking quilt for this year.  So this is Number 1 for the 2016 FAL Challange.

A great week of quilting

Well it's Sunday night and the end of my holiday.  I've had two weeks off and spent the last six days sewing and quilting- well mostly quilting.  Pleased to report that I have quilted 7 quilts in that time. So now I have 9 to bind.  So I'm feeling really, really happy.  I could be on track to finish all the 22 quilts this year!!!!

I have to admit that 4 of them are pretty small by my standards.  I tend to make medium to large quilts, but a finish is a finish.

First one today was a pinwheel made many years ago.  Hardly have any of these fabrics left so hoping I have enough for binding.

This heart one I made when I first started patchworking.  Two friends and I each made a quilt and traded fabrics to do it.  I found it on the internet, must have been around 1997 - 1998. The name Marbled Hearts and Mary Graham come to mind, but not sure how accurate my memory is.  Was wondering what I would bind it with and looked my cupboard and amazingly found the blue fabric I used in the border.  Just amazing to still have it, thou I'm not sure when the borders were added so could have been a few years later.

Powering along

Well have a couple more quilted and hope to get more done before the weekend is over.  Just found "Can I get a Whoop Whoop" so decided to join.  Always inspiring and motivating to see other peoples finishes.  I have seven quilts ready for binding now and hopefully another by tonight.  Some of these have been in the cupboard for way, way too long.  I'm not even tempted to start anything new - even with all that yummy new fabric just sitting there.  It just feels so great to be getting these quilts finally quilted.

So this is part of the pile.  Haven't put the binding on yet.  May get to that tomorrow.

 

This one I finished this morning.

 

And this one is on the machine now.  This one I made about 15 - 16 years ago..  So glad it hasn't rotted!  It will look lovely over the lounge chair.

 

Quiltathon

Nicky sent me a link to a interesting post and I decided that this is for me.  Every few years I seem to join something like this but never get too much finished.  So decided to get a list together for this and to my surprise/horror I have about 22 quilts that need to be quilted and bound.  Not sure how many I have in the making stage (not a great deal I'm thinking but then 22 was a shock).  So I'm on holidays at the moment and decided on a Quiltathon so that when I come home from work and too tired to go and sew I can sit and do the bindings.  Put one on yesterday and finished it today.  Threw another one on that dates back to the early 2000's and did that in a flash.  So have loaded another and it is started.

Some I would like to do custom work on but have to be realistic and decide if I want them finished or to hang in the cupboard for another 10 years of more.  If I don't finish them I should just give them away.  And it's a great feeling to have them finished.....I feel like I have permission to make something else....but not yet.  I'm really in the finishing mood so will keep going till that passes.

This one has been hanging around for years and years.  Finished binding it a few days ago.

 

Next one was a mystery quilt from the Fat Quarter Shop years ago....2009 I think (This is half the quilt).  Have started hand sewing the binding to it.  Quilted Baptist Fans on it - has to be one of my most favourite patterns.

 

 Nicky and I had a sewing day this week and I made the borders for this one.  Compared to the others this is a "New" quilt - only made about 2 or 3 years ago.  It's quilted and waiting to make the binding.

 

Eons ago I went to a teacher seminar with mary ellen, Kay England and an Australian teacher who for the life of me can't remember her name.  This was her class on colour.  Made in the early 2000's and I don't have binding for it.  Back in the days when I made a quilt and worried about the binding later.  Now I make the binding when I make the quilt.  So have no idea where I'll find something to bind this with.  And I just recently used that border fabric for a backing on the Fairy quilt $%*@

 

And on the maching at the moment is another fairly "new" (within the last 5 years) snowball.  Doing a panto I just purchased from Keryn Emmerson.  Bought a couple from her so thought I would try them out.

Finishing

Well, so pleased with my progress on finishing stuff.  Have finished 2 quilts and a bag - plus another one quilted today but not bound yet.  Binding is made and ready to be sewn to the quilt.  Will load another quilt tomorrow and hopefully get it done also.....not sure which one yet.

Finished spiky a few weeks ago and got the binding done but hadn't got around to taking photos.  So took a few photos of all the finished ones today.  Oh, it sure is a wonderful feeling.  I keep getting the urge to start a new quilt but come to my senses and get out an old project and finish it off.  I hang my quilts along with the backing and the wadding so they are all ready for quilting.  Looked in the cupboard and saw several and thought - hmm shouldn't take me long to get them done.  Then went looking for the binding for the one I quilted today and kept find more quilts.....so guess it will take me a BIT longer :-)


First off is spiky.....all Batiks and a tie-dye looking beautiful backing.

 

 

Next is my Amy Butler bag.  Wouldn't call it a great success.  My lining seems to be way, way to big for it.  And my pockets are all over the place.  Bag making is NOT my favourite thing to do.

 

The last is one of my designs and I'm pretty pleased with it.  Took me for ever to decide how to quilt the spotty area and the greys but once I decided it went pretty quick.

More progress

Well got out another almost finished project to work on.  While looking at it the temptation to make it bigger was great..............then I remembered the famous words from Brenda "Finished is better that Perfect".  And my aim is to have a lot of "Perfect" quilts within the next few months - if not weeks!  But I have to tell you Brenda that I started Dear Jane many, many moons ago and afraid I don't think it will ever reach anywhere near perfect.  But back to my sewing today.  I discovered I had a part sewn on border (so obviously I didn't measure my border or the quilt) and it was too short.  So I did what any self-respecting quilter would do - I just made it fit.  Had to cut off more than shown in the photo otherwise the next seam line would be on top of that join.  This entire quilt quilt was made in that manner.  I made blocks and it it didn't fit the next one I simply cut it and made it fit.  So I trimmed the quilt and hey look it fits****  So finished putting on the borders and now have to get the backing ready.  Think I'll just prepare the backing and wadding today.  I'm in the mood to sew today so I had better take advantage and get another "unperfect" quilt closer to perfection.

Progress in Finishing Frenzy

Well got the quilting done on another little quilt.  My sewing group have made several quilts that will go to charity or people in need.  This was a little one but the quilting was rather intense so took a while.  The pattern is by Page Johnson and is called page-rainbow e2e.  Lovely pattern.

Also got my binding on Spiky and did some hand sewing on the Fairy quilt (which I should finish tonight).  So all in all it was a good weekend for progress on the finishing front!