UFO's - This Quilting Life!!!

This feature of quilting life, the UFO is one that always baffles me!   Some people amass UFO's like their stashes - with great abandon!!! (In fact I think it is part and parcel of  being a quilter these days! - we have so much choice and so little time!)

It actually frustrates me no end, but I seem to be helpless to do much about it.   When I first started quilting I would dutifully see each project to it's grand completion - ah! but how times have changed LOL!!!

I'm really not sure how this UFO pile crept into my life, but crept it has with alarming reality.   All I have to do is look down one end of my long sewing room, and there they all hide, on the spare bed, piles of them....

A couple of yahoo groups I belong to have recently issued challenges to get UFO's under control!   Members have to be quite upfront about this by posting pictures of their shame, and elect to get finishes done by a certain date.

I love the idea of finishing up projects, but actually putting my hand up and revealing the uncompleted and worst of all committing to a certain date for completion fills me with terror!!!   I can feel the anxiety swooshing around enough to give me hives!!!

I have been challenged to at least finish up one project!!!   So here goes....

This little quilt has been sitting idle since I finished the top on the 14th February 2010.   I hope to finish it in a month or turn into a pumpkin!  - that shouldn't really be too hard as it is already basted - we'll see how I travel LOL!!!

I was inspired to make this as I had been making pincushions using 4"x 4" blocks using up scraps.   I enjoyed making the blocks so much I decided to use up a couple of charm packs of 6 1/2" x 6 1/2 squares and created a small quilt. 

The block designs are from Carol Doak's book "300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks" , the accompanying CD allows you to print straight from your computer and adjust the size of the blocks to suit your needs.

I then added a 3/4" coloured border around each block to bring them up to 5"x 5" using scraps from my stash!  I then found a funky colourful fabric for the border.

These are the pincushions that inspired the quilt:

I love to use small dishes to sit my pincushions in and use a bit of hot-glue to make sure they stay there.
These small white dishes are Tapas dishes and are typically used for Spanish food/dishes.

I like to search for little dishes in second-hand shops and also my local kitchen-ware shop where I sometimes find little English Bone China sugar dishes that have somehow found themselves alone and are sold separately.   I can give them a loving home LOL!!!

This dear little dish (centre) was very lonely, but not anymore!!!.   The other pincushions have all been given away as gifts to quilty friends!!!

I have been thinking lately that I would like to try doing some cross-stitch.   While I was browsing http://www.countrystitchesonline.com/  I came across a lovely little booklet which contains small cross-stitch projects.

These designs are Stacy Nash Primatives   http://www.stacynashprimatives.com/  and I really fell for them.
Of course I know next to nothing about cross-stitch so I asked a fellow blogger Barbara Jack
http://sanguinestitcher.blogspot.com/  who does some wonderful crosss-stitch for some advice.

She has been very gracious with her knowledge and offered to send me some linen to start my first project.   A lovely little package arrived yesterday afternoon.   Not only did she send a gorgeous piece of linen (32ct Belfast linen),  just the colour I wanted, but she inlcuded a few little surprises as well (naughty girl!!!) she really shouldn't have, but I just love the little extras!

Isn't she a peach!    she obviously has taken note of my favourite things and has been kind enough to send them to me.   Included is some hand-dyed silk floss  'Olde Salem Red', my favourite colour, from http://www.cariesthreads.com/ , some Japanese made Tapestry needles size 28 and a beautiful pair of scissors.  I was quite blown away, they will be treasured items for sure Barbara, thankyou so much!!!


On a very sobering note of course most of you will have heard about the devestating earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand this past Tuesday.   I lived there for a few years while I was doing my Nursing training many years ago and have very fond memories of this most beautiful, historic, picturesque and peaceful city.  

It is hard to envisage such destruction not only to the CBD but also to many suburbs where people's homes are no longer inhabitable.   Already the death count has reached 144 the last news bulletin I heard late this afternoon.   It is also wonderful how people can pool together to help out especially teams of police, military and specialised rescue workers and the like from Japan, USA, UK, Australia, Singapore (some of their Army personnel were in Lyttleton on a military exercise at the time of the quake) and others to make a difference in using their unique skills to assist a city in crisis.  

Of course we as women will do as we have always done, create comfort and warmth during these sad times and that is exactly what quilters are stepping up to do again.   If you want to help please visit
http://catalinanz.blogspot.com/2011/02/quilts-for-christchurch.html

Catherine is asking for QAYG blocks, her blog will provide further links and information on how to go about this and also an address.   I will definitely be making some blocks for this most worthy cause!

This afternoon I had a little visitor in my sewing space, in fact she was right in the middle of things, as cats have a tendancy to do! I didn't have the heart to move her, so I worked around her - as you do!!!

Have a great weekend everyone, thanks for dropping by!!!
Stay safe....

Merilyn