Fabric Journal is complete

I began the Fabric Journal in Nov. 2015 and made the covers.  I began again in May 2016 through Dec. 2017.  My husband provided his expertise by placing the grommets today, so I was able to finish the Journal this afternoon.  I need to focus on planning prior to beginning a project since not all my journal pages were the same size.  Oh, well--it's O.K. because I'm thrilled to have finished it and can show it tomorrow at our Quilt Guild meeting.  We are beginning another UFO Challenge for 2018 and the first UFO is due tomorrow.  Here's a picture or two.....

Front Cover of my Fabric Journal

 

Inside Front Cover of Journal

Country Boy Pattern #403

The last couple of days I have been working on the Country Boy blocks.  I started them in late October 2017.  In looking at the top on the Design Wall, I know the sides need borders too.  Those will need to wait for another day.

This afternoon, I need to get going on the Quilt of Valor kit that I began on Saturday, Feb. 3rd.  I still need to sew the sashing and the cornerstones around each block and add the borders before I can turn it back in to our Group Leader.  After re-reading the instructions at home, I realized that I had sewn each and every block (40 to be exact) wrong.  So, I spent all day Monday, un-sewing every block and sewing each one back with the matching fabric.

UFO #1 has been chosen for February 2018

Yes, I am taking the Patchwork Times Challenge in hopes of finishing up at least (12) UFO projects.
UFO#1 was chosen by Judy for February 2018.  Several months ago, I tried to begin quilting one of 365 Day Quilts from 2016.  I added batting and began to quilt.  Quickly, I discovered that was not going to work.  First, I will need to take out the quilting I started and remove the batting.  Since the quilt top is quite heavy with all the embellishments, I think it will be best to skip the batting and just back the top and hopefully it will work.  Obviously, I will still need to machine tie it in many places.  I loved making these quilt tops, so just cannot leave them as is.....  

This Challenge actually consists of two quilts.  One Quilt covers January through June.  The Second Quilt covers July through December 2016.  Each square finishes at 4 inches and consists of two triangles with a circle and a few words of what happened that day.

QOV Presentation Cases completed

Yesterday, I focused on completing (4) QOV Presentation Cases for the (4) QOV I plan to complete in the next month.  I used the sizes of fabric that I had in patriotic colors, so not one of them is the same size.  Here's a picture.....

First, I need to determine what is needed for each Quilt of Valor.  I believe that all (4) need to be sent to a Long Arm Quilter with a wide backing.  The packaging and mailing seems to always be my hang-up.  This last week, my husband ordered some mylar plastic bags (24" square) for mailing the QOV tops and backing fabrics to the LAQ, along with some address labels.  This should be so much easier.  We were having to find boxes for mailing.

Working on January's UFO pick

Yesterday, I started work on my Tote Bag (again).  Last week, before the snow began falling in middle Tennessee, my husband & I went and purchased a huge sheet of  "foam board" for my Tote Bag.  Presently, the foam board is perched on the couch and my husband is hoping it will not become a permanent fixture in our library.  It really isn't very becoming.  I did get the pockets sewn, in order to allow us to slide the (3) foam board sections into the Tote Bag.  My husband also knows that he will be the one measuring and cutting the foam board and I know he just can't wait.

Another project that has been waiting since Nov. 2015 is my Fabric Journal.  I have the covers made and a few pages but this morning, I have discovered 16 photo transfers that I wanted to include.  That means more pages needed.  Planning does not seem to be one of my talents but I will keep plugging along.....   

Cowboys out on the Range

RJ, one of our leaders from our Weekly Sewing Group gave me an interesting panel, along with some matching fabrics for me to design a quilt top during the Christmas Break.  She also gave me a piece of dark beige flannel for the backing.  The back may need a little extra sewn down the sides to make it large enough for the back.  Here's a picture of the front.  I added the (2) cowboy hats at the top and a couple of cowboy boots at the bottom, both for a little added appeal for a young boy.
It measures 41" across by 62" down.  I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

Cowboys out on the Range

Our Sewing Group had to skip over 2 weeks of getting together due to the Christmas and New Years holidays.  I have really been missing getting together with everyone but I have kept busy working on projects.  

My UFO for January has been chosen by Judy at Patchwork Times

#10 - My On the Go Tote
I had to laugh when I saw what number had been chosen for January 2018.   At the moment, it is sitting on a chair in my Sewing Room with two QOV tops piled on top of the Tote that is not quite finished.  Since our Guild meets the middle of January, there is hope that I could finish it up by Jan.13th.  I started it about 6 months ago-made great progress and then something more exciting arrived and it was set aside.   These pictures are from several months ago.  The tote is a little farther along than what you see in these pictures.  The pockets are sewn down and handles/straps have been attached and binding has been sewn partially around.  Part of my problem arose when I made the straps extra sturdy, which made them rather difficult to hang on my shoulder.  It would be fabulous to be able to show it finished at my Guild meeting.
 
 

Back of Tote

Front of Tote