November and December's UFO #'s are 2 or 7

Judy from Patchwork Times has two numbers left for choosing which UFO to complete in November or December 2018.  Either #2 or #7, since these are the only numbers left.  I wish I could say those were the only UFO's I have left--but that is not the case. 

My big accomplishment today was to do all my laundry.

Reverse Birthdays

Have you ever participated in Reverse Birthdays with a special group of friends?

I had never heard of "Reverse Birthdays" until I joined my weekly Sewing Group back in 2011.  Instead of everyone in your group giving the person with the birthday, a gift, the person having the birthday gives a gift to everyone in the group.  It is rather fun, but you do have to plan ahead if you choose to make something.  As soon as I finish this post, I will take a picture of the block.  I made 22 blocks, each with a sea gull pieced in a light gray mottled square measuring approx. 8" x 9 1/2".
My thought was to have each lady make whatever she would like with her square. (pillow, wall hanging, center block for a quilt, design for front of a tote-bag).

Working on one of my 365 Quilty Circles...

Last week-end, I decided it was time to begin work on two of my tops from 2016.  These tops were part of the on-line 2016 "365 Quilty Circles Challenge".  I chose to not use batting in either quilt.

My friend, Bonnie from my weekly Sewing Group helped me pin the first top together with a black & white backing.  We pinned quite heavily with safety pins at every other 4" square.  This technique worked beautifully and I was able to machine quilt it.   Next, I sewed the binding on by machine, and then folded it over, ready to be sewn down by hand.  Without any batting, it is slow going; trying to sew the binding on and not catch the thread where it shows on the front of the quilt!


This last week, another friend from my weekly Sewing Group helped me pin the 2nd top together with a blue backing.  I got the machine quilting done on this 2nd quilt and my goal is to finish this quilt with binding before next Tuesday, Oct. 30th, 2018.  With no batting, it is very difficult and slow to sew on the binding.  I may try to sew it on by machine.

I truly loved this type of challenge--maybe in 2019, I will choose to make little houses or 3-D boxes or another unique item that is not too difficult to make.
Anyone reading this, who has an idea of a daily or weekly challenge, please let me know...... 

October's UFO Pick is #4

My nephew and his wife have come for a visit this month and they were the encouragement that I needed to clean up and organize my Sewing Room.

We have been sightseeing and visiting several landmarks that we had not seen in over 30 years.
It is always wonderful to spend time with family.  We visited the Jack Daniels Distillery and took a tour.  We had a great tour guide, so we enjoyed the tour.  Thankfully, it did not rain while we were on the tour. 

Working on (3) Quilts of Valor

Just discovered that I have (3) Quilts of Valor "in process".   They are all from my same favorite pattern:  Arkansas Crossroads with 12" blocks.   www.bellaonline.com
Judie Bellingham is the Quilting Editor and I found this on-line on 9/15/2012
I have used this pattern over and over again.
 
One top is complete with blue borders and I just need to request a Long Arm Quilter.
One top needs borders and then I can request a Long Arm Quilter and
One top needs 4 more rows and borders before I can request a Long Arm Quilter.

Hopefully, I can get all three of these QOV completed and presented to our Veterans before the end of this year:  2018.

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  Our Quilting Guild is planning to host our 2019 annual Assembly Day for all our state wide members.  Each year, one Guild chooses a location based on where the Guild is located.  The last time our Guild hosted was in 2006 and we had 600 members to attend.
Tomorrow, our committee will be deciding what our Welcoming Favors will be for each member who attends.  I am taking (2) possible favors.  One is a Business Card Holder and another is a Kleenex Holder.  Both are easy to make using very little fabric.

August UFO Pick is #3

Need to FOCUS on my UFO List.....
It doesn't seem to matter which UFO I pick each month--it always falls back to the same UFO--
CLEAN UP AND ORGANIZE MY SEWING ROOM
At present, there is not one clear spot on any surface.  It would be amazing if I could actually clear off each table top and I know it can be done.  

Wheel Chair Quilt Top

I went to Sewing on Tuesday and Die Cut a nice stack of "Half Hexies" and then took them home to sew a quilt top.  It measures 36" x 47". 

After our group has made dozens of quilt tops, we sign up in groups of 3-5 ladies
and then venture out in the country to RJ's place where she has a very large 2 story workshop.  Upstairs, there is a huge roll of batting which hangs from a rod, so that we pull down the amount of batting we need for each top and back that we sandwich.  We choose pieces of fabric for the backing, which goes together with the top.  These "Quilt Sandwiches" are made in preparation for Project Linus Day in November.