Eunice is my Studio Tormentor who in my head tells me to sew the right thing which usually means an UFO, a very old UFO. I put Eunice in time out last year plus Country Threads did not have a 2024/25 Dirty Dozen UFO Challenge so there was no project list and my output this year is lower than normal. Usually at this time of year I had 10 Finally Finishes as opposed to only six so far this year. I pretty much enjoyed making the quilts made and wanted to continue but Eunice had other plans. This week I have two Finally Finishes and two Flimsies from the UFO pile and also one flimsie made several weeks ago before I finished my quilt for mmmquilts Glowing Hearts Quilt Along.These UFOs include one flimsie made over twelve years ago and two which the blocks were sewn last year but felt longer. I thought I’d do a short recap in the order of when they were finished.
If there’s a UFO which bugs me, it’s the one with the blocks made and ready to be made into a Flimsy. I finished three flimsies and this Heather Ross Hexie quilt was the first one. For some reason because I quilted my QAL quilt, I wanted to work on this one because the Hexies and Triangles were die-cut for what felt like were years but to my surprise I did this last year. Speaking of Tormentors, Susan, my Downunder Tormentor made a Heather Ross hexie quilt last year and I was inspired to make one after I saw hers. After all I had wonderful prints in my Heather Ross stash which has been sitting in my stash for too long and large hexies were perfect. I’ll write more about this quilt once it’s a Finally Finish and I need to ask Sue’s permission to include her wonderful quilt in my Post.
My two Finally Finishes are these two door quilts; the Marcia Derse on the left and the Asian Cranes on the right.- Marcia Derse aka Rose quilt (can you see my name in the center using the letters from her Alphabet panel) was a flimsy I made over four years and I was tired of seeing it hanging from one of the cabinet doors in my studio. I wanted this to hang this on the hallway door leading to the lower level, aka basement, studio. I did a combination machine and hand quilting over the past few months and the binding was sewn down this past weekend. The Rose Door Quilt measures 22”x38”.
- The Asian Cranes was a flimsy made over twelve years ago and would have remained a UFO if Demando had not requested I make a door quilt to cover the hallway electrical panel at his girlfriend’s house. His request was to use colorful fabric and something Asian and I knew I could use this flimsy by reworking it to fit the needed dimension. It helped that I knew his girlfriend’s favorite color is purple. I did simple straight grid quilting using a CT Essential Thread in Violet. Asian Cranes Door Quilt measures 22”x 36” and I’m hoping it’s the right size. It might be a 1/2” too short and I know how fussy Demando can be.
This is the one UFO which bugged me the most as the blocks were started around ten years and there are several reasons why I don’t like the pattern which I’ll explain when I write a Post after it is quilted. This is the Jack and Jill pattern inspired by Missouri Star Quilt Company and most of the fabric is Marcus Bros. Aunt Grace Ties One On. Although I had more fabric to make a larger quilt, I decided to make only a 40” square.
I have to say this is my favorite flimsy finish since it is the Fresh Air Quilt pattern designed by Mary Etherington/Connie Tesene of Country Threads. This is one of the great patterns featured in their Fresh Starts Quilts book, 2022. I cut the patches in 2022 but did not sew the blocks until December 2024. The fabrics used were Amanda Herring’s Jane Austen and Brenda Ratliff’s One Room Schoolhouse. This flimsy measures 64” square.
While Hubby is still recuperating from his back problems, my late night downstairs sewing/TV time has been curtailed, so I’ve been spending time in my upstairs Fiber Room which is where my wool stash is kept. One of the things I wanted to work on was reducing my wool stash so I’ve already made quillies (wool circles) and thought I would try rug hooking. I finished my first piece which measures 14”x16”, die cut most of the strips and I still on the fence if I’m “hooked”. My first piece looks like it was punched rather than hooked which has neater lines. I finally improved, as you can see on the very tiny lower right rectangle. I didn’t like the backing I used, it may have been tufting instead of Monks Cloth plus still have a lot to learn about the hoops and needle. I do know I don’t plan on hooking large pieces and will stick to small projects.
I do like making the quillies but there’s only so may mats and pincushions to be made. There’s always Wool Applique.I am looking forward to the Celebration of a Famous Canadian’s Birthday parade feature the many Glowing Hearts Quilts made. See you on Sunday, June 15th!