Granny Smith Goes to PQG!

I shared my version of Bonnie Hunter's "Crisscross Applesauce" quilt at Prairie Quilt Guild's Show and Share yesterday. Sometimes I rename my quilts from the original pattern name and for this quilt I wanted to still have something apple related but also Civil War related. (I started working on this quilt in 2011, the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.)

So I named it "Was Granny Smith a Northern Spy?" 

A Granny Smith apple being green and the Northern Spy apple, a rosy or red color. To shorten it, I'll probably just call this quilt "Granny Smith"!

Trisha Lehman from our quilt guild did the allover machine quilting on "Granny Smith".

To catch up on UFO's - 

"Trip Around the Prairie" is finished. I invisibly stitched the outer two rows of Prairie Points down so they wouldn't flop out and down as easily. The bottom border is still sagging and I may revisit it someday and then again, maybe not. Gravity happens.

I also finished stitching the "Pumpkin Peel" top together and it went to the machine quilter yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does in the red background. "Pumpkin Peel" is from the book, "Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts".

Even though I'd much rather start a new project, I'll decide on the next UFO to tackle later today. I'm fairly sure its going to be something a bit more modern!

Until next time, Mayleen

Trip Around the Prairie

Its been a long week but I've managed to get my latest UFO, Trip Around the Prairie, to almost completion stage!

The "only" things left to do:

Tack down the outer two rows of Prairie Points because when they flop in or down, I think they're distorting the borders and make and sew on a sleeve and label.

Some vital statistics:

There are 24 rounds of Prairie Points for a total of 1248, if I counted correctly!

It measures 36" x 37.5" and weighs approximately 3 pounds.

I won't have much time to stitch this week but I'm still hoping to start on my next UFO finish, Pumpkin Peel, very soon!

Until next time,

Mayleen

UFO Busting!

Time for some UFO Busting calculations!

# of projects in process as of January 1 - 34 

# of projects completed - 1

# of new projects started - 0

# of UFO's trashed - 0

(I don't think I've ever actually trashed a project. I pass them on or donate to Goodwill.)

# of projects in process as of January 31 - 33

It doesn't seem like I made much progress but any progress is more than what would have happened if I hadn't joined the UFO challenge. If I can average one finish a month, I'll be very happy!

Finish #1 - My selvage Streak of Lightning quilt, Flash!

It needed binding and I added a sleeve. As soon as I've finished four quilts, I'll print out labels and add one to it.

 I finished piecing Criss Cross Applesauce and its at the machine quilter in line to be quilted. I won't get it back until early March. I learned quite a while ago not to try to machine quilt anything larger than a medium sized wall hanging on my domestic machine.

Instead of trashing my Target UFO blocks, I took them apart and am making this "Trip Around the Prairie" wall hanging. In this photo, I'm trying to figure out the last 5 or 6 rounds of color. I know I need a lighter value color but my stash is limited in choices.

 

This will be the next UFO I work on. Its "Pumpkin Peel" from the book, Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts, by Mary Elizabeth Kinch and Biz Storms. I don't know when it got wet but there's a little bleeding going on so I'm going to try soaking it in hot water and Dawn dishwashing liquid. I hope its not ruined.

Until next time, Mayleen

Trip Around the Prairie

No finishes this week but here's an update on the progress I'm making on my latest UFO!

Do you have a UFO that for whatever reason you don't like anymore?

This was my Pine Burr (also called Target and Bullseye) quilt that I was no longer liking. It just wasn't turning out the way I'd envisioned so I took it apart.

I decided to reuse the Prairie Points in a new project. I ended up cutting more fabric to make even more Prairie Points and have no idea if they'll all get used. I thought I'd planned out the color placement and how many Prairie Points I'd need for each color but I'm changing my mind (often).

One of the things I didn't like about my Pine Burr blocks was that my circles were going wonky and I couldn't line up the Prairie Points to keep them even. 

A square or rectangle was my choice because I could draw lines on the foundation fabric to help me line up the triangle bases. I would also be able to space the Prairie Points more evenly. When I realized I was making a "Trip Around the World" with Prairie Points, I decided to name it "Trip Around the Prairie".

Here I'm trying to decide the direction I should take in the next round of colors. As usual, I'm short on lighter value fabrics because I tend to purchase medium and darker value fabrics. I'm considering using the floral fabric on the left for the borders. The colors in this photo are a little more intense than in real life.

Even with the placement lines drawn on the foundation fabric, it has been a bit of a challenge to keep the design from going wonky. Lots of measuring and adjusting after each row! It will definitely not be perfect.

I'd like to finish this wallhanging in the next week or so because I'm already planning which UFO to work on next! Below is part of "Pumpkin Peel" from the book, Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts, written by Mary Elizabeth Kinch and Biz Storms.

I think I have almost half the pumpkin peels paper foundation pieced. I'd like to applique them on red solid background fabric. Recently I saw this same design on a cheddar background. Mine won't be hand quilted like hers is but I'm considering using a striped binding if I can find one that will work!

Until next time,

Mayleen