Keeping Track of UFOs

UFOs are like a thorn in every crafter's side. Unless you are one of those weirdos who doesn't start a new project until the last one is finished. I only did that once, probably on my second quilt.

I have so many UFOs that I have a whole trunk show dedicated to the whats, whys, and how comes of them.  So why UFOs?

I am a process quilter. I love the entire process from idea, to design, picking fabric, cutting, piecing, quilting (mostly by checkbook), and binding. I don't usually feel rushed to get a project done, unless there is a hard deadline like a class or a show. My head is full of quilt ideas just waiting to be born. Which is why I have so many UFOs.

Besides my own ideas, there are new tempting BOMs in my Facebook feed almost every day. Quilt pics posted by friends and acquaintences. Workshops. Guild BOMs. New patterns by my favorite designers. New favorite designers. Virtual Quilt Alongs. The new input never ends.

 So, that's the why. I have a very hard time saying "NO".

OK, so lots of UFOs is a given in my world. The next question is UFO and project management. I happily start new projects monthly. No guilt. But I do feel guilty if they languish unacknowledged for too long (how long is too long?). To combat my tendency to forget about things not in my line of sight, I developed an excel spreadsheet to manage my UFOs. 

Here are my headings: Project Name, Technique, Date Acquired, Components (fabric &pattern, kit, panel and pattern, etc.),  Designer, Location in Studio, Status (1-10), and Notes. I go through the spreadsheet and my UFOs about once a year and update all my projects. I currently have 174 projects.

Besides getting finished, how do projects move off the spreadsheet? Some projects are in the unenviable position of not being exciting to me anymore. I may give the entire project to the guild exchange, decide to make it a smaller quilt or wall hanging, or get rid of the pattern and "liberate" the fabric back into my stash. Once it's gone I delete it from the speadsheet.

Before I started using my current system, I would go down to my studio and spend so much time trying to figure out which project I felt like working on. Many times I would end up not working on anything at all. Now I have a couple of strategies that keep projects moving forward.

Project Rotation Schedule - 

My Friend Shari introduced me to a rotation schedule. I use this for about 6 months at a time, list 8-12 projects and indicate the date I worked on it. This way, I don't have to waste time wondering which project to work on. I use this schedule to make notes, set priorities for the next few months, and jot any reminders that I need to keep working.

Finish It Up Fridays-

I have a different form that I use for quilts that are not on my rotation. These are quilts that might need one last border, need to be quilted or have a binding sewn on. Every Friday my goal is to move one project from one column to the next column on the form. At one time last year the pile of quilts needing a binding was quite tall.  I try to post my finish on Facebook to help keep me accountability. 

UFO Challenges-

Occasionally I'll sponsor or join in on a UFO Challenge. Again, mostly for accountability. Sometimes the quilts on a UFO challenge are on my rotation schedule, sometimes not. This month I'm participation in one with Stitch On, posting my progress every week. 

Retreats - 

I go to 6-8 retreats a year. Yes, I know I'm lucky that way. Retreats are a good way to spend focused time on priority projects. I'll be hosting a UFO retreat in the fall. On these retreats, I usually bring an old UFO, a more recent UFO, and maybe a brand new project (it can't always be about UFOs).  

Quarterly Goals -

I try to look ahead to workshops I'm teaching, trunk shows that need updating, quilt shows where I'll show a quilt, birthdays or other special events coming up that include a gift quilt. These projects get added to the rotation schedule and retreat projects list.

I'll never finish all my UFOs. There are so many quilts to be made, workshops to take, trunkshows to develop, and patterns to write. I'll just keep at it and use my tools to help me.  If you would like a copy of my rotation schedule and Finish It Up Friday forms, leave and comment with your email and I'll send them to you.

I'm curious about your strategies. Let me know.

 

A Top is Born - Finally

Due to the way I sew - multiple projects at a time, I don't finish tops very often. They are spread out over time. But this summer I have been concentrating on finishing a few quilts. The first finish is Spring Meadow.

I started this one at Quiltworx University in Tucson in 2019.  The process for Quiltworx University goes like this - everyone (about 50 quilters) does the same mixer. That means a pattern is broken down into 4 sections - center, first border, outer section and outer border. Then, for each section there are anywhere from 4 to 7 different options to choose from. So, even before fabric choices are applied, everyone's quilts will look different. The add fabric and you really have a terrific line up of wildly different quilts. The mixer for QU 2019 in Tucson was Prairie Star Mixer. 

I chose my layout options and fabrics on Quiltster, submitted it and like magic it was there, in a box waiting for me when I arrived.

Saul was a good sport and agreed to go with me to Tucson. It was held at Tanque Verde Ranch outside of Tucson, a beautiful desert property with Southwestern buildings and stately Saguaro cacti and colorful scrubs.  Oh, and did I mention, the food was delicious - Saul's favorite part.

In addition to lovely hours of sewing, we were treated to a trunkshow by Judy. We got to see a bunch of new projects coming out. I always look forward to this and I make a list of what I want to make next.

Fast forward 3 plus years: sweet Saul's passing, COVID, some more travels, and several quilts. In July of this year (2022) I went to Quilt Camp at the Quiltworx retreat and training center, spending 10 days working on Quiltworx quilts with other Quiltworx fans. 

I opened the tote with my Meadow Star project and my first thought was "What was I thinking when I used these colors? It looks like the Easter Bunny yacked up on the wall." But as I got all the pieces up on the design wall and began assembling it - especially when I added the Kaffe Collective Cabbage Rose fabric, it all came together.  Granted it wasn't my usual color palette, but I liked it.

Its 100 inches square and will cost a pretty penny to have it quilted. I've started saving! It feels so good to get one of the beautiful Judy Niemeyer quilts finished. Judy designs them  so they are not difficult, but they do take perseverance. Oh, and I started a new one while I was there, so my net Quiltworx project numbers didn't change.

 If you're interested in learning more about Judy and Quiltworx, let me know. I have an entire trunkshow dedicated to the beautiful Quiltworx quilts.

  

A New Quilt From Start to Finish - Chapter 6 Borders

I started this quilt, Cattail Mixer (more creative name to come), last February at Quiltworx University in Bakersfield. I've been posting each step along the way from Design and Coloring on Quiltster, to Assembly Line Paper Piecing, completing the Center Star, and Appliqueing the Cattails. I am closing in on completing the final papers. Then starts the last chapter - assembly.

Since this quilt is a mixer, I got to choose from several different borders. There is an inner border, an outer border, and the outermost border. All the borders have millions of pieces! Last week I was at a retreat at Quiltworx in Somers Montana, and I spent some time (lots of time) doing border pieces.  I got really good at assembly line paper piecing. I keep thinking I ought to count the pieces in case I want to give a smart a** response when someone asks me how many pieces are in the quilt. I still might do that.

I put part of the outer border together to get an idea of how it was going to look, and I think it rocks! Now I just have to assemble more border sections and then work on the outermost border. Borders, Borders, Borders!


I'm getting close, I can almost taste the final assembly. I love the mixer quilts and can't wait to start another one - after I finish this one (she says, with her fingers crossed).

On Retreat in Montana with Judy Niemeyer and Jennifer Eubank

It's been a few weeks since I've posted and I have lots to write about.  I'll start with the most recent event first and then go back and catch up. So for those of you who are aware of my schedule, it will be a bit out of order. No big deal!

Today is the last day of a six day retreat at the Quiltworx Retreat Center in Somers, Montana. I have had a great time - relaxing, productive, inspiring, and fun. I brought three projects to work on and then bought fabric to start a fourth. 

First, lets talk about the Retreat Center. There are sewing stations (with design walls) for 12, beds for 10, 6 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a laundry. It is right next door to the Quiltworx Offices and Warehouse. Judy and her staff took really good care of us - great instruction, wonderful food (and I didn't have to cook OR clean up after), a trunk show of Judy's gorgeous quilts, a demonstration on Quiltster, camaraderie with terrific fellow quilters, and a shopping trip to two local quilt shops.  All this set in the breathtaking scenery of the Flathead Valley in Montana. (BTW, weather was wonderful - 80s and dry with a slight breeze).

Next, the projects. We were all working on different projects. I took Vintage Rose, Cattails in the Meadow (see my series of posts on this quilt), Prismatic Star, and a new one - Bali Wedding Star.  

Several of us were working on Vintage Rose, so there was lots of demonstrations, comparisons, and helpful hints going on. I got all the paper piecing done and started the assembly. A few more hours and it will be ready for the quilter. This was my first Judy quilt, one of her technique of the month quilts. It features lots of interesting techniques like putting on veins (little accents on the petals), points (accent fabric at the top of the onion dome piece), registration points, curved piecing, and S and double S curve piecing. (ignore the black diamond, it is part of the design wall hardware). Here is a quarter of it assembled. I am really happy with my color choices and how its come together.


Cattails will get a post of its own. I worked on border pieces (lots and lots of border pieces). Then I worked on border pieces, then some more border pieces. I am WAY over border pieces!



The next project was Prismatic Star. Its a lone star pattern made with jelly roll strip sets - Judy's Gypsy set from Timeless Treasures. I got everything cut and three of the eight sets made. One of the great tips I got from Judy is how to line up and pin the star pieces so that the points come together perfectly.


The last project I worked on was the Bali Wedding Star. I mainly just wanted to get started on this so that I could feel comfortable with the technique of assembly line paper piecing the arcs. I'm using rusty orange strips on a deep purple background. I think it will be stunning.

OK, now it's confession time: I bought more patterns. In my defense, I was looking at four terrific projects and ended up buying two from Judy and two on sale at one of the quilt shops. Ok, so that's still four, but I did use some restraint - I almost bought six! This is one of the main reasons I decided to drive, so I could bring back my haul of goodies!

On field trip day, Jennifer Eubank brought us to two local quilt shops - Glacier Quilts and Quilt Gallery. Both shops are Quiltworx Certified shops, so they had all of Judy's patterns and tons of batiks for the projects. In addition to getting some patterns on sale, I bought batiks for Bali Wedding Star.  

I have a three day drive ahead of me and I'm excited to be going home (except for the cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, hot and humid, going through mail part).  I do have other quilts waiting to be worked on, but I'm sure I'll just have to work on my Judy quilts again soon. 

Quilty friends, I can't say enough about the retreats sponsored by Quiltworx. They fill up fast, so run, don't walk to sign up for an upcoming retreat. You will not be sorry.

Curious about the Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier National Park? Ask me about it when I get home. I'm going there tomorrow.

 

Vintage Rose by Judy Niemeyer - Part One

I'm not sure I even know where to start. The beginning maybe?

I've been watching the Judy Niemeyer and Quiltworx phenomena for a few years. The patterns are really stunning and look very complex. Last fall I saw the new teaching piece Vintage Rose and fell in love.
OK, I have to make this. 

Thus begins my search for a workshop. I consider myself an experienced paper piecer, but I have never made a Judy Niemeyer (JN) quilt before and it seemed a little daunting. I won't go through the list of workshops I looked at - suffice it to say I was looking at everything from Montana to Phoenix. I found the perfect workshop at Kinderhook Lodge in Barry Illinois. It was sponsored by JN Certified shop Peddler's Way in Washington Illinois. Perfect place (4 hours drive), perfect time (beginning of May), and did not break the bank.

Diane and Linda, the ladies at Peddler's Way Quilt Company were so nice and helpful in getting me started. I ordered my pattern - the instructions and foundation papers - from them. On their advice, I signed up for Quiltster, an online program that enables quilters to design color placement on JN quilts. Given that there are hundreds (or more) pieces and thousands of coloring possibilities, there is no way I could have chosen colors without using Quiltster.  I worked up four possibilities and finally decided on a turquoise, orange, and pink colorway.

Since the workshop was only four days and the project quite intense, we had some prep work to do. Here is where it really started getting challenging. I've done a lot of paper piecing, but Judy's process includes cutting and stacking pieces so that the quilter can assembly line sew or chain piece. This was new to me. 

Judy's foundation papers are printed on newsprint, and included in the pattern are cutting templates. The directions indicate what size to cut large chunks of fabric. I pinned the newsprint cutting template to the fabric chunk and then cut along the indicated cutting lines. Most of the time my color choice required a stack of eight fabrics. So now for each section I have lots of stacks of fabrics clipped to the newsprint template. 

Ok, so I have my fabrics, most of them precut; pattern read, reread and highlighted; sewing machine and supplies packed; I'm ready to go.

Kinderhook Lodge is just across the Mississippi River from Hannibal Missouri. Good luck that there are at least three quilt shops between here and there - I decided to stop at two - Missouri Star in Hamilton and Hickory Stick Quilt Shop in Hannibal. Let's just say I left some money at each one.

Kinderhook Lodge is a beautiful facility - great food, and a peaceful setting. I'm hoping our guild can arrange some retreats there. Our Vintage Rose cohort is already planning a reunion next year.

So, are you curious about foundation piecing the Judy Niemeyer way? Stay tuned for Part 2!

Eclipse - A Terrific Quilt and A Terrific Group of Friends

I have been working on this wonderful quilt for the past year. It's not a secret, I promise. It's been one of my favorites - the quilt as well as the quilting group doing it with me. 

We started last January - 6 of us. Kim turned us onto Eclipse from Mainstreet Market Designs and now we call ourselves the Eclipsettes. We each chose our own colors - 24 of them for those of us following the pattern (some of us decided to use 12 colors instead). I went to Stitch On and got 24 small prints that skip oh so nicely around the color wheel.  I also chose to go with the black background - I think the colors really pop.

So we decided to do 3 spokes a month, the spokes being paper pieced in 2 sections. They went together fairly easy and most of my fellow Eclipsettes are finished by now. I am almost caught up. Just some outter borders to go. The worrisome part is whether my outter circle and borders will fit nicely onto the inner circle. We'll see soon.

 OK, so the quilt is great, but even better is the friendship we share. We talk, laugh, share quilting tips, eat, drink, laugh some more. I've gotten to know 6 beautiful women through this craft, just as many of our fore-mothers did.  Last summer we went on a retreat at Kelly Ashton's The Creative Place so that we would have uninterrupted time to work on Eclipse and other projects. We had a blast.  What happens at retreat stays at retreat.


In today's time of instant communication, media overload, and bad news all around, small, intimate groups of like-minded friends are my calm in a crazy storm. I can't over-estimate the value of these friends.

Although the year of Eclipse is drawing to a close, our group has decided to keep going. We were the Eclipsettes and now we are the Hueys (as in Getting to Know Hue).

If you find a group of friends like mine, cherish them as the treasures they are.

  

Sisters - Shopping, Classes, and Quilts Galore: The Ultimate Quilting Experience

I am still in overwhelm mode. It was AWESOME!

I just got back from 10 days of everything quilt related in Sisters Oregon - the 40th Anniversary of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and Quilter's Affair.



I flew into Seattle and BFF Bobbie and I packed up her car (full!) and headed south to Sisters. Of course we had to stop at a few fantastic quilt shops along the way to collect the Row By Row patterns and buy a scrap or two of fabric. I started collecting gray fat quarters for a new quilt called Gray Matter.


The scenery on the trip was breathtaking - especially as we crossed Mount Hood National Forest.  The air smelled fresh and clean - like the pine trees that lined the mountain roads.




Our condo was at Eagle Crest Resort near Redmon Oregon. This 2 bedroom unit would give the four of us plenty of room to sleep, eat and sew during the week. Deer wandered in and out of sight of our back deck and the hot tub was heavenly.

The 3 classes I took were outstanding. I learned so much from talented teachers Barbara Shapel, Tula Pink, and Hilde Morin. More detail about my classes in a later post.

The piece de resistance of the week was the outdoor quilt show on Saturday. The town of Sisters is festooned with quilts - every building, porch, store front, as well as the inside of stores were covered with quilts. I've never seen so many quilts hanging in one place. More to come.


In addition to all the great quilty stuff, The four of us  - Bobbie, Cyndy, Sammie and I, had a great time together. Laughing, talking, sewing, snacking, shopping - we had so much fun. 

Stay tuned for details!

Finally - A Finished Project!

I've started lots of new projects this year and today I am happy to say that I finished a long-time UFO.  Last year (or was it 2013? or 2012?)  I took a class with a great teacher and friend Kathy Pflaum at Stitchin' Traditions in Topeka. We made a wall hanging from the book 3-D Folded Blocks  by Geesje Baron and Esther Vermeer.  And today I finally finished it - quilting, binding, hanging sleeve and all.






The blocks look like regular traditional quilt blocks. But they aren't! Each of the shapes in the block is achieved by folding fabric into squares, rectangles or triangles and layering them.  It was really fun and a very unique way to make blocks. The shapes are layered and sewn together around the outside edge of the block. 

For example, in this block, the shapes would be sewn together about where the cream border is. Then the borders (cream and green) were added, and then they were set with the red background.  One very important tip for the folded blocks is to really get a good, sharp crease. I used Faultless Extra Crisp Magic Sizing and I really like the result. It's a bit hard to find here in Lawrence, so I order it by the case. 


I decided to quilt this myself. One of my favorite quilting motifs is pebbles (are pebbles?). I started quilting this at a Stitch On retreat last year (or the year before? I see a pattern emerging here - I can't remember stuff!). Pebbles take a lot of time for me, as well as a lot of thread. Luckily I kept the thread with the project so I could complete it with the same thread - at least on the top! One would think after doing this many pebbles that I would be good at it. No such luck. My pebbles are still irregular and my "sew-overs" aren't exact. I'm not good yet, but I'm better than I was!
I really enjoyed these blocks and I imagine that some day I might make a sampler from all 71 different folded blocks in the book. 
Keeping Curious!

I'm Back!!

I think we've all experienced it to one degree or another - that feeling of being overwhelmed, blue, in a rut, under the weather, or down right depressed. I have to admit that I have been experiencing all of these feelings over the last 6 months or so. It's frustrating, because I have a great life - a wonderful, supportive husband, great home, a to-die-for quilting studio, a good job, health (mostly), friends, financial security, etc. But I just was not happy. While I was out (overwhelmed, blue, in a rut, etc.) I didn't post anything and sometimes would not visit my studio for days at a time. Come to find out it was most likely due to some dietary issues combined with some depression, and with some lifestyle changes I am back on track. HooWoo!

The year is winding down and I've been doing a review of some of the things I've accomplished this year and thinking about some goals for next year. 

Even given my 6 month funk, this year I:

• made progress on my multitude of BOMs.
• improved my free-motion quilting skills.
• moved and set up a sweet quilt studio.
• reached out more to friends and hosted several sew-in days.
• visited some new quilt shops on my trip to New England.
• attended 2 retreats.
• signed up for (and watched most of them) lots of Craftsy classes.
• added to my stash of fabrics, books, and patterns (not sure if this is an accomplishment or something to be avoided next year).
• took some great workshops (the highlights being Jacquie Gering, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and Kelly Ashton).
• designed (in my head) several quilts for my "50 Quilts from 50 States" series.
• started my self portrait quilt.

I still have time to think about what I want to accomplish next year. The hard part will be limiting my list to what is actually do-able!

So standby for next year's goals and updates on what I'm curious about in my studio!

The Joy of Retreats #2 - Fellow Quilters and Stitchers

Indeed I made a lot of progress on several BOM projects at the Stitch-On Retreat! It was good sewing and great food, but the best part was spending time with and being inspired by my awesome stitching sisters!
Most of us were piecing or quilting, but some were also doing counted cross stitch or knitting (both passions of mine). On Sunday before packing up we had a show and tell and I was amazed by the beautiful work! Anne Marie finished a cross stitch snowman sampler, several ladies showed their T-shirt quilts, and Laura and Leslie from Stitch-On were working on shop samples- one of them using this great KU fabric (KU went on to loose later that day ;-( ). Everyone had really worked hard and made lots of progress.

Several people really inspired me. Lisa  had just finished binding this wonderful star quilt.  I really like the quilting on it.




Kathy and Tracy, a mother-daughter duo a few tables from where I was sitting, were doing modern quilts with colors I really love. Tracy did this cute paper pieced staggered flying geese baby quilt.  Kathy was working on a bright green quilt from Modern Quilting magazine (on the right in this pic).


 I absolutely love the quilting on it.  I always feel so inspired when I see what my quilting sisters have created. I took several pictures of patterns, color schemes, and fabric lines so that I could remember details later. I added many new friends to my Facebook list so we can keep in touch.

I am so looking forward to my next retreat in September. I'm curious - Do you go on quilting retreats?