Things are Moving Along Well

The Center Medallion of Mom and Dad's new quilt.
Somehow I don't think it will be finished by Friday
when I go for a visit. Maybe if I work real hard .....

My to-be-quilted closet. About half the quilts are mine.

Fabric for projects underway.

Well, as always I am busier than a one armed paper hangar. Things are ripping along quite well in the studio. I have finally managed to write some directions for new patterns. They are off to the testers now and will be back in a couple of weeks.
I have even managed to quilt two of my UFOs. Of course they are still unfinished as the binding is not on yet. But, it will be by next weekend. I will have three done by then as they are for cousins' birthdays on the August Long Weekend. So they WILL be finished.


Entries for the UFO contest are as follows:
Lisa E. has 17 UFOs on her list.
Audrey R. has 18 UFOs.
Kayle P. has 41 UFOs.
Becky A. has 3 UFOs.
Linda N. has 86 UFOs.
Marcy Y. has 39 UFOs.

Based on the nature of this competition, I have decided to allow more entries. After all, aren't UFO's really about having trouoble getting started and finishing things? Have you entered yet? Don't forget to send a list of your UFO's and a photo or two of your works in progress.

Storage shelf with UFOs stacked up!

Its UFO Time: Ladies and Gents, Start Your Sewing Machines

WARNING!

Leave Me Alone I'm Quilting!

Okay people it is confession time. I have, by actual count 58 UFOs. For those of you who don't already know, in quilting terms a UFO is an Un-Finished-Object. (This is not to be confused with the more rare, but equally frustrating WOMBAT ... Waste Of Material, Batting and Time.)


I am an expert at UFOs. I have what my husband calls Magpie Syndrome. I am distracted by bright or shiny objects. I see something and say, "'Oh I've got to make that." The words are hardly out of my mouth before something else catches my eye and its "Oh that too, and that.' I start many things and finish significantly fewer. Its time to pay the piper. I'm going to get some things done and I want you to join me. So, I'm having a friendly little competition.

To be clear projects are only considered UFOs if they are actually started. All those piles of fabric I have purchased for projects not yet stared are not UFOs. That is only stash or what I call un-started projects and they are a whole different ball of string. We may deal with them in the future. It does not become a UFO until I actually start the project.

My goal for the remainder of this year is to finish as many previously-started projects as I can. And I am challenging you to do the same.

Today I have:

• 5 quilted tops that need binding (Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin, Charm Square, Guild Friendship Blocks, Fairies, Pink and Blue rail fence)
• 3 incomplete hand sewing projects (includes hand piecing or applique) (Bonnet Girls an on-going BOM, Floral Wreath Applique, partly pieced Crazy Quilt)
• 30 finished tops waiting for me to quilt and then bind them (Table runner to queen sized)
• 15 projects that I started piecing that have not yet reached the quilting stage. (Mom and Dad, 2-Turning Twelve (modified Turning Twenties), 2-baby quilts from Dick and Jane ...)
• 5 projects that are ready for the pattern to be written and tested (Midnight Blues, 2 applique wall hangings, Scrap Therapy and Marnie)

That gives me a grand total of 58 projects to complete. (Okay I may have quit counting when I began to get discouraged and embarrassed. I definitely skipped the boxes in the basement and I am not including those I have designed patterns for but haven't started.)

The challenge is for you to send me a list of your UFOs and see how many you can complete before December 15, 2011. That gives you more than five months to work with. Half a year. Eons of sewing time.

Here's how it works.
1. You have until July 5 to join the fun.
2. E-mail me a list of your UFOs, or at least a list of those you plan to complete. Un-started projects do not count. You must already have started these projects to qualify. If you wish, you can submit a photo of the started projects or the mess in your sewing space that inspired you to join in the fun. Please include your full name, hometown, e-mail address and project list. (quiltingcath@gmail.com) I will keep all your personal information confidential and it will not appear on my blog.
3. E-mail me a picture of each project as you complete it. (I may publish them on this blog to inspire others. If you want to share a picture with me, but do not want your photo posted here, please tell me when you submit your picture.)
4. I will publish an ongoing list of competitors and their stats. (Number of projects, number finished.) (No last names, just first names and initials and home town.)
5. You must be a follower of this blog to enter and to win. If you are not already a follower, please sign up.
6. The winner will be the person who completes the most UFOs before December 15, 2011.
7. Every entrant who completes more projects than I do will be entered into a draw for an additional prize.

Sorry to my off continent followers, this contest is only open to subscribers in Canada and the Continental United States. (Technical question for my American readers, does Continental United States include Alaska? It does for this blog.) If you are off continent and want to participate, please join us but you will not be eligible for prizes.

 

The Grand Prize .... a quilt kit. The pattern will be one of my choosing and one of my own patterns (of course) and the fabric needed to complete the top and the binding. The Bonus Prize: to be determined.

Ladies and Gents ..... start you sewing machines. On your marks, get set, QUILT!

I dare you to enter! I double dare you!! I double-dog dare you!!!



Something Lovely to Inspire Us!
Birds of a Feather
By: Joan F. Naylor.Quilted by: LuAne Downs
3rd Place Wall Hanging
Machine Quilters Showcase 2011. Kansas

Vacation is Over: Let the Work Begin

It seems like forever since I touched a computer. We spent the last 22 days on vacation and the most technical thing I touched during that time was my camera. I'm not saying that I am addicted to the camera, but we have almost 3000 vacation pictures plus about 1000 pictures of the lacrosse tournament we attended.

But, lets begin at the beginning... vacation started with five days in London. We've been before, but went back for the chance to absorb more history. We walked for hours soaking up the architecture and marvelling at the sights. Our hotel was just off Trafalgar Square (The Grand on Trafalgar.) There is always something happening in the square. It ranges from demonstrations to concerts to impromptu dancing and everything in between. We started and ended each day there. Coffee every morning and tea every night before returning to our hotel. Frequently we watches a man there with a falcon chasing away the pigeons. He didn't harm them, but his presence scared them off which made for a much more pleasant visit.

After London came Prague and lacrosse. We watched the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships and my husband participated in the Grand Masters (Over 45) division.Their team won their division and beat every team in the Masters division (Over 30.)  The tournament organizers also hosted a beer drinking competition which we won quite handily. We arrived about an hour late and still manged to clean up. Never challenge a Canadian to a beer drinking competition!



Mmmm, vats and vats of Scotch Whiskey.



Next Up: Scotland. Yup, we were there last year too. This year we drove up the east coast, across the top and down the west coast. We took in Edinburgh and the Isle of Sky as well. Scotland has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Its kind of like Canada with its prairies, mountains, forests and rocky plains all squished up together.  Every turn in the road and every crest of a hill gives you something new to look at. We also visited the Glen Morangie Distillery and had a tour. Scotch making is at once much simpler and much more complex than I ever imagined.



Celtic Quilting
by
Gail Lawther



I found a book on Celtic Quilting while I was there and took a ton of pictures of Celtic designs and carpets for quilting inspiration. I probably have the strangest holiday pictures ever. Last year I took pictures at the Louvre, mostly of the intricate tile floors and ceilings.



Now, its back to the old grindstone. First off, into the studio and back at the longarm. I've got a stack of client quilts to finish by the end of next week. After the studio maybe some time catching up on pattern writing.





The Ocean near Thurso, Scotland.



MQS Kansas

Well, I'm arrived in Kansas safe and sound. It it a beautiful city, all green and growing. Its a far cry from the early spring I left in Calgary. When we arrived the  humidity was stifling and way too hot. Without the humidity, it would be quite lovely. Let me tell you this, I know why the Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard of Oz melted, the humidity did her in!

My first day was spent setting up the booth. I have worked shows before but kits and patterns are a whole lot less work than  individual spools of threads. Yikes. We were kept busy running about, talking thread and quilting with customers. I hardly had time to view the quilts. But let me tell you this ladies, they were fabulous. I've never seen such a variety of technique assembled in one place.



Aunt Polly's Porch
Quilted by Marilyn Badger.
Painted by Claudia Clark Myers.
3rd Place: Art/Pictorial.



Machine embroidery, hand embroidery, piecing, whole cloth quilts, wool quilts, machine and hand applique and what I can only call mock-applique. Quilters are taking whole pieces of cloth and quilting them with intricate designs and coloring them in too look like applique. They use pens, ink, markers, water colors, pencil crayons and special pencil crayon designed to blend with water. Irena Blume does fabulous work in this area and gave me a demonstration of how it works. Check her out at http://www.irenabluhmscreations.com/.

There was also a ton of fabulous quilting. Much of it was done by computerised machine which did not, in my opinion, even come close to the beauty and diversity that was created by hand guided machines. The majority of quilts that took prizes were quilted by hand guided machines using custom quilting.


I have never been so inspired and depressed all at once. I couldn't wait to get home and practise my custom freehand quilting and at the same time worried that my skill would  never match that of these masters. I've decided that while I will likely never match them that I am going to practise and give it my best shot.



Magical Mermaid's Castle by Claudia Pfeil. Winner: Best of Show. Fabulous detail
quilting with hundreds, maybe thousands of crystals for accent. WOW!

  


Detail of Magical Mermaid's Castle

  
 








Detail of Magical Mermaid's Castle



Red Letter Daze by Janet Stone.
This quilt also took a prize by the detail
photo did not turn out. Apologies to Janet.



Detail of Red Letter Daze

Happy Mother's Day

I just wanted to take a moment to thank my mother for all she has done for me over the years. I don't think there is a better mother out there and I apologize for the times that I told her otherwise. (As a kid I was a bit of an idiot.) Between her and my father they pretty much kept the four of us kids in line. I know there job wasn't easy and I thank them for the effort.

My mom was my doctor, nurse, kindergarten teacher, chauffeur, psychiatrist, maid, dishwasher, laundress, gardener, babysitter, cook and tutor, but most of all, she was my friend. She taught me to be kind to kids and animals; to love and give; to be polite and helpful; to give a hand and to accept a hand; to learn where I could and to accept when I couldn't. She even tried to teach me to keep my mouth shut and not say inappropriate things ... although that one only met with limited success. She taught me to drive, to crochet, to sew, to use a glue gun, to garden and cook. She passed her passion for reading on to me. I admit that she has me hooked on romance novels. (I love a good romance.)

All in all, I learned a lot of life's lessons at her knee, and on the rare occasion at the much deserved end of a wooden spoon. (I thank her for that too!)

Thanks Mom for all you did, all you do and all you will do. I love you.