how it finished...

For the month of December, I made it my mission to clean up my UFO/WIP list.  Here is the final update, Any change to the status of an item from the previous week is in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding; quilt top complete
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made; quilt basted and quilting in progress; quilt finished!
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made; quilt top assembled, needs borders added
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress; quilt finished!!!
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies; have been working on it...still need lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete; all blocks complete; 
16. Xplus - need more blocks; started December with 24 blocks, now up to 36,  I have decided I want at least 49 blocks for the quilt top
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made; quilt basted; quilt finished!
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete; quilt finished!!!

Over this past month I completely finished 4 quilts, finally got the HST BOM to flimsy stage, have Our Quilt close (originally started in June 2011) and made significant progress on Lucky Jam.  I also picked up my Hexie project and did a bit of hand stitching, and worked on blocks for my Xplus quilt.  I'm kind of hoping xplus is my first 2014 finish.  I consider this past month a huge success!  Now to keep the momentum up going forward!

2013 - In Review

And so begins the plethora of posts closing out 2013 and preparing for 2014...so today I'm sharing with you a revisit of my 2013 goals and how they finished plus all my finished quilts of 2013.  Up first...the 2013 finishes:

I'm so proud of these quilts!  I really branched out on some of these...and many would never have come about without some Instagram inspiration...You can check out my Finished Quilts tab at the top of the page to find links to each quilts blog post and all the details.

and now...looking back at my 2013 goals...where I ended up with them is in red.

1. Work on FMQ. I really would like to improve in this area (not that it will take much to improve!!!) I have definitely worked on this one after I learned more about FMQ (see this post) and I have successfully FMQd a couple of quilts.
2. Make Girl a Christmas Quilt (fabric is already picked out, pattern is already picked out, just need to do!) Finished on Christmas Eve!
3. Make a quilt for me (Sister's TEN BOM) Part of my BOM addiction...I have made a handful of blocks and that's about it
4. Finish Terrain Swoon (quilt top is made, need to make the backing and get this puppy quilted and finished!) another zero...
5. Make a quilt for Guy done!  see his quilt here
6. Attend Sew South Retreat (this should be easy!!! :) ) DONE DONE DONE! 
7. Make Christmas gift quilts for 2 of my nieces (I really want to get this done EARLY this year!!!) this didn't happen.  I gifted one handmade item for Christmas this year...
8. Move my sewing space upstairs (this was a goal in 2012, had to extend the goal, need more time to accomplish it!) DONE!!!  See post here
9. Make a bottled rainbow quilt (really looking forward to this!!!) completely lost interest in this one
10. Continue with the 15 minutes a day challenge! I'll call this one a success, I've done the best I can each week!

So I finished up 5 goals.  Not bad.  Some I pretty much lost interest in, so I consider 2013 a pretty successful year goal-wise.  Ideas are starting to form on what type of goals I would like to set for 2014...but I have another day or so to get that list going.  

I'll be back tomorrow to close out my December challenge...today I've got to get a run in, and then get ready for some football!!!  HOOK EM HORNS!!!

just a few days left...

Each Friday for the month of December I update the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here. Any change to the status of an item from the previous week is in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding; quilt top complete
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made; quilt basted and quilting in progress; quilt finished!
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress; quilt finished!!!
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete; all blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks; 
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made; quilt basted; quilt finished!
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete; quilt finished!!!

Two more quilts finished!  And now a few days left of the year to see what else happens on this list!  Thankfully I'm off work until January 2nd...so plenty of time to dabble here or there with one or two more things.  And I will likely be adding another project to this list...but that's a different post.  Off to sew I go!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas!

I have another finish to share with you...put the final touches on this one last night...I call it Christmas in St. Louis after using this St. Louis 16 patch tutorial to make the blocks.

Front:

Back:

This may be absolute most favorite quilt so far.  I love the color combos, and I love how the backing worked out.  Plus I used a red pin dot for the binding that I adore!  Girl says she loves it too, which is great, since it was made for her!

And now...off to have some quiet time before Guy and Girl wake up.  Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Details:
Fabric - Cherry Christmas by Aneela Hoey, In from the Cold by Kate Spain, and some Joel Dewberry Heirloom, Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets and Bella Pistaschio; all backing fabrics and binding from Joann Fabrics
Pattern - St. Louis 16 patch
Thread - Piecing and quilting: Aurifil
Batting - Soft n' Crafty

Christmas Countdown...

Has been underway for awhile now...best title I could come up with for a blog post!  Posting late this evening after a marathon day of sewing, cleaning and baking all in preparation for the next few days.  I have so much still to do and I feel like I've got zero time left! (I have a few hours tomorrow...) Anyways...I wanted to share with all of you what had me up and stitching early this morning...my Countdown to Christmas quilt is finished (quilt top originally finished September/October 2012)!

Front:

Back:

(which you can hardly see much of anything in that pic...the fabric is a bunch of peppermints, but it does have a label!)

and now off catch some z's before a really busy day tomorrow (we have some family headed our way for the day tomorrow)...

Details: Pattern - Disappearing Nine Patch
Fabric: Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater,  black and green border are from Share the Joy by Deb Strain, cream border is from Christmas Spirit by Holly Taylor, backing is a print from Joann Fabrics
Thread: Piecing - probably Mettler, quilting - Isacord and Aurifil
Batting: Soft n' Crafty

the skull

Since I first started working on this particular quilt back in May of this year, it's been referred to as "the skull."  That's it...no fancy name, nothing but "the skull."  So that's what I ended up naming it...and now, it's finished!

Front:

Back:

I added a label and now it's off to it's new home!

Details:
Pattern: Free Pattern from Free Spirit Fabrics by David Butler
Fabric: all from Joanns (I know one print was from a Denyse Schmidt line, but that's about all I could tell you)
Thread: piecing - no idea; quilting - FMQ: Isacord, other: Aurifil
Batting: Soft n'Crafty (I purchased a roll of this from Joanns, and man oh man...I really like it!  It has washed up very well! and quilting with it is no problem, a slightly thinner version of warm n white).

the challenge continues!

Each Friday for the month of December I plan on updating the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here. Any change to the status of an item from the previous week is in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding; quilt top complete
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made; quilt basted and quilting in progress
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress; quilt finished!!!
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete; all blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks; 
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made; quilt basted
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete; quilt finished!!!

I feel like I've made so much progress since I last posted about this challenge!  My UFO list is now down to only 16, having finished 2 quilts, and will soon be down even more when I get the other two quilts that are basted (and one 1/2 way quilted already) finished!  I want to get some more Xplus blocks done, so maybe I'll work on that in between quilting.  Or finally get my other machine set up.  But I still have one Christmas present to work on...so we'll see what all actually gets done!!

Simply Finished

Woohoo!  A quilt finish to share!  My Simply Herrinbone quilt is 100% done!  (Including making it's way through the washer and dryer)!  I used this fabulous tutorial by Maureen Cracknell, and the top came together pretty quickly! 

Front:

Back:

and now it will be off to it's new home (as soon as I finish something else up that's supposed to go to the same place!)!

Details:
Pattern - Herringbone by Maureen Cracknell
Fabric - most of the fabric is Simply Color by V&Co, with a few cuts of Art Gallery Fabrics Squared Elements, a Pearl Bracelet or two and a bit of Happy Go Lucky by Bonnie&Camille, plus one single solitary Denyse Schmidt print from JoAnns.  Backing also from JoAnns.
Thread - piecing and quilting: Aurifil
Batting - leftovers from my batting stash (mostly Warm and White, maybe some Pellon)

My weekend sewing…

Still have a bit of sewing planned for today…but wanted to share a little bit of what I've been up to the past few days…

finally got the skull quilted…now to figure out how to quilt the background (and somewhere in the middle of all of it I completely finished off a spool of Isacord)

and then I got to working on a few other things…getting blocks 8 and 9 finished for my Lucky Jam quilt, finally adding the border to my HST quilt, and then getting some binding pieced together for Simply Herringbone (hope to really finish that one off today!)

for now, it's time to enjoy a little football and time with the family!

Challenge update

Each Friday for the month of December I plan on updating the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here. Any changes to the status of an item on this list are in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted; quilting in progress
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress; quilting complete

No where near the progress I'd like to have made but quilting the skull is taking me a bit longer than I thought.  No worries...I have all weekend to get some stuff done.  May set up my other machine so that I have one set for piecing and the other for quilting.  Funny enough I'm kinda itching to start something new!

a little more FMQ with a side of Craftsy...

Way back in August I shared a little bit of my journey to learning how to free motion quilt...well this weekend I dipped into another Craftsy class to expand my "knowledge" of FMQ designs...this time it was Leah Day's Free Motion Fillers Vol. 1. 

The class includes a great overview of some FMQ basics, and then jumps into the 50 different FMQ designs.  This class moves at a bit faster pace through each design that the first Leah Day class I took, and thankfully I'm not having any issues keeping up.  I am only through about 10 of the designs, and I decided on one of them for The Skull quilt:

Hope to have the quilting finished on this quilt by this time next week (it's a gift for someone, so I need to get it out the door).

On a different note, I did get my Simply Herringbone quilt finished:

and I decided to add a label:

and now it just needs some binding!

Challenge status...

Each Friday for the month of December I plan on updating the status of my personal challenge that I first blogged about over here.  Any changes to the status of an item on this list are in red:

1. Deploy T - blocks made, need to assemble quilt top
2. 2012 FQS Designer Mystery BOM - 1/2 the blocks made
3. HST BOM - needs border added, backing made, quilting and binding
4. Terrain Swoon - needs backing, quilting and binding
5. Christmas Quilt - needs backing, quilting, and binding; backing made
6. Our Quilt - 1/2 the top is assembled, all blocks are made
7. Coming Home Ruby - needs backing, quilting and binding
8. Sisters Ten - only 4 blocks made
9. FWQAL - need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one
10. Marcelle Medallion - 3 borders attached
11. Tumbler (forgot about this one!) - need to assemble top
12. Scrappy Sprouts - 2 blocks made
13. the skull - needs backing, quilting and binding; backing made and basted
14. Hexies (forgot about this one also!) - needs lots of hexies
15. Lucky Jam - 7 of 9 blocks complete
16. Xplus - need more blocks
17. Christmas in St. Louis - need backing, quilting and binding; backing made
18. Simply Herringbone - need to finish panels and assemble; backing made, basted, quilting in progress

I'm pretty happy with some of the progress so far.  I have not sewn at all since Sunday...so it's pretty darn good progress for just working over the past weekend.  I've decided that Simply Herringbone and the Skull are going to be Christmas gifts, so I really need to get those done so they can be sent off in time.  I've also been playing around with the idea of actually labeling my quilts.  I have made and either kept or gifted 32 quilts since I started quilting.  Not a single one of them have labels.  I'm ok with that, I feel zero urge to track any of them down and stick labels on them.  But lately I've been thinking it would be nice to "leave my mark" so to speak.  We'll see...the biggest thing I've been trying to figure out is HOW I want to label them.  I need to make a decision because part of the reason Simply Herringbone ISN'T finished is that I stopped quilting to decide if I was going to add a label (so that they label would be quilted over a bit and really attached to the quilt).  Decisions decisions...

keeping busy...

Wow…I've been a busy little sewing bee this weekend!  Something about having goals and challenges just gets my motivation up and running!  So let's see what I have done since my last post…(all pics via Instagram, you can follow me over there @lesleyworth)…

I did a teensy bit of shopping…fabric and running pants (odd combo?)…

minus the gray print and the black and white polka dots…all of the above fabrics were purchased for quilt backs…

so then I got to stitching and finished up my simply herringbone quilt top:

I'm going to be 100% honest here…there is something about Quilt-as-you-go that doesn't sit well with me…I think it's because of the stretch that can happen and make pieces a bit wonky…this top does not lay very smoothly…so we'll see how the finishing goes…(not to mention the mess it makes of my machine)

and then I pieced 4 quilt backs…(not pictured…it was…well…kinda boring)

and in the middle of all of this I decided to make us new Christmas stockings:

and then I basted the herringbone quilt and this one

and then I took all the leftover bits from the St. Louis 16-patch and stitched them all together and now I have this:

and I have no idea what to do with it…might become a table runner…might just sit there!

and now it's time to do a little bit of quilting...