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Monday, January 6, 2020

Design Wall Monday - January 6, 2020

I am trying to stay "whelmed" in 2020......not underwhelmed.......not overwhelmed........just in the middle....whelmed.  I think of it as being happy with the progress I am making.  To be encouraged by the work finished each month in 2020.

I have now documented all of my UFOs per my last post of 2019.  My plan is to finish one each month.  The UFO for January is a quilt that needs the outer borders added, and then it will be ready to send to the long arm quilter.  But before I start on it, I have worked on five smaller projects:

(1) While doing the inventory of UFOs, I found a needlepoint angel project from long ago, that I had planned to make into a Christmas tree topper.  She was put into timeout because I ran out of the yarn for the background around her.  Last week I went to Michael's and found some yarn that was close to the color of the background, and am using 1/6 of that yarn to equal the smaller yarn from the original project.   Meaning I cut a piece of yarn and separate the twisted pieces into six separate pieces, much like embroidery floss.   Here are two pictures:

   
You can see the straight line on the right side separating the original background and my replacement background.  When it is finished and made into a Christmas tree topper, it won't be noticeable.



So the reason it was stopped has been solved, and I am moving forward with it.  Very satisfying.  

(2) In December I was working on the binding for a baby quilt that will be for a future great grandchild.  I have two side finished, and am slowly finishing it up.



I will post more pictures of it when it is finished.

(3)  In preparation for putting some quilts in the Churn Dashers of Tidewater Virginia group display this spring, I am finishing the last of my entries.  I am not a machine quilter, but am attempting to machine quilt baptist fans on this small quilt.  Here is my progress so far:





Not fun for me because I'm not very good at it, but the only way to get better is to practice.  It is about 29 inches square, so it is a good practice piece.

(4)  While in Shipshewana at a retreat, I asked Gretchen to show me how she hand quilts.  She is a regular linker to this blog (Here), and does beautiful hand quilting.  While doing the inventory of the UFOs, I found this small square that I had started hand quilting a long time ago.  It is out now, and I am working on my hand quilting skills......or lack of skills right now.  But as with machine quilting, only practice will get me to be better at it.  




As you can see, it's a start, and I feel like I know what to do after talking to Gretchen.  Thank you Gretchen!  Now it's practice, practice, practice.

(5) My favorite project this week is a doll quilt!  You know how much I like to make them.  This one went together very fast and is a simple design.  While I had the Needlepoint Angel project out, the extra pink yarn from that project gave me the idea to use it to "tie" this quilt.   Here are some pictures of it on the little doll bed.  I had enough of the fat quarter used for the borders to make a little doll pillow.  Also, I found a piece of leftover binding that was just the right amount.  Great fun!



Also a closeup to show you the birds decal on the old doll bed.  

I hope you share what you are starting and finishing this new year.  My design wall is still empty, but progress is being made here in organizing the sewing room and the UFOs.  I'm feeling whelmed!

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16 comments:

Gretchen Weaver said...

Your quilting stitches look great! You are making progress with your hand quilting. I think machine quilting is more challenging but you're right about both, it just takes practice. You've got some lovely projects to finish and you've made a great start. Happy stitching in 2020!

Kate said...

You've been very productive the first few days of 2020. Love that little doll quilt and pillow, very sweet. Good luck with your stitching goals this month.

Nann said...

So many wonderful things happening in your studio, Judy! I haven't needlepointed for ages and ages but I still have a tub of Paternayan yarn. Is the Perfect Color yarn for needlework or for knitting? It's rather like making a scrap quilt--it doesn't have to match, it just has to coordinate. The Baptist fans turned out well and I admire your using light-colored thread. And, oh, that doll bed -- I had one with a big decal on the headboard, too. Hope the week goes well for you!

MaryC said...

Your productivity has exceeded mine - especially with those unfinished projects. I need to get at it.

Quilter Kathy said...

You are making great progress on some lovely UFOs... it's funny what gets us stuck with a project and then we can return later, solve the problem and finish it!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

hand quilting is a whole different method isn't it - we hand quilters - most of us - find it harder to machine quilt - it is all so different but yes practice is what it takes

AnnieO said...

What a lot of great projects you're spending time with! I have a lot of UFOs too and definitely will be quilting some of them myself on my machine. The darling doll quilt and bed are so sweet! Congrats on progress on so many charming stitched projects.

For the love of geese said...


Beautiful angel, she deserves a finish. The doll quilt on the bed is adorable. Happy New Year and good luck with the hand quilting.

Lori said...

Your year is off to a terrific start!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

I worked just needlepoint for several early decades of my life so I got a thrill seeing your angel. She is a beauty and so deserving of a life on top of a tree or displayed somehow. That was a clever way of solving the problem of the correct colour to match...it is going to look great. Your Baptist fans look wonderful as does your hand stitching. Good luck with these projects.

Robin said...

You are really getting a lot done. The angel is going to be beautiful, I'm glad you're working on it again. I've go an old needlepoint project that needs to be finished too - hmmmm. Your machine quilting looks great. Much better than I could do. The doll quilt is so sweet and I love that bed. The decal is just perfect and brings back so many memories.

chrisknits said...

I pulled out finished cross-stitch items last month and finally finished them for displaying. Now I am trying to create new pieces, but oh my! my eyes are not so good with 32 count linen!! LOL

Andree G. Faubert said...

Hi Judy, keep on practicing your free motion quilting. It really does get easier and better!

dq said...

The baptist quilting design is perfect!

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

All terrific projects, especially the sweet doll quilt! And a little pillow - icing on the cake. Keep practicing the free motion - it will click at some point!

Jennifer said...

What a great start to the year you’ve had! I think your quilting looks great - did some myself last weekend and while I wasn’t thrilled with it while doing it, i think it looks ok when I step back. Down to my basement today to work on my first long arm quilt for the year.