Good Morning Quilters!
2023 is here, and with it comes new hope and encouragement about completing UFOs. My thoughts on approaching challenges in 2023 is:
Simplify and Innovate Treat everyone (including self) with kindness.
2022 was a year of finishing so many of my UFOs, and making great progress on others. It was a great encouagement for me to see some finishes. Last week, I counted up the remaining boxes of UFO projects, and it is still a daunting list. But since great progress was made last year, great progress can be made this year too!
I know, I know, there is always the disclaimer in the investment ads: “Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results” — a disclosure based on SEC Rule 156. But I think, with UFOs, an emphasis on finishing them has had great results last year, and I can do it again this year.
Two recent finishes (or almost finishes) are happening right now. (1) My version of Jane Stickle’s 1863 quilt is ready to send to my long arm quilter. I showed you a picture (Here) When it returns, I will add binding and a label. It’s one of my oldest UFOs….started when the 9-11-2001 tradegy happened.
(2) A redwork “penny square” quilt that has 64 squares plus a vine/flower border. The center 64 squares were trimmed to size, assembled, and the borders were trimmed to final size this last week. I have decided to add the borders to the quilt before I finish designing the pattern for the border corners. Something simple is planned.
This project is maybe my oldest UFO. My friend Dee and I saw it in a booth in Paducah during the big quilt show there, back when I lived in St. Louis, MO. I bought the pattern there. We moved away from St. Louis in 2003, and it was way before that. When we saw the quilt, Dee said she would embroider some squares to help me and she did. Thank you Dee! Dee’s cat “Max”, and my dog at the time “Sally”, each have their own block in the quilt.
I think Dee and I are like the two friends in these two blocks of little girls. She is so dear to me; I think of her as an extra sister.
One other thing I made this week was a snowman. We’ve had such deep snow and then the temperature rose to 40 degrees, making the snow just right for building a snowman. I couldn’t resist, as you know I love snowmen!
Well, one new goal for me in the new year is to make a written list of what I hope to accomplish each week. I will be making a small “goals” post on Tuesdays, linking up with the To Do Tuesday linky party. The host of that linky party is changing to Carol (of QuiltSchmilt.ca) this week, and I will link to her blog when I post on Tuesdays. I am great at making lists, but being accountable and reporting results each week will be new to me.
What are your recent finishes or new starts as the new year begins? I am looking forward to seeing and reading about them. Please join in our Design Wall Mondays linky party below and show us what’s happening. Thank you for participating. Design Wall Mondays is going to be terrific in 2023!
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The quilt blocks used for redwork quilts ranged from six to ten inches across. They were usually embroidered then sewn together without any sashing between the blocks. Often a feather or cross-stitch was used to cover the seam line. Later a red or red print sashing was sometimes used. Some of these bedcoverings were quilted while others were simply lined without batting and then tied at the corners of each block.
