A Year of NewFo Challenges

I can't believe I survived a year of New Projects with Barbara's 2013 NewFo Challenge!  I went in thinking not only would I start and finish twelve projects, but I would also finish a few UFO's I just happened to have on hand.  I was thinking that it was a real disaster, but actually, when I looked back over my list of finished projects, I did okay.  Take a look.

January Project -- Gavin's Quilt -- FINISHED!

February Project -- Neutrals Challenge -- FINISHED!

March Project -- Pillowcases -- FINISHED!

April Project -- Tile Tango -- FINISHED!

May Project -- Pink Stars -- FINISHED!

June Project -- A Real Disaster -- And I STILL don't know what to do with this one!!!

July Project -- Jason's Quilt -- FINISHED!

August Project -- Zelda quilt for Josh -- Up Next!!!!

September Project  -- Baby Quilt -- FINISHED!

October Project  --  Aidan's Alabama Quilt -- Sooooooo Close!!!!!  

November Project  -- Marmalade Squares -- FINISHED!

December Project  -- A Christmas Surprise --  Ooops!  You didn't think there was a December project did you!  Well, I thought it would be something I could quickly throw together along with all those last minute Christmas preparations, hand-quilt it in the car on the way to St. Louis, and give it to someone as a real surprise for Christmas.  Well, that didn't happen.  But I'll give you a peek (because I do still want to finish it!)

With that, I will link up with Barbara's Linky Party over at Cat Patches for my final 2013 NewFo Challenge.  It's been a lot of fun.  I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Finally! A Finish!!

The mostly pink Tile Tango quilt I started as a NewFo in April is finished!  This is my first finish since July so I'm pretty excited.  I used to get about 15 to 20 quilts made every year until I moved to Alabama to be near my grandchildren.  Now for some strange reason I don't have nearly as much time to sew as I did before!  (It's a good trade off though -- I LOVE being here!!)

I used Bubble Gum pink Rainbow thread by Superior Threads and quilted it on my Bernina.

It was fun cramming a 75" x 108" quilt through a domestic machine.  

That's why I decided that instead of stippling I would just stitch along the seam lines with my machine's serpentine stitch.  I really like the way it looks.

After I quilted it I cleaned and oiled my machine and changed the needle which is really important to do between projects.  I use a Q-tip to clean out the dust because canned air actually forces the dust into the machine, and blowing into it to get the dust out puts the moisture from your breath into the machine - neither of which is a good thing!  Can you tell it needed a little cleaning?

Since the pink fabric is called "Cotton Candy" and the thread is called "Bubble Gum" I had some fun quilt names running through my head, but Hubby suggested "Pretty in Pink" and I think that's the perfect name for it.  

So tonight I will sleep under it (something I always do before giving away a quilt) and tomorrow I will wash it and get it ready to mail.  I can hardly wait for Aemarys to get her new quilt.  She has loved her baby quilt so long.  She's ready for a big girl quilt!

Progress. Is There a Finish in my Future?

I just can't keep away from the sewing room since I got that Tile Tango top put together.  

I bought the cutest little pink flowered print for the backing, but worked in some of the border fabrics, too.  I love pieced backings.

Now it's basted.....

.....and the binding is made.

It is ready to be quilted and then checked off the list!

I even put this picture on my cell-phone as wallpaper because my grandson said I needed "one of my beautiful quilts" on my phone.

He's a smart kid!

October Goals -- UFO's

I have started enough new projects this year.  My list of UFO's has never been as long as it is now, and if I don't get some finishes soon it will be even longer by the time the new year rolls around.  I started a new project in April and told you about it in this post.  I finally got back to work on it recently and the goal is to finish it this month.  

I wanted the blocks to be bright and had a lot of fun choosing fabrics from my stash. 

Pink was the main color for Aemarys's baby quilt in 2005 so decided to use a lot of pink in this quilt too.   After making some of the blocks I noticed a few of the fabrics I had used in her baby quilt, so I went searching for more of them in my stash and was able to find a lot.  Here's her baby quilt - 

Now her quilts are linked, and I'm hoping she notices.  

I hadn't bought very much of the cotton candy pink, but after playing with several different ideas for the borders I thought it might work for the border. 

I really liked the third choice the best because the blocks look like they were floating, so I got online and ordered more yardage from The Fat Quarter Shop and had it within just a few days.  I just love shopping online!

Of course by then I had already changed my mind and went with the second option because I thought Aemarys would like it better.  (Not only that - my quilting would not show up as well on the print!)  So now I have enough pink in my stash for another little girl quilt!

Hmmmm, or maybe some matching pillowcases........

My New Project for April -- Tile Tango

When you make a little girl a baby quilt, and she loves it so much that she keeps it on her bed long after she has outgrown it, she deserves a new quilt.  A big girl quilt!  There are so many pretty quilt patterns available from which to choose these days.  I decided to use the Tile Tango pattern by Atkinson Designs for Aemarys's quilt. 

You can see that I starting pulling from my "Brights" stash when I came across this colorful version! I wish I knew where I found this photo; I would certainly give credit for it.

So far I only have one block completed, but that's enough to qualify as a new project for the 2013 NewFo Challenge!

I'm getting a little nervous about all these new projects.  If I don't get them finished this calendar year I'll have to move them to my UFO list.  I don't like that.........


Linking up to Barbara's Linky Party.  Go over there and check out what other quilters have started this month!