Week 5- Back from the woods

Hi all!  Sorry to be late with this post, but I am still trying to get myself organized from my weekend away, Quilting in the Woods at Bethelwoods.  For anyone who has never been on a quilting retreat, this is a great one to try.  It is close enough to home that if you forget something that you must have, you can get it quickly,  but it is far enough from everyday distractions to get a lot accomplished in an environment of like-minded women.   I was able to finish the quilt square I started in Barb Mosley's class, and a quilt top for a holiday quilt that I started last year (but bought and cut out about 5 years ago).  I won't post a photo of the quilt top until it is completed (it is one of my UFO's)

Other folks also showed projects that they had completed at the retreat in prior years  (see photos), shared techniques, and Theresa practiced her English paper piecing with us as well as shared some beautiful handwork that her mom had done. 

The weather was lovely and the wildlife was enjoying it as much as we did!  Now that I have come back from being inspired, I have to put my sewing room back together and put this inspiration to work on a UFO or 2.

My tip for this week is try to stay focused on the project you are working on.  I find that I have a tendency to let my mind wander to everything else that needs doing instead of my current project.  I find that if I make myself focus on the work at hand I can get more accomplished in the time I have.

Enjoy your week!  Until next time enjoy your quilting!  --- Vicki

Week 4- Picking out stitches

Well,  here it is another week already, and I had hoped to tell you how much progress I had made on the quilt I put on the quilting frame...Just wish I could.  Not that I didn't get anything done, but not all has gone smoothly.   It started out so well....I got the top border quilted with a pretty butterfly design, then in the inner border I free handed a small wave....all was going great!  Then it was on to the body of the quilt.  Since this is a sampler quilt, I had decided to just stipple the interior and throw in a flower periodically.  The first 6 inches of quilting went well.  Then, I had to change the bobbin and the trouble started although I didn't know it until I had quilted at least another 8 inches.. It was then that I noticed that I had not put down the presser foot, (which is necessary on my machine), and, when I rolled the quilt, the bottom was a mess, all loose and needing to be picked out!  To avoid taking the quilt off of the machine, I crawled underneath and spent about 2.5 hours picking out the stitches. ( Note the photo of my big ball of thread).  But, I am ready to start again and this time my machine carries the post-it note that says, "IS THE PRESSER FOOT DOWN!  (I find I need these more and more as I get older)  But progress is progress and I am starting again where the good stitches left off.

I am hoping to make some progress on some of my other projects when I go "Quilting in the Woods."  Weather postponed this event and I am packing up once again.  I hope that I can show you a few more of my works in progress when I get back.

My tip for the week, try to find a time almost every day to work on a project.  Set a timer for 15-30 minutes and just work that long.  If you get into the project and have more time, that's great!  But don't think that working for 15 minutes won't make a difference, it will.  15 minutes, 6 times a week is an hour and a half. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.  Until next time...happy quilting!  Vicki

Week 3- My first UFO is a FFO!

Hi everyone,  hope you are all on your way to a finished UFO.  I am happy to report that I finished my first UFO project last night....the placemats and napkins that I was working on while gone.  When we got back from our trip, I had one more binding to finish and the emblems to satin stitch to the napkins.  I am really happy to have this done and it is giving me a push to get on to the next project. So, I am coining a new term here  FFO (Finally Finished Object).  May there be many more in our futures!

My next project is a lap quilt that is now at least on my quilting machine.  My strategy for getting this done is to set a deadline, which will be the March guild meeting.   I can be pretty certain of the finish date because I have decided to take this quilt to my sister-in-law in Chile.   We are heading there for a wedding at the end of March and Monica (my SIL) will be our hostess while we are there.  We are hoping for a less eventful trip than last year when we arrived the day after the big earthquake...we are hoping for smooth skies and quiet terrain while there.  This trip we hope to visit some of the winerys that we missed on the earlier visit due to earthquake damage.  I also enjoy the varied terrain and the old building which are a source of inspiration to me.

Speaking of inspiration...on our trip to St. Petersburg, Fl, we had the opportunity to visit the Dali museum.  It is a new facility and houses so many interesting and inspiring works.  While some of the paintings led me to believe that Dali was seriously disturbed, they were none the less beautiful and very creative.  Even the museum was creative, many windows made up a dome shape that had such interesing curves because each of the triangles were of a slightly different size.  It was a very fitting setting to house the works of Dali.
I have added a photo of the museum to the blog post... hope that you find it inspiring!

Let me know if any of you have come up with a strategy for finishing your projects.  It would be great to share them with members of the guild!