Another year is done already

Here we are at the end of 2009 already. Is it just me, or did this year seem to fly by? Time just really gets away from me these days. At least I managed to finish some things this year. Thanks to Kris and May Britt, and their One Project a Month Challenge, I completed 25 items this year. And that feels pretty good to me. Of course, I still have a list of unfinished projects that is much longer than I am comfortable with. And don't even ask me about the list of things I haven't even started on but have the supplies for already. Hopefully I will still like those when I finally get around to making them.

I am still committed to finishing up some of my UFO's. I have joined the UFO challenge at the Patchwork Penguin for 2010. I like how it is set up. And the target is 10 quilts finished in 2010. One for each of the first ten months. My only hesitation was selecting the ten ufo's I would commit to finishing. But I have made my choices and posted them on my side bar, with links to photos of each in their current state. The list represents about a third of my unfinished quilts. If I can finish all 10 on my list in 2010, I will be thrilled. If I somehow manage to finish even more from my big list, I will be overjoyed. Wish me luck.

Final design wall Monday of the year

These blocks are part of Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Christmas mystery quilt. I had more parts completed, but I am currently in the process of redoing them.

Broken dishes blocks that have been unstitched.

Mine turned out mis-sized. Even though Bonnie clearly stated in her instructions the importance of checking to be sure your units were coming out the correct size. I guess I thought she was directing that to those who are less experienced quilters. My mistake.

I've found that pinning actually helps get a more accurate finished block. Who knew?

I suppose doing piecework in the wee hours of the night when you can't sleep isn't such a great idea. But what else was I supposed to do for the 12 nights hubby was away at deer camp? I thought it was a great set-up. I moved a sewing cabinet into the living room where I could watch movies as I sewed. Seemed like a great idea at the time. In hind sight, maybe not.

These will need to be pinned too.

I will say, I like what the finished quilt looks like on Bonnie's site. But I think I will change out the final border when I get that far.

Oh, I did manage a couple more finishes this week. My little laundry wall hanging is done. I think it will actually end up as a doll quilt.

My other finish is another purse. I think it will be good for spring.

If you want to see what other quilters are working on, check out Judy's blog.

Another finish in time for Christmas giving

Here it is another Monday and I still have nothing new on my design wall. We have kids home from college and have been busy with Christmas celebrations. That has left no free time for me to play. But, I do have a finish to share. This one had to get done, as it is a Christmas gift.

If you want some more inspiration, head on over to Judy's blog and check out some other quilter's design walls.

Not exactly my design wall...

...but here are the things I've been working on. First up is a finish! This is my version of Judy L.'s Bears in the Farmhouse quilt. I am very happy to be done with this one. I am giving this one as a gift for Christmas.

I still have one more quilt to finish before Christmas. I know I'm cutting things close, but these gifts were actually afterthoughts. I'm not organized enough to think far enough ahead to have already finished gift quilts. It's just not how I roll. And I usually work well under pressure, so I am confident this will be done in time as well. It's all pin-basted and ready to quilt. I even have a quilting plan decided. :)

And finally, I am working on this wall hanging. It is a pattern from Darlene Zimmerman's Clothesline Club. I was having a hard time finishing it as the pattern suggested. (I imagine a few of my loyal readers are detecting a pattern here. It seems I just cannot make a quilt exactly like a pattern shows.) She scalloped the outside edge on her quilt and did not have prairie points. I left my outer edge straight and added the prairie points instead.

I don't anticipate having anything new on my design wall for the rest of this month, seeing as Christmas is almost upon us. But, you never know.

To see what other quilter's have up on their design walls, check this out!

So many unfinished quilts ...

Lone star top made with fabrics I dyed. I'm guessing from 2005?

... and plenty of time to work on them. So why don't I have more finished? That is something I struggle with. In my sewing room there are more than a dozen quilt tops that need quilting. A lot more than a dozen. I won't count them, that would be too embarrassing to admit.

Swap Block quilt top. Blocks swapped in 2006, top made in 2008.

Most have backing fabric and bindings already. I probably even have a half-dozen quilt batts. So, if I could just get into the mindset to quilt some of them, that would be great. My main problem is, I don't really enjoy the quilting part of the process. And I don't have the money in my budget to pay someone else to quilt them for me. (At least not very many of them.)

Can't even tell you when this was pieced.

Most people probably wouldn't worry about how many unfinished quilts they have. But I also have at least a dozen projects still in the works. Some I am working on the piecework. Some are just fabrics and patterns waiting their turn.

Nine patch top. Blocks were swapped in 2006-07. I'm still stitching the top together.

And I feel guilty working on them, when there are so many unfinished quilts already. Still, I feel the need to change up what I am working on regularly. It helps me keep the creative juices flowing.

Made this top in 2007, I think.

So I am going to start working on another new project. I collected the fabrics for this quilt last year. And I would love to have it completed to have out next winter. So I will be trying to tackle this on a block-a-month basis. Well, the stitch will be a block each month anyways. I plan to add the pieced blocks in a couple a month as well. I'm starting this month. Will I get this one done as planned? Um, your guess is as good as mine. (My guess is probably not, but anything is possible!) And here's why...

Wrought in 2007...still not quilted in 2009. Oh well.