Monday, February 5, 2018

UFO sighting


I made these blocks back in October and stitched up the flimsy which then got folded up neatly onto a hanger and hung behind the studio door. Once that happens for me, a project officially becomes a dreaded UFO. In Quilt Blog Land (QBL) a UFO means UnFinished Object.

UFO Busting

Well, Tish in Wonderland is helping keep all of us on track to get our UFOs out of the closet and back into the bright sunshine! 


I admit I don't sweat my UFOs very much. My storage space is really limited, so it doesn't take long before I get motivated to work on a piece just to get it moved along and off the boat.


But seeing all the progress that other quilters are making on their UFOs prompted me to pull out this scrappy happy piece and get it finished earlier rather than later.


I layered it up with more of the yellow plaid that DH's aunt gave me, and quilted it simply with FMQ orange peels. I'm not sure what possessed me to use light blue in the bobbin except there is a thin blue line in the yellow plaid. Yellow thread disappears on this fabric, but the blue...not so much. After a good wash and dry, though, all the wobbles and bobbles blended in.


I decided to donate this quilt to Wrap A Smile (WAS), which is one of the great charities supported by my new online guild, Sunshine. I managed to get it into the mail last week.


This quilt is full of novelty print scraps. Dogs and scooters and cupcakes and mice...


...and basketballs and hummingbirds and trucks...


...and bicycles and stars and chicken drumsticks, just to name a few. A bright purple binding ties it all together. Most of the WAS quilt recipients are young children, so I think this will provide some comfort and entertainment.

I've named it Scrap A Smile and this UFO is officially Busted!

22 comments:

  1. Nice string blocks, beautiful together.
    I think the light blue in the bobbin
    is perfect. Mixing it up makes for an exciting quilt.
    Read 'not boring.'

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  2. The colors in the blocks really caught my attention! Good for you finishing up a UFO for a good cause!

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  3. This is a great UFO finish. The kids will love all the bright colors and fun subjects on the scraps. It reminds me of the I Spy quilts that I have made for one of our local charities.

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  4. This quilt is like an eye spy and some child will have fun searching to see what all is there. Good work Louise!

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  5. I thought the same thing as others who commented about the I spy aspect of the quilt; some child will love it! Great job on tackling another UFO!

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  6. A true happy ending for that no longer stashed UFO.

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  7. Wonderful! It's the best kind of string quilt with all those novelties. And I've never tried FMQ orange peels so thanks for the idea.

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  8. I LOVE that you used the light blue in the bobbin. I think it looks great on the back of the quilt and adds even more fun. I am happy dancing that you were able to sail another UFO off your list...although don't UFO's usually fly :)

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  9. I love it! It is such a happy quilt.

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  10. what a lovely fun quilt.... so much to look at in it and it will give someone lovely smiles.... and now you have space for another quilt ....
    Hugz

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  11. Yeah for a UFO finish. I have way to many to mention. I like how all the prints kind of come in and out of focus in this quilt. It will make a fun quilt for the recipient.

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  12. I'm loving string blocks these days. The brighter the better as far as I'm concerned. You've motivated me to make one from novelty prints next. What fun!

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  13. That is a fun and bright quilt! Someone is going to be delighted.

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  14. That's a really fun quilt, and I love all that yellow plaid. It makes a great backing.

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  15. So bright and cheerful, and another one bites the dust. Some lucky person will love it.

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  16. There really are some fun fabrics in there - it's like a Hide and Seek Strip quilt, isn't it? I admit that I chuckled at anything from "just" October seeming like a UFO, with the way I operate. But yeah, if I only had the storage space you do on the boat, that would definitely be my mindframe, too. I'm sure you wouldn't trade more storage for the life on the boat, though. I love visiting your blog with its view on your life.

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  17. I love this finish and a perfect donation to project wrap a smile!

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  18. Lovely! Novelty scraps are my favorite kind! It's so fun to see what you can find!

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  19. Great job with moving out a UFO. I keep quite a few of my projects as tops as they take so much less room to store than full quilts. I guess I do that mostly with quilts I'm not giving away right away.

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  20. Louise, it’s such a fun and busy quilt! It will be truly loved and will make someone feel very special! Great job busting another UFO! XO

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  21. Have been away from the keyboard for a while, and just had fun catching up on all your recent finishes! Love your bright colors in that string quilt. I wonder if my guild will freak out if I start giving them comfort quilts like that.....

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