Saturday, November 17, 2018

UFOpalooza


In the last couple of weeks, I've been on a roll finishing UFOs. It started when Bernie at Needle and Foot put a call out for donations to Mercy Hospital in Sacramento, CA. She calls them Mercyful quilts, and they are for patients who are not expected to live. They receive a comforting quilt for their final days, and their families take the quilts home. This is similar to the work done by one of my regular charities, Covered in Love. 

Bernie suggested that we look through our UFOs to see if we had any that did not yet have a recipient, finish them up, and donate them. Since the program at Mercy Hospital is primarily for adults, the call was for adult sized and themed pieces. 


I immediately thought of two tops that were languishing on hangers in my closet. This one was made during the 12 Days of Christmas In July quilt along with Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Instead of red and green yardage, I used red and aqua scraps. I'm calling it 12 Days of Scrappiness in July.


The piece originally ended up 51" square. I found some aqua yardage that matched nicely and added some 3" borders to make it 57" square. Another chunk of the aqua went on the back, along with this white with small violet flowers. Mostly white backings are not a good choice for most of my kid's charities, so I was happy to use it here. A scrappy red binding made from some Cinderberry fabrics (thanks, Rose!) was the perfect touch.

Sorry about the rather washed out photos, and the big sharp shadows across the quilts. We've been mostly sitting at anchor and it's been windy and cloudy and stormy for many days. So when a sunny, slightly less windy day appeared, I dashed out to take photos on the foredeck. The low sun angle really shows off the texture, but is lousy for much else. Oh well, it is what it is!


The second quilt I chose as a Mercyful donation is this one. It was made as part of My Carolina Home's Square Dance Mystery quilt along. I admit I really hated this top when the mystery was finished. Carole's own quilt was done in rich autumn colors and was so pretty. My blue, green and yellow one just looked like a big mishmash.  So I'm calling this one Homely Square Dance.


I decided that adding some dark blue borders might help, and would also bring it up to a better size. I like this celestial fabric, and figured even if the quilt was ugly, at least the borders were pretty! 


The backing is this green and cream plaid, with a stripe of leafy green to hide any mismatch in the plaid when I stitched together several pieces to make it big enough. Here's a tip for you: don't try to match plaids, just fool the eye with a contrasting stripe. 

Like 12 Days, Homely was quilted in a big loose stipple for softness and a fast finish.  The busy fabrics hide the quilting, so there's not much point in doing fancy schmancy FMQ.  I even used the same pale green thread, which turns out to be a decent neutral for quilting. Homely Square Dance has grown on me since I finished it. It's amazing how much a little quilting helps! It also helps to look at it in photos from a distance where the overall pattern is what dominates instead of the individual fabrics.


While the Juki was loaded with pale green thread, I decided to baste and quilt up this next piece, called Birds in the Window. The pattern is "Kitchen Window" by Elizabeth Hartman. It's in her book The Practical Guide to Patchwork


I used lots of different bird fabrics in the panes, a dark green fern print for the window frames, and a pale sky blue for the background.


For the backing, I pieced this mustard polka dot and a coordinating leafy stripe. This fabric is kinda ugly on its own, but it picks up the yellows and golds from the front and actually looks pretty nice. It just goes to show that even the weirdest fabrics have a home somewhere.

The quilting is another big, soft stipple and the batting is 100% polyester. Birds in the Window will be donated to Quilts Beyond Borders, and they prefer poly batting for quilts going to Syrian refugees. The poly dries faster after being handwashed. I bought a king size piece of Fairfield Poly-Fit to try and it quilted up nicely. It's so, so different from the cotton Warm and Natural that I usually use, though!


Here's a shot of our anchorage in Beaufort, NC. The land you see is Cape Lookout National Seashore, and there were often wild horses grazing on the banks. We also saw dolphins feeding in the water almost every day. Pretty neat!

 

And finally, here is Five Alarm Chili all quilted up and finished. This was made with Sandra's Playtime Plus pattern. I made the flimsy back in April in the Bahamas and it's been patiently waiting for me to get motivated to quilt it.


In keeping with the hot chili pepper theme of the fabrics, I quilted dancing flames in the large red central plus. I didn't have any red thread, but this bright orange turned out to be a great choice. This is the first time I've done flames, and I'm pretty chuffed about them. Of course, it's another totally washed out, over exposed photo, so you'll just have to trust me that my flame quilting is on fire!


In the white background, I quilted a horizontal flowing pattern that looks like ripples of water. That's supposed to represent the cool water (or milk, or beer) that you need to drink after eating the hot chilis!


In the small pluses, I stuck with a simple, tight stipple in medium green thread. It completely disappears on most of the busy fabrics, but you can see it clearly on this orange plus.


Lots of yummy texture in all that quilting!


This quilt is a gift for my husband's cousin Chris. Chris is a wonderful cook, and makes some killer salsas. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of the fabrics, but I didn't know if this quilt would match his decor at all. So I asked his sister-in-law about colors, and she told me that his favorite colors are orange and gray, and that he also really likes fish. So I pieced the backing out of gray and orange, with a stripe of blue and orange fishes. Why not? The same orange fabric has squiggly lines that made a fun stripey binding.


I'm still working my way through a pile of UFOs, so I'll have another installment of UFOpalooza soon. 

26 comments:

  1. Wow, what a wonderful bunch of projects you have finished! I'm always impressed at the number of charity quilts you make. You spread kindness and joy far and wide!

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  2. You did get a lot done! I have been working hard on my log cabin quilt and not getting to much else. I am going to sprint through a couple of things during this week I hope. Had a nifty Idea for layer cakes - we’ll see if it works.

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  3. Your Juki has bee smokin'! And you’ve been very focused. Rest job layering and quilting up all these UFOs! Each recipient will be delighted. Be thankful you aren’t anchored off shore up here! We’ve had a horrendous two weeks of weather.

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  4. Wow, you really are cleaning out your UFO closet!! Not all quilts turn out like we hope, but someone else might really love the quilt. You really rocked your flame quilting! Is that another boat anchored between you and the Island?

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  5. What a roll you are on! I like all of them. You and your Juki make a good team. It's so good to have a stash of tops ready when the quilting bug hits. I am going through my ufos and trying to finish them before starting anything new. Good job Louise.

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  6. What a roll you are on! I like all of them. You and your Juki make a good team. It's so good to have a stash of tops ready when the quilting bug hits. I am going through my ufos and trying to finish them before starting anything new. Good job Louise.

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  7. You have been busy! I love the Five Alarm Chili quilt. Congrats on all the finishes. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  8. A great roll call of quilts! And not a single one alike:) The Five alarm Chili is a great one and I love the story that goes with it whether it matches his decor or not. It is your turn to inspire us with all your designs. Happy Thanksgiving at anchor.

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  9. Holy UFOs, Batman! You really made some progress! Can I send a few of mine over? You'll get them done way ahead of me. I gotta say, Red Hot Chili Peppers has to be one of my favorites. I love that quilt! How do you baste your large quilts while on the boat, Louise? I'm curious. Well done on the quilts!

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  10. You are making up for time away!!! Doesn't look homely at all to me--looks like the night sky. I love that Birds in the Window design and all the fun birds!!! Great job, Louise!!!

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  11. Wow, definitely a UFOpalooza! I love them all! You are so inspiring and so giving to others. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
    Cheers,
    Sylvia@Treadlestitches

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  12. Wow, you really have been busting some UFOs, and all for good causes, too. Congratulations on the many finishes!

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  13. You've really been a lot done, Louise! So impressive! I like your Square Dance colors - they make me think of stars in the night sky. Someone is really going to love it. The chili quilt sounds like a perfect gift, too!

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  14. They are all winners! The photos really showed us your great quilting. They will go to good homes and brighten other lives. Well done.

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  15. Way to go pounding out all those UFOs. And all for such worthy causes too. I have way to many unfinished projects plus tons of things I want to start. Our guild is having a UFO challenge for 2019 that I plan to participate in as a way to motivate a few finishes. Hopefully.

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  16. Wonderful group of quilts. I love the Five Alarm Chili quit. The bright red really makes you feel the heat. I don't think Homely Square Dance is ugly at all. The border works like a good pair of earrings. It ties everything together and glitters just enough to pull it all together.

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  17. Wowsers! I hardly know where to start! All of your quilts are delightful. I agree with you about basic stippling for busy prints. But the flames ARE totally hot, and your productivity is on fire! I love that you give so regularly and generously to so many different charities. You are a great example for us all to emulate!!

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  18. You are in a roll. I hope the motivation continues. I love it when it strikes my sewing room. I have quite a few UFOs needing attention. Thanks for linking up with Oh Scrap!

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  19. You've made great progress on all of these ufos . It's interesting isn't it that you can think a quilt is ugly and then change your mind when it is quilted.

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  20. Louise I can't believe how many quilts you've completed!! The people who receive these quilts will be over the moon!

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  21. you have been busy and lovely quilts too. YOu shouldn't worry about the shadow lines.... I think it adds to the romance of living on a sailboat! lots of lovely quilting too.... as you say it does change the quilt top when you add the texture....
    Hugz

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  22. You have been super busy, and some lovely finishes. Your quilts will be much loved I'm sure. And, I like your pics, shadows & all!

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  23. Oh that Five alarm chili quilt aka Playtime Plus, just adore it!

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  24. I LOVE Five Alarm Chili! So much yummy quilty texture :) I think you get an award for most UFO's busted. You are on a roll!

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  25. Wonderful finishes for some great causes. Chris will surely lovely his Five Alarm Chili quilt!

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