The magazine that I found this pattern in is dated 2007, so I think it’s safe to say I started this quilt four years ago.   Here I am at retreat (on the left) with Sandra (on the right) helping me.

The name of this pattern is “1910 Nine-Patch”, and I found it the January/February 2007 issue of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting.  I fell in love with it immediately.  When I was going through the instructions, I saw the finished size of these 9-patches was 2 1/4 inches!  I upped the size substantially to 6″ finished.  Instead of making 572 9-patch blocks, I made 100!

This quilt is for Niece Summer, and as a bonus my mother-in-law (Summer’s grandmother) was born in 1910.  It will be a nice connection.  Summer wanted a quilt that was vintage looking, and the dark Civil War fabrics and the light shirtings give it that feel.

Since it’s Thursday, I’m adding a post/link to my Thursday’s Child Has Far to Sew blog.  If you’ve made progress on on a UFO this week and blogged about it, you may add a link via Mr. Linky to my Thursday’s Child blog.

I haven’t had any takers yet, and my Aunt Bert asked me how long I was going to do this if I don’t have anybody joining me.  I told her, at least a year!  It’s good motivation for me to get some UFOs done, and it’s one place I can go to and see the progress I’m making.  Hopefully I’m motivating someone else to work on their UFOs.

I need more room in my quilting closet, plus I don’t think my boys want to inherit half-finished quilting projects!

–Sue

Unnamed, January 2009 — Original Layout

Pretty new for a UFO!  I’m motivated to get this lap quilt done because the colors will work in the sun room Jim’s new man cave.  I just have to finish the quilting and bind it.  I am about 80% done with the quilting, using a pantograph.  My goal is completed pictures next week!

Grandmother’s Flower Garden,  July 2008

I really do enjoy hand stitching these blocks.  I won’t show a boring picture of a few more hexies prepped. 

That’s it for me this week.  Did you get any stitching done on your UFOs this week?  If so, post a link on my blog dedicated to UFO progress, www.thursdayschildhasfartosew.blogspot.com.

–Sue

My UFO progress this week:

I completed two more blocks for my Grandmother’s Flower Garden.  All the flower blocks are ’30s prints, and the “path” is sort of a lavender gray.  It’s going to be lap sized, a quilt I can have at the end of the bed or over a chair.  I now have 12 blocks done, 26 to go!  (And a photo tip:  if I would have used flash, the wrinkles in the block wouldn’t show!)

How are you doing on your UFOs?  Did you make any progress this week?  Click here for my new UFO support blog (Thursday’s Child Has Far To Sew).

Thanks for visiting,

~Sue

The birds continue to be interesting, and it’s fun to see who stops by.  I finally have a little hummer visiting me!

And the blue jay has been a somewhat regular visitor.  He has to work so hard to get a few seeds out of a feeder meant for much smaller birds.  Doesn’t he look like an all-white bird from the front?

Check out the back view though:

In the wooded area behind us, there’s a tall, dead tree that’s a popular lookout point for birds.  Here is a tree swallow taking a look-see (I’m zoomed full-out, so excuse the graininess):

The next time I looked, there was a mourning dove up there.  I usually see them picking at the seeds on the ground, and it seemed a little strange to see this guy up so high:

Then I saw this Mystery Bird in the grass.  Hmm, I thought he was quite attractive, notwithstanding that yellow cone of a beak.  I looked him up in the big book of birds, and I think it’s a European Starling.  A starling!!!  Oh, well, I guess sometimes the villian in the movie is handsome too…

–Sue

I was going to crop the picture of the quilt on the Railing of Honor for Completed Quilts.  Then I noticed my wireless headphones, and decided to leave it “as is”.  Do you use headphones while quilting/sewing? 

It’s not on the longarm yet, but this is the next quilt in the UFO queue:  a slice & dice, swap a piece around, kind of quilt.  It’s one of my oldest UFOs, probably 7 or 8 years old.  Is that right, Betty?  I know it’s OLD!

I’m also working on a challenge that I can’t show you for a while, but here are the required fabrics (plus I added a few more):

And I’m going to sneak in a new project.  Three of us went to a quilt shop’s club meeting last week, and we got a  free handout of a pattern for a nice little tote bag.  I have this fabric in my stash that I think would be perfect:

I have some bird pictures I’m saving for tomorrow (Telephoto Tuesday), but I’ll share a picture today that I took last week of our flowering crab out our window.  Spring came early to Minnesota this year, and I don’t think this tree has ever been prettier.  (I probably say that every year!)

Thank you again, Judy, for hosting Design Wall Monday.  It’s always my favorite post of the week!

–Sue

Using your imagination, picture my Stash Quilt (JudyL’s Out of the Bag quilt — 5th pattern down) totally finished.  There’s nothing so beautiful as a newly bound quilt!

Also, picture an adorable photo of a chipping sparrow noshing at the finch feeder.  It was late in the day, and the lighting was perfect! 

And while you’re using your imagination, imagine me 5′ 8″, 130 pounds, perfect skin and … WHAT?  You’re having trouble with this one???  You could imagine the quilt and the bird!!!

Photos later (except of me, of course).  Have a great day.  In case you hadn’t noticed, It’s Friday — all day!  This breaking news compliments of…

–Sue

Reflecting on my choices in life, I’m not disappointed.  I have a wonderful husband, love my kids, enjoy my neighbors, both in Minnesota and Texas; I maybe would have made different career choices early on if I would have had the opportunity to go to college (but then I wouldn’t have met Wonderful Husband).  All in all, not too bad and no regrets.

When it comes to fabric choices though, I don’t always hit a home run.  In making this apron, I’m barely making it to first base.  In fact, if I make it to first base, it will be on an error.

I mimicked the light/dark arrangement that was shown on the pattern cover.  My light fabric has MUCH too large a print for this pattern, and it really bothers me.  It would be marginally better (maybe 2nd base, but doubtful) if I had switched the light and the dark and put the bigger print on the trim and scallop pieces.  I also think it would have been better if I had left off the contrasting pockets on this one — it just cuts into the big print too much.  I think in my second go-around (or second at-bat), I will make one of the fabrics a nearly solid. 

When I reach this stage of not loving a project, that’s when it’s so easy to pack it away somewhere and it becomes a dreaded UFO.  I’m about 75% done with this apron, and the construction is going so well, I’m going to hold my nose and power sew right through to completion.

I love this pattern, and it is going together nicely.  I can’t wait to try it again with much smaller scale fabrics.  How are your projects going?  I hope you are loving whatever you’re working on!  It’s so much more fun.

–Sue

I have a BIG UFO DEADLINE coming up the first week in December.  Our Wednesday stitching group has a PhD program going right now (Projects half Done), and I chose a challenging one to finish.  (I’m always so optimistic.)  Some years back, I started an Afternoon Tea quilt.  The blocks are quite small, I think 10″, with lots of pieces.  I have I think 23 blocks done, five to go, then it’s set in a zig-zag setting.

This has to be DONE done (quilted, bound, done done done!) the first week in December.  It will be fabulous to get it completed as it is one of my older UFOs.  And it’s for ME.

I also owe DS#3 a quilt, and it looks like he will be closing on his first house the end of this month.  I am doing JudyL’s Shine On Bayou Cane for him, and have quite a bit of work to do on that one as well. 

So what am I doing today?  I’m hurrying to get my postings done so I can go to a LQS with a friend and then out to lunch!  Of course.  Makes perfect sense to me.

–Sue

(I sense an intervention coming…)

I’m also pleased with my sock progress lately, having finished the tan socks this past week, and I am working the gusset on the yellow and gray socks.  Pretty good progress on the yellow and gray sock for two days:

I am making progress just generally as a sock knitter.  I used to dread coming to the heel flap.  Now I enjoy the heel flap, and even the heel turn.  I still don’t enjoy the gusset so much.  And I used to dread the toes, and now I think the toes are fun.  If you’re a new sock knitter, hang in there.  It all makes better sense the more times you repeat it.  You even start to remember some of the pattern so you don’t have to have your nose in your pattern book all the time!  And for those who give a rat’s patootie, here’s a link to a very good explanation/picture of the anatomy of a sock.

Thanks for the support in your previous comments on my purchases of sock yarn!  What good friends!  I’ve been doing most of my yarn shopping at http://simplysockyarn.com.   I usually try a skein of this or that (who am I kidding? it’s a skein of this AND that and that and that..) from the list of yarns that are on sale. 

I have some yarn that I’ve picked up at JoAnn’s.  I’ve also purchased yarn in yarn shops, and that’s when it gets dangerous.  I don’t look for what’s on sale; there’s always been something gorgeous that justs leaps into my arms and begs me to take it home.  And yes, I’m talking about yarn.  Yummy, non-fattening, only-slightly-addicting yarn.

So how are you doing on your UFOs?  Pick a day to be your UFO day, and try to get at least a little bit done on that day each week.  It will eventually add up to a whole lot done, then at last a completion!  Who cares how long it takes?  It will be a whole lot better than just letting those UFOs stay hidden away for your kids to eventually use for oil rags in the garage!

–Sue (Thursday’s Child)

I’m working on finishing up three pairs of socks that are waiting for their mates to get knitted up so they can go in my sock drawer.  Winter’s comin’, and my feet will be cold!

Since I finished the applique class, I’m going to re-tackle the appliqued leaves on the Pinwheels & Posies quilt from 2.5 years ago.  I have 72 leaves appliqued on, and 72 to go.  Hopefully, with my new-found applique skills, the second half will go better.

–Sue