Fabric Thoughts on a Rainy Tuesday Morning

I AM HAVING A BLAST PLAYING IN MY FABRICS!!!!   I have been busy with cleaning, sorting, and reorganizing my studio, and of course trying to sew daily.  In this year of stash busting, I have discovered that I have enough UFOs and just plain-old-like-it fabric to last for several years, AT LEAST.  However, I have reduced the unfinished quilt tops, have started to quilt them, and have found so many ways to use my creativity.  As I move through the year, I will try to update this list each month just so everyone can see the progress.

I did make one purchase of new fabric that I will not be counting in my non-buying of fabric year.  My niece is going to receive a wedding quilt in the next few months, and I had not planned a queen-sized brown quilt into the fabrics found in my stash.  I like browns but could never have found enough to make a brown quilt, even with my large stash.  =0)  This one is going to be made of batiks.

Quilt tops finished:

• two shamrock fabric quilts, one lap and the other twin-size - one quilted and the other on the machine ready to go - binding will go on tomorrow in honor of St. Patrick's day
• 2 simple, but cozy flannel baby quilts with backs and batting ready for quilting
• 1 baby floor quilt with batting and back ready for quilting
• 1 twin-size Canyon Dance with back and batting ready to quilt
• 1 queen-sized Christmas fabric strip-pieced quilt with back and batting ready to quilt
• 3 small wall hangings with back and batting ready to quilt
• 1 Noah's ark quilt with embroidered animals along with it's back and batting ready to quilt
• Dad and my 4 seasons quilt needs just 2 more border strips and it will be ready to quilt - back and batting already prepared - half hour to put the borders on

UFOs that still need lots of tender, loving effort:

• Christmas BOM center blocks finished but have not added borders or started quilting----back is ready
• 2 bright blue, yellow, and green lap or baby floor quilts -- have to connect the blocks and borders ---on design wall
• 1 quilt-as-you-go lap quilt that will be finished over the next month - it is a car project  ---- blocks are done, only the hand sewing of the sashing is left, but it will not look like a quilt until it is all sashed, so I count this as needing lots of tender, loving care
• 2 redwork angel block quilts - blocks embroidered and sashing/borders /back chosen
• 1 Christmas embroidered blocks quilt - nothing specifically selected to go with them as of yet
• 1 stash-based, foundation-pieced log cabin quilt using a variety of strip sizes - 1/3 of blocks are completed, foundations and red centers are cut
• 1 rail fence lap quilt using stash strips - 1/2 blocks made (would be finished but it got lost at the bottom of the stash strips container)
• Texas sampler quilt - have the fabric and even a finishing kit, but have not touched since we lived in Texas 6 years ago
• Paducah show booth hop quilt - have materials but have not even thought about it since attending the show in 2008
• Deb and my batik challenge quilt - have fabrics and a tentative plan, but...........
• Several more baseball quilts using squares and strips left from making two others for my grandsons (Boy did I get crazy buying that fabric - Grandma privilege or senility????)
• 1 foundation-pieced queen-sized Christmas fabric quilt with 12 blocks finished
• purse made of fabric strips - 1/2 way finished
• blue and white bundles and yardage received for Christmas, 2009 (have a possible plan in mind for a queen-size quilt)
• My guilds fat quarter sampler quilt with additional blocks to make it a queen-size using state blocks for each state I have lived in during my life
• BOM that I am doing with my daughter - on schedule to be finished in December for a quilting date over the holidays
• Mystery quilt made with bright blue, an overall bright floral, and brightly colored butterflies on white fabric - the fabric is from my stash and I have 4 steps of the pattern collected

Along with all of this, I have been getting more involved with the HeartStrings Quilt Project, and just finished another thank you quilt for a military spouse.  Quilting is my pleasure and passion, so I am going to make the most of my treasures.

Have I purchased any fabric this year?  Honesty makes me admit to the fact that I have, but all of it has gone directly into projects that were already underway before the new year.

Have I purchased other quilting items? Yes, but all have been directed at becoming a better long-arm quilter.  As I finish my UFOs I will now have other designs for quilting and the skills to make it happen.  The shamrock quilts will be quilted with shamrocks, actually have one done!  I have also practiced some other designs using less expensive fabrics and the tiny leftover scraps of fabric and batting to make dog beds for rescued animals.

LIFE IS GREAT!