We all have them……UFO’s
Some are recent but some can be many many many many ……..many years old.
I love to finish a quilt, but there is something about the process that makes me very happy.
In college I studied 3D design with a focus in Ceramics and Textiles. What made me love ceramics so much was not only the ability to use what I made, but the who process of making it.
The process started with actually mixing the raw ingredients to make the clay, forming the shapes on the wheel, trimming the bottoms to create a beautiful foot, adding the perfect handle to a mug so it fits just right in your hand, the entire drying process, the bisque fire, mixing my own glaze recipes from scratch, glazing and the final firing. We would call it Christmas every time we would open the final kiln.
I also studied textiles. I loved the fabric dying processes. My favorite was the shabori tying method followed by discharging dye. There was something magical about finally cutting out all the stitches I placed after taking the dye out of my black fabric. If fact, I loved my 2 yards I made so much that I didnt use the fabric for a very long time.
But back to UFO’s…..
I wanted to share a UFO I finished recently. Back in December, 2020 I participated in Moda Bake Shop Winter Frost Count Down to Christmas Quilt Along. You can find the original post here. I loved making a new block each day. The process was wonderful. Each day creating something for a finished project kept me going. I finished the quilt top on December 29th. I always like to wait a week or so to actually quilt my projects to give me fresh eyes but somehow 6 months went by instead. My quilt top sat quietly on the shelf just waiting to be quilted.
I know one of the reasons I took so much time.
I am by no means a perfectionist. My top was a little bit wonky and I knew quilting it would be a challenge to get it to lay flat. This is probably why I kept creating and finishing other projects while this one just sat on the shelf.
Well, Moda started another quilt along in June 2021 called “Summer in the Garden.” I knew I just had to join in because of my love of all things gardening.
But I told myself before I even pick out fabric for this new QAL I needed to finish my Winter Frost quilt.
Well…….I finished it, and I finished it FAST! I made the backing, sandwiched, basted, quilted and bound in 2 DAYS! Surprisingly the quilting went really well even though the top was wonky and wavy. I used a large meandering FMQ to help ease some of the wavy fabric in place and it also help avoid any major puckers.
I am so happy to finally have this quilt finished.
The final quilt measures 72″ square.
Now it’s time to start picking fabric for my “Summer in the Garden” quilt. Be sure to subscribe to receive updates when I post new content. I usually post once a week so you will only get an email once (sometimes twice if I have something extra fun) a week.
Happy Sewing!
Starting to bloom by choosing JOY ~ Julia
