2013 ALYOF - finale

One of the reasons I blog is

that I can review quilty stuff

much easier with the help of old blog post - 

it always comes to the rescue 

when I can't remember things...

So I checked all my ALYOF finishes party posts

and counted 7!!!!

Here they are:

As you can see 

I chopped several steps of 

completing my "Easy Street quilt",

(3 pics in mosaic)

but I got her done.

Linking up to the 

finale at Melissa and Shanna's blog.

Wishing for another great ALYOF in 2014,

Barb

December Finishes Party

Just a few hours before the linky shuts down,

I managed to eek in my December finish

for "A Lovely Year of Finishes 2013"

My goal was to add the 5 missing blocks 

to my Fractured quilt

and sew the top together.

And tadaaaa: 

I JUST completed the Fractured top!

I love it!

And what a great feeling here 

during the last hours of 2013!

Hopefully I will have the same

determination throughout 2014

and finish some more of my UFO's.

And quilt some, too...

A big thank you to Melissa and Shanna

for hosting "A lovely Year of Finishes 2013".

Without your motivation

my UFO list would be even longer.

Are YOU ready to join

A lovely Year of Finishes 2014?

Happy New Year,

Barb

Fractured QAL - and December goal setting

Have a look at my latest count of 

the Fractured quilt top:

25 blocks!

Well, that's my current status

and even though the QAL

hosted by Vicki

will end this week,

I hope to complete this top

as my December goal

for "A Lovely Year of Finishes 2013".

This means sewing 5 more blocks

and sewing the top together

with  a 5 x 6 lay-out.

Thank you Vicki for hosting this QAL:

I would have never gotten that far 

without the QAL support.

Linking up to 

Fractured QAL at Vicki's blog

and

Goal setting party at Fiber of all Sorts.

Barb

Design Wall Monday - and more

Here is what's on my

  Design Wall Monday,

my UFO goal for November

for A Lovely Year of Finishes

and inspired by Jo's Country Junctions 

"Bonnie Challenge":

I dug into my half assembled quilt top pile

and pulled out Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay:

partially sewn top with 

partially sewn blocks

and missing bits & pieces in between.

The red carpet underneath is a bit deceiving, but 

15 red string units are missing and about

74 trouble units.

My goal is to complete the top 

as it is shown as pre-layout above

(the final border will be a later decision...).

And here is my trouble unit:

It's a love-hate story for me:

I love the quilt,

but for the life of me 

this trouble unit 

is just about impossible for me to sew:

It bunches up, shrinks, curls, 

gets stuck in the feed dogs

and everything else that could go wrong.

Not to mention a lot of choice words are flying

in just about any language I know ;-)

So any hints and tips you may have,

please help and let me know!

Yep, I know:

my HST is already funky,

I do have better ones, but no photo available...

Happy sewing,

Barb

A lovely Year of finishes - October finish party

Just a few minutes ago

I finished my October goal:

binding my Easy Street quilt!

It has been slow going 

with Minkee backing

and no batting,

but it is done and I love it!

I made it

with just 6 hours to spare...

Linking up to Melissa's Finish Party!

Once again the Lovely Year of finishes

has pushed me to pull through

 - Thank you - 

and end up with a lovely quilt for Michigan Winter,

Barb

October - Goal Setting Party

It's October, time sure flies - 

since the goal setting party by Melissa and Shanna

is in full swing 

and helps me to actually complete 1 project,

I better get it posted:

My October goal is 

to square-up and (machine) bind my Easy Street Quilt!

Here it is in full unfinished glory:

Can't wait to get 

Easy Street ready for snuggling

during the Michigan winter.

Wish me luck - 

and join the goal setting party!

A little blogland accountability

can go a looong way.

Barb

Finishes Party - September

Before September is over 

here in a few days

I better get my September finish post written for

My goal was to finish 

the Star Surround Quilt 

(backing, quilt, bind) - 

And I made it!

I even used a new binding method

Susie's Magic Binding

and love the flange:

here is the backing fabric

Linking up to the finish party at

Fiber of All Sorts

Barb

September - Goal Setting Party

I have been trying to make up my mind

which goal to pick for September for:

I will be having visitors for 2 weeks

and probably not much time.

Ok, then let's get the 

Star Surround quilt finished.

Meaning: quilt & bind

my 40 inch square 1 star block quilt!

So it can't become a UFO 

and will be given to someone, soon.

Don't expect any fancy-dancy FMQ quilting,

just getting it done with proven methods,

is going to work (aka ez boards ;-0)

And if I can make it it time,

I'll join the Parade on September 16th

at Melissa's blog!

I better find a backing fabric in my stash...

Linking up to the goal setting party.

Happy sewing,

Barb

Finishes Party - August

I made it!

With a few hours to spare

and can still link up with

A Lovely Year of Finishes!

My August goal was 

to quilt Easy Street.

Last row done, still on the frame:

Unrolling it:

Yes,I love my new quilt

with soft minkee as backing!
There were more hours necessary
than anticipated -
and I would have given up,
if it wasn't for the August linky party.
So I powered along
and am so glad I did.
Thank you
Shanna and Melissa
for hosting!

Did you finish your August goal?

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Barb

August - Goal setting Party

Well,

I can't believe it is August already

and summer in full swing.

Time to set another goal for

A Lovely Year of Finishes:

in order to reduce my "Mount Quilt tops",

I decided to:

Quilt the Easy Street top.

It's a quilt to stay at my house

and the backing helps my stash reduction.

Now to decide on the quilting:

I think it's going to be another

"Clam shell with Flair" pattern - 

I just love how it turned out 

on my last quilt!

Linking up to the

  August Goal setting Party,

Barb

July - Finish Party

I just buried the last thread

on Mod Blossom

and that means:

It's DONE!

Quilted and bound!

This quilt was my July goal

for A Lovely Year of Finishes

and I made it with 1 day to spare...

Linking up to the Finish Party

at Fiber of All Sorts

Wohooo, 

Barb

July - A lovely Year of Finishes

Well, I guess I took a real long break from blogging - 

somewhat unintended, but it happened anyways.

Trying to get back in the saddle

 and getting some more things finished.

So I am back for the July goal setting party

by  Fiber of all Sorts.

And the goal is an old goal - 

quilt and bind Modern Blossom,

promised to a very dear friend in NJ:

Come and join 

and get things done.

Linking up to the goal setting party,

wish me luck,

Barb

May goal setting party

It is the start of yet another month

and I need a new goal for May

for A Lovely Year of finishes.

A friend of mine in New Jersey

needs some TLC

and I looked through my unfinished tops

to see what would be a good fit:

Modern Blossom it is!

(free pattern)

While the (poor) photo shows the top sideways

you may be able to see 

the big zig and zag of the colors;

just like the ups and downs of life.

My May goal:

make a backing, quilt and bind it

and ship the finished quilt out to NJ 

by the end of the month.

What a win - win situation

if I can make it:

another top taken off Mount Quilt

to be finished

and hopefully a happy face in NJ!

Linking up to the goal setting party.

Off to iron this neglected top,

get a better photo of it

and start looking for some backing fabric,

Barb

A lovely Year of Finishes - April

My April goal of  "A lovely year of finishes" was 

to finish my Easy Street top - 

and I completed it in mid April!

How about that?

This program is really working for me!

After I had found the perfect border fabric in my stash

and figured out I had 'just' enough, I got on it.

I love how it turned out

and that it finally has become a finished top!

Linking up to April - Finishes Party,

go and check out all the other lovely finishes

Barb 

April Goal Setting Party

Somehow due to travel 

my entire month of March

was a wash when it comes to UFOs.

So it can only get better for April - or so I hope.

Joining back in again with a goal for

"A lovely Year of Finishes":

Finish Easy Street top:

finally measure, cut and sew the 2 borders!

Yep - I am at it again. 

As so often I run out of steam 

when it comes to borders...

There are 30 days in April,

so this should be doable!

Linking up to the 

April goal setting party at 

Fiber of All Sorts,

Barb

February - Goal setting

It's already February 3rd, 

so I better hurry to get my quilty goal set

for "A Lovely Year of Finishes",

especially for it being a short month!

I choose "Easy Street Mystery"  

as my February project.

Mine is a 3 x 3 blocks lay-out,

3 blocks are missing

and I need to sew it into a top.

As you can see,

the left bottom corner is already sewn together,

but all the other blocks still need to get added.

Due to my work load in my real job,

my goal is to finish the quilt top.

Linking up to the 

February Goal Setting Party!

A big Thank you

going out to 

Melissa and Shanna

for hosting and keeping us moving 

on all UFO's, WIP's and other projects!

Barb

January - Finish

Before I miss the submission deadline

 I better get my accomplishment posted 

and linked up to 

"A lovely Year of Finishes"

by Fiber of all Sorts:

the baby charity quilt is quilted, bound 

and I even buried the threads!

This is the one project to get finished in January - 

even though I would have loved to do more,

sometimes it just doesn't happen.

Go check out the linky list

on the Fiber of all Sorts blog!

Ok, I better get thinking about 

my February project!

Barb

A lovely Year of Finishes 2013

In an effort to get some more projects done, 

I have joined Shanna and Melissa in 

"A Lovely Year of Finishes 2013"

My project for this month is

to quilt and bind this baby charity quilt.

It has been loaded on my frame for far too long

and I have to get it DONE!

Ok, yesterday I oiled the machine 

and there shouldn't be anything keeping me

from quilting over the weekend!

Wish me luck

and join us,

Barb