UFOs: The Quilting Kind

UFOs Not in the Sky

A box of UFOs, unfinished quilts, found in the hobby room.
Neatly stacked UFOs.

I stumbled across a box of UFOs while organizing and attempting to declutter the hobby room. Unlike the unidentified flying objects making headlines earlier in the month, these Un-Finished Objects are quilt projects started and not completed. The year 2023 now has a concrete goal. These quilts deserve to be finished and cherished.

At least one of these UFOs dates back multiple decades. Life truly can become busy as children arrive and moves are made. Somehow the purple and teal blocks survived the purging of three moves and a major remodel of the current home.

I Spy Quilt

The cheeriest of the UFO’s is comprised of 5 ½ inch blocks of children’s prints. To finish the quilt a narrow border complete with a list of objects to “spy” needs to be added. Then the quilt can be sandwiched and tied or quilted. Since the next generation is at the age to procreate, finishing this quilt makes sense.

My Bernina sewing machine has a program which sews sentences into the fabric. The quilter needs to hold the fabric steady so the wording remains in a straight line. I have made these before and the greatest difficulty is creating the I Spy sentences. The quest needs to offer challenge without frustration.

Quilt top with 5 1/2 inch squares of bright baby prints
The basis of an I Spy quilt.

Unfinished Design

Unfinished wall hanging with a Sunbonnet Sue applique.
Prime example of an Un Finished Object.

One of the quilts is hardly begun. I ran into trouble trying to replicate a Sunbonnet Sue wall hanging. My trouble was creating a clothesline. This quilt was to hang inside the laundry room, but open wall space was at a premium. Perhaps I can finish it and place outside the room at the entry.

Fall Colors

A table runner and a panel quilt are two UFOs designed in a fall color palette. Both are small pieces just lacking the layering and quilting for completion. I am not sure why they were unfinished. Perhaps fall turned into winter?

Since the cleaning and organizing has uncovered fragments of quilt batting, one goal is to match the table runner and batting piece and move it into the quilting stage. A lingering winter will give me plenty of time to finish at least one of the two.

Table Runner in Fall Colors
Table Runner

Panel Quilt in Fall Colors

UFOs: One Nearly Complete

The initialed diamond within a square missed a deadline for showing and then was never finished. Only a few inches of stitching the binding remains. This wall hanging deserves finalization. I am sure frustration over the timing led to the piece finding it’s way into the box of UFOs. This one can be finished on a hot summer afternoon when I take refuge in the coolness of the basement.

Quilted wall hanging made from two inch squares. The diamond within the square in greens and whites with the remainder in browns.
Almost Finished

Sampler Quilt Blocks

Quilt block missing pieces.My sampler quilt blocks are still just blocks. My review of the original and updated version of The Sampler Quilt back in 2018 did not spur completion. I even found another partially pieced block. Unfortunately, this block is missing a section. One of the tasks while organizing the hobby room will be to find the missing piece or if possible the fabrics needed to complete the block.

The sampler quilt is least likely to finish this year. But I plan to add that goal to my list. Everything on this quilt is done by hand. Quite an undertaking. And the finished quilt will be a special one.

 

 

Hand Pieced Sampler Quilt Blocks

Eight quilt blocks in purple and tealQuilt block in Lemoyne Star patternQuilt block Dresden Plate on purple backgroundQuilt Block of hexagonsCarpenter's Wheel patternQuilt Block teals and lavender on white backgroundQuilt block called Clay's CornerQuilt block in deep purpleLog Cabin block teals on one side purples on the other

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