Unpitied WIPping

Cranked out the midnight oil the final night of 2018 and actually finished a quilt! So this quarter's list is missing a project that has been on the list since the beginning! But, one step back, two steps forward... I've added two newer (last summer) projects to the list. And then two existing projects... Ugh! My WIP list will never shrink, will it?!?

The additions aren't because I touched any of them in the last three months!!! I just knew for the last six months I had no chance in a hot place of finishing three of them. The fourth one, the Butterfly Collage, was supposed to be finished by the end of the spring quarter, when I pieced it. But cycling season took that pipe dream away (and thankfully delivered equally as awesome dreams...).






Leaf Me Alone was my oldest WIP. I've been planning to finish it in time to mail it to my sister-in-law for Christmas or her birthday every year for about five years now. When I first finished and posted the top, which was originally conceived with batik leaf leftovers from a favorite dress I made in 2007, then later incorporated leftovers from other batik projects throughout the years, my sweet sister-in-law left a comment on my blog: "I WANT THAT QUILT!"


I crafted three more coordinating blocks I planned to incorporate into the back of the quilt, but have not been able to find them, although I expect they will pop clearly back into view once this baby is in the mail. That's just how things work around here!

For years, the finished top weighted down my WIP quilt rack, and I finally decided last year to put a solid backing on it (gray Cosmos), just to get it done for once and for all. I began hand-quilting the project in the spring and even took it along with me during our May trip to Moab, one of the hottest places to be working on a quilt!!!






I took it with us on our road trip to California in October, too, but I was so busy trying to finish 50 7-pointed snowflakes for my parents' golden anniversary and then five snowflakes for my niece, the quilt never came out of the bag.










I finished all but the final two blocks that steamy Moab weekend, and then... cycling season. Then my parents' 50th anniversary. And before I knew it, the Christmas deadline was looming again. I pulled the project back out about a week into December and worked on it every chance I got, which I'll admit, was not often. I had hoped to finish by Christmas Eve, but work kept me too late too many nights, and at 8:34 p.m. on New Year's Eve, the quilt was finally finished!


I thought at least I'd earn the Queen of the Last Minute title in the Ravelry Autumn 2018 WIP challenge. But another quilter stole my crown!!!


I really enjoyed the hand-quilting with pearl cotton. I'm one who refuses to use a thimble because it's so inconvenient, so I pay the price with accidental stabs when I'm tired or get in a hurry. But the hand-quilting is so enjoyable and so refreshing, I'm tempted to turn some of my other WIPs into hand-quilted projects.






I'd always said when the dress wears out, I'll make another quilt with it. I've patched it so many times, there are places where the original fabric doesn't even exist anymore. I haven't worn the dress in a year now. Last time I patched an elbow, I swore there would be no more patches. It would be in the quilt leftovers pile.

Some of the fabric is so worn now from so many wearings and so many washings, the black isn't a true black anymore. The fabric is so thin under the arms and all around the elbows, those sections might not even be worthy of saving. But they could be pillow stuffing, right?

I haven't taken the dress off the hanger yet because I truly don't want to cut up the garment. There are many warm memories in this dress! This dress has lasted through 11 Colorado winters!






In all, I finished 8 quilts in 2018 - Shiloh's Quilt (which was never on my WIP list), Hoffman Watercolors (which was never on my WIP list), Blue Floral Nostalgia, Scrappy Blue Block-a-Day, Kathy's Mermaid Quilt (which was never on my WIP list), Owl Dye and Go to Heaven (which was never on my WIP list), and Leaf Me Alone. I'm actually really glad I went back and looked at my finishes for the year because I thought I'd finished only three quilts!!! Totally respectable finish list!






Here's my official WIP list for Winter 2019:


1. Hawaiian Punch


2. Welcome to the Jungle


3. Lizard Toes


4. Hexie Booboo


5. Tickled Pink, the Sequel


6. Teal Shadows


7. Goodbye Hollyhock Road


8. Snowflake Strip Bar


9. Green Floral Batik Postage Stamps


10. Lavender Sunrise


11. Giant Dahlia


12. Showcase


13. Snowbike II


14. Autumn Splendor


15. Cool Edge of the Rainbow


16. Citrus Whip


17. Time for Me to Fly


18. Venetian Squiggles


19. Moda Blockheads


20. Tiny Triangle Leftovers


21. Butterfly Collage


22. Matthew's Quilt

Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict and TGIF Friday at Anja Quilts.

Tweet

Pin It