UFO Sightings

It's another week for UFOs. Janet's Sipalu Bag is finished!

Janet started this bag in 2008. She thinks of herself as a quilter, not a knitter, but she has the talent, learns new techniques quickly and has a great sense of color. She changed some of the colors for this bag, which she bought as a kit. On to her Dogwood Blossoms sweater!

My Yei Figures bag has come along a bit this week.

Common Threads met at my house this week, requiring some time spent with the H-word beforehand. It's always nice to get the house clean, though.

Bernadette is crocheting an afghan:

We have several crocheters in our group. It makes me want to do some more crocheting. Maybe another granny square afghan to bust my stash so I can buy more yarn.

Julie brought Zachary's I-spy quilt, which she machine-quilted for me. She wanted to get it to me in time for me to bind it and send it off for his birthday. Here's the front.

The back will be good for him to play with his trains and cars on. The quilt is on its way to the birthday boy. Zachary will be two on Tuesday.

I may not have enough of the backing fabric to use for backing for Soren's I-spy quilt, but if not, I'll find something just as fun. I finished piecing the top for it on Saturday.

As you can see, it's almost identical to Zachary's. Some of the I-spy patches are different.

You may remember the bunk beds I found at the antique fair for Daphne's dolls. I've been working on making bedding for them, so I can send them off in time for her birthday next month. So far, I've finished the mattresses and the blankets.

There are plans for sheets and quilts, then some repair on the base that supports each mattress. Foam rubber is covered with torn Con-Tact paper. I want to replace the Con-Tact paper, if I can find a suitable pattern.

In the meantime, I'm getting ideas for a quilt for Soren's baby brother, due in August. It's the Chinese "Year of the Horse." I'm looking for a cute horse image to use for designing an appliqué. I'm also ready to CO for another BSJ for the new baby. Even though he will have several BSJ hand-me-downs already from Soren, each child should have at least one knit just for him or her, I think.

The I-spy quilts and doll bedding don't count as UFOs, so I can't start a new knitting project or quilt until I finish one of the true UFOs in my pipeline. The Delectable Pathways definitely qualifies as a UFO, and I'm coming down the home stretch with that. I managed to get a few more leaves appliquéd on this week, and I keep reminding myself that this is the last panel. All the blocks are done, so when this panel is done, I can put the whole thing together and finish it. In the meantime, I have two quilts I'm hand-quilting, and they have been languishing, and another one partly pieced. There is also a Wedding-ring quilt partly pieced.

While finishing up my UFOs, I'm dreaming about the new projects I want to make. I have two kits and several patterns, all ready to go. One new one is the kit for CT's Lincoln's Log Cabin. And then there's the Clara's Journey quilt pattern.

These add to my collection of planned but unstarted projects, including the Treasure Chest quilt. The kit is in reds, blues and tans. There is also the Pine Burr quilt from McCall's Quilting, May/June 2012, only I plan on a different palette.

I have also picked out some Palette yarn for the Mary Tudor Cardigan in Alice Starmore's new Tudor Roses book. (Knitters, this book looks great on the coffee table!) I already have some of the yarn I need:

I'm going to use Palette in Brindle Heather (MC), Indigo Heather, Abyss Heather, Blue Note Heather, Toffee, Marine, Suede, Clematis Heather and Mulberry, listed in order of how much will be used. The photo shows what I already have on my stash. Missing from the photo are Abyss Heather, Indigo Heather, Toffee and Mulberry, and I will need more of the Brindle Heather and Marine Heather. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can finish this week. Stay tuned!

What's on my needles: The Yei Figures Bag, finishing up the embroidery and the duplicate stitch on the front. BSJ for BS2, Soren's little brother, due in August ready to CO. 

What's on my loom: Waffle scarf, no progress this week, but it's warming up, so it will be nice to work downstairs. 

What's on my Featherweight: Bedding for Daphne's dolly bunk beds. Mattresses and blankets done, sheets and two quilts still to go.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Mercedes Lackey's Arrows of the Queen was pretty good. I just finished The Girl in the Gatehouse, by Julie Klassen and have started another novel by Georgette Heyer, Sylvester. I'm watching "Stranded Colorwork, Basics and Beyond" from Craftsy.

What's my app of the week: KSL Weather, which I like better than the weather app that came with my iPhone. Our weather in Summit Park can vary a lot from that of Park City because of the difference in elevation and the location of the mountains. We have weather measuring equipment right here. KSL is a local TV station in Salt Lake City, but you can choose locations anywhere.

What's in my wine glass: Lelanau Cellars Autumn Harvest Premium Dry Red Table Wine, a Michigan wine. Dry and fruity. Surprising treat!

What's my tip of the week: When measuring for quilt borders, measure across the middle, vertically and horizontally, and cut the borders to that measurement, sewing one pair of borders on before measuring for the the other pair. Ease the fabric if needed when sewing them on. This usually ensures that your quilt will be square and doesn't resemble a potato chip, as the edges are more likely to be either larger or smaller than the middle of the quilt, and the edges may not match.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.