Whew..final finish for our UFO challenge

The Tran-quilt-ity email group had a UFO challenge going on from the New Year until the end of March. To be honest, I didn't really want to sign up as I thought I would feel pressured. Not in the least. Turned out to be a great motivator for me. As soon as I got the first finish done, I couldn't wait to get to the next one. I still have a bunch of UFO's, but I did get 6 done , I made 2 (and finished them!) that were not on the list and only started a few others. This has been a great success and I plan on still working on the UFO's even though the challenge is over. Thanks, Carol, for that great idea!!
Here is a pic of one of my Mysteries for Relay Mystery #11 tops all completed:

And, because my girls are always so generous by letting me use their coop and run to take my quilt pics on, I promised them I would let you see them, too:

There is a diva in every group of ladies:

Now, think it is back to my nine patches.

My pups

My Hannah took these pics the other day of our dogs and I just loved them so much I had to share them with you. I promise sewing goodies will appear soon. I am finishing up the binding on one of my Mystery #11's tonight, so will show that either later or tomorrow.
Here is the furry love of my life, Luke. He is a 6 yr old Chow/something mix:

Next is Delilah..aka Ihop. She is a purebred Schipperke that we got last August from the breeder for free as they were going to have to put her down if they didn't find a home for her as she had one flaw that made her unshowable..she was born with only 3 legs. She is missing her front left leg, but she doesn't know it as she rules the house now. She will be 1 year old in May:

It is near impossible to take good pictures of black dogs, so I am thrilled we finally have some where you can see their expressive faces.

What is this and what does it have to do with a finish?

How about this funky little piece? Interesting, isn't it? Not very exciting by itself. Maybe it needs a friend or two:

Ahhh..that is definitely better! Hmmm..think it still needs a little something more, though. Ohhh..Ohh...I know..I have just the thing!! How about this????

Perfect!! My Giant Dahlia..aka A Giant New York Sunflower quilt top is now done!! It is 54"x54". I am telling you, this was a labor of love. Almost all my quilts have been strip cut and whipped together. This was all cut out using templates and scissors. There was setting in of pieces, matching my joints all up (and they DID..wonder of wonders!!) and even the border was a challenge. I LOVED the challenge of this quilt top. It really stretched me and my abilities and I really felt that it made me grow as a quilter. It will continue to challenge me as I decide how I want to quilt it and can you imagine the fun I will have putting the binding on those edges?? That's okay..this IS a labor of love..no rush. I only put finishing the top on the UFO challenge list and that is completed. Kind of a bittersweet moment for me, though. Oh well, I know another challenge is waiting for me..I just have to find it! In the meantime, I certainly have a lot of other projects to work on and finish up. Going to bed now, with Giant New York Sunflowers I am sure in my dreams! Closing with another shot of the top..don't mind the wrinkles..I was too excited to iron it up before I showed you!!

A finish and some other progress

Finished the Quilts for Kids quilt tonight. It is in the washer now and will be mailed out tomorrow. I am definitely going to request more quilts and will make a few out of my stash, but not for awhile. I need to finish up some of these other projects first.
I also got the next step done of the Jitterbug quilt top done:

Working step by step with Shellie via texts and blogs is turning out to be really fun! I can't wait to do the next part!
Next on the list is the 4th block of the Pinwheel Party:


Last but not least, I got about 1/3 of one of my Mystery #11's quilted. With any luck I should have this one wrapped up by the end of the week.
How did I get so much sewing done? A day off of work! Woohooo! Patrick had his 1 year checkup with his orthopedic surgeon. Last year at this time, my poor boy had 2 rods put in his back to correct his scoliosis. While he has had a lot of surgeries in his lifetime, this was the hardest decision we ever made. After the surgery, we KNEW we were the worst parents in the world. He was in such pain..no one would ever put their child through that, right? Well, we did and we felt awful....for a week. Then he started recovering so quickly...and sat up so straight and tall...and could use his arms so much more because he wasn't working so hard at just sitting up. Within 3 weeks he was yelling at me because he wanted to go back to school! Now, year later, he looks and feels fabulous and this surgery was the best thing we ever could have done. Thank you, Dr. Sanders...and God..for giving us Dr. Sanders!

A productive sewing weekend

I have been working on and off on a bunch of projects, and this weekend I made good progress on some of them.

I made 196 hst's for my 30's quilt, Jitterbug, that I am working on while Shellie works on hers.


I got the Quilts for Kids quilt all quilted. Now I just have to buy some fabric to bind it with. I don't own any neon colors!!



Last but not least, I got the background put on my Giant Dahlia (Giant Sunflower) top. Now for the borders on this and it is a complete top!! This by far the most difficult top I have ever worked on. Lots of seams to match up, it is working with almost all bias edges, etc. When I get the borders on, I will take some more closeup pics of the different fabrics, etc.



I still have some energy, so not sure if I am done for the night yet, or not, but even if I am, I will be a happy camper!