Progressing On The UFOs

Those of us joining in on the UFO Parade and making an attempt to finish them, were asked if we had a plan, perhaps better would be to ask if we have a method to our madness, in getting the list of UFOs whittled down.  I can definitively say: "NO", I do not have a specific plan, nor any specific method of enticing or coercing myself to get them done, other than the mere fact of knowing that so many of them are as old as they are and that at least a few of them were started to be given as gifts. 

That being the case, I got to work on the one I posted about on Monday (here), which I last worked on  four years ago - it seems it was no more than a year or two ago but my records don't lie!  So yesterday I got my act together and resumed the quilting process.  My quilting is all straight line following either the zig-zag pattern of the blocks or the straight lines of the rows and columns stitching 1/4" on each side of the seams.  I've extended those straight lines into the borders, and am thinking I'll run another set of double straight lines down the middle of all the borders too. 
I've not developed free-motion skills adequate enough to do what I once considered doing in the borders and at this point really want to get "a finish" so will persist with what I am capable of and practice on the side.

When I was working on this yesterday in my not-so-well lit dining room, I noticed after about an hour of stitching that the stitching wasn't looking quite right in a few spots. Very loose and easily pulled up in loops.  Well, it was more than a few spots, it was all of the stitching I'd done for that hour, so yep, you guessed it, I spent the next hour removing all those stitches and redoing all my work.  Before resuming, I checked my bobbin & thread, checked the tension, and ultimately just re-threaded my machine.   It appears that the re-threading fixed whatever the problem was.

Also before continuing, I moved a floor lamp next to my work surface and now I can actually see my stitches as I work.  For the initial quilting along the zig-zag paths, I used a plain dark green thread.  Now that I'm doing the straight lines, I've switched to a multi-colored variegated thread for both top and bottom.  I'm guessing I have at most another 2 hours of quilting to do on this and then I'm ready for the binding.  It will feel really nice to have this finished.  And THAT just might be enough motivation to get some of those other UFOs done!

Design Wall Monday and other Activities

(Quilty stuff at bottom)

CHORES:  It's Monday and up until fixing my lunch, which consisted of only putting my leftover Panda Express meal from last night's dinner into a bowl and then into the microwave, I've done nothing but chores today.  Gathering, sorting, washing/drying, folding, hanging and putting away laundry - 4 loads so far!, picking a chicken carcass for home made chicken soup, putting a beef roast into the crock pot for dinner - either tonight's or tomorrow's, as yet undecided.  I've cleaned the cats' litter box, reviewed my pantry inventory, and of course took Nick to school before any of that. 

NEWS: As I sat eating my lunch, I turned the TV on and of course, learned about the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  Yet another sad day for our country.  My prayers go to the Lord on behalf of those suffering directly from this incident. 

GENEALOGY:  I've mostly taken a break from all things quilty the last couple of days and have instead worked on some genealogy - I am paying for that Ancestry.com membership, so NEED to be using it more than I have been lately.  I once was invited to attend a focus group, and for doing so, received a full 1-year membership for free, but sadly that was a year I didn't get as much time in as I should have on the branches that would have benefitted, especially for the databases included in their world membership level.  

The branch I'm currently working on is my great-great-grandmother through my mother's father's side of the family.  Her maiden name was Lind.  I uncovered a whole lot of info - this computer age makes it so relatively easy to find out information even on younger, living individuals.  Sometimes it's almost scary knowing what can be found about people (now you know why I prefer to keep my true name hidden here on the blog where one never knows who may be viewing).   I uncovered a 3rd cousin-once removed, who lives here in my same town but on the other side.  Who knows whether we may have crossed paths somewhere over the last ump-teen years of my living here. 

QUILTY:  I'm thinking I really need to get this quilt finished. 

"Cumberland Mountain" pattern from Fons & Porter's For The Love Of Quilting pp10-13

Some of the quilting - 1/4" from seam lines, straight lines echoing zigzags - it's that line that crosses the vertical rows I'm not gung-ho about.

Not the best shot, but shows from the back how I started with straight lines the length of the quilt and then started following the zig-zags.  AND, the backing doesn't look very smooth in some spots - they WERE/ARE pinned, maybe not closely enough

My friend Lois had given me 'tons' of fabric from her years of making her own clothing - yardage and scraps - back in September 2006, and as a thank you to her, I started this quilt using many of those fabrics just two weeks later.  I worked on it off and on in 2006/2007, sandwiched it in 2008, and started the quilting in January of 2009.  At the time, I wasn't pleased with how I was quilting it, so stopped and put it away.  I'm embarrassed at how long ago that was and yet amazed at how much time has slipped away - doesn't give me much hope in getting all the quilts I WANT to do DONE in my lifetime!  I think at this point, I need to just press on and get it done so she can have and enjoy it!  Head over to Patchwork Times for more Design Wall reports.