2010 Final Countdown

Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner.  I meant to post it this morning but ran out of time.  My brother's wife's brother (how's that for confusing?!) lives about 30 miles from me.  My brother, his wife, and his kids live in Boston.  They came to Michigan to visit my SIL's brother for the holidays, and my SIL's brother invited us to his house today for a visit.  We had such a very nice time.  My SIL's family is just wonderful, and Sweet Pea had such a nice time playing with her cousins and with her cousin's cousins.  I gave my SIL her phone cozy, which I blogged about here, and she really loved it I think.  I was really happy she liked it so much.  It was a really great day.  I don't get to see them enough.  We just got home, and I'm just now having time to sit down and make this post.

Shelly, over at Prairie Moon Quilts, is having a fun 2010 Final Countdown.  I decided to join in because I just adore Shelly.

She's giving us tasks to do each day, and she tells me there will be prizes.  :-)  I'm just in it for the fun.

She gave us our first task.  If you want to read all about it and join in, click here:

http://prairiemoonquilts.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/2010-final-countdown-task-one/

In short, our first task is to find our oldest UFO and do something about it.

Okay.  I consulted my spreadsheet of UFOs that I created this past spring before I moved again.  (It's a scary list due to the sheer quantity of UFOs.  I have only gotten back into sewing for about 8 years now, so I don't have UFOs that are too old, compared to some people.  But I bet the quantity of UFOs I have rivals that of people who've been sewing for 20 years.)  I don't date my projects (or at least I haven't to this point), so I'm sort of guessing at what one's the oldest.  I'm pretty sure it's the Promise Stitch Log Cabin project.  I've been going through all my projects and sort of reorganizing them.  So, it wasn't too hard to find it.

(I had to take photos with my phone, because my camera battery was dead.  Sorry these aren't the best photos.)

Here it is.  All the parts neatly tucked inside this plastic container.  You know me.  Queen of plastic containers!

These are little log cabin blocks, made from 1" strips of fabric.  You hand stitch them with a 1/4" seam allowance, open up the seam, and then do a little running stitch on the top a scant 1/4 inch away from the seam.  When I first bought this, I loved the blocks (who doesn't love log cabin blocks?), I loved the little embroidery around the blocks, and I loved the idea of framing a little wall hanging with log cabins.  I thought htis would be a good travel project, since it's handwork.

I cut a whole slew of light and dark 1" strips so I could "grab 'n go" and take them with me when I travel.

I even have everything assembled in this little travel kit...a cutting mat and rotary cutter to trim the strips to length, needles, thread, marking tools....

Heres how far I got.  I hand stitched all this.  See the little running stitches on the dark fabrics?  They are hard to see on the light fabrics.

Now that I've found it, my next task is to determine what's holding me up from finishing this.

Hmmm...I am really having to think about this one.  I still like the project and think it's cute.  I'm not sure where I'd put it in my house, so I don't have a definite plan for it.  It was really just something to do while I was traveling once.  Truth be told, I put it away and sort of forgot all about it.  Also, I'm concerned that when I started this, I was not a very accurate sewer.  I am not sure how accurate my piecing was, and so I don't want to get far along and realize I've spent a lot of time on something that isn't going to work out well.  I just don't really feel like finishing this.

My last task is to decide what to do with it.  I have decided this is one UFO I am not very invested in and am not going to finish.  So, what am I going to do?  I'm going to repurpose my strips into the 1" strip scrap drawer I am in the process of starting.  (As you'll see, one of my New Year's goals is to organize my scraps, and this will get me started on that path.)  This little block is so small, I will be okay with throwing it away or maybe turning it into a pincushion.  I think throwing it away sounds better.  I'm going to put away all the parts and pieces so I have an empty project box that I can put some other projects that need a home in this box (like my Soul Whisperer doll pieces right now).  It's late tonight, so I'll take care of that tomorrow morning.

Shelly has already posted task two, which you can find here:

http://prairiemoonquilts.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/2010-final-countdown-task-two/

I will tackle this task tomorrow morning, too.  It is to clean off a horizontal surface in your sewing room.  Emptying this box will allow me to make progress on task two, because it will give me a home for some items currently on my cutting table, which is an absolute mess.  I'll show you that tomorrow, but I'm sort of embarrassed about it.  Come on back then, and I'll show you why.

Shelly, this is fun.  Thanks for doing it.  You got me to move forward on something I really needed to move forward on!

Why don't you join in on the fun of this, too???

Until next time,

Mama Pea

Comments

[Maggie Szafranski]

What a fun thing! And good decision on deciding not to finish the UFO.

[Terri]

Ha. You're-just-in-it-for-the-fun my eye...You're a prize junkie! But good for you for getting something done with a UFO, even if/especially if it's just abandoning/repurposing it. Another idea: you could use it as a give-away! But if you're going to add it to your scraps, they are perfect for a project I've been thinking about doing again: quilted Christmas ornaments. They were my first foray into quilting and turned me on to the whole thing. I made several sets five years ago, but gave them all away. I'll post about it next week with a picture.

On another subject, you're friend, Maggie (1st comment to this post)...was she up 'TIL 4:30 a.m. this morning or up AT 4:30! I guess Maggie needs to answer that, huh?

[Terri]

okay, never mind about Maggie's comment...I just my time stamp was 3 hours off.

[Shelly]

Good job so far! Way to make a decision, girl!

[Donna]

I made a list of my UFO's and it is sooo long! I worked on a project last night and got a lot accomplished.
I am a huge fan of plastic containers too!
Thanks for the link!
Hugs,
Donna

[Linda]

Sounds like a great plan. Fun too, but not sure I could do it! Just thinking about my UFOs causes me to sink a little in my chair. :-) Actually, while I was sick I reorganized my UFOs and tried to prioritize them. That just about made me sicker! LOL! No really, it gave me clear direction on getting them finished. I, too have a few that I will never complete and am ok with that. I figure why waste my time on something I really don't like when I could be working on something I love! I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year! Thanks for helping make my 2010 so special!