Wednesday, February 29, 2012

First Finish for 2012

It's nothing special, but it's finished and out the door.

This is my oldest UFO, and it's probably 22 years old. Can you tell by the calicos? It was the first quilt I ever started, and I was learning with Eleanor Burns' Trip Around the World book. A clerk at the store helped me pick out the fabrics; and by the time I had constructed half the top, I disliked them so much that I threw the whole project in the closet, bought a new set of fabrics, and started over.

The second quilt eventually got finished, the first one never did. Every now and then, I'd come across the half finished top and throw it back in the closet. I cannabalized a few of the fabrics to use in other projects. I lost track of some of the rest of the fabrics I needed to finish it.

Late last year I came across it again when I was emptying out my sewing room to begin renovations. I made up my mind that it was not going back in the closet, so I picked apart some of the seams (quite a few actually) and sewed it back together in this much smaller arrangement.

I was unable to access my longarm for several months, and we finally got it set back up again in January, I think. I felt like I'd lost my proficiency on the longarm, and this was a perfect little top to practice on to get back in the groove. Freehand meandering went pretty well, so I loaded another small UFO and tried a pantograph on it. That quilt is now waiting for binding and will be a finish for March. I'll need more practice before I attempt to quilt a good top, but I'm on my way again.

3 comments:

FeatherDuster said...

I really it, actually.

I like those 80's calicos and have several large pieces, plus smaller pieces. I worked in a fabric store all through the 80's and bought yards and yards of them when they went on sale for $1.99/yard, and was always digging through the remnant bin.

I've been thinking about pulling out all my little calico prints and filling in with ebay bargain shopping, and making a quilt with them.

Judy S. said...

I still haven' finished my first quilt from 1999; just needs the binding. Gotta do it soon!

Lori in South Dakota said...

Done is DONE! Congratulations!