UFO Incentive

Rhonda from Quilter in the GAP is encouraging quilters to finish up UFOs by hosting a quarterly finish along.  I missed out on the first quarter, but I am signing up to finish a few UFOs for this quarter.  The sign up is open for one more week so you still have time to take part.  I'm eager to display the items that have been sitting around looking for attention that I am targeting for this quarter.  These are shown in no particular order.

I started this quilt last summer using a tutorial by Sharon from Vrooman's Quilts.  All of the blocks are together.  It needs to be layered, basted, quilted, and bound.

I haven't touched my postage stamp quilt since I started it 2 weeks ago.  I  have all of the 2.5 charms cut and I'm determined to get it finished.

This paper pieced batik quilt was started as part of the "Too Good to Cut" Challenge two years ago.  The pattern was for a wall quilt, but I will add a few more blocks, make it lap size and call it finished.

This quilt was started about 18 months ago.  It is from one of the PS I Love You books.  I love the 3 dimensional pinwheels.  I don't know why I stopped working on this one.  I really like it and think it will be a great baby quilt.

This was made for Marcia's Scrappy Quilt Challenge back in January it just needs to be layered, basted, quilted and bound.
Five quilts seems like a lot for me.  I have only finished one quilt, a dryer topper, hamper topper, and a tabernacle cloth for my church in the first 3 months of this year.  I think it is doable since 2 of the items are completed tops and 2 of the others just need a few blocks to be finished.  I would like to use the first quilt for Sarah's H2H Charity Challenge which is due on May 27th so I will work on that this week.  It's not to late to enter the H2H Challenge for 2012 so check the link or the button on the sidebar to see what it is all about.

May For Me Bingo (Edited to add bingo card master sheet info)

Sharon of Vrooman's Quilts, Tonya of Hillbilly Handiworks, Marcia of Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting, and Snoodles at Lily Pad Quilting are four of the most prolific and generous bloggers I know.  They are having a special blog event in May.  The May for Me Celebration will have games, giveaways, and even a Grand Prize donated by Green Fairy Quilts.
I was lucky enough to win a pack of novelty squares at Marcia's blog to start me in the right direction.  I went over to Sharon's blog for the tutorial to make my very own Bingo card and to Tonya's blog to read about the prizes and rules.

These are the charms Marcia sent me.

 This is my Bingo board.

This is my Bingo board with the Master Card listing my objects for the game.

      B                                I                               N                         G                          O

Hens                    Pocket Watches         Stars                Cactus                Mosaic

Fireworks            Dragonflies                Plums               Golf Ball             Chick

Card Suits            Flowers                    Free Space        Frog                   Purple Cat

Monkey               Sunflower                 Tomatoes          Kitty Cat             Raspberries                                                                                                    

Snowflake            Smiley Face              Handbag            Holly leaves         Thread Spools                                                                                                        

It's not too late to join.  You must link up your Bingo board from April 15th through the 22nd.  If you use Sharon's tutorial, you'll be ready in no time.  All you need is twenty five 2.5 inch charms.  While you are checking out the Bingo tutorial on Sharon's blog, be sure to allow time for a visit because she has lots of wonderful things to see and learn about.

Thank you to everyone who wrote and asked about my daughter's eye problem.  We are optimistic because the blind spot has stayed the same size.  She is scheduled to see the neuro-ophthalmologist on April 23rd.  We hope he will be able to give us some good news.  On the bright side, she was accepted by every graduate school she applied to and was offered a scholarship (not full, but generous) to the university that was her first choice.  I'm already scouting quilt shops near the campus.

More Postage Stamp Charms around the Web and here too

If you still haven't gotten your fill of postage stamp charms, Mary of The Curious Quilter, is having a Postage Stamp Charm swap.  If you are a newbie and do not have enough to swap, you can request a 50 charm gift pack.  In addition to the 5 charm packs I offered yesterday, I have 5 more packs of 100 two inch charms available.  Feel free to request one.  I am also offering free Newbie packs at Mary's blog.  She has made lots of postage stamp quilts to provide you with inspiration.  

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

Judy Collins has always been one of my favorite singers.  I love her song, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes."  It has a beautiful haunting melody.  Unfortunately, hearing the song never motivates me to get going and conquer my procrastination.  I find that if I miss a week of blogging it turns into a month.  It is so easy to get out of the habit.
I was motivated to post today after opening my mail.  I received a lovely package from the UK sent by Elaine at A Little Bit of Heaven as part of the St.Patrick's Day Blog Hop and Giveaway.
It was wrapped so beautifully, that I took pictures as I unwrapped it.  This was the outer box.

 Now it is opened,

 These were the lovely goodies inside:  an embroidery pattern with some applique, ribbons, and gorgeous buttons.

After I took the pictures, I realized that I have been the recipient of many lovely items in the last few months and have not posted them yet.  I'll be playing catch-up for the rest of the week posting some of  items, but for now, I would like to give away something of my own.
There has been a lot of excitement about scrap quilting this year.  I have been doing my best to keep up with the various quilt a longs with only minor success.  One of the patterns that has caught my eye is the Fading Charms Quilt by Deanna at Blue Wedding Dress.  I am using 2.5 inch charms and have finished piecing the middle.  Now I am starting to put together the side rows.

I had originally intended to use 2 inch charms, but decided that larger squares would work better for my needs.  If you would like a head start on making a postage stamp style quilt, I would be happy to send you a pack of 100 two inch charms.  Since this is a giveaway and not a swap, any novelty charms in the pack are not fussy cut.  I have 5 packs to share (there are no repeats in the 100 charm packs.

They are wrapped in plastic and ready to be mailed.  Please leave a comment.  I will close the comments on on Friday, April 13th.  No hoops to jump through; just let me know if you want them.  I am willing to mail internationally.

Missing In Action

If you have left a comment that I have not answered, or are a blogger that I usually leave a comment for, I apologize for my neglect.   The last 3 weeks have been a blur here at our house.  I have spent a large chunk of time in doctors' waiting rooms.  Three weeks ago, my 23 year old daughter's only concern was waiting to hear if she was accepted into graduate school.  Then she noticed a blind spot in the peripheral vision in her left eye.  She has been examined by at least 5 opthamologists, including a neuro-opthamologist and had 2 MRIs.  She has a swollen optic nerve, but they have not been able to find out what is causing it.  Luckily, they have been able to rule out a brain tumor, cancer, and a detached retina.  The swelling hasn't gotten any worse and there has been no change in the size of the blind spot.  Unless there is a further change in her vision, the doctors want to keep an eye on it and we have a follow-up appointment.  It's been very frightening, but we have confidence in the optical team and she's handling it very well.

I did manage to start a few projects and actually finished one.  The top of my dryer has a few large scratches that are starting to rust.  After seeing dryer toppers on a few blogs, I made one of my own.  I used 2.5 inch charms alternated with muslin on both sides. The hand stitched binding was a great project to pass the time while waiting at the doctor's office.

Last weekend, I was able to take a class at our LQS.  The pattern is Eleanor Burn's Oriental Fans Tablerunner.  The fan blocks were so much fun to make that I made 9 instead of the 3 called for in the pattern.  I didn't finish the extra blocks because the fabric I chose for the setting triangles and backing was too light.  I've also decided to change the fabric for the fan base.  I love the pattern so hopefully I will find the fabric I need.  

The Basics Charity Challenge at Cara Quilts ended today.  I planned to deliver the personal care items I was donating to our local women's shelter in tote bags.  I already had 2 canvas tote bags I purchased previously, but I needed 3 more.  I found some pale orange denim in my stash that I bought for a Girl Scout project years ago.  Although there are lots of great patterns for totes on the internet, none of them seemed to fit my needs so I came up with my own pattern.  The denim was heavy enough not to need any stabilizer and I finished the inner seams so that I did not need a lining.  I still have plenty of the denim fabric left so I may make a few more and fill them up for the shelter later this year.

I'll be linking up with Barbara At Cat Patches for the February NewFO Challenge

Cara's Basics Charity Challenge

Last year, Cara of Cara Quilts issued a challenge on her blog to encourage people (of course quilters are people too) to donate the basic needs of life to local shelters for women and children.  She was inspired to start the challenge when driving past her local women's shelter that had a sign out front asking for donations of paper towels.  She expresses her thoughts so much better than I can.  Please click the button on my right side bar to visit her blog and read all about it.
I participated in the Basics Charity Challenge last year and donated 3 tote bags with the every day items we all take for granted; toothpaste, toothbrushes, liquid hand soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, hand creme,  and deodorant.  We also packed some extra food and household cleaning items in a shopping bag and dropped if off at the same time.  When we dropped them off, the woman at the reception desk was very grateful and told us that they were really in need of  all kinds of basic cleaning and personal hygiene supplies because donations drop off after the Christmas holidays.  It wasn't a big deal for us since we try to buy a few extra items when they are on sale to donate through our church.  Last year, over 200 people answered Cara's challenge to help.  Cara has recruited sponsors that will be offering all kinds of quilty goodies to participants.  The challenge runs through the month of February so you still have time to participate.  We all know someone who has needed help; now is our chance to extend a hand to a woman or child who is counting on us.

Pass It Along Box Finds A New Home

In case you're wondering how the "Pass It On" box is doing, it's ready to move on to its new home.

I removed 2 books (Scrap Basket Surprises and Miss Rosie's Floral Quilts), 1 Dance of the Fairies  fat quarter pack,1 tan print fat quarter,  a Clover yo you maker (large and small size included), and 1 applique pumpkin pillow pattern.

I added:  1 Riley Blake charm pack, 1 Curio charm pack by Basic Grey, 2 packs of 100 two inch squares, 2 packs of wash away foundation paper, 1 quilt pattern, 2 books (Make It Simpler Paper Piecing and Spring Cleaning , 3 Moda fat quarters (Lumiere de Noel, Aster Manor, and Roman Holiday), 1 Keepsake Quilting Die Cut Assortment of fifty eight 4 inch squares, and 2 one yard cuts from the Buttercup Line from Robert Kaufman.

Unfortunately, it no longer fits into a medium size priority box so I'll  be shipping it in a larger box to the lucky winner Miki Willa of Miki's Fabric Creations and slipping in a few more surprises.  Congratulations Miki.