WIPs and UFOs

For about a two weeks before the Quiltcon entry deadline I was quilting like crazy, day and night. My house looked like a complete disaster, the laundry was piling up, I was high on creative juices and sleep deprived. Everything was on the back burner except for quilting. Now that the deadline has come and gone, I find myself missing that non-stop quilting rush, so I decided to finally deal with ever growing pile of works in progress (WIPs) and unfinished objects (UFOs). Needless to say, my sewing room was in dire need of organizing and while I plowed through the Quiltcon leftovers I came across several forgotten half done projects. Some of them were what-was-I-thinking kind but some were pretty good and deserved to be finished.

I tackled a pillowcase that only needed binding to be finished. It was my take on the Dresden plate pattern. I used leftovers from a charm pack and quilted it on my at the time brand new sewing machine. It was a test piece that turned out to look pretty good.

Dresden pillow

I also came across a pile of fabric strips left over from a quilt I made eons ago. The fabric felt so soft and silky and although I decided not to start any new projects until I put a serious dent into WIPs I could not resist. I put all the fabrics together, randomly, into a table runner. The result was hideous. They worked so well in a rag quilt I made, but in the table runner, not so much. I had some left over binding, and I bound the table runner nevertheless. The binding pulled all the fabrics together and it look much better. Although not my favorite piece, it fits my eclectic home decor quite nicely.

Leftovers table runner

Go me!

I am an obsessive compulsive email checker ... except for today. Today, life caught up with me, my devices were comatose and the kids were monopolizing the computer. A friend, or rather an Angel looking over my shoulder, called to urge me to check my e mail....and tadaaaaa (cue in drum roll)...there were three e-mail from the Modern Quilt Guild waiting for me. One of my quilts was accepted for 2015 Quiltcon in Austin, Texas. Two were rejected, but let's not dwell on the negative :)

To be on the safe side, and leave Karma at bay, I will not post the picture of the quilt that got in. It is almost like I cannot believe it until I see it hanging in the convention center. I do not want to jinx it. I was hoping that at least one of my quilts gets in, and I am pretty much over the moon excited right now. The two quilts that did not get in are String Theory and Through the Fence.

String Theory is a quilt that did not want to be made, and the more fitting name for it should have been Persistence. From the very beginning, everything that could possibly go wrong with this quilt, indeed went wrong. Two sewing machines, two long arms, an oil spill, and numerous thread breaks later it is finally finished. At times, I thought that it would be much easier to explain String Theory to a toddler than to finish this quilt....but it is done, and it will look great on my couch.

String Theory

Through the Fence was inspired by the aftermath of hurricane Sandy on Long Island. While sitting on my patio this summer, I was looking at the section of the fence that we fixed and remembering a majestic oak tree that fell right through it. The fence has gaps, and it is far from perfect, but it is ours, and just like us it wears its scars proudly. I like that I can see my neighbour's garden through it, and that the paint is peeling in places. The fence is no longer a divider, but rather a link between us. 

Through the Fence

And now we wait for February to start packing for the Quiltcon. I cannot wait!