January's NewFO's and Progress

Due to our frigidly cold and snowy conditions (33.7" of snow in January alone, and it's snowing again today, too), I had lots of time to start and even finish several projects this past month. 

I started the month by making 2 Tinkerbell paper pieced blocks.  The blocks are done, but, I didn't make any more progress on the projects these blocks are for.  The free pattern for these blocks is at Fandom In Stitches (Disney).  If you look at their block, you will then notice my mistake I made in my blocks (the eyelids).  Oh well, I'm not correcting these blocks.  I think they look like 1960's eye shadow on Tinkerbell.

2 Tinkerbell blocks

I made a set of dog booties for our older dog (who passed away a week later).   Super easy to make these on one of my treadles.

dog booties made on this treadle

Padfoot in her new booties

I made a pincushion for a friend's birthday.

Marilyn's pincushion

I followed this pincushion with three more pincushions for a pincushion exchange I'm participating in.  One pincushion for the exchange, one for the hostess, and another pincushion that will be headed to it's new home soon.

3 more pincushions

For the pincushion exchange, we had to 'label' our pincushions with our name, location, and what machine we used to make it.  Since it was a pincushion, not a block exchange, we were allowed to be creative in how we labeled the pincushions.  I chose to make some tiny quilts, and put my information on the back of the tiny quilts, and stitch the tiny quilts to the pincushions.

tiny quilts as labels (1.5" square)

labels attached to the pincushions

After I mailed these off, I discovered that I'd put the wrong year on the machine info.  It is supposed to say 1959, not 1958.  Oops!  Don't tell anyone! 

I started a 'Beginning Quilting' class at my church in January.  These are the blocks that I made as examples of what they will be making.

beginning quilting blocks

Unfortunately, due to the weather we've been having, the last 2 classes have had to be cancelled.  Hopefully we'll meet again next week.

I made 2 Quilts of Valor tops this month, too.  I sewed the 'bricks' for one top last fall, but, never got a chance to finish it, or to start on the 2nd top.  I pulled out my Singer 301, and took these to the Quilts of Valor sew-in in Yorkville this month.  I finished these tops at home a few days later.

1st Quilts of Valor top

2nd Quilts of Valor top

I'm not sure if these will get turned in next Tuesday, at the Batavia sew-in, since we are supposed to get several more inches of snow that day.  (Have I mentioned that I'm tired of winter?!?!?!)

The pipe froze at the local quilt shop that we have sew-ins at on Thursdays.  The floor is still being repaired.  Since we couldn't sew at the shop, some of us met at my house one Thursday for sewing and lunch.  I made these sewing machine blocks that day.

large & small sewing machine blocks

I have this pattern in a book I own, but, it is pieced, not paper pieced.  I drew up the pattern so that I could paper piece it, then I saw that Jennifer had the pattern in her Etsy shop for free.  I printed it out in different sizes.  Saved me a trip to the copy store.

Well, the larger blocks are now mug rugs. 

quilting on a hand crank sewing machine

I pieced and quilted these on my 1959 Singer Spartan hand crank.  I made tiny quilt labels for these, too (oops, they list the wrong year, also).

1st mug rug

2nd mug rug

I made 2 of these, one will be for ME

These are done, I just need to stitch the labels on them and get them off in the mail.  These are thank you gifts.

Way back, last February, I found some great camping fabric to make pillowcases for hubby's camp pillow.  He wanted zippers, just like the pillowcase that came with the pillow.  Since I'd never put in a zipper, and since zippers scared me, this project sat untouched.  Well, Monday, I finally got up the courage to tackle those zippers.  I made one zippered pillowcase...

zipper on pillowcase

zipper on pillowcase

finished pillowcase

zipper end of pillowcase

then, after I finished the first pillowcase, I made the 2nd pillowcase.

2nd pillowcase

zippered end of pillowcase

Hubby is using the 2nd pillowcase this weekend while he is on a skiing trip with our Venture crew up in Wisconsin.  He was very pleased with his new pillowcases, and, I learned a new trick (hope I learned it correctly).

While trying to catch up on my blog reading (I'm usually way behind), I saw a cute block over on Linda's blog.  Linda had found the Disappearing Pinwheel block on the Missouri Quilt Company's YouTube tutorials.  I grabbed some fabric, and started cutting.  I've cut out 54 blocks so far.  I'm still stitching all those blocks, but, I can show you this much. 

start of Disappearing Pinwheel block

With 54 blocks (I was just cutting until I got tired of cutting, no plan, as usual) I don't have all of these done yet, but, half of them are to this stage, so far.  Hopefully the rest get this far, and I get some completed before the weekend is over. 

As for sewing machines, I got 2 new (to me) machines in January.

Eldredge chain stitcher

1941 Singer 66 hand crank (named Betty)

While 2 treadles headed out the door to a new home.

White treadle

White treadle

I'm glad these machines all found new homes. 

I'll be linking up to Barbara, over at Cat Patches for 2014 NewFO.  I'll also be linking up with Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for a Whoop! Whoop! and with Richard and Tayna for a Friday Finish.

Since the word I used for 2013, 'Progress' worked so well last year, I decided to use it again for this year.  I think I made lots of progress in January.  We'll see how the next 11 months go. 

Time to go shovel........