january ufo finished!

I didn't have much left to do to finish January's UFO project when I stepped into my sewing room this morning, but I wasn't looking forward to it. 

Borders...fussy cut and mitered corners.

But I surprised myself.  Sewing those long seams for the borders wasn't so bad.  Maybe because there was only one border.  Maybe because there weren't very many points to match.  Or maybe because I knew once they were on, I was done.  UFO complete.  Something to check off a list!

And the mitered corners were a new technique for me, but the pattern instructions were very easy to follow (for that step at least).  Though not as easy as straight corners, I see myself using them again, but not too often!

I wanted to hang this outside and get a good photo and though it's warmed up to about 18 degrees (up from zero), I'm still not up for going out any more than I have to, so this photo of it draped across my longarm will have to do until spring.  (Sorry, but when you walk on snow and it squeaks, it's too cold to "play" outside.)

(Not only is the quilt not flat, but there's a doorway to contend with...)

The pattern is "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" by Jackie Robinson.

I bought the pattern and border fabric quite a few years ago at a quilt show and intended it to become the back of this quilt:

From American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, December 2000, "Looking Back" by Alice Berg. 

But I got sidetracked on this one first.  So the Daisies quilt never got started.  Eventually I finished this top (it has solid red borders, but I can't find a photo of the quilt with them), but that's as far as it got.

And while I was procrastinating finishing this quilt, I sorta forgot about the Daisies project.  Judy's UFO challenge got me digging into bins of projects stashed in my closet and I found it and decided it needed to be added to the list.

But...these will become two separate quilts.  Since my quilt show decision to purchase the Daisies pattern, I've come to realize just how difficult a two-sided quilt of this nature will be to get together properly and I think having a quilt to rotate onto the bed instead of just flip sides, will be nicer.

(And I won't mention how often one of my furry beasties makes me a present in the middle of the night and I have to start a load of laundry at 2am and how nice it would be to have a different quilt to put on the bed instead of the old comforter the hubby's ex-girlfriend gave him...oh, oops...I mentioned it...)

Both of these quilts are scrap quilts, though I did buy the red and gold that are more prominent in the "Looking Back."  My mom's scraps contributed almost all of the remainder of this quilt, but by the time I made "Daisies" I had a stash of my own to start with.  Both are loads of fun to look at and remember where different fabrics came from, why they were purchased and what other quilts they've been used in.  (I thought about showing photos, but that would make a big post!)

You all know I'm NOT a scrap quilter, but I wasn't really aware of it when I started "Looking Back."  I knew it when "Daisies" was started, but since it's only two colors, I wasn't going too crazy and it was a good way to reduce my stash!

Two last photos - a reminder of where this was on January 1st:

And now I can start Judy's Quilts of Valor quilt along with a clear conscience!

Happy quilting,

Katie

PS I've been sewing owl parts down and will show that project off again soon!