Saturday, April 11, 2009

Move It Forward

I spent Good Friday on line with Linda - Moving it Forward.

We have decided that once a month we will take at least one day and move some projects that have stalled or aged as UFOs far too long forward to the next stage. That may mean getting a top to the flimsy stage, moving a top from a flimsy to a quilt, or completing some binding. What Move it Forward is not is a day to start something new. It is all about making progress on something we have already started previously.

Before I could work on anything, I needed to clear my work surface from the project that I was working on the night before. In between passes of the long arm on customer quilts, I piece string blocks onto used Color Catchers (that is the white rectangle you see in the upper left hand corner of the picture). I had 11 blocks partially finished - they needed a strip or two and they would be finished. So before working on anything else, I finished off those 11 blocks. On the previous weekend, I took some of the blocks I have made previously and pieced them together into this colourful scrap top. This top needs the sashing finished off on the right hand side and bottom, then it will be ready for borders.

The next project I had to finish was a customer quilt that had already been loaded onto the long arm the night before. There was only about 1/2 hour of quilting left.

This is the finished customer quilt. It is a Nine Patch Pizzazz quilted with the Wave.

The next project was my Bento Box. It had stalled at the borders. I typically stall at this point so this was a great project for Move It Forward day! Also, I had the expertise of my good friend Linda to assist in deciding on which colour to use in the inner border..........green....

....or red?

After discussing options back and forth, the red was chosen. And this is the finished flimsy. This one is for me so I am really excited about getting this top to this stage. I now need to go on the hunt for just the right backing.

The next project up needed binding. This is the fabric that was picked for binding.


I made 1/2" wide binding for this quilt. An extra wide binding serves dual purpose as an additional border and binding. Strips of binding for a 1/2" wide binding are cut 3 1/4" wide.
Binding was machine sewn to the quilt after supper. This top is now waiting for a quiet evening or two of hand sewing in front of the TV.

The day was busy and my quilt inspector/supervisor played out.

After the flash picture, he did open an eye to let me know that he did not want to be bugged further!

I know that both Linda and I made great progress today so we will be looking forward to the next Move It Forward Day to move yet more projects to the next stage.

9 comments:

  1. Holy cow! You knocked 'em out, didn't you? Beautiful stuff; I can't wait to see Linda's version. You two are inspiring.

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  2. I like the scrappy quilt. It gives me some ideas for the use of my scraps which are in a bottomless basket. I also really like your bento box quilt and the red border looks better that the green but then I love black and white quilts with a punch of red. Happy Easter and Happy Quilting.

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  3. The scrappy quilt, from a distance looks like it is made up of scenes from nature - very pretty.

    I like the bento box in black and white - and love the red border. It seems more orderly in black/white - than in a variety of colors - this is my favorite bento box ever.

    Oh the snow man fabric - that turned out so cute. Glad your supervisor could help.

    Great idea - your move it forward day.

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  4. Wow! Looks like an excellent 'Move-It-Forward' Day! Every project is looking good :)

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  5. Wow you got a lot done! I love that scrappy top you did!

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  6. Your site is so encouraging! Love the black/white with red. Just gorgeous. I do miss my black "Java" - give yours some lovin' for me.

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  7. Especailly love your scrap quilt top. The black sashing really makes the other colours 'sing' :)

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  8. Lovely quilt you shared... I so need to use up some old strips. What a wonderful way to do it.

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  9. Ohh, Move It Forward is a great idea!

    Unless you're a lazy black cat on the fuzzy window perch... He doesn't look like he's going to move anything... lol

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