Out of the closet and into the light....

Some of you are showing your UFOs in an effort to reduce the pile and have some accountability. I don't want to be accountable, I want to enjoy what I do and when I do it. I do have a number of UFOs and quite a few PIGs. I'm posting one of the oldest UFOs in my closet in the spirit of sharing, because I do hope to finish it one day... and because I have nothing else quilty to post until the HAD gets further along. These blocks are supposed to be a sampler quilt, the second class I took, perhaps 15 years ago now. Each block was intended to teach a different quilting skill because the teacher used different techniques for each. Sometimes we would tear the fabric, sometimes cut. Sometimes strip piece, sometimes homemade templates. Some blocks are hand pieced, some are machine stitched, some appliqued. There are supposed to be 12 blocks, I don't know what the last one was supposed to be anymore. I may pick one out on my own, or maybe eliminate the ones I like the least and just make a smaller quilt. Some I am really unhappy with but others I like and am surprised at how good they were for so early in my quilting experience. And of course, at least one of these blocks isn't entirely finished (mariner's compass)- a UFO within a UFO!

This weekend saw a little sewing, a little

visiting and a lot of eating!

First to the quilty stuff- crawling right along on the last Hour a Day quilt here is what is on the design wall while I consider (and reconsider, and then second guess) the placement of the colored pieces. There are one or two that I am not thrilled with the color of the 'color'pieces, but that is what I had and that is what will be used, I don't have enough of the eggplant to be making more.

Secondly, my youngest is now in his apartment and beginning classes. He has spent some time and effort in getting the place the way he wants it and is as finished as he can be with his limited budget at this time. He has some finishing touches he would like to make, but that will have to wait. He invited us for dinner on Sunday, and since he is a pretty good cook, we gladly accepted. We were not disappointed! He made everything from scratch. Take a look at our dessert, mmmmmmmm good!

It's taken more time than it should have,

but I finally got back into the sewing room to finish the Mariner's Compass that I started in class a few weeks ago. It wasn't the sewing that took so long, it was getting back to sew!

I can see room for improvement, but for a 'learning project', I guess I'm pleased. Hubby wants his Christmas gift quilt to be a large Mariner's Compass, sort of a medallion quilt. Hopefully, the one or two places I goofed on this one will be better on that one...if I ever get to it. Next up, finish the most recent hour a day quilt and get started on my son's Irish Chain.

By the way, the enxt time I get the bright idea to make quilts for the whole family, you have my permission to pound me flat and use me for batting! Sheesh, why do I do this to myself??

ON the quilty front

I haven't gotten a lot done lately. I'm learning a new and complex job at work, I come home happy but exhausted. I just want to veg out. So, I haven't worked on my hour a day since last week. I had signed up for a quilt class last Sunday, and went to that. Excellent class, enjoyed it very much and, more importantly, learned some new things. I haven't finished the block yet, but will post a picture when I do.

I've been looking in on all your blogs and noticed that Jeanne (Spiral) posted then/now pictures of her sons. Oddly, over the weekend I had been looking through our pictures and came across one of my favorite pictures of my two younger sons. Looking at them grown, I remembered some of the pictures of them together as very young boys and asked DH to crop and superimpose the young picture over the grown picture. So, I will also share the then/now picture of two of my three. Caveat: while I love the 'now' picture, the son on the right hates it, doesn't like how he looks. He is currently searching his pictures for a photo to replace the 'awful' now picture. LOL