Welcome to Quilt Qwazy Queens Blog Hop hosted by Marian at Seams to Be Sew. You’ll find the list of other participants at the end of my post who are also offering daily giveaways. Thank you, Marian, and thank you to our sponsors listed below.
IF…
If things went well, if all seams were equal, if all seams were straight, if there were enough hours in the day, if the seam ripper gathered dust rather than threads, if I were better at decision making, if I knew how without making mistakes, then maybe — my projects wouldn’t stall and become UFOs (Unfinished Objects).
I started this elephant quilt over a year ago and posted about it here in Tu-Na Quilts: Let’s Make Elephants. After completing all the blocks and sewing some into rows last spring, I packaged them all up and headed to my summer home.
I used Lorna’s (Sew Fresh Quilts) pattern found here to make a couple of elephants and posted about them here in Tu-Na Quilts: We Have an Elephant Parade.
Dr. Tu-Na helped deliver that cute little elephant to the proud parents here in Tu-Na Quilts: She’s Arrived. Lorna’s pattern for this baby elephant can be found here.
Meet Lily who is now lovingly snuggled between her mom and dad on this quilt that I titled “She Has Her Mommy’s Nose.” This quilt is no longer a baby quilt since the baby is now almost 1 1/2 years old. But it will still be plenty big enough for her to use on a toddler bed and drag around the house.
I then stitched the remaining blocks together into rows. It then sat all summer on the pool table (a good use for our pool table) until I put them in their own bin so they could travel south with me for the winter. I’d discovered that the rows that I had sewn on my new Bernina using a quarter inch foot were different lengths than the ones that I sewed this summer with my 25 year old Pfaff Creative 1475 using a quarter inch foot and moving the needle to the right to get a scant 1/4″ seam. I never thought to check my Bernina initially. I later discovered it produced a very very scant 1/4″ seam. Each block was off by about 1/8″ but when added up by 9 seams made each row about 1 1/8″ too long. So it sat. For a long time. A very long time. In the meantime, that baby grew and grew.
When Marian revealed the UFO theme for the Quilt Qwazy Queen blog hop, I knew just which project needed to be moved along.
I’ve made progress. I fixed all the seams in the blocks that were too long. Instead of ripping them all apart, I just sewed a proper seam line. Yes, I opted to ignore the fact that I had two rows of stitching.
Some people might have ripped out those seams. I decided the only way this project was going to get done was to not worry about ripping and just sew that extra seam making the finished blocks exactly 4.”
I could do so because I was pressing the seams towards the side and not pressing them open.
I’ve only got two seams left! This is so exciting.
One of my favorite blogs has a great article about why our UFOs languish. You can read what Stitched in Color writes about What Makes You Stall (and what to do differently).
I might actually get my OMG completed this month. This one is looking good.
The elephant quilt might actually become a finished quilt top this month. I’ve listed it as my One Monthly Goal for three months. If I don’t get this sweet little quilt finished, I’ll have to make my April OMG to quilt and bind it. But at least I can celebrate that I’ve made progress even if I took a slightly embarrassing long time to get to this point!
Thank you to our sponsors
Giveaways
Note: The X-Blocks giveaway closes tonight (Thursday) at 11:59 PM est so don’t delay in entering (this giveaway has now closed- winners to be announced soon).
The Fat Quarter Shop giveaway is open for a few more days. There are giveaways going on each day so visit each of the bloggers listed below.
Click here to go to Rafflecopter to enter to win $150.00 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop.
Visit Fat Quarter Shop and let them know you appreciate their sponsorship.
This giveaway has now closed:
And the winners are…
Sherry R.
Each of the above have won one of the following rulers/templates. They have been emailed. Click here to go to Rafflecopter to enter to see the winners names.
Visit BasiX X-blocks and let them know you appreciate their sponsorship.
Join These Bloggers Promoting Their UFOs
Thursday, March 15, 2018
| Quilting Queen Online | Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats |
| Melva Loves Scraps | The Quilted Snail |
Friday, March 16, 2018
| FunThreads Designs | Elizabeth Coughlin Designs | Quilting with Vanda |
| Life in the Scrapatch | Thrift Shop Commando |
Monday, March 19, 2018
| Just Because Quilts | MooseStashQuilting | Pumpkin Patch BC |
| Quilting Affection Designs | Ms. P Designs USA |
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
| Words & Stitches | Sew Many Yarns | Quiltin’ Grandma’s Blog |
| Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. | Adventurous Applique and Quilting |
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
| Kathy’s Kwilts and More | Seacoast Quilter |
| DesertSky Quilting | Seams To Be Sew |
What I Learned Today:
- There’s a weight being lifted from my shoulders. I wonder if it’s those elephants.
- World Wide Quilting Day is Saturday, March 17th.
- All quarter inch feet are not created equally.
- Technology is difficult understand. Understanding how to add code is impossible.
Question: What makes your projects stall?
Thanks for stopping by and do come again.
Karen, Tu-Na Quilts
Linking to:
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilt
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
UFO Busting at Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland
Pieceful Sunday at JANDA Bend Quilts
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats 
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LOLOLOL I love this blog post, made me smile, smirk and even a little giggle escaped my throat… What a beautiful project this turned out to be, and I would have been like you if I had been smart enough to think of not taking it out but instead just restitching the seam.. next time, I’m going to do that if my seam is to small… 🙂 I’m so happy participated again this year Karen…
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I enjoyed reading your post. It made me laugh. What makes my projects stall is looking at them as an overwhelming task. Even more so if I set a deadline.
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Love your elephants! Beautiful quilt! Great post, Thanks for sharing.
usairdoll (at) gmail (dot) com
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Glad that elephant is finally coming out of the bag!
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Your quilt is looking great! You fixed the sizing problem exactly the way I would have. I’m pretty good to not get stalled on my projects. Two things can get me though. If I really don’t like a project I will sometimes set it aside. Or if I piece something and I really love it and think it needs really special quilting that may be beyond my skill level. I have one top that’s been waiting years for me to be good enough to quilt it!
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Your elephant quilt is wonderful!
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Hi Karen,
You have made GREAT progress on the elephant quilt. That is the perfect solution for your seams that were just a bit too short. Sewing that second line is much easier than ripping them apart and they will be more sturdy! I can see the finish line for you – it is looking so nice. ~smile~ Roseanne
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That quilt will be cute and will be loved more as the baby will be able to appreciate it, not just slobbered on it. 🙂
I stall on a quilt for multiple reasons – it gets hard and I put it aside until I feel I can tackle the challenge, health, something fun and quick comes along, and the biggest reason: I dislike the actual quilting process and refuse to pay someone else to quilt it for me.
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I made some of those elephants and loved them. It’s so frustrating when something has to be ripped out, so just resewing the seam was a great idea. It looks so cute!
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sewing a second seam is frequently my go to on slightly too large blocks. I have been quilting for about 15 years and still have trouble with getting the seams the same size. it is a visual and hand coordination problem for me sometimes. keep on keeping on.
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Your Elephant Quilt is so sweet – love the colors you chose!
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Sooner or later those elephants had to wander out of the room, and it looks like you provided the right poke to get them going! I would’ve done the same as you, just resewn the seam. I’m glad to know someone else does that. Those quarter inch feet are great, but you can’t count on them to be all uniform. I’m thankful for a machine with a multiple needle positions now! You can get this quilt finished, Karen! Keep going!
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LOL!! I think I can probably speak for the majority of us…we have all had those projects! I shamefully have totes full of projects that may or may not have ever been started. 😉
We are going to live to be a zillion years old though aren’t we????
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Lately, I’ve had a thing for elephant baby quilts so enjoyed your version.
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your quilt is wonderful. I know this will be fantastic when finshed. You have got this. Usually what makes me stall is life just steps in the way of it all.
quilting dash lady at Comcast dot net
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Congratulations! You did exactly what I would have done in your situation. I think getting it done is more important than ripping out seams. I also agree that with the pressing to one side, it doesn’t matter. So glad to see your progress on such a great quilt.
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Such a cute quilt! Your situation would have stalled my progress, too. Glad to see the elephants starting their parade again.
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The elephants are great and such a good idea for my grandchildren. I’ve made those double seams many times and am glad someone else does, too.
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It’s great to see your progress on the quilt, it is so lovely and fun. Adding the extra seam line without ripping was a perfect solution and I hope you enjoy finishing it up!
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Adorable quilt. A 1 1/2 year old will love it. Nice use of the elephant block pattern. Interesting read. Thanks for sharing … 🙂 Pat
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My projects stall because new ideas interupt me!
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You can do it! Just two more to go! Time.. just time makes my projects stall.
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Maybe painful, but it sure turned out cute!
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Nice to see your Elephant quilt closer and closer to the finish. It will be a big weight off your back!! Sometimes it takes 3 months on the OMG list. I have more than one Embarrassing UFO’S. That’s why I’m joining in this Blog Hop. Getting some help for the UFO blues.
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I love the baby elephant on the quilt. This quilt will be so awesome! Thanks!
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Wonderful quilt…great colors. Thanks for sharing!
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Cute elephants! And “She Has Her Mommy’s Nose” is one of the best quilt names ever, I love it!
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I remember your elephant quilt project – glad it has crossed the finish line!
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I did Lorna’s Elephants on Parade quilt for my great nephew–such a fun quilt along.
I love your take on it!
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I have enjoyed following your blog. I made a red Elephant on a gray background wall quilt for our granddaughter who graduated from the University of Alabama last May. She is getting married in Oct. Your elephant quilt would make a cute baby quilt for a future great-grandchild:)
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Lots of things cause me to stall. Lose interest in the project, it’s not coming out right, and the fact that my guild always has so much going on that I can’t keep up!
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I’m glad you are on your way to a finished quilt. I end up with UFOs because I am easily sidetracked
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I love the elephants! They are super cute! Thanks for sharing. Have a great day!! angielovesgary2 atgmail dotcom
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I think we’ve all been there with the UFOs. I know I have several, and have signed a few up for OMG, several months some of them, and still not got done but when they are done what a lovely feeling! This toddler quilt is going to be just the best. Wonderful fabrics as always Karen.
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Someone told me you should always check your quarter inch if you use more than one machine. I guess this confirms that. Really cute project and I’m glad you are finishing it.
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I think you did a great job finishing! That’s exactly what I would have done. LOL I have so many interruptions to be a retired person. I just can’t sew the long hours I used to sew, and I sure miss it.
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I love your solution, and it makes perfect sense to me. That’s an adorable quilt.
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First time visiting. A great tip about the seams. I am love improvising to save time for precious quilting.
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So excited to see your elephants almost finished! Maybe that will encourage me to finish mine. I made elephants last year as my rainbow scrap challenge and got stalled when I ran out of background fabric. I have more not, but haven’t touched the elephants again.
I would not have ripped out the seam, either! Just add another seam!
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I’m sure this will be a wonderful quilt in the very near future. Too cute not to finish.
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Nice progress! I don’t iron most of my seams open, and I’ve definitely done a second seam like that a time or two. Looks great!
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Can’t wait to get some of my UFOs finished! After seeing everyone getting theirs done, I am feeling very guilty!
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Karen, it’s so great to see these elephants out parading again! I think the way you handled those seams was a great idea. You will have this all finished up in no time, I can feel it!
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Great solution to having the different seam measurements. Bravo!
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