You may have heard of UFO (UnFinished Objects) but did you know that there are PHD (Projects Half Done)? Quilting Gail is hosting PHD link-ups twice a month to encourage us all to finish these lovelies. Some projects may be almost done while others are probably much less than half done. It doesn't matter. In 2020 we will work on finishing 12 of these!
And that's not all. We also have to finish the projects we start in 2020 so that we don't contribute to more UFO or PHD. It may be very optimistic to think that I will get twelve of these projects finished, if not totally unrealistic, but I can sure give it a shot.
Except for my first priority quilt below, I'm not stressing about the rest since they've waited this long, another year won't hurt!
UFOs and PHDs
In order of priority, here are my 12 projects.
1. A long awaited version 2.0 of my son's loved-to-death quilt
I'm sure that there are definitions of what constitutes a UFO, but since I promised my son at least 5 years ago that I would remake his quilt and that I've bought and washed all of the fabric, I consider this a UFO.
As I mentioned in my 2020 Planning Party post (before I decided to embark on this journey), this quilt was made by my mother for my son when he as a young boy. He has loved it to death and I don't think that I could fix it for him to use, so that's why I offered to make him a new one. I can share more stories about this quilt when I'm making significant progress. 😊
 |
| Version 1.0 - the original loved-to-death quilt |
2. Paddington Bear Quilt
Is it a UFO? Well, it has been promised for well over a year, the fabric is bought and washed and the template for the appliqué is made. It's a priority, but not before quilt #1 is made (above).
In the meantime, I made my daughter a Paddington Bear mini. It will have to do for now.
 |
| A Paddington Bear mini as an IOU for a Paddington Bear quilt |
 |
| Fabric ready to go |
I started this quilt in June 2018 and finished the quilt top in August 2019. I also planned to make a quick pillow to go with the quilt so that I could try out an idea for the quilting. It was my October 2019 OMG that didn't get done.
I finished the quilt top of Postcard from Sweden in April 2018. It took me two quilt-alongs and one year before that to make this beauty (probably Spring 2016). The reason that I made this was to practice my FMQ. I've mentioned it in most of my planning since I started it. I sure would be a lot of fun quilting it! 😊
 |
| Postcard from Sweden made with batiks |
5. Leaves from "Appliqué Inside the Lines"
I probably started this project in 2012 but first blogged about it in 2014. Each leaf is appliquéd inside an embroidered line. I've done a few of the projects in the book. This one has been around for a long time. At a retreat during the summer of 2016, I finally found the fabric to frame it. It just needs to be hand-quilted.
 |
| Framed leaves |
 |
| Each leaf is appliquéd within the embroidered lines. |
6. Étude in Stem Stitching
In June 2017 I started Étude in Stem Stitching. I eventually started another one, called Symphony in Stem Stitch that I finished for an Out of the Box Artist Group Challenge. I free motion quilted it and added a quote. I never did finish this one and I would love to FMQ it like the other one.
 |
| Étude in Stem Stitching |
This quilt was started during my Learning Quilt-A-Long in November of 2017. The pattern of the quilt comes from tracing the pattern on the back. This means that the bobbin thread is showing on what is now the front of the quilt. Now that it's traced, I can FMQ from the front.
 |
| Adding colour to the wholecloth quilt |
 |
| Details of the butterfly on the wholecloth quilt |
 |
| This is actually the back that I quilted over. |
This project is based on the Frog Work pattern by Briarwood Cottage. I've always wanted to have embroidery in a traditional quilt. I started this project in 2013 but only blogged about it when most of the frog embroidery panels were completed. Of course I still have some of the pieced blocks to make! .
 |
| The completed embroidered panels |
 |
| Some of the pieced blocks |
It may not look like a UFO since we've been sleeping under it for several years, but there are 169 batik blocks. In July of 2016, I only had 146 blocks left to quilt. Fast forward to August 2019 and there was only 115 blocks to go. I'm not sure if I've worked on it since then but these blocks need to be quilted before they become damaged since the un-quilted surface is too large.
 |
| King size bed quilt had 169 blocks! |
 |
| One of the quilted blocks |
This quilt top is at least from 2008. I created the vase and the flowers after watching a day-time quilting show - I must have been home sick. Anyway, it appears in my 2015 UFO Challenge list for my quilting guild. I did thread paint it in 2015 but I had no idea how to finish it. I'm hoping that my skills and creativity is finally up to the challenge. 😊
 |
| FMQ outside of the lines 😊 |
 |
| Lilies pieced and FMQ |
 |
| My Snippet Flowers in a Vase is ready for a finish |
I started this project in 2014. Most of the orange peels were appliquéd during my trip to China that year. In early 2016 I had the quilt pieced but had no idea how to quilt it. I think that I'm ready for this project now and I'm really looking forward to it.
 |
| Tula Pink fabrics on my Orange Peel quilt |
 |
| Some finished blocks |
 |
| Orange peels ready to be appliquéd |
12. Grandmother's Choice Block of the Week - Votes for women
This was the second quilt along/ block of the week that I joined. It was probably a little beyond my piecing abilities at the time but I did make a large number of the blocks. My first post was in November 2013, although the Block of the Week started in May 2012. There was a total of 49 blocks, and each post including history, historical colour choices, etc. The only reason that I didn't finish it is that I really want to create a medallion with something representing the Canadian struggle for votes for women. I've got an idea for an appliqué, so, is this the year that it gets done?
 |
| Some of the blocks in the Grandmother's Choice - Votes for Women Block of the Week (2012-13) |
- I had no intentions of participating in this PHD in 2020 until I read Dione's post of Clever Chameleon Quilting. Thanks Dione!
- The worst is that I had already written my 2020 planning priorities. Oh well, as I've mentioned, I would really like to finish the first quilt on my list. The rest would just be a bonus.
- It's also a good thing to review these UFOs since I hadn't really thought of a few of them for a long time.
- This blog is the perfect way to keep track of what I've done in the last few years. I'm so grateful to have this amazing community of quilters around.
- As I was gathering my list of UFOs, it turns out that I have quite a few more - not really tons of them but probably between 20 and 30. A few of them are large quilts, but most of them are smaller.
Related links
- 2020 Planning Party, December 21, 2019
- Quilting Gail, Do you have too many UFOs? December 15, 2019
- Paddington Bear visits Nifty Novelties Blog Hop, October 24, 2019
- October Updates, October 22, 2018
- Kingfisher Stitch-Along quilt top finished, August 31, 2019 (all other related posts are listed in this post)
- Postcard from Sweden and Starry Bright Sky, April 19, 2018 (all other related posts are listed in this post)
- Leaves from "Appliqué Inside the Lines", Quilting in the Bush, May 28, 2016
- Challenge Results - Week 2, March 15, 2014
- Étude in Stem Stitching - Progress, June 30, 2017
- Symphony in Stem Stitch, November 18, 2018
- Wholecloth Quilt 2 and Goal Sum Up, November 26, 2017
- Embroidering Frog Panels Completed, February 19, 2014
- Joining the &Stitches Finish-Along!, January 15, 2014
- Only 115 blocks left on Free Motion Mavericks, August 15, 2019
- Only 146 blocks to go!, July 9, 2016
- Snippet Flowers in a Vase, June 3, 2015
- Orange Peel Table Runner, February 3, 2016
- Projects Update, December 2, 2014
- Appliquéd in China, October 24, 2014
- Trying new things, August 5, 2014
- More Grandmother's Choice Blocks, June 30, 2014
- Grandmother's Choice Project Continues, February 14, 2014
- Grandmother’s Choice: Women’s Rights and Issues, November 12, 2013
 |
| Free Motion Mavericks with Muv |
I will be linking up to Quilting Gail's PHD in 2020 as well as many other fun link ups. Let's see who else is working on their UFOs and PHDs. I'm also linking up to Free Motion Mavericks - it's Muv's turn to host this week. Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished or Not Finished Friday, Friday Foto Fun, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop, Peacock Party, Colour and Inspiration Tuesday,
I'm in! See you in the PhD classes (ha ha!).
ReplyDeleteSounds great Kathleen. See you there :-)
DeleteI can see some lovely finishes happening here.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen and good luck with your WOOFAs! If there's something that we quilters have in common its UFOs and other projects. I hope we both get some of these done. :-)
DeleteHi Andree! As I was reading along, I thought to myself - I love this woman. You have a whole lot of beautiful projects listed right there. And you know that while you listed these 12 UFOs as your intention to finish, you can actually finish 12 different ones as long as they're UFOs?! I participated in 2017 and missed my PHD by a start that wasn't finished in 2017 and should have been. DARN IT! So, now what's your plan for #1. I know you want to make that one - and it's been 5 years AND it's a really cool quilt! It's a very nice modern quilt and I can totally see why your son loved it to death - and isn't that the best thing that could happen to a quilt? Looking forward to hearing your progress next week or soon. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteThanks Roseanne! There is no doubt that I will finish my #1 UFO. Progress? Well, I did iron all of the fabric and ordered the black batting for it. Now I need to figure out how to cut the pieces. It's a little intimidating but I'm sure that if I run into difficulties that my son will help me (he's got the mathematical brain). It also helps that I have the original quilt to check on.
DeleteI haven't thought passed my first UFO. It that gets done, I would be very impressed with myself. I can see where not creating new UFOs could be a problem. :-)
What a great list - I will be here cheering you on!! you can do it!!! ( and if you do... you should get chocolate!!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Alycia. I think that finishing each of these projects deserves chocolate!
DeleteAll great projects and I have the highest confidence that will finish all of them this year. I look forward to watching your journey. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
ReplyDeleteHi Denise, you have way more confidence in me than I do - probably because I know how caught up with squirrels I can get! Finishing any of these projects will be a bonus and a cause for celebration. Thanks for cheering me on!
DeleteGood luck on your goals!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jennie!
DeleteOh my goodness Andrée, you have so many projects to tackle this year! Congratulations on planning ahead. I have so many odds and ends of work that I am almost to terrified think about them.
ReplyDeleteLove the wholecloth and the flower vase!
Love, Muv
Hi Muv, I have some grave doubts about getting lots of this done...but it's good to see what needs to be done, whether it gets done or not! If there's one thing that needs to be finished is my son's quilt. After that, it's all a bonus. Take care, Andrée
Delete