Settler's Pride: Re-Boot Time!

I was looking through some of my old blog posts, and came across a bunch of posts with photos from my favorite UFO (you quilters will know that UFO stands for UnFinished Object!) I went to the cupboard in my studio and started pulling out blocks- I have 8 finished! Only 1 block, plus 2 borders to do to finish this project! So why did I set it aside? I don't know- I guess I got busy and figured I'd "get around to it" but forgot all about it. You can click on each photo to see the original post where it was first featured.

This block was finished but never appeared on my blog (I guess I never "got around" to that either!):

This project is a wool applique quilt designed by Maggie Bonanomi. I saw it at a quilt show, fell in love with it, and signed up for the Block of the Month program- way back in 2009! I am glad that I found it in my cupboard- my goal is to get it all finished this winter. I really love stitching wool because there are no edges to turn under, and it's so soft on your fingers when you are working with it. But I have to admit (and this is probably the reason why it got set aside...) I hate doing the prep work, for any applique project, wool or cotton. I don't like cutting out all of those pieces and then pinning or gluing them to the background. But it must be done before you get to the fun part- stitching!

And of course, when I laid all of the blocks out on the floor, Maddie decided to "help" again- she's good at that:

What's your oldest UFO? Or your favorite- the one you really can't wait to get finished? Let me know!

By the way, I had a great time joining Pat Sloan on her American Patchwork & Quilting radio show on Monday. Pat is super fun and friendly and I always enjoy chatting with her. I was really nervous beforehand, but once we got to talking, it was like sitting in a coffee shop with one of your best girlfriends. If you missed the show, you can catch the podcast here.

I spent the weekend re-reading over all of your wonderful comments and suggestions from last week's big giveaway- so many great ideas. It was really hard to pick a winner! The first winner was Marcia W. of Florida who entered via email. She suggested that the free embroidery patterns in the newsletter have some sort of stitch guide. Great idea, Marcia! We will try to do that in future editions of the newsletter. The second winner, chosen randomly, was Judy R. from Oregon. Although her name was chosen randomly, Judy also happened to have some nice suggestions regarding a new name for the newsletter. So congratulations, Marcia and Judy- your prizes are on their way :) And thanks to everyone who took the time to comment and give their suggestions- I really appreciate it and will keep it all in mind over the next several months as we work to improve the newsletter & blog. (I have to say "we" because my husband & kids help me a lot... it takes a village to build a blog ha ha!)