October NewFOs--busy stripping!

This has been my most prolific month to date! I have one finish and three NewFO tops ready to be quilted! My plans to set up my sewing space downstairs where I could sew while my grandson played is working better than I had expected. So here's what I've done this month and am sharing with the 2013 NewFO Challenge hosted by Cat Patches.

First off is the finish. It took nearly three years and two moves (one cross-country!) before this beauty got done. It's Strutting Peacocks made with the One Block Wonder design. I had finished the top in May 2011, but had shelved it until earlier this year. So happy to have this one off the UFO shelf!

Next up, I went to my stitching group's first all day stitch-in held in a local church fellowship hall. There were seven of us for this first gathering and we had a blast! There was laughter echoing down the halls causing other people in the building to come see what we were up to. One of the gals had wanted to make a Jelly Roll Race, but didn't know how. We both purchased jelly rolls at the quilt show a couple of weeks ago and brought them with us to the stitch-in. In just under 3 hours, I had this beautiful top complete! What fun to have a project I could complete in just a short time while at the stitch-in.

Next up is the fall quilt I'm making. I'm doing a stitch-and-flip technique on strips of batting that I'm then sashing to connect and will back and quilt like a whole top. It's ready for the backing so is close to being done.

When I finished the fall flip-and-stitch quilt sections, I had a whole table full of leftover 2-1/2" strips. So, I figured I'd just strip them together like the jelly roll, only these strips are varying lengths from 18" to 40", and put it together like a Jelly Roll Race. It turned out pretty cool! This one is ready for sandwiching and quilting, too.

Whew! There's plenty of scraps left from the stitch-and-flip quilt, so there will be more fall items coming together from the leftovers. How is it that for every quilt I make I seem to have enough scraps to make 2 or 3 more?!? Crazy! Next up out of the box will be the Christmas/holiday fabrics to start making something quick and fun out them. Time to get some of the stash used up, maybe sell a few quilts or table runners or placemats/mug rugs, so I can justify buying more fabric when I go on the Deck the Walls shop hop next week!

Jacob, sporting his Grampa Dave 'stache binky, loves watching the sewing machine go!

Jake and I, along with these little guys, wish you a Happy and Safe Halloween! More UFOs, these Eleanor Burns pumpkin faces will be hanging in my window tonight to greet the Trick-or-Treaters. They still need some quilting, but are perfect as is for today!

More snippets from the sewing room soon,
Liz