Sunday Sewing and Stash Report

Today I made the first blocks for the new quilt I've started for my November NewFO project.  But before I show it, I want to address a question some of you have asked:  What is a NewFO?  (Ahem.)  A NewFO is my tongue in cheek response (because I think anything worth doing is worth doing tongue-in-cheek style) to the many UFO challenges that go on in Blog Land.  Now, don't get me wrong...there's nothing wrong with folks challenging themselves to finish up their UFO's.  And if you don't know what a UFO is, it's an Unfinished Fabric Object.

But here's the thing.  I have only one real UFO.  All of my projects are WIP's (Works in Progress), and despite having at least a dozen projects going at any given time, I finish everything I start...save for this one UFO that shall remain in the far reaches of my closet, for now.  With that in mind, I was feeling pret-tee left out this time last year when several UFO challenges started up and I had no UFO's with which to join in.

So I decided to start a NewFO Challenge.  So to answer your original question (you were wondering if I'd ever get around to it, weren't you?), a NewFO is a New Fabric Object.  In other words, a new project.  And the NewFO Challenge challenges you to start at least one new project each month.  And the NewFO Challenge is continuing next year by popular demand.  You can read about the 2012 challenge here.  And you can read about the 2013 challenge here.  The 2013 challenge is pretty much the same as the 2012 challenge, except there will be different prizes each month, and there is a different button.

Like it?  Grab the code from my right sidebar and slap it on your own blog.  And join us!  There are still two linky parties left in 2012, and there will be a linky party each month in 2013.  It's great fun, and what the heck?  You've got fabric, right?  You've got patterns, right?  You've got a to-do list as long as your arm, right?  So live a little!  Join in each month!  Who says you can't start as many new projects as you want?  And who says you can't take a year to finish them if you want?  Or two years?  My pastime.  My rules.  Your pastime.  Your rules.  Words to live by, I say.  No quilt police, and no project police either.

So with that out of the way, I'll show you what I started for November.  This pattern is from a book called Wonderfully Whimsical Quilts by Carol Burniston.

This project has been on my to-do list almost as long as I've been quilting.  And I'll just say that is one of the best things about committing to the NewFO Challenge.  The projects have moved from my to-do list to my list of WIP's, and it's high time!  I cut the fabrics the other day, and today I made the first two blocks.

Here's what the whole quilt looks like:

I like to break my projects into small increments and turn them all into BOM's.  That's my personal secret to keeping all my projects moving forward to completion.  When I work on them just a short time each month, I rarely get tired of them, and each project continues to feel fresh and new every time I work on it.  For this one, there are two blocks: the flamingo and the palm tree, and there are ten of each.  I've decided to make one of each block each month until they are finished.  With that plan, I'll have the whole top completed in 10-11 months.  So here are the first two blocks that I made today:

Cute, huh?  I have a nice pink candy stripe fabric for the outer border.  I forget what the pattern is called, but I've decided to call this project "Yard Art".

Also, a few of you asked for a tutorial for the little cloth kitty I made recently to go with my Turkey in the Straw doll quilt.

I'm afraid I can't give you a tutorial because the pattern came from a book, and therefore it is copyright protected.  But I'll tell you where you can find it.  The pattern came from Janet Kime's book Christmas Cats and Dogs.

It's a great book with the sweetest projects for cat and dog lovers alike.  There are used copies available at the link I've given you for as little as $3.03, which seems a small price to pay for so many great patterns.  No doubt you'll find other patterns you like in addition to the kitty doll.

So with all of that taken care of, here is my stash report:

Fabric Used:  4 1/4 yards

Fabric Used in 2012: 126 1/2 yards

Fabric Purchased: Nada

Total Fabric Purchased in 2012:  136 3/4 yards

Net Stashed in 2012:  10 1/4 yards

This week I'm hoping to sew together at least two quilt tops, which means I'll be making two quilt backs.  Hopefully, I can knock off quite a bit of that remaining yardage and end the year in the minus column.