"Fiona's Dollies Need A Quilt Too"

About a six months ago I made a quilt for a young friend of mine named Fiona. Even though she is 7-years old and I am 50-something years old, we made a strong connection.  I call her my "Kindred Spirit", like Ann of Green Gables referred to her friend Diana, or as the dictionary defines Kindred: Associated by origin, nature, qualities, etc.  Funny thing is, she loves all animals, especially dogs, but I do not enjoy the company of dogs.  She like bugs and other crawly things, I do not.  But we do have a special connection.  Apparently her mother told me that she listens to everything I say and takes my word as "gospel", so I really need to be careful what I say around her.
One day I Fiona and I had a conversation about her dollies and stuffed animals, and she said that she had a small dolly crib for her special "babies".  I started thinking about the fact that I had some extra fabric left over from her quilt, so I told her that I think that her babies needed a quilt too, and she agreed.
Below is a picture of Fiona's quilt, her quilt label, and the "Fiona's Dollies Need A Quilt Too" quilt.  It's small enough that I can quilt it on my machine, and since it's for her dolls and stuffed animals, I don't think that they will mind if there's a mistake or two in the quilting.

UFO's in Quilting and any Crafting


What are UFO's?   Every quilter has them.  If you are a quilter that doesn't have at least one UFO, then you have OCD!!!

UFO:  UnFinished Object (projects).  It really should be UFP, UnFinished Projects, but you get the picture, UnFinished.  I think my Tia Cata is the exception to the rule, she probably doesn't have too many UFO's, but most quilters have many.  I have many.  I have about 6 or 7 projects in different stages of completion, and about 10 more that I have fabric set aside to start in the future.

It's a sickness, for sure.  Why do we have UFO's?  Sometimes I get bored with a project.  Sometimes I get stuck, then frustrated.  So instead of throwing the whole thing away in a fit of rage, I put it away for a future time.  Sometimes it's a class I started, but never completed.  The picture below is exactly that.  I started the class, attended about 7 sessions, then got busy and didn't attend the last two classes.  But I did think ahead enough to buy the last two kits for the last two squares.  And I kept it very organized in a notebook WITH the templates that I used for these squares. If any of you know me well, I'm usually NOT organized!!   And I remember why I stopped this project.  The first two are the most common reasons why quilters have UFO's.

1. It was hard and I was frustrated with it.
2. I started working and was too busy.
3. We moved to Livermore and it was hard to motivate myself to start sewing again.
4. I became depressed (for a couple different reasons), but I started to come out of my dark hole and quilting got me motivated to find fulfillment by completing projects.

Attached is the 9 squares for this project.  There are still several other appliquéd squares that go with this quilt, so it is by no means close to being finished.  But all the pieced squares are finished. I'll post pictures of this quilt as I get closer to competing it.

These are 6 rows, all from the Row by Row Experience 2015, different shops, some from California, one from Ohio, can't remember all of them from where.  I'm thinking of bordering the whole thing in lavender or a deep green.  

It was fun putting together the rows.  I learned some new techniques, was able to reduce some of my fabric "stash".  Most of the rows were from my scrap bag.  The turtle is because my sister Kathy found a permanent home for 2 turtles she was fostering.  She was sad to let them go, but when I saw this row with the turtle, I had to make it.

I've been so busy sewing quilts and other crafts that I thought I would have one place to see all my creations.  I'm not an expert seamstress.  I am very skilled at embroidery, having won about one dozen blue ribbons at 3 different county fairs (including Los Angeles).
My quilts always have flaws because I tend to be a lazy quilter.  But I love trying new techniques, I love learning easier ways to get from point A to point G.  I really admire people like Eleanor Burns or Jenny Doan.  They take a task that has been done the same way for a couple centuries and find a short cut.  I love that.
Right now Jenny Doan and Vanessa Vargas Wilson "The Crafty Gemini", are my favorite YouTube video tutorials to watch.  They make clear, easy to understand videos.  Period.  That's all you need, someone to explain it to you and demonstrate it quickly and easily.
I added a few of my projects I've completed.  Some quilts, other projects are embroidery, some little projects like coasters and pillows.