Spring has sprung?

The first day of spring has finally arrived!  Although the days are starting to get longer - the ground around my house is still covered with snow and it even snowed today.   Celebrating spring I hung my tulip quilt on my front porch will the hope of warmer days and flowers popping out of the ground soon.  However, I am in spring cleaning mode.  In my sewing studio I have a pile of UFOs that accumulated over the past few months.  Here's what I've managed to complete the last couple days.

First a quilted beach mat for my toddler grandson.  This was made from a panel that a sewing friend gave me from her UFO stash.  I certainly didn't want to put it aside in my stash - I got to work and here it is finished!  The finished size is 30" by 40 1/2".  Not only is it functional, but it is educational as a counting exercise.

With the first day of spring wool mittens is not on the top of my project list, but again I do not want to pack this away to my stash.  So this weekend within a couple hours I cleared another UFO off my sewing table and finished these mittens.  These mittens came out beautiful.  And hey, it snowed today so I will get to use them now.

Two UFOs down and few more to go.  Spring cleaning can be fun.  Check and see what clears my UFO pile next.

How it grows

I'm loving the longer days, but it reminds me that my sewing time will pretty much come to a halt in a couple months. 

I'm feeling overwhelmed.  By no fault but my own,  I'm trying to stay focused on finishing a project - yet I'm letting my UFO projects list grow by letting other projects jump right in.   However, I'm staying on track with my goal to use up my stash fabrics.

With the Valentine fabric my sewing friend gave me I ended up making three Valentines table toppers in February - one for me, and one for each of my two daughter-in-laws.  I was determined not to add any of that fabric to my stash.  Check - all that fabric was used up.

Last month another sewing friend gave my some wonderful kids fabric projects that she never used.  Determined not to put these project in my stash I went right to work.  The first is fabric panels called "My Favorite Things Growth Chart" by Nancy Halvorsen.  She gave me one for a girl and one for a boy.  Coincidently, I have a toddler granddaughter and grandson that will be used by them.  On the side of the panel is a marked measuring chart to mark the progress of their growth. The directions state to hang the panel 24" from the floor - the chart starts at 24".  Also suggests to use an ultra-fine point Sharpie pen to mark the date of the measurement on a pin (use super glue on the pin to keep it from falling out).  This part of the directions is vague, so I'll have to some research to figure out what pin will work.  

Not only did I receive these fabric panels, but I also was given the metal holders to hang the panels from.  The craft holder is called Classic Motifs made by Ackfeld Manufacturing.  I certainly will refer to this company in the future for hanging projects.  

 I finished both growth charts to give to my grandkids.  Check - another project off my sewing table. However, my friend gave me another kids fabric panel that I'm almost finished with.  Hopefully I will finish and post in the next couple days.

Heads up, I have several other projects that have become UFOs since the first of the year.  My goal is to catch up with these UFOs - a log cabin quilt which I've pieced, just needs quilting - mittens made from wool sweaters, cut and ready to be assembled - a barn quilt pieced, but needs quilting - finish piecing the Indian Wedding Ring quilt and quilt - plus a few little odds and ends.  As you can see it will be a busy next six weeks.  The positive coming from this is I only purchased two yards of fabric for the  backing of the kids projects - with only a few scraps added to my stash.

With all this going on I'm determined to keep my projects from growing!