Saturday, January 24, 2015

2009 BOM UFO FINISHED!!!!

I told you HERE about our guild UFO challenge for this year.  One of the UFO’s on my list is finally done!! Woo hoo!!

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This quilt called “Calendar Kids”, was offered as a BOM quilt from a vendor at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show in 2009, that my dear friend Linda and I attended. 

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We are now both retired, but at that time, we were still teaching in elementary schools, and being teachers, just fell in LOVE with this adorable quilt that shows the months of the year in order of the school year, starting with September and ending in August.

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We also loved the vintage paper doll look of the kids and clothes in each block, as that was truly our own history having grown up in the 50’s and 60’s!  So, we both signed up for the BOM mailings!!

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The fabric in the quilt is by American Jane… some of it is from her Snippets collection. (The house blocks above are a great example of how important value is in a block… the house fabric disappears into the sky fabric…ugh!)

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So, we both made the blocks each month, for the first three months, as we received the fabric packets.  Then we both got bogged down with work and other projects and just put the fabric packets away in a drawer each month when we got them in the mail.

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Well, it was always in my mind to get back to making this BOM quilt, so when the guild decided to run the UFO Challenge, I put it on my list…to encourage MAKE me get it done!

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So, I pulled all the packets out and got to it!!  Of course, as always, I changed a few things… like some of the appliquéd children’s placement within the blocks, made an apple tree to put next to September block and fall leaves on tree next to October block… and substituted some of my own fabrics here or there.

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Now, let me share some wisdom obtained by doing this BOM over FIVE YEARS after the BOM was run. 

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First, if you were not given as much fabric as you needed for each month’s block(s), you probably can’t find it anywhere to buy now.

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Next, if instructions are incomplete or incorrect, no one is now available to help or contact!!

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So, make sure if you ever do a BOM, that you play the game and make the blocks each month as given!!

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I still do LOVE this quilt design.  It truly does remind me of many of my own elementary school memories.

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But it also reminds me of my 34 years teaching in elementary schools… all my fun classroom seasonal activities with all my different classes over the years!!

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In fact, I had a self made classroom wall bulletin board thingy I created back in the 80’s using a fabric panel.  It hung in my classrooms in Florida and then in my classrooms in Virginia and eventually in my office as an assistive technology specialist for special ed kids and teachers.

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When I retired in 2012, I brought it home and pulled it apart and saved the old fabric panel.

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I cut part of it off to use for the label on this quilt.  On it is written the names of all the schools I taught at during those 34 years!

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I am very pleased at how the quilt turned out and especially that it is finally DONE!! It’s a great feeling!!

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So, Yogi want to know if you have lots of UFO’s in your sewing room?  It’s really keeping him up at night…

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25 comments:

  1. loved your post and how special to use a piece of that wall hanging to use for the label of this quilt. Every time you look at this quilt I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face and lots of great memories.

    I used fabric as bulletin board backgrounds fairly often over the years in my HS classroom. Now I wonder what I did with those pieces. I did make a Dick & Jane wall hanging for my office wall. It hung in my little office in a school for many years (I do staff development) and now hangs in my home office. But it still makes me think of teaching kids every day.

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  2. It's awesome and now you have it completed. I think we quilters are all the same about starting a project and finishing it five or so years later. Thanks for sharing, I love the design and fabric!

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  3. That quilt is so very cute. The kids are adorable. You did a great job getting it together. I am afraid Yogi would never sleep again if he saw all of my UFOs. :)

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  4. What a gorgeous finish. Well worth the wait to complete it.

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  5. Great finish, glad that you love it so much now that its done. A lovely memory quilt.

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  6. Your quilt is gorgeous, Polly. I love it!

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  7. i just love this so much and i loved your story behind it. thank you for sharing. and so far yours is the oldes ufo i have seen in a while. though i might have one older

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  8. Thank you for sharing your wonderful quilt and the memories that go with it. Quilts are even more precious when our history is sewn into them. I finished a Christmas UFO recently (after Christmas) that had been hanging around for about 15 years. It only took about two hours to finish....why didn't I do it years ago!

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  9. I LOVE your quilt. Congrats on a wonderful finish! I love American Jane fabrics. I can tell Yogi is losing a lot of sleep worrying about all your UFOs...LOL Thanks for the inspiration to get busy on my many UFOs!

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  10. Hi Polly, What a wonderful quilt! It's filled with memories of my childhood, although, we didn't have school buses when I started school in 1942. We walked wherever we went, but back then we didn't have to worry for our children's safety, like we do today. I can even remember walking to and from girl scout meetings in the dark, which was about 6 blocks away. I'm sure Yogi appreciates all the time and love you put into this quilt, as do we, out here in cyberspace. lv2bquilting2@comcast.net

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  11. Such a sweet quilt & story! You deserve a big "pat" on the back for finishing it. Quite an inspiration to all quilters to finish their projects. (PS: American Jane is my favorite too!
    nettie from Spanish Fork, UT

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  12. Hola Polly, qué encanto tu blog!!!!!! Qué lindo todo lo relatada, tenemos mucho en común, yo también ejercí la docencia durante 35 años. Hermosos recuerdos. Me encanta este quilt, resume también muchas de mis experiencias!!! Tengo unos cuantos OVNIS, tengo que seguir tu ejemplo.Un beso inmenso desde La Plata, Pcia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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  13. Congratulations on finishing your BOM! It is truly amazing and filled with beautiful memories. I love the 50's 60's look of the kids too. I didn't see a close up of one of the finished blocks w/ the kids. Did you do any machine/hand appliqué around them? On the unfinished blocks I couldn't tell .

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  14. Hi Polly! The quilt is joyous! Love it! How are the children done? Are they cut out of a different fabric & appliqued on? So cute!

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  15. That is absolutely a perfect quilt... for me too! I would love one like t hat. Are the paper dolls features a panel or did you cut and applique them? Paper dolls were a huge part of my life (and my sister's) in the 60's. I tried to introduce them to my grand daughters recently...but they were not taken to very well! They don't know what they are missing!!! I havePinned your quilt too! I just really love it!

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  16. Oh WOW! I SEW LOVE THIS! Lots of fun and hard work in those stitches!!!!

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  17. Rosemary B here:
    Oh my, this is beautiful. I am very happy you finished it. This is a great accomplishment

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  18. Beautiful quilt and filled with such wonderful memories! Great advice I joined a stitching club--four projects a year and I have kept up for the very reasons you mentioned. Yes I do have UFO's in my stitch room and you have motivated me to revisit them

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  19. Yes, Yogi, too many UFOs in my closet and sewing room! Your quilt is lovely. Isn't it funny how our lives revolve around the school year -- especially when we work in a school, but also when our children are in school as well. I work in a K-12 district and would love to have a quilt like yours in my office.

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  20. What a wonderful find and what a beautiful finish. Just perfect in every way. I love the "old look" of everything you did. Yogi is as precious as ever and I so enjoy seeing pictures of him. We know we need to get another dog, just not quite ready. Soon, I hope. Thank you for sharing this awesomeness. Judy C

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  21. Yes, unfortunately, I do! But I'm getting a few of them finished by getting the binding on them. I need to tackle a few that need more than just the binding!! That BOM you tackled looked like a TON of work but turned out really cute!!

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  22. Wow Polly that is a beauty bom find ,it is gorgeous and a great memory quilt, You will never find those fabrics again so wonderful to have.Yogi loves it just like I do. A lovely post.

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  23. That turned out very lovely! So darling! And the answer to your question is a blogpost I recently addressed....I have 17 UFO's that are lurking in my basket that is part of my " to do " list for 2015!

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  24. This finished quilt is so sweet!! I love it!! Thanks for sharing it with us!

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  25. I love your quilt. Congratulations on getting it finished! And tell Yogi that, yes, I have lots of UFOs in my happy room and that it is overwhelming! But this year, I will try to get some of them completed.

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Thank you sooooooo very much for taking the time to leave a comment! I am always happy to know that someone is reading my ramblings!! Polly :-)