Flowers from Erin--your UFO is still my UFO/WIP

Awhile back Erin gifted me a few flower blocks to play with.  I had several ideas of things to try with them.  The let's get it done was only a 24 hour bug and the blocks got buried under a pile of TO-DO's.
Well thankfully our A/C is still not working.  I spent a day at the building where I have my fabric.  It has A/C and my quilt machine.  I sorted and uncovered many forgotten goodies.  Everything for this project was kitted up with notes on ideas I had had.  Guess which one I choose----none of them!

Erin had given me 15 blocks (11 1/2 inches m/l)  I knew I wanted to add butterflies (8 1/2) blocks.  What to do, what to do.  I knew I didn't want to do a ton of butterflies as an outside border so I compromised and did just a strip to off-set the D-9 setting.  I love, love, love this look.

I will come up with some sorta of witty saying for a wide border and then finish off with the black/pink flowers.  Now to google butterfly sayings--lol

Thank you Erin, you can send me your Orphans anytime!  I have two little grand-daughters (and their mom) who have called dibs on this future keepsake.

The 'Pink' around the flowers is a yarn used to make pot scrubbers.  The texture is a bit stiff, but so cute.  At first glance it looks like I had tension problems and didn't know it--ha ha.  I hope to find large pink buttons to sew in the middle of each flower.

The A/C is getting replaced tomorrow, so I will have to find another excuse to take a day off and sew.

Erin's flowers and pink yarn

Yes I already had the butterflies cut out for a future project

New favorite setting for 12 focus blocks.

Your UFO, my UFO it's still a UFO

To make a short story long-- Erin sent me a pack of blocks intended for another friend on her site.  Lucky for me I passed them along to their rightful owner.  What a lovely surprise when these black and white beauties showed up in my mailbox!  Thanks Erin, your UFO's are now MY UFO's and may or may not be UFO's much longer.

I love the B/W and the green just pops!

I am hoping to add a yarn embellishment to enhance the flowers a bit. Several of these blocks still need appliqued to the backgrounds.  At first I wanted to make many different color flower outlines but the cheapo in me settled for one skein of yarn

 Since most of these gifted blocks are black on the left and white on the right I think I may break them up with an alternate block between them.

Took a bit of searching but I did find a pack of B/W & Pink butterflies.  These are started on 8 1/2" backgrounds I will need to figure out a way of getting down to 12 1/2" total preferably with out having to  cut new backgrounds.

I 'found' this Black and Pink and had to bring home a couple of yards just in case I wanted borders or binding.

 I may have the use the print to border the flowers to get them up to size.  Really don't want to take the time to size down the butterflies.  So many decisions, no wonder we have so many UFO's!!

50 state flowers WIP (I don't do UFO's)

Jill had asked the question:

What are the main reason(s) you put PIGS and UFOs to the side.

I interpreted it to be:
Why do you have UFO's?

Not that I would admit to having any but if I did it would be b/c I think faster then I sew.

Case in point- I pulled 11 projects to work on in 2011. All are in some stage of progress.

I can pick them up and put them down at any time. (I really don't have a problem, it's the other sewers that have UFO's)

I have never been bothered by an Unfinished project. In fact I love them. I love to take blocks from others and re-create them into something that says :'Cheryl has been here'.

I love taking pieces I have worked on and re-evaluate them at later dates to upgrade to what ever I am interested in that moment.

In my mind I really don't have UFO's b/c I can start back on anything that interests me any time I want too.

I never put a date on a TO DO item. I don't sew for profit so I am not constrained by time.

I do journal (through my blog) my progress or at least my thought process. On individual quilts I have been known to print out the 'story' behind the piece when it is gifted to the recipient.

Some quilts take years to get to their final destination, it doesn't make them UFO's, they are just Late Bloomers!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

In reality I have as many UFO's as the next gal, I am just in denial and it is fun to annoy Jill b/c I know she has WAY more then me (I don't care what her number is, it is more then mine- if I had one)

50 state flowers is not sewing its self together but I am making progress. My distraction is I want to start playing with border ideas.

Probably another reason, things get piled up is I get too many ideas and have to wait till the brain settles on one to move forward with.

Now it is your turn, if you have UFO's- Why and..... When are you sending them to me?

11 UFO's

Drum Roll, another year in the number 1 spot- the winner is: scrappy Pine-Apple, paper pieced, all cut and sorted and it even has it's own drawer. Last year I purposed to work on it or give it away. Proud to say I am still the owner, one more block completed!

#2 4-patches from Pam. I can either make one really large quilt, or two med. size ones or 4 small or 8 puppy size. All the 4-patches are sewn together, these have been waiting to get put on the TO DO list.

#3 Sort and cut Kit from the RW&B scraps. Great use for the BABY GO.

#4 Dresden to set on point from Stack & Whack style class in 2010. Just b/c I can teach it doesn't mean I can do it- lol-finish that is.

#5 I still need to make a T-Shirt quilt for Brian from my office.

#6- Auction find, 50 state flower blocks have been un-sewn, need to re-size and re-set. Dare I plan to quilt it too?

#7 What is this?

cont.... yard sale Dresden plates. I planned to sew onto split blocks and doing something funky with them.

#8 not a cat....

- my fabric for the traditional Stack and Whack. The class all finished theirs last year. Mine is still in the bag.

#9 These are the scraps of the scraps.

I need to finish cutting the triangles with my BABY GO and sew them into sets. I would really like this to be on the list to quilt this year.

#10-It's a tie-- Here comes the collection of black, white and pinks. Sunbonnet Sue OR the Pink Apple Core, I want to make a quilt for our daughter's niece. Which ever one gets done first goes to Abra.

And.......#11- the one most likely to get done...... PB&W scrappy Butterflies. I love butterflies. I have 63 cut and ready to applique. The week I get this top finished I will do a give-a -way of the left over scraps!

So there is my list of 11, is anyone taking bets as to how many I work on? (Notice I didn't say complete) be good cheryl