My Quarter 3 Finishalong List

 - follow the link to go straight to the Q3 Finishalong linkup if you want to link up your own list (but hurry, the link closes soon) -

It is time to post and link up my list of unfinished projects for quarter 3 of the Finish-A-Long  (follow this link for more information - anyone with an UFO, WIP or similar that they want to finish is welcome to join).
This quarter I am just editing my previous list, taking out the projects that have been finished. I simply don't have enough time at the moment to think much about it so I am taking the easy way out...

One change though, I am using my Project Planner (or Project List) that I made for a Finish-A-Long tutorial. If you like, you can use that, too, it can be downloaded from the Project List blog post (free), and it is great to keep track of your projects! If only I could find the list I made to show off my Planner the first time, I could have added Q3 to it, but I seem to have misplaced it. So much for planning and being organised!!

So this is how my list for Quarter 3 of the 2018 Finish-A-Long looks:

1. As part of Cork Textiles Network's 20th anniversary there will be an exhibition with work based on a book. This will be a selected exhibition for the Knitting and Stitching shows, but all work entered will be exhibited locally first, from which the selection will be made.

I have chosen my book, and I have some fabrics, though I need to add some more.
The ideas have been playing around in my head a bit, and I have been working on some parts, but this basically needs to be done still. Fortunately the deadline has been extended, but there is not much time left...

2. Feathered Star top

Well yes, this still needs quilting, but I really want to finish this one! It is one of my favourite tops.

3. Cubes quilt

This is the quilt closest to a finish. To finish quilting the borders, binding, and a label of course.

4. Sunflowers

The blocks are together for years, I intended to quilt it for free motion quilting practice. The idea is that the riot of colours and shapes will not show up my lack of experience too much... I'm keeping it in here, because I really should get practising my FMQ.

5. Log cabin

The top is finished, and I am very happy with it. I had it basted, and started quilting, but I wasn't pleased with it. The tension of my machine played up, and I disliked the wadding I used. So I have taken it apart, bought new wadding and hope to get it quilted soon.


6. Shawl/wrap for myself

Inspired by the wrap I saw at Ireland's online fibre and crafts magazine Olann and called "Mind the Gap" (though I'm leaving out the gaps). The image above was posted on my Instagram ages ago, it now looks like this:

I am well into the decrease so it shouldn't be that long. If only there were more hours in the day...

7. I cannot resist to add one more project that was not on my Q2 list: A Black and White quilt:

I am still not sure whether I will add some of the red fabrics into it, but the current idea is to work with equilateral triangles, in a limited scrappy way, I think... I have a dinky cutting template, time to give it a go!

Linking up with the 2018 Finish-A-Long for Quarter 3 at the post on my own blog.

#2018FALQ3sewofcourse

Sandra

And on to Quarter 3 of the Finish-A-Long

Its time to link up your list of unfinished projects that you propose to finish in Q3 of the Finish-A-Long. We are hoping that the FAL community will inspire you to work on your unfinished projects this quarter (and throughout the remainder of the year) and to get them finished!

The 2018 FAL is hosted by a community of bloggers across the world. Our hosts are:

• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA

• Sandra (also Social Media Director) - Studio Sew of Course - Ireland

• Leanne - She Can Quilt  - Canada 

• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA

• Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada

• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA

• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada

• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA

For those of you who are new to the FAL, it is a place to find motivation and encouragement to complete those unfinished projects that are hanging around. At the start of the quarter you post and link up a list of projects you hope to finish in the next three months, and then at the end of the quarter you link up each successful finish from your original list.

Each linked up finish is an entry into the draw for wonderful prizes from our sponsors. There is no penalty for not finishing a listed project, so feel free to make your list as long or short as you wish. The 2018 Schedule and Rules for the FAL are on my permanent 2018 FAL page, let me know if you have any questions.

Here are the fantastic and generous sponsors for Q3 of the Finish-A-Long. you can see each of their prizes listed under their logo. Please think about visiting them and saying thank you for their support of the FAL.

$50 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

$25 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$20 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

3 Six Month Subscr.

$25 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

A Minikins Bundle

$50 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Gift Certificate

$40 Gift Certificate

So now it is time to round up those projects that you want to finish over the next three months! Take a photo of each one and make your list. Please ensure that you have at least started your projects - pulled fabric with a pattern is considered a UFO - and remember it is only finished projects that will get you an entry toward the above listed prizes. So while we love to see your bee blocks, the "finish" is when they are a completed, usable project.

If posting on social media (Flickr & Instagram), it will be very helpful if you tag your list with #2018FALQ3yourname (where yourname is unique to you). Using the same hashtag over the quarter when sharing project progress or finishes helps the host to make the connection to your original list quickly and easily.
IMPORTANT: Don't forget to link up your finishes when the quarter closes!

The 2018 Q3 list for your list of proposed finishes is now open, below, on my blog and each of the hosting blogs. You need only link your list once, on one host blog and the link will show up on all the host blogs. If you are using Flickr or Instagram, post a photo mosaic of your projects and put your list in the description. Don't forget to include your unique hashtag. Katy of The Littlest Thistle has a great tutorial on how to link up if you need it, or Marci of Marci Girl Designs has a tutorial to link up an Instagram post specifically.

We also ask that you become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others - visit and comment on their lists. We all need encouragement to get those finishes done, so please share some of your own too.

If you want you can follow us on Facebook, Finish-A-Long and/or on Instagram, @finishalong, too. We'll post encouragement during the quarter and reminders when the finishes link up opens at the end of the quarter.

When creating your list there is one thing to remember - No deductions for not completing something so - Aim High! Nothing to lose!! Well now, get your list together and get linked up.

Feel free to use and share the FAL button above and this one too:

The Q3 proposed finish linky party will stay open until 11 pm EST, Wednesday, July 18, 2018 - as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link (you can also see how much time is left below the linked up images on the right.)

Remember: you only need to link up at ONE hosting blog and it will automatically show up on all hosting blogs.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sandra

Link-up Reminder

Popping in today for a quick reminder that the Quarter 2 Link Up for all your finishes closes on Monday, July 9, 2018, 11 pm EST. So you still have a few more days to finish a project or two (or as many as you have) and link them up to be eligible for prizes. The link up can be found HERE or on the blog of any of our current hosts.

A few reminders for linking up:

• Please only one finished project for each post that you link up, so that each finish can be an entry in the (random) prize draw. 
• Please include a link to your original list in each post of your finishes (on Instagram the link is the unique tag #2018FALQ2yourname to be used in the Q2 list post, and in any Q2 finish post).
• Please visit some of the other participants and leave a friendly comment, we all love to get those!

If you didn't have a chance to visit the tutorials that were posted as part of Finish-A-Long Tutorials Week, here is the schedule once more:

• July 3, 2018 - Sandra of Studio Sew of Course - The Finish-A-Long Project List - keeping track of your FAL projects

• July 4, 2018 - Ella of Throw A Wench in the Works

• July 5, 2018 - Felicity of Felicity Quilts - Mini Charm Pack Zip Pouch

They are well worth a visit!

Finally, we hope you will be joining us for Quarter 3 to do it all over again!! So get your List ready, the link up for Q3 Lists will open on July 10, 2018.

Sandra

The Finish-A-Long Project List - keeping track of your FAL projects

- This post is part of the Quarter 2 Finish-A-Long tutorial week, find the full list for this quarter at the Tutorial Week post -

* this post includes a FREE DOWNLOAD - keep reading *

Finish-A-Long lists

If you ever had a look at the Finish-A-Long link-up, you know there are lots of Finishalong lists participating. Long lists, short lists, purely quilty lists, and mixed quilt/knit/dress-making lists. There are even lists that are ridiculously long - they have their own hashtag: #ridiculouslylongFALlist - of course!

With 200 to 250 (and more) lists linked up with the Finish-A-Long recent quarters, and list lengths from a couple of projects to 40 or more, there are an enormous number of projects to keep track of between all of us! High time then to give you a way to keep track of your projects, and keep those all-important link-up dates to hand, too...

The Finish-A-Long Project List

So I have sat down and created the Finish-A-Long Project List. A 2018 Finish-A-Long logo is displayed at the top:

Which looks nice, but it is the practical features that are most important, don't you think?! Basically this is a fill-in page to keep all your projects and their progress (hopefully) written down in one place. But it is a good one (if I may say so myself) and allows you to tick all the right boxes! This is my list:

As you can see, this page allows me to list up to 12 projects. I can number my projects, and I can indicate progress for each one. I like it that even when I don't finish a project I can see that I am making progress! I placed a cross for each quarter the project is on my list (I listed a large number in Q1, but decided to reduce my list for Q2), and for each step that is finished. At the end, the steps for linking up with the Finish-A-Long are included, too: Photo(s), Posted, and Linked Up can all be ticked off when I get that far.

Most of my projects are quilts, but what about those projects that are not? After all, my knitted shawl project doesn't have blocks or binding, and doesn't need quilting either. The Project List has a special section to be able to tick off steps for non-quilty projects, too!

For my "Other" (non-quilt) projects I skip the "Quilt" columns, and use the columns further along to the right instead (see numbers 4 and 5 on my list). The steps for "Other" projects are a bit open to interpretation, because they can be used for any non-quilt project. The phrase "Made" can mean sewn, knitted, stitched, crocheted, etc. depending on the type of project. In the same way, "Finished Off" can be used for blocked, framed, threads tied in, etc.

I played around with the Project List a bit to test it out. Instead of crossing off each step, I coloured each square using a different colour for each quarter. I even added an extra colour for progress from before Q1:

To visualise progress a bit better, colouring gives the option of filling half a square (diagonally looks nice) when good progress has been made, but the step is not quite finished. Where the project has some specific steps, you can even write a (small) note, like I did for a quilt-as-you-go project. The top is not yet together, but the sections are being quilted, so I will only colour "Top" after the quilted panels are joined:

Of course, everyone can use a Project List in their own way. Use a different colour for each step, or for each project. Or use whatever pencil you can find on the day. Or stick on mini stickers instead of colouring or crossing off.
Of course, if your list is a long one, print multiple copies, and number the projects on through the  pages. The Project List can be kept for the whole year, just add new projects on at the end. No need to rewrite your list each quarter!

Those all-important dates, too

Wouldn't it be great if you never missed a link-up date, especially just when you have achieved that long-awaited finish?! We do try to keep you informed of upcoming link-up dates through Instagram, and via the hosts blogs, but every quarter there are participants that miss a deadline.

Which is why I have added a complete overview of the link-up dates for 2018 to the Finish-A-Long Project List. It even tells you when tutorial weeks are held, so that you can look out for our hosts giving you hints, tips and/or patterns (or here: A Project List)!! Finally, I have included our Instagram username and the most used Finish-A-Long hashtags, too.

Do you think this will be a great organiser for your projects? Would your friends like one, too? Please send them over here to read all about it for themselves, and to find their own download link!

Here it is - finally - the download link:

Finish-A-Long Project List

Please let me know how you use the Finish-A-Long Project List. It would be great to get feedback, so that improvements can be made for a next version.


And (dare I say it?) if you don't participate in the Finish-A-Long, you can use the Project List, too, to keep track of your project progress. Of course, in that case you should really consider participating in the Finish-A-Long, it's fun. Check it out at my Finish-A-Long Page.

Sandra

Tutorial week again

Today kicks off "Tutorial Week", which has been part of the Finish-A-Long since it's inception.  While the link-up for Finishes is open, we share some tutorials for you all to enjoy. They are varied, interesting, and usually helpful, so take some time to investigate and visit the blogs below on their scheduled day!

• July 3, 2018 - Sandra of Studio Sew of Course - The Finish-A-Long Project List - keeping track of your FAL projects

• July 4, 2018 - Ella of Throw a Wench in the Works

• July 5, 2018 - Felicity of Felicity Quilts -Mini Charm Pack Zip Pouch

The Quarter 2 Finishes link up opened yesterday, you can find the link up HERE or on any of the hosting blogs. There is still plenty of time to link up or finish those projects as the link up does not close until July 9, 2018, 11 pm EST.

And whether you had a lot of finishes, or none at all this quarter, or you missed Finish-A-Long Q2 altogether, you can always join in for Quarter 3 which is taking off on July 10th, with the link-up opening for your List of Proposed Finishes. We hope you will join us!

Sandra

A second finish!

Yay! Not only did I finally manage to have a finish for this quarter of the Finish-A-Long, I finished TWO!

For a good while I have wanted to go back to dress making, and an easy summer top seemed just the thing to ease myself in to it. It's been on the list for a long time without anything happening, though.

But we are having such glorious summer weather, high time for a new summer top.

As you can see, easy top stitching at all edges, and only a few pieces involved. Easy peasy!

I think I could have made a smaller size, it is a bit big, and very GREEN! But all the same, it will come in handy since the good weather shows no sign of disappearing!!

My Finish-A-Long list for Quarter 2 (link)

And the link-up can be found at the Q2 List Link-Up

Sandra

A portrait

Not too long ago I was looking for new inspiration and to that end I decided to join the Cork Textiles Network (CTN). the organisation offers support to all who have an interest in textiles. They also organise exhibitions and have a regular call for work with a certain theme.
My idea was that not only would I be inspired by the diverse work the members create, but I might get inspired to make textiles within a call for an upcoming exhibition.

Of course it wasn't as easy as all that. I played with ideas when a theme was announced, but in the end I made nothing.

Now CTN exists 20 years this year, with some special celebrations being organised. One of those is an extra large exhibition space being made available at the Dublin Knitting and Stitching show. Of course a call came for work for this exhibition: self portraits, all of the same size, to fill an outside wall of the exhibition space. And it was encouraged that EVERY member participated... This could no longer be ignored.

Soon I set to work, never having made a portrait at all, leave alone a self portrait!
And now, here I am:

Appliqué by hand (face) and machine (hair), and many hand stitches to create the face, the clothes, and the leaves in the background.
I started off with a photograph, and printed it full size in black and white. I indicated the dark areas on my background fabric and stitched away.

Lots and lots of seed stitches in a few different threads created the face. It sounds so simple, but I went back numerous time for a few more stitches before I was pleased... Especially the eyes proved tricky!

A few lines of stitching indicated the top of a shirt, and a cardigan with button detail:

And this is a FINISH for the finishalong, I haven't had a finish in a long, long time!

My Finish-A-Long list for Quarter 2 (link) 
Linking up at the Finish-A-Long quarter 2 link-up, which is now open.Don't forget to link up your own finishes!

Sandra

Link up your Finishes for Q2 of the Finish-A-Long

Can you believe it, we have made it to the end of the second quarter of the 2018 Finish-A-Long and it's time to link up your Q2 finishes.  We hope you have used the past three months to complete a bunch of those UFOs on your lists!

The 2018 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting and this year's hosts are:

• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA

• Sandra (also Social Media Director) - Studio Sew of Course - Ireland

• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA

• Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada

• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA

• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada

• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA

Before the link up, let's give a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors:

$50 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

$25 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$20 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

3 Six Month Subscr.

$25 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

A Minikins Bundle

$50 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Gift Certificate

$40 Gift Certificate

For this quarter of the 2018 FAL, we continue tutorial week.  Here is the schedule for this quarter so you can visit them all:

• July 3 - Sandra of Studio Sew of Course

• July 4 - Ella of Throw a Wench in the Works

• July 5 - Felicity of Felicity Quilts
  

The 2018 Quarter 2 link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on all host blogs.

Link-up "Rules":

Add one link for each finish.  If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately.  Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws. 

Please ensure that the photo (Instagram or Flickr) or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter, too). On Instagram or Flickr, tag your photos with #2018FALQ2yourname (where yourname is unique to you), this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your list, which also should have this tag.

Please become part of the FAL community.  Check out the links of others and leave a comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other.  The 2018 FAL Facebook page is HERE and you can follow us on Instagram @finishalong.

Our hosts will also link up their finishes to share in the community but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.

The Q2 Finishes link will stay open from now thru 11 pm, EST, Monday July 9, 2018 - as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link (you can also see how much time is left below the linked up images on the right).  It is best to link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out.  The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings.  We will post the winners on each host's blog.

Lastly, don't forget to start making your Q3 list as the Q3 list link opens on July 10, 2018.

2018 Q2 Finishes Link Up:

An InLinkz Link-up

Sandra