That 70s Quilt: More Chaining

Chain piecing is a quick and easy way to get a quilt fix in when there is limited time. Of course, it helps to have a few UFOs or WIPs around.

In case you are unfamiliar with the terms, UFOs in the quilting world are Unfinished Objects and WIPs are Works in Progress. These are staples of most quilters. Why? Because we tend to feel a need to start projects but don’t always feel that same need to finish them right away. I’ve actually got a few UFOs I inherited from my husband’s grandmother along with her 1963 Singer Touch & Sew Deluxe Zig-Zag Model 600 sewing machine that I don’t know if I will do anything with or simply leave as is. Part of me feels like it would be nice to continue working on them, but another part thinks it best to leave them in the sewing basket as a fond memory.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about the UFOs and WIPs in my life and That 70s Quilt actually falls into the WIP category in that it is still on the cutting table and being worked on. While the blocks for the Desperate Housewife’s Quilt are slowly being made and put onto a shelf, they, however, I would put in the WIP category as well. I am hand quilting the Fall Quilt, so that too is a WIP. The quilt top my mother made and gave me for my seventeenth birthday is definitely in the UFO category in that it is sitting on the shelf waiting to be sandwiched, quilted and bound. I will have to say that after eighteen years, I still love the colors of it and with it being my only UFO left as I decided The Uninspired Quilt is indeed finished, so I washed and dried it and renamed it back to its original name, Open Envelopes.

So, with a few minutes of free time yesterday before visiting some friends, I decided to sew the next set of blocks together. Chain piecing not only saves time and thread, but also keeps everything in order. After chaining, I clipped the blocks in reverse order starting with the last block I sewed and pressed the seams open and restacked as I continued. Within fifteen minutes I had another stack done and a sense that I accomplished something.