Oldest UFO Series - Sheryll"s

The UFOs I refer to, as every quilter knows, are Unfinished Objects. And I venture to say that most every quilter has at least one in the depths of the sewing room. Truth be told, most of us have far more than just one.

Several months ago, I asked my quilting friends about their oldest UFOs. Oh the stories! I wondered if they'd be willing to share them with me, and also, by extension, with all you readers of this blog. Several agreed, so the project began. Here is the first installment.

Today's UFO comes from Sheryll, who shared with us an elaborate applique project that she started in 2000 when she bought this pattern in Paducah, KY, at the big quilt show. The incredible detail in this gorgeous scene just intimidates me to pieces. It wouldn't occur to me in a million years to attempt a project with this magnitude of detail.

 

The length of panel above is bigger than you might think. Sheryll is holding her arms completely extended and has a helper at the end to show this top portion of the quilt. Isn't that balloon realistic?! This panel is completely done.

 

More work in progress, above. Some of this has been machine appliqued. It looks amazing. Many other parts are well under construction. Sheryll says that the small details remain to be finished on many of these sections - window panes, store signs, street posts, flag pole, and so forth.

So much has been done on this! I don't know if you can click to enlarge these images - try, if you can because the intricate details are impressive. Tiny windows, feathery tree branches, narrow street lights and fence posts - so much fine detailing. It is hard to imagine that after doing all this, you then have to go back and do even more. What an effort!

I'll bet many of you will relate to this next part. This quilt has a very special memory attached to it. Sheryll says it is bittersweet because in 2002 she worked on this while her father was very ill. She recalls sitting with him and her family as he declined and passed. Every time she thinks of this project, she recalls her father. Do you have a quilt with special associations? I'm sure many of us connect some of our quilts with big life events. 

Another recollection for this UFO: Sheryll says it took her forever to collect the variety of fabrics needed for it. Interestingly, the maker said she did the same thing (included in the pattern was a little blurb from the designer detailing her creative process). Another major stumbling block has been finding script fabric for the various signs on the piece.

She also says that when this is finished, it will be an exceptionally heavy quilt. Each piece is backed with Wonder Under; this makes the applique easier to manage, but does add weight to a quilt. For this reason, Sheryll will likely not use a traditional batting in the quilt. It will already have sufficient padding.

And yes, the plan is to finish it, Sheryll says. Someday. I will definitely bring a follow-up when she gets there!

Sheryll is a prolific quilter, and I will offer up a couple links here so you can see some of her gorgeous creations. Click here to read a post from 2015. Scroll down a bit - she has several at the end.  And this post from 2012 gives you a glimpse at quilts on display at her house. From many of these, it is evident that Sheryll does indeed like applique.

There are more UFOs to share with you; I will try to be more timely with my next installment.

Happy Quilting, Friends!