Oldest UFO

Mine is my first quilt top I ever attempted- a sampler (in 1988, so it's 20 yrs. old). I had a couple of quilting magazines and the book 'Quilts, Quilts, Quilts' and taught myself as I went. I tried every technique I could find. VBG

I don't know if I'll ever finish it or not.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Well, I have a crochet afghan, (granny squares so kinda quilt-like) that I started in '71. Queen size. I believe it only has a few squares left to be attached and then the whole thing bordered. Haven't looked at it in years.

The oldest actual quilt, also queen size, was a sampler started about '92. Beginning quilter at the time, self taught from books. Squares were not coming out very acurate for size, didn't have any quilters to go to for advise, finally packed it away in disgust. Haven't looked at it in years either.

Also have many quilt tops that are complete, just need quilting. I find I can piece in a small space but the quilting part first requires that I clear a room to baste the layers, then need to haul my machine from my sewing cubbyhole and set a table up in the middle of my living room to give me space to manuver the quilt thru my machine.

I know.... excuses, excuses... :(

Marilyn in sunny, Alberta, Canada Save the Earth... it's the only planet with chocolate!!!!

I was thinking about my oldest UFO yesterday after reading your post - great minds and all that! I know where the project is resting! It won't ever be finished and I can say that with certainty. I don't remember the year that this item was worked on but the fabrics used are totally polyester and crimplene - anyone else remember crimplene? The story began in the 70's (must have been) when my bro/law was planning a trip back to the UK to spend time with his aging father - while it wasn't mentioned at the time, it was the last time that they would spend in each others' company. While he was away from home, I decided that we (Mum, Sister and I) would occupy our time with a quilt

- never wanted to bother before but needed a project to keep my sister's mind off being without her husband for the weeks of his trip

- not so strange when you c> In my recent Happy Dance I mentioned the (former) UFO was started in 1988,=

I still have the box of double-knit squares I started sewing into 16-patches in the early 1970's. This is truly a UFO, because I have NO intentions of ever finishing that one. I keep it mostly to laugh at the colors I was wearing then, as these are all from clothing scraps. :)

My oldest UFO, is not a quilt project but a sewing project. I cut a dress out when I still lived in Tucson and it is still around somewhere. Pattern is still pinned to the fabric. No way I can even wear it, and it will probably get tossed when I find it again. BTW, I moved up here to Phoenix about 1980.

I still have the first quilt that I made in a class that hasn't been quilted yet. It was a mystery quilt class in about 1998 or 1999. Decided that it needs some appliqué in the border and I will get it quilted.

Pati, > In my recent Happy Dance I mentioned the (former) UFO was started in 1988,

I did a 'four winds" quilt top (pattern from marcia can't remember last name or web addy at the moments site! lol) I would say I started it about 8yrs ago. I loved the pattern and even did it in the same colours she shows it in on her site.

2 big mistakes that I didn't know then but I sure know now.......... I was a horrible peicer back then, NONE of the points line up and the second is that piecing on a serger didn't help matters one bit!

I know there are no quilt police but for some reason I have been assigned that duty to myself LOL. I drag the thing out and look at it every now and then but I just can't bring myself to spend the time quilting it when the work on it was so horrible. I suppose it is a nice quilt for someone who doesn't know ANYTHING about quilting, but I just don't know what to do with it.

I started a sampler quilt in a beginning quilt class in 1985. It is still not done, despite the lovely brown, rust and peach shades of fabric! Came across it the other day, the partially done hand quilting still does not look very even.

Mary

I saw a quilt in a show last year that has been started in the early

70s, hand pieced and hand quilted, finished either 2006 or 2007.

Anne

I had a customer who beat all of us. She brought me a quilt for machine quilting that she started piecing when she was pregnant with her oldest daughter. She was hoping I could get it done in time for her daughter's 58th birthday later that year.

Oh, I have a quilt that my grandmother pieced sometime in the very early '40s. I got it layered and basted, but need to get it hand quilted. Mom found the top going through G'pa's stuff after he died, and recognized pieces from her kindergarten dresses and Aunt ?'s apron and so on.

Pati, > I saw a quilt in a show last year that has been started in the early

Hmmm ... I started a $5 quilt somewhere during the first year I lived here, so that may have been around the beginning of 2000? At any rate, the shop that sponsored it (it was one of those where you pay $5 the first month, bring in your block the next month and get the kit for the second month for free; these usually go on for about a year) just couldn't bring itself to use decent-quality fabrics. I swear they must have shopped the cheapest places they could find. I did finish all of the blocks, but I never made the quilt for fear that it would all fall apart. I finally broke down and donated the blocks to someone who said she could use them, rotten quality and all.

Since then I've made some "partial projects" as a result of classes. These will probably never be finished, but they were learning experiences and valuable for all that.

I bought a UFO at an auction and quilted it; does that count? The top was probably from the 40's or early 50's. I quilted it in 2003. It's the one you see at , though it wasn't quite finished when I took the pictures. I did finish it.

Julia > In my recent Happy Dance I mentioned the (former) UFO was started in 1988,

When I first tried my hand at quilting my daughter picked out a pattern for a queen size quilt. It is all done and 2/3 hand quilted. She was 7 at the time. She is almost 24 now. Last year I pulled it out. The backing had ripped and so had the batting. I began piecing that back together, but then had company, so it was back in the bag at the back of the closet. Maybe this summer.

L>In my recent Happy Dance I mentioned the (former) UFO was started in 1988,

Linda PATCHogue, NY

ooooh.... um the Oldest UFO would have to be the king size quilt (2nd bed quilt i started) and it was begun about the mid 90s - when I started at RCTQ. I figured if i did big blocks it would go faster. Well, that was true til I got to the enormous triangles which still scare me! And now my color preferences and pattern preferences aren't quite the same as they were back then... calico just doesn't hold the interest as much as batiks and all the other yummy stuff out there!

was going to be a jacob's ladder.... the triangles are still uncut - even tho i know "better, easier" ways to do them, they still scare me that big! lol

the 2nd oldest is finished thanks to a dear friend needing practice on her longarm lol.

All the other UFOs well, I need to go clean my studio... that could take a few months tho....

My first quilt from 1994. I was watching PBS and caught the first episode of Quilts, Quilts, Quilts! They said we'd make a quilt in 13 weeks. I believed them. I dutifully wrote the instructions during each episode. I went to the fabric store (I didn't even know there were quilt shops) bought really ugly green and burgundy cotton fabric and rotary cutting supplies.

Each week I made my block. Then the last episode they talked about putting it all together and showed finished quilts so we could see that we could quilt as desired and bind.

Ummmmm.........yeah, like I could figure it out from that.

I don't know if I'll ever set the blocks together or not. The fabrics are really unattractive. But, you never know it could snow here in California and I could be housebound long enough to finish all my UFO's out of boredom. :-)

marcella

I made a color-wash wall hanging of "the" cross in '04. Beautiful material of purple & gold & green flowers.

Just the quilt top...no batting, no back, no binding.

It hangs in my bedroom and it never will be finished.

Some work will never be done.

Donna in WA

It did snow here the other day Marcella! I didn't believe dh until I looked for myself.

Sometimes just passing a ufo on is a good thing. I have done that with a couple projects at guild auctions. It is cool to see a ufo come back finished to show and tell.

I guess my oldest UFO is probably from '94 or so. Coincidentally it is a bear paw too. Kind of pastel colors but the borders are all flower appliqué. I really should finish it. It might look almost retro soon! Taria

Marcella Peek wrote:

I won't set a record with my permanent UFO. It is a handkerchief quilt. For years, I collected them. Some are monogrammed, some exquisitely lacy. I carefully backed them and rolled them to attach sashings of lace and ribbon. Every time I get it out, I wonder what I'd do with it if it were finished. I can't think of a thing. Polly

Julia: Wow, that is a lovely quilt ... I am glad you 'rescued' and finished it. Finished!? Excellent! But that means it is no longer a UFO, is it! Do you have another candidate for Oldest UFO? LOL

-- PAT