Stash Report - Dec. 26, '10

Fabric in this week:     22 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     170.75 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      142 yds.

Stash busted:   -28.75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

Santa was very good to me. Then I was very bad. Here is a shot of my Christmas loot. Also in the background are the gingerbread houses my kids put together yesterday evening. They had a blast.

I had 4 jelly rolls come in plus a small fat quarter pack. I also bought backing fabric for my Wild Thing quilt which I managed to get on the quilt frame but I wasn't able to quilt it because I did not have the right color of thread. So all in all it was 22 yards.

Before Christmas I finished one quilt for hire, one minkee throw for my MIL and one fleece throw for my DIL. Too bad none of that counts. I did manage to get the applique done on the basket blocks then get the center of the quilt sewn together.

I have been working on the borders but had to stop and iron a bunch of leaves. I still have a bunch of leaves to go but progress is being made. I am able to do some of the applique in the border but I will have to attach the border before I can finish all the applique. That will be a pain.

I did not meet my goal of breaking even. I am glad the quilt police will not come and take me away. Although DH may take away my Visa. I am waffling as to whether I will do the stash report next year. I will probably keep track of what fabric comes in and goes out but I just won't tell. How about you? What are you doing?

Merry Christmas to all

Merry Christmas to all and to all may you feel His spirit in your life. I hope you have a great day with loved ones creating cherished memories. Love to all.

Stash Report - Dec, 19, '10

Fabric in this week:     15 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     148.75 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      142 yds.

Stash busted:   -6.75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

This is the piece that put me under again. Not very exciting.

A bolt (15 yds.) of Kona Snow. Love the stuff. I don't regret buying it in the least. I go through this like crazy. In the week since I bought it I noticed that it has increased in price 80 cents a yard. I am glad I got it when I did.

I quilted two quilts for hire last week. One was unexpected. A neighbor of my DIL wanted a quilt quilted that  her 10 year old daughter had made. I named an outrageous price thinking that would discourage them. I was surprised when she showed up here with the quilt, batting and backing. Shoot! I was stuck. I wish I had taken a picture of the top. It was made up of large strips, about 12 x 42" with borders that were very friendly. (They stood up and waved) Also the borders at the corners were missing fabric. They had not been cut long enough and were just left empty in the corners. Hummmmm. The backing was a minkie type fabric. I did an all over pattern of loops and stars since the daughter loves stars. When I got to the end the backing was 2" too short at the top and 6" too short at the bottom. Hummmmmm. I contacted the mom and made a couple of suggestions. She elected to have me do some surgery. I folded the border up and made a tuck so it came out even. I top stitched the edge of the tuck down then cut out the extra underneath. Because of the tuck I was able to take extra fabric and fix the corners. It was not show worthy but it looked pretty darned good after I finished with it. I think I earned every penny on that quilt. Good think I quoted high. My DIL delivered it and said the mom and daughter were ecstatic. The little girl was screaming  about how wonderful it was.

I have a Merry Go Round quilt on the machine right now. This is the third one of these in a week and a half. They were all made by the same person. It is made from Origins jelly rolls. I plan on finishing this on Monday and then doing a small throw for my MIL. I just thought of it on Saturday. Why can't inspiration strike sooner?

I managed to get all of my circles prepped for the basket quilt. Now I am working on the leaves. Soon I will be able to start putting this together.

Lori wanted to see some blocks so I did some applique on the basket blocks. Here you go Lori, this shot is for you.

I hope you will be able to get some quilty stuff done this week. I hope to finish the leaves. Then there is that Christmas thing. I made pans and pans of caramel and toffee on Friday and Saturday. Now I need to package and deliver it. Mostly I need to get it out of the house. Have a great week.

Stash Report - Dec. 12, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     133.75 yds.

Fabric out this week:   8 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      142 yds.

Stash busted:   8.25 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

This was a pretty good week. I quilted two quilts for others, finished all 15 of the tiny totes and held my first blog give-away. All totaled that is 8 yards out. I did push a buy button but it hasn't shown up so I won't count it until it does. It was all Hancocks of Paducah's fault with their 20% off sale. A bolt of Kona snow just jumped in my basket. I was down to my last 2 yards and I do need it but it wrecks havoc with my efforts to reduce my stash. Oh well. I don't have to count it yet.

And would you believe that I am working on CIRCLES? Yup, lots of circles. The good thing is there are not as many circles as in my DWR. These go on my basket quilt. My goal is to finish prepping them this week.

This week I will be quilting another quilt or two. Then my quilt group will be exchanging gifts. This day is almost better than Christmas. We know what we love and use and it is so much fun. I'll have to share photos of my bounty. Have a great week.

And the winner is.......

ME! I am the winner because of all the great people I have met in the blogging universe. Thank you one and all for the very nice comments and support.

Now, I have entered all 15 names in a bowl and I would have my dog choose a winner if I had a dog. No cat either. Therefore my DD gets to do the honor. She is very cooperative. I don't have to chase her down the hall and she never barks. Good DD.

The winner of the fat quarter stack is Dortha. Congratulations. Dortha doesn't have a blog but she did leave an email addy.  Thank you all for entering

One Year Blogging Anniversary Give-Away

I picked up this lovely Riley Blake Isabelle fat quarter bundle over a month ago to be my first ever give-away prize. I wanted to celebrate my first year blogging. Now technically that would have been in October but in keeping with my good intentions the drawing will be in December. As Toad the Wet Sprocket sang "It's hard to rely on my good intentions."

I am serving up this bundle that has twenty-four fat quarters. That is six yards for your sewing pleasure. If you would like to see the whole line check it out here. The sign up period will end on Friday, Dec. 10 at 9:00 pm Mountain Standard time when I will be drawing a winner. To enter leave a comment. Just one entry per person. The winner will be chosen by random. Please be sure I will be able to contact you. If you are a no contact blogger please list your email or blog addy.

I hope I have remembered all the specifics. I feel like I should have that guy talking really fast at the end of car commercials but I don't know what I would have him say. Maybe I should add that winning this could harmfully effect your stash reduction efforts. But no, I won't go there. Good luck.

Stash Report - Dec. 5, '10

Fabric in this week:     5.25 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     133.75 yds.

Fabric out this week:   9 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      134 yds.

Stash busted:   .25 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.


Last week I showed the pattern Wild Thing that I bought and the two Bliss charm packs. I was determined to get that top put together before today. As I was looking at the pattern I decided that it was not big enough. If I make a quilt I want it big enough to go on a bed. So I did a little calculating and figured that if I bought two more charm packs I could make 80 blocks and get the quilt up to 80 x 96". Off to my LQS I went and bought the charm packs and the fabric for the borders. That was the 5 1/4 yards that came in. I was able to use most of that plus 3 yds. of an off white background that I had. I started working on the top on Tues. afternoon and finished the last border on Friday afternoon. Let me tell you, this was one easy quilt to put together.

I have been working on my gifts for my quilt group. We will trade gifts on the 15th. I decided to put together the Tiny Totes by Happy Zombie. These little things are seriously cute. I cut out enough for 15 and have sewn up 4 already. I cut up 2 yards of stash for these but I will count it next week when they are all sewn up. One of the reds I used had 1997 printed in the selvage. I think that one had aged enough. (Just want to let you know the red really isn't that bright. It is a deeper more luscious red.)

I need to quilt a charity quilt that is on my machine and then I can put Wild Thing on and get it quilted. The good news is that I am back in the black.....just barely. But I will gladly take that. Woohoo.  To give me an extra boost I am going to have a give away, my very first. I will post it Monday morning and have the drawing on Friday so it will help my stash report. Any suggestions or hints on running a give away will be appreciated.


One of these days I need to get going on my Christmas shopping. That is not nearly as much fun as sewing tiny totes. How is your shopping coming?

Stash Report - Nov. 28, '10

Fabric in this week:     1.25 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     124.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   4.25 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      121 yds.

Stash busted:   -3.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (those in the U.S.) with lots of food, family and fun. Mine was very nice. It was the usual and that is a good thing.

I was able to get most of one pink quilt put together. It still needs the border but I am going to have to purchase yardage for that. It is supposed to hit the stores this week. That was the 4 1/2 yards busted. The pattern is Ashcombe from Miss Rosies Quilt Company.

Saturday I went with DD#1 to a cross-stitch store and we stopped in at a quilt store on the way. I admit it. I was weak. I saw the Wild Thing pattern by Thimble Blossoms and the Bliss charm packs and I was a goner. I bought the pattern and two charm packs. That is my 1 1/4 yards in. This will be a quickie. Maybe I can get it put together this week. I need to figure out what background fabric to use. My Kona Snow is too light and my muslin is too yellow. Oh no! I might have to go to the fabric store. I really want to end the year in the black. If I don't do better I may borrow a page from Vicky and have a give away. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Speaking of being tempted have you seen Charlevoix by Minick and Simpson? Oh my gosh. I want that. The good news is that it won't be available until January.....that means next years stash report. 

I have been quilting on this Christmas quilt for hire. The owner (JB) is making a queen sized Christmas quilt for each of her five children. She is making them from her stash. So many of the fabrics she has used I have in my stash. I feel like I am quilting one of my quilts. I should finish this tomorrow.

One month to go before the end of the year. I need to sew more and buy less. I know, I know, I have said that before. I have found that when I quilt for others I can't sew for me. (duh)  I have decided that when I quilt  for others I have more money for more fabric. Seems like a good idea to me. (VBG) Have a great week.

Stash Report - Nov. 21, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     127.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      120.75 yds.

Stash busted:   -6.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

It snowed last night. Sheesh. You would think it was the end of November. Oh, wait. It is the end of November so I guess I really should not complain. But I think I may whine.

Nothing in, nothing out to count. I was able to get two quilts cut out of the Quite Contrary fat quarter bundle and the pink I bought last week. Then I sewed up a bunch of blocks. Hopefully I will have something that I can count next week.

I thought I would get some sewing done yesterday but I was distracted again. This time by cupcakes. While in Las Vegas I picked up a half dozen cupcakes from Retro Bakery. A couple of flavors I wanted to duplicate. So I made the cupcake from this vanilla recipe.  The frosting is Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the coating from a Martha recipe. The cupcakes on the right are dipped in Butterscotch topping (Retro calls them Hopscotch) and the ones on the left are dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with salted peanuts. (Retro calls them Drumsticks after the ice cream treat). They are both very, very tasty.

One member of my quilt group has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The out look is very good since it was found very early. She will still undergo chemo and radiation to be safe. Our group is making a comfort quilt for her. It is based on the French Roses pattern only we are not doing the raw edges. Here are the three blocks I am appliqueing.

I quilted a queen size quilt for hire last week and I have another one to do next week. My buds are getting their Christmas tops done and need them quilted. This is working out for all involved. Hopefully I will get more sewing done this week. I hope you do to.

Stash Report - Nov. 14, '10

Fabric in this week:     4 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     127.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:   4 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      120.75 yds.

Stash busted:   -6.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

 

I was able to finish quilting the Bricks quilt but I didn't get a picture of it. The back was 4 yards. A friend took it to bind it. That is a really very good friend who will bind a quilt.  I bought 4 yards of a plain pink to go with one of the fat quarter bundles I bought the week before. Now I can get sewing on that project.

Near the first of the week I quilted six table runners for hire. They are a Christmas gift for her children. Here is a picture of three. I think they turned out very nice. I didn't get a close up picture.

Most sewing came to a screaching halt because on Thursday I went to Las Vegas for a family reunion of my siblings and parents. I have a brother who lives there and we all descended. One sister was unable to get off work so there are five sibs plus spouses and parents. Being a non-drinking, non-gambling group we saw a lot of sights and the Cirque du Soleil Love show which featured the Beatles music. For being a recession there sure were a lot of people in Las Vegas. This is a picture of just some of us.

 

I go home tomorrow and I have a quilt for hire that I need to get done. I don't know how much of my own sewing I will get done this coming week. Hope you have a great week sewing up your stash.

Stash Report - Nov. 7, '10

Fabric in this week:     26 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     123.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:   5.5 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      116.75 yds.

Stash busted:   -6.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I guess you could say I was side tracked this week. First from sewing and second from not buying fabric.

The first distraction was Indulgence in Death. It came out on Tuesday and not much of anything got done for a couple of days. I love this series. 

The second happened when I purchased two fat quarter bundles. Luckily they have only 20 and 24 fat quarters. I need to make three similar quilts that measure about 60 x 80. When I saw these collections I grabbed them. They are both from Riley Blake and are Quite Contrary  (L) and Isabella (R). Then I picked up a bolt of green flannel for the backings. All total that was 26 yards. I am thinking of using Miss Rosies Ashcombe pattern.

On Thursday a plea went out for twin quilts from a local humanitarian center. Since I was feeling a little bad about being in the red I pulled out stash and quickly cut out a Bricks quilt and started sewing the blocks together. The blocks are all finished and now on my design board. I will get it put together and then quilted this week. The backing is sewn up but I won't count that until next week.

I hope you have a great week sewing up your stash.

Stash Report - Oct. 31, '10

Happy Halloween. Or should that be Spooky Halloween to all. I survived the trick or treaters last night. I really hate that. Glad that is over with. Now on with the stash report:

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     97.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      111.25 yds.

Stash busted:   14 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

 Nothing new to report. Nothing in, nothing out. I did finish my Double Wedding Ring but I counted all of that last week. I was looking at my quilting journal and I quilted six quilts in Oct. One for me, two for hire, and three charity quilts. No wonder I haven't been doing much sewing.

My goal this week is to get the applique done on the basket blocks. The rest of the quilt is waiting for that to get done. I can't work on the border until I get the center put together. I glued all the stems down so that is ready to go. 

I hope you have a productive week sewing up your marvelous stash.

Double Wedding Ring is finished!

Finally and at last the DWR is finished. Yea! This puppy took a long while to applique, to piece and then to quilt. Well over six months, but that was working on it off and on.

The quilting took over 20 hours which is a lot for me. One of the reasons I got a longarm was I did not want to relinquish that part of the design and completion process. I wanted to be able to say I did it all myself. Because I quilted this myself I was able to do what would be a very expensive quilting job. This would be considered custom.

Lots and lots of stitch in the ditch. Going around all those 2,000 + circles was tedious to say the least but my ipod kept me entertained. I figure it would have cost me over $500. just for the quilting if I had hired it out. I keep reminding DH what a good deal I am. LOL.

For the Charming Girls Club my Sept. goal was to get the top pieced (which I did) and my Oct. goal was to get it quilted (which I did). Overall a pretty good two months.

I was inspired by the book Link to the 30's. I used the cutting templates by Shar Jorgenson which are now produced by Omnigrid. They really made the cutting go faster. The background fabric is Kona cotton, color is snow and the pink is Kona cotton color carnation. The batt is Hobbs Heirloom 80/20.

Oh so good to finish a project. Now onto the basket quilt. I wonder if I can get it done by the end of the year. That would be an interesting goal.

Stash Report - Oct. 24, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     97.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:   8.25 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      111.25 yds.

Stash busted:   14 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I didn't report last week but there really was nothing to report. Nothing in, nothing out. But after two weeks of quilting like a demon I can finally count the DWR backing. Yesterday I put the binding on and started sewing it down. One side down, three to go.  So 8 1/4 yards busted.

Here is a teaser. I absolutely LOVE the backing I bought for this quilt. To see the front side stay tuned. I will post pictures after the binding is finished and I dunk it and block it. Woo hoo. The double wedding ring is almost finished.

I have done some other sewing.  DD #1 does fantastic cross stitching. She did the cross stitching and then told me how she wanted the pillow constructed. But let me tell you, 1/2" seam allowances are so foreign. I think her pillow turned out to be pretty cute.

Hope you have a fantastic week sewing up your stash.

Stash Report - 10-10-10

I just had to write that date somewhere. Did you do it too?

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.

Fabric in YTD:     97.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:     0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      103 yds.

Stash busted:   5.75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I did a lot of sewing and quilting this week. I quilted two twin sized charity quilts and I am 2/3s through a queen size customer quilt. When that quilt comes off I am going to put my DWR on the frame. This week I sewed the backing up but I won't count it until the quilt is quilted.

I also spent a lot of time making bias vines. Lots and lots of bias vines. Some 3/8", some 1/4" and a lot of 1/8". Would you believe that there is over 20 yards of the little vine in this picture? It took awhile but it wasn't too painful since I used  bias bars. That worked pretty slick. I won't count it until it is sewn down. So I will get to count stuff in the future but not today.

Does your ironing board look as bad as mine? I do not feel bad about it. It is just a fact of life as a quilter. If I had a wonderful one it would soon look just like this one does now. So I just don't worry about it.

Hope you have a great week sewing your wonderful, marvelous stash.

Stash Report - Oct. 3, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     97.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:     0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      103 yds.

Stash busted:   5.75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I can not believe it is October already and Christmas is less than three months away. Where did the time go? This last week was a great one but it went by too fast. I was at my semi-annual quilt retreat. Lots of sewing was accomplished but nothing finished. I made all 35 of the connector blocks and all 24 basket tops. Now I need to do some applique before I can finish sewing the basket blocks. This will involve some 1/8" vines and circles. More circles, but this time there are a lot less than the DWR. I also sewed up 8 string blocks. I have a box with left over strips and I want to get those used up. All in all it was a great retreat.

Yesterday I decided I wanted to make caramel apples, with the caramel made from scratch. I don't think I will ever do that again. But maybe I will forget how long it took to cook the caramel and the feeling of fall will overtake me again. Who knows. Anyway that are absolutely delicious. I got the recipe from Pots and Pins. I have got to stay away from there. First Pink Lemonade cupcakes, now Caramel Apples. Sheesh. The white stuff is white chocolate drizzled over them. So very Martha-ish. LOL.

Stash Report - Sept. 26, '10

Fabric in this week:     .75 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     97.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:     14 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      103 yds.

Stash busted:   5.75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

No change from last week. I did get my basket quilt all cut out but that was it because I was hiking with my two daughters and DH in Southern Utah. So instead of sewing a lot of this went on:

Natural Bridges National Monument

Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park

And then some of this went on:

I really don't cook a lot but these have grabbed me. I will have more to say about these later.

This week I should get more sewing done because it is FALL RETREAT TIME! Tomorrow I start 4 days of sewing bliss. Back to the Sundance lodge. I know, it is tough but someone has to do it.

I hope you have as great a week as I know I will have.

Stash Report - Sept. 19, '10

Fabric in this week:     .75 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     97.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:     14 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      103 yds.

Stash busted:   5.75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

Arg....how are ye doin' me maties? You do know it is talk like a pirate day, don't you? But since that is the extent of my pirate vocabulary I shall leave it at that.

This week I finished my DWR. You can read about it here. So I am able to report 14 yards busted. I am in the black again. When I sew up the backing and get it quilted that will be another bunch of yardage. I have used over 100 yards so far but I have almost purchased that much too. I guess the good thing is my stash is not growing. 

I have started cutting out my basket quilt and discovered that I needed three more fat quarters. I purchased those on Saturday. I was looking at my spreadsheet and discovered that it is exactly two months since I last purchased fabric. Pretty darned good.

Not much sewing will be happening this coming week. I am off to hike the red rocks around Moab, UT. We will be in Arches, Canyonlands and Natural Bridges National Parks. Hope to have some pictures next week. 

Have a great week busting that stash......maties.

Double Wedding Ring is a top!

Let the celebration begin. The Double Wedding Ring is now a top. Woo Hoo! I finished it this afternoon. Happy Dance, HAPPY DANCE!!!! You can't tell I am excited, can you. It has been a long haul. I believe I started doing some work on it in March. I have doggedly plodded along when it seemed the end was nowhere in sight. 2,094 circles, 288 petals and lots and lots of pieces later, it has all come together.

I had quite a time wrestling with it as I had to sew the rows together and then applique the pink circle in the middle of the corner joints. I kept reminding myself that I did not have to do it fast, just that I had to do it. There's that plodding along again. One trick that made it easier was to lower and place my ironing board to the immediate left of my sewing machine. Having a cloth top it kept the quilt top from sliding off and I didn't have to chase it all over the place.

Here is a teaser photo of the top. I want to get it quilted before I show it all spread out in its glory. My goal is to quilt it in October. I have quilts I need to quilt before this goes on the machine.

Oh, I am so happy because now I will get to count 14 yards out and I will be in the black again. Happy day.

Stash Report - Sept. 12, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:     0  yds.
Fabric out YTD:      89 yds.

Stash busted:   -7.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

 

Nothing in, nothing out. I did get all of the blocks sewn together into rows on the DWR so there was some progress there. I also cut out some blocks on my basket quilt.

Remember my inquiry about this fabulous Halloween quilt? Yesterday while at the LQS that had held the garden party I was able to talk to the owner and ask her what she had found out about that quilt. It seems the quilt was a product of a round robin. So there is no pattern. I just may have to do my own R&D on it. You know, rip off and duplicate.

While browsing the store I saw a booklet for this quilt by Blackbird designs titled Halloween 1904.

 

I was sorely tempted, especially since all the Halloween fabrics were on sale. I finally told myself to put the book down, step away, and no one would get hurt. What really stopped me was knowing I would have to report my fabric purchase and knowing I have several quilts that need to be finished first. This really helps to keep me focused. 

I hope you have a great week keeping focused on using your stash.

Stash Report - Sept. 5, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:     0  yds.
Fabric out YTD:      89 yds.

Stash busted:   -7.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

 

No changes on my stash report. I did a lot of ticky sewing this week but nothing to report. (I don't count it until the top is finished....keeps me motivated.) I was looking at my spreadsheet that tracks my fabric acquisition and fabric usage and found that for the month of August I did not purchase any fabric. That is a first for me, going a whole month. Woohoo.

 I put the blocks together for six out of the nine rows on my DWR. That is 2/3's done. I also managed to get two rows sewn together. This design is nothing but inset seams. I find I long to sew one very long seam, or to chain sew lots of little pieces together but that is not to be. Actually the sewing is not hard, just tedious.

Here is a shot of where I am. The top row is row #6 which is sewn together the bottom row is #7 all laid out ready to be done. I hope to finish the rows this week and get more rows sewn together. Then there is more circle applique that needs to be done. Dang, I am getting close on this one.

 

 

Have a great week and hopefully it will include sewing up your stash.

Stash Report - August 29, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:     0  yds.

Fabric out YTD:      89 yds.

Stash busted:   -7.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

Lots of sewing this week but not much to count. I finished quilting my mini schnibble and helped my DD bind her Christmas quilt. Then did you hear the shouting for joy? The cheering? The happy yelling? I finished sewing all the melons! 161 melons all done. Woohoo. 

Now to move on to sewing the quilt top together. I am trying to decide if I want to put it all up on the design board or just put them together as I grab them. I am such a control freak when it comes to quilts so I probably will  do the design board.

How was your week? I hope that you have a terrific week.

Playing With Fire.....

Playing with Fire and Really, REALLY Hoping I Don't Get Burned. How is that for the name of a quilt? The name is bigger than the little quilt.

One of my goals for the Charming Girls Quilt Club was to make the August Schnibble quilt for the Year of Schnibbles. I waited with anticipation to see what would be selected. There were two patterns to choose between. I decided that I would do the Plan C. I dithered for a couple of weeks on what fabric to use. I really wanted to use the scraps from the fabric that I had purchased for this quilt. But the problem was I hadn't cut it out yet. I really didn't have any scraps. Hummmmm.

I finally decided that I would reduce the pattern to 1" finished squares. That way I could use the fabric, but not much of it. Thus the part Playing With Fire. Since I really don't want to get burned I opted not to do the pieced border. I am pretty sure I can get my other quilt cut out of what is left. I will hold my breath and my tongue just right while cutting out the other quilt. That should help.

I love the fresh colors of how it turned out. Now I can hardly wait to do the other quilt. At one time I participated in an online doll quilt swap. I felt bad every time I sent off one of my creations. I am so happy I get to keep this charmer. It is 20" square. Maybe I will make all my Schnibbles in a reduced form. I also don't know if it will qualify for the schnibbles on parade. I will have to ask.

Stash Report - August 22, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:     2.5  yds.

Fabric out YTD:      89 yds.

Stash busted:   -7.5 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I finished appliqueing all of the petals for the DWR and that fabric equaled 1.5 yds. I also got my August schnibble put together but not quilted.  That took 1 yard so I was able to blow out 2.5 yds. I am moving in the right direction. I also managed to put together another 40 melons so I have 120 out of 160. Inching closer to laying it all out. Woohoo.

Yesterday the owner of a LQS held an annual garden party at her house. She invited her customers to share quilts. She hung quilts all around her house. It was a very fun event. The yellow quilt by the front door is mine.

Quilts are hung on the fence and over the deck railing. The 30's quilt on the left in the second picture is mine.

I fell in love with this quilt. I did some searching on the internet and could not find a pattern for this. Maybe it came from a book. Does anyone know what the name of this is and where it might be found?

I hope you all have a great week busting your stash.

Stash Report - August 15, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:     0  yds.

Fabric out YTD:      86.5 yds.

Stash busted:   -10 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

 

I didn't do a report last week but the stats are still the same. I had nothing new to report or claim. The same is true for this week. There was a wedding for my nephew yesterday and I have my parents visiting so not much quilting has gone on. I can happily say that I have 80 melons sewn which is half of what I need. Slowly but surely that DWR is getting put together.

Since I hate posts with out a picture, here is a small Broken Dishes quilt I made a very long time ago....at least 15 if not 20 years. I was trying to make a new quilt that looked old. I overdyed it with tea after it was all quilted. 

Have a great week bustin' that stash.

Stash Report - August 1, '10

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:     .5  yds.

Fabric out YTD:      86.5 yds.

Stash busted:   -10 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing check out Judy's blog.

I busted a mere half of a yard and had to work hard to get that much. I finished quilting my Spring Beauty and you can see it here.

I was looking at my numbers from last year. I did much better last year. I only bought 100 yds for the whole year. This year I am already at 96.5 for just 7 months. OK. I am going to sew more and buy less. Hummmm. That sounds suspiciously like exercise more and eat less. We all know how effective that is.

I do have 40 melons put together for my DWR and all the petals starched and ironed. I will do some petal applique this week. 

I hope you have a terrific week sewing up your stash.  

Spring Beauty Finished

My first finish for one of my goals in the Charming Girls Quilt Club. Yea! This quilt top has been sitting on a shelf for around three years and with its completion I have an announcement. This is big. I mean this is really, really big. So I announce that I have no more, zip, zilch, zero, nada, quilt tops to quilt. I am all caught up. How about that? Happy dance going on here. Now I didn't say I have no UFOs (actually only two of those) just no quilt tops.

Before I show pictures of the quilt I want to ask, have you ever done something really stupid and then when you realized what you had done you just want to smack yourself up the side of the head and ask what the H*** you were thinking? (When I was a kid my mom used to ask me that a lot.) I had one of those moments with this quilt.

I have been making a lot of scrappy 30's quilts lately and have been cutting up my stash. As I was cutting out circles and petals for my DWR I had this piece of blue fabric that was larger than my usual fat quarters. I began to wonder where it came from. It finally dawned on me, after cutting up a significant amount that it was the binding for my Spring Beauty. Doh! So when it came time to bind this quilt I had to piece bits and pieces together to get enough for the binding. It worked and I eeked out enough. Whew.

The Spring Beauty pattern is from The Rabbit Factory. It is a pseudo pineapple pattern. You sew a frame around the center square with background fabric then you put squares on the coners, sew through the diagonal, cut off the excess, flip and ta da you have a triangle. Repeat that whole series and you have a block that looks like a pineapple block. I did make it bigger than the pattern. I seem to do that a lot.

I think this set around so long because I couldn't decide how how quilt it and I wasn't sure my skills were up to the challenge. I finally asked my self what the worst would be if I messed up the quilting. I figured that I wouldn't take the quilt to quilt guild for show and tell. I decided I could live with that.

I did free motion quilting on this quilt. It was a lot of fun.