Stash Report - March 28, '10

Fabric in this week:      0 yds.
Fabric in YTD:     23.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:  9.5 yds.

Fabric out YTD:      26.75 yds.

Stash busted:   3.5 yds.


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


Well after a wonderful four days of quilt retreating and lots and lots of sewing I am back in the black. I was able to finish 25 star blocks and 36 snails trail blocks for the Shakespeare in the Park. They can be seen laid out on the floor here. The blocks are not sewn together yet. I have a bunch of smaller star blocks to cut and sew up for the border. Since the large blocks are done I decided to count them since I couldn't stand being in the red. I calculated what was sewn and it is 9 1/2 yards. Yeah me! My goal is to sew the smaller stars this coming week and that will yield even more yardage busted.

Since I can't have a post without a quilt picture, here is a quilt I quilted for a friend. The fabrics are of cowgirls and she wanted a boots and hats panto. I think it turned out pretty well.

Have a great week of sewing and fondling your stash.

Spring Quilt Retreat

I just spent the last four days at a quilt retreat. My quilt group goes in the spring and in the fall. It is a mountain lodge of one of the members of our group. We take turns cooking and usually only have one meal to do. The cost of that meal is the only expense involved. We are truly lucky to have this resource.

We set up tables in the game room. It has fantastic windows that let the light in. Here is my work space.

And here is the view from my seat at said work space. Can you see the mountain behind the tree?

We also take advantage of the ping pong table and the pool table. See my work space between the windows?

The kitchen is large and the center counter is our cutting center.

The bedrooms are roomy. This was mine.

If we needed inspiration there are several quilts on the walls in the large great room.

Our meals were eaten in the dining room which offered beautiful scenery.

I was able to finish all of the large blocks for Shakespeare in the park. Here I am holding some of them.

Here are the blocks laid out. I still have 48 five inch blocks to do for the border. I didn't get much sewn on the double wedding ring but that is OK.

Our numbers varied depending on the day. Since it is only 15 miles from home it is very convenient. We sewed, we talked, we laughed, we ate very good food. All in all it was a very wonderful time. I get to do this again in October. I can't wait.

Stash Report - March 21, '10

Fabric in this week: 6.75 yds.
Fabric in YTD: 23.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:  0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 17.25 yds.

Stash busted:   -6 yds.

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

I purchased fabric this week and I don't feel bad in the least. I do feel a little bothered that my output is in the red, but I figure between last week and this week I have cut up over 20+ yards of fabric. I just don't count it until it is sewn up. So it is only a matter of time before I will be in the black again.

The fabric I bought is needed for my Double Wedding Ring. I have cut up about half of it already. I used to have a large collection of 30's fabric but since I have recently made three quilts using the 30's stuff I am down to the bottom of the barrel so to speak. So I picked up a bunch of 1/4 yard pieces. I was able to cash in two $20 punch cards so that all I paid was $15. Not bad.

 I finished cutting out the DWR. I also was able to get a test block and arc put together. Notice all the dots? Six dots per arc....with 322 arcs plus the center circle. Well that all adds up to over 2,000 circles. Yup, you heard (read) right. The scary thought is that I was able to cut 6 to 8 circles at a time but I will have to prep and sew each circle one at a time. Eye-yi-yi! Can you say circle overload? I have the circles packaged to about 500 per baggie.

Yesterday we went and visited my DMIL and I took my machine along and sewed gathering stitches around a bunch of those circles while we were there. That is how I spent National Quilting Day. Not too exciting but I did make use of time that is usually spent sitting on the couch. Did you do anything for NQD?

 On Monday I head out to Sundance for my quilt retreat. I am so looking forward to this. I hope to remember to take pictures and post if possible. Four days of total quilting with two quilts all cut out and ready to go. Sounds like heaven.

I hope you have a great week with plenty of stash busting going on.

Stash Report - March 14, '10

Fabric in this week: 0 yds.
Fabric in YTD: 16.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:  - 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 17.25 yds.

Stash busted:   .75 yds.

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

Do you hate making the change to daylight savings time as much as I do? I wish they would pick one and just stay there. Maybe Arizona is on to something.

I finished quilting this Hearth and Home quilt for a friend. I think if I really wanted to go into business I could be quite busy just doing my friends quilts.

I spent most of my time cutting out fabric. I won't count it until I get the top sewn together. I was able to get everything cut out for Shakespeare in the Park plus get the second trial block put together. I can't believe how long it takes to cut out a scrappy quilt. I finished up a lot of bits and pieces. Some fabric I was sad to see used up but I guess that is the point....sew it up so I can enjoy it in a quilt.

I also cut out lots and lots of arcs for the pink Double Wedding Ring. It calls for 322. That is a lot of arcs. I also need to prep a lot of applique for that quilt. One more week until my quilt retreat.

Here's wishing us all a great week with lots of sewing and stash busting.

Stash Report - March 7, '10

Fabric in this week: 0 yds.

Fabric in YTD: 16.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:  - yds.

Fabric out YTD: 17.25 yds.

Stash busted:   .75 yds.

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

I have been quilting a lot this week. I finished another stacked coins charity quilt....no picture. I am currently working on a quilt for a friend. I should have it finished up this week.

On the piecing front I am working on getting two quilts ready. In a couple of weeks I am going on a quilt retreat with my Wednesday quilt group. We go on retreat about two times per year and have a great time. I find I spend more time getting my projects ready than I do getting clothes or food together.

I am going to make a Shakespeare in the Park quilt which comes from the same book as the Grandmothers Diamond Ring quilt. I have pulled the fabric.....or rather all of my purples and greens. I really like the color combination but have never worked with it. The pattern calls for 12" blocks but I don't like the unbalanced look the quilt has so I am going to up the number of blocks and decrease the size of the blocks to 10". I have made one block to test my calculations. I need to make the second block, the Snails Trail because I really changed some cutting methods. So here is where I am.

I hope you all have a great week of communing with your stash. I know I will.
Penny