Quilt2sr5

No Ducks Allowed

2011-08-30T07:51:00.000-06:00

I am sorry that I haven't been blogging. For the past two weeks I have been battling vertigo. Talk about the world spinning by. The first week I was in bed and then later I was able to move to the recliner. After ten days of no quilting I was willing to put up with anything to get my quilt fix.

A local quilt shop has a mystery quilt club that is similar to a block of the month program only we don't know what the finished quilt will look like. It has a theme and it runs from July through June of the next year. This past years theme was 30's prints. This is very successful for the shop because they have over 500 people sign up. Many techniques are used to build skills and introduce new notions.

I liked all that was done except for one large red work embroidery block that was a duck. I hated the embroidery and I hated that duck. I came to think of the project as that Dumb Duck quilt.

Later when three small red work blocks were assigned I chose to applique the blocks instead of embroider them. When the final quilt was shown I decided that I was going to do something else. Here is the shops version.

First of all the duck had to go. With some graph paper I figured out a new layout. It used less blocks but it needed some fillers here and there. I finished the top and then I found that I could quilt on my large machine without much dizziness.

My head stays still while my arms move. So the top is quilted and bound. I call it No Ducks Allowed. Another bonus is that it is different from the other 500 plus quilts out there.

I didn't count the fabric that came in because it went right back out but I did use 4 1/2 yds for the backing and binding.

I am slowly getting better. I notice more on a week to week basis other than day by day. Thank goodness I can quilt.

Blast from the Past

2011-08-05T09:53:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been going through my old stored stuff to make room for my daughter to move back home. The economic downturn is hitting here too. Combining two households is forcing me to go through boxes of stuff that have been around for way too long.

One of the boxes I found had quilting items from when I started quilting almost 30 years ago. At that time we did not have rotary cutters and rulers. There were very few books and copiers were expensive and not too reliable. As I was sorting I came across about 30+ envelopes that I had made up templates for blocks from cereal boxes.

On some of the envelopes I had drawn the block and listed the block size.

There were a couple that were applique blocks.

I must admit that I am so glad to have rotary cutters and rulers that are so accurate and easy to use.

Know what I did with these antiques? They all went into the round file. No need for them now.

The Last in Line?

2011-08-05T09:36:00.001-06:00

I think I must be the last one on earth to try the cute butterflies that have been flying around for about a year now. In June I went on a formal shop hop and for driving 312 miles (round trip) and visiting 13 shops I was awarded a small charm pack of Cherry Fizz. I had 22 or 23 squares. In considering what to do with it I remembered this great tutorial by Mrs. Schmenkman for charm squares of 5".

I chose the best 20 and used some light pink solid leftover from Ashcroft #1 and 2. Here are the 20 blocks sewn together. It was a donation small quilt for our quilt guild to auction off. A good friend ended up with it so I know it will have a good home. Here it is quilted. Too bad you can't see the little butterflies quilted into the border.

I am considering doing a large quilt with my brights and a black solid. We shall see.

Meandering Feathers

2011-07-31T06:52:00.000-06:00

For a long while I have wanted to quilt meandering feathers all over a quilt. I have practiced some by drawing on paper but I wasn't quite sure if I could pull it off. The other day I had a quilt for hire that seemed perfect to try it out on. It was a Disappearing Nine-Patch.

It was really a lot of fun to do. Some feathers went a little wonky but with thousands that look OK they are a little hard to pick out.

All in all I think it was a success. I can hardly wait to do it again.

Mountain Top is finished

2011-07-30T19:51:00.000-06:00

I quilted the Mountain Top top and now it is a quilt. I decided since it was a very traditional style quilt with lots of right angles going on it needed some softening. That calls for the Baptist Fans.

I think the fan quilting lends a good contrast to the piecing.

I finished this just in time for the cool weather. Oh! Wait! It is July and there is no cool weather. I guess I will have to wait till Nov before I use this. Well I am just keeping ahead of the game.

Bonus: Six yards of backing out the door.

Quilt Retreat - Summer '11

2011-07-30T19:39:00.000-06:00

Last week me and my quilt buds took off for the mountains. It is the same place we went last year. The best part is it is only 30 min. away. We spent 3 days in the cool mountain air. We decided to keep the food simple: cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and a cooked meal for dinner. We split up responsibilities for the food so it was sooooo easy.

I spent my time working on one hexagon Halloween quilt. I was able to get that one put together.

For a change of pace I put together another Halloween quilt using the Wild Thing pattern and two charm packs. Boy did I ever have fun. That went together very fast.

Since I have another hexagon Halloween quilt to do I started sewing the strips together. All in all I feel I accomplished a lot of sewing. Not to mention a lot of visiting, laughing and sharing. Oh happy days.

Mountain Top top

2011-07-03T12:16:00.000-06:00

Several months ago I mentioned making a quilt that required 720 half-square triangles. I am happy to report that the top is together. This top is from a pattern called Mountain Top. It is from Laundry Basket Quilts. I learned several important points from this quilt.

1. When making lots and lots of HSTs it is a good idea to use the paper guides, such as Triangles on a Roll, or Thangles. I did my own with Electric Quilt and it worked out very well.

Each square was spot on.

2. When each square is equal the piecing goes together so nice. I was able to nail almost every intersection. I couldn't believe how close each joint was.

3. I learned to pay attention when cutting out. Cut the long large pieces first. I cut out the long borders first but then cut all of the short sashing pieces. When I was done with that I realized I had forgotten to cut out the sashing that runs horizontal. Doh! I was thinking about piecing bits together when I figured that if I put cornerstones in the sashing I wouldn't need long pieces. Yes! The original pattern did not have cornerstones in the sashing but mine does. I think I like it better.

This is a scrappy quilt. Everything but the neutral (borders and sashing) came from my stash. I get to count 10 1/2 yards used. Gotta love it.

I Heart This Quilt

2011-06-27T07:15:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been doing more quilting than piecing. Most of the quilts are for others. I have quilted up a lot of charity quilts. With all the disasters in the world they are especially needed. One of the quilts I quilted for hire was for a friend. I really do like this quilt. This is the second one she has made. The first one ended up with her daughter. Ah, the things we do for love.

I love the fabric she used. As I quilted along I would spot fabrics that are in my stash too.

The more I quilted the more I fell in love with this pattern. It is from the Jan./Feb. 2001 issue of Fons and Porter's For the Love of Quilting magazine. The pattern is named Turning Circles into Stars. I have saved the pattern myself but have never got around to making it. I just might have to put this on my to do list.

I quilted spirals in the circles and curling C's in the background. Around the stars I did stitch in the ditch.

Yup, I heart this quilt.

Is it Christmas Yet?

2011-06-27T06:51:00.000-06:00

My daughter asked me if I was ever going to blog again. She kept checking here to see what I had been up to and kept seeing the same old entry. I really don't have any valid excuses as to why I have been AWOL. My life is no busier than usual, no big events taking my time, no crisis. Quite possible it is sheer laziness. I have often composed some blog entries in my head but I never took the time to type them in. So I hereby repent of my non-bloginess (like that word?) and will try to give her and you something to read.

I finished quilting my Christmas tree quilt near the end of May. So I am either really early or really late but since I didn't start it until April I like to think I am really early. I think this is a first.

This design is my own, sort of. I was inspired by several quilts I have seen here and there, especially the border applique. That I saw on a Piece 'O Cake quilt many years ago. I liked the border but not the center. The tree shape came from my Electric Quilt block library. I used Misty Fuse for the fusible applique and King Tut thread for the button-hole stitching around all the applique.

I quilted small loops around the lights to echo the twisting and turning of the string of lights.

I wanted a feeling of motion around the trees so I did what is called McTavishing in the longarm world. It is my first stab at that. I learned a lot and improved as I quilted along. I don't think I ruined it.

On the trees I used a variegated King Tut thread to quilt small loops to look like strings of lights.

The backing I bought (at 50% off) is absolutely perfect. It makes me smile when I look at it.

Now I just need to wait until Christmas so I can hang it in my front entry hall. The way time has been flying by that will be all too soon.

Week 20 Stash Report - 2011

2011-05-15T07:29:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     4.75 yd. (Last two weeks, actually)
Fabric in YTD:         36.75 yds.

Fabric out this week:   11 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         96.75 yds.

Stash busted:    60 yds.

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

I was able to finish the top of my Christmas Tree quilt. That makes up the 11 yards used. Here is a picture.
I have some fun quilting planned for this top.

Looking at the picture I just realized that I need to sew on the last border which is a narrow candy cane strip that is like the sashing. Doh. Not quite finished yet.

I have been sewing up the half-square triangles for my scrappy quilt. I have all 720 HST made. Part of the fabric I bought this week will be the sashing and borders for this quilt. I will start putting the blocks together this week but I don't know how far I will get. I have two quilts that I must quilt this week then I get to put one of my own on. It looks like more quilting than piecing this week.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 18 Stash Report - 2011

2011-05-01T06:47:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         32 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         85.75 yds.

Stash busted:    53.75 yds.

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

I did a whole lot of quilting this week. One queen size quilt for hire plus 2 twin charity quilts. No pictures to share. Then I did a lot of sewing. I sewed my jelly rolls into strip sets and cut the strips into wedges for one quilt. Here are a few hexagons that are sewn up. I am having fun with this. I won't count the fabric as used until I have the top put together.

I found a pattern that I want to make from my stash that requires 720 half-square triangles. To make sure they are uniform I want to use the foundation paper. I checked my collection of Thangles and did not have the right size. I checked my collection of Triangles on a Roll and did not have the right size. I suppose I could go buy some but I got to thinking. Why couldn't I use EQ7 and draw up what I need as a block and then just print it out. It only has the cutting lines and I used my 1/4" foot as the guide.

I really like doing triangles this way. They are so stable especially when you press them before you remove the paper. I tried a sample and it worked! Yes. I think I will do a sheet or two of triangles every day and just stockpile them until I have enough. Sounds like a plan to me. (12 down, 708 to go)

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 17 Stash Report - 2011

2011-04-24T08:21:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     3.5 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         32 yds.

Fabric out this week:   9.25 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         85.75 yds.

Stash busted:    53.75 yds.

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

After slacking for a couple a weeks I am reporting again. I bought some yardage to go with my Halloween quilts. I was excited because it was 50% off. I have already got it cut up and ready to sew but I am not counting it yet.

I cut out and sewed up the center of my Christmas Trees quilt. Now I need to work on the applique border but I am not counting it yet.

I did manage to finish up the last of the Ashcombe quilts. That I am counting which is the fabric used. That puts me at half way to my goal off 100 yards busted this year. So far so good.

In case you are interested I did post some pictures of my Easter basket quilt. Speaking of Easter I hope you have a wonderful day. Family is coming here for dinner. It will be lovely.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

All Ashcombes finished

2011-04-18T13:05:00.000-06:00

FOUR, count them, four Ashcombe quilts are finished. I am also finished with that pattern. It was a great one for simplicity and it was easy to sew up but making four of the same pattern did get a little monotonous. I don't plan on doing that (repetitive quilts) again soon. Oh wait! I have already started working on two quilts (Christmas gifts) that are the same. Doh! I really don't learn very fast.

Two are made with Riley Blake's Quite Contrary (the pink and green) and the other two with Riley Blake's Sweet Divinity (the pink and blue). I think I like the pink and green the most. I find that interesting because when viewing the fat quarter bundles I was sure that the pink and blue would be my favorite. Not so.

I was able to blow a bunch of stash out the door with this completion. I need to get caught up with my stash report. I haven't been buying but I have been lazy and not reporting. The numbers are even great. Maybe next week.

Now onto my Christmas tree quilt. This should be a pretty easy one. Thanks for dropping by.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Easter Basket Quilt finished

2011-04-13T06:37:00.000-06:00

I finished my basket quilt about 10 days ago but I was finally able to get some pictures. It seemed like when the sun was shinning I was not home and when I was home it was snowing. We have had a very wet spring. So without further ado here are some pictures of my basket quilt.

A friend said this quilt looked like Easter baskets since the color palette is pastels. I didn't set out to do that but I think she is right. I now think of it as my Easter basket quilt. It is currently hanging in my front hall to help celebrate the season.

I learned how to do the scalloped border which was a challenge rounding the corners and getting that to line up.

I used the bias bars to do all of the vines. They go from an 1/8" vine up to a 1/2" vine. The pattern called for yo-yos but I didn't want the texture they add so I just did circles. I think there are about 200 circles.

I did a leaf and loop background fill around the border applique. I wanted a more open fill. I really like how it turned out.

On the basket blocks I did stitch in the ditch around all the pieces then did some line dancing in the basket body.

For the chain blocks I quilted some arcs then did some fill in the arcs of leaves and c-curls.

I did machine applique and machine quilting of this quilt. It finishes at around 70" x 90". I used Hobbs 80/20 bleached batt so I wouldn't get background shading.

Check out the back. Isn't this print wonderful? It has miniature pastel quilts printed on it. I really love it. I got it on sale at 75% off. Hard to beat that.

It feels good to finish a project. And can you tell where I had to use a different green for the vines? I didn't think so.

Week 14 Stash Report - 2011

2011-04-03T07:35:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     3 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         28.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   9 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         76.5 yds.

Stash busted:   48 yds.

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

The fabric I ordered for the Tumbling Triangles came in (3 yds.) and I put the borders on (2.5 yds.). The half yard remaining is for the binding. Then I put the basket quilt on the machine and quilted it up and got it bound. It is all finished (6.5 yds.) but I don't have a picture of it. I hang my quilt off the back deck but this morning when I got up we had 3" of snow. For Pete's sake, it was 72 degrees yesterday! Crazy. I believe it will melt fast and I hope to take pictures later today. Check back for pictures of a very pretty quilt.

I don't know how much quilting I will get done this coming week. On Friday morning my sweet mother-in-law passed away. She certainly fooled us all. She was 91 and very happy to move on. Her brother-in-law passed away last Sunday and she knew they were going to be partying in heaven and she didn't want to miss it. Now it is an even bigger party. Lots of family stuff will be going on this week but not much quilting.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 13 Stash Report - 2011

2011-03-27T06:51:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         25.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   6.75 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         67.5 yds.

Stash busted:   42 yds.

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

It was another good week. I was able to meet my goals, sort of. Let me show you.

First I was able to get the two charity quilts quilted. Again, I don't piece them, I just quilt them.

Then I got the Tumbling Triangles top mostly put together. When I went to buy the border fabric I couldn't find any in town so I sent off an order. It was shipped on Friday but it is not here yet. Therefore I am not counting it yet. When it shows up I will hurry and sew the borders on and that fabric will go out. The wind kept blowing so I couldn't get a decent picture. The top really isn't this wonky.

I am putting the backing together for the basket quilt and I hope to get it on the machine this week and quilted. That is my goal. If I get it done that will be more stash out the door. Woohoo.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 12 Stash Report - 2011

2011-03-20T06:58:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     1 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         25.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   9.25 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         60.75 yds.

Stash busted:   35.25 yds.

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

This week was a very productive week. I returned home late Monday and got my life in order on Tuesday and then had two wonderful uninterrupted days of intense sewing. Let me show you what I accomplished.

First I finished all of the B blocks for Ashcombe #3, got the top put together and quilted. I bought a yard of fabric to bind this quilt and the next (and final) one. The fabric is Riley Blake's Sweet Divinity.

Then I quilted two charity quilts. I don't piece them, I only quilt them. I have two more that I need to quilt next week then I hope to get one of my tops on the machine.

Finally I sewed up the strips from two jelly rolls (Dilly Dally) and cut them into wedges for my next hexagon quilt, Tumbling Triangles from the Sizzling Sixties book.

I also sewed up a couple of hexagons to get a sneak peak.

I love it when I get to stay home and sew. My goal is to get the Tumbling Triangles top together by next week. I still need to get the border fabric for that top. That means some in but it should go right back out.

I must admit I was mightly tempted this week. Green Fairy had a quilt kit on sale that almost had me pushing a button but I reviewed my list of quilt goals for the year and that helped me resist temptation. Whew.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 11 Stash Report - 2011

2011-03-13T11:11:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         24.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         51.5 yds.

Stash busted:   27 yds.

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

Not a lot of piecing going on. I did get 48 of block A sewn together for Ashcombe #3. I want to get the block Bs put together this week. But more importantly I was able to get the quilt for hire done before its owner heads off for Hawaii.

The quilt pattern is Grandmother's Choice. The quilter designed the border. I think this pattern was popular about 10 years ago. Lots of quilters around here made one of these. Here is a picture of the full sized quilt:

This is a shot of the border and it's quilting. I wanted a background fill that wasn't too tight and full.

I did stitch in the ditch for the pieced blocks and a free motion flower in the plain blocks. Sort of a folk art feel. I like how it turned out but most importantly the quilter loved how I quilted it.

I am in Arizona right now. My niece was married last night. A good time was had by all. I am looking forward to getting home tomorrow and getting back to quilting. Hope you have a great week bustin' your stash.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 10 Stash Report - 2011

2011-03-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week:     11 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         24.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   12 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         51.5 yds.

Stash busted:   27 yds.

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

I have an announcement! "One of these days" has arrived. I knew it would show up sometime but I am so happy it happened yesterday. How do I know it was yesterday? Because that was when I finished the Basket quilt top. Therefore I am able to count 12 yards outta here. Happy dance. I spent most of the week sewing on this quilt top. Doing that applique on the borders was challenging but now it is over. Want to see? More than happy to share. It is not a great picture but a better one will follow when I get it quilted up.

Now about that 11 yards that came in. Green Fairy quilt shop was having a sale on precuts. I have been eyeing some jelly rolls for two Christmas gifts. In fact back in January they were listed on my goal list. So I bought 4 jelly rolls of Haunted Mansion. Luckily I had more go out than came in.

This next week I really, really need to finish the quilt on the machine. The owner of that quilt will be going to Hawaii for 18 months in about a week so I need to deliver it before she leaves town.

How did you do stash busting this week?

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 9 Stash Report - 2011

2011-02-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         13.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   0 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         39.5 yds.

Stash busted:   26 yds.

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

I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done this week. I did get Ashcombe #3 and 4 cut out. I love to cut stuff out and it was fun. I won't count it until I have it sewn up.

I spent a lot of time quilting on the quilt for hire. I hope to finish it off on Monday or Tuesday. Here it is on the frame.

How did you do stash busting this week?

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 8 Stash Report - 2011

2011-02-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week:     5 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         13.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   9.5 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         39.5 yds.

Stash busted:   26 yds.

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

I finished piecing Ashcombe #2 then I quilted it up and got it bound. That is the 9.5 yds that went out. WooHoo. I purchased 4 yds of Kona cotton so I can make the last two Ashcombes. I really need to remember NOT to do 4 quilts of the same pattern. At least the next two are from a different fabric collection. I am looking forward to sewing with something new. It will be pink still, just a darker shade of pink.

Here are the twin quilts. Just to show that there really are two of them.

After finishing the quilt I decided it was time to focus on my basket quilt top. I put in some serious time doing machine applique then I ran into some trouble. Remember all the yards and yards of bias vines I made? Apparently I really underestimated how much was needed. When I pulled out the remnant of the light green there was only a small amount left. I went back to the shop where I had purchased it and it was all gone. They couldn't even remember what line it was from. I went to 5 shops on one day and then spent an hour or so looking on line but could not find it. Yesterday I decided that since this is not a show quilt I would just find something that was similar. After searching in 3 more shops I found something that I think will work so I bought 1 yard of that. Tomorrow I will sew up yards and yards of 1/8" bias then get back to appliqueing. One of these days I will be able to get this top finished.

That about sums up my week. I had fabric come in but I had more go out. Everything I bought was bought with a project in mind. I have a quilt for hire on the machine and I need to put time in on that. I am not sure how much sewing I will get done this week. Can you believe this is the last week of February? I can't.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 7 Stash Report - 2011

2011-02-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week:     0 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         8.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   1.5 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         30 yds.

Stash busted:   21.5 yds.

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

My eyes are back to normal, thank heaven. Life is good when you can see clearly, especially the detail. I put the border on the Oh My Stars quilt so that is the fabric out.

I quilted up the Cabbage Rose quilt that my quilt group made as a comfort quilt for one of our members who is undergoing chemo therapy. Her prognosis is good but she is really having a challenge enduring chemo. Now I have to explain the picture. The pictured quilt is not the one I quilted. I forgot to take its picture before I passed it on. But our quilt was based on this quilt and looks very much like it. In fact, I copied the quilting. Just had to have truth in blogging.

I have the twin to Ashcombe up on the design board and I am getting the blocks sewn into rows. Hopefully the top will be put together next week. I would love to be able to count all of that fabric as busted.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 6 Stash Report - 2011

2011-02-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week:     .5 yd.
Fabric in YTD:         8.5 yds.

Fabric out this week:   6.25 yds.
Fabric out YTD:         28.5 yds.

Stash busted:   20 yds.

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

This was kind of a crazy week. "You have a significant scratch on your cornea." The upshot was I could not wear my contacts for a week. My glasses are 10 years old and I have had 2 prescription changes for my contacts in that time. I hardly ever wear my glasses. I found that it was hard to see detail. I changed my focus for the week. Think large. I quilted a fleece throw for a birthday present, a charity quilt and a mid-sized quilt.

Remember the fabric I ordered and got in the mail last week? I put the inner border on my Oh My Stars quilt and then went to add the outer border. When I unfolded it I found it was a yard less than what I had ordered and been charged for. I called the shop and they apologized profusely then immediately sent the right amount while I sent the short piece back to them. I hope to get that border on this coming week.

I put the borders on my #1 Ashcombe quilt, pieced up a flannel backing for it and got it quilted. This is made from the Riley Blake Quite Contrary collection. That was a big chunk of the fabric out this week. I pieced all the blocks (the fabric was already cut out) for a twin of this quilt.

I did free motion quilting on this of loops and heart shaped leaves. It was fast and fun.

I love the green plaid I used for the binding. The flannel backing is so soft. I find I am using flannel on the back more often. It really is nice.

I need to make a total of 4 of these quilts. One and one half down, two and a half to go.

Because of my bad eyesight this week I was not able to do any machine applique on my basket quilt. I tell you, Monday can't get here soon enough. I also plan on getting new glasses soon. This is ridiculous.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 5 Stash Report - 2011

2011-01-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week:     8.25 yd.
Fabric in YTD:     8.25 yds.

Fabric out this week:   8.25 yds.
Fabric out YTD:     22.25 yds.

Stash busted:   14 yds.

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

I had to buy fabric for borders of three different quilts. This is the first fabric bought this year. I can sew most of this up pretty fast on two of the quilts.

This week I put together a charity quilt. I was trying to decide what to do when I found a great print so I just sewed that one up whole cloth style, same with the backing. Then I quilted it up fasto-speedo and tah-da! an almost finished quilt. I really would of bound it but I had a problem. I have been going to a gym and one day I did upper body workout. I tell you my arms were so sore. I found out that triceps are really involved when you use the rotary cutter. My muscles were so sore I couldn't cut. So it still needs to be bound.

So the end result is a draw for the week. Same amount came in as went out. Not bad.

I am still plugging away on my basket quilt. I have 1 and 1/2 borders done. Progress is being made.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 4 Stash Report - 2011

2011-01-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

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

Fabric out this week:   7.5 yds.
Fabric out YTD:     14 yds.

Stash busted:   14 yds.

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

It was a pretty good week. I was able to get most of the top of Oh My Stars put together. It lacks the borders because I do not have any fabric for it. The stars were made from two jelly rolls and some Kona snow. That all added up to 7.5 yds. Not too shabby. I am now looking for yardage for the borders. The yardage was supposed to ship in January. I hope to find some locally but if not I will be ordering it on line. The color in the photo is not so hot but this is not its final picture. That will happen when it is quilted.

I also did some quilting for hire. This was for a friend (Vicki) who made it as a birthday present for her 12 year old son. It is made from flannels, even those pieced stars. It was fun to do. I think the swirls are masculine acceptable. The spots are from the sun peeking through the trees.

I am still working on my basket quilt, lots of applique going on but it will not be finished soon. One of my goals is to do one charity quilt a month. Since I haven't done one yet this is that week that it will happen.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 3 Stash Report - 2011

2011-01-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

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

Fabric out this week:   6.5 yds.
Fabric out YTD:      6.5 yds.

Stash busted:   6.5 yds.

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

I finished my Wild Thing quilt and wrote about it yesterday. The backing and binding added up to 6.5 yds. I am working on the Oh My Stars a lot lately. I am sewing the pieces into rows and the rows together. Half of the quilt is put together. Hopefully I will have more to report next week.

I want to share with you a cross-stitch piece my DD gave me for Christmas. I had seen this in a stitchy shop and it made me laugh because it is so true. This is the reason UFOs abound. I thought you might like it to.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Wild Thing

2011-01-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Nope, I am not talking about one of my kids although I do have a son who at one time could qualify for that title. I am talking about my Wild Thing quilt.

I finished quilting it and I got it bound yesterday. This is my first finish for the year. It measures 82 x 96".

The original pattern was smaller. I used 4 charm packs of Bliss.

I had a lot of fun quilting the curling c's in the blocks and borders.

The best thing? I get to count 6.5 yds as going out. Yea!

Week 2 Stash Report - 2011

2011-01-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

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

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

Stash busted:   0 yds.

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

No change from last week. I am working on three projects and that doesn't move any one of them forward very fast. Lots of work but nothing to count.....yet.

I have been quilting on Wild Thing and I am about half way done. For sure I will have this finished next week.

I have been sewing the hexagon centers of the Oh My Stars together. They are all done but to do more sewing it all has to go up on the design board. That part will take some careful sewing. I plan on doing that tomorrow.

I glue basted all of the vines, leaves and circles on all of the borders for the basket quilt. Nothing really to show on that. The Stars quilt has moved ahead of the basket quilt in interest right now. I hope to get back to it soon.

Hope you have a great week QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun..

Week 1 Stash Report - 2011

2011-01-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

"I'll be continuing with the stashbusting and reporting - somehow, it just helps in stash management. And, there is nothing wrong with stash enhancement & management.;-)
Liz "

Liz hit it on the head. I like that thought. Stash management. I will shop my stash first and buy when needed. Knowing I will have to report does keep my buying more in control. So thank you Liz! You have kept me going.

I have been in Mesa, AZ for almost a week. It has been cold here but it is even colder back home. I have picked boxes and boxes or oranges to take home. Nothing like a tree ripened orange.

I brought along a couple of my jelly rolls and got a project cut out. I will not start sewing up the blocks until I get home. I hate to start a project on one sewing machine and then finish it on another. It just never works out well for me. I cut out Oh My Stars quilt that is on the cover of the Sizzlin Sixties book from Anka's Treasures. I used the Hoopla jelly rolls I got for Christmas. Of course I am going to make it bigger than the pattern dictates. Would you expect anything less?

I have finished prepping all the leaves for the basket quilt. I will continue working on that when I get home. That will be my main focus for the month of January.

I do have to comment about our Vicky. I love her stash reports. I love her choice of fabrics and the phenomenal stash she has built up. To tell the truth I am sooo envious. You go Vicky! Keep it up.

So here is to a great year of QFF*!

Penny

Remember, we do this for fun.

Quilty Goals for 2011

2011-01-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

It seems I just got used to typing 2010 and now I am going to have to change. I hope you have a great year with lots of fun in quilting endeavors.

I wanted to be a part of Judy's UFO challenge but honestly, I don't have a lot of UFOs. Certainly not 12. I seem to finish what I start...I know, kind of crazy but that is the way I roll. I also want to work on what I choose so I didn't join. I read with interest Kelly's MUF ("Masterpieces Under Fermentation") challenge, but it really isn't a challenge. It is a way to look at things. As I analyzed my attitude toward quilting I remembered that when I was active on the about.com quilting forum my tag line was "Remember, we do this for fun." So many quilters would stress over things that really didn't matter. I have decided that I am going to reclaim that tag line and dedicate this year to QFF. That stands for Quilting For Fun. It is very similar to Kelly's philosophy but the word fermentation doesn't appeal to me. So instead of BFF I will be doing QFF.

I seem to do much better at remembering what I want to do when I have a list. Therefore I am going to list in no particular order what I would like to accomplish in 2011. I read someone else call this a bucket list for the year. I like that. I may or may not accomplish all of this and I reserve the right to throw in a fun quilt that may catch my eye. After all, I am QFF.

To finish:
1. Basket quilt
2. Polka Dot Blossoms wallhanging
3. String me along quilt
4. Ashcombe 1
5. Ashcombe 2

Not started yet but have the fabric:
1. Star Crazy quilt - Moda Hoopla
2. Tumbling Triangles - Moda Dilly Dally
3. Ashcombe 3 - Riley Blake Sweet Divinity
4. Churn Dash quilt
5. Christmas tree skirt
6. Christmas tree quilt

Have the pattern but no fabric:
1. Stars and Sprigs
2. Tropical Rainbow
3. Nativity wallhangings - 5
4. Hexagon (Merry Go Round) Halloween quilt

Charity:
One twin quilt per month

Have a Great year. What are your goals?

Penny
Remember, we do this for fun.

Stash Report - Dec. 26, '10

2010-12-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

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

2010-12-25T06:34:00.001-07:00

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

2010-12-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-12-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

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.......

2010-12-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

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

2010-12-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-12-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-11-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-11-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-11-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-11-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-31T06:46:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-10-28T14:38:00.000-06:00

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

2010-10-24T06:50:00.000-06:00

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

2010-10-10T06:32:00.000-06:00

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

2010-10-03T07:11:00.001-06:00

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

2010-09-26T05:36:00.000-06:00

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

2010-09-19T06:15:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-09-16T17:28:00.000-06:00

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

2010-09-12T06:24:00.000-06:00

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

2010-09-05T07:18:00.000-06:00

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

2010-08-29T06:07:00.000-06:00

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.....

2010-08-24T20:48:00.000-06:00

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

2010-08-22T06:16:00.000-06:00

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

2010-08-15T11:19:00.000-06:00

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

2010-08-01T06:37:00.000-06:00

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

2010-07-31T10:13:00.000-06:00

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.

Stash Report - July 25, '10

2010-07-25T06:30:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 21 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 96.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 7 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 86 yds.

Stash busted: -10.5 yds.

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

This week I really did buy a lot of fabric. My excuse? Really it is a very, very good one. A local store was closing out its fabric department. I resisted at 50% off....didn't even go in. I tried to resist at 75% off but I went in just to look. There was some really nice stuff still left. I bought three 7 yard pieces for backings. I don't have many backing pieces in my stash. I figured for $2.25 a yard I couldn't go wrong. I also picked up several really nice patterns for a song.

This week on my DWR I finished appliquing all the circles on the arcs and managed to piece 12 melon pieces. I am so glad to see the circles done. Yea!!!!! I still have 288 petals to applique down but that is just a walk in the park compared to 1,932 circles. Most of the petals are prepped. I still have a few of those to starch.

This week I put my Spring Beauty on the machine. I have quilted 5 of 7 rows. Hopefully I will have it finished next week. I am counting the backing in this weeks numbers. Want to have a peek?

I hope you have a wonderful week sewing. Don't get overheated and remember to drink lots of water.

Stash Report - July 18, '10

2010-07-18T06:24:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 13.5 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 75.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 1.25 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 79 yds.

Stash busted: 3.5 yds.

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

What can I say? I did not hang tough this week. I don't have a dog or cat I can blame it on. I can't even blame it on my kids. Would you believe my DH did it? Didn't think so. But honestly, I did look in my stash first and there is nothing there that would work. Although I can still say I am in the black.....not a lot, but still there.

I bought all the fabric (except for the backing) for my next pieced/appliqued quilt. It is called Baskets of Yo Yos and I heart it a lot. Here is a picture of most of it. A few of the fabrics were left out of the picture.

The white with blue polka dots will be the background. The large blue is for the borders. The two darker greens just above the blue will be the vines and leaves. The rest will be baskets, yo-yos, and the chain blocks.

I can't start cutting it out until I finish sewing the circles on my DWR. Speaking of which I finished 60 arcs this week and have only 60 arcs to go. I also put together a few more melon shapes. Dang! It is really looking good. This will not be a fast piecing quilt. I know I am in for the long haul but I believe it will be worth it when it is done.

I hope you have a great week of sewing and creating. If you bust some stash that is even better.

July/August Goals

2010-07-15T18:54:00.000-06:00

Charming Girls Quilt Club

I am so excited to be a part of this group. I have read along for quite awhile and now I get to play! Woohoo.

I have been pondering my goals for the last two weeks trying to decide what I wanted to work on. I love having this opportunity to improve. So here is what I am going to do:

Personal Fitness
1. I will do cardio 5 times a week.
2. I will lift weights 3 times a week.
3. I will journal what I eat. If I bite it I write it.

Spiritual Fitness
1. I will read scriptures 15 min. per day.

Quilt Projects
1. I will finish all the applique for my Double Wedding Ring.
2. I will make the August schnibble project.
3. I will quilt my Spring Beauty which has been sitting patiently waiting for at least 3 years.

I look forward to cheering you on and hope you will do the same.

Stash Report - July 11, '10

2010-07-11T06:32:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 0 yd.

Fabric in YTD: 62 yds.

Fabric out this week: .75 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 77.75 yds.

Stash busted: 15.75 yds.

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

This week I was able to use 3/4 yard binding the ugly quilt that could. I love to use bias and the black I had was a scrap so I was cutting out strips that were only 13" long. I don't think I have pieced a one color binding with so many seams. Good thing it is black because you just can't see the seams.

I dodged a bullet this week. On Wednesday a few of my quilt buds I went on a mini shop hop. We returned to the store that had the Fresh Cotton fat quarter bundle. Oh let me tell you temptation was great. I picked it up, fondled it, and dithered. In the end I put it down, patted it lovingly and told it I had too much going on right now and it just wasn't fitting into my list of things I want to do. Do I regret it? No, because I have figured out that fabric manufactures keep making beautiful fabric. When I am ready there will be something new that I will love just as much if not more.

I did buy a pattern from a local designer and now I am looking for fabric for that. Simply Sweet is calling my name as well as Flower Sugar. We will see. I am trying to hold off until I get more of the DWR put together. I appliqued the circles on 50 of the arcs this week. So total arcs done is 200 with 132 left to do. Woo Hoo.

Since I don't have any pictures of quilts made this week haw about one of a quilt I made several years ago. This was a fun string quilt. I was made for a guild auction. Pattern is from Quilter's Cache.

I hope you have a great week busting that stash.

The Ugly Quilt That Could

2010-07-08T20:39:00.000-06:00

This quilt was pieced by my mom many years ago....at least 40 if not more. It was made in a completely different quilt era. This was a time when the ladies at the church would get together and quilt around a large frame. If you saw a pattern you liked you would get a cardboard template and take it home. Now whether that template was accurate was a risk. There were no rotary cutters, mats, or rulers. No template plastic nor quarter-inch sewing machine foot. There weren't any quilt books that explained how to go about doing it. You just used the cardboard template, pencil and scissors. I should mention that this is not an easy pattern. Y seams galore plus lot of "pinwheel" centers. I would hate to put this together today even with all my fancy quilting paraphernalia.

All of the fabric from this quilt is scraps leftover from garment sewing. There are several pieces that I absolutely love. I do not recognize any fabric from my clothing. There are some gauzy pieces, some seersucker and the usual broadcloth.

My favorite fabric is this black background print with the names of the items in french.

The cows cracks me up.....maybe it is a cows on crack.

How about the cowboy? It reminds me of some jammies my brother had. Not out of this exact fabric but something similar.

Mom was busy raising seven children, helping on the farm, ranch, dairy, and going to school to get her college degree. She made tops for her sanity. Sound familiar? After Mom pieced this top it was put in a box and eventually moved several times and was completely forgotten. Lately Mom has been going through her stuff to get rid of, organize and generally downsize. She found this top and a couple of other tops she had put together. She said that this quilt was the ugliest quilt she had ever seen and wondered if it was even worth quilting. One of my DD was there and expressed an interest in it, so the quilt top was rescued from the trash.

I brought the top home and quilted it this week. This quilt has it's problems....lots of pleats and tucks before I even quilted it. One corner is missing a block but I decided to quilt it as is.....just let it be. I don't think it is all that ugly. It speaks of a different time. One to be treasured.

Stash Report - July 4, '10

2010-07-04T06:35:00.000-06:00

Happy Independence Day! Break out the grills and the watermelon. I hope you have a fun and safe holiday. Now on to the stash report:

Fabric in this week: 4 yd.

Fabric in YTD: 62 yds.

Fabric out this week: 10.5 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 77 yds.

Stash busted: 15 yds.

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

This was a very good week. I managed to get the Merry-Go-Round quilt put together and quilted. The fabric in was for the backing of this quilt. It took me two weeks from the time I purchased the jelly rolls to getting it bound. I love it when that happens.

I used two Eden (by Lila Tueller) jelly rolls plus a few extra strips to get this twin size (65 x 80) quilt. DD wanted purple and she got purple.

I used my Circle Lord to quilt the spirals on the "plates". I like how it turned out.

Because I was working on that quilt not much was done on the DWR. I did sew a couple of arcs to a melon to see how hard it is going to be. I can tell that I am going to have to be very careful to match up the seams where the pink and the while meet. I do like the look though. Hopefully I will get more circles appliqued down this week.

I hope you have a great week creating from your stash.

Stash Report - June 27, '10

2010-06-27T06:08:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 1 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 58 yds.

Fabric out this week: 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 66.5 yds.

Stash busted: 8.5 yds.

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

I am back home after spending about five days in Mesa, AZ. We kept saying that when it hit 110 degrees we would go home. Well, it did and we did. Actually that is when we were thinking about going anyway. Nothing like visiting the Valley of the Sun in June. I really did have a lovely visit with my parents.

While there I got a start on the jelly roll quilt (Merry-Go-Round). I was able to get all the strips sewn together and then cut into wedges. I didn't sew the wedges together because I didn't want that part of the piecing done on two different machines. I have since sewn 18 "plates" together. 36 left to go. While hitting several quilt shops I found the fabric I will need for a binding so I picked up a yard of that.

On the shop hop my DD bought a pattern by Heather Bailey for little elephant pin cushions. While in AZ I put together one for her and one for my mom. They still need eyes but other wise I think they turned out very well. I don't want to make any more but I wasn't too terrible.

I hope you have a great week busting that stash. Try to stay out of the heat.

Stash Report - June 20, '10

2010-06-20T11:56:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 6.25 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 57 yds.

Fabric out this week: 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 66.5 yds.

Stash busted: 9.5 yds.

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

Well, shop hop was last week. I did pretty good behaving myself. I bought three fat quarters that I need for my Christmas tree quilt and 2 jelly rolls that were on sale for another Merry-Go-Round quilt. The 2 jelly rolls I probably didn't need but my DD who was with me wanted a quilt out of them. They were purple.....she loves purple. I saw a stack of Fresh Cotton fat quarters early on that I was soooooo tempted to buy. I even knew which pattern I would make them into but I didn't get it because I would of had to report the yardage. That fabric has haunted me since Thursday. I am still thinking about getting it. We will see.

I only managed to get 20 arcs sewn up this week. I am on the road and I just might get something done but it is hard to say what. I can't believe there are only 10 days left of June. Do you realize that on Friday Christmas is only 6 months away? I know. Sorry if I ruined your day. LOL

Have a great week of sewing.

Stash Report - June 13, '10

2010-06-13T19:46:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 0 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 50.75 yds.

Fabric out this week: 1.25 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 66.5 yds.

Stash busted: 15.75 yds.

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

Last week was a three day retreat to a different cabin in Sundance. The cabin is owned by a member of my quilting group. It has been under renovation for several years and it is finally done. We were able to break it in and hopefully we will be able to go back often. Sundance is only 15 miles from home but it is cooler than the valley. It is a ski resort in the winter and a hiking/biking resort in the summer.

I finished the basting and pressing of my circles (yea!) and I started sewing the little beasties down. I had the circles separated by color and had the containers all lined up. My quilt buds thought it looked like a candy shop. I sewed six circles on each arc. I finished 130 arcs this week for a total of 780 circles sewn down. I figure that those 780 circles equal 1.25 yds. So that is what I counted this week.

Here is a picture of the view from my machine straight out.

This view is from the view to my left.

Behind me was the ironing center and the cutting center which also served as the kitchen. The lady ironing is the owner of the cabin. Note the goodies on the cutting counter. We did not suffer for want of snacks.

This is a view from the upstairs landing. We were able to easily fit 8 of us in the great room.

I will continue to work on sewing down circles. I have 192 arcs left to do. That should keep me out of trouble......Oh, wait a minute. This week is the annual shop hop and I have committed to go. I have managed to avoid it in the past but I got roped into going. I plan on being strong but we shall see.

Happy quilting everyone!

Stash Report June 6, '10

2010-06-06T06:03:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 0 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 50.75 yds.

Fabric out this week: 7.25 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 65.25 yds.

Stash busted: 14.5 yds.

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

I quilted my Jelly Girl on Monday, bound it and Tuesday and took it to quilt group on Wednesday. The fabric I used was for the backing and binding. This quilt used two jelly rolls and 83 blocks instead of one jelly roll and 39 blocks that the pattern called for. So if it is a bigger quilt should it still be Jelly GIRL? Should it be Jelly Lady, or Jelly Woman instead? Just wondering.

I did most of the quilting freehand. It was fun and very fast.

I used a panto for the borders and that worked quilt well.

I quilted loops in the triangles and "smiles" in the hexagons to accentuate the blades to give it a spinning feel.

I did work on more circles. I basted 500 and pressed 300. I figure I have only 75 more to baste and 325 to press. This coming week my quilt group is having a daytime quilt retreat for three days. We will not be spending the nights but getting together for the days. It is in a location we have never been before. It should prove interesting. I am planning on working on the DWR. (I have made the DWR my project of the month.) Hopefully I will have fun pictures to post.

I hope you all have a great week sewing and busting that stash.

Stash Report - May 30, '10

2010-05-30T06:04:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 0 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 50.75 yds.

Fabric out this week: 9.5 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 58 yds.

Stash busted: 7.25 yds.

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

This was a great week. I was able to get my large Jelly Girl put all together. I started on Monday and finished it on Saturday. Yea me! I am back in the black. Next week will be pretty good too because I sewed up the backing and have the quilt on the frame. When I get the top quilted I will count the backing.

Not a lot done on the double wedding ring quilt. I think the total for the last two weeks is 200 circles basted and 350 circles starched and pressed. I am going to make that quilt my focus for June.

I also did some sewing that was above and beyond the call of duty. I altered the length of two pairs of dress slacks for my DS. He is headed off to Washington DC for a summer internship screening on Monday. I used to do a lot of clothing construction but not any more. Getting the hems sewn was almost more than I could stand but I persevered and they are finished. Yea! Too bad that won't make any difference in my stash report.

I hope everyone has a great Memorial day celebration. I hope it warms up so we can grill. Last Monday we had snow. Crazy. I also hope I can sneak off and do some quilting. Will you?

Stash Report - May 23, '10

2010-05-23T06:39:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 8.5 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 50.75 yds.

Fabric out this week: 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 48.5 yds.

Stash busted: -2.25 yds.

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

More fabric in that out. I bought backing and borders for my Jelly Girl and that was 40% off. I don't feel bad about being in the red this week. Hopefully that will change next week.

I did finish a project. It is the auction quilt for my bee. It is Jelly Girl. I didn't count any of the fabric in or out for this quilt. Mine will look just like this only bigger. This one used 1 jelly roll and mine will use 2. Almost everything for the auction quilt (and mine) was on sale. The jelly roll was half off, borders 40% off and the backing was 75% off. I think it should be called Bargain Jelly.

I quilted it using a panto I picked up at HMQS it is Splat by Anne Bright. I thought it was whimsical and I really didn't want to spend a whole lot of time since I also pieced it. Someone else will get the privilege of binding it.

It measures about 70" square:

Side:

Close up:

Back:

This week my goal is to get MY Jelly Girl top put together.

I have been having a great time reading the blogs of people who are at Quilt Market. Wow. Lots of cool stuff coming out soon. I love seeing all that is posted. I guess I had better sew up my stuff so I can justify getting some of the new stuff.

Have a great week sewing.

Stash Report - May 16, '10

2010-05-16T06:06:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: .75 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 42.25 yds.

Fabric out this week: .75 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 48.5 yds.

Stash busted: 6.25 yds.

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

This was a good week as far as finishing a project. Not so much for stash busting. I bought 3/4 yard to bind the Licorice Allsorts. I sewed all the blocks up for my bee's auction quilt and I managed to baste and press 200 circles. So some progress made on several fronts.

I want to tell you about the Licorice Allsorts quilt. It is from a pattern by Lydia Quigley (The Rabbit Factory). I did change the border. When my son was getting married I asked them what they wanted in a quilt. DS said he wanted one like my Chimney Swallows quilt I had given to my parents. That quilt was the hardest quilt I have ever done. (See picture below) I told him that wasn't going to happen. I asked him what he liked about the quilt....the pattern, the colors, the quilting. He liked the colors and the design didn't matter. So black and brights became the theme.

I really didn't have a lot of brights in my fabric collection so I began to buy a few fat quarters here and there. In Oct. '08 DH had a conference in Pittsburgh, PA so I went along but stopped in Hershey where I have a DD going to school. One day while she was in class I took her car and did my own local shop hop. I mapped out a 90 mile route and went for it. I think I hit about six or seven shops.

Now keep in mind this was Oct and the leaves were turning such fabulous colors. I was in and near Amish country. The drive was out amongst farms and through wooded areas. It was absolutely breathtaking. At each of the shops I picked up a good variety of brights and at Sauders I bought 10 yds. of Kona black. It seemed fitting. When I look at this quilt it brings back the memory of my fall color drenched shop hop. I wish I had taken pictures. Oh well.

I had the top pieced by Jan. '09 but then it sat around waiting for me to figure out how to quilt it. I knew because of the colors what ever I did the quilting would not be very visible. I finally did circles around the main blocks with my Circle Lord and some 3/4 circle/loops in the border. The happy couple is glad to get it but since we are headed into summer it won't be used for awhile. Besides, they really don't get it until I take it to quilt guild this week.

If you look really hard you can see the border quilting and a shadow or two of the circles. I knew it wouldn't show very well.

I hope to get the Jelly Girl top put together this week and more circles done. It doesn't sound like much stash busting but ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do. I hope you do well this week.

Stash Report - May 9, '10

2010-05-08T22:34:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 1 yd.
Fabric in YTD: 41.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 8 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 47.75 yds.

Stash busted: 6.25 yds.

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

Well I managed to get some sewing done this week. Not a whole lot but some. Last week I mentioned I would be sewing up a back and using 9 yards. I bought the backing last September. When I sat down and ran the numbers I figured I really needed 8 yards. When I measured the fabric I found I only had 7. Oops. Since this is a gift for my son and his wife (their wedding quilt that is 19 months late....oops again) I decided that just sticking something else in would not be the thing to do. I went online and found just what I needed and ordered a yard. It was delivered Thursday and I sewed the backing up Friday evening and got the quilt on the frame. Here is a peek.

I had a great time at the quilt show. I took a bunch of classes, enjoyed the quilts on display and wandered the vendors mall. Lots of pretty stuff and neat stuff but I have come to the conclusion that I already have it all. Or all that I need. I did not buy any fabric, thread, or tools. I bought a bottle of machine oil (how exciting is that?), a Christmas wall hanging pattern (my dd who LOVES Christmas made me) and three pantographs. I also bought 14 of ______________ for my gift to my quilting bee friends next Christmas. I would tell but I think one or two may read my blog.

As far as circles go I was able to get 200 pressed while visiting my MIL yesterday afternoon. That puts me at half way. Woohoo! Only 1,000 more to go. I hope to get more done this week. Maybe I will even do some applique but that will involve changing the thread on the sewing machine. You know I have timed how long it really takes to make the change (less than a minute) but it still is such a deterrent to switching projects. How hard is it really?

I hope you all have a great sewing week.

Stash Report - May 2, '10

2010-05-02T06:38:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 4 yds.
Fabric in YTD: 40.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 39.75 yds.

Stash busted: -.75 yds.

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

I find I am not busting much stash but I am sewing up the stuff I buy quite quickly. I can easily justify that I am not adding to my stash. The 4 yards in is background for my Jelly Girl quilt. I will bust about 9 yards soon. I am going to put my son's wedding gift quilt on the machine next. They have been waiting over 18 months. It is about time I delivered. Anyway the quilt is huge and the backing will use about 9 yards. That should get me out of the red.

I have done a lot of applique prep work this week. My double wedding ring needs 2,092 1" circles. To get perfect circles I run a basting stitch around them then I use the starch/press method. This week I basted 1,000 circles and pressed 800. Can you say circle overload?

The bee that I belong to does a small quilt that is auctioned off for the large quilt guild that we all belong to. This year I had the bright idea of doing a Jelly Girl quilt just like the one I am doing for myself. I picked up an extra jelly roll (50% off) just like mine. I was able to sew a few strips together and in turn a few blocks. I think it will be cute. These blocks are for the auction quilt. Haven't worked on mine yet.

I was able to quilt two charity quilts this week. This coming week I will not be so productive. I am signed up for several classes at the Home Machine Quilting Show (HMQS). I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I plan to be tough and not buy any fabric. Now as far as tools and thread go.....all bets are off.

Have a great week. I can guarantee I will.

Penny

Stash Report - April 25, '10

2010-04-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: .75 yds.
Fabric in YTD: 36.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 1.5 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 39.75 yds.

Stash busted: 3.25 yds.

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

I bought 3/4 of a yard to bind the Shakespeare in the Park but I used it immediately. I also forgot to count the binding on the Triple Irish Chain last week so out goes 1 1/2 yards. Yea! I'm still in the black.

This week was a good one. I finished quilting SITP, (#4 for the year) got it blocked and bound. For quilting I used the Circle Lord. The crosshatching was ruler work. This pattern is in the Creative Pattern Book (by Judy Martin) only I changed it a bit. The pattern is only two colors and I did three. It also has asymetric coloring and setting (5 x 6) which bothered me. I made the quilt 6 x 6 which added more blocks and would have made it too big. To compensate for the added size I reduced the blocks from a 12" to a 10" block. I am really happy with how this turned out.

Are you ready for some pictures?

Full:

Close up:

Star and snail block close up:

I love the backing I used. I looked all over for green and purple fabric and finally came across this one that had happy birds. I figured the birds fit in with the "in the park" theme.

Now I need to get working on my double wedding ring and the Jelly Girl. Gotta have something to show for next week.
I hope we all have a great week of stash busting.

Penny

You Want Postage Stamp?

2010-04-18T17:01:00.000-06:00

I'll give you a Postage Stamp quilt. Kare is the moderator of a Yahoo group that trades 1.5" squares and they make Postage Stamp quilts and lots of other quilts using those squares. She loved my Triple Irish Chain quilt so she posted a link to my blog. I was so flattered that it was pointed out to that group. The mention of Postage Stamp quilts brought to mind one that I had made several years ago.

I call this quilt my "beer" quilt. No, you do not have to be drunk to make it. The title makes my friends do a double take because they know I do not drink alcohol of any type. Years ago Anheiser Busch had an ad with a mother talking to her little girl about drinking responsibly. On the wall behind them was a quilt similar to this. It puzzled me for years how to do it until I saw a postage stamp quilt. Bing! I found a pattern in Quick Quilts From Your Scrap Bag (by Leisure Arts) that had it all laid out on point, only in a different color. I wanted the soft muted colors that were in the add. I bought fabric (lots of fat quarters) and put it together. It turned out just like I wanted. Enjoy!

I machine quilted this on my Bernina. (That was back in the day.)
Penny

Stash Report - April 18, '10

2010-04-18T06:28:00.000-06:00

Fabric in this week: 12.5 yds.
Fabric in YTD: 35.75 yds.

Fabric out this week: 7 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 38.25 yds.

Stash busted: 2.5 yds.

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

I bought 7 yards this week for the backing for Shakespeare. It is all seamed up and on the machine. The quilt is just over half way quilted so I am counting it as busted. I really don't have large pieces of fabric. Mostly fat quarters.

While at the fabric store I happened upon a couple of jelly rolls 50% off. I had been thinking of getting a couple to do the pattern Jelly Girl. So I picked them up. I think they are the Nature's Chorus by Moda. I think I will start sewing on it when I finish quilting Shakespeare.

I finished quilting, blocking and binding my Triple Irish Chain. I liked it so much I did the binding by hand. I think the freehand feathers in the border turned out very well. I love this old classic. I am such a traditionalist at heart. Without further ado here are some pictures:

Full

Center

Corner (I managed to turn the corner!)

Border

This quilt is finish #3 for the year and (drum roll) #50 that I have quilted on my longarm. Woohoo. That is 50 over 18 months. Not bad. I think I piece more so I can have more to quilt.

Hope you have a great quilty week.

Penny

Stash Report - April 11, '10

2010-04-11T06:06:00.000-06:00

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

Fabric out this week: 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 31.25 yds.

Stash busted: 8 yds.

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

Nothing in and nothing out that can be counted. I finished piecing the Shakespeare in the park and the top is done. All of that fabric has been counted. I put a Triple Irish Chain on the machine. I counted that backing last year so no new numbers to add. I am more than half way through quilting the TIC. I have been practicing my freehand feathers. I have two borders done (I am so happy with how they have turned out) and will have to wait and turn the quilt for the final two. I chickened out on the feathered wreaths and used a stencil. This quilt was all from stash except for the plain green. Pretty good.

Next week I hope to show this one finished and the Shakespeare one on the machine. We shall see how it goes.

OK, let's get stash busting!

Stash Report - April 4, '10

2010-04-04T07:03:00.000-06:00

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

Fabric out this week: 4.5 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 31.25 yds.

Stash busted: 8 yds.

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

Welcome to April. Can you believe 1/4 of the year has gone by? Unbelievable. When I turned my working calendar over here is what greeted me. It made me smile.

I absolutely love the sentiment. Maybe that will be my new theme, motto, or saying. Do you like it as much as I do? I am glad I get to look at it for a month. I also love the flowers and the color. For April Fools day we had snow. It melted by the end of the day but it was a joke on us all.

Spring is just about here. My pansies are looking good and my daffodils are just about to bloom. The tulips have green leaves up but no buds yet. I love the anticipation this time of the year brings.

This past week I managed to get the 48 stars pieced that are in the border and Sat. I put it up on the design board and start sewing the blocks together. The angle of this picture is wonky because there is about three feet between the board and my sewing machine. I store my board until I need it then it come out into the only place available in my sewing room. This also gives me incentive to get the top put together fast.

I hope you have a meaningful Easter and a great week of sewing up your stash.
Penny

Technology

2010-04-03T21:15:00.000-06:00

I must admit that I am not eager to embrace new technology. My DH calls me a techno-phobe. I have been blogging for about six months and thought that was a big leap for me. I just learned that my mom, who is in her 80's, has a facebook page. I do not have a facebook page and have been resisting getting one. My kids say I should have one so we could keep in touch much easier. Is it worth it? Is this something that will suck me in and not let go?

I still can't believe my mom has a facebook page.
TTFN
Penny

Stash Report - March 28, '10

2010-03-28T06:30:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-26T20:13:00.002-06:00

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

2010-03-21T06:39:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-14T06:56:00.000-06:00

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

2010-03-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

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

Stash Report - Feb. 28, '10

2010-02-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week: 6.5 yds.

Fabric in YTD: 16.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 6.5 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.

So far I am keeping ahead of the curve, still in the black but I really haven't busted much stash. I may have to do a couple of stash quilts to help those numbers. My 6.5 yards in are for the pink in this quilt. The 6.5 yards out are for the backing of my Grandmothers Diamond Ring. Woohoo. Finish #2 for the year.

I didn't report last week because I was in Arizona for my niece's wedding which almost didn't happen. The bride had a panic attack just before the ceremony. She called her dad in and he was able to settle her down. Later she had hubby went to the airport to leave for their honeymoon only to find out the tickets were for the next day. It all gave us something to remember.

I was able to live one of my fantasies. I've always thought the best vacation would be to stay home with everyone thinking I was gone. We came back from our trip a day early and I didn't let anyone know. I was able to quilt in peace and finish the Grandmothers Diamond Ring.

Yesterday I threw on one of the quilts for a customer. It was a simple panto. She made this out of the Dick and Jane fabric because of the memories it invoked.

I hope you have a great week. Can you believe it will be March tomorrow?

Big and Small

2010-02-27T16:59:00.001-07:00

A long time ago (back in the olden days) I made a crib size quilt and patterned it after an antique quilt I saw somewhere. Somehow it was named Big and Small. It is a simple quilt made of 4-patches. In this quilt the large squares are 3" finished and the small squares are 1 1/2" finished. They can be made any size just so long as the big is twice the finished size of the small.

My mom is interested in doing one of these quilts from her scraps. So mom, this one is for you. Have fun.

Stash Report - Feb.14, '10

2010-02-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentines Day. I hope you are feeling the love.

Fabric in this week: 0 yds.

Fabric in YTD: 10 yds.

Fabric out this week: .75 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 10.75 yds.

Stash busted: .75 yds.

If you would like to see how others are doing on their stash check out Judy's blog. It is great fun.

I have my FIRST FINISH for the year. Woohoo. I quilted up the Flowers Forever top and got it bound. It is now hanging in my front entry way. Someday it may actually make its way onto a bed. Because of the binding I am able to say I am 3/4 of a yard ahead of the game. Here are some pictures of the finished quilt.

I am not too happy with the background fill I used. I think it is too dense. I hate overquilted quilts and I think this just about qualifies as one. I am learning. I have my Grandmothers Diamond Ring on the machine and I am having lots of fun using my Circle Lord to do a motif in the hexagons. It reminds me of the spirograph I used to play with when I was a kid.

I don't know how much quilting I will get done this coming week. We are going to Ariz. for a wedding and will be there for a week. I wish I could take my longarm with me. Now that would be fun. I should prep a couple of blocks that I could do hand applique on. We'll see.

Have a great week of busting stash.

Penny

Stash Report - Feb. 7, '10

2010-02-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week: 2.5 yds.

Fabric in YTD: 10 yds.

Fabric out this week: 2.5 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 10 yds.

Stash busted: 0

If you would like to see how others are doing on their stash check out Judy's blog. It is great fun.

I was able to finish the Grandmother's Diamond Ring top. But to do so I had to buy 2.5 yards for the borders and the binding. I used the fabric for the borders and I cut and sewed up the binding. So fabric in equals fabric out. So far I haven't busted any stash but I haven't added to it either. I did sew the backing for this quilt together but I am not going to count it until I have the quilt quilted. A little incentive there. The color is a little washed out in the picture. I was shooting with the sun peeking around the house. There also was a slight breeze so the quilt is not flat.

I also finished another one of my mother's quilts. It looks quite good far away, but there are a bunch of pleats and tucks on this puppy. My mom's enthusiasm far out distances her accuracy, but hey, she has fun. She believes that magenta is a neutral. I just did a panto over the whole thing.

I have my Flowers Forever back on the machine and am almost done with all the background fill. My goal is to have that quilt completely finished by next week. Stay tuned and see if I make it.

I hope you have a very productive week....and have fun while doing it.

My Exercise Secret

2010-01-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

Like a bazillion other people I decided to get back on the exercise wagon the first of January. I have a treadmill which I really like but my challenge is what to watch while walking. I had tried lots of different shows/movies and they just didn't hold my interest. I have finally found something that keeps me going even longer than I intend. What is it? It is YOU! I place my laptop on the treadmill, start itunes then pull up my google reader and I am set.

I read blog after blog and before I know it my time is up, but I usually haven't made it through all the blog posts. So I just walk at a slower speed until I am done. So I want to say THANK YOU to all who write in their blog. You keep me going. I have lost 5 lbs. since the first of the year and it is all because of you.

Now if I can only figure out something to inspire me to do weight training I would be set.

Stash Report Jan. 31, 2010

2010-01-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

Fabric in this week: 0 yds.

Fabric in YTD: 7.5 yds.

Fabric out this week: 0 yds.

Fabric out YTD: 7.5yds

Stash busted: 0

This week I spent a lot of my time quilting on one of my mom's quilts. I was able to get the Grandmothers Diamond Ring up on the design board and blocks sewn into larger units.

This week I should get the top sewn together. That is my goal. But even if I do it won't make any difference on my stash total because I counted it last year when I cut it out. I think I am going to change the rules for me. I am not going to count the fabric used until the top is pieced. That way after a lot of sewing I will get the pay off of counting the stash reduced. I also am not going to count the backing until I get the quilt quilted. That will give me some incentive to finish the quilt.

If you would like to see how others are doing in their stash reduction check out Judy's blog. It is great fun

My New Toy

2010-01-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

This week I played with my new acquisition. Longarm quilters will recognize this as the Circle Lord. Boy is it fun.

Recently my mom was doing some organizing and found a box that had three quilt tops she had put together more than 30 years ago. They really are not things of beauty. I asked if I could quilt them as my practice fabric. She loved the idea. The one I worked on this week was a very large Trip Around the World. I used all of the templates that I bought and then I decided to try freehand feathering. I tried over the top feathers, hook feathers and then molar feathers. I did get better as I went along and had a whole lot of fun. One down, two more to go.

Stash Report Jan. 24, '10

2010-01-24T07:05:00.002-07:00

Fabric in this week: 7.5
Fabric in YTD: 7.5

Fabric out this week: 7.5
Fabric out YTD: 7.5

Stash busted: 0

If you would like to see how others have done with their stash busting efforts check out Judy's blog.

I missed my report last week because my parents were here. We had a very fun family event which took most of my attention. My mom is a quilter also so we had lots to talk about. She had a specific fabric she wanted to look for so last Friday we hit 6 fabric/quilt stores in 2 hours. I didn't buy anything. Talk about being focused. I was on the look out for some great pink for the double wedding ring. I don't think I found it. I did see some that would do but I don't absolutely love them.

Later I did find the backing fabric for that quilt. I think it is the first time I have bought the backing before I even had the fabric for the top. It is a bright fabric of unbrellas. I really like it.

So that is my 7.5 yards in. I sewed up the backing and started quilting my Flowers Forever. I have it more than half way quilted, all the outline stitching of the applique. I have three quilt tops to quilt for my mom. We will be going to Ariz. next month so I am trying to get them done before we go. Therefore I took the Flowers Forever off the machine and put one of moms on. It seems that I will be doing a lot of quilting and not much sewing in the next couple of weeks.

I am getting the Grandmother's Diamond Ring up on the design board. Boy is it confusing. I have the book in my left hand as I put the blocks up with my right hand. This is one that I must pay attention to. I hope to sew a few seams this coming week.

I hope you get a lot of quilting done this week. Here's to happy stitching for one and all.

Stash Report Jan. 10. '10

2010-01-10T03:28:00.001-07:00

It is deja vu all over again. Nothing in and nothing out. I did get the second charity quilt quilted this week.

I did some sewing on the Grandmother's diamond ring.

92 of unit A and 92 of unit B. It sure doesn't look like much.

Yesterday I went to Joann's with my DD. She does counted cross-stitch and has made 4 stockings that need to be assembled. We found some beautiful velveteen. While waiting for our number to be called to get the stuff cut I was browsing in the books (that were 40% off). I don't buy many books but I was killing time. When lo and behold this one caught my eye. I LOVE the quilt on the cover. I think this one may make it onto my to do list. I will have to think about it but I have already figured out how much pink is required for the size I want to do. I have the light background and all the prints in my stash. This is incentive to get the Grandmother's Diamond Ring finished and fast.

I am going to put the Flowers Forever on my machine and start working on that tomorrow. The backing will use about 7 or 8 yards, so next week I should have some fabric usage to report.....and maybe some pink will have been added. ;o)

If you would like to see how others are doing with their stash reduction check out Judy's blog. You might also learn about chickens.

Stash Report Jan. 3 2010

2010-01-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

I really hesitate to call this a stash report because there is nothing to report. Nada in and nada out.

I am back home after spending 5 glorious days out of the cold. While in Arizona I did buy some thread for a couple of quilts that I will be quilting soon. I have not done anything quilty for over a week. I am so glad that everything will be back to normal tomorrow. I need schedules.

I hope we all have a happy and productive new year. May out finishes be many and our UFOs dwindle in number.

If you would like to see how others have done on their stash busting check out Judy's blog. It is highly entertaining.

Heaven, I'm in heaven

2009-12-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we left Provo, UT where it was 10 degrees. It looked something like this....only darker. This picture was taken the night before.

We drove 10 hours and arrived at my parents home in Mesa, AZ. This morning the sun is shinning and it is so lovely and warm.

The house is built in a former orange orchard and a lot of the orange trees were kept. Let me tell you, it is heaven to walk out and pick a tree ripened orange. They are so sweet and yummy. I plan on taking several large boxes of oranges to get me through the winter.

Yes, this is paradise found.

How Block Labels Work

2009-12-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how to go back and edit an older post. I know there is an edit button for it, but if I edit it and then push the publish post button will it leave it in the same order as published (date wise) or will it move it up to the date I edited it? Still trying to figure this out.

Anyway......Debbie wanted to see how the labels actually work. So I took a picture. Basically you pin the label to the block with the pin going in and out of the hole that is punched. You want to use a longer pin so the label won't slip off the pin. Can you see?

The colors in this block are really better than they look. It was overexposed and after tweeking it the colors are different, but you can see the pin....hopefully.

Stash Report: Week 52

2009-12-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

Fabric purchased this week: 13 yds
Fabric purchased YTD: 105.75 yds

Fabric used this week: 15 yds
Fabric used YTD: 201.5 yds

Total fabric blown out of here: + 95.75 yds

This week I found I had time for quilting. I was able to quilt up a twin size charity quilt. I have a friend who pieces the quilts and then I quilt them. It is quilted with a panto called Fantasia.

Then I cut out my next quilt. It is called Grandmothers Diamond Ring and is from Judy Martin's Creative Pattern book. It consists of hexagons, 60 degree diamonds and equilateral triangles. I was looking for a challenge and I believe that I found one.

I think I actually used more fabric than listed because I kept messing up while cutting, especially on the large hexagons. You would think after almost 30 years of quilting I could read the ruler right. Maybe I can blame it on my eyes or the fact I was up very early. Either one works for me. It always amazes me that a queen size quilt can fit in a very small space such as a shoebox or this case flat.

This year I kept track of the fabric purchased and what project it was for. I also kept track of the fabric used and what project it was for. I thought it was interesting to note that of the 105.75 yards bought I have already used 60 yds. Of those 60 yards 40 yards were used for backings. My stash consists of smaller pieces so when I go to quilt the tops I need to buy the backing. The 13 yards that I bought this week are for backs. One for the Diamond Ring quilt (see above) and one for the Christmas tree quilt. At 50% off I thought it was a good deal.

If you would like to see how others did with their stash check out Judy's blog. It is highly entertaining.

Quilting Year in Review

2009-12-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a look back at the quilts I finished in 2009.
For large quilts I finished:
1. Cabin in the Cotton

2. Buds in a Basket

3. Merry Go Round

4. Scrappy Pineapple

5. Petite Fleurs

For lap quilts I finished:
4 of the same basket quilt

For doll quilt swap I did:
1. Winter Solstice

2. Spring Baskets

3. Mini Merry Go Round

4. Autumn Days

I finished 3 quilt tops that need to be quilted (obviously) and I hope to be able to get them finished in 2010.. I also quilted 20 quilts that were not mine. Some were for charity and some were for friends. Overall I'd say it was a pretty good year.

Stash Report: Week 51

2009-12-20T08:21:00.002-07:00

Fabric purchased this week: 2.5 yds
Fabric purchased YTD: 92.75 yds

Fabric used this week: 0 yds
Fabric used YTD: 186.75 yds

Total fabric blown out of here: + 94 yds

I have figured out how I am going to make my Christmas Trees quilt and realized that I needed more background yardage. When I went back to the store they had just the amount I needed on the bolt. How often does that happen? Usually it is just under what is needed. I know I will add more yardage before the year is out. While visiting with the clerk she indicated all Christmas fabric was going to be 50% off just after Christmas. They have some wonderful yardage that I want to use as the backing for the tree quilt. But I am really on the plus side for fabric usage.

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

I don't anticipate getting much sewing done in the coming week. I did get Almond Toffee and some Caramels made yesterday. I have a few more presents to pick up tomorrow then I need to think about the real food. Sometimes I wonder if all the work is worth it but I keep reminding myself that if I don't make it special it won't be special.

Have a great week and I really hope you get some happy stitching in.

My Gift to my Quilt Buds

2009-12-16T17:34:00.001-07:00

I have a quilt group that meets once a week. We have been getting together for over 20 years. There are 14 of us but not all are usually there. We love to sew, chat, laugh, eat, share and in general have a good time. Most of us consider it our therapy time. Every year at Christmas time we trade gifts. They are usually something quilty but not always. We really look forward to it because these are gifts given by people who understand and know what is liked.

This year I decided to give a set of quilt block labels after watching one friend use masking tape on her quilt to indicate row and block number. First in my word processor I made up sets indicating row and block number. I figured that 20 blocks across for each row would be sufficient and then have 20 rows.

I then photocopied the labels onto card stock with each row having a different color. Then I laminated the printed pages.

After cutting out the strips I punched a 5/8" hole (I picked up the puncher at a scrapbooking store) in each label. I had bazillions of those little dots end up all around the house.

Then I cut the strips into individual labels and put them in numerical order and loaded them on a binder ring. Since each set had 400 labels I had to use two of the 2" rings. Rows 1-10 were on one ring and rows 11-20 were on the other.

When they were all done they were so colorful. It really did take a lot of time doing so many sets but luckily DH decided that he would help and I was sooooo grateful.

To see how the labels are used look at this post.

Today was the party and the ladies really loved them, especially the one who had used masking tape. All in all it was a gift that was very well received.

Stash Report Week 50

2009-12-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

Fabric purchased this week: 0 yds
Fabric purchased YTD: 90.25 yds

Fabric used this week: 14.5 yds
Fabric used YTD: 186.75 yds

Total fabric blown out of here: + 96.5 yds

I finished my Flowers Forever! It became my obsession for the week. DH thinks I should start doing something about Christmas. Hey, I have two weeks. Why rush it? Anyway I am so glad to finish this top as parts and pieces have been hanging around my sewing room for over two years.

Now I need to machine quilt two charity quilts this week. I am sure they would be greatly appreciated. I also need to get some quilty gifts together. I will explain that later and show what I am up doing. Overall it was a great week for me. On to Christmas......

Want to see how others are doing with their stash? Check out Judy's blog.