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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Stash Report - Week 47

Short and simple report today, as I have to help finish the wood splitting so we can get the splitter back to Ellen and be done before our Thanksgiving guests and travels begin.

This past week saw some productivity, at least more than in the past few weeks so I did use a bit of fabric. I also bought a little bit, but the good news is that it's all been used already!  :-)

Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 4.75 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 187.625yards
Fabric Used This Week: 16.375 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 370.875 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 183.25 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 33
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 15
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Cheese and Crackers

I meant to post this earlier but got busy and forgot. :-(

I finished the interior of my Cheese and Crackers quilt. I had originally planned to add multiple borders to this (at least two and probably three), but I think I'm going to leave it just like this.


When I put the fabrics that I had planned for the border around this part, I felt like they just didn't work. I felt that I lost the design of the "cheese sticks" and I did not want that to happen. I could always look for alternate fabrics (I did check my stash and didn't find anything), but I really don't want to buy anything for this quilt. I already have the backing fabric set aside and now that I'm not including borders, I don't have to worry about whether or not it will fit. This is still a decent size, measuring just shy of 80" x 90".

Jack was looking at my border options and his suggestion was to leave it as is and use a brown binding which is what I was going to do anyway, but we don't have to tell him that. We'll just let him think he thought of it. :-)

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Done Shopping

Well, the wedding dress shopping was not an overwhelming success. :-(

The shop didn't have any of the dresses in which Lynn was interested. When she called to make the appointment, she asked if they carried the brand/maker that she likes and they said yes. She didn't think she needed to check all the model numbers, but I guess she shoud have. I'm not sure but I don't think they had any (maybe one) of the ones she had seen on line, but the saleslady did pull some that were close.

There was one dress that she liked alot, and Becky (Ty's mom) and I really liked it also. It was very flattering and she really looked great in it. I think she's going to call another shop (near Cleveland) that carries the brand she likes and ask them if they have the actual model numbers. I guess I'll be dress shopping at least one more time.

We did make a stop at Pat Catan's and were delighted with being able to find everything she was looking for. She even spoke to a manager about a possible discount on buying a large numbrer of candles and he agreed. What was really funny though is after he agreed and we were checking out, the candles were on sale for $1 less than the discounted price, which was 30%. Of course we got a few extra just in case they're needed. :-)

Shopping

I'm not a real shopper. Even when it comes to fabric shopping, I can only do it for so long before I have had enough. When it comes to Christmas shopping, I'm kind of lucky because my family celebrates Christmas and Thanksgiving together so I have to have that shopping done early (next week, folks!) so I do that and then can take a breather before shopping for everyone else.

Well, today is a shopping day, but not a Christmas shopping day. I'm going with Lynn and her future mother-in-law to shop for a wedding dress. :-) 

I'll let you know how it goes.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Shadow Box is Done

First of all, thanks to everyone who gave me their opinions about this quilt on Monday. I made the changes with the fabric, played around with the block placement and then decided it was good to go.  I'm pleased with the results.


As I expected, I really like how this turned out and think it would be great done in flannels. I'm kind of thinking about checking my flannel stash and pull the fabrics to make another one of these while I'm on retreat in January. Well, that's what I'm thinking now, but that's over a month away and I'm sure another quilt pattern will come up that just screams to be made during that time. :-) 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Design Wall Monday

I have a Shadow Box quilt up on the wall but I'm not happy with some of my fabric choices so I've been playing with my options. I'd love to hear what you think.

Here's the original, but I don't care for the two light fabrics.


 Here's one option. Add one dark fabric and another light (this one has more red in it and "feels" better with the other fabrics). Of coure I would not just be changing out the top blocks, but also the ones on the bottom and far right.


 Here'a another option.  Keep the new light from the above picture but change the dark to the same fabric that will be used for the outside border. I'm kind of thinking it's too "busy" for the block.


 Here's yet another option.  How about replacing just one of the lights with this light? Again, I think it "plays" better with the other fabrics. I would also be swapping out the two outside lights on the bottom. Do you think the original light that would be staying is too light or that the texture is wrong?


 And the final thought. (Am I thinking too much?!?) How about adding the two darks and get rid of the lights all together?


I really do like this pattern and know I'll like the quilt when it's done. I was thinking again and wondered if it's bad that I have all these fabric swap choices in my stash. I've decided that it's a good thing because I can make the swap (or keep the original) and not have to put this aside until I shop again to get just the right fabric. My stash is helping me from making this a UFO! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  :-)

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today by going to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Stash Report - Week 46

Just like last week, there wasn't a whole lot of sewing going on here, but I did manage to add the borders to one project and use 1 1/2 yards of fabric. Also, Lynn took a couple of yards from my homespuns stash to use for Christmas gifts so I guess it's better than nothing. As I said yesterday, I finished the 168 rail fence blocks for my Cheese and Crackers quilt but I haven't taken the time to figure out that yardage yet. So I guess I did use more than I thought.  :-)

No fabric was brought in, so that's really good and that will help me reach my goals for the year. I never really set goals early on, but once I went over 150 yards of net used, I got excited and set a goal of 200 net used yards. Foolish maybe, but we'll see.

I've pulled fabric for a number of projects on which I want to work -  some UFOs and some not, so hopefully the next few weeks will see some good numbers reported. I also have a couple of tops I want to get quilted soon, so I better buckle down and get busy. As I was updating the report, I realized that I have a quilt that has been ready for binding for a very long time. Perhaps that should be my first order of business.

No pressure here.  :-)
Here's the report:
Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 3.25 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 354.50 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 171.625 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 33
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 13
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Friday Finish

I finally have a Friday Finish to report. This quilt was on my Design Wall Monday post with a brief story about why it was a UFO and possible ideas on how it was to be finished. While cutting the fabric for the border, I looked at the selvedge and saw that this fabric was made in 2002, and I'm pretty sure that I bought it when it was new Do you know what that means? Yep, this UFO is 9 years old! Holy cow!


Considering the age of this project, I decided that "done and not exactly as planned" is better than "not done, waiting for the impossible to happen" (namely, magical appearance of more of the fabric so I could enlarge this), so I added the borders and am ready to quilt it. After it's quilted, I'm going to add a small lime green piping at the same time that I add the purple binding.

It feels good to have done this! While finishing this, I was also able to finish the 168 small scrappy rail fence blocks that I need for my Cheese and Crackers quilt.

I didn't do anything with the clothline yet, but I'll get there so stay tuned.

Did you finish anything this week? Why not share it with other quilters and maybe you'll inspire them to finish something too.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Design Wall Monday

There was no sewing done this past week which means that I didn't add any more blocks to my Cheese and Crackers quilt. Even if I had time to sew, I wouldn't have done much to this project anyway because I decided that I needed to pull some more light fabrics. If I want this to be fairly large, I need to have more than just six or seven lights or it'll look too organized and I certainly don't want that. Here's what I found.


While pulling these, I did find a few more cheddar fabrics I can use, so that was a bonus. :-)

Of course in my search I also found yet another UFO that I had forgotten about. (Well I didn't really forget about it, I just put it out of my mind.) Anyway, I found this bag neatly tucked away in the back corner of a shelf. I remember working on this at least six or seven years ago and deciding that I wanted it bigger. I wasn't able to find enough of the fabric to make the blocks I wanted, so I put the top in this bag along with the extra fabric that I had. (Maybe I was hoping that the needed fabric would just magically appear in the bag.) I even went so far as to add some fabric that I thought could be used for borders. (I don't know what was up with that. It must have been a weak moment of trying to get organized. :-) 


Here's the top at the point that I stopped and put it away. Don't look too closely. I guess I was having some trouble matching the interesecting points. Could it have been the fact that the sashing fabric sort of glows in the dark and I was blinded by the brightness. Yea, that's the story I'm going with! The pattern is from the book Super Simple Squares by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. 


Here are the fabrics I pulled for borders and the order in which I think they'll be added. (Thanks Jerry for your input here!) That final green will be a piping added just before the purple binding.

 
Do you see my dad's picture in the top right corner? I feel like it's almost a "Where's Waldo?" thing with that. I like that he shows up in the pictures that I post because it makes me feel like I'm showing him my projects and that he's here to enjoy my quilting with me. I sure do miss him!

Anyway, here's what else is on the design wall (sort of).


While cleaning out a drawer, I found these pieces of clothesline that were the leftovers from some bowls that I made a while back. I decided to get my book out and use up these pieces. I just have to decide what to make. I'm kind of leaning towards a purse.


Now don't laugh, but I think it's pretty dangerous for me to try and clean or organize my sewing area. I end up with way too many things that I want to do and I don't know where to start. I guess I just have to pace myself, which is really not one of my strong points.

Check out what other quilters have on their design walls today.
Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Learning to Use the Chainsaw

I mentioned earlier that my brother was here to learn how to use and care for his chainsaw properly. Here's his blog posting about the experience. Enjoy!

http://knittingbrow.blogspot.com/2011/11/learning-to-use-chainsaw.html

It's always fun spending time with Jerry and when he leaves, I'm already thinking about when we can get together next. Maybe David could join us the next time!

Stash Report - Week 45

Zero, Zip, Nada! That's how much fabric I used this week.
I was busy and had lots fun this past week so it's no big deal.

Here's the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 351.250 yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 168.375 yards

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 11
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)
New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 32
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 10
Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 1

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.

Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

A View From the Upstairs Window

This is what I saw from my upstairs window this morning. (I really do need to clean that screen before I put in the storm windows!)


Jerry was using his newly acquired chainsaw skills to start cutting the logs in our back yard. After a little bit, I went downstairs and looked out the back door to see the following.


I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I imagine it was something like "Holy crap, that's a lot of wood!"

Since the goal was for Jerry to learn about his saw and not necesarrily get all the logs cut, we decided that was enough wood cut and we headed to Planktown Market and then to Lynn's for a late lunch.

We enjoyed a nice long visit with Lynn and Ty and headed home for a quiet evening.

The Hexagon Mutation

Do you think that I might have been a bit tired or distracted when I was working on this?


The really funny thing is that I sewed two sides down and was ready to add another hexagon before I realized the mistake.


Perhaps a better post title would be Heagons Gone Wild!

Excuse my, but I now, I have a date with my seam ripper.  :-)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Winding Down

Girls' Night Out and Bras for a Cause was wonderful last night. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers, vendors, and sponsors who worked tirelessly to put on this event. Thanks to all the attendees who make this night a success and help the four charities. I had a blast and hope you did also!

I spent the day visiting my hospice patients and doing follow-ups from the event. I'm kind of tired so I think I'll turn in early.

More about the bra winners tomorrow; but in the meantime, here are a couple of newspaper links that you might enjoy.
http://reflectorcam.norwalkreflector.com/galleries/index.php?id=4704

http://www.funcoast.com/node/365311
http://spotted.funcoast.com/galleries/index.php?id=5967

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, I made it! I blogged everyday for the entire month of October. Whew!

It looked like I wasn't going to get a chance to continue my daily blogging because I've been extremely busy today, having left the house early and returning quite late. Well, have no fear, I'm getting this post in before midnight.  :-)  Ooops, I missed it. This posted right at midnight. I guess I shouldn't have made a trip to the bathroom before hitting the publish key. 

What was I doing all day, you ask? Well, I had to take down the bra display from the mall and put it up at Kalahari for tomorrow evening's Girls' Night Out/Bras for a Cause. Of course there was a little glitch with scheduling so I helped in other areas before I could start to put up my display. Here's a sneak peak at the display. It's not quite done, but I'm sure you get the picture.







Besides the Bras for a Cause voting and silent auction, there are lots of raffles (50/50, jewelry, furniture, special dinners, etc.), great food, wonderful entertainment, the pink balloon explosion (money inside of balloons), Deal or No Deal, Minute to Win It, a huge silent auction of amzing items, Woman of the Year, and the Hog for the Cause. (Check that out below.) This event is jammed packed with fun stuff!


I'll be busy tomorrow.....