Stash Report - Weeks 51 and 52

Well, here's the last stash report of the year. I almost didn't take the time to post today but when I remembered this would be the last report of the year, I decided to take a few minutes and do it before the obligatory afternoon Christmas nap.

I'm thrilled with the year-end totals!

Here's the report:

Fabric Added These Two Weeks: 7.50 yards

Fabric Added to Date: 195.125yard
Fabric Used These Two Weeks: 15.00 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 397.375yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 202.25 yard

UFOs Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 12
UFOs Still to Do: ??? (Why do I even bother putting this on the list?)

New Quilts Done, Done, Done (Pieced, Quilted, and Bound): 38
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 11

Quilts Quilted and Ready to be Bound: 0

Check out how other quilters are doing with their stash usage.
Go to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

Here's what's on the wall today.

I'm participating in the Iron Quilter Challenge at The Missouri Quilt Company and this is what I''ve made using two charm packs of Summer Breeze by Sentimental Studios for Moda Fabrics. Ignore the yellow fabric that looks like a border. That's the fabric that I want to use as backing and I'm checking to see if I have enough. I don't want to have to buy more fabric and I think that with creative piecing this will work. The quilt's kind of small, about 50" x 60" or so and it shouldn't take me long to finish. Of course since the challenge deadline is December 31st I really don't have much time to wait to finish this up now do I?

As much as I like this quilt, the really exciting thing about today's Design Wall Monday is the design wall itself! Up until this past week, my design wall measured about 60" x 76". Here's a link to a picture of the original design wall construction. Of course I quickly found out that even though that was great, I like making larger quilts and needed to add width to my wall. Here's a link to my solution - design wall "wings".

Well, there's an update. Jack, my wonderfully supportive husband built some sturdy, removeable wings and now my design wall has the ability to extend to 96" wide! AWESOME!!!

I have not added the batting to the wings yet, but that will happen soon. The wings are removeable, which I really like. Here's a view from back side of the wings. The cross bars hold the wings and give them stability. When not in use, they are stored behind the orginal design wall. The wings themselves are stored next to the original wall and are not in the way. YEAH!!

Here's a picture (partial view) of the back side of one of the wings. Do you see the brackets?

I'm so luck to have the space for this and a husband who "gets" what I do!

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

Stash Report - Weeks 48, 49 and 50

Well life has certainly gotten in the way of regular blogging lately. I look back to October when I participated in the Blogtoberfest and how I made it a priority to blog at least once everyday, even if it was a very short and to the point post. Well, obviously blogging hasn't made it's way to the top of my  priority list for December.

Anyway, I've done a little bit of quilting (mostly hand-work) in between all the other things that need/needed to get done (Thanksgiving, traveling, being sick, family stuff, etc.). I played around with a variety of projects, but I'm excited because I finally added the binding to this quilt, which I've named 4-Patch Galore. This has been quilted for a very long time and I just needed to bind it. As I was looking for the picture to post here, I realied that this picture is before quilting and binding and I haven't taken another one yet. I have to take care of that!

I also finished my Shadowbox quilt. Again, this picture is before quilting and binding. Thanks to everyone whe gave me suggestions and comments about my fabric choices for this quilt the last time I posted about it here!

I did some repair work for a friend on one of her grandmother's quilts and returned it to her before I took a picture of it. (DUHHHH) Maybe I can stop over and get a picture. It was a dresden plate quilt and needed some repair to the binding. I just added a new binding on top of the old one that was falling apart.

I did take the time to quilt the Cheese and Crackers quilt and will hopefully get the binding machine sewn today. That will give me a  hand-stitching project for when I don't have time to use the machine or when I'm not home. Of course I still have my hexagon quilt that I can always take, but I'm finding that the last 10 blocks are gettting pushed aside for other projects more frequently than not. It's too late for this year, but I've already set a goal to have that quilt DONE, DONE, and DONE (pieced, quilted and bound) during 2012. That should  be doable since I've decided that I'm going to have someone else hand quilt it for me. I know I'll just keep setting it aside and not do it myself, so why not just bite the bullet and send it out? A friend asked me why I didn't just machine quilt it and be done with it. I just can't see doing that when the entire quilt (king size) has been hand pieced.

Anyway, I digress   ramble. Here's the stash report (the main reason for this post).

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00yards

Fabric Added to Date: 187.625yards
Fabric Used This Week: 11.50 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 382.375yards
Net Fabric Used for 2011: 194.750 yard**

**I'm so close to 200 net yards used that I can smell it. I'm pretty confident that I'll reach it because I plan to quilt at least one large quilt this week or next and that backing should do it, plus I have a project that I have to finish for someone by the 29th and none of that fabric has been added. YEAH!!

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): 35
Quilts Ready to be Quilted and Bound: 12
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.

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. :-)

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.

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. :-) 

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.  :-)

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

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.....

Design Wall Monday

I got up early this morning, took the picture of my design wall, did some work for Wednesday's Bras for a Cause and then sat down to type out this post. I went to download the picture and couldn't find the cord to go between the camera and laptop. I searched for a while and then the phone rang. Well, about a dozen calls and lunch later, I remembered where I put the cord. So, here's the picture finally.

A couple of months ago, I spent some time checking my stash for some cheddar fabric because I love it decided to make something with it. I started pulling all that I had and then played around with how I wanted to use it. I couldn't think of a better way to use it than in something simple like rail fence blocks. I've been making these blocks as leaders and enders for a while and this is only a handfull of what I have. I cut some of the background blocks last night and put this up on the wall because I'm excited to start working on this in earnest. The blocks will finish 4.5", even though I really thought about making them finish 3." I know I want this to be pretty big, and even though I love these fabrics, I'm afraid something would come up that really needed done or that I'd get bored and this would end up being a UFO.  

I really want to call this Cheese and Crackers. Do you understand why? I told a couple of people the proposed name and they didn't get it or think it was fun. I had to explain the logic (cheddar-colored fabric - the cheese- and the background fabric looks like it has wheat sprigs on it, thus the crackers. What do you think? 

The quilts that I had posted on last week's design wall and the previous week's design wall Mondays are all ready for quilting. YEAH!!! I'm hoping to get those done before Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed! I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to everyone who played along with the giveaways the past three weeks. I had lots of fun with it. Keep checking back because I'm already getting things together for a Thanksgiving giveaway!

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

Stash Report - Weeks 43 and 44

Not a lot of sewing was done this week but that's ok. I had a wonderful time with Quinn and Sadie and that certainly makes up for little to no sewing!

I'm headed back to the mall for Bras for a Cause today (last day until we move the display to the Girls' Night Out location Tuesday morning - YEAH!!). I'll be there until a little after 6pm  and when I get home I have a cookie order for the bank. It's only 4 dozen so it won't take long and THEN I'm going to sew and watch some football.

I'm kind of a sports junkie I guess because I love to watch baseball, softball, volleyball and football. I don't really enjoy basketball, boxing or wrestling. I can watch some socer but not a lot. I enjoy tennis, gymnastics and just about any other sports; and I especially like to be hand stitching binding while watching sports. Now, I just have to get a quilt to that stage and I'll be all set. I guess that I'll be working on some hexagons tonight.  :-)  Maybe I'll use the machine Monday, since I don't think I have anything on the schedule - yet.

Ok, here't the report:

Fabric Added This Week: 0.00 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 182.875yards
Fabric Used This Week: 6.00 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.

Tired!

I spent a good part of today (noon -9pm) at the mall with the Bras for a Cause and even though I did nothing but talk, I'm tired. Who knew that talking could be so tiring? I talked to a lot of people today and I'll be doing the same tomorrow because I'll be there from about 11-6. We're also selling tickets for the Harley motorcycle so when the people working that table had to go to the restroom or whatever, I manned both tables. It was pretty easy to sell tickets for the bike and then have the people spend a dollar or two on the bras also, so I didn't really mind being there by myself. For those of you that don't know me, I really don't have trouble talking to complete strangers, so talking to them about the Mardi Bra or Zee-Bra is kind of fun.  :-)

I saw a lot of people I know and haven't seen for a while and that was fun; but I also met a lot of new people. I always find it interesting and fun when you meet someone and realize that you either have a mutual friend or some other connection. I met a woman this evening who said she wasn't from the area and when I asked her where she lived, she said southern Ohio. I told her I went to school in Vandalia and she laughed and said she lives in Tipp City but spent a lot of her youth in Vandalia at her grandparent's house. I love it when that happens!

I didn't have an opportunity to take more pictures because I was pretty busy all day (talking, remember?). I'll try tomorrow or Tuesday after the display is set up for Girls' Night Out at Kalahari. Although I really like being part of organizing this event, I'll be glad when it's is over because I'll be able to get back to some sewing.

I think I'll head upstairs and read a bit before going to bed. Goodnight.

Bras at the Mall

I spent most of the day at the Sandusky Mall manning the Bras for a Cause display. Here's a quick look at the display from a side angle. The public is being invited to donate $1 and vote for their favorite bra. The first place winner will be awarded $400, 2nd place will get $200, and the 3rd place winner will receive $100.  The bras will be displayed all weekend and then move to Kalahari for Girls' Night Out Nov. 2nd where the winners will be announced and the bras will be sold by silent auction. All money received will benefit four area cancer service centers.

There are 43 bras on display here and I know of at least three more that will be "joining" the display at Girls' Night Out. Here are some pictures that show the bras a little bit better, but unfortunately they aren't good close-ups. I'm ging to try to get some close-ups tomorrow, but if I can't, I'll definitey have some after Wednesday's event.

Some of these bras are so amazing that I just can't believe it. And, the names! Check out the bra in the top left corner of the first picture. The name of the bra is "Mrs. Darwin's Theory of Evolution." I'll tell you what, every woman that has seen that bra just laughs out loud about that. While we were setting up last night and before signs were up, a man stopped to check out what we were doing and he asked why that bra had legs. He was a bit embarassed when he realized what it was, but of course I've told that story to at least 100 people today.

I had a visitor today while I was manning the display.

She found a bra that she really liked and it's taller than her! It's hard to see the bra, but it's the mask covering the eyes of the pumpkin.

I'll be back tomorrow with more, but in the mean time, go to www.girlsnightoutcharity.com to see more pictures from last year's event.

Long Day

It sure has been a long day and even though Iv'e been busy all day long, it feels like I didn't get anything done. I think that's because most of the things I worked on today still need something done to them.  :-(

I started my day visiting a hospice patient at the veteran's home and very soon after getting home, I was on my way back to Sandusky to set up the Bras for a Cause at the mall. That took a lot longer than I had expected and of course, I have four more bras that have been delivered to me tonight. I guess that means that I'll have to do some rearranging tomorrow. I shouldn't complain. It could be worse. I could have no or very few bras to display.

I'll be spending most of my weekend at the mall with the display so I'm sure my posts will be late in the day, just like this one. Of course I forgot my camera today, so I'll take some tomorrow and be sure to post them within the next couple of days.

Off to do some work; including bake the cookies I need for tomorrow.

Wednesday Winner

Drum roll please......

The winner is...

quilary, who said...

I do like your UFO, so please persevere and write a pattern. Love the goodies in the giveaway - thanks for the chance :) The clips look much easier to use (and open) than the hair clips I use on my bindings!

Send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I'll get your prizes out ASAP.

Thanks for playing along everyone. I'll keep you posted on the pattern progress and I am working on a rather large giveaway for Thanksgiving, just because I can and I want to.  :-)

Happy Birthday Steven!!


Morning With Grandkids

Even though the morning is almost over we're really just starting our day here. Sadie woke up at about 6:05 this morning and I brought her in to our bed snuggle and play. She fell asleep at about 6:30 and slept for almost 1 1/2 hours! Of course by that time Quinn was stirring so she came in our bedroom also. We talked, laughed, read and just enjoyed a wonderful morning with two very special children. By 9:30 or so Quinn asked for something to eat, so she and Jack made pancakes and boy were they delicious! I'm not the only one to think that because Quinn at three of them, plus a banana and part of an apple. Sadie ate a whole pancake, some dry Cheerios, a banana and part of an apple. I'm amazed how much they can eat! Of course breakfast lasted a long time because we talked alot (at least Quinn did) and Jack and I just reaxed and enjoyed both girls.

The breakfast dishes are cleaned up, and Quinn is coloring while Sadie is ready for a nap.

Life is good!

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Laundry, Binding, Playing

I really wanted to get a bunch of quilting done while Quinn and Sadie were with their other grandma today but of course I guilted myself into being responsible and taking care of housework before quilting.  :-(   As usual, one thing led to another and before I knew it, the girls were on their way back here.

Before they got here, I was able to layout the fish in the border of the cat and fish quilt and I got the binding sewn on the rest of the pumpkin placemats. They're ready to be hand-stitched down, which I decided could be done after the girls went to bed. I'm doing it now but took a break to write this post.

Isn't it funny how you can buy all kinds of expensive toys but kids like playing with simple things like boxes, dirt, and stones.

Maybe some quilting will get done next week.  :-)

Design Wall Monday and Blogtoberfest Giveaway #3

The fish quilt from last week did not get finished. :-( 

The fish are done but I didn't get them attached to the border yet and I've decided that it isn't going to get done this week because Sadie liked playing with them too much. She can't relly hurt them, so I figured that I'd just work on something else. Here's what I chose.

This is another UFO that is pretty darn close to being finished. I remember when I was working on this (not an actual date or anything, but just in general). This was maybe the second quilt that I made blindly - no pattern and no real idea of what I was doing. I must've been thinking about writing a pattern for this because I have all kinds of notes about cutting, piecing, pressing, etc. I also have notes about doing this in the exact opposite way (black background and colored stars). I really like this, especially the bright colors and pieced border so I think I'll evaluate this, finish it, and go ahead and write the pattern. I'll probably also make this with the black background because I found the stash of black to use. Besides, that will probably help me to write the pattern. (Good excuse, right?)  :-)   I'll keep you posted on the satus of that; but don't hold your breath because I have no idea when it will happen.

Now on to the giveaway. Here's what's up for grabs this week in my final blogtoberfest giveaway .

This week's winner will recieve:

1/2 yard of  Pat Sloan's Sweel Liberty by P & B Textiles

1/2 yard of Nancy Gere's Uncle Sam by Windham Fabrics 

1/2 yard of the red star fabric by Judie Rothermel by Marcus Brothers

Simply Patriotic pattern by Me (Joanne Hubbard)

1 package of 10 Wonder Clips by Clover

I'm excited about this giveaway! I used each of these fabrics in my 15 Honor Flight quilts and I really like them all and thought you might also. Since the fabric was patriotic I thought that the Simply Patriotic pattern was a perfect match. An finally, the Wonder Clips. I love these things! Here are some pictures of how I've used them.

  

And look how wide these clips open. Can we call them wide mouth clips? Open wide!

  

So how can you win, you ask?
Here's how; and you actually get three (3) chances to win!

1. Leave a comment on this post by 9:00pm Wednesday (10/26/11), when I'll randomly pick a winner. (That's my nephew Steven's birthday. Happy Birthday Steven!!)

2. Earn a second chance by posting about this giveaway on your blog (and link to this page), and post a second comment here.

3. The third entry can be earned by becoming a follower of this blog, and posting again that you are a follower. (If you are already a follower, just leave a post stating so.)

I've enjoyed hosting these giveaways and am already thinking about the future. I've got an idea for around Thanksgiving time and some for during the winter months, so be sure to check back frequently.  :-)

Check out this post to see about the Traveling Stash Giveaway hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Check out Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have on their design wall today. You just might find your next project!

Traveling Stash Giveaway

Have you heard of The Traveling Stash Giveaway? I hadn't until I read about it at Sarah's Confessions of a Fabric Addict blog.

This sounds like so much fun and even though I would really like to win and increase my chances by not telling you about it, I thought that was pretty selfish of me.  :-)

You've got to take some time and read about this. I really am amazed at the cleverness of quilters!  :-)

We're Home and Have Visitors

After a fun trip to Chicago to visit David, we returned home this evening and now have a couple of very special visitors. Can you tell that Sadie's really happy to be here? Ok, maybe it's me that's so happy she and Quinn are here.  :-)

Of course there was story time with Grandpa Jack before bed.

Oops. I think we're too late! I don't know if it was a boring story, Jack's melodious voice, or the fact that she had a very busy day.

Well, Sadie wasn't exactly thrilled when I took these fish away from her so I could put her to bed. She kept making this face and I couldn't stop laughing.

 

She's fast asleep now and didn't even fuss so she wasn't too upset. Maybe playing with these pumpkin placemats will make her happy and she'll forget about the fish. I think I'll wait to put the fish on this quilt until after the girls go home. I guess that means I better figure what else I'm going to work on this week.

A Message From Our Sponsor...

We will return to our regularly scheduled blogging sometime this evening. Enjoy your day and don't forget that tomorrow is another giveaway, right here at Everyone Deserves a Quilt!

Road Trip!

We're off to Chicago! Yeah...

Enjoy your day. I know I will!

Don' forget about Monday's giveaway.

Friday Finish

I'm not completely done with these four placemats, but I will be very soon, maybe even tonight. Everything was done except the binding and that is an easy "ride in the car" or watch TV activity.



I decided to simply make the placemats and faces separate so that it could be like a game for the granddaughters, or anyone else that may need entertained while waiting for dinner.  :-)  As you can see in the picture below, the face pieces can be mixed and matched to do whatever you like. I think/hope this will be fun for the little ones.

  

The coordinating wall hanging is not quilted yet and since I'm not going to be able to sew until at least Sunday night (or even later since that's when the girls are coming and they're staying for a week), I don't see that getting done real soon. That's ok. I can still pin it up to the wall hanging that's there now, right? 

Go to Crazy Mom Quilts to check out what other quilters are finishing up today.