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.

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.